#0 - Oct. 30, 2008, 6:39 p.m.
I just have a few questions and or issues I would like to bring up, regarding the effects that one particular multiboxer has on other player’s system thresholds, not on the multiboxing community in general.
There are many Multiboxer threads, asking what is legit and what is not legit, a great example?
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=5288579356&sid=1&pageNo=1
This one is chocked full of great information, most if not all of these players have 3-5 boxes. There are no foreseeable issues with this, other than frustrations, should you happen to cross one of their paths on a good or bad day. lol
Now the multiboxer in question is quite terrible, actually. He really poses no immediate threat to anyone unless he catches then 8v1 or 8v2. It’s not about his play style or attitude, because I have handled what I feel should be done in game. He in fact is one of the worst multiboxers I’ve seen. Lol
The multiboxer in question is the owner of “Prepared” and all 36 of his shaman. Soon as he’s quoted to say, he will have upwards of 60 accounts, from his current 40 accounts he has. He likes to gloat over how many accounts as well as the costs occurred from owning them.
http://www.wowarmory.com/guild-info.xml?r=Aegwynn&n=We+Are+Prepared&p=1 http://www.wowarmory.com/guild-info.xml?r=Aegwynn&n=Stealth+is+for+Cowards&p=1
Both of the above are his guilds & characters.
Now this multi-boxer plays legit in every sense of the word, he does not go against any 3rd party systems, programs, ect... inside wow to make his play automated, it is all manual play. I’m not complaining that he has as many accounts as he does, it’s his money he may spend it as foolishly as he wishes. I’m not here to whine or complain about anything other than a legitimate foreseeable problem in his play style or showboating at times.
The way that I interpret this portion of the Blizzard WoW ToS, it appears he would be in violation of this ToS. http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/termsofuse.shtml
4. Limitations on Your Use of the Service.
C. You may not disrupt or assist in the disruption of (i) any computer used to support the Service (each a "Server"); or (ii) any other player's Game experience. ANY ATTEMPT BY YOU TO DISRUPT THE SERVICE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE PROGRAM MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS. You agree that you will not violate any applicable law or regulation in connection with your use of the Program or the Service.
Also, ttp://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=20224&categoryId=2415&parentCategoryId=&pageNumber=1
Abuse of Game Mechanics
The distinction between exploiting bugs and abusing game mechanics is a fine one. While bug exploitation involves the abuse of what is essentially a programming mistake, the abuse of game mechanics is the act of taking advantage of the limitations of the World of Warcraft game systems. Since the line between the sanctioned use and the abuse of game mechanics is sometimes unclear, we prefer to educate players before taking any action against the account being used. This category includes using/distributing game mechanics in a manner unintended by their design that:
Now, I’m sure you’re thinking where am I going with this? Well this is where I am headed on this voyage.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/burningcrusade/faq.html#sys
TECHNOLOGY
What are the system requirements?
PC System Requirements
 OS: Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4) or Windows XP (Service Pack 2)
 Processor: Intel Pentium3 800MHz or AMD Athlon 800MHz
 Memory:
 Minimum: 512 MB RAM
 Recommended: 1GB RAM
 Video:
 Minimum: 32MB 3D graphics processor with Hardware Transform and Lighting, such as an NVIDIA GeForce 2 class card or above
 Recommended: 64MB VRAM 3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability, such as an NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 class card or above
 Sound: DirectX-compatible sound card
Mac System Requirements
 OS: Mac OS X 10.3.9 or newer
 Processor:
 Minimum: 933MHz G4/G5
 Recommended: 1.8GHz G5/Intel
 Memory:
 Minimum: 512MB RAM
 Recommended: 1GB DDR RAM
 Video:
 Minimum: NVIDIA or ATI graphics processor with 32MB VRAM
 Recommended: 64MB VRAM
All Platforms
 Controls: A keyboard and mouse are required. Input devices other than a mouse and keyboard are not supported.
 Connectivity: You must have an active broadband Internet connection to play.
