Fix Server Hopping/Quick Leaving (Borderline Cheating)

[wattle 2]

Okay, so I've first hand experienced the wonders of server hopping and quick-logging to avoid dieing and collecting a godly amount of supplies. This is breaking the mod in my opinion.

Is it possible to add timed log outs (like a five to ten second wait before you log out)? I don't really mind if people log off on top of hospitals to get a dozen blood bags or ammo for their weapon in other buildings but it's starting to get annoying when bandits shoot at you, miss, and then log off when your group corners them.

We had an instance today where we saw a bandit run by us being chased by zombies (we didn't open fire, because sometimes players get bandit defending themselves), he logged off in front of us (and all the zombies disappeared), and then after we moved out of the treeline and into the outskirts of Stary Sober (where this all took place) he logged back in and shot us all in the back.

I know the mod makers have a lot on their plate at the moment, but if this doesn't get addressed in future patches I'm going to lose all hope for this mod. I've even heard stories of people in Cherno and such seeing groups defending buildings, and then they log off, switch servers, move into the building that group is defending, and then log back in on the other server so they can attack from the inside out (shooting them in the backs).

I love the mod, but as I say again, this is really becoming an 'anti-game' breaker. It throws all the tactical usefulness of a group defending their perimeter, the danger of zombies (for those that log off when they've attracted a horde of zombies), and the scarceness of supplies (when people server hop on top of hospitals and inside buildings to accumulate a large number of resources that are otherwise impossible to gain if they had to stick to one server) out the window.

tl;dr - Make it so that people can't server hop to gain supplies easily, avoid zombie hordes, get behind survivors protecting buildings (by getting into a position within a building they're defending on another server and logging back into the one their on) and just generally being unfair.

I know a wrote a lot, but I just want to get my point across, and I'm kind of depressed I just got killed in the most unfair way possible (I wouldn't have an issue if the bandit killed me without backing to the player list).

Love,

wattle

[Druskov 0]

Wow I have not experienced this yet, but sounds crappy <,<

Im all for delayed log out, like a countdown.

Possibly make a 5 min ban for those who server hop in minute or less. (so server a > server b >server a = 5 min ban)

idk how else to fix that other than make each server their own persistent database or straight up banning these players for using the game mechanics to cheat.

[wattle 2]

I don't think penalties would be right for logging out or switching servers, since some players server hop to meet up with friends (and not use these mechanics to cheat) or have connection issues/lag and switch servers, etc.

Banning would be almost impossible (and it isn't stated anywhere that people CAN'T do this) and would waste man hours for the development team trying to find people and taking their time to ban ALL of them, or even the known ones, there could also be mix-ups and such, so I think that's out of the question.

Maybe this is an issue that cannot be fixed (and will become a 'norm' for surviving long amounts of time)? Taking away persistent servers is taking away the biggest and coolest feature in this game, so I hope they don't resort to this.

I'm sorry for drawing attention to this, since maybe players didn't realize, but it has to be stated whether they're going to fix it or not.

I would also like to add: groups of players (two or more) can easily and safely clear towns and dangerous high-populated areas full of zombies by sending in players to attract large hordes of zombies away from the town/point of interest and logging off (the zombies disappear with them) so that others can freely scavenge without any issues. This is annoying when that takes away the whole point of playing DayZ; the main aspect should be surviving from zombies and sneaking around them when needed, or fighting them to get at your rewards/point of interest, not bandits who exploit the game mechanics to become lock, stocked, and loaded for any survivors that come their way.

devs plz respond <3

[Druskov 0]

This issue is basically game mechanic which will be abused until fixed, so Im pretty sure they want to fix it. Its just how do they go about doing something like this. Trust me the more you throw random ideas sometimes it helps them get the idea that makes it work.

[Mukea 0]

As has already been said, this could learn from games such as WoW, and say in order to log off you have to stand still for 20 seconds in order to log out, after not being attacked for a certain amount of time. That way people would have to be at a safe distance in order to log out, this also wouldn't penalize those switching server to meet friends, apart from wasting like 20 seconds of their time.

[AllDayZSimon 75]

Why not just rig it so that your supplies/stats save, but not your location? (Cross-Servers I mean). Don't get me wrong, it seems like one of the main thing this mod has going for it is being able to carry your character with you- But you would still do that. Just with the added benefit of technically "Spawning Fully Loaded" out in the middle of nowhere?

