Hey Devs, how about booting afk players?

As stated the game does NOT boot players that log in and remain afk. I know of 4 players that work with me who managed to log into their servers in the early morning hours and left their characters in game. Their characters have been online ALL DAY. They went to work and came back and the characters were still there.

How can you expect to ever allow people to thoroughly enjoy your game if you don't boot afk players. It's an exploit that people are using to stay in game while a lot of us can't get in.

I agree. I admittedly abuse the system because if I didn't I wouldn't get in when I wanted to play. Wouldn't need to do so if it booted after 10-15 minutes as many games do (and should).

I also want an answer to this. Has SE commented on why they refuse to add an afk-kicker? This would alleviate so many problems. At any given time, walk to any aetherite-stoned area and you can see hundreds of people AFK and I know for a fact that many of them are gone for 8+ hours at least for work and sleep.

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Originally Posted by Jayded

I agree. I admittedly abuse the system because if I didn't I wouldn't get in when I wanted to play. Wouldn't need to do so if it booted after 10-15 minutes as many games do (and should).

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I'm sorry but you cannot agree yet STILL do the same thing. You're part of the problem.
Just don't do it and there won't be as many issues.

The old saying "Two wrong don't make a right" fits this situation perfectly.

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Originally Posted by Graylock

I also want an answer to this. Has SE commented on why they refuse to add an afk-kicker? This would alleviate so many problems. At any given time, walk to any aetherite-stoned area and you can see hundreds of people AFK and I know for a fact that many of them are gone for 8+ hours at least for work and sleep.

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The stock answer you'll get is that regardless of the number of AFK players the expectation was that they would NEVER have as many players as they currently do. Even if you booted every AFK player you'd still replace them with active players and have the same login issues. The server wasn't meant to deal with the number of players, active or afk, that they have because they never fathomed the number of people wanting to play the game that they currently have.

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Originally Posted by GotShadow

I'm sorry but you cannot agree yet STILL do the same thing. You're part of the problem.
Just don't do it and there won't be as many issues.

The old saying "Two wrong don't make a right" fits this situation perfectly.

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When it's the only way to guarantee you'll be able to play the game the next day...it's hard to resist. I did it a lot but I decided to stop being a jerk (and cool my room down because this game runs my GPU up from 45c Idle to 90c) and signed off around 9 am. I came back around 3PM and until 5:10 I was constantly spamming 0 trying to get back in to help my lower level friends with their dungeons. I have yet been able to get in. I've gotten into the que TWICE but both times I got 1017 AFTER being in que. -_-

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Originally Posted by Nova_Dresden

The stock answer you'll get is that regardless of the number of AFK players the expectation was that they would NEVER have as many players as they currently do. Even if you booted every AFK player you'd still replace them with active players and have the same login issues. The server wasn't meant to deal with the number of players, active or afk, that they have because they never fathomed the number of people wanting to play the game that they currently have.

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afk players can't complain about not being able to log in. they need to boot them now

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Originally Posted by Kougeru

When it's the only way to guarantee you'll be able to play the game the next day...it's hard to resist. I did it a lot but I decided to stop being a jerk (and cool my room down because this game runs my GPU up from 45c Idle to 90c) and signed off around 9 am. I came back around 3PM and until 5:10 I was constantly spamming 0 trying to get back in to help my lower level friends with their dungeons. I have yet been able to get in. I've gotten into the que TWICE but both times I got 1017 AFTER being in que. -_-

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I understand it's frustrating. But the less people that idle when they go AFK, the more people are going to get in.
What makes you more important than the guy down the street that has been wanting to play while you're happily AFK?

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Originally Posted by Nova_Dresden

The stock answer you'll get is that regardless of the number of AFK players the expectation was that they would NEVER have as many players as they currently do. Even if you booted every AFK player you'd still replace them with active players and have the same login issues. The server wasn't meant to deal with the number of players, active or afk, that they have because they never fathomed the number of people wanting to play the game that they currently have.

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That's a bullshit excuse.
I'd much prefer to be sitting in queue with the servers full of ACTIVE players than AFK players.

