Sick of the direction PWO is going...

[dea7th]

Im not blaming the staff. I never did, And i never said that Any of these staff are the results of suck ups. I stated iv played other games, where it was very much that.
Either way, i think the staff are doing a fine job, i wasin't insulting the work you guys do, nor do i not understand that you guys are volenteers. But you stated the positions are open. And those responses i made were because i felt insulted by the lack of enthusiasm in the answer towards reporting and more towards being sarcastic.

 

[Chocobo7]

I think most of the OPs questions were answered. I just wanted to point out that all those topics getting looked into and those that don't get banned- many of which could well be because of lack of evidence. As you say a lot of regs in the community 'know' certain people are botting or scamming or whatever and getting away with it. Staff are blamed, but if people don't take precautions in the form of screenshots when a scam is possible, and if people don't video botters when they find them, there is nothing that can be done.

As an example there was a heated argument in the help channel yesterday with accusations flying around about scamming. This lasted quite some time and the people making the accusations weren't making reports. I also recall someone claiming to leave over something similar a few days ago. And again a few days before that. I would call this a regular thing where players' names are smeared in the ingame chat by people who have no proof to back up their claims. Some of these accusations may well be true but just as many are likely to be falsified for whatever reason. It would be nice if justice were all-seeing and all-knowing but this just simply is not the case. Proof is needed, and people willing to present that proof.

This is one of the reasons that when I deal with CW issues I very rarely base a descision off them, in the case of bots I never do. I use them as what they are, reports, and as such they'll be a reason to look into a specific player myself. The things people see and say are clear cut evidence of botting is not always so, and if you're going to get upset that these aren't being dealt with then in my case you now know. Not everything is as obvious as it may seem, and no matter how much you may know, you never know everything.

 

[psychosamm]

I agree with OP. I said something like this a month or two ago. Sadly the staff is too paranoid to hire more GMs, and as they said, they'd rather be overwhelmed with reports and be unable to get all, or even a majority of, the cheaters than take a chance on a new GM. Even though there are plenty of players with good character. (Fonty Naero Saric etc) However I do appreciate what the current GMs do, its just 4 of them is not nearly enough to get even half of the job done. I think a good amount would be more around 10 GMs, though i'm sure that would probably never happen.

Hopefully staff has taken this thread to heart and is making new GM additions a priority.

 

[Ramensnoodle]

I agree with the op 100%, been discussing this with guildees last few weeks and its really making me want to quit. Seeing botters/hackers much more rampant that they were just 6months ago is insane but you can't blame them when staff policies are so outdated. I mean why the hell do you allow stuff obtained illegally to continue to circulate ingame? I have been around many fan made and mainstream games been staff in a few and one thing common in all of them was not allowing any hacked glitched items to remain ingame.
No wonder botters are everywhere they get away with it and they know it. Hacking on one account and having another account staff can label legit seems to be the new thing.
If you really want to clean up the game and send a message hacking in any form will not be tolerated start deleting all pokes caught from banned accs or atleast all pokes caught 1month leading up to the ban. Staff always emphasize its a beta game deletions like these happen alot in betas,so stop worrying about player feelings over ill gotten stuff and just do it.I know this won't happen and can already guess the reasons you won't do it, but I can only hope stricter polices are implemented soon.
To bad Bis isnt as active anymore, loved that he did in a few hours what it seems the other gms get done in a week last time he was on.

 

[Chocobo7]

Bear in mind your comparing this to a time where reg was closed/the game was much harder to get into, there were less since they couldn't make new accounts.

 

[matileo19]

To bad Bis isnt as active anymore, loved that he did in a few hours what it seems the other gms get done in a week last time he was on.

Being a GM is not all about banning accounts. If I were a Head Admin and I had to choose between Dovee/mad/Choco/stank/etc and Bis, I would choose any exept Bis, to be honest and comparing what I saw from each one. Don't take it bad Bis, I like you, but your attitude has changed, I don't know what's wrong with you, saying things like ''the ban hammer has taked action, the ban hammer is here, the ban hammer never sleeps'' lol looks like if a child of 10 years old were in your account acting as such, come on, you should act respectfull and give an example to the community.
Getting back to what I was saying: Being a GM is not all about banning accounts and I know better than any player that they're working all the time (No, im not a bootlicker and some of the staff members know it....I said SORRY to Dovee lots of times, sorry xD). If we don't see what they do, doesn't mean that they are doing nothing, if you think like that then you're wrong.
But I am against something, yes... they have real lifes,etc,etc... but if they are so bussy with real lifes then you should give the possition to someone else, someone with more time than you to do stuff, don't forget that you're GMs because you were agreed to become a part of the staff so, think about it. Naero has been here helping lots of people, he knows a lot about the game, he is respectfull and we all know him, I don't know why he is not a part of the staff, he is almost ALL the day and THAT IS what you need guys, someone like Naero. And for those that beliebe that reporting players is a good way to become an staff member naa... you're completelly wrong. This game needs scripts/maps/npcs/events , thats the way you should show that you are and you will be able to become an staff member. Good luck.

 

[Jinji]

"Banhammer" is such an unintelligent term anyway, in one's humble opinion...

 

[Ramensnoodle]

Other than handling issues like these whats there job then i'd like to know.
He made some jokes in a few of his bans and all of a sudden thats a bad thing?

 

[CheckeredZebra]

In Bis' defense, he has put in a lot of time and effort into this game. Sometimes I do not agree with him, other times I do. Regardless, if a player has issues with a staff member's conduct, it should probably be brought up in private, or at least handled in a professional manner.

Anyhow, I've already said my peace in terms of staff recruitment.
One issue is some people simply want to have the title, and will act a certain way to get it. Hence why sometimes we are so vague with our requirements, and why sometimes the recruiting patterns seem erratic.

 

[Chocobo7]

"Banhammer" is such an unintelligent term anyway, in one's humble opinion...

I feel something like ban Tactical Nuclear Strike is more fitting for what has just transpired.

 

[Bluerise]

Staff are representatives of the game, just because they are helpful etc... doesn't make them a good representative for the game. ~

PS. For anyone thinking the number of GMs are not a priority to us, you're clearly in the wrong.

 

[psychosamm]

To bad Bis isnt as active anymore, loved that he did in a few hours what it seems the other gms get done in a week last time he was on.

Being a GM is not all about banning accounts. If I were a Head Admin and I had to choose between Dovee/mad/Choco/stank/etc and Bis, I would choose any exept Bis, to be honest and comparing what I saw from each one. Don't take it bad Bis, I like you, but your attitude has changed, I don't know what's wrong with you, saying things like ''the ban hammer has taked action, the ban hammer is here, the ban hammer never sleeps'' lol looks like if a child of 10 years old were in your account acting as such, come on, you should act respectfull and give an example to the community.

I see a lot of people commenting about him annd saying stuff like that, to be honest I see nothing wrong with it, its pretty funny actually. And means nothing else besides humor, i'm sure, GMs are more than mindless drones.

Also, in my opinion, i would rather excessive bans be made than waiting until 110% sure to ban someone, more often than not the stolen pokemon has been moved, therefore unable to return it, or tokens had been spent, then the one who was wronged gets nothing but "Their highest level pokemon". Which is never a good enough replacement, and is almost always caused by delayed actions by GMs. It almost defeats the purpose of being too cautious if when you're ready to ban the perp, hes already moved all of his valuables. Woohoo, you've banned an account that no longer will be used, and must then repeat the process when he strikes again (if he's smart enough to use another ip)

That's just my whatever cents worth.

 

[GawertyXL]

i agree about the amount of gm's being slightly inconvienient, Honestly though, they do what they can with what they have, The gms we have now are some of the most honest and hard working staff members of any single game ive played in years, When i joined pwo, i would have expected tons of staff corruption (not saying there hasnt been of course, just not in my time that much) They choose who they choose because they are the representatives that are the mature ones, you cant parade around how you want to be staff and expect a pm asking you to be one, thats just not how it works at all.

 

[TheWyatt2012]

Naero has been here helping lots of people, he knows a lot about the game, he is respectfull and we all know him, I don't know why he is not a part of the staff, he is almost ALL the day and THAT IS what you need guys, someone like Naero.

Naero has a dark history, from around 2009 I believe; people still tend to judge him on that basis.


Moving on, I have a question regarding botters. Correct me if I'm wrong, but why are botters allowed to have another account after they've been banned? I think it's a tad silly, because what's stopping them from doing it again?

