I second the idea to limit distinct mapowners for each single person to a single map (and the nerf to ulu1). This could be enforced semi-automatically such that if there are two distinct mapowners in one IP and one of the mapowners has a generic hardware ID (a VM), or both have the same HWID, ban both mapowners, and for other cases and repeat offenders admins could manually look for patterns/correlations in the logs to find evidence. This only alleviates the issue of multiclienting in different maps, the issue of HS/SE/etc mules still remain, but this shouldn't be as controversial to implement. That aside, while I do see and agree with the point raised about the skill level required to multi-client (especially with regards to bossing, but NOT training) to an extent, this is an MMORPG. The main draw of a game like maple isn't the high skill cap or how experienced one is at spamming buttons at the right time, but the community aspect of interacting with other players and having fun with friends and strangers alike. While some parts of the game like jump quests do encourage skilled play, I think the community aspect of the game should remain a priority for a game like this, as I'm quite sure this is, if not the main reason, at least the original reason we fell in love with maplestory in the first place.
Limiting clients will harm many players with mules and all the time they already spent. But, it will strengthen this game in terms of RPG, people will now have to main certain roles. Will kill the high/low meta currently at place. I'm down for 1 client. Just like the good ol' days.
I see some suggested map ownership disappearing as soon as you get a new ownership, the issue with that suggestion is that its currently the only way to catch auto cc hackers. So I'll add another suggestion to this idea. When you use the mapowner command, it should state who's the current owner, for how long he owned the map, and the previous owner and his time as well (maybe in a gray text so it wont confuse people). The ownership rules only apply to the active owner, so this will not affect the suggestion, but it will allow gms and players to keep catching hackers.
The idea to include previous map owner is interesting. I just think it would be quite strange in practicality. For example, how long should a map remember who its last owner was? The map could have been last owned by someone hours or even days earlier. I don’t know the specifics but that has to be some kind of server memory nightmare when you compound every map and every channel together.
I believe there's no need to keep that information for more than a few minutes. Because the way i find hackers is by seeing the items they left behind, so as long as the last owner info is kept for longer than the time it takes items to despawns, then it should be enough.
I don't mind people multiclienting. I have on occasion done it, although it's mostly to HS during grind or leeching. If you want to multiclient, go ahead. However, there are times when it can be annoying also. When im looking for a boss, to finish a quest, for the loot, or the exp, or what ever, and there's this one person having like 5 characters there, holding up 5-10 channels at once, especially when the boss is hard to find to begin with for being very sought after, im sorry, but I think ur an absolute dick. Sure, it's not against server rules, but I think ur a dick, plain and simple. I have also invited ex-friends to boss, only for them to afk half the boss fight because they are busy APQ'ing, grinding, trading, etc on other characters and failed to communicate this. If your multi clienting is affecting things such as boss runs, especially when you have an important role, like to dispell the rest of the pt, then I think your multi clienting has gone too far. I have recently deleted a bunch of friends from my buddylist because they have fallen into this extreme multiclienting behaviour. They never chat anymore, they are always either grinding on multiple characters at once, or boss, every single day. Same routine. If you don't want to sit down and have a conversation anymore, then what's the point of being buds really? To my ex friends, or really anyone that grinds for hours on end, everyday, on multiple characters, is it really fun? Because what it ultimately boils down to, is: You make mesos, to buy better gear, so you can keep doing the same thing, only slightly faster because your damage is a bit higher. That's it. I can not imagine playing on so many characters at once (with the exception of giving myself and/or friends buff boosts before a run or during grinding). It's hard work and very tiring for my brain. I know this because I nearly fell into this extreme grind myself, before I thought "wait, this is tiring as fuck and not fun... so, why am I doing this?". I have been an active member in royals for a decent amount of time now. Not to brag or anything, but I have pretty good gear, and I would make a quite large fortune if I sold all my chairs and items. It's still possible to get rich even if you focus on one character at a time. I could have been twice as rich though, if I multi client farmed all the time, but I don't think that's fun, and if the game ain't fun, then what's the point? So to sum up my big rant Do you think it is fun to multi client farm? If yes, then go ahead and do it, I don't really care. If you don't think it's fun, then I don't really see the point with it, but I still think it's fine if you do it. As long as you focus during boss runs and you don't hold 10 channels at a time, because that's annoying af
My preferred option is not listed in the vote, so I will post it as a reply. What I would like to see is multiclienting be entirely disabled at boss maps like HT and Zakum. I have been on a couple of ht runs and both were 3 NLs with all their mules, every single mule you can think of, SE, Crash, Bish, Shadower as SED etc. One guy had 4 mules in the run which I find a bit ridiculous. I mean HT is the endgame boss, it should2 at least be a collaborative effort from all classes with active players. Pally were given the crash buff to make them more wanted at boss runs, but what actually happened is that people just end up making their crash mules. So things didn't really work out the way that was originally intended. I also don't want multiclienting be removed from the game apart from boss maps because it does make things easier like transferring items and hs mule for mages(yes, I am ok with mages multiclienting with a hs mule because selling leech is just about the only thing they can do and it benefits everyone) . I think the ultimate goal of most players playing this game is to be able to fight bosses with the job/character they enjoy playing, at the moment multiclient is stopping you from doing that. Just my two cents, feel free to comment on anything you don't agree with.
