Will People Abuse the Upcoming "Kick AFK'er"

[Sabbathius]

Giving players power is BAD!

 

On another note though, how could the game tell the difference between someone AFK, and someone bored to tears guarding one of the side nodes in Alderaan?

 

I still feel that the easiest solution against AFKers, is to pull the ennemy on to them

 

That's an EXCELLENT question. And I'll tell you the super-secret awesome-sauce answer that game developers of old possessed, but which was lost around late 90s.

 

GAMES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE FUN!

 

Shhhh! Don't tell anyone.

 

You see, in a game that is FUN, you don't need to worry about being able to tell the difference between someone guarding a turret, or being AFK because he's bored. Because he wouldn't be bored! He'd be having fun!

 

And you wouldn't need a medal system that rewards one class and totally screws over another that worked just as hard (or harder), because rewards wouldn't be needed at all! Because the game would be FUN to play and you wouldn't need the carrot of gear to make you stay and do the mind-numbingly boring grind! And there wouldn't BE a mind-numbingly boring grind, because the game would be designed to be FUN, not a grindfest.

 

Etc., etc.

Edited February 20, 2012 by Sabbathius

[Dzhokhar]

...

 

GAMES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE FUN!

 

...

 

Etc., etc.

 

It sounds like modern MMOs aren't the games for you. Some people find that the excitement they get out of acquiring new gear/abilities is itself fun (and in some cases, more fun than any of the actual gameplay of any game, MMO or not).

[Soazak]

It depends on what mechanics they attach to the function, I really hope it will not just be x votes = kick.

 

I've already heard a lot of people saying they will (as a premade group) vote to kick anyone with poor hp/gear.

[karnyboy]

So you'll either get people trying to play (as they should have their right to play) or your kick system will work and the ones who are actually afk get booted.

 

 

You can't knock someone out for trying to play the game, they have every right to be there as you do even in the 10-49 bracket aeven if they don't have much chance to win. THat's where you as player should suck it up buttercup.

 

It's the ones who run off to some random point in the map to afk or wander that need a kick, the ones who avoid a fight to farm points, etc.

 

Alterac Valley in WoW was horrible for afker's they would wander off to some random point in the map and sit there. Vote kick worked most of the time when people weren't enganged in combat themselves. it's hard to cast a vote out when your attention is placed somewhere else like the task at hand.

 

To say it will be abused is not possible in most cases if you get people playing the game then it's not really afk, you can't really do anythign about the guy who wastes his time /following someone to occasionally get into combat and continiue to do so the entire match.

[Dzhokhar]

One thing they could do to prevent gear-based kicking abuse would be to prohibit kicking of anybody who is still in the spawn area (because in that case, the game either hasn't started yet or the person is subject to the existing auto-kick functionality). This implementation would therefore require people to go out of their way to kick people after the match has started and then pay the price of having to wait for a replacement player to arrive while the game is in-progress.

[Darth_Philar]

I always vote "No" for all kick votes unless the person in question is deliberately griefing the group (most of these types will be flaunting their griefing in chat).

[jizerai]

Are people even sure this is how the "Kick"-feature will work? I believe I've read something on the subject, that if a person is being reported as AFK that will initiate an automatic check" to see if the player is doing something. If that player isn't, he/she will be kicked from the Warzone.

 

This might just be the fictions of my imagination, as I can't seem to find the post stating it right now. I can find that people will be able to "vote kick" though. Well, I guess we'll see how it pans out.

[Sabbathius]

Alterac Valley in WoW was horrible for afker's they would wander off to some random point in the map and sit there. Vote kick worked most of the time when people weren't enganged in combat themselves. it's hard to cast a vote out when your attention is placed somewhere else like the task at hand.

 

Actually no, it didn't work.

 

I was part of a dedicated back-capping team. Basically if Alliance took Iceblood Tower, my team and I would kill them and restore the tower. We'd also recap Iceblood Graveyard as soon as Alliance passed it, choking off their reinforcements. 90% win rate, doing that.

 

But guess what? With "Report AFK" feature being added, my guys and I at IB Tower would very often get marked as AFK, just because we "weren't helping". And we constantly had to drop everything and run and find someone to attack so we wouldn't be kicked. The whole thing was idiotic.

