VDZ wrote:Botting is tacitly allowed. Simple automation (e.g. a macro to add 12 coal to a smelter so you don't have to right-click 12 times, 'pick nearest forageable', and other custom client features) is widely used by the community, heavier botting is frowned upon by the community but not actively punished by the devs, and is common among major factions.
Best answer. If this were certain other support forums, the thread would close now.
VDZ wrote:I think the big distinction that makes this case exceptional is that the botting did not just emulate normal play behavior in an easier and more efficient way but rather was used for a tactic that is simply not possible in practice without bots. It was as much alt abuse as it was botting, and while light alt abuse is common among the entire community, the devs have frequently (though often indirectly) taken action against heavy alt abuse.
As far as I can tell, the tactic is still viable. I think, from playing the game, that some changes were made, but they weren't extensive enough to prevent someone from doing this again... just make it slower, and possibly more noticeable in server logs. Wouldn't surprise me if that wasn't a script being used in the current world to keep certain realms active...
Opinions expressed in this statement are the authors alone and in no way reflect on the game development values of the actual developers.