 Mouse: Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel recommended.
System requirements are subject to change.
Now with that said, there are a majority of players who skim and or barely exceed the games systems, due to affordability of the components or pre-made machines. When you enter in a city, say Shattrath for example, it is laggy enough for a lot of people with their system graphic settings turned or set all the way to bare minimum, they receive around 2-10 fps in Shat alone, with the normal things going on (Flying mounts, people running around, casting spells, ect.) I myself get 60-45 pending on the condition in Shat., I have a high end gaming machine and cable internet, where I see 100ms latency to 300ms latency as an average, again I’m fine with that, I don’t have gaming issues.
I am fine without any problems, until he shows up. With all 36 shamans in a circle, he proceeds to drop all of his totems at once and cast all of his buffs at once, for his “Show” that he does. I’ve seen this and can always tell when he is in shat, why? My FPS drops from 45-60 fps to 10-14 fps, because of Mr.Moneybags, and latency climbs to 500ms +.
“Although the theoretical peak bandwidth of a network connection is fixed according to the technology used, the actual bandwidth you will obtain varies over time and is affected by high latencies. Excessive latency creates bottlenecks that prevent data from filling the network pipe, thus decreasing effective bandwidth. The impact of latency on network bandwidth can be temporary (lasting a few seconds) or persistent (constant) depending on the source of the delays.” –About.com
http://compnetworking.about.com/od/speedtests/a/network_latency.htm
Regardless of his “Legit systems” he does use, it is causing stress and bearing quite a strain on the blizzard resources they have offered to each player that is paying $14.99 a month for, not to mention each individuals “minimum requirement “ for systems. Once he gets to casting spells, his Upload time for latency shoots up, eating everyone elses download latency, to compensate for the large requests of 36 characters casting 36 of the same spell, at the same time. That data transfer from his computer and network setup to blizzards set up, causes the lag, in come cases this actually may over-heat systems graphics engine or ram that is running WoW, causing the game to freeze and force a systems restart.
Now, I know what you are going to say. “What is the difference between 30-36 characters not multiboxed, and ones there are?”. There are some differences.
-A normal account, doesn’t have the strain of 36 accounts, uploading 36 commands for 36 toons at once to Blizzards constrained servers.
Why does this create an issue? Well the upload of data coming from his 11 computers & 30-36 accounts cause a bottle neck in the bandwidth for everyone else, not so much him, he’s doing the uploading of information. His characters (all networked through 1 internet source) then eat up all of the upload latency, decreasing everyone else’s download latency (lag).
-People with minimal requirements to run WoW:BC are bombarded with the graphics of his 36, 72, 108 or 144 totems that he can drop on the ground at at given time, all AT the same time. Not to mention casting 36 buffs all at the same time, on each character. This over heats ram and graphics cards and actually freezes the game for some people, forcing a system restart. This can cause irritation to people who are paying to play this game, just as he is. Only they’re not spending $6000-$7000 a year on accounts. Only he himself is the source of the issue, why should someone with minimum system requirements be punished in a game they pay to play.
By allowing Prepared to accumulate and run 36-60 WoW accounts and run them all simultaneously, it causes strain on your networks and servers as well as it bottle necks and destroys the latency of people playing around him. He is in fact directly effecting the game play of those all around him, it is not in their hands, for they only pay to login and play the game for what enjoyment they seek. Is that not a direct or indirect violation of the following?
C. You may not disrupt or assist in the disruption of (i) any computer used to support the Service (each a "Server"); or (ii) any other player's Game experience.
&
Abuse of Game Mechanics
The distinction between exploiting bugs and abusing game mechanics is a fine one. While bug exploitation involves the abuse of what is essentially a programming mistake, the abuse of game mechanics is the act of taking advantage of the limitations of the World of Warcraft game systems. Since the line between the sanctioned use and the abuse of game mechanics is sometimes unclear, we prefer to educate players before taking any action against the account being used. This category includes using/distributing game mechanics in a manner unintended by their design that:
