We're Going To Need An Afk Timer!

[Kokerpiraat]

Now the server is constantly at cap! We need a way to keep the queues low. My friend went afk in harbor, he was never kicked out of the server. Not for 8 hours, this is taking server spots. Why not set a timer on AFKing?

[Sly Sliver]

Really? I thought there was, I was AFK in a port for 30mins and was kicked of the server before I got back.

Might have been my connection I guess.

[Flavalicious]

Yea before the EA launch i alt tabbed in port and was logged in for like 12 hours without getting kicked.

Also need a note on the server list recommending new players roll on pvp 2....got to do this stuff quick or we are going to have 10k players trying to get on the same server. Lol

[Deepgift]

I would add caution to this, people often go semi afk for long trips across the seas.

['Sharpe]

Good point Deepgift. Maybe AFK in port should have a 30 min timer. AFK on the open seas, no timer. The only exception would be within your capital's protection zone - would need a timer for that since otherwise people would sit there for extended AFK.

[Flavalicious]

Id say base it on sails. 100% sails no afk timer. 0 sails or sitting in port = afk timer. Most people wont risk afk sailing at 100% and leaving it for 5 hours lol. I think any ship in motion is likely being observed by the player

[Sir Richard Bolitho]

I agree, I posted on this issue yesterday. Many moored ships at sea, people AFK. A timer based on sails as has been suggested is the best option. If people want to do something else then let them exit the game and give someone else a go.

[Soiledmist]

Yeah, login timer hit almost 15 minutes a while ago.

[admin]

Now the server is constantly at cap! We need a way to keep the queues low. My friend went afk in harbor, he was never kicked out of the server. Not for 8 hours, this is taking server spots. Why not set a timer on AFKing?

 

Good idea.

Lead dev will start working on it monday.

 

I mean we already have the foundation done.. we did not expect we will need it so soon.

[Scorpio Shirica]

Good idea.

Lead dev will start working on it monday.

 

I mean we already have the foundation done.. we did not expect we will need it so soon.

 

The curse of success! 

 

Worse things to be had, I'm sure. 

[Blackheart]

Good idea.

Lead dev will start working on it monday.

 

I mean we already have the foundation done.. we did not expect we will need it so soon.

There needs to be two timers, one of short duration under 15 minutes after logon at player selection screen. The second actually in game, if after period of inactivity (30,60 minutes) a player should receive a pop up checking if player still active, (Still Active Yes?)  and that starts an additional countdown of 90 seconds if player doesn't select Yes they get booted.

 

 

Obviously the above times are just examples.

[Fluffy Fishy]

Id say base it on sails. 100% sails no afk timer. 0 sails or sitting in port = afk timer. Most people wont risk afk sailing at 100% and leaving it for 5 hours lol. I think any ship in motion is likely being observed by the player

 

I agree there should be something done but I get the feeling people will just get round it by going around in circles at full sail or trapping themselves in shallows. Its a difficult call to make long semi afk voyages possible but still have some kind of protection against the port sitters.

[Mansen]

In addition to the timer, I suggest you look into the possibility to allow one time transfers from PVP One to a less full server. I'm sure there's a portion of players willing to move to a less crowded server, if it means not having to sit through the 1200+ people queue after downtime.

 

Especially players from the US who'd prefer having less latency on PVP Two.

[Plak]

Loot screen after Battle and sailing in circles in front of capital needs to be addressed as well so people don't AFK there.

[TheSlickOne]

Can we please get an explanation from the devs as to why we can't have access to our PVP One ships on PVP Two ?!? How do they plan to expand capacity otherwise? What is the point of PVP Two then? XP alone is pointless. We grind to get into bigger ships coz we want to sail bigger ships. If One is full then we should be able to continue on Two and still have our ships and also join our friends. If they're intended to be two separate worlds then make that clear and increase capacity of One!

[Elbows]

I think this is a good idea but needs to be handled carefully.  I've done several 30-45 minute one-way trips myself, so I'd probably suggest the sail detection idea.  Sitting stationary should allow a time-out.  Moving in game should not.

[Macjimm]

Eight hours is a long time to be sitting in port. But ... If we are going to start kicking people from the game I hope we consider carefully how to assess AFK.

1) Trading/crafting in port, no movement of ship. Will that be considered AFK?

2) Sometimes when I'm recalculating my course I'll stop and sit in one position until the calculations are complete. Currently I use external applications on the second monitor while my ship sits motionless on another. Is this AFK? It is sometimes easier to do the calculations at a standstill so I can avoid complicating the plot with additional movement.

3) Other times I'm on a long leg at dead slow sail. There is no mouse or keboard input but again I'm watching and "in game". Am I AFK?

4) I do plan on doing some very long journeys where I may be away from the screen while my ship continues. I haven't done this yet. But I was looking forward to it. Would I be interrupted mid travel and have no idea when or where my ship was when I was yanked out of game?