 

[matileo19]

The dark history of Naero is kinda stupid... just think about it for 2 secs, I don't care about his ''dark history'' and the new players don't know what he did.

Vegeta tried to destroy the world, but Goku gave him a chance... They ended up being best friends and Vegeta was a good person after all. We learn from the mistakes.

 

[Merse]

Now that registration is open in 24/7 botters start to overwhelm the team, although they're really working on the issue. Check the Ban Appeals forum, you'll find a new name there every day. It's still not enough. Not enough in quantity, not enough in speed. The GM team should be extended. But I also understand the point of view of the developers. Who could they trust? If Prof.Oak still would be around, he could be the obvious choice (except that he already explained that he doesn't want to be a GM). But if not him, then Naero is clearly the best choice even if his past is a bit dark. Or Fonty, although I know he's already involved at some level. But we don't have too many more veterans with more than one year of experience left...

 

[Nikola]

Things were different with old registration system. And server cap was 450 then rose to 500 on February 14th. 3 times per one month registrations were opened. So lets just say 2 weeks for one period. IRC itself was lively seeing that is almost dead now. Someone usually drops by with random questions. Before there were even situations when mutes were given. That is "epic". From 50 visitors maybe 1/2 would left there and hangout just like I did and I am always on IRC while Im in-game. But lets get back on topic. With that amount of players GMs had 2 weeks to "investigate" newbies and not many of them were there even if they were able to make 1000 accounts for that period that was visible. Speedhackers were IP bannned together with all of their accounts registered during that period. For example Bis used to show them their registered accounts while they were appealing on their ban. So 20/30 of linked accounts used to banned. Now speedhackers are getting perma banned...That makes no sense for me. They even play PWO for a living by selling hacks. That is absurd and stupid for a Christ sake. Why would you ban them in a first place if you are planning to perma ban them. They will return and dig themselves in water lab or route 8 and they are going to hack again. No wonder why theres tons of rares from route 8 and water lab. I met a few guys and they were telling me a story, they were confessing. One guy got perma banned for his act then he returned after 1 day and he caught shiny staryu with new account and god knows how much others. Other guy was botting and double clienting at the same time and he also got perma banned. He returned and he is doing the same thing. He even said that he is selling bots for a 3 euros and scamming from one account then transferring on another account. That would not happen if they were IP banned. Even if they manage to get ingame they would be banned for evading original ban. Yet we are trying to save economy by offering them a shelter. Again any measure taken will reflect on innocent palyers.

- I can unterstand at some point why certain GMs are hardly active. Who the hell likes to work alone? And how to investigate existing accounts by working alone ingame. I can see Bluerise is dealing more with bans nowadays which is indicator that something is missing and something isn't wrong. Working on playerdex, server, token issues and doing admin's duties and yet dealing with bans...To much for one man to handle and yet he is doing that and unfortunately not many people are seeing that. All I want to say here that punishments are to soft. This is insane when you look at things better. GMs aren't easy to find there must be a huge level of trust from many sides and other things. It's not bad to start trusting to people, for a start at least those who are a while here.

-Someone mentioned something about Naero here. I will add something. I wasn't much active while he was trolling and evading IP bans. But I know everything. And I know what Naero is capable of. I cant recall him doing anything bad ever since. And I wonder why every player is giving him as a example of a good player. Probably there is a reason for that. People tends to change and they are becoming better in this case Naero. He isn't a but kisser. Many players don't realize that it hurts their chances rather than improving it by *** licking. Why would he suffer and being unable to show his ability thanks to one man greed and drudge? I know also few staffs that were smoking bans in past they are still staff or they were. Undermine other GM(L)'s bans to get some of his associates unbanned, as well as providing accounts for IP banned players to play again. Others where banned for "testing" bot program despite they were a staff at that time and yet they got a second chance. Seeing that... Naero is clean as a whistle. I know many cops from around here that used to smoke weed in high school and yet they are cops and they are doing it pretty well. It is not not good to judge person according his acts from past. No one is perfect and if there is someone perfect he will explode one day eventually. In every company, boss tends to employ his friends and cousins and that is bad thing to do. While there is far more better and capable people out there waiting to get a job. One day you will find yourself having a troubles to find a job because someone got that job via connection already. That is not good. We can find that example everywhere. And eventually things are starting to collapse. Naero is a man with will and he doesn't have any selfish ambitions, above all he is not power hungry. I can't say anything bad for him.