i personally use 2 clients at the most, for the sake of transferring between mules/having a shop open/HS mule/self leech. it's very useful so i definitely wouldn't want it completely removed. i do however think that excessive use of multiclienting is unhealthy for the server and the players doing it. when you're playing a game that is at its core pure gambling, you're bound to find people with addictive and obsessive behaviours.
TLDR: i'm on the side of limited multi clients (3 max), along with some adjustments to ulu map drops to help the game economy I would like multi client to stay, so that i can self leech (i'm poor, don't shame me for poverty ;_; i blame bad rng for burning my mesos and a schedule that keeps me off from selling leech) For farming via leech and item hunting, i would like to see the ulu maps drop ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, much like the pre big bang maple - look at the amazing drop table of ulu map mobs on bbb this would remove a huge portion of raw meso input into the economy from the item drops, while keeping the exp drops the same this would make leech prices increase, but hey, who cares about that if they are a casual/poorverty like myself ;^) and when the prices increase while the meso input decreases, the tax system will work wonders on removing mesos from the game For the concerns like multi channel hogging by a single active player, hopping channels, i like @TheBlackMage 's post so the next problem is with multi channel hogging with multiple characters, eg. lyka, voodoos if we were to keep limitless multiclients, this problem will continue, as such i like the idea of having a maximum of a limited multi client of 3 characters per MAC, much like @Muff 's post this can limit the impact a single player can place on hogging and farming, while allowing a moderately decent self leech option (1 BS/2 leeches or 1 AM/1 HS mule/1 leech), and also cutting back on the wait times to form parties for bossing like zakum (1 NL/1BS/1 SE) For @Realizze 's concern about the effectiveness on limiting multi client's, i would say that the meso injected into the economy and stopper supply will be at the very least be the same, but with a high likelihood of being lowered the rationale: to occupy all channels, current: minimum 1 player with 20 clients, maximum 20 players with 1 client each limited multi client: minimum 6 players with 3 clients each + 1 with 2 clients, maximum 20 players with 1 client each as more players are required to keep up the occupation of the farming spots, it is more unlikely to happen. As for the argument that it only changes who is selling items, i would say that if a spot is popular, it does not matter if multi clients is allowed or not, if 20 players online at any moment are actively doing stopper farming, it does not matter if 1 player has 20 clients, or if 20 players have 1 client, if the supply of stoppers need to be lowered, the only surefire way is to control via drop rates.
why make a crash mule when you can multi client and use the pally as another attacker rip eyeballs, wrist and left mouse button but on a serious note, i have seen quite a lot of arguments like this over the years, and i too would like to put more value and love into support classes, and have suggested things like nerfing auto pots (an old feedback thread i made in nov 2018), in order to discourage multi client and mule play, so that peeps can focus on building and playing a good support like MM, BM, etc., while making it extremely challenging but not impossible to play multiple clients during bossing.
I wouldn't mind at all limiting it or removing it. It's completely ludicrous to see a ton of mules standing in the fm waiting until a spot opens up which make it almost impossible for the non multi clienting players to open their shop on ch1, and it can go the same for popular monster or boss maps. Like, why are people such in a rush of that they need to play between 2 to 10 characters at the same time? It seems like everything has to be raced, and I don't see the enjoyment in all of this.
Over time, I have realized that people should be allowed to do whatever they want (within ToS boundaries of course). If they want to juggle 5 chars at once, that’s their prerogative. Now, some people just can’t handle that many clients efficiently at once, or more likely they just do not find that style FUN, so they may choose to double or even single client. No one should judge either case as bad or wrong. Gameplay is what the individual makes of it.
As a player, I am not fond of using multiple clients or mules to enhance gameplay. I like to keep my experience neat and tidy with a single main character. However, in terms of the community situation, I don't think that there is a right or wrong. We as a community, by majority vote or Staff directive can steer the server in whatever direction we want. Having said that, it's difficult to gauge what players want the most, and what would make the most people happy. I can see, and respect, that some players might enjoy the challenge of training up, maintaining and effectively using multiple clients and mules in various situations. I can also see how this contributes to the exclusive and "elitist" atmosphere that is often complained about on the forum. Whose happiness are we willing to sacrifice? How many players are we putting off by doing this or that? Etc. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
People need to understand this 100%. Just because you don't want to do it does not mean it is rule or game breaking. People are able to absolutely anything they want as long as it's not against the rules. Pushing the boundaries of game play is a natural human thing. Spot on with the who's happiness are we willing to sacrifice. Are the purists so unhappy by multi clienting that they are willing to take away the benefits the hard core players have worked to obtain or are the hard core players taking advantage of a system because they can? From both sides of the spectrum I have a heavily washed bm, two fourth job mages that I would multi client to maximize envelope obtaining and then I quit those characters and went humble solo status playing islander and ironman. In my opinion just let people play how they want!
