Macro gearswap limit

[Feba]

Re: Macro gearswap limit

Not Pallete switching, i'm talking about the actual speed of the macro, as in "Press A+B = Macro", which can seem "Sticky" on PC, but works well on PS2, according to friends.

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Macro gearswap limit

Oh yeah, because you said the PS2 was faster /doh

Well, I see what you're saying. The PS2 version macro's are more responsive, but I guess only by a bit, even if you do use a controller on both setups. But yes, while negligable, you can tell a difference.

[Taskmage]

Re: Macro gearswap limit

I think the difference is that on PC a macro can "misfire" and just fail if your framerate is laggy. I don't remember ever having that problem on PS2.

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Macro gearswap limit

Oh, Hamlet, just read your last post on page 2, Errant is only "superior" to AF1 body for enfeebling after you have a couple of Enfeebling merits under your hat (hahaha, pun ftw) and you can land the spells consistently.

One thing I noticed:
Stacking MND, Paralyze procs way more often, especially with the bit of Ice Accuracy I merited. However, the duration is much lower than with stacked Enfeebling. It feels like the average duration is about half of what happens if I stack Enfeebling Gear.

What this means:
Spells like Paralyze and Slow (maybe Blind, but not sure if it's percentage based) will benefit from added potency, but "static" spells like Gravity and Poison would benefit from increases Enfeebling boosts.

Double Post Edited:
TM messed up my double edit ;.;

[sevenpointflaw]

Re: Macro gearswap limit

I think the difference is that on PC a macro can "misfire" and just fail if your framerate is laggy. I don't remember ever having that problem on PS2.

Te exact reason I don't like the built in macro system. Have just one "misfire" in a row is bad enough. Have two or three in a row in dynamis makes you worthless.

[Spider-Dan]

Re: Macro gearswap limit

Apologies for the resurrection, but it's better than starting a new thread.

1) To say that one should pick the 5 most relevant pieces and swap only those is rather arbitrary. That seems to be a clear indication of players adapting to unnecessary game limitation.

For example, as a xbow RNG, there are quite a few slots with significant bonuses that do nearly nothing for RNG on Barrage or WS:

Relic hat- MND+4
Devotee's Mitts- MND+5/6
Aqua Ring (x2)- MND+5
Hunter's Braccae- MND+5
Suzaku's Sune-ate- MND+15

Those are items which out-and-out suck for WS, and essentially must be removed. Given that I normally have 1 line of my macro dedicated to the ammo I'm using, that's already some significant compromises I have to make.

Even if I were to use something like w.hands full-time over Devotee's (which I did, for precisely this reason), the requirement of AF+1 hands to be equipped at the moment the Barrage is fired removes any macro-saving potential I might have.

Now add the general unresponsiveness of Dynamis to the picture, and it becomes a major headache. By using .txt files for my swapping, I can consolidate all my gear swapping down to one macro that both swaps gear and fires the appropriate ammo, which reduces my time spent fighting against the game engine trying to get my macros to execute under lag.

It's one thing to make a swap/no-swap decision when you're talking about gear that still helps, but to a lesser degree. But particularly in the case of an xbow RNG, +MND gear is amazingly great for TPing and yet completely useless for Barrage/WS.

In spite of all this, for the majority of the last year I've been using standard macros most of the time. The only time that I demand .txt scripting is in Dynamis, because macros are just too unresponsive to be worth fighting against there. Having 2 macros dedicated to gear swapping is completely out of the question; having 1 for swapping and 1 for firing is still a frustrating battle against the game engine; having 1 macro that does it all is somewhat like I imagine Dynamis is supposed to be.

2) As far as the issue of fairness between PC/PS2/X360 players... if you don't like your platform, switch to another. TBH, I'm already annoyed that the PS2's limitations are holding back the rest of us from getting much needed game improvements; they need to just end-of-life that version (or do an engine fork like EQ did) so everyone else can get the improvements they deserve.