[Mukea 0]

That would be incredibly annoying though, for example if you were preparing to raid a certain place then had to go, and then you came back and were somewhere random. And what about people that only play with their friends, they would have to navigate to each other every time they wanted to play. Adding a timer / restrictions to log out is a very simple fix that doesn't mess anything else up.

I know you're talking about cross server but, majority of the servers are always full, then you may have to wait a long time to get onto your desired server in your desired state.

[cordleztoaster 5]

Can always make a quick macro to kill the service in windows.

[wattle 2]

Can always make a quick macro to kill the service in windows.

Is that to the timer on log out idea?

It might be possible for them to make it so that even if you crash, your character stays logged in until the timer ends (I heard they made it so that if you log out while bleeding, your character stays in-game, or something like that).

I just hope they find a fix for this soon, it's really put a damper on my enthusiasm.

[Mukea 0]

Well, to fix the crash thing or forced stop, once again we can look to the MMO's. SWTOR has it so you can either log out, or you can quick logout. If you logout, you have to be safe etc, and you watch the countdown, however, if you quick logout, your character still stays active on the server till the timer runs out, you just exit the game and don't have to watch. even if your client is stopped, your character is still server side. Problem solved.

[AllDayZSimon 75]

That would be incredibly annoying though' date=' for example if you were preparing to raid a certain place then had to go, and then you came back and were somewhere random. And what about people that only play with their friends, they would have to navigate to each other every time they wanted to play. Adding a timer / restrictions to log out is a very simple fix that doesn't mess anything else up.

I know you're talking about cross server but, majority of the servers are always full, then you may have to wait a long time to get onto your desired server in your desired state.

[/quote']

I don't see how that really factors into my suggestion, don't get me wrong I see the down side to getting disconnected from friends - But I'm talking say, hopping from what I would assume is NY-1 to NY-2, not NY-1 back to NY-1. Joining the same server should place you in the same location, but you shouldn't be given the sure-doubt "Okay I just gotta switch to #2 and move to ____, then I'll have the drop on these bastards and can switch back!"

And adding a timer -WILL- break it, I'll tell you that now. Just wait for the amount of people complaining that they don't spawn with any gear because their avatar was murdered by ___ because ___ knew that the player wasn't even in a position to control their character and try to survive. I sure as hell would murder someone for their rifle if I knew they couldn't fight back for thirty seconds..

[wattle 2]

I sure as hell would murder someone for their rifle if I knew they couldn't fight back for thirty seconds..

Bandit scum! Luckily not everyone groups with people like you, but I think the log-out timer is the best option yet. Even five seconds would be enough to break quick-quitting to avoid hordes of zombies.

All these ideas though sound like half-assed fixes though, maybe this problem truly is impossible to fix?

[AllDayZSimon 75]

I sure as hell would murder someone for their rifle if I knew they couldn't fight back for thirty seconds..

Bandit scum! Luckily not everyone groups with people like you' date=' but I think the log-out timer is the best option yet. Even five seconds would be enough to break quick-quitting to avoid hordes of zombies.

All these ideas though sound like half-assed fixes though, maybe this problem truly is impossible to fix?

[/quote']

I don't even own ARMA, isn't it a little fucked up that just from reading how easily you get fucked for no reason by other players that almost instinctively I acknowledge "Hey, I'm going to have to murder anyone I see without a word/care for trying to become friends - Because it seems like if you even try to form a group - You're getting shot in the freggin back of the head for a can of beans.

Edit: Again, I don't even own the game nor would I kill someone for a gun - I'm not that much of a needy douche that I'd need something enough to MURDER for it..But other people that DO own the game, ARE. So it's more of a warning from an impartial observant of the grief it will bring/cause.

[wattle 2]

Well not everyone comes into the game without a pre-made group of friends or online acquaintances, but it's not impossible to form groups in-game.

I've yet to been shot in the back by a 'group member' because I don't look for teammates in cities like Cherno and such. Places like that are like the wild west, but up north you can meet a lot of friendly people who have worked hard for their gear and who are sensible.

