"Number of Combines" window?

[Taomiel]

I do not want to be overly lazy. But even with the new improved containers, which check the present materials, I still get an aching hand after a tradeskill run of two- to threehundred clicks.

Would it not be possible, to create a button/window, where you could insert the number of desired combines to be tried, and then simply click it. and the program will then start trying to to do the indicated number till either the materials or the free spaces for the results run out?

Is it the horror of AFK combiners, that keeps SOE from implementing such an improvement?

[Druegar]

pretty much, yeah

[Pootle]

Skilling up is not supposed to be easy!

[Neebat]

I get the impression that the devs would like to allow some bulk combines, but it would take a non-trivial amount of code. Instead, some individual recipes have been "bulked up" with recipes like the 3-fer celestial essence recipe. The conduits for crafting energaics can be combined at least 3 at a time. (Those recipes aren't in the EQTraders db.)

I desperately wish Ngreth would do the same thing for some research combines. Fine salt for instance, can be combined 1, 5 or 10 at a time. There are so many research combines for every usable result, we really need more bulk combines. As it is, I waste 8 hours on a long run of spells, and most of it is just clicking over and over for inks and oil.

Water purification could be scaled up to yield 5 x "beaker of purified water" instead of 5 vials. Then allow the beakers to be used to make 3 inks at a time. Or it could be used to make a beaker of oil, which could be used to make 3 aqua fortis or muriatic acid. Assuming the beakers used components worth 5 times as much as vials, it would still be worth it.

[Xodar]

I hate to give a "walked both ways uphill" type analogy, but currently the tradeskill setup is a 1 button combine from inventory, with an auto-inv millimeters away. I'm just of the opinion that crafting should require some attention, and not be simply a stack your inventory and press a button operation any more than it already is.

Also, progress in eqtradeskills boils down, in one way or another, to timesink. The nifty ui change mitigated a lot of the wrist action, it' a rite of passage to grind out your last 10 points one painful click at a time.

[Utildiin]

Would it not be possible, to create a button/window, where you could insert the number of desired combines to be tried, and then simply click it. and the program will then start trying to to do the indicated number till either the materials or the free spaces for the results run out?

I am not familiar with M****q****, but I have heard that it is/was used to automate EQ by a bunch of people who were then banned from EQ a while back. It sounds to me like that would do this, and then you would probably get banned from EQ, because it violates the EULA (the contract you agree to every time you log in).

Perhaps you want to talk to the people at Sony about incorporating that technology into the client. I doubt the devs will be interested on their own, as I presume many of them are from the "uphills both ways" school of EQ/TS. Believe me, there are many who already believe that TS and the game as a whole are already dumbed down further than they ever should have been.
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P.S. I have obscured the name of the fobidden app on my own, so no conspiracy theories, please. Those who know what I am talking about, do, those who do not, don't need to.

[Taomiel]

I am not familiar with M****q****, but I have heard that it is/was used to automate EQ by a bunch of people who were then banned from EQ a while back. It sounds to me like that would do this, and then you would probably get banned from EQ, because it violates the EULA (the contract you agree to every time you log in).

Perhaps you want to talk to the people at Sony about incorporating that technology into the client. I doubt the devs will be interested on their own, as I presume many of them are from the "uphills both ways" school of EQ/TS. Believe me, there are many who already believe that TS and the game as a whole are already dumbed down further than they ever should have been.
================================================== =====

P.S. I have obscured the name of the fobidden app on my own, so no conspiracy theories, please. Those who know what I am talking about, do, those who do not, don't need to.

What the hell are you trying to do here? I have never used any kind of programs to mess with my EQ, and I would appreciate you would think first before you post accusations here.

I was asking if there was a way to get bulkcombining in EQ, which of course would be a code thingie. Thank you very much fro calling me a frikkin cheater.

[Lookitma]

I don't belive that that was a direct accusation. Unless I am mistaken Utildiin was just saying that there was once something to do it, but it was a bad, evil, nasty thing.

[Klaatu_7th]

It's not all about skillups.

There were once tradeskill combines, made from vendor purchasable items, that sold for slightly more than the cost of the ingredients.

Certain individuals used external programs to automate this, apparently including buying the raw materials and selling the results, and thus created unlimited plat generating bots. This came to light in the Luclin era, as I recall. I think everyone can agree this was a bad thing.

As is Sony's usual way, after this had been exploited for far too long, they nerfed this in several different ways at the same time. Allegedly they stopped the people scripting directly, though I don't know much about that. The new trade interface has a built in minimum time on doing combines because of this old problem. They also scoured all tradeskill combines to remove any that resulted in products worth more in plat than the raw material cost. Skilling in certain ways became much more expensive because of these price changes, by the way.

The "stop unlimited plat bugs" task has a lot higher priority than the "improve trade skills" task for Sony, so I'm guessing new trade combines are systematically vetted not to make a profit (in fact, most new recipes seem to make about the same percentage plat loss when counting only vendor price of goods, so this may be automatic.)

[Neebat]

The new trade interface has a built in minimum time on doing combines because of this old problem.

I don't think EQ has any built-in minimum time for combines. That's one of the problems with any automated system of combines.

The client now greys out the combine button (regardless of interface) until it gets a response from the server about what happened in the combine. That isn't a built in fixed delay, but just the combined latency of running to the server, processing and coming back.

[Twistagain]

I don't think EQ has any built-in minimum time for combines. That's one of the problems with any automated system of combines.

The client now greys out the combine button (regardless of interface) until it gets a response from the server about what happened in the combine. That isn't a built in fixed delay, but just the combined latency of running to the server, processing and coming back.

I'm fairly certain that is not correct. There is a 3(?) second pause. You have plenty of time to get the response from the server, get the item(s), and autoinventory them. Then, you still have to wait until the button refreshes.

[KyrosKrane]

Nope, all combines, tradeskill or otherwise, specifically have a three second delay built into them. You can't do more than one combine every three seconds. This is true for the tradeskill UI (in which case the combine button stays grayed out) and for manual combines (in which case you can click, but nothing happens).

Easy test: grab any JC kit and a solo/duo/trio tool or cut tool. Put the tool in the JC kit (manually) and hit combine to cycle it, then quickly drop it back in and hit combine again. Nothing will happen.

[Ngreth Thergn]

so I'm guessing new trade combines are systematically vetted not to make a profit (in fact, most new recipes seem to make about the same percentage plat loss when counting only vendor price of goods, so this may be automatic.)

Not automatic.
It is a Pain in my large butt I have to do whenever I make something.

[mewkus]

Nostromo N52 is your friend. But, beware, doing it afk is a violation of the EULA and can get you suspended/banned.

[Neebat]

Nostromo N52 is your friend. But, beware, doing it afk is a violation of the EULA and can get you suspended/banned.

Personally, EQ becomes a weaker game every time there's something you can do while AFK. I despise the way the trader system is set up. It should be completely offline. And I would hate to sit looking at the screen while a robot pressed the combine button for me. That is contrary to my definition of fun.

But I use the trader system and I'd use a robot that went click, click, click on the combine button for me. Probably while I went and played something that was actually entertaining.