Posted February 28, 2019 About two minutes ago, my friend and I were talking about pathing up one of our shared accounts when he got one of those macro GM check questions thingy. We both have been online for about 2 hours playing. He's been imping his scale set and I've been working on my priest's prayer when he got the following question: "Which one of these has less than four legs?" A stool, a stork and something else which I can no longer remember. Two of these can be interpreted as having less than four legs: A stool and a stork. He managed to answer it correctly but it was a close one. I for one did not know what a Stork was, as english is not my first language, but since I was already on google I quickly googled stork and we selected that as our answer. Our other friend the other day wasn't as lucky. He answered stool. He didn't get banned, but he had to log off and log back in and who knows what else. Why would he answer stool? Same reason. He had no idea what a Stork was. He is from Korea. Stool: This brings me to the point of this post. My best friend in the game who just got the question has been playing for over a decade, and he had never gotten the question before. We hadn't been logged on for an extended amount of time and he's been imping his drake set as normal. We rarerely sell bulk (we buy it instead ) and very rarely if ever reach our fatigue. What could had possibly triggered this question? Has the question use been increased recently? Are normal, innocent players being targetted by the questions now indiscriminately, and if so, what are we to expect if we answer these questions wrong? Many people (if not most) who play Wurm are not native english speakers, so if we fail these questions because of lack of knowledge, are we going to see consequences even if we are innocent? I'd like to see a bit more of clarification regarding this. @Budda@Retrograde Thanks in advance! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 I cannot say the circumstances during which the question triggers for natural reasons, but I will pass along the suggestion to clarify that question. I'm sure the brevity of my response will not fully satisfy you, but given the nature of it going into detail shares information we aren't willing to give, as it could be used to bypass the system. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Retrograde said: I cannot say the circumstances during which the question triggers for natural reasons, but I will pass along the suggestion to clarify that question. I'm sure the brevity of my response will not fully satisfy you, but given the nature of it going into detail shares information we aren't willing to give, as it could be used to bypass the system. I understand. I am not asking for an explanation on how the system works, but we are really concerned. We don't macro (I mean, jeeze, look at my account. I wouldn't buy so many accounts if I did lol!) but we are worried we might end up locked from our accounts because we answered a question wrong. Edited February 28, 2019 by Angelklaine Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 30 minutes ago, Angelklaine said: I understand. I am not asking for an explanation on how the system works, but we are really concerned. We don't macro (I mean, jeeze, look at my account. I wouldn't buy so many accounts if I did lol!) but we are worried we might end up locked from our accounts because we answered a question wrong. Since I saw part of the code I can tell you that it is strongly related to how many fatigue you have left. But I don't think I am allowed to tell you the full parameters and how many playing time and fatigue you need to have until that question can be sent. Still the code was fully available for the public, so nothing too secret. Next no matter how many questions are wrong, you will not be banned automatically. A GM has to ban you by hand and I am sure most of them will take a closer look before banning you. You just get kicked out of the game if you answer a question wrong and have to log back in. No panic. If you answer the question correctly you even get 120 seconds of sleep bonus, so enjoy 2 minutes of sleep bonus 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 I got one of these the other day during a stint of making cloth strings. First time I've seen one in years. I had wondered what I was doing differently as opposed to making bricks or something, but maybe they tweaked it recently? Who knows. I don't think the automated system itself can ban you but it can force you to relog (as you noted) as well as alert GM's to silently watch your gameplay, at least that is my understanding. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 4 minutes ago, Sklo:D said: If you answer the question correctly you even get 120 seconds of sleep bonus, so enjoy 2 minutes of sleep bonus are you serious? time to bait the questions for free sleep bonus 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 4 minutes ago, Sklo:D said: Since I saw part of the code I can tell you that it is strongly related to how many fatigue you have left. But I don't think I am allowed to tell you the full parameters and how many playing time and fatigue you need to have until that question can be sent. Still the code was fully available for the public, so nothing too secret. This makes it even more confusing. We had been logged in for 1-2 hours and we've never even hit our fatigue caps ever I don't think. Like, old man grinds but not THAT much and THAT constantly as to be anywhere near hitting his fatigue. If anything we max it out every day. I'm just weirded out by it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 (edited) 2 minutes ago, Angelklaine said: This makes it even more confusing. We had been logged in for 1-2 hours and we've never even hit our fatigue caps ever I don't think. Like, old man grinds but not THAT much and THAT constantly as to be anywhere near hitting his fatigue. If anything we max it out every day. I'm just weirded out by it. Maybe due to recent macro events the system has now a random component where everyone can get a macro question from time to time, so they also can catch people who do not use a macro too much every day but use one, which is actually a good move. Edited February 28, 2019 by Sklo:D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 (edited) none of it is in wu code so don't even pay attention to any of what is said also lol that question Edited February 28, 2019 by SmeJack Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 1 minute ago, Sklo:D said: Maybe due to recent macro events the system has now a random component where everyone can get a macro question from time to time, so they also can catch people who do not use a macro too much every day but use one. That's what I'm afraid I suppose. Someone with 7 actions can afk for quite a long time doing certain actions. Or someone with path of power and a Nadroj-style mine leveling. So I see I have a 10 minute leveling timer with my coc 2ql pickaxe, and I head out to go have a snack. Then I forget. During this leveling timer I get a question to pop... I suppose the GM looking into it would help, but weirder things have happened in Wurm Online. We already have seen how diligent GMs have recently been at investigating. No offense intended. