New User Dropping By

[Bunk]

Hi there,

I'm a brand new user of the program, I used it just today to lock down a very rare spawn I've been after for a while. Great work.

I was just wondering, I read all FAQs on the forums, especially the part about warning us of the risks associated with using this program. My question is...

Is using MySEQ something that Sony needs to catch you doing at the time or can they catch you after you've used it? Does MySEQ leave a 'signature' for want of a better expression?

[BlueAdept]

MySEQ can be detected in memory. A long time ago, there was a similar program called WinShowEQ. Sony read the process list and did mass bannings. It also caused quite a stir that Sony was doing that. Sony stopped doing that. A little while ago Blizzard did bannings due to 3rd party programs, and Sony could at any time do that again.

If you used it, it is possible that they logged you using it. If the past is any indication, using MySEQ is relitively safe. Only ShowEQ is totally safe since it is passive (except for dumb users doing stupid things).

I think hitting the lottery is much more likely than being banned for using MySEQ once (or even frequently). I think Sony would be more likely to focus on MQ over MySEQ.

[Razzle]

When I run myseq on eqlive, i rename the process to svchost.exe (always plenty of them running), for the server running on the eq box. I run the client on a seperate machine. I would think SOE would go more for the names of processing running like they did in the past before they look at what is looking at the memory. But SEQ really is the safest, provided your behavior in game doesn't give you away.

Razzle

[Bunk]

Hey thanks for the responses.

In the unlikely even that I do get busted for the one time I did use it. What do you think is the best response to a banning? Total denial? Or addmission followed by a most sincere apology?

Have you ever heard of anyone getting busted and then given a second chance on their account? Do you know if they look at it on a case by case basis?

I will certainly use this program again, but not until I have a) a second box and b) a second account. Which leads me to my final question, is there anyway of disguising a relationship between primary account on a box not directly running the program and a second box that is using the program?

Sorry for all the questions!

[purple]

Personally, I'd admit it and take my punishment since I have earned it. I know right and wrong and using seq or mq2 is clearly wrong. If you're truly worried, don't cheat.

That said, think about it. As long as you're not truly harming other people or busting game mechanics, what are they going to do to you? Why would they harm revenue if it isn't costing them in some way, especially at this point in the life cycle of a game?

The only outright bannings I've heard of during my time playing were extreme cases of using memory hacks to do completely outrageous things. I've heard of week or month bans for things I considered completely outrageous. I've heard of week bans for things I considered slightly egregious. I've never heard of anyone who was a responsible showeq user getting banned. This does not mean it has not occurred, I just never heard about it.

But the bottom line is if you are worried, do not cheat. Set your own level of comfort. ShowEQ is probably safer than MySEQ which is probably safer than MQ2. But using any of them is clearly cheating and if you get caught, you deserve what they give you. If you are worried, the only thing you can do to protect your hard earned account is to not cheat.

[Bunk]

Good advice, thanks. I know that the only 100% guaranteed method of protecting one's self against banning is to not use the program at all, but I'm not totally intolerant of risk, I'm just trying to quantify the risk.

My use of the program was about as innocent as it gets (that’s what they all say I bet lol). I used it to track certain spawns belonging to one of many 78 second cycles that lead to names. I eventually isolated the cycle I was after and spawned my name after several hours. Its worth noting that the zone was completely empty of PCs almost the full 3 days that I spent in the zone trying to camp the name legitimately.

[BlueAdept]

I agree with purple. When ShowEQ started, it gave huge advantages over other players (there were no in game maps, gave tracking, showed what direction you were facing, showed zone bonuses, gave xp tracking, etc). A lot of what ShowEQ does was incorporated into the game, some features of SEQ were removed by Sony (ie zone bonuses and xp tracking) and some things just werent needed any more. Right now, ShowEQ does still give a little advantage over other people, but I doubt it would be enough for Sony to go to the effort of banning people. Same thing would go for MySEQ.