Thirty minutes can go by darn fast in game. It would be frustrating to booted out a couple times an hour because we've decided if I'm not fighting I'm AFK.

Possible work arounds:

1) Only implement "AFK" checks if the server is full. What does it matter if my ship is motionless or I'm not using the keyboard/mouse if no one is needing my spot. It would be inconsiderate to disconnect someone (who was in game) from a near empty server just because of lack of keyboard input or movement.

2) If kicking people (for lack of movement or input ) is implemented publish the time interval on the forums and keep it consistent so I can set a timer and be sure to leave port or wiggle the mouse once an interval to avoid the boot.

3) Personally I exit the server many times during a session. It seems unnecessary to keep the game running if I'm researching or planning. Only recently has it mattered due to the high populations on the servers. It seems that I have different characters with the same name on each server. More gold, experience and ships on one than the other. As we get more and more servers perhaps our assets (and location) can be synchronized between them. That way when I reconnect I can continue my journey even if the server I was in is full.

Edited January 25, 2016 by Macjimm

[AP514]

For CRAFTERS you are hitting KEYS  are you not  ?...Plane and simple after not hitting a keystroke you get a MSG click YES then you do not get booted....

if not your out and I do not have to wait for 20 minutes to get into the server..Woot

[IronClaw]

Due to the very nature of this game, I agree that the AFK-implementation needs to be chosen very carefully. In most other games, 15-20 minutes is easily long enough. But I think a lot of people alt-tab out of the game on very long travels that can easily last more than 30 minutes. 

[la Touche-Treville]

This is an absolute must. We need an AFK timer to free up slots that are being squatted by players that don't want to wait in queue when they login.

 

Another suggestion I have is to be able to sign up on the waiting list of a server, move on to a PVE server to XP while you wait and  have a monitor somewhere that tells you how much time you still have to wait. 

When slot is free, you will then receive an alert message giving you 10mn to switch over. After 10mn (plenty of time to escape a battle or teleport back to port), if you don't show up, your waiting slot get's canceled.

 

OK this is a quick and dirty fix but might help while devs figure out how to get more players per server....

[Irish Rover]

An AFK timer is just a Band-Aid. In a month or so, it won't help anything. The underlying problem has to be addressed if we're going to have a long-term solution. As I type this, 2110 players are online and I am in Position 436 in the queue for PvP One! My guess is that I've got over a hour wait to get on -- and I don't have the luxury of waiting an hour just to start playing. I'm lucky to get an hour in total to play on any given day!

 

Players must be allowed to migrate their entire characters -- name, rank, crafting experience, gold, ships, outposts, warehouse inventories, etc. etc. etc. -- away from a server at capacity to another server with lower load. (Most likely, this should be a one-way trip to make exploits harder.)

 

PvP One is useless to me with just 2100 or so players. What is going to happen after another month of EA sales? Add a few more thousand players and it won't be AFK players that stop you from joining PvP One -- it will be active players that stop you -- and you can't kick them! The only solutions are  a bigger server for PvP One (unreasonable) or move people to PvP Two (or Three or Four or Five as the game grows.) You can't "AFK-timer" your way out of this problem. Soon, PvP One will just be overloaded with legitimate, playing users.

Edited January 25, 2016 by Irish Rover

[Macjimm]

Seems that I get a message about getting kicked for inactivity after 20 min of no input.

Two questions. And please don't pour the hate at me for asking:

1) Is the AFK timer set for 20min?
2) Can the Devs respond and offer any hope that it might be possible to sail long distances without being kicked for inactivity? Perhaps code to check if the ship is moving somewhere, rather than circling or at anchor?

 

I'm really going to make my self a target for ridicule and disgust but ....  
if I'm sailing dead slow (so my ship doesn't feel like a speed boat) I could be kicked two times just traveling the length of Jamaica. Or
If I try a medium long voyage (below) from Kingston/Port Royal to St. George's at battle speed (Avg 5Kn) I'll get kicked 19 times.


I'm not asking anyone else to change their game. I understand that we need some measure to prevent players from going AFK and leaving the game on just to hold their place in the server.  I used a server that was low population and still got kicked. No one else needed my spot. I was engaged with the game.  I don't expect anyone to understand wanting to sail in a manner that doesn't feel like a speedboat.  

 

But I don't think many people would abuse a system that allowed a player to stay in game as long as they were moving.  There may be a few but no so many that it would have much affect.

On short voyages I'm usually busy with each leg and provide lots of input. But on longer journeys it would be nice to be able to stay in game without wiggling the mouse every 20 minutes.

I see the need to prevent players from sitting idle, but is there any way the game could check to see if the ship is moving rather than just checking for keyboard or mouse input?