Can we have an AFK timer warning?

@uri5718

Just remember to nudge your mouse or touch a key once every TEN MINUTES and you'll be fine. It will never happen again.

@wagstr missing my entire point yet again; how do you prepare for something you have no knowledge of existing?

@uri5718

You have knowledge now, use it wisely..

@wagstr I am not 'everyone'. You are not 'everyone'. Yet it keeps repeating, so there clearly are people that are not knowledgeable nor adapted to it.

@uri5718 I would not mind this just because sometimes I will get booted for shopping which is kinda annoying because when I try to join back game still registers me as in crew so it will take a few tries. I think this is not some huge change to game just a little one, not really a big deal and would not be first game to have a time out warning.

@combatxkitty that only happens if you were part of a multiplayer crew. In solo, if you get booted, your ship scuttles and your progress is lost.

@wolfmanbush said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@uri5718 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@wolfmanbush said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@uri5718 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@dlchief58 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@uri5718 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@dlchief58 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@uri5718 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@dlchief58 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@uri5718 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@genuine-heather which is exactly what I pointed. People who are solo are much harsher treated by it as they can't just rejoin contrary to a DC / crash.

Solo player here, and I see this as a monumental waste and definitely not needed. If you are AFK, I fail to see how a timer is going to help as you as (wait for it) AFK! If you aren't paying attention or near the game, this timer is not going to help anyone. Take some responsibility for yourself.

A prompt bound to an activity timer is very minimal effort/work made. Also, as was many times mentioned but that clearly evaded you; It's meant to affect those that AREN'T really AFK, but fall under the same condition constraints of showing no movement. You can still perfectly fine pay attention to the game, the AFK timer isn't tracking whether you are on your game screen or not, it only tracks if you're moving or not. There are plenty of situations this occurs on, without a player performing malicious or disruptive behavior; Long journeys, browsing interfaces, lurking an event/location, etc, all fit the same condition of being abruptly booted from the game (with solo players, losing all progress they made in that run).

Just because you don't fit that bill, doesn't mean everybody doesn't.

Sorry, don't buy it. As I said I am a solo player and manage just fine without any AFK timer. Most of those things you mention as justification I cannot agree with, as you are in fact NOT playing the game and taking up server space. As I said, take some responsibility for your own actions instead of having the game babysit for you. The people that this would "help" is very minimal...and most of those would be using it for nefarious reasons such as tucking or AFK brig farming.

It probably wouldn't take much for them to implement, but why? It is a pretty much useless feature for the vast majority of players, even for those you claim it would help (as they were AFK and wouldn't see the prompt anyway). I'm not all out opposed to it, but fail to see the point of spending the time to implement it for such a small fraction of players who are taking up server space but not actively playing anyway.

How many times must I say this is about people that AREN'T AFK before it crosses your mind? The AFK Boot doesn't read you being active or not. It just reads you moving or not. Not moving =/= Not active.

Also, I'm a solo sloop player myself, so constantly hauling in that title does you no credit. People in organized multiplayer don't suffer from the backlash a wrongful AFK boot has as they can just rejoin.

It is not a wrongful boot, you weren't playing. If you aren't moving for 10 minutes, then you most certainly are not playing no matter how you try to justify it. Deal with it and pay attention to the time in the future.

Oh, okay, good to know.

I guess my uninterrupted path sailing from Sanctuary outpost to Morrow's Peak outpost isn't playing the game, right?

I guess me lurking for anyone trying to attempt the flameheart raid or ghost ship event isn't playing the game, right?

I guess trying to look through some cosmetics at the black market on what to buy with a limited budget isn't playing the game, right?

I guess baiting a ritual skull at the Fort of the Damned for anyone eager to bite isn't playing the game, right?

All of these 4 are examples of where the AFK timer can kick in, without you actually leaving your game screen. There's no assistance telling/informing you you're about to be booted, it just happens, while you were there all along.

But hey, I guess a harmless reminder is completely over the top right, since you yourself already has perfectly organized and memorized. Luckily all players start with exactly that knowledge and adaptation!

I would love to see you get booted for being afk while sailing from sanctuary to morrow's while actively playing

Would be a fascinating watch

Not so rare to happen if nothing interesting happens on your way to it. There's no islands on the way in-between, its path is right between two regions, so you don't need to actively steer.

