Multi-Boxing WAR

[Stim]

Hey,

I've done a lot of research on the net to try and figure out whether multi-boxing (via the use of keyclone or similar) is banned in WAR.

The best thread I've come across is this :

http://forums.warhammeronline.com/warhammer/board/message?board.id=p2psupport&message.id=6237

"Hey folks,
There is nothing against multi-boxing and if you are able to do it you are free to do so. However, use of third party automation/macro programs is prohibited at all times so the same restrictions to a single account still apply.

I hope that answers the question, thanks http://forums.warhammeronline.com/i/smilies/16x16_smiley-happy.gif"
James Nichols
Community Forums Manager
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

The way I interpret that, is that third party programs such as KeyClone and HotKeyNet are iffy at best - are they really defined as an automation or macro tool? Automation I would say not, but the program essentially macros keys to broadcast to other clients from what I gather.

Basically I'm looking at two boxing WAR. I've got a few machines at my disposal, but my main rig can cope easily with two clients. I've read up on a few solutions but I was wondering what people's experiences were with WAR and the use of software and/or hardware setups. If a software setup with third party programs really is prohibited then I'm able to create a hardware setup if need be.

Are you aware of anyone that's been banned through the use of such clients or are you using them without problems yourself?

Any info that you guys could share would be great.
Oh, and most threads I've seen even questioning the issue of multiboxing anywhere on the net seem to get spammed with general whine about people that can't multibox. I could care less about people's views on it - I'm hoping I've come to the right place to avoid that stuff anyway ;)

[Lokked]

Your first obstacle is that windows that are not "Active" (in the Foreground) will not accept keystrokes until they are made active. That is, using Keyclone will not work the way you expect it (or at all).

HKN can get around this by first broadcasting the keystroke to each instance, and then activating each instance to allow the keystroke to be processed. However, this means very poor game performance and response time. You will likely end up wanting to bang your head against a wall several minutes into your playtime.

Technically, Innerspace could remedy this using the "Lock Foreground" feature, but Innerspace essentially places a layer between the game and the rest of your system, and thus is easily detected by anti-cheat software.

There are a few who multibox using hardware solutions (1 computer per instances of WAR).

And no, HKN and Keyclone are not considered Automation tools.

Good Luck

[Stim]

Sorry I'm a little confused - I've tried using HKN and the other machine is receiving the commands as expected (that you can see through the logs in the application.) However, the warhammer client isn't reacting to the key presses at all.

It's the window that's currently active in the foreground - is this what you're talking about?

I've tried using commands that send it to the window named "warhammer" and also used the SendWinFocus command - the same results found with each. Do I need to use an additional command to make the window active after each keystroke for it to process it?

[Lokked]

When I was doing it, HKN's SendWin command was what I used, SendWinX also worked.

[Stim]

Hmm yeah. That's a command I've tried aswell.

It definitely appears to be working in terms of the program doing it's job, as even if the window is inactive it brings it to the front.

"If you use SendWin with a background window, HotkeyNet tells the operating system to bring the window to the foreground. The operating system takes a long time to do this. But HotkeyNet doesn't wait. It sends your keystrokes immediately. If they are sent before the window arrives in the foreground, they won't be received by the window. To avoid this problem, add a Wait ('http://hotkeynet.com/ref/wait.html') after SendWin. This is illustrated in the first example below."

The only problem is that I see no reaction from the client - this is even if the window is currently active and in the foreground.

[Normak]

Hmm yeah. That's a command I've tried aswell.

It definitely appears to be working in terms of the program doing it's job, as even if the window is inactive it brings it to the front.

"If you use SendWin with a background window, HotkeyNet tells the operating system to bring the window to the foreground. The operating system takes a long time to do this. But HotkeyNet doesn't wait. It sends your keