Addons Discussion

[MPK]

Ignoring the whole "All Add-ons are against the ToS," even ACT got slapped down when it started adding things the devs considered too cheaty. I think it was a thing where it would automatically place and move around markers as the fights went on, which definitely went outside of what was allowed. Devs put a stop to that one quick.

That wasn't ACT, that was another illegal 3rd party tool.

[Ilenya]

That wasn't ACT, that was another illegal 3rd party tool.

Fair enough, everything I was seeing was that it was something built into ACT. Either way, point stands, doing things that actively change how the game works is a no-go.

[MPK]

Fair enough, everything I was seeing was that it was something built into ACT. Either way, point stands, doing things that actively change how the game works is a no-go.

Yeah ACT doesn't have any built in things to mess with the client, everything including some actually illegal mods that RPers use are some other 3rd party tools. I'm just surprised this game doesn't have an anti cheat like literally every other game out there that stops modding.

[Ilenya]

Yeah ACT doesn't have any built in things to mess with the client, everything including some actually illegal mods that RPers use are some other 3rd party tools. I'm just surprised this game doesn't have an anti cheat like literally every other game out there that stops modding.

Wouldn't that stop ACT anyways, because it's pulling information that, while readily available, I doubt is being grabbed by literally taking down what is in the Battle Log?

[MPK]

Wouldn't that stop ACT anyways, because it's pulling information that, while readily available, I doubt is being grabbed by literally taking down what is in the Battle Log?

It reads network packets so it doesn't modify the game code at all

[NeoDivinity]

So if using the ping tool inside the windows where it only simulates if you are in the same region as the Data Center would be acceptable in any scenario? If it changes how the client comunicates with the server how aren't those accounts flagged yet?
I dont touch my MCH since early SB cause of ping issues.

[MariaArvana]

So if using the ping tool inside the windows where it only simulates if you are in the same region as the Data Center would be acceptable in any scenario? If it changes how the client comunicates with the server how aren't those accounts flagged yet?
I dont touch my MCH since early SB cause of ping issues.

As far as I understand, its because its undetectable unless you use it to effectively have 0/negative ping.

Sove92's description on the first page explains why. When you use a skill, a 500ms animation lock begins and an acknowledgement to the server is sent. the 500ms begins counting down client side, but when the server sends back an acknowledgement request, the 500ms lock resets and begins counting down again, meaning the delay between using two OGCDs is 500ms + your ping.

What the tool does is instead of resetting it back to 500ms when your client receives the acknowledgement, it sets it to 500ms - your ping to simulate little or no ping, or a pre-determined value you can set. (Which is how the game should be handling it, by all rightfulness, plenty of other games use a similar system to handle wild ping differences.) So if someone has say, 150 ping, their total time between OGCDs is 650ms. But if that person uses the tool to drop the response time by 100ms, their client would look no different to the server than someone who has 50 ping, since both the 50ping guy and the 3rd party tool guy would be sending OGCD requests to the server in 550ms intervals, which makes them indistinguishable.

So its much akin to other 3rd party things like ACT; as long as the person isn't being stupid and setting the value in such a way the server would report their client has negative ping, it's impossible to detect it because it all happens clientside.

Honestly though, given the clips I've seen of this in discords, I'm more flabbergasted Square hasn't done something like this officially yet. The tool shows its possible, it seems like a huge QoL to try and implement officially into the game.

[Seathts]

I would be wary about using it since it does modify the game, so a ban is more likely than using ACT, but I don't view it as cheating. It doesn't give the user an unfair advantage, it gives the user the same advantage someone right next to the servers has. Mch is well known for being latency locked at high end content as you lose considerable dps with high ping, and with this tool that issue will disappear. Just to be clear, it doesn't give you a faster gcd or allow you to do something others can't.

[NeoDivinity]

Honestly though, given the clips I've seen of this in discords, I'm more flabbergasted Square hasn't done something like this officially yet. The tool shows its possible, it seems like a huge QoL to try and implement officially into the game.

If they feared that doing this it could break the game than theres no excuses anymore, ppl already did and aparently it nothings has changed.
Hope they at least speak about it.

[Undeadfire]

As a console and pc player both, I've always advocated banning gameplay related things like ACT

The amount of issues raid groups will have if this was ban on sight, or adding software to counter it, it's never going to happen. Dedicated and Hardcore Raid groups only want quality players, and it will cause such a disaster in the raiding scene with no way of knowing who is not performing the standard requirement.