I'd love to see it a successful completion from point A to point B with no player movement

Well, I gave you the exact path. Hop in a game and check for yourself how easy that route is.

@uri5718 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@combatxkitty that only happens if you were part of a multiplayer crew. In solo, if you get booted, your ship scuttles and your progress is lost.

Oh that sucks. I am lucky never had that issue when I was solo. I do wonder why Rare counts you as "afk" while shopping because i was moving the controller to pick out different items, I was not just sitting there.

@alertedlime143 malicious behavior is a completely different subject, though. Tuckers can already do their job perfectly fine without a timed pop-up, so the implementation of it wouldn't affect them, neither positively nor negatively. And ultimately, if you don't want unreliable teammates, don't go randoms.

It's pretty wild that people agree with the flawed in-game logic that shopping or navigating menus equates to being AFK.

What does AFK mean? Away from keyboard. What does that infer? No input is being registered on the keyboard (or mouse) to confirm the player is currently playing. If you're moving through menus or storefronts, you very obviously DO need to keep making inputs on the keyboard/controller to navigate... so how and why is that being considered AFK when you're still proving you are not, in fact, away from your keyboard?

@uri5718 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@dlchief58 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@uri5718 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@dlchief58 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@uri5718 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@dlchief58 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@uri5718 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@genuine-heather which is exactly what I pointed. People who are solo are much harsher treated by it as they can't just rejoin contrary to a DC / crash.

Solo player here, and I see this as a monumental waste and definitely not needed. If you are AFK, I fail to see how a timer is going to help as you as (wait for it) AFK! If you aren't paying attention or near the game, this timer is not going to help anyone. Take some responsibility for yourself.

A prompt bound to an activity timer is very minimal effort/work made. Also, as was many times mentioned but that clearly evaded you; It's meant to affect those that AREN'T really AFK, but fall under the same condition constraints of showing no movement. You can still perfectly fine pay attention to the game, the AFK timer isn't tracking whether you are on your game screen or not, it only tracks if you're moving or not. There are plenty of situations this occurs on, without a player performing malicious or disruptive behavior; Long journeys, browsing interfaces, lurking an event/location, etc, all fit the same condition of being abruptly booted from the game (with solo players, losing all progress they made in that run).

Just because you don't fit that bill, doesn't mean everybody doesn't.

Sorry, don't buy it. As I said I am a solo player and manage just fine without any AFK timer. Most of those things you mention as justification I cannot agree with, as you are in fact NOT playing the game and taking up server space. As I said, take some responsibility for your own actions instead of having the game babysit for you. The people that this would "help" is very minimal...and most of those would be using it for nefarious reasons such as tucking or AFK brig farming.

It probably wouldn't take much for them to implement, but why? It is a pretty much useless feature for the vast majority of players, even for those you claim it would help (as they were AFK and wouldn't see the prompt anyway). I'm not all out opposed to it, but fail to see the point of spending the time to implement it for such a small fraction of players who are taking up server space but not actively playing anyway.

How many times must I say this is about people that AREN'T AFK before it crosses your mind? The AFK Boot doesn't read you being active or not. It just reads you moving or not. Not moving =/= Not active.

Also, I'm a solo sloop player myself, so constantly hauling in that title does you no credit. People in organized multiplayer don't suffer from the backlash a wrongful AFK boot has as they can just rejoin.

It is not a wrongful boot, you weren't playing. If you aren't moving for 10 minutes, then you most certainly are not playing no matter how you try to justify it. Deal with it and pay attention to the time in the future.

Oh, okay, good to know.

I guess my uninterrupted path sailing from Sanctuary outpost to Morrow's Peak outpost isn't playing the game, right?

I guess me lurking for anyone trying to attempt the flameheart raid or ghost ship event isn't playing the game, right?

I guess trying to look through some cosmetics at the black market on what to buy with a limited budget isn't playing the game, right?

I guess baiting a ritual skull at the Fort of the Damned for anyone eager to bite isn't playing the game, right?

All of these 4 are examples of where the AFK timer can kick in, without you actually leaving your game screen. There's no assistance telling/informing you you're about to be booted, it just happens, while you were there all along.

