To be fair...

grizzbi · April 2014

I've commented a few times about botter, goldseller and the dupe exploit. I was really disappointed by the lack of reactivity from Zenimax.

So, to be fair..

Today I noticed that several things are getting better. Of course it's from my point of view and just after a few hours but:
- I've not seen any bot in any public dungeon.
- I've not seen any bot gathering nodes.
- I do realize that a lot of people have been banned after the dupe exploit. Things seem to be taken seriously.
- Goldseller are still here but if their bot can't work properly , they 'll have some hard time soon.

So..I still think that Zenimax communication is..."far from perfect". But I must say that they seem at least to begin to get some result.

Keep on the good job.

nerevarine1138 · April 2014

Their communication has been more than adequate. They aren't going to tell us exactly what security fixes they make, for obvious reasons. The fact that they're notifying us about every ban wave is a nice perk.

grizzbi · April 2014

there's still a lot of room for improvement concerning communication. But since this post is meant to be positive, I won't run into details..

Xezzu · April 2014

nerevarine1138 wrote: »

Their communication has been more than adequate. They aren't going to tell us exactly what security fixes they make, for obvious reasons. The fact that they're notifying us about every ban wave is a nice perk.

What someone considers to be adequate as far as communication goes is subject to opinion and not a standard I believe they will ever achieve for everyone. I too feel their communication with the players leaves something to be desired, but I have to tell myself ZOS is fairly new to this and I am sure they are going through growing pains of their own internally - far beyond what we get to see 'out here'.

With that said, I admire you taking the time to post positively @grizzbi. The forums seem to get so full of things we notice that are wrong with the game that we tend to never comment on what we do see, or what we realize has been improved. Human nature, I guess.

I hope to see more posts like this.

Sarenia · April 2014

Which public dungeon(s) did you go to that are empty of bots? I want your luck.

I haven't seen a drop from a dungeon boss since I made my new character. It just finished the entire map of Glenumbra, including every dungeon, and not a single named enemy loot drop due to bots. Can't do enough damage before they kill stuff to get loot credit. Fun, fun.

Also I agree that more communication would be nice, but also agree as others have said that they have to be vague. It's unsatisfying, but one wrong word lands them on the front page of every gaming site this side of Fort Google.

Jessica Folsom did recently reply that they are pissed off about botting too, if that helps you.

First reply.
http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/82618/and-the-bots-get-braver/

nidriks · April 2014

I've not really been in to any dungeons to see today, but I did note that I wasn't seeing the gold seller spam that I was seeing yesterday.

Yesterday was the worst it's been since release. I was even having issues where ignored spammers were posting messages I could see!

I trust Zeni to resolve the problem, even if I'm surpised they didn't have better filtering in place at the start. I just don't recall playing an MMO where it was quite so bad as it has been in ESO. Oft times being in Daggerfall was a horrible experience. I could spend more time clicking ignore than I could doing other things.

I'm sure bots are something that could have been made less of an issue by having GMs in the game world physically removing bots from dungeons, too.

If it's getting better then that's wonderful. Like I say, I think they'll sort it.

Melian · April 2014

That's good, but wish they'd find a way to block the goldspam in zone, mail and guild invites. It's really annoying. I slept late today, baked my daughter a birthday cake, and still encountered and reported four goldspammers.

Sarenia · April 2014

nidriks wrote: »

I've not really been in to any dungeons to see today, but I did note that I wasn't seeing the gold seller spam that I was seeing yesterday.

As a workaround, there is a Spam Filter addon on ESOUI, and another on Curses if you prefer, which seems to work pretty well.

There are some it can't catch. It's funny though, because the links in those spams are so convoluted you can't even figure out which site the spammer is trying to advertise. Grade A marketing right there!

nidriks · April 2014

Sarenia wrote: »

nidriks wrote: »

I've not really been in to any dungeons to see today, but I did note that I wasn't seeing the gold seller spam that I was seeing yesterday.

As a workaround, there is a Spam Filter addon on ESOUI, and another on Curses if you prefer, which seems to work pretty well.

There are some it can't catch. It's funny though, because the links in those spams are so convoluted you can't even figure out which site the spammer is trying to advertise. Grade A marketing right there!

Yeah, I agree with the marketing balls ups! Some of the messages are downright horrendous to read...

...it's worse than leet speak.

It's a good job we don't need to understand them.

I tried SpamFilter, by the way, but I had a few problems with it. Like you said, there were a few messages I couldn't block and I also couldn't use my designated reply to whisper hot key (though I've since found it's acting up without the SpamFilter addon). In the end I stopped using it and stuck to ignore.

I didn't know there was another one at Curse. I'll check it out. Thanks.

Kathleen.Flynn02b14_ESO · April 2014

I must be really oblivious of everyone around me. I play every day, but I can't remember noticing any bots or gold spammers. I guess I just don't pay attention to other players.

xshadowclawzz12 · April 2014

Is farming resources "illegal"?

nidriks · April 2014

xshadowclawzz12 wrote: »

Is farming resources "illegal"?