 

That's one example where us playing the game NOT the way some other member of the team wanted us to resulted in a potential kick.

 

Want me to give you an example of what WILL happen in SWTOR?

 

You're in Huttball. Your team is winning 5-0. There's still 8 mins left on the clock. You don't feel like killfarming the poor lowbie team for another 8 mins, so you grab the ball and start carrying it across. Before you reach the end, you get votekicked! Why? Because other people in the match wanted to killfarm for 8 mins to squeeze out a few more medals.

 

In this example, you, doing PRECISELY what the game was designed for - capping the ball - WILL be kicked out in favour of essentially exploiting the situation - shooting fish in a barrel. And they won't even have the option to quit, because by then there'll be a deserter penalty. So they'll have a choice - suffer 8 mins or be locked out of queue for 15 (since this is what WoW did, I assume Bioware will rip that off too).

 

To say it will be abused is not possible in most cases if you get people playing the game then it's not really afk, you can't really do anythign about the guy who wastes his time /following someone to occasionally get into combat and continiue to do so the entire match.

 

That's why the votekick system is meaningless. Suppose I'm a rat who AFKs in games. I can be semi-AFK. As soon as I get flagged as potential AFK, I just unstealth and get killed. Blam, back to normal. What are you going to do? AFK vote me 20 times a game? Pretty soon you'll get bored of it.

 

Oh, but what about my reputation? Guess what? Bioware already said cross-server queues ARE coming! Not in 1.2, but they are coming. So who cares?! Anonymity FTW!

[formulaic]

Do you think this will be used as an excuse to kick players? My faith in humanity says that even if some do, they will require some sort of a majority to kick people and most of the community are decent people.

 

After seeing many iterations of votekick in many games, you will be votekicked:

- because you are a terrible person (e.g. spamming racist comments).

- because you are intentionally harming your own team.

- to make room for a guildmate.

- to make room for a 'better player' (aka 'gearscore' or whatever).

 

You will not be votekicked for messing up.

[SilentKyram]

Are people even sure this is how the "Kick"-feature will work? I believe I've read something on the subject, that if a person is being reported as AFK that will initiate an automatic check" to see if the player is doing something. If that player isn't, he/she will be kicked from the Warzone.

 

This might just be the fictions of my imagination, as I can't seem to find the post stating it right now. I can find that people will be able to "vote kick" though. Well, I guess we'll see how it pans out.

 

People will still exploit that, your logic is flawed

[gwrtheyn]

i would only use vote kick on afk or AFK BOT players(high chances to get kicked even if they are not afk)

 

the current afk tag will not hit normal afk players(macro keyboard etc) and even less afk bot players(auto que,auto run @ a point in the warzone)

[svartalfimposter]

Short answer: YES.

 

 

 

Long Answer:

 

Look, it's going to be quite simple. The group will look at the rest of the team. If one team member is level 10, I would say there's a 90% chance SOMEONE will initiate the vote kick. Because, frankly, there's no way it can get any worse. Worst case scenario, they trade this level 10 for another level 10. Best case scenario, they kick this level 10 and get a level 49. After this change, being the lowest level player in a warzone will be a dicey proposition. Don't believe me? Wait and see.

 

Second, people WILL initiate votekick for things they don't like seeing other players do. For things they perceive as cheap. For example, Sniper camping up top in Huttball and not going for the ball? Cheap! Votekick! And the majority of the team WILL vote yes.

 

Why will they vote yes? Because just like casting MVP votes (it costs you nothing to click one button, but your teammate gets extra comms/valor, and yet 40-80% don't do it!), people can't be bothered to investigate if the kick request has any merit. Most will just assume that if someone bothered to initiate a kick, that there's a good reason.

 

To give you an example, I was playing a game with votekick, I think it was a first person shooter. And someone initiated a vote kick, citing "AFK" as the reason. And the guy being voted off immediately convoed "I'm HERE!", and guess what? Kicked anyway! lol

 

It's just human nature. And votekick is a HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE idea! Not only WILL it be abused, it will be HORRIBLY abused.