But anyways, this is getting off topic already. lol

[Mukea 0]

You say that you'd shoot someone if you knew they couldn't fight back for 30 seconds, that emphasizes why this idea would work. You would only attempt to log out if you knew you were safe, and if sitting there watching the countdown to logout, and you hear someone/something coming just cancel the logout and leg it. The only way people would come back to dead characters is if they did the quick logout (didn't wait for the timer) or just closed the game, and their character died in the time it takes for the server to log you off. There would be no logging off when being chased by zombies, or in a firefight, as it leaves you vulnerable, you'd have to ENSURE your safety before leaving.

[rocket 16567]

Obviously this exploit needs to be fixed. I'll try to add something ASAP, its probably not going to be perfect on the first implementation but we'll try something and see how it works.

[AllDayZSimon 75]

You say that you'd shoot someone if you knew they couldn't fight back for 30 seconds' date=' that emphasizes why this idea would work. You would only attempt to log out if you knew you were safe, and if sitting there watching the countdown to logout, and you hear someone/something coming just cancel the logout and leg it. The only way people would come back to dead characters is if they did the quick logout (didn't wait for the timer) or just closed the game, and their character died in the time it takes for the server to log you off. There would be no logging off when being chased by zombies, or in a firefight, as it leaves you vulnerable, you'd have to ENSURE your safety before leaving.

[/quote']

Or some asshole going; "Oh this guy looks like he's quitting..Yeah, he stopped moving..Gotta be at what, ten seconds left? Oh well fuck it- BANG!", sniped at two miles from some asshole who wasn't even threatened in the first place by your presence let alone you obviously sitting there to log out. Maybe you can just make them stand there invincible and give a name-tag to report them?

[wattle 2]

Obviously this exploit needs to be fixed. I'll try to add something ASAP' date=' its probably not going to be perfect on the first implementation but we'll try something and see how it works.

[/quote']

Thank you, glad to hear that this is now a known issue. Aside from this exploitation happening, I see no major issues with gameplay so far. Thanks again for all the hard work that you and your team have put in.

sniped at two miles from some asshole who wasn't even threatened in the first place by your presence let alone you obviously sitting there to log out.

Simon, there are MANY places to logout from without being sniped (or attacked in general). Not to sound like a dick, but you haven't even played the mod (since you said you don't even own ARMA2). You may need to watch some videos to realize how big this map is, but I've been able to sit around for over an hour in some spots without running into any hostiles (zombie or bandits), fifteen or so seconds sounds like more than enough time to logout.

I think this is the best idea so far since reporting players could be used to harass players who have done no wrong (people reporting a person for no reason), and waste the developers time inputting bans. Also, giving some sort of penalty or countdown before being able to login to another server is just not fair for the majority who don't abuse this game mechanic.

Thanks again to Rocket for posting in this thread and making us aware that there is a fix coming, even if it's not perfect, anything that can put a damper on these types of players that abuse a mechanic just to cut corners (whether it's used to gain supplies or to avoid death) is very welcome to the majority of players that play the game how it's meant to be.

[Nedak 10]

^

Exactly. I've been up north for days and have ran into maybe one person. It's a 50 man server on a 250km2 map.

[Mugen (DayZ) 72]

Haha Wattle we did get pretty fucked outside of Stary.

[wattle 2]

Haha Wattle we did get pretty fucked outside of Stary.

That shit got me mad man, if that bandit had to wait a few seconds before logging out he would have gotten killed or injured by that horde of zombies, or killed by us.

Pretty lame, but at least it fueled me enough to make this thread. I also have a feeling that a lot of bandits do this, since they're main objective is to just kill players and run around solo.

[rocket 16567]

Expect fix prior to weekend.

[romaniak 1]

Expect fix prior to weekend.

:heart:

i saw this happening at least two times a day

[puppetmasterjjk 3]

My group got screwed over last night when we got ambushed by some guys with NVG's. Two of us got killed, but the rest managed to fight them off. Unfortunately, the ambushers just logged off as soon as they realized they had bit off more than they could chew.

Also, hi Wattle.

[wattle 2]

Expect fix prior to weekend.

Rocket' date=' you're probably my favorite developer ever. Thanks a lot for addressing this in such a quick manner.

My group got screwed over last night when we got ambushed by some guys with NVG's. Two of us got killed, but the rest managed to fight them off. Unfortunately, the ambushers just logged off as soon as they realized they had bit off more than they could chew.

Also, hi Wattle.

Shitty to hear, I think this has happened to everyone at least once. (Hi)