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 5 minutes ago, SmeJack said: also lol that question Yes, its pretty silly, but is not the question itself what bothers me. They should all be silly. The issue is how complex some of the words in there are (what the hell is a stork? Had to google it) and how subjective others can be (there's 3 legged stools and 4 legged stools). Perhaps they should revisit the questions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 It is not an automatic ban system, I'll pass along the suggestion at improving any existing questions 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 I never got one of those in 5 years, am i doing something wrong? Kidding aside i agree with OP, there is justified fear among regular players that they can be banned even though they didn't do anything wrong due to lack of knowledge and information about these things so some reassurance is always good Retro Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 After reading that in case one answers wrong, they just have to relog, i have no fear of false punishment. I believe that the staff knows how actual macro users behave, what are the patterns etc. As such, people who trigger the warning will not have any consequences that matter. I would rather answer silly questions and relog from time to time, than have cheaters ruin the game for everyone. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 (edited) I only received that question once a few years ago when i was imping a lot of hours each day.. it scared me when it popped on my screen but i think i answered it correctly.. I actually think the point of the question is to interfere with the interface so it stops you from whatever you are doing.. Probably the answer doesn't really matter much, but if, for instance, you are imping something, and the question pops up and you keep imping stuff even though that message is there (not even sure if you can do that or it's 'modal'), and you ignore it, then something is definitely wrong with what you are doing and you are either really not paying attention to what you are doing or are macro-ing and just got caught.. Edited February 28, 2019 by faty Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 I think that if the game has such functionality it should not keep it a secret. I have not heard about this, but ok, i do not grind so im not a good example. But still, considering that macroing itself is a bannable offence, this question should be easy to answer and everyone should know what happens if you answer / do nit answer. Secrets like this ruin and have been ruining the game. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 I personally think there should be just some easy mathematic questions. Searched through my math examples from university and found this one, should be easy enough, let's add it to the game! 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 (edited) What happens if you don’t answer? Will you be banned or investiged further? Always when smithing I use a media player(always on top) so I only see my forge, inventory and stamina bar in the left side of the screen. If the question appear anywere else I wouldn’t notice.??? Edited February 28, 2019 by Sharkin 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 30 minutes ago, Sharkin said: What happens if you don’t answer? Will you be banned or investiged further? Always when smithing I use a media player(always on top) so I only see my forge, inventory and stamina bar in the left side of the screen. If the question appear anywere else I wouldn’t notice.??? You are frozen and can't continue any action when the question appears. So you will notice it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 7 hours ago, Angelklaine said: ...from Korea... Very interesting. Players from Asia are rare. Wurm seems to be Euro-and-Muricana-centric. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 Beware of long timers. Don't forget the rule of attentice gameplay which reuires you to check at the game at least within every 4 mins. I don't think a leveling action will be an issue as there is no queue but an extensive queue of long actions may mean trouble if you leave the window for a long time and don't react. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 I remember I was wondering about this myself when I got the question once while making mortar. This is all assumptions and I have no evidence. But, I believe its GM triggered and it hits people below a certain threshold of fatigue. Honestly, it's a brilliant way to catch people macroing. If you are macroing, you are going to burn through your fatigue, and the questions are so random, the macro can't answer. I wouldn't be concerned about it, I am pretty sure it's just a catch-all net they toss out and see what they catch. A macro wouldn't answer incorrectly and log back in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 I got one many years ago when surfacemining like crazy and my fatigue was on the last hour, funny enough it poped up a few minutes after I complained in the IRC channel about fatigue being annoying. ? I don't remeber the question though, bet it wasn't creative or funny enough. ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 36 minutes ago, Ascorbic said: Honestly, it's a brilliant way to catch people macroing. If you are macroing, you are going to burn through your fatigue, and the questions are so random, the macro can't answer. I wouldn't be concerned about it, I am pretty sure it's just a catch-all net they toss out and see what they catch. A macro wouldn't answer incorrectly and log back in. Not if someone macro one hour a day for example I wonder if some people do some sort of soft macroing instead of obvious all day runing macros and aren't caught. Maybe they check randomnes of pauses between requeuing actions too Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 28, 2019 Pretty funny, I don't think I've ever seen a three legged stool here in the UK Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
