Track question

[Alfred]

First, thank you to everyone that has helped make this program. It has made my EQ experience so much more enjoyable.

I'm an unemployed software engineer atm but when I'm not, I plan on contributing :)

Ok, on to my question.... (I searched before asking :P)

Does VI receive any information back in the data stream if I bring up the track window and / or if I use the track function itself? Bascially, I'm curious if I have to go through the motions of tracking something because veriant knows whether I'm really using 'Track'.

Thanks

(Account name goes here)
(Server name here)

[S_B_R]

heh, I don't *know* if they get any indication when you are actually using ingame tracking. But I would imagine it would be easy to look for high level rangers/druids/bards with exceptionally low tracking skill. All it would take is a DB query ;)

[Alfred]

I had a similar thought so I've maxed my track skill. Just curious if anyone has taken the time (I obviously have not) to examine the packet data going out to see if an event is registered when you A) Bring up the window, or (more importantly) B) Use the track window.

[Mr. Suspicious]

to examine the packet data going out to see if an event is registered when you A) Bring up the window, or (more importantly) B) Use the track window.

There is no datapacket going out. All information needed to make the tracking skill work is already available to the client. Tracking is a simple UI to display mobs and their location and uses the same information ShowEQ "snifs" from the packet stream (those packets are stored in EQ's memory)

[Alfred]

Thank you.

It is understandable that all the data is already there as we can sniff the data in the first place ;). I wanted to feel a little safer knowing that someone has actually checked whether there is data being sent back to the server indicating that the user has selected this option.


Again.... thanks.

[Bartok]

Just a quick thought added on to this. How does the server know that your skill has increased?
Wouldn't pressing the track button have to send a message to the server to do the skill check / chance for skill increase?

If I'm totally off-base here, I appologize, as I don't actually have any knowledge of how the communications work.

[S_B_R]

Hmmm, now that's some deductive reasoning. I think you might have something there Bartok.

[Alfred]

Bartok,

You are so right.... Kicking myself for not seeing the forest. Good call.

So now we know that at least some data is being sent back, I wonder if I still have to go through the motions of tracking it once I get in the area. This part I would doubt. But I have no idea, so I think it best to be paranoid.

[Mr. Suspicious]

Just a quick thought added on to this. How does the server know that your skill has increased?
Wouldn't pressing the track button have to send a message to the server to do the skill check / chance for skill increase?


You have a good point there, for skill increases. While monitorring the dataflow when playing EQ however, I do not see any packets specific for tracking being send to the server. Nor anything being received. The Skill increase might be included in the Character Info packets (which include the character skills) comming from the server.

[goalie20]

I can only assume that almost all skillups are treated equally by the server. And I along with many others have confermed how trade skill skillups are sent to the server. There are actually sent every 2 to 3 "character saves", or also when you sit/camp logout (not LD). To prove this, rais a skill 2 to 3 points quickly LD yourself and wait 20-30 min. Log back in and you skillup wil most likely be gone (the items you skilled with too). I imagin that track act clase to the same. Also zoneing might do it. I can't remember at the moment, but I wouldn't count on it.

[wrongway]

Now that you say that Goalie, I remember having that happen to me several time when I was on dialup and being powerleveled. I would get several skillups, go LD, and come back, i'd usually have all my xp and everything, but would have the same skillup numbers come up again. At the time I thought I was going crazy, now I feel much better.

Side Note, Could a program convince everquest to send that you had 100 skillups, to GM JC or some such? (Is this along the lines of something MacroQuest could do?)

[Poncho]

Anything is possible, but that's not the point of this forum.

[wrongway]

/Laugh

I can't believe you just said that. Whats not the point of this forum? To discuss? To theorize? To think? I wasn't proposing doing this, I didn't say how it might be done, or try to get it done. (I don't use MacroQuest so don't know much about it). I realize now how my statement looked when viewed through the looking glass of your post.

I apologize, but I just say whatever comes to mind if its quasi-interesting to me. I always forget that people do, a lot of times, things they shouldn't just because they can.

Edit: Added Commas ", "

[Poncho]

Heh,

I kind of chuckled to myself as well with your 1st post. It does make a couple lightbulbs go off. Trust me. I like to explore nuances such as that. Problem is, according to most people, SEQ is already walking a fine line the way it is. I suspect those that have been here through the ages really dont want to make a "hacking" site out of this. If SEQ is on or near the line, changing data crushes the line. No disrespect meant by any means, I'm just trying to keep the project and the forums for myself and others a little more "allowable" so to speak. I'l leave the rest up to the old timers

:)

Poncho

[Dedpoet]

Hehe, this is off topic too, but I realized something and had a good laugh. If you read a lot of the guild boards or class boards, every post about ShowEQ starts something like this:


I don't use ShowEQ, but I understand that it...

or


A friend of mine said that ShowEQ can tell you...

or


I don't use ShowEQ, but I read their boards...

And here we all are on the ShowEQ forums saying things like:


I don't use MacroQuest, but I have read...

I'm not trying to start a fight or anything, I just got a kick out of that.

-Dedpoet (who really doesn't use MQ :) )