Macroquest on the other hand can be used to cause some serious problems. I use MQ occasionally (spell training mainly and occasionally for boxing an alt). MQ can do so much more though and in my opinion would be the program that they crack down on first.

I never used MQ until fairly recently. I never wanted to take the risk of using it. Now that EQ is 10 and I only get to play seldomly, I am more willing to take the risk of running it and using a few minor macros and plugins. If I get banned, it really wont matter that much to me but as I said, I definately am too chicken to run some of the more popular or risky plugins/macros.

[BlueAdept]

Good advice, thanks. I know that the only 100% guaranteed method of protecting one's self against banning is to not use the program at all, but I'm not totally intolerant of risk, I'm just trying to quantify the risk.

My use of the program was about as innocent as it gets (that’s what they all say I bet lol). I used it to track certain spawns belonging to one of many 78 second cycles that lead to names. I eventually isolated the cycle I was after and spawned my name after several hours. Its worth noting that the zone was completely empty of PCs almost the full 3 days that I spent in the zone trying to camp the name legitimately.

I know what you did....I am going to tell everyone...you were hunting Quillmane!!! :eek:

[Razzle]

The neat thing with MySEQ now, if you leave it going for awhile in a zone, you can find spawn points of roamers. If you happen to find spawnpoint for named you want, you can click the spawn points to see what mobs spawn there and if that mob is up, it will draw a circle around the mob so you can see it on the map. Then you can just kill the one mob, dont have to pay attention, and forget the rest of the zone. Just gotta identify the right spawn point.

Once you find the spawn points all stored, you are golden. And the way I made the spawn points store now, you can share them with other people and they can use them with thier MySEQ. I have some more stuff I am working on that will track spawn movements individually, but I never get time to work on it really. Wife is pregnant, work is having me put in 60 hrs a week, its just a mess of busy busy busy.

I have been playing with MySEQ and EQEmu, figuring out better ways to build zones to behave almost exactly like live. Its too bad I signed up for graduate school this fall too, like I dont have enough to do already. But I do still have a few things to work on in my spare time.

Just remember, losers never cheat, and cheaters win more often.

Razzle

[Silai]

Howdy. Couple of thoughts on this.

First, regarding the post above: WTF?

And second regarding bannings. About a year or so back Sony banned massively MQ users. A few that I know petitioned till the cows came home A YEAR LATER and were allowed back. Some weren't.

Peace

[Carpathian]

In my personal experience, you won't get banned from using MQ2/MySEQ if you're smart about it. There are some plugins, of course, for MQ2 that can change that, but I never actively used any of those. Anyways, I've used both programs since either one was released, and all of my accounts are still suspension/ban virgins. Play smart, and it won't be a big deal.

[BlueAdept]

Howdy. Couple of thoughts on this.

First, regarding the post above: WTF?

And second regarding bannings. About a year or so back Sony banned massively MQ users. A few that I know petitioned till the cows came home A YEAR LATER and were allowed back. Some weren't.

Peace

The post you were asking about (now deleted) was a spam bot. It logs on forums and spam their crap.

The banning from about a year ago mainly consisted of GhostKillers (an MQ plugin. It allowed monks to kill any target without getting touched from the zone in.) and most of the rest of the bannings were from of the bigger guilds that used MQ and pissed a certain GM off (from what I heard).

[Vertigo_mz]

GhostKill is still around, just not in the extremely virulent state it was when nodelay worked. That was when the biggest bannings and stories happened. The one in particular I remember was a small group of GKers beating the current expansion before the uberguild on the server and stealing the "Daybringer" prefix.

Nodelay is now gone (at least, I hope), but it is still possible to GK a mob. It just takes longer now. Sony was frustratingly slow in swinging the ban hammer on some of the more nasty users.

Mostly I use myseq as a camp checker more than anything, along with noting where stuff spawns for later reference. It's also fun to watch a raid from a bird's eye view... you can see exactly where and how your pullers got creamed, and whether the powers that be are actually performing or just sitting there for half an hour. It's also very nice for the annoying groundspawns in tradeskilling, which are invariably hard to see.