But hey, I guess a harmless reminder is completely over the top right, since you yourself already has perfectly organized and memorized. Luckily all players start with exactly that knowledge and adaptation!

If you aren't moving for 10 minutes, then yes you aren't playing but rather taking up server space. None of those examples is a justification for not paying attention in game for 10 WHOLE MINUTES. Why not take some responsibility for yourself and actually pay attention to the time spent being AFK.

And as I said, I am not completely opposed to it but rather find it a pointless venture and a complete waste of developer time that can be devoted to more important things that benefit the majority of players instead of just a handful who can't take it upon themselves to pay better attention (or would use it for other reasons as pointed out before).

@dlchief58 Maybe let developers themselves decide whether a feature is worth their time implementing, they're the better judges of that.

Refering back to what I said, "not moving" isn't the same as "not present". There are many instances where you don't move, either by doing something else ingame, or when life calls for a quick moment.

Also, what are you constantly rampaging about "clogging up server space"? Like the heck man, are you assuming servers are made of 90's tech or something? Am I suddenly taking up a spot in a map you desperately want to play on or something? There's never been any form of queue or limited global capacity, so... haunting a suggestion threat about "clogging up other player's spots!" is petty and futile.

@shy-reptar said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

It's pretty wild that people agree with the flawed in-game logic that shopping or navigating menus equates to being AFK.

What does AFK mean? Away from keyboard. What does that infer? No input is being registered on the keyboard (or mouse) to confirm the player is currently playing. If you're moving through menus or storefronts, you very obviously DO need to keep making inputs on the keyboard/controller to navigate... so how and why is that being considered AFK when you're still proving you are not, in fact, away from your keyboard?

I agree with you. Shopping is not being AFK. Being AFK is literally being AWAY! When you are shopping you are not away you are still in game and participating in in game activities.

@uri5718 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@dlchief58 Maybe let developers themselves decide whether a feature is worth their time implementing, they're the better judges of that.

Refering back to what I said, "not moving" isn't the same as "not present". There are many instances where you don't move, either by doing something else ingame, or when life calls for a quick moment.

Also, what are you constantly rampaging about "clogging up server space"? Like the heck man, are you assuming servers are made of 90's tech or something? Am I suddenly taking up a spot in a map you desperately want to play on or something? There's never been any form of queue or limited global capacity, so... haunting a suggestion threat about "clogging up other player's spots!" is petty and futile.

Seems like there's a superiority complex in here, as if SoT server space is an incredibly precious commodity only deserved by those who meet the standards of movement by a select few users on this forum. Just because I like to stare at challenges, stores, reputation, etc for too long sometimes doesn't mean I deserve to be completely booted from the game.

@shy-reptar I believe players aren't even able to join maps after a certain time expended. Hence why some empty servers often start to merge its remaining players into newer ones.

@shy-reptar said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@uri5718 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@dlchief58 Maybe let developers themselves decide whether a feature is worth their time implementing, they're the better judges of that.

Refering back to what I said, "not moving" isn't the same as "not present". There are many instances where you don't move, either by doing something else ingame, or when life calls for a quick moment.

Also, what are you constantly rampaging about "clogging up server space"? Like the heck man, are you assuming servers are made of 90's tech or something? Am I suddenly taking up a spot in a map you desperately want to play on or something? There's never been any form of queue or limited global capacity, so... haunting a suggestion threat about "clogging up other player's spots!" is petty and futile.

Seems like there's a superiority complex in here, as if SoT server space is an incredibly precious commodity only deserved by those who meet the standards of movement by a select few users on this forum. Just because I like to stare at challenges, stores, reputation, etc for too long sometimes doesn't mean I deserve to be completely booted from the game.

Well the great thing about SOT is its an open world sandbox. We can do as we please. My version of fun is shopping for 15 minutes while another player may have fun drinking in the tavern with their crew and puking on one another for 15 minutes. Point is how we choose to spend our 15 minutes is our business. I dont think I should be kicked for being AFK while I am not afk especially when it happened while I was giving Rare my real life money in the Pirate Emporium. Yes a timer would have been nice. This has happened to me a hand full of times. When I shop time gets away from me. Its not the end of the world by any means and I can live without a timer but one may be nice or Rare can stop kicking us shoppers.