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Originally Posted by GotShadow

I understand it's frustrating. But the less people that idle when they go AFK, the more people are going to get in.
What makes you more important than the guy down the street that has been wanting to play while you're happily AFK?

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I don't like it. I wish it would kick idle. I'm not more important, I actually like my neighbors =P but I am greedy.

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Originally Posted by OldCuban

As stated the game does NOT boot players that log in and remain afk. I know of 4 players that work with me who managed to log into their servers in the early morning hours and left their characters in game. Their characters have been online ALL DAY. They went to work and came back and the characters were still there.

How can you expect to ever allow people to thoroughly enjoy your game if you don't boot afk players. It's an exploit that people are using to stay in game while a lot of us can't get in.

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Your solution would stand a damn good chance of actually fixing at least some of the problems. Can't have that now can we?

They need to put an AFK kick timer in (30min), put a 5min rejoin-timer in (incase you get kicked so you dont goto the back of the queue) and add a real queue. These are all things other mmos have had since 10 years ago. Instead, square enix is mainly interested in getting more servers up, which won't help anyone already on a server, but it will let them reopen digital sales and make more money.

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Originally Posted by GotShadow

I'm sorry but you cannot agree yet STILL do the same thing. You're part of the problem.
Just don't do it and there won't be as many issues.

The old saying "Two wrong don't make a right" fits this situation perfectly.

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I'm afraid I can agree. I just did...I don't think it's right to talk on a cell phone while you're driving, ever, but I do it sometimes. Who says you can't think something is wrong and yet still do it..silly argument.

I can understand why the developers don't want to implement this feature since it doesn't actually address the true issue. This issue is that there is that there are not enough servers to handle the load required for all of the people trying to log into the game. If people could simply log back into the game whenever they wanted, there would be no reason to idle all day to save a spot. I can understand the developers not wanting to take time away from other projects to develop a new system that, they believe, will only be used for a few days.

That being said, it is a serious issues that needs to be addressed immediately, and waiting around a week to add a few more servers is not cutting it. So this will probably be a good feature to have for when this happens again, once they re-open sales of the digital copies. Because SE is not going to spring for more servers than it believes it will need, and so we will wind up in this mess again in the near future.

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Originally Posted by superkrill

afk players can't complain about not being able to log in. they need to boot them now

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If they did kick players, let's say 1000, then most likely there's still another 1000 trying to take their spot. You'll still complain if you weren't one of the lucky 1000, and there's still no AFK kick timer in place to prevent the same issue.

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Originally Posted by GotShadow

That's a bullshit excuse.
I'd much prefer to be sitting in queue with the servers full of ACTIVE players than AFK players.

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I never said it was a good excuse, it's just the excuse that you'll get. It's also the excuse you HAVE gotten if you read the letters from the producer. He erred to be overly conservative with the projections and we kicked his projections' ass. There are way, way more people than they ever anticipated and the entire system isn't set up to handle it. I'm just as pissed as you are, but kicking AFK players with no timer in place is no different than kicking addicts out of a crack house. As soon as the cops are gone it's just gonna fill up with more addicts.

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Originally Posted by Jayded

I'm afraid I can agree. I just did...I don't think it's right to talk on a cell phone while you're driving, ever, but I do it sometimes. Who says you can't think something is wrong and yet still do it..silly argument.

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Bottom line is you're making the situation worse.
If you're happy to do so, then so be it.

The moment they implement an AFK-kicker is the same moment thousands of people will apply rubberbands to their gamepads. Instead of seeing dozens of people standing around the aetheryte, you will see dozens of people running in circles or into walls. Is that the utopia you dreamed of?

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Originally Posted by Nova_Dresden

If they did kick players, let's say 1000, then most likely there's still another 1000 trying to take their spot. You'll still complain if you weren't one of the lucky 1000, and there's still no AFK kick timer in place to prevent the same issue.

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i think you misunderstand. he says the game does not boot afks. which means auto-boot. he wants a system/timer to do it

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Originally Posted by GotShadow

Bottom line is you're making the situation worse.
If you're happy to do so, then so be it.

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Not for myself. Selfish gene, and all.

