Can we take action against Bard Macro Player yet?

[Roxy_Lalonde]

I mean by that logic we should just let gathering bots, hacks and other illegitimate practices go unpunished. They're not hurting you by getting filthy rich or cheating in CC, right? They're not hurting you with RMT ultimate clears and all that. Why would you even care, weirdo? You're just trying to ruin their fun because you're insecure.

They just want to play the game their way and you should be supportive of it, or else you're a toxic elitist goon that doesn't like fun.

Sarcasm off, I think the cosmetic mods are fine, but if you hang around any mod communities at all, there's a reason the dalamud team is STRICTLY against automation.

Personally it really hurts that no one cares about bard performing anymore. It's not fun or entertaining anyone at this point, everyone has their perform volume turned down because "who cares about one more midi bard player, no one is playing legit bro"

Getting told that my BPM setting is too low while performing really soured me on macro performers. Ensembles are fine, obviously because they're not humanly doable, but anything else is just an excuse to be lazy.

[Gloobz]

I have a bard band, and I think OP needs to adjust their thinking. It's a case of "not being able to see the forest for the trees" in that by getting caught up in the minutiae of how exactly the music is made, you are ignoring the most important thing, which is the music itself.

I'm a musician, I've studied classical and jazz music theory at a university level, and have played piano since I was 12. I've played tons of local IRL gigs with a lot of very good musicians in a variety of genres. In other words, I'm not a virtuoso, but I know what I'm doing, and have put in the time, study and practice to be proficient at my instrument.

When I play with my bard band, I take the time to prepare my midi files properly (mostly classical stuff where the copyright has been expired for 200 years at least). It is a time consuming process, because I have to arrange them, make some instruments more or less evident, removing or modifying some instrumental parts to work with the grating samples FFXIV has to offer; all by using the musical knowledge I've obtained over the years to make sure everything sounds good. It is actually possible to make stuff sound pretty good, IF you put in the effort and know what you are doing. The effort, btw, consists of pouring over scores and listening to/transcribing recordings for hours.

Is an orchestra conductor a bot, or does he show his own vision through his organization and management of the symphony orchestra? Is every DJ ever a bot? Is every piece of electronic music a bot? Is every band that has ever used a drum machine or auto-tune a bot? MIDI playing bards in FFXIV are using a tool to assist them create music and try to bring a little happiness into people's lives.

I'm more interested in making music than I am in showing off how good I can play the computer keyboard. If OP cared about the quality of what they are producing, they would get an actual midi keyboard and learn how to play the piano. They aren't expensive. Not making a serious effort and then complaining because you are "overshadowed" in a non-competitive environment is a psychological problem, not an automation problem.

This is not a competition, it's not using a cheat to beat a boss, or win at PvP. This is a conduit for a form of expression, and if you don't like it move away from the bards or turn off performance in sound settings. And what is legit playing, anyway? Mashing keys on your computer keyboard? Have you considered that the music you produce, regardless of the method, is not desirable to listen to? If you exerted more effort, even as a solo bard manually playing, maybe people would like it more? And by that line of reasoning, why are you doing it at all if you haven't seriously studied music?

In short, make people like your music by making good music.

[BigCheez]

In short, make people like your music by making good music.

We're talking about MIDI nonsense that sounds like a ringtone from 2004.

/performsounds 0

[Gloobz]

We're talking about MIDI nonsense that sounds like a ringtone from 2004.

/performsounds 0

Exactly. Why get bent out of shape, it doesn't really matter. Be a bard it if you want to, don't do it if you don't want to. Listen if you want to, or don't. There is a reason /performsounds 0 is there. And it doesn't usually sound great, mostly because of the samples available to work with, although you can do more than you might think. But, (and this is directed to OP), don't whine about people being better than you, because it's not a competition.

[GiR_Zippo]

We're talking about MIDI nonsense that sounds like a ringtone from 2004.

/performsounds 0

I like ringtones from 2004, but only played on the original Nokia 3310. :P

don't whine about people being better than you, because it's not a competition.

It was never a competition, I assume. I think this bards / band thing is just cuz of fun.

Edit songs, play them, entertain some ppl who having fun listen to the music and getting your HDD wiped by accident, lose all you music and start over again.
The circle of life. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Apeiria]

We're talking about MIDI nonsense that sounds like a ringtone from 2004.

/performsounds 0

FFXIV performances sound like ringtones because they are limited to only three octaves with no velocity control (how hard a key is pressed, which is crucial for a MIDI to sound human like and natural), let alone VST synthesizers or mixing capabilities. It also uses a synth that sounds worse and more artificial than the notorious Microsoft GS Wavetable.

This system is inherently limited, likely also to avoid copyright issues, as it prevents a piece from sounding exactly like the original. There isn’t much point in taking it too seriously.

[sindriiisgaming]

As a ps5 player who learned to play well on controller and even works at some musical venues like crescent moon on chaos dc. This post just makes me sad.. going after midibards to prop yourself above them is all this is an it's wrong, if you have talent... showcase, agent and enjoy it because people will allways celebrate a genuine bard over a bot one. But don't go after them.. some artists trace to get better and yet the art community goes after them to feel better about their own art. Why do you need them gone? Will it make people like you more and lavish you with attention... no.

[Collin_Sky]

If you have a problem with crafting/gathering bots but not this, you're a hypocrite.
A bot is a bot, third party is third party. TOS applies to them all equally.

[Gloobz]

FFXIV performances sound like ringtones because they are limited to only three octaves with no velocity control (how hard a key is pressed, which is crucial for a MIDI to sound human like and natural), let alone VST synthesizers or mixing capabilities. It also uses a synth that sounds worse and more artificial than the notorious Microsoft GS Wavetable.

Actually, by being clever about the instrumentation when using multiple instruments, you can get a range of C1 - C8 instead of the C3 - C6 that it might first appear like. This is almost the entire seven octave range of a normal piano keyboard, which is B0 - C7! The bass transposes down two octaves and the fife transposes up two octaves, and a variety of the others transpose up and down one octave. Yeah, the synth sounds horrible, but there are some sounds that are okay if you use them correctly in the right range. And the velocity control is non-existent.

But that makes it a challenge to figure out ways to make things sound better, which I personally enjoy.

[SamSmoot]

I just keep Performance volume set to zero. I can't hear anyone play bad music.