uTools officially released

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bishop

Thread moved to UT, and links temporarily removed due to some automation in this script that wouldn't be allowed. Angelus, feel free to re-edit your post to provide links to the newer version.

---

Bishop, [Disagrees]

The feature doesn't work without the player logging and actually doing the work to click. It only works to make the player click cast once instead of 20 times. At a time when everyone and their mother is pissed off about server speeds and response times, when a player, out of the goodness of their heart (and you know as well as I do that Angelus' heart is largely filled with Guiness, so there isn't that much goodness left) makes a tool that lets players speed up their playing experience AND enjoy the game more, why would you want to stand in the way of that? It's not automated in the sense that you don't have to log in or can set a timer to do it when you're asleep - it's literally a tool to improve a feature of the game that frustrates players the most, doing repetitive tasks on a server that takes 20-30 seconds to send a response. If I have to wait 30 seconds between casts to cast Paradise 20 times, that's 600 seconds - 10 minutes. You're REALLY proposing that a tool that allows me to play the game in a normal manner and not in a way that monopolizes my time and quite literally bores the **** out of me (that may be an unfortunate side effect of the Indian food, but I'd like to believe it's the Utopia) be disallowed????

They don't make smileys to show just how far my jaw dropped when I read this. It would look something like :O, except if the O was roughly the size of Wannes' mother.

Server lag is not as present anymore, so the automation should go.

On the other hand, Angelus please add some functionality seen in Seraphiel: [C/M/B/S/W/H] <--- (Council untabbed)) that is awsome, and ehmm, yes, kingdom tagging, please, so I can use only one of the tools without having them conflicting on kingdom and more pages...

Wolf, as stated yes bookmarking will be added, as for adding those links, they will be added like they are on throne pages, i am considering adding the menu in the format of the old code...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by _Angelus_

Wolf, as stated yes bookmarking will be added, as for adding those links, they will be added like they are on throne pages, i am considering adding the menu in the format of the old code...

---

Aaaaaaa, you call it bookmarking... LOL

thanks ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TheRock

It only works to make the player click cast once instead of 20 times.... It's not automated in the sense that you don't have to log in or can set a timer to do it when you're asleep - it's literally a tool to improve a feature of the game that frustrates players the most, doing repetitive tasks on a server that takes 20-30 seconds to send a response. If I have to wait 30 seconds between casts to cast Paradise 20 times, that's 600 seconds - 10 minutes..

---

I appreciate your viewpoint (except for teasing poor Bishop - this is not appreciated) but you have described automation. I do not want to cast doubt on the intention of the tool's creator but this is how we see it:

By not completing the actions you describe with their own fingers, those who use this tool have an advantage over those who do not use this tool. These are advantages that we cannot allow if we want the game to be fair and to grow.

Minor automation such as this is a series of steps away from having a kingdom full of scripted provinces because it makes it easier to play. Though the reasons behind employing each are different (and I wouldn't want to imply anyone would go this far from this humbly automated beginning) the techniques are from the same school.

This is why automation is banned, even at the tip of the iceberg where it is not as easily classified as 'cheating'.

As for your other point - yes server lag does need more work and it's being looked at.

Thundergore, the multicasting is not set at xx instant page calls, its set with delays between cast, the only reason its there in the first place is because i didnt have the time to wait for 45 seconds per cast of dice (yes that was how long i was waiting, and i have waited longer in the initial weeks of the new code). I would simply set it at 10 casts with a delay of 2 seconds per cast and go off and do other stuff like check email or go on irc, that way i didnt get frustrated to the point of leaving the game, like i did when we were waiting 3 minutes for a page to load.

I would suggest the consideration of an extended duration, say 3 - 6 seconds between casts, and an agreed maximum like 10?

I appreciate your good intentions, effort, and frankly ability in creating this. However - no matter the tweaks - it is simply forbidden under the current rule set.

Even had I the power to change the in-game rules to permit this I'm not sure it would be the best thing to do for the future of the game.

What I can do is mention to the developers that this was created and it represents an in-game mechanic that some members of the community would like to see changed in the game. I can't say what they'll do with the information or what time they have but I will pass it on.

With the new code should come new rules IMHO, the recoding has destroyed the respected name of Utopia, and has cost it a large part of its fan base, I would appreciate you bringing this to the developers and suggest taking a second look at the rules.

I'll draw their attention to the thread and as soon as I hear something I'll update you.

For now (and I feel bad because you should be proud of your work - but I'm bound by the rules) would you be able to remove your advertisement in your signature?

great tool i have been waiting for this since metatron ceased to work
the multicast feature would save time and thats about all.
i dont think it gives an unfair advantage, but if the rule makers think it does then
could this code not be brought into the game to level the playing field for all ?
i think it makes a much needed improvement to the games ease of play which can only help keep the player base up

the fact that it allows you access to certain pages with one click instead of having to load one page then another must also help lower the load on the server by taking away the request for the first hop and the data for that page having to be sent.
bring it ingame then its win /win :)

Maaaaaaaaan, Sean and Brian were all "you guys gotta police **** on your own and help us out", so Angelus makes a super awesome help-out tool, and people are like OMG NOT ALLOWED???

Mad harsh.

Also, I'm not sure I want to live in a world where I can't call Bishop gay. If he can text me a picture of his ass, I should be able to discuss frankly why Will and Grace is his favorite TV show.

Quote:

---

By not completing the actions you describe with their own fingers, those who use this tool have an advantage over those who do not use this tool. These are advantages that we cannot allow if we want the game to be fair and to grow.

---

Any useful tool gives a player an advantage over a player who doesn't use it. Should we only allow useless tools? What a silly definition. This isn't what the scripting/automation issue is about at all.

But since TheRock disagrees as well, I must be wrong somehow. Need to think further.

1) an auto-spell caster is a useful feature, it is boring to cast paradise x 24 , or tog all mana etc
2) it is especially useful since the server speed is slow
3) it allows me to spend all my mana casting spells while i go outside and chase squirrels <--- alert alert, automation detected. This provides an advantage to those with this plugin over those without.

seriously, it automates spell casting - whether this feature should already be ingame isnt the key issue, the problem is it runs directly contra to game rules and lets you perform multiple ingame actions with a single click and no more input required.

It is one step away from a fog script - there must be a line drawn somewhere, and it has been drawn at allowing scripts that automate gameplay.

Quote:

---

Game Play

Under no circumstances are users allowed to use the aid of automated processes to improve their performance in the Utopia game. Use of automated scripts or other software that accesses the Utopia servers for any reason outside of normal gameplay is expressly forbidden.

---

Please do not break a rule because you dislike it, it is much more acceptable to argue to get the rules changed. Alternatively you could request that this feature was incorporated into the game.

I think Bishop answered that better than I could.

However:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Catwalk

Any useful tool gives a player an advantage over a player who doesn't use it. Should we only allow useless tools? What a silly definition. This isn't what the scripting/automation issue is about at all.

---

I can't say I disagree with you that if my aim was to define 'tool' I'd be foolish to say 'must not give an advantage'. Usefulness is beside the point here. We would not allow a useless tool if it was automated/scripted. We would permit a useful tool if it was not automated/scripted.

Sorry mates, I agree with Bishop and Thundergore.

My philosophy is "one man in one province, playing live". I don't mean we have to forbid calculators or tools like calculators, aditional links, custom kingdom sorting, etc., but c'mon, I think the legendary line is well drawn where it is.

Any kind of automation is NOT welcomed from my point of view. Besides, your argument about the lag is not valid anymore, the game behaves well at the moment.