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Originally Posted by _C-a-e-r-i-t-h_

The moment they implement an AFK-kicker is the same moment thousands of people will apply rubberbands to their gamepads. Instead of seeing dozens of people standing around the aetheryte, you will see dozens of people running in circles or into walls. Is that the utopia you dreamed of?

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i don't think running into walls counts as user input. it would still boot them i think. and doesn't this game have gms?

Yes this is needed but I believe it shouldn't be on top of their priority list. Lets try expanding the servers so they get close to getting to the point where most people can actually log on and then fix the problem where a large population is having their computer randomly freeze and crash on them during game play.

What's happening Square can we have some feedback at all about the large amount of concerns that have been raised?

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Originally Posted by Nova_Dresden

If they did kick players, let's say 1000, then most likely there's still another 1000 trying to take their spot. You'll still complain if you weren't one of the lucky 1000, and there's still no AFK kick timer in place to prevent the same issue.



I never said it was a good excuse, it's just the excuse that you'll get. It's also the excuse you HAVE gotten if you read the letters from the producer. He erred to be overly conservative with the projections and we kicked his projections' ass. There are way, way more people than they ever anticipated and the entire system isn't set up to handle it. I'm just as pissed as you are, but kicking AFK players with no timer in place is no different than kicking addicts out of a crack house. As soon as the cops are gone it's just gonna fill up with more addicts.

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I would be MUCH less annoyed (not happier) if the 1000 spots of AFKers were full of ACTIVE players. There is more chance of someone logging off for the day/night in the time that people sleep (lets say 5-8 hours) than there is if people AFK'd for that time.
There would be a much faster turnover of players getting in and playing if they implemented the AFK system. It's true.

And no it's not set up to handle it, but they had an entire first release AND alpha/beta/open beta/early access to fix it. Alas Squenix is being as money hungry as ever.

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Originally Posted by superkrill

i don't think running into walls counts as user input. it would still boot them i think. and doesn't this game have gms?

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I don't mean "face a wall and press auto-run," I mean "wrap a rubberband around your controller so you're running in circles or into a wall whatever." That's still input. Or, if you want to get tricky about it, "set up a drinking bird above your keyboard and have it gradually tap W as you face a wall for 12 hours until you get back from work or school."

I know what you're thinking, "Just boot anyone who runs into walls." But that's discrimination against idiots.

(And, besides, even if you did have GMs go and start booting anyone running in circles or whatever, how long would it be until someone makes a third party app to make it appear that you're actually playing? A simple chatbot, even-- just program it to make random Chuck Norris jokes in /shout and nobody would know it isn't really human!)

I agree with everyone here who disagrees with the OP. They should focus on making the servers not crap.

It is great too. Also prevent from Bot Gil Sellers that crowded up the server good for nothing. I see a lot of them lately!!!

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Originally Posted by _C-a-e-r-i-t-h_

I don't mean "face a wall and press auto-run," I mean "wrap a rubberband around your controller so you're running in circles or into a wall whatever." That's still input. Or, if you want to get tricky about it, "set up a drinking bird above your keyboard and have it gradually tap W as you face a wall for 12 hours until you get back from work or school."

I know what you're thinking, "Just boot anyone who runs into walls." But that's discrimination against idiots.

(And, besides, even if you did have GMs go and start booting anyone running in circles or whatever, how long would it be until someone makes a third party app to make it appear that you're actually playing? A simple chatbot, even-- just program it to make random Chuck Norris jokes in /shout and nobody would know it isn't really human!)

I agree with everyone here who disagrees with the OP. They should focus on making the servers not crap.

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i don't want to get into a whole thing here, but other mmo gms ban people who do odd bot-like things. because they are botting

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Originally Posted by superkrill

i think you misunderstand. he says the game does not boot afks. which means auto-boot. he wants a system/timer to do it

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No, he's not asking for a boot system, he's asking for the devs to boot afk players. Entirely different.

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Originally Posted by superkrill

i don't think running into walls counts as user input. it would still boot them i think. and doesn't this game have gms?

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Yes it does. It's still communicating some action to the server which is the only thing needed for the server to not thing you're AFK.

