First, I understand this functionality exists in most online games in order to keep costs down by not having idle players suck up that sweet sweet bandwidth. But SoT's timer is unusually short. I've gotten booted off whilst writing forum posts here before on multiple occasions. It also discourages things like chilling in the tavern with some socializing or roleplay or whatever.
I'm not quite sure of the exact length of the timer but you should at least double it.
@tahngarthor
It's 10 minutes, and exists to prevent players from 'leeching' off of other crews by simply standing there and getting credit as a crew member. For something like an Arena match, which is 24 minutes, increasing it to this amount would be far too much, and further inconvenience the crews trying to get rid of these players in any occasion. If you wish to roleplay, sneak, socialize or anything else, just move every now and then (even moving the camera around in an emote works) and it will reset the timer.
It also discourages things like chilling in the tavern with some socializing or roleplay or whatever.
Are you Rp-ing as a rock? I'm sitting here wondering why kind of RP requires non-movement for 10 minutes. Are you using a mouth controller? I only ask, because that is the only reason I can think someone can't socialize and move at the same time.
@ultmateragnarok said in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
@tahngarthor
It's 10 minutes, and exists to prevent players from 'leeching' off of other crews by simply standing there and getting credit as a crew member.
Isn't that what the brig is for? How about a vote kick?
I'm playing alone, I'm not leeching off of anyone. auto disconnect timers are not there for the players. They're there to save server costs. Ask any developer.
@nabberwar said in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
It also discourages things like chilling in the tavern with some socializing or roleplay or whatever.
Are you Rp-ing as a rock? I'm sitting here wondering why kind of RP requires non-movement for 10 minutes. Are you using a mouth controller? I only ask, because that is the only reason I can think someone can't socialize and move at the same time.
I shouldn't have to periodically press movement keys, and voice chat by itself doesn't seem to be enough. 10 minutes is very short. I can be asked to do something, get up, come back and i find myself at the main menu and my voyage is gone. Meanwhile I can fire up WoW or Final Fantasy XIV and stay connected all day long whether i'm doing anything or not- but that's purely because I pay them a subscription fee. As described, on more than one occasion I've been lurking or posting on the forums between voyages, and before I know it, bam, I'm gone.
I just don't understand why everyone defends poor design decisions as if Rare can do no wrong.
It makes a lot more sense for crews to vote out unwanted idle players than to just forcibly disconnect them. If you're going to remain insistent that this is more about protecting other players, then there should be no issue disabling the timer when you're alone. Otherwise, that only proves that it's really about server costs. Problem players in a group should be dealt with by the group, not an arbitrary timer.
@tahngarthor I'm not aware of any kick vote at this time. The brig is used for disruptive player typically. If someone is being disruptive, they can be brigged and it stops them. They still get credit for everything the crew does, though, and the only way to get rid of them is if they leave or if they get timed out.
Playing by yourself, you aren't leaching, true. You are, however, using an entire ship spot (out of 6 total) in a server to stand idle for 10 minutes before being kicked. I am very familiar with role play, and I can't think of a scenario where you would have to be perfectly still for more than 10 minutes.
@rowdy-reid said in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
@tahngarthor I'm not aware of any kick vote at this time. The brig is used for disruptive player typically. If someone is being disruptive, they can be brigged and it stops them. They still get credit for everything the crew does, though, and the only way to get rid of them is if they leave or if they get timed out.
All the more reason there should be a vote kick.
Playing by yourself, you aren't leaching, true. You are, however, using an entire ship spot (out of 6 total) in a server to stand idle for 10 minutes before being kicked. I am very familiar with role play, and I can't think of a scenario where you would have to be perfectly still for more than 10 minutes.
How terrible! Someone can come and sink my ship and or steal my supplies. They should thank me for being AFK.
Seriously. Have you never had your video gaming sessions interrupted by the need to do chores, use the restroom, clean up a mess, anything? Life happens, we shouldn't be punished for that. Also, if you're alt tabbed from the game but you're still using the PC, the game doesn't care about that either. As I said, I've on multiple occasions written forum posts about issues in game or looking for help or whatnot, and end up getting booted before I get back to the game.
There are plenty of legitimate reasons to get up from the PC or console for 10 minutes. With the possible exception of the arena, 10 minutes of inactivity isn't likely damaging anyone. Anyone specifically doing so to harm others can be dealt with by the players, without the need for a timer.
Wanna make it more interesting? If you're so worried about ship slots, then after 10 minutes, reveal idle players on the map for everyone in the server. Punish those suckers, blow the caboozle out of them, steal their stuff, be a pirate.
Oh, and don't forget a keyboard macro can easily circumvent any AFK timer- and that's something anyone intent on being disruptive would do (And it's also something I shouldn't have to do to stay connected). This is just one more thing that punishes legitimate users more than it punishes disruptive ones.
@tahngarthor
How terrible! Someone can come and sink my ship and or steal my supplies. They should thank me for being AFK.
