T.L.C. for You and Me, Thank You IGE

Oh yeah, baby! The topic that everyone loves and hates to talk about: Trivial Loot Code (TLC).

There have been some really heated discussions about the pros and cons of TLC on the official forums and, as someone who has camped for fun and profit, it has made me reexamine the issue. I know this will not be the last discussion on TLC, but with the recent developments of Beta One, now is a good time to really sit down and take a look at the future of the third generation of MMORPGs and the TLC involved with Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.

IGE.

For the majority of us, we see IGE and get angry. IGE ruins an MMO. IGE is bad in every sense, from camping for that "phat lewt" to the in-game economy, it turns an MMO on its head. Something has to be done. We don't need another World of Warcraft where farmers come in and ruin the economy. In WoW's case, farming really doesn't hurt game play, as someone can pop open another instance and get the required 'item in question,' for the most part. But what about Vanguard?

We need to start with a quote from Mr. McQuaid:

Originally Posted by Brad McQuaid

Thanks. That's really one of the key points I'm trying to communicate here and why I'm willing to discuss this here despite it being so controversial. I'm *looking* for feedback and ideas. I'm looking for tweaks to what I've proposed that would make the system still work but not penalize the majority in an attempt to curb the problem minority who do the egregious bottom feeding.

This was in response to a post by Olrun who was commenting on the ideas being kicked around Sigil as it pertains to TLC. I cannot speak for everyone here at Vanguard Spheres, but personally, I have been tracking this game since I found out about it on the Sigil forums and not the official Vanguard forums. I feel TLC is going to be in the game. As with the "Six Million Dollar Man", we have the technology to do this. There are a bunch of ideas on how to implement TLC and we want to look at a couple.

The first option is the code. I am not a coder, but I do know that there are some really smart people out there who can make this work. The first idea is to form a database with very specific parameters and tools. These parameters include, but are not limited to:

· IP Address
· Account Number
· Account Name
· Character on account
· Time of Arrival at camp
· Time spent at the camp
· Number of mobs slain
· Number of named mobs slain
· How many times each specific loot has dropped

To make this work, there needs to be a trigger for the database to begin collecting information. Maybe it is when the party, soloist, or IGEr enters into the dungeon or area (zone). Perhaps the coders can determine the best campsite inside the area (zone) to conduct combat against the said mob and once the party, soloist, or IGEr enters the camp, the database is activated.

Depending on the spawn rate of the named mob and the drop rate of the item in question, flags will be generated. Once there are enough flags generated inside the database, an investigative flag will be sent to customer service to check out the situation. A GM will then swoop onto the scene to figure out what is really going on.

For the next examples, I am going to use The Great Oowamp in Timourus Deep. Why? Because he was a favorite target of mine and I miss him. So the next time you are in TD swing by the ogre town and thump him a good one.

GM Fessius comes on the scene to find that a guild is camping The Great Oowamp for his chipped bone bracers. The guild plans to hand out these chipped bone bracers to their WIS casters so they can take on some tougher targets down the road. No harm, no foul. The guild, while underpowered in the Plane of Hate, is mercilessly slaughtering The Great Oowamp and is collecting loot and powering up their guild.

In our next example, GM Elaisu comes on the scene to find a trio of people taking down The Great Oowamp. These people are several levels below the mob, but are taking him down without too much difficulty. They are gaining XP and also collecting a lot of loot as well. They plan to split the loot at the end of the session and then head to North Freeport to sell their stuff (I am severely dating myself). After a quick Q and A session, it is determined that these people are not IGErs and not abusing the system. They are left to continue the plentiful harvest that is The Great Oowamp.

Now, GM Aruspex shows up on scene and finds a character, 20 levels higher than The Great Oowamp, taking him down and looting his wares. After a Q and A it is discovered he plans to "sell" his wares in North Freeport. GM Aruspex then turns to his "tools" to find out that this individual shares the same IP address as a known IGE company. Moreover, this character fit the profile of an IGEr.