- Unfortunately it is hard to find someone trustworthy nowadays and I doubt things will change anytime soon. But as I said above. Look at all those people leaving a pure example how player should be. My friend list is more emptier every day. People are leaving the sinking ship we cannot blame them. But there are also others who invested a good time here and effort and they are going together with that ship. One of my suggestion was to close registrations for time being. Existing population must be cleared otherwise there will be more of them every day which will lead to known outcome. I love this game and community but from other side I am driven by a crazy sense for justice. It's just there to many hackers out there. This game is hardly playable any more. At this point PWO will be lacking of a good players and hell yes I think it is lacking already. I am old enough to see some things. I experienced many things and things like those are having bad outcome in RL. It makes me sick when I see hackers getting through rain drops. People are getting scammed everyday by a people who were banned before. That is not good. I would like to suggest a few friendly things for this community.
- Close registration for time being to purge current culprits and criminals.
- Start giving IP bans. Kill their hope and they will newer come back. Break them.
- Update client ASAP. This one is exploitable and its not properly patched and everyone is abusing his bugs.
Nikola~

 

[dea7th]

To bad Bis isnt as active anymore, loved that he did in a few hours what it seems the other gms get done in a week last time he was on.

Being a GM is not all about banning accounts. If I were a Head Admin and I had to choose between Dovee/mad/Choco/stank/etc and Bis, I would choose any exept Bis, to be honest and comparing what I saw from each one. Don't take it bad Bis, I like you, but your attitude has changed, I don't know what's wrong with you, saying things like ''the ban hammer has taked action, the ban hammer is here, the ban hammer never sleeps'' lol looks like if a child of 10 years old were in your account acting as such, come on, you should act respectfull and give an example to the community.
Getting back to what I was saying: Being a GM is not all about banning accounts and I know better than any player that they're working all the time (No, im not a bootlicker and some of the staff members know it....I said SORRY to Dovee lots of times, sorry xD). If we don't see what they do, doesn't mean that they are doing nothing, if you think like that then you're wrong.
But I am against something, yes... they have real lifes,etc,etc... but if they are so bussy with real lifes then you should give the possition to someone else, someone with more time than you to do stuff, don't forget that you're GMs because you were agreed to become a part of the staff so, think about it. Naero has been here helping lots of people, he knows a lot about the game, he is respectfull and we all know him, I don't know why he is not a part of the staff, he is almost ALL the day and THAT IS what you need guys, someone like Naero. And for those that beliebe that reporting players is a good way to become an staff member naa... you're completelly wrong. This game needs scripts/maps/npcs/events , thats the way you should show that you are and you will be able to become an staff member. Good luck.

Sounds like something id say. lol the ban hammer never sleep lol

 

[Merse]

I agree with Darcia that it could be a good thing to close registration for a while. Maybe 1 month or so until the community is cleaned of botters. Unfortunately updating the client is not an option any more. And the new client is still way down the road. The application ends in 2 weeks. Let's say the evaluation takes only 1, then getting known with the staff is another one. 2012 is already over and they couldn't write a digit of the code yet. Then if they start working, how long it will take until a basic engine is coded? 2-4 months probably?
My point is: We must deal what we have, with what we have. Let's forget about the client for a while.

 

[Hardcoreh]

I agree with Darcia that it could be a good thing to close registration for a while. Maybe 1 month or so until the community is cleaned of botters. Unfortunately updating the client is not an option any more. And the new client is still way down the road. The application ends in 2 weeks. Let's say the evaluation takes only 1, then getting known with the staff is another one. 2012 is already over and they couldn't write a digit of the code yet. Then if they start working, how long it will take until a basic engine is coded? 2-4 months probably?
My point is: We must deal what we have, with what we have. Let's forget about the client for a while.

I don't think it's a good idea to close registration to just "clean" the bots. Because once registration is open again, botters will also be there again. It will be an endless routine.
Most (if not all) bots are probably packet bots, forgetting about the client would mean forgetting about the bots also.
If we want to reduce the amount of botters, we need a new client with better packet encryption and change the overall packet structure.