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Originally Posted by GotShadow

I would be MUCH less annoyed (not happier) if the 1000 spots of AFKers were full of ACTIVE players.

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You say that, but if you didn't make it on you'd still be pissed and people would begin blaming people for logging and being AFK again. Until the core issue of no server space is dealt with and there's an auto-kick we're all gonna be mad at people who can play when we can't.

I find myself using the Inns to log out everytime. Even if I'll only be off for 10-15 minutes. I'd rather sit trying to log in for a bit, than to selfishly hog that spot. Sad that even players who only want to be able to play for 1 - 2 hours a day can't even do that because of afk abusers.. Even worse Spammers/advertisers..

I was quite upset after asking the question "How long do you have to AFK before you get kicked?" when my guildies said there was no AFK Timer. Kind of upsetting because some people are just leaving their games on 24/7 loading the servers so other players cannot access them.

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Originally Posted by Nova_Dresden

The stock answer you'll get is that regardless of the number of AFK players the expectation was that they would NEVER have as many players as they currently do. Even if you booted every AFK player you'd still replace them with active players and have the same login issues. The server wasn't meant to deal with the number of players, active or afk, that they have because they never fathomed the number of people wanting to play the game that they currently have.

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Sorry, but that isn't even a "stock answer," it's simply avoiding the question. The number of people has nothing to do with the fact that the major holdup is people battling with idle computers to get into the game, not people waiting in lengthy queues with other players waiting. I would have no problem waiting 2 hours in a queue while SE irons out their stuff, but to simply be unable to even queue up because we are literally battling against players leaving their computers alone is an entirely different issue.

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Originally Posted by Graylock

Sorry, but that isn't even a "stock answer," it's simply avoiding the question. The number of people has nothing to do with the fact that the major holdup is people battling with idle computers to get into the game, not people waiting in lengthy queues with other players waiting. I would have no problem waiting 2 hours in a queue while SE irons out their stuff, but to simply be unable to even queue up because we are literally battling against players leaving their computers alone is an entirely different issue.

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He has a point.. All we can do is wait for Square-Enix to engage and fix. Either countermeasures or More/Bigger Servers.

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Originally Posted by Nova_Dresden

No, he's not asking for a boot system, he's asking for the devs to boot afk players. Entirely different.

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well whether it's automatic or manual, you can't honestly say manually booting won't help. it'll help

Logging into the game 16 hours before you plan on playing is the only reliable way to be able to play the game when you want to play it.

The problem is not with the people who do this-- they aren't helping any, and sure, I'd rather they get booted so I could be on instead, but the problem is that this is the only method that works.

Don't blame your fellow players. Any countermeasure that's implemented can be just as easily countered and broken.

The fault is with S-E not giving two shits about NA/EU players and not doing a single thing to fix this.

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Originally Posted by _C-a-e-r-i-t-h_

Logging into the game 16 hours before you plan on playing is the only reliable way to be able to play the game when you want to play it.

The problem is not with the people who do this-- they aren't helping any, and sure, I'd rather they get booted so I could be on instead, but the problem is that this is the only method that works.

Don't blame your fellow players. Any countermeasure that's implemented can be just as easily countered and broken.

The fault is with S-E not giving two shits about NA/EU players and not doing a single thing to fix this.

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Not it isn't the ONLY way to log on. Everyone else is sitting in this invisible queue smashing 0000 to get in.
Of course the fault is with SE, but you guys AFKing are making the situation worse.

EVE online implemented a maintenance period everyday, the servers go down for 30 mins. do this

Afking 24/7 as many MANY do in my server just shows how rude,greedy,ignorant an narcissistic teenage gamers are in this game :(. It really is sad that I can ONLY play this game as my friends as well when it comes evening time in Australia, because Americans are logging off. (some) For last 3-4 days the exactly same people have been afk in same town 24/7. It really is disgusting. Personally I wish we were able ot train mobs to them an get them killed, since its only way to get at them. Of coarse since there is no death penalty in this game that really wouldn't have much of an impact :(

I just now logged into Hyperion. Took about 30 mins.