· Very high level
· Not very good gear
· History of character shows certain signs of IGE activity
· When asked by GM Aruspex how much he plans to sell CCBs for, the character
· Cannot give a reasonable price. By this I mean he says 2k when the going rate is 500

At this point, GM Aruspex refers this up the chain of command. No Aruspex, I don't hate you, you were just the third GM on my list of examples. So, when I accidentally delete my ornate silk pantaloon pattern please don't hate on me (no, I never accidentally deleted an ornate silk pantaloon pattern, did I?).

I don't want to take the last example any further. I do not know how Sigil plans to conduct these investigations. What I will say is this; I hope that after an investigation if the person is found to be an IGEr, I hope they:

1) Ban the account and the characters contained on the account
2) Ban the credit card number used to activate the account
3) Ban the person who's name appears on the credit card
- 6 month suspention for first time offenders
- Second offense is a lifetime ban
4) Flag the IP address so that we can really stomp a mud hole into the IGErs.

I fully realize we can never stop IGErs. There are always ways around this. One thing is common though with people who IGE, they work in patterns. Maybe today it is The Great Oowamp, tomorrow some other camp. If Sigil designs the tracking tools needed, they can really take a "bite out of
crime", err IGErs. There are no freedoms being violated here. This is a private company and all the intellectual property belongs to Sigil. They have the right to deny service, especially to IGErs.

It is All About the Community

Another way we can stop IGErs is by reporting them ourselves. When we see the same person at a particular camp day after day, we need to do something about it. We have a saying that we follow everyday:

Originally Posted by Wing Commander's Wing Safety Policy

If it doesn't smell right, look right, or feel right, tell three people.

Remember, when you are playing, it is your shard. Protect it. We know when people are camping for the right reasons and we know when it is not. We also know most players will give a common courtesy to interact with us and let us know how long they will be at the camp, how long they have been there, ect. When you get the idea that strange things are afoot at The Great Oowamp Camp, there is no harm in sending off an email to CS saying something like:

"Everyday between 5pm and 9pm CST I see Character 237432 camping The Great Oowamp in Timorous Deep on the Veeshan (oops I mean Luclin) server. When I ask when they will be finished he never answers. The fight is almost always the same. Would you please look into this?"

This is just one aspect to trivial loot code. I would also like to bring up this final quote Brad McQuaid said about TLC:

Originally Posted by Brad McQuaid

…if TLC does more harm than good in beta, then I promise you I will remove it.

We have to remember this is Sigil's game and not ours. We get the wonderful fortune of playing this game. Could you imagine if you were
growing up 100 years ago? No Vanguard for you! Anyways, as we press on into Beta One, lets try to keep an open mind about what Sigil is trying to do
here. They realize the pain caused by IGErs and also by TLC. There are some
smart people working on this. Lets all hope they get it right, and with your
inputs, they will.

The Sidebar:

What article would be complete without the sidebar? None I tell you! NONE! Like many of you out there, I am still waiting on my beta application. Hang in there troops! Hopefully this week and next we will get our apps in the email and if we are lucky, we may get a chance to beta. Remember though, beta does not mean playing the game, you are working and testing stuff out. Only apply to beta one if you plan to make the game better. Don't bother if you are just testing the waters, no one needs that. Especially Sigil.

In closing, we at Vanguard Spheres would really like to know what your opinions are on TLC. Maybe you are for it, maybe you are against it. What ideas do you have? Sigil is listening. Just being against TLC is not helping anyone. We need new and creative ideas to impliment TLC in such a way that fights IGErs while still giving us the ability to play the game. Again, and I connot stress this enough, we cannot look at Vanguard through the prism of EverQuest. There have been several people who have said that if TLC is in the game that they would not play. All I can say is that you kind of sound like Eric Cartman.

Originally Posted by Eric Cartman

That's it! I am taking my ball and going home.

Now what has that ever done for anyone?