Cherek wrote:Freya: If we remove buy now you will force people who want to buy popular stuff to be logged in when the auction ends, and then it's about who makes the highest bid exactly the second before it ends, which also can be scripted... Unless you make it so you don't know when an auction ends, but that won't be very user friendly instead.
Or, like someone suggested before, we make it so auction times are extended by a couple of seconds each time someone makes a bid. Still, that means you can't buy a thing right away, and you have to wait for an auction to end and be around to win the auction when it does end. That does promotes playing the game and being active though, so it could work. Not sure if it's something people want though? It would be the most fair solution probably, as everyone gets a chance to bid, and whoever bids the most wins, not whoever has the best scripts or quickest connection.
Personally I like the buy now feature, and I think the suggestion by Cotillion fixes the issues with connection speeds and scripts, while still keeping it convenient for players.
So having it be a lottery among those people with scripts who buy it first is better you think? Or did I misunderstand his idea?
I actually think removing preventing max bid buys the first hour of the action would help stop the issues we're having, like I said there's a handful of players who got scripts, its the same people who have been scripting to gain size over the last couple of years, its the people who want everything for themself. Letting them keep on script buying AH items does not benefit the game one bit.
To prevent people from making last minute bids, remove the time thats show, let it be no time shown at all, or make it "approximatly 1 hour left of the auction" meaning it could be anything from 1-59 minutes left.
Thats another issue we're having with the AH, its the last second bids, it should be adressed as well.
I do like the idea of having the auction pro-longed with a certain amount of time if a bid comes in, but a think a few seconds is to short time, make it 5 minutes, that way people at least get the shot at running to a bank and making a bid(otherwise you'll just have people standing around in guildhalls with a huge heap of plats and autobidding to win).
Personally I don't think showing time remaining of the auction helps , I'd rather let it be a mystery, that way you promote people who are active, but at the same time don't let the scripters decide who gets what.
But as far as I know we have no rule against using triggers or scripts to buy things from the auction, unless you break the rules by doing it in a botting-way, completely unattended. Then it might break our botting rules... even though auction-botting is not specifically mentioned.