Why would I thank someone taking up a spot that would otherwise be used by someone actually willing to participate in the multiplayer game? Its no fun killing bots. I want to play with active people, not someone who decides to put on a movie and just idle and waste a spot. The auto kick exist for the afk players who mooch, just because you play solo doesn't mean the rules don't magically apply to you.
Oh, and don't forget a keyboard macro can easily circumvent any AFK timer
Why are you here if you already have a solution to your problem?
@nabberwar said in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
@tahngarthor
How terrible! Someone can come and sink my ship and or steal my supplies. They should thank me for being AFK.
Why would I thank someone taking up a spot that would otherwise be used by someone actually willing to participate in the multiplayer game? Its no fun killing bots. I want to play with active people, not someone who decides to put on a movie and just idle and waste a spot. The auto kick exist for the afk players who mooch, just because you play solo doesn't mean the rules don't magically apply to you.
Again: "Mooching" or otherwise disruptive players should be able to be removed by their party. The brig is honestly worthless if it they still get credit for activities performed whilst they're in it. Any other game in existence would solve this problem with a vote kick feature.
And I do want to play the multiplayer game. I love playing the multiplayer game. But again, sometimes life happens. I shouldn't lose my voyage progress just because the ol' ball and chain yelled at me to do something for them.
Oh, and don't forget a keyboard macro can easily circumvent any AFK timer
Why are you here if you already have a solution to your problem?
Because it's not a good solution to the problem. I'm not a rule breaker, I'm not going to circumvent the rules even when it is simple to do so. But I am going to have a dialogue to see if rules I disagree with can be improved.
(And it also doesn't work if I'm actually at the PC but I notice your response to my post and desire to reply to it, because that macro would affect what I'm doing in other applications)
Many activities in this game can take hours. 15 minutes out of 2-3 or more hours spent on something isn't a lot. But this game says "I don't care if you've been active the entire day, I'm gonna kick you out and erase the last hour of your efforts because your kid made a mess in the kitchen that you had to clean up!"
(Note: The arena is entirely different and the negative impact of idle players is much greater and should be treated as such. But Adventure is a totally different ball game)
@jimfrigginlahey sagte in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
I simply went to take a dump and had two and half hours of work gone. Soo, I understand the issue here.
Take your controller with you and jump, or turn, or whatever, from time to time
@schwammlgott said in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
@jimfrigginlahey sagte in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
I simply went to take a dump and had two and half hours of work gone. Soo, I understand the issue here.
Take your controller with you and jump, or turn, or whatever, from time to time
That's gonna be messy.
@lem0n-curry sagte in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
@schwammlgott said in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
@jimfrigginlahey sagte in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
I simply went to take a dump and had two and half hours of work gone. Soo, I understand the issue here.
Take your controller with you and jump, or turn, or whatever, from time to time
That's gonna be messy.
If you touch your sh$%#...yes...
@tahngarthor Just an idea, and hear me out. Don't write 10 minute forum posts while you're online in a sever. What you just mentioned is the exact reason games have inactivity timers.
Obviously Rare realized you can't be active 100% of the time. Everyone needs a break(stretch, bathroom, food/drink, etc.), but if you know you're going to be inactive for longer than 10 minutes, just check on your pirate before the 10 minutes are up, move the camera, and reset the timer. 10 minutes is very generous.
I see the OP's point, but here's the problem with it:
There are currently only 6 ships on a server - ~24 players. It's ghastly difficult sometimes to find another ship. Now imagine if someone could park their ship out at Smuggler's Bay or some other remote island and AFK for half an hour? It's not just a convenience for that one specific player - it's an INconvenience for the other 5 ships on the server, and actively detracting from their gaming experience, since it's one less active ship on the server for them to interact with.
I've had many, many multiple-hour sessions. I've had to get up to take a dump, take a leak, answer the front door, sign for a package, eat dinner, etc - I've never once had my game disconnect cause I was AFK. As was pointed out, 10 minutes is more than plenty.
@jimfrigginlahey said in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
I simply went to take a dump and had two and half hours of work gone. Soo, I understand the issue here.
If it takes you more than 10+ minutes to answer Mother Nature's Call, then you've got bigger problems to worry about... 😅
@darkechoes6494 said in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
@tahngarthor Just an idea, and hear me out. Don't write 10 minute forum posts while you're online in a sever. What you just mentioned is the exact reason games have inactivity timers.
Obviously Rare realized you can't be active 100% of the time. Everyone needs a break(stretch, bathroom, food/drink, etc.), but if you know you're going to be inactive for longer than 10 minutes, just check on your pirate before the 10 minutes are up, move the camera, and reset the timer. 10 minutes is very generous.
No, it's not generous. It's the shortest kick timer i've ever seen in a game- and it's in a game where it can cost you more than most, potentially undoing hours of work. Life happens and it shouldn't delete the voyage you were in the middle of. Most games that do this don't lose your progress when it happens.