[Karinya]

Re: Macro gearswap limit

Well, my viewpoint is that if you don't like the game SE created, you should play something else, not try to hack it. Hacking is against ToS (which you agree to every time you log on, unless you have a hack to bypass that too) and unfair to users on other platforms.

Yes, I include all use of windower in this.

If SE wanted to include /console exec, they could have done so, either at release or any time in the last several years.

Now, this is not to say I wouldn't like it if the macro length limit was raised to 10, 15 or even 20 (or, for that matter, if you could see party member TP or your target's exact HP percentage all the time). But the game exists with certain rules and people who play it have an obligation to play by those rules. Much like you have to choose how to best use your time and MP, you have to choose how best to use your macro (and inventory) slots to equip yourself. Different choices have different consequences and that's what makes them meaningful.

You might as well play football and say "well, our team's performance would be better if we also played a 5th down, why should we limit ourselves to only 4 downs?". Or show up to the Tour de France on a motorcycle.

So I use the most important 5 pieces of gear for the action I am taking in that macro. I've never really had a problem with it.


P.S. The reduced duration WM3K notes is coming from partial resists. This is why I don't like stacking stats for enfeebles (at the expense of skill) - the proc rate doesn't change that much really but the chance of wearing off early is much higher. Of course, this assumes an HNM situation - in merit it's hardly worth casting most enfeebles in the first place because it's all super short fights against super weak monsters and you're busy Hasting 4-5 people. Silence, Sleep, maybe Dispel and that's about it. But I bet most people on this thread already have different macro sets for HNMs, Dynamis and merit situations (and solo, if you do enough of it to bother).

[Feba]

Re: Macro gearswap limit

If SE wanted to include /console exec, they could have done so, either at release or any time in the last several years.

except they couldn't because /console isn't a native FFXI command, but a windower command.

What you talk about with showing up to the tour de france on a motorcycle would be closer to claim tools and pos hacks, windower is more like a business having cell phones instead of just land lines. It's an advantage, yes, but it's not giving you an unfair advantage that would be unreasonable for your opponents to have, or breaking any rules.

While windower might not be right, it's only evil is being in a gray area of TOS. I don't think anyone would seriously think that a better macro system HURTS the game, unless of course it's being used for botting (which windower isn't, except in a few special cases, where regular bots already exist anyway)

[Spider-Dan]

Re: Macro gearswap limit

Well, my viewpoint is that if you don't like the game SE created, you should play something else, not try to hack it. Hacking is against ToS (which you agree to every time you log on, unless you have a hack to bypass that too) and unfair to users on other platforms.

Yes, I include all use of windower in this.

This, in and of itself, is an unfair method of judgment, because the ToS are not fairly designed. The ToS prohibits third-party software (something that essentially isn't even possible on PS2) but says nothing about third-party hardware. So PS2 players are free to use Picture-in-Picture televisions and programmable/turbo controllers, yet (by "the letter of the law") PC users are prohibited from using programs to achieve the same effect.

That's like making "you must bench press 150lbs" a condition of membership at a country club. On the surface, it reads as neutral, but in practice you're simply making it a male-only club.

You might as well play football and say "well, our team's performance would be better if we also played a 5th down, why should we limit ourselves to only 4 downs?". Or show up to the Tour de France on a motorcycle.

To draw another analogy, it would be like if the Tour made a rule that you could bring any cycle you want, but the rider + cycle had to add up to less than 300 lbs. You'd have midgets showing up with light motorcycles, and being completely within the rules.

I'd be more concerned with the whole "fair play" and rule-breaking aspects if the rules were designed fairly to begin with.

[Feba]

Re: Macro gearswap limit

Something else interesting about PC/PS2 differences, it is illegal to use some third party hardware, but not all. For example, a logitech G15's macro system (potentially infinite) is A-OK, but using a lego kit to make a bot isn't (yes, someone actually made it and asked a GM. I think they eventually sold it on ebay.)