I personally think its way too arbitrary to set a concrete number on the maximum clients allowed since different players like to play the game differently and its hard to determine what exactly is the perfect number. Like others said, it also comes down to the mindset of the said player. Do they enjoy playing the game to maximize efficiency and want to be independent by not relying on others? Are they just a casual player and just looking to relive nostalgia but are constantly being excluded in boss runs/are unable to find a squad? All in all, it's hard to please everyone. I believe it's best to just let players play the game how they want to play it, not envision on what old school MapleStory was 10 + years ago. This is MapleRoyals not Global MapleStory.
I totally agree with you 100%, give that this is also a private server. It can already be difficult for some players to merge in with the community, so there shouldn't have some boundaries for these kinds of things. I still cannot say I entirely like the whole concept of multi-clienting since it can bring a few disadvantages for players who limit themselves to only 1 client, but I am for people who are generally excluded from other parties, players who wish to progress harder or anybody who just wants to play completely independently and etc. I guess I was comparing myself with other online games where players or teams can be at a complete disadvantage due to the enemy using exploits to win in their benefits.
I want to touch on this a bit. Solidifying mains instead of muling will bring people together more to boss and train. I know people have made many mules but they can still play on multiple character and just switch off of them for strategic reasons. And with the power they have already, duoing with 1 other mule will bring on more of a challenge. I would suggest making it a 2 client limit though. We have a big enough population that would still make use of mains over mules. It is a bit unbalanced when it comes to solo versus party play and I know the server isn’t a party play specific server but by getting more people involved in bossing and training more people might want to play and MIGHT want to stay instead of quit because they’re included.
Whenever a meta-shifting change is introduced in the server, some will inevitably benefit while others may lose their motivation as a result. Known examples from the past FM-button removal New source Archmage Buff reversion Disabling pet auto-loot of drops from Summon kills Patch 65 (Ulu nerf, drop rate nerf, pot/star charge price inflation) As many of us observed during the past years, none of the above changes were welcomed by every player on the server. In fact, they were mostly despised by the majority of hardcore players. There were always mixed reactions from various groups of players, be it newbies or veterans. https://royals.ms/forum/threads/how-do-you-feel-about-the-nerf-to-summon-farming.132325/page-3 Looking at the 3rd one on the list as an example, there were a couple of people who took advantage of afk-summon- farm to its extremity. The leaders in this field that I can recall are Shiyui, iSaind and Jae. Afk-Summon farming with 15 characters or even 40 + for someone was completely legal and even admirable to some extent. However, many people acknowledged that it is a broken game mechanic that promotes unhealthy, afk playstyle. At a point like this, how should one decide if a change is favorable or not? We all agreed that a change can never please everyone. If that's the case, I think the server's welfare should be prioritized. What would benefit royals more in long term: an environment that forces people to group up and work together or an environment that encourages any determined player to go solo-style with an unlimited number of mules due to its benefits? Multiclienting speeds up one's progress in this game. For those who wish to excel, they can take advantage of its system and dramatically increase the gap from a casual player. Although this gives the freedom for hard workers to pace past everyone else, I think its limits stretch a bit too far. Gaps should exist between hard workers and normal players but the existence of this turbo widens the gap beyond repair. I'll illustrate HP-washing as an analogy. HP-washing never g0t eliminated since it was regarded as the necessary-evil but efforts were made to reduce its advantage. Extra HP only benefits the character to a limited extent. Once the char possesses more HP than the threshold requirement for survival against certain end game bosses, that extra HP only serves as an insurance or a convenience factor. A 10k NL will do just as well in HT vs a 30k HP NL. On the contrary, the multiclient system offers a greater gap between the casual and the one who decides to maximize its efficiency. Examples: Single mage grind vs Quad ulu1 Casual 6 man HT party vs Solo HT with Sed, Crash x 2~3, SE, BS mules (you name how many) AFK-stopper farm on a retired archer vs 10 mage afk-summon farm mules occupying 1/2 all channels I'm not saying those who maximized the benefits are in the wrong. They are the smart group hence they knew how to utilize the resources that were provided. However, I believe the ceiling should be lowered to keep "the gap" within an adjustable width. I support the notion to limit multiclient to 2~3 per player. I witnessed many new players losing motivation to settle as they struggled to fit into the muling meta. On the other hand, even if multiclient becomes restricted, I hardly doubt the veterans who maximized its usage will quit because of it. They'll most likely adapt and still find other efficient ways to stay ahead of others.
