Macro manipulation using 3rd party scripts, is it botting?

[Atmora]

How the fuck is SE even going to detect you using Synapse? All it does is press your mouse buttons, I don't think people here know what they're talking about.

[Paladinleeds]

How the fuck is SE even going to detect you using Synapse? All it does is press your mouse buttons, I don't think people here know what they're talking about.

They can tell by the timing between button presses. Bear in mind that every click is sent to the server. Synapse macros that are set to repeatedly click will have a rhythym behind their button presses (even if random time between each click is used, since even the random time between each click has some rhythym behind it). SE can look at that rhythm of the clicks and determine that it is a bot and ban.

Another thing they can do (at least on Windows, where Synapse is a thing), is sniff out other programs on the PC. If it detects the Synapse signature, it can report back to SE HQ and ban you for it.

[Atmora]

Snip.

I mean yes, both those things are possible, but one would require them to install a program on your comp in the game files to look at what other programs you're using and honestly if they cared that much everyone using ACT would have be banned a long time ago; not to mention Synapse is the fucking driver software for most Razer hardware so you can't just ban people for having it on their computer. The other means they have to look at all of you're individual clicks and compare it across other synapse users then ban you which let's be honest, isn't going to happen.

[KisaiTenshi]

I mean yes, both those things are possible, but one would require them to install a program on your comp in the game files to look at what other programs you're using and honestly if they cared that much everyone using ACT would have be banned a long time ago; not to mention Synapse is the fucking driver software for most Razer hardware so you can't just ban people for having it on their computer. The other means they have to look at all of you're individual clicks and compare it across other synapse users then ban you which let's be honest, isn't going to happen.

They don't need to install anything, Macro's do not contain random timing information. When you activate a macro, it plays back everything at the speed it was told to. So if you see someone activating every skill 3 seconds apart (which is the speed you can pretty much use the internal macro at) they are using the internal macro's. If you see someone activating the same skills repeatedly, with the same timing, it's a bot.

The game client itself can check for macro software, it doesn't need a third party program. Likewise, purpose-built cheating software often intercepts the C runtime to hide itself from the game. EG, enumerate software running on the system into a hash list, send the hash list to the server, the server cross-checks the hashes against known bots, cheating tools, macro software, etc every time a zone changes or teleport happens and then if the player is ever reported for botting, instant-ban.

Right now it only does that when you run the launcher, and only looks at software installed, and software running at the time the launcher runs, not side-loaded (click config-system information.)

[Atmora]

snip

I take it you've never used synapse or the other brand equivalents to any depth? You can make some incredibly long macros with super varied timings. Also using Synapse itself isn't even remotely ban worthy since most players with custom keys on their keyboards/mouse use it or another similar program. I mean unless I'm wrong and changing keys on my mouse to modifiers like shift and ctrl is a banable offense.

Edit: Lol I almost forgot to refute the stupidest part of this, Synapse doesn't send any packets to the game or interact with the game in any way whatsoever, the server won't be checking shit from it. Literally all it does is make your keys perform multiple or different actions.

[KisaiTenshi]

This is not even remotely true.

Next you're going to tell me that people are't randomly inviting people to FC's. The point of that comment was, "where are your eyes looking", if a GM starts talking to you, where are your eyes?

I take it you've never used synapse or the other brand equivalents to any depth? You can make some incredibly long macros with super varied timings. Also using Synapse itself isn't even remotely ban worthy since most players with custom keys on their keyboards/mouse use it or another similar program. I mean unless I'm wrong and changing keys on my mouse to modifiers like shift and ctrl is a banable offense.

When I worked for a certain company, the company built hundreds of macros in a program called Macro Express in order to speed up the delivery of everything from stock responses to ticking boxes in web-browser based CRM software. So yes, I've used macro software in a professional environment, and have written macros to customize the responses, or even read peoples email and generate responses based on context of what email path was followed.

That said, the average person is not a genius, and you're making it out like these macro programs can read someone's mind. No, the reality is that the average person downloads things they find on the internet and doesn't know what they are really doing, only that someone they found on the internet said they "use this", therefor it must be kosher.

If someone is handicapped, and the macro improves their QoL, and then one day they get banned because they decided to run their macro 3 ilms away from the marketboard, bell, or aethertyte (which is what the spamming bots do) and got reported a dozen times, then that is on them for being ridiculous. If you're going to go break the ToS, go break it somewhere where you're not seen by 20 people constantly.

90% of the amateur-hour bots out there use an easy to find open source macro program that is capable of triggering anything in the Windows API itself, this is what the spam bots use.

[Atmora]

That said, the average person is not a genius, and you're making it out like these macro programs can read someone's mind. No, the reality is that the average person downloads things they find on the internet and doesn't know what they are really doing, only that someone they found on the internet said they "use this", therefor it must be kosher.

I'm not 100% sure you no what Synapse is, it's not something you randomly download, it's the driver software to Razer products like mice and keyboards. You're acting like it's some kind of cheating software and I never asked if you've used Macro programs, I asked if you've specifically used Synapse or something similar because you seem really mistaken on their functions.

[Moonlite]

How the fuck is SE even going to detect you using Synapse? All it does is press your mouse buttons, I don't think people here know what they're talking about.

This is a bit of tin hat story so bear in mind. At the start of 2.0 a lot of crafters who said they did not cheat and did not buy gil. Had gil removed from their accounts. What several of them did admit to was macro crafting where they didn't actually do any crafting the macro did it for them. Once your gear is good enough a few button combination will always HQ and if you don't actually have to do the work it could be good gil. No one found/admitted to an exploit and no one got banned.

So if the story about macro crafting was true. SE might have some way to check. But I doubt it is a very good system and casual users probably get skipped over.

[alimdia]

This is a bit of tin hat story so bear in mind. At the start of 2.0 a lot of crafters who said they did not cheat and did not buy gil. Had gil removed from their accounts. What several of them did admit to was macro crafting where they didn't actually do any crafting the macro did it for them. Once your gear is good enough a few button combination will always HQ and if you don't actually have to do the work it could be good gil. No one found/admitted to an exploit and no one got banned.

So if the story about macro crafting was true. SE might have some way to check. But I doubt it is a very good system and casual users probably get skipped over.

That's not a bit, that's a big tinfoil hat, the removal of gil at launch was linked to the marketboard gil exploit.