^^This. Screw that TL,DR nonsense, READ IT!

Edited February 20, 2012 by svartalfimposter

[RefugeASSASSIN]

I already know it will be abused. Yesterday I had to go AFK in a voidstar match to answer the door. I wasnt gone 2 minutes and came back and was being flamed for it, with comments about ive been reported etc. I couldnt have been gone that long considering at the end of the match I was 3rd in damage, first in medals and second in kills.

 

I guess that would have been considered a justifiable kick since I wasnt moving for a minute or so, but the reaction was like I had kicked his dog or slept with his sister or something. Just really uncalled for IMO. Considering they strolled to the data core and we never even came close to planting a bomb I dont think my minute absence made any difference, and I had a decent game.

[GRINnBARRETT]

Of course there will be abuse. Expecting the anonymous internet crowd to suddenly develop morale fiber is point blank naivety.

[Redshirtricky]

I have some faith that Bioware will try and implement a fair system

 

I don't have faith in the general public. Anonymity makes super saiyan jerks of us all.

[jcyrus]

I really can't see them putting in an AFK votekick without having some sort of safeguards to prevent it from being used to kick people who aren't AFK.

 

The devs are gamers too. They know if you give gamers a new toy, the first thing those gamers will do is try to break it.

 

Perhaps they'll make it so you can only initiate a votekick against a player who is not in combat, and if the vote passes, a timer is put on that player that will boot them out unless they make an action. That way it can only be used to kick someone who truly is AFK.

I always vote "No" for all kick votes unless the person in question is deliberately griefing the group (most of these types will be flaunting their griefing in chat).

Same here. Edited February 20, 2012 by jcyrus

[TheMieng]

AFKer's? Where? I have played warzones alot trying to get some pvp gear and I have yet to see 1 player afk. Not one. This people being afk crap I personaly think it's a flooze to get game developers to add a kick feature so they can grief players more weather they be under lvl or under geared.

 

There is already a afk boot system already in place and that system that you blind players are not seeing is working 100%. The only problem i've seen with it is if you dont get past that barrier in blank seconeds you get shut in and claimed afk and booted out which is a crock.

 

As far as people leaving because they think the grp sucks or are loosing need to have a min of a 10 min re enter timer debuff. If you leave a warzone match before the game has finished I don't care what the reason you should be flagged as a trator.

 

Excuse 1 my guild needed me. I'm sure if your guild needed you it will take more than 10 mins to do that making it no issue for you having the buff same goes for my parents called my wife was yelling at me etc.

 

This would mainly effect those they leave and re que min there que comes up.

 

The biggest solution and lesson teacher for doing this the system ques that person for that match they was in till that match ends. That way if he leaves hes coming back min he cues so win or loose he is stuck or has to guess how long the match will take before he can re que to enter a new warzone..

 

Expertise needs to be removed all together this is a old system which has caused grief in ever mmo that uses this crap. I'm a big time gammer i spend more time in my mmo's than 10 people combined. Yes go ahead i have no life. But in all fairness when gear out weighs skill pvp sucks.

 

People like me can spend 10 to 16 hrs a day grinding and get all geared and grief others cause they have only casual game time so it might take them 6 months to get the gear i got in 3 weeks of long hour grinding. No one not even me want to have to grind 6 months for gear threw constant gang banging being 3 shooted over and over every match several times a match till i can finally get expertise gear.

 

What was ever wrong with pve gear and the skills you have as a class? Pvp gear is just something else to waste time on in development money that could be used to better increase the fun time and content of the game.

 

Tell me what is the difference in 5 pieces of orange slotted gear with daily mods form belsavis and Ilum? it can be compaired with Centurion gear and actually having higher stats than centurion gear. Yet this gear has less stats and added expertise. and further more can only be worn by a lvl 50. It takes a week max to get every piece of orange slotted gear maxed out in dailies from these 2 places just doing the dailies and it's better than centurion. Champion is equal to the FP gear Guluim or something like that cant rem name off hand. which that guluim gear is pve gear yet champion is pvp with a extra stat expertise.

