This isn't really a new thing, just an extension of the old system to new content.
It does, however, still retain all the existing false positives:
1. If you crash in the middle of a short STF, you may return in time to immediately be banned for being AFK. And don't say you won't crash, the game is completely unstable and crashes regularly, and when an STF is ~60 seconds long, your odds of getting back in before it ends and you get hammered with the penalty are pretty good.
2. If you simply suck and your teammates are awesome, you will be banned for being AFK even though you weren't. I've seen this happen to a dude. He was with us, pewing away in his rainbow failcruiser. He spent half the STF dead, and the parts of it where he was alive, he didn't manage to accomplish much damage. But it wouldn't be fair to say he was AFK: Although he was terrible, he did manage to warp poo the spheres (and died again in the attempt), his single most damaging act in his approximately under 300 DPS. Sure, he put out a measly sub-300 while the rest of us were pulling 18K+, but he fought. Is this fair that he got to be banned for being the random pug victim in a 4-man premade? In a typical 3K PUG, he'd have passed.
Now, now, now, IBS can strike without warning, meaning he could sit down to play and boom! Need to head to the bathroom. And sometimes people play games to take their minds off of pain and discomfort - mental distraction is often a good placebo effect.
As you decided to only half quote me, this bit was there for the reason you responded....
"If sudden symptoms of IBS kick in while playing - logout, go focus on yourself, don't keep jumping in to the public queue system. Come back when you can play."
There are people, who just keep jumping in to one game after another, and always seem to have an excuse for the rest of use gaining their marks / dill etc..
To me, the way the poster used IBS - to me, it read like justification for joining games and then going AFK over and over.... it is not an excuse, as I put, "if" sudden symptoms arise, then you logout and look after yourself, not keep jumping in to games between toilet visits.
As for the placebo effect / distraction - YouTube / Netflix / Sky Go..... none of which, upset other people.
I'm not opposed to new penalties, but what I would be interested in is pinpointing why people are AFking in the first place. I won't lie, I did it during the Breach missions because I felt the Dyson rep grind was boring and the missions weren't as interesting. If, like in my case, people are/were AFKing over rep marks or reward content perhaps there is a way of both penalizing those who abuse the system while rewarding those who work for the reward? We jump on the AFKers with no thought of what is pushing them to it, if anything. We should at least understand why they are doing what they are before we start name calling. That can come after :P
most mmo's ive played keep the penalty under an hour. and thats because anything excessive will just cuz the person in question to logoff and in a f2p model you just lost money.
so instead of this bs penalty that burns you for 2 hrs on all queue-able content i'd just remove the reward part
The ban is there to stop people being trolls, not just for those taking the mick going AFK.
Trolls don't do it for the in game rewards, they do it to watch the chat box light up with abusive messages, that is their reward.
No timer, then someone trolling can jump in games and sit there laughing about your team being a person short. But with the timer, they can only do it once every 2 hours. (and yes, I think this should be account wide)
i Don't Afk but what if the phone rings or your cooking something or some one knocks on the door you walk away and come back to find you have been penalised for being afk i don't thing its fair if we new the time scale for being afk then we could make sure if such things happen we can be quick
i do agree knowing the time scale for afk would open it up to be taken advantage of which is a worry no doubt but i still believe the rules should be clear
Generally pretty easy...
Phone rings - Check who is calling. If it is really important sure answer it. If not, call back later.
Cooking - If you are afraid to burn or over-boil something, might I suggest you cook afterwards?
Door Knock - It's up to you if you wanna answer the door. If you were expecting someone, then perhaps playing a STF was not a good idea.
Overall, STO is a game if something happens in real life that you need to devote your attention to (whether planned or unplanned) then simply accept the AFK penalty going with life / the game.
i Don't Afk but what if the phone rings or your cooking something or some one knocks on the door you walk away and come back to find you have been penalised for being afk i don't thing its fair if we new the time scale for being afk then we could make sure if such things happen we can be quick
i do agree knowing the time scale for afk would open it up to be taken advantage of which is a worry no doubt but i still believe the rules should be clear
If you're expecting company over,expecting some workpersons, or cooking dinner then you should not have queued for a STF in the first place. The system has now made sure you have the next couple hours free to deal with these distractions before returning to the queues.
If you're expecting company over,expecting some workpersons, or cooking dinner then you should not have queued for a STF in the first place. The system has now made sure you have the next couple hours free to deal with these distractions before returning to the queues.
Exactly... This.. This guy is right.
But lets say the Door knocks or the phone rings and you leave...
AFK: Away From Keyboard.
Yes... Thats EXACTLY what you did, and as such you get punished fairly for exactly what you did.
Don't look silly... Don't call it the "Z-Store/Zen Store"...
Comments
It does, however, still retain all the existing false positives:
1. If you crash in the middle of a short STF, you may return in time to immediately be banned for being AFK. And don't say you won't crash, the game is completely unstable and crashes regularly, and when an STF is ~60 seconds long, your odds of getting back in before it ends and you get hammered with the penalty are pretty good.
2. If you simply suck and your teammates are awesome, you will be banned for being AFK even though you weren't. I've seen this happen to a dude. He was with us, pewing away in his rainbow failcruiser. He spent half the STF dead, and the parts of it where he was alive, he didn't manage to accomplish much damage. But it wouldn't be fair to say he was AFK: Although he was terrible, he did manage to warp poo the spheres (and died again in the attempt), his single most damaging act in his approximately under 300 DPS. Sure, he put out a measly sub-300 while the rest of us were pulling 18K+, but he fought. Is this fair that he got to be banned for being the random pug victim in a 4-man premade? In a typical 3K PUG, he'd have passed.
If I have to explain it, you wouldn't understand anyway. :P
I almost used that my answer LMAO
let's leave "private time" things out of this...
I think the penalty is fine , but I doubt it will cut down on the rage
As you decided to only half quote me, this bit was there for the reason you responded....
"If sudden symptoms of IBS kick in while playing - logout, go focus on yourself, don't keep jumping in to the public queue system. Come back when you can play."
There are people, who just keep jumping in to one game after another, and always seem to have an excuse for the rest of use gaining their marks / dill etc..
To me, the way the poster used IBS - to me, it read like justification for joining games and then going AFK over and over.... it is not an excuse, as I put, "if" sudden symptoms arise, then you logout and look after yourself, not keep jumping in to games between toilet visits.
As for the placebo effect / distraction - YouTube / Netflix / Sky Go..... none of which, upset other people.
STO Beta Test and Launch Veteran
The ban is there to stop people being trolls, not just for those taking the mick going AFK.
Trolls don't do it for the in game rewards, they do it to watch the chat box light up with abusive messages, that is their reward.
No timer, then someone trolling can jump in games and sit there laughing about your team being a person short. But with the timer, they can only do it once every 2 hours. (and yes, I think this should be account wide)
Generally pretty easy...
Phone rings - Check who is calling. If it is really important sure answer it. If not, call back later.
Cooking - If you are afraid to burn or over-boil something, might I suggest you cook afterwards?
Door Knock - It's up to you if you wanna answer the door. If you were expecting someone, then perhaps playing a STF was not a good idea.
Overall, STO is a game if something happens in real life that you need to devote your attention to (whether planned or unplanned) then simply accept the AFK penalty going with life / the game.
If you're expecting company over,expecting some workpersons, or cooking dinner then you should not have queued for a STF in the first place. The system has now made sure you have the next couple hours free to deal with these distractions before returning to the queues.
Exactly... This.. This guy is right.
But lets say the Door knocks or the phone rings and you leave...
AFK: Away From Keyboard.
Yes... Thats EXACTLY what you did, and as such you get punished fairly for exactly what you did.