@wolfmanbush God complex is probably a better fit, but I'll admit that's extreme.

The server space complaint you and another user have made multiple times now is a pretty goofy exaggeration and you've put forward a very condescending attitude about anyone being AFK for any reason, regardless of whether they're truly even meeting the actual description of AFK.

@COMBATxKITTY 100% agreed.

@uri5718

Well, I gave you the exact path. Hop in a game and check for yourself how easy that route is.

Doesn't the wind change now then? Or player ships turn up? Or megs, kraks, skloops etc?

@wolfmanbush well, so far your arguments have only involved poor player behavior in your own game's perspective. Even after being asked to steer into a more objective argument, you failed to provide and still keep on going about player behavior, rather than the suggestion at hand. So yeah, not inaccurate at all.

@wagstr wind change and efficiency is minimal in long runs, maximum efficiency only really matters if you're on time constraints or are being tailed.

And I very clearly expressed; "uninterrupted", so by default that rules out any occasions a player is intending to intercept you. Events very rarely happen if you just started, their appearance is determined by loot you're carrying. In fact, I've never seen a meg/kraken/ship drop on me ever when I just ported out of an outpost/island I just started/spawned from.

@wolfmanbush But you're not going overboard when pretending server space is a precious commodity being wasted whenever someone is standing still?

At least you finally sort of acknowledged that being in a shop or menu is considered being AFK when it shouldn't be, although I'm curious how implementing a system that simply acknowledges input in shops or menus as not-AFK could or would be easily exploited.

@uri5718 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@wagstr wind change and efficiency is minimal in long runs, maximum efficiency only really matters if you're on time constraints or are being tailed.

And I very clearly expressed; "uninterrupted", so by default that rules out any occasions a player is intending to intercept you. Events very rarely happen if you just started, their appearance is determined by loot you're carrying. In fact, I've never seen a meg/kraken/ship drop on me ever when I just ported out of an outpost/island I just started/spawned from.

Sorry, if you just spawned why are you bothered about being kicked and losing progress? And why are you afk come to think of it?

@wagstr I'm not saying that it does. I'm saying that that is a perfectly plausible occurrence where it happens, like you argued being the case.

@shy-reptar said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@uri5718 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@dlchief58 Maybe let developers themselves decide whether a feature is worth their time implementing, they're the better judges of that.

Refering back to what I said, "not moving" isn't the same as "not present". There are many instances where you don't move, either by doing something else ingame, or when life calls for a quick moment.

Also, what are you constantly rampaging about "clogging up server space"? Like the heck man, are you assuming servers are made of 90's tech or something? Am I suddenly taking up a spot in a map you desperately want to play on or something? There's never been any form of queue or limited global capacity, so... haunting a suggestion threat about "clogging up other player's spots!" is petty and futile.

Seems like there's a superiority complex in here, as if SoT server space is an incredibly precious commodity only deserved by those who meet the standards of movement by a select few users on this forum. Just because I like to stare at challenges, stores, reputation, etc for too long sometimes doesn't mean I deserve to be completely booted from the game.

Don't you think a better solution would be for those actions to not boot you for being AFK since you are actually in game and (supposedly) doing something? But as a caveat, why are you spending 10 minutes shopping or checking stats, thus making yourself vulnerable to player (or environmental) attacks? Is it really that hard to back out and make some movement as 10 minutes is a very long time to not pay attention in an online, multiplayer game.

All these examples given to justify this are fringe cases and do not benefit the community as a whole to any great extent. As I said, I'd much rather have the developers work on something EVERYONE can use instead of some fringe cases that can't manage their time properly (or who would use it for less valid reasons as stated before...this would only encourage MORE players to adopt such play styles by making it that much easier). That is my opinion, could not care less if you agree or not nor do I feel superior because of it (I have other reasons for that, LOL!).

@dlchief58 Maybe because not everyone is like you? Like, it's all cool if you got it all under control, but not everyone is at that page. And wrongfully kicking people without at least informing them about that is absolutely not the most ludicrous thing to suggest.

If I am afk it is because I have been playing a while.

If I been playing a while I have loot on board.