You can farm.

There's a difference between heading to place to 'farm' resources by yourself and having a group of characters automatically kill mobs and loot them. $:\$

Botting will be defined as breaking game rules in EULA. It's also what those resources are then used for that's the really contentious bit.

Sarenia · April 2014

xshadowclawzz12 wrote: »

Is farming resources "illegal"?

Only if you're using an exploit to do so, like instantly warping between harvest nodes.

Laura · April 2014

i've noticed this too

Thete · April 2014

grizzbi wrote: »

So..I still think that Zenimax communication is..."far from perfect". But I must say that they seem at least to begin to get some result.

Certainly you'd expect their systems to improve once they're able to test them. The problem with goldsellers is they don't really announce their presence at the beta stage so it's hard to test you stuff against them.

That being said, if the proliferation of bots is being halted (and I imagine we're a while of being able to say that with certainty), then there is still one more major issue to fix and that will be account security. I would at the very least send regular e-mails to players reminding them to change their passwords and to make sure it's something sensible (not password1 or the same as your username with a 1 on the end).

grizzbi · April 2014

As a Company and for all its workers, it must be quite something to launch a mmo: things are suddenly "live"..you got the first days, all those people in the world..And everybody is watching you.

Your "quite polished" game is suddenly a "living creature" with many (new) bugs. And you're working hard to kill them all. I suppose that the communication is not the first priority: you prefer to work on the solutions instead of talking about it.

And each time you try to communicate, because getting things right will take some time, and because you do some mistakes, people over react. Whatever you say, things can be turned against you soon or later.

So I can understand why any company who launch a mmo is quite silent. People are just working hard in a very stressful environment.

I do believe that communication can greatly help to encourage the community to be more patient. And even to involve it in the ongoing process. Companies should use the player base more often, for great benefits. It's like a three realms battle with the company, the players and the exploiters. If you can turn the player base on your side, you get a huge advantage: time.

They seem to have results. And hopefully they will get sooner some time to get more in touch with their community. The war against gold sellers and exploiters will never be over. But winning a first battle is at least encouraging.

Thete · April 2014

grizzbi wrote: »

And each time you try to communicate, because getting things right will take some time, and because you do some mistakes, people over react. Whatever you say, things can be turned against you soon or later.

So I can understand why any company who launch a mmo is quite silent. People are just working hard in a very stressful environment.

Sorry, but no. There are staff in any company whose role is specifically PR. Asking those people to fix bugs would be like asking an infant, so it isn't taking anyone's time away from anything to feedback in a timely manner.

Syzmicke · April 2014

I never ever see gold selling spam in chat i just turn zone chat off.

grizzbi · April 2014

Thete wrote: »

grizzbi wrote: »

And each time you try to communicate, because getting things right will take some time, and because you do some mistakes, people over react. Whatever you say, things can be turned against you soon or later.

So I can understand why any company who launch a mmo is quite silent. People are just working hard in a very stressful environment.

Sorry, but no. There are staff in any company whose role is specifically PR. Asking those people to fix bugs would be like asking an infant, so it isn't taking anyone's time away from anything to feedback in a timely manner.

They don't fix bug but they hold their breath - and their tongue - waiting for a sign from the dev department. If they would told us how it really goes, everyone would become crazy

nidriks · April 2014

Thete wrote: »

grizzbi wrote: »

And each time you try to communicate, because getting things right will take some time, and because you do some mistakes, people over react. Whatever you say, things can be turned against you soon or later.

So I can understand why any company who launch a mmo is quite silent. People are just working hard in a very stressful environment.

Sorry, but no. There are staff in any company whose role is specifically PR. Asking those people to fix bugs would be like asking an infant, so it isn't taking anyone's time away from anything to feedback in a timely manner.

I think there's certainly been communication. The twitter page appears to be well used. You also have to say that once something has been said then there is little point in keeping saying it. That is what the forum is for. If someone asks why the server is down then there will be countless people to answer him; hence it being called players helping players.

It would be nice if there was a PR guy always on and answering every single question that comes up, but that really wouldn't be feasible, although I know that's not what you expect. Like me you want to know they're busting bot's arses and muting spammers.

That being said, it is taking time away from people whose job it is to fix bugs or infrastructure. PR guys don't know this stuff so they have to go ask someone who does. If a PR guy comes on this forum and says, for example, 'the login server broke' we'd all go 'fine, we wait'. Then it turns out the problem is more convoluted, but to please people the PR guy had given a reason without asking a techie and tying up their time.

If I have a concern it's with Zeni's dealing with an issue rather than the reporting of what they're doing regarding it. I know I am referring to other MMOs a hell of a lot today, but I remember a certain well known developer being on the Vanguard forums a hell of a lot and telling us everything he was doing. Some of those things never happened and a lot of people were scorned. Sometimes not telling all, or only telling when you know for certain, is best.