 

What is expertise? it's a system built for people who have no skill that rely on a offset to make them look skillful. Pvp reawards should be Styled gear looks nothing more or better gear equal to pve gear with out the expertise. Remember i have no life right now and can easly grind to have this gear in a short time so don't start with the comments im not skillful and want expertise removed because of it.

 

Anyand every true pvp player knows that expertise on gear hides true skill of a pvp player. Only thing expertise on gear tells you is that guy has no life and spends hours on end grinding to get that gear. Sorry I have a life and my wife knows I'm a gammer call my wife a very special understanding women and call me a lucky guy for having such a women. I have tons of skill and don't need expertise to prove it which is why this stat needs to be removed from pvp gear so the real champions can emerge.

 

We need ranking leader boards that don't measure a pvp players skill based on how many players he killed or how high his gear is. But rather how many fights he won when his gear was lower than the person he fought. This measures the true pvp player skills. This old repeating crap that repeats every mmo that comes on the market makes me sick.

 

War zones id love to see 1 on 1 battle room 2 on 2 and 3 on 3. With medal rewards and such. with a ranking chart keeping each type of battle room seperate. A leader board set up on the fleet showing the top ranked pvp players.

 

There are many things that can be done to make pvp fun and rewarding like earning commedations for better looking or special orange slottable gear only obtainable from pvp battle. spend commedations on special mods and plates or enhancments for you pvp gear excluding any thing that makes you slice a player harder just for being pvp. Having better stats on your gear set up should give youa better advantage than a lesser geared player there is in no way a need to even add some crap like expertise..

 

My point is this if i have all battlemaster gear on and go up against another player with all battlemaster gear on what determins the better player? Thats right skill. If a player with pvp battlemaster gear goes up against a player in rakata pve gear who is better? the guy with the battle master why? Expertise. Both spent there time well earning that gear the pve player spend hr's and days and weeks working on getting the rakata and so did the pvp player who did nothing but pvp. So why should the pve player now have to double his time just to compete in pvp now beacuse of one stat expertise.

 

What does expertise do? it makes you hit a pvp player harder it makes you take less damage from a pvp player it also makes you heal better ina pvp match. What upside does a pve player have none all down side. What downside does a pvp player have when he goes out to pve? None. Expertise does not effect him in no one shap or form when killing pve mobs.

 

Pve players love to pvp when it's fair. I don't blame them. I my self love my PVE and i love my PVP. I'm the middle man and i say shut up full blown pve player and shut up full blown pvp player this is fair for both of you remove EXPERTISE.

 

I then say Both enter the center of the ring. I want a fair Clean fight no cheap shots or low blows and watch the kiddney punches. At the sound of the bell i want you to to come out fighting. FIGHT!!!!!

[gamani]

If you leave a warzone match before the game has finished I don't care what the reason you should be flagged as a trator.

 

I can think of one reason this shouldn't be the case as I've had it happen to me a few times and have heard from others that it has happened to them as well:

 

You're in the middle of a WZ (it happens in VS more than the others for me), and POOF the client crashes. A quick relog and reque and you're usually back in the same WZ with the same group. Sometimes though it puts you in a different queue.

 

When this happens it is no fault of your own and I don't think a player should be penalized in anyway for things beyond their control.

[TipsyDrow]

I would vote yet to kick an AFK person out. I would never kick someone for lack of equipment or skill.

 

This is how I feel also. I'd vote kick an afker in a heartbeat. They deserve nothing but contempt. I even go sao far as to when I find an enemy afker to immediatly kill them without remorse. How ever others will vote kick out that new 50 or the lvl 13...we all know it's gonna happen if it's allowable. We'll see how the system pans out when it hits.

[richardya]

This is how I feel also. I'd vote kick an afker in a heartbeat. They deserve nothing but contempt. I even go sao far as to when I find an enemy afker to immediatly kill them without remorse. How ever others will vote kick out that new 50 or the lvl 13...we all know it's gonna happen if it's allowable. We'll see how the system pans out when it hits.

 

I wish there was a way to communicate with opponents to show them where the AFK'er is hiding. It's too hard to get a /say off before getting killed.