If I have loot on board I am never afk for TEN WHOLE MINUTES.

@wolfmanbush said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@uri5718 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@wagstr wind change and efficiency is minimal in long runs, maximum efficiency only really matters if you're on time constraints or are being tailed.

And I very clearly expressed; "uninterrupted", so by default that rules out any occasions a player is intending to intercept you. Events very rarely happen if you just started, their appearance is determined by loot you're carrying. In fact, I've never seen a meg/kraken/ship drop on me ever when I just ported out of an outpost/island I just started/spawned from.

uh what?

I've been kraken'd plenty right after setting sail. That loot thing is a tall tale. I've been kraken'd as much just sailing around as I have fully loaded with loot. In fact in the last 6 months I've probably been kraken'd more without loot than with it. It happens randomly after an event ends to random ships

Hmm, must've been very lucky the past month never facing an event in the first hour of playtime.

EDIT: https://seaofthieves.gamepedia.com/Encounters No, Krakens don't haunt players that just started or have nothing on their ship (storage and gp barrels are considered 'treasure' still). The only way for a new player to encounter a meg or kraken early, is when another player either lured it to them (megalodon), or when another player triggered the prior world event (kraken). Skeleton ships can also just be a roaming ship, which are passive. Only those spawned upon you are aggressive.

@dlchief58 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@shy-reptar said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@uri5718 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@dlchief58 Maybe let developers themselves decide whether a feature is worth their time implementing, they're the better judges of that.

Refering back to what I said, "not moving" isn't the same as "not present". There are many instances where you don't move, either by doing something else ingame, or when life calls for a quick moment.

Also, what are you constantly rampaging about "clogging up server space"? Like the heck man, are you assuming servers are made of 90's tech or something? Am I suddenly taking up a spot in a map you desperately want to play on or something? There's never been any form of queue or limited global capacity, so... haunting a suggestion threat about "clogging up other player's spots!" is petty and futile.

Seems like there's a superiority complex in here, as if SoT server space is an incredibly precious commodity only deserved by those who meet the standards of movement by a select few users on this forum. Just because I like to stare at challenges, stores, reputation, etc for too long sometimes doesn't mean I deserve to be completely booted from the game.

Don't you think a better solution would be for those actions to not boot you for being AFK since you are actually in game and (supposedly) doing something? But as a caveat, why are you spending 10 minutes shopping or checking stats, thus making yourself vulnerable to player (or environmental) attacks? Is it really that hard to back out and make some movement as 10 minutes is a very long time to not pay attention in an online, multiplayer game.

All these examples given to justify this are fringe cases and do not benefit the community as a whole to any great extent. As I said, I'd much rather have the developers work on something EVERYONE can use instead of some fringe cases that can't manage their time properly (or who would use it for less valid reasons as stated before...this would only encourage MORE players to adopt such play styles by making it that much easier). That is my opinion, could not care less if you agree or not nor do I feel superior because of it (I have other reasons for that, LOL!).

Well I've been saying all along that I don't see why anyone should get kicked while browsing challenges or stores but in lieu of changing that, a pop up timer would've helped me prevent getting kicked by popping out of the menu or store before it happens. As for the caveat of being vulnerable for looking at menus, that's my problem that I accept and I would pay for it if someone attacked me while I was doing that.

I obviously understand not wanting dev resources to be wasted on things that don't have benefit for the larger community as a whole but seriously, how much time and effort could actually go into having a message or something pop up on your screen saying "2 minutes until disconnected for inactivity" if your character has been standing still for 8 minutes? I won't pretend to know exactly what that would entail but I think it's nutty to assume that would require anything more than minimal effort from a single person.

@uri5718 said in Can we have an AFK timer warning?:

@dlchief58 Maybe because not everyone is like you? Like, it's all cool if you got it all under control, but not everyone is at that page. And wrongfully kicking people without at least informing them about that is absolutely not the most ludicrous thing to suggest.

Nor is PAYING ATTENTION IN AN ONLINE, MULTIPLAYER GAME.

You aren't wrongfully kicked either. I will give you something should be done IF you are being kicked for shopping or checking commendations or challenges, as in making sure that does not happen if you are actively browsing those pages. But a timer is not really necessary and helps only a handful of fringe cases.