The idea that scripts are actively allowed to run on any shard is a bit obscene, rather they are monitoring spawns, doing events, or mining, it all has a negative impact on the game and its players. I agree content in Felucca should be on the same level as it is in Trammel, not because I believe that PVP'ers are some saving power for this game, but rather it is nice to have more, not less options. I do agree with @ Yoshi that power scrolls should be shard bound which would limit t economies. Two easy to take steps would probably solve the problem though. First, limit access further on EJ accounts to Trammel, the purpose of an EJ account is to introduce someone to the game and allow them to experience it, not to be a permanent part of the environment. This would cause both the need to pay a monthly fee to play and if someone still choose to run bots, they will have to pay for the ability. Secondly, actively ban accounts found scripting, I doubt that there is much stomach to do that, but it would eliminate the problem. The limits placed on EJ accounts for this last event were a good step in the right direction toward cleaning things up, now it's time to push it a little further. Remember well there might be some benefits to individuals having the ability to use fully functional EJ accounts really, they do little to contribute to the game beyond giving an introduction to people. They provide a very limited amount to the profits generated by the game and yet use both physical and in game resources.
To Cookies comment that pvp keeps this game afloat I don't have access to the figures to prove one way or the other, but I do know on Great Lakes the majority of player are not pvp players. So well, they add to the environment I don't suspect they add much to the bottom line. I don't seek to have PVP'ers removed, I do however think that it should adhere to the same rule set everyone else is supposed to follow. Which means you want to hunt someone at spawns - run your ass to the spawn and look. There is no reason that the rest of the community should be forced to make special toons to hunt bots and clean up game problems. I accept that you and your friends enjoy that type of play, but it should not be forced on everyone just to play this part of the game. This also isn't to say that any aspect of bot'ing is acceptable in Trammel, it's not.
Lastly, to the idea that the players base power scroll market is tapped. It might seem that way to a veteran who has all of their characters built, but not everyone is in that position. Sure, the majority of scrolls currently are probably used by pets, but there are many new or returning players who need scrolls to build characters. This might not be reflected on all shards, but I can speak for Great Lakes, and we have a good many who have started or returned in the last year or two and even if they have finished their first toon, they may want others. Not to mention starting new toons on other shards, or any other reason they want to make a new character. For these people the prices can place scrolls out of reach, so the only answer is hunting for them.
In the end I really hope that serious consideration is given to limiting the access to EJ accounts and looking into ways to detect bots of all types which goes beyond player reporting.
I do agree with @Yoshi that power scrolls should be shard bound which would limit t economies.
I am of a different opinion, which it is, that Powerscrolls should not be Shard Bound and this, because I think that limiting the availability of any given items actually prompts into players the desire to engage in even more scripting not to mention spending real money to get those items which they may have been having too much a hard time getting in the game.... all things, which eventually hurt the game, not help it, IMHO....
Monopolies, that is, "cornered markets" for in-game items, such as Shard bound Powerscrolls would be (i.e. a few, limited number of players controlling the Spawns being able to "jack up" Powerscrolls prices for all of the rest of the players) would only force all of the rest of the players not being among those few cornering that Market, to have to spend countless hours farming for the gold necessary to then purchase those Powerscrolls at a heavily "jacked up" price thanking to a cornered market because the mechanics permit it.... and we know how, engaging into mindless, repetitive farming gameplay can either further enlarge the scripting players base or, may eventualy alienate players from wanting to keep playing a game that is not bringing them fun but, rather, is being un-fun because of an alienating farming gameplay that is forced onto them in order to be able to have access to items necessary for the progression of their in-game character.
My argument being, that while Shard Bound Powerscrolls might be good for those (few) players who eventually manage to Monopolize the spawns and thus corner the Powerscrolls market (they can get more gold for those scrolls, obviously....), it becomes very, very bad for the game itself because it forces all other players who are left out, to have to engage into mindless, repetitive farming gameplay in order to get the means to then be able to afford those Powerscrolls at "jacked up" prices because of the Monopoly permitted by the Game Design.
What I am trying to say is, that what can be seen as good for a limited number of players who could use Shard Bound Powerscrolls to Monopolize and control the Market to "jack up" prices for Powerscrolls, the same cannot be said, at least to my opinion, for Ultima Online as a whole.
We need to actually make items more readily available, not harder to get, if we want to fight scripting and alienating, farming repetitive gameplay which eventually looses players to Ultima Online, further reducing its players' base and its ability to get revenues for its upkeep and further development....
I don't seek to have PVP'ers removed, I do however think that it should adhere to the same rule set everyone else is supposed to follow. Which means you want to hunt someone at spawns - run your ass to the spawn and look. There is no reason that the rest of the community should be forced to make special toons to hunt bots and clean up game problems.
I absolutely agree, this is an issue which needs to be addressed by the Developers and which the Developers should solve.... and not have to have players have to spend countless of their in-game time to actually track down BOTted, scripted Monitoring characters....
Not to mention, that while for a player would take a whole lot of time to track down Monitoring BOTs, to those players having to restart a downed Monitoring BOT, would take hardly any of their time...
That is, currently, to my opinion, playing mechanics are totally in favour of those scripting, using BOTs, and in absolute disfavour of those players actively controlling their character to play....
To track down a Stealthing, hidden EJ used as a Monitoring BOT "free" EJ, with tracking and revealing having such a limited range and effectiveness, even at Max skill, takes forever when one needs to track a very large area, it can even become nigh to impossible if the script running the Monitoring BOT moves it around, thus forcing the player trying to locate stealthing BOTs to have to track the same locations over and over, repeatedly (because of the stealthing EJ Monitoring BOT moving around...), and all of this effort, even when a BOT is eventually tracked down, becomes useless when the player using that automated script restarts that Monitoring BOT in no time....
To me, it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever that gameplay mechanics were to actually help more players running Monitoring BOTs automated scripts thus investing none of their playing time to control them to "prevent" other players to be able to play at Champ Spawns, and disadvantage more those players who, instead, "actively" control their character, "at the keyboard" in their effort to be able to play a Champ Spawn....
And I think that, absolutely, the Developers should do something to finally end this gross imbalance which, I think, hurts the game overall helping only those few players who, this way, can control Champ Spawns.
That is, at least, how I see it.
