Can you guys confirm whether you've made any approach to SOE to ensure WinEQ2/EQPlayNice are not going to be detected for altering EQ memory areas and get us autobanned?
Thanks,
Concerned Customer
WinEQ2 Pro + Sony 'auto-banning'
Moderators: Lavish Software Team, Moderators
WinEQ2 Pro + Sony 'auto-banning'
Hey Lavish
Can you guys confirm whether you've made any approach to SOE to ensure WinEQ2/EQPlayNice are not going to be detected for altering EQ memory areas and get us autobanned?
Thanks,
Concerned Customer
Can you guys confirm whether you've made any approach to SOE to ensure WinEQ2/EQPlayNice are not going to be detected for altering EQ memory areas and get us autobanned?
Thanks,
Concerned Customer
I dont approach SOE, no. WinEQ 2 doesnt alter EQ memory areas. EQPlayNice is not something SOE is interested in banning people for, also.Can you guys confirm whether you've made any approach to SOE to ensure WinEQ2/EQPlayNice are not going to be detected for altering EQ memory areas and get us autobanned?
http://www.lavishsoft.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2324
Their stance will be pretty predictable. They will tell you that using any third party software puts you at risk, blah blah third party software is often a trick to steal your account information blah blah we do not support the use of third party software blah blah. This is because a) theyre "public relations", b) they want to discourage use of all third party software and c) do not want to have to determine which third party software is EULA compliant. Scott Hartsman also isnt PR, he was the technical directory at the time, which is probably why he gave reasonable answers instead of blanket answers. Smedley also is not PR, he is or was the President of Sony Online Entertainment. These are people who are in better positions to give that kind of information, but which are usually not available to answer these that kind of question. I'm not telling you dont do it, I'm telling you that you probably wont get an answer relevant to your question.
In 2001 I asked for explicit permission to distribute EQWatcher (the "Rules of Conduct" for the game state that you should get explicit written permission to distribute ANY EQ-related software, at risk of losing your EQ account(s)), and was told by one of their top lawyers that I do not have such permission (because they do not give such permission) and that I should immediately cease distribution. I said FOAD, and no action was ever taken against EQWatcher or anyone using it (including myself). This is the type of BS that you should expect.
My suggestion if you want to ask them a question is to be absolutely prepared, and ask them questions that they cannot answer with blanket statements like "we do not support the use of any third-party software" -- note that the EULA explicitly prohibits third-party software that modifies the software to change gameplay (which no Lavish Software product does), and thus implicitly allows any third-party software that does NOT modify the software to change gameplay. A lot of people dont understand that, and thats OK -- it's not their job to understand it.
For example, LEAD with giving them the information they are probably going to tell you. Say that you already know the EULA prohibits third-party software that modifies the software to change gameplay. Then say that you know there's a lot of third-party software that does not violate the EULA, and have been allowed by SOE for years. Give examples and references like I did in the previous link -- Smedley says EQPlayNice is not on the radar, Hartsman says that EQWatcher isnt a problem because its only interaction with the game is reading logs, EQWindows got people banned years ago but they reversed the bans and have not banned for usage of EQWindows in recent years. Then, ask if their stance on these programs has changed, and if so, what is the new policy regarding them?
I'll reiterate though, that the focus of their "new system" is not to prevent people from using WinEQ, EQPlayNice, or similar tools. It IS to prevent hackers from doing things in the game that change the mechanics of the game. For example, warping, duplicating items or currency, shooting arrows across the zone, giving monks harmtouch, changing network traffic so you can move other players around, etc. These things are harmful to the game. You should ask what the focus of their new policies are for, and they will probably say what I just said in different words.
Finally, I'll reiterate what Smedley says, in the quote from GU comics. "Smedley: You really have to work pretty hard and do something absolutely outrageous or repeatedly do smaller things. We don’t take banning lightly. " They would ban much of their player base if their automatic system were to ban non-threatening utilities, or by false detection. If they're going to automatically ban anyone, it would be over something pretty big.
That's all I have to say about that.
In 2001 I asked for explicit permission to distribute EQWatcher (the "Rules of Conduct" for the game state that you should get explicit written permission to distribute ANY EQ-related software, at risk of losing your EQ account(s)), and was told by one of their top lawyers that I do not have such permission (because they do not give such permission) and that I should immediately cease distribution. I said FOAD, and no action was ever taken against EQWatcher or anyone using it (including myself). This is the type of BS that you should expect.
My suggestion if you want to ask them a question is to be absolutely prepared, and ask them questions that they cannot answer with blanket statements like "we do not support the use of any third-party software" -- note that the EULA explicitly prohibits third-party software that modifies the software to change gameplay (which no Lavish Software product does), and thus implicitly allows any third-party software that does NOT modify the software to change gameplay. A lot of people dont understand that, and thats OK -- it's not their job to understand it.
For example, LEAD with giving them the information they are probably going to tell you. Say that you already know the EULA prohibits third-party software that modifies the software to change gameplay. Then say that you know there's a lot of third-party software that does not violate the EULA, and have been allowed by SOE for years. Give examples and references like I did in the previous link -- Smedley says EQPlayNice is not on the radar, Hartsman says that EQWatcher isnt a problem because its only interaction with the game is reading logs, EQWindows got people banned years ago but they reversed the bans and have not banned for usage of EQWindows in recent years. Then, ask if their stance on these programs has changed, and if so, what is the new policy regarding them?
I'll reiterate though, that the focus of their "new system" is not to prevent people from using WinEQ, EQPlayNice, or similar tools. It IS to prevent hackers from doing things in the game that change the mechanics of the game. For example, warping, duplicating items or currency, shooting arrows across the zone, giving monks harmtouch, changing network traffic so you can move other players around, etc. These things are harmful to the game. You should ask what the focus of their new policies are for, and they will probably say what I just said in different words.
Finally, I'll reiterate what Smedley says, in the quote from GU comics. "Smedley: You really have to work pretty hard and do something absolutely outrageous or repeatedly do smaller things. We don’t take banning lightly. " They would ban much of their player base if their automatic system were to ban non-threatening utilities, or by false detection. If they're going to automatically ban anyone, it would be over something pretty big.
That's all I have to say about that.