Macroing (rules)

Macroing is when you use the same skill over and over again to train it. This can be done manually or with a Third Party program such as UO Loop. All players can macro freely as long as they do it attended, meaning that they must keep an eye on the screen while macroing. Game Masters and the ‘Auto-macro-check’ will randomly check up on players who macro to make sure they do it attended. When a player is checked a ‘Macro-gump’ will pop up on the screen displaying a number, this number must be added in a text box before clicking the “Okay” button.

Another way players are checked for unattended macroing is if a GM reveals himself in GM-form next to you, and start to talk to you. Failure to answer correct or failing to answer within 5 minutes will result in skill and stat loss, the skill will be dropped to 0% and that stat(s) belonging to the skill will be dropped to half of its current value (stats will never be dropped below 40). Game Masters and the auto macrocheck can monitor when a skill was last used, this will insure that no one will be dropped in a skill that was not being trained. When a Game master checks a player he will drop the skill after the 5 min had passed, but the auto macro check will not drop skills, it will log the macro-info in a log file, and a GM will do the actually decrease of skill and stats.

Illegal

• Luring aggressive NPC’s inside a house to macro/train skills is illegal, since its abusing their limited AI. The rule does not apply for non-aggressive NPC like horses, birds etc.
• Any training situation where the monster is stuck, or prevented to get to you, will be considered as abusing.
• Any use of programs or script attempting to cheat the automacrocheck will result in a punishment.

Good example of cheating script is auto-disconnect during the macrocheck gump which usage results in a punishment.

Macro alarm is allowed as long as you are around to answer the macrocheck yourself within 5 minutes.

You are welcome to spar with another player for skillgain, we’ve restricted people from using low damaging weapons to gain skills, so you are welcome to spar in any way you would like as long as you remember, you are still under the rules about unattended macroing.

Punishment

If you fail a macrocheck, the skill you were training will be dropped.

This is done manually by a Gamemaster, so failing to answer the gump macrocheck will not drop your skill immediately.

Every 3rd mark on your account (including those from macrochecks) will result in 3 days jail.

Cheating Macrochecks

Cheating a macrocheck using scripts is highly illegal and can lead to the banning of your account.

1. Using a script to cheat the macrocheck: 14d jail + macroed skill dropped to 0 + stat drop (1st time)
2. Using a script to cheat the macrocheck: 30d jail + character wipe (2nd time)
3. Using a script to cheat the macrocheck: Account banned (3rd and final strike)

Automated Macroing

In order to gain skill players often use semi or fully automatic macros, but when you make a macro there are a few things you should consider. A ‘bad’ macro will generate error in the console which can lead to shard lag. Many Third Party programs can send messages to the shard, even before the shard has requested it, a good example is the “select target” message.

Lets say Bob wants to marco item-ID, so he makes a macro that uses the item-ID skill. Then he tells his macro program to select last target, but since Bob’s macro program sends the “last target” message to the server right away, before the shard asks for it, the shard throws an error about this “Unexpected message”.

Now, here are some tips on how to make a ‘good’ macro.

1. Always use the ‘WaitForTarget’ or a delay, before you select an object’
2. Always use a delay before you use the ‘CloseGump’
3. Never spam select target messages to the shard, in order to make a fast macro.

Some of the most common problems when players use easyUO are

• The client send a selectTarget, before the server has given the client the target cursor
• The client spams the server with some specific command because the creator of the script was to “stupid”, to determine when this command should be send, so he just spams it.
• Use of the LastSkill command, when no there is no lastSkill

Use common programming sense when creating and using script, and DON’T ever send a command at a specific time, that you would not normally be able to do without the scripts at the specific point of time. If you all follow these simple rules, easyUO will continue to be legal on Pangaea benefiting everyone.

Changelog

• view rules source

2013 02 17
     http://pangaea-world.dk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11395

What was changed?
1. Macro alarm usage allowed
2. Updated and specified the punishments about cheating a macrocheck

See Also

• Macroing
• Macrocheck