@tahngarthor said in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
@darkechoes6494 said in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
@tahngarthor Just an idea, and hear me out. Don't write 10 minute forum posts while you're online in a sever. What you just mentioned is the exact reason games have inactivity timers.
Obviously Rare realized you can't be active 100% of the time. Everyone needs a break(stretch, bathroom, food/drink, etc.), but if you know you're going to be inactive for longer than 10 minutes, just check on your pirate before the 10 minutes are up, move the camera, and reset the timer. 10 minutes is very generous.
No, it's not generous. It's the shortest kick timer i've ever seen in a game- and it's in a game where it can cost you more than most, potentially undoing hours of work. Life happens and it shouldn't delete the voyage you were in the middle of. Most games that do this don't lose your progress when it happens.
Being gone for 10 minutes opens you up to an easy attack by another ship, where you would lose all of your progress anyway. That's why this game isn't "progress" central. Sure, you get levels for turning stuff in, but other than that, you don't lose anything unless you don't turn it in. Who would voyage for three hours and go AFK for 10 minutes without turning in? That seems needlessly risky.
@rcadden said in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
I see the OP's point, but here's the problem with it:
There are currently only 6 ships on a server - ~24 players. It's ghastly difficult sometimes to find another ship. Now imagine if someone could park their ship out at Smuggler's Bay or some other remote island and AFK for half an hour? It's not just a convenience for that one specific player - it's an INconvenience for the other 5 ships on the server, and actively detracting from their gaming experience, since it's one less active ship on the server for them to interact with.
I've had many, many multiple-hour sessions. I've had to get up to take a dump, take a leak, answer the front door, sign for a package, eat dinner, etc - I've never once had my game disconnect cause I was AFK. As was pointed out, 10 minutes is more than plenty.
An AFK ship at a remote island for half an hour? That's called a Tall Tale.
:)
@tahngarthor said in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
@darkechoes6494 said in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
@tahngarthor Just an idea, and hear me out. Don't write 10 minute forum posts while you're online in a sever. What you just mentioned is the exact reason games have inactivity timers.
Obviously Rare realized you can't be active 100% of the time. Everyone needs a break(stretch, bathroom, food/drink, etc.), but if you know you're going to be inactive for longer than 10 minutes, just check on your pirate before the 10 minutes are up, move the camera, and reset the timer. 10 minutes is very generous.
No, it's not generous. It's the shortest kick timer i've ever seen in a game- and it's in a game where it can cost you more than most, potentially undoing hours of work. Life happens and it shouldn't delete the voyage you were in the middle of. Most games that do this don't lose your progress when it happens.
Most games I've played are only 1-3 minutes in length with their AFK-kick timers, so IMO, SoT is incredibly generous with the length that they do give you.
Hiii!
I agree! Here are some potential suggestions!
vote to kick makes sense! The brig is nice but more times then not the troll who got brigged is willing to stay in there and do nothing and reap the rewards. At bare minimum brigged teammates shouldnt get credit. If they wanna be a waste of space then they shouldnt get rewarded!
The vote to kick feature + changing your ship type mid game would allow teams to adjust. Removing dead weight without losing hours of progress and supplies.
I got lazy bearded once lol I was in a shop buying all the cosmetics ha ha my character didn't move but I was physically digging through the menu. I got halfway through buying and bam! Disconnected! The point is I wasnt even afk and got booted so it stands to reason the disconnect timer could be tweaked! You could be sailing to an island and someone else is driving so your digging through your commendations and get kicked 😢 I've done that solo too lol point my ship in a direction and sort through my commendations lol going afk for over 10 mins I can see people giving pushback on but this is SOT. It takes 20 mins to get from one side of the map to the other ha ha 10 mins is nothing!
@tubiansayne said in Increase the inactivity disconnect timer pls:
- I got lazy bearded once lol I was in a shop buying all the cosmetics ha ha my character didn't move but I was physically digging through the menu. I got halfway through buying and bam! Disconnected! The point is I wasnt even afk and got booted so it stands to reason the disconnect timer could be tweaked! You could be sailing to an island and someone else is driving so your digging through your commendations and get kicked 😢
This is my main cause of being Lazybearded. I'm digging through the shops and buying things or planning my finances, or I'm looking through my commendations and deciding what I need to work on, and then I get Lazybearded. I think they definitely need to make it so that menu activity still counts for movement.
I'm 100% in agreement with you! Any activity at all should count not just character movement 😁
@rdcrestdbreegul Same here... it's my only lazybeard experience. It'd be nice if shopping counted as an activity, but honestly I feel slightly ashamed for spending so long in a shop now I find out it's a 10 minute limit LOL
Moving the camera in an emote does kick u out of the game due to inactivity. Not at the 10 minute mark but around 30ish minutes.
@alhanelem I hope they shorten the time to like 5 minutes max.
I really hate it when I go for a pirate run and I see afk ships in outposts. Get out there and earn the loot I will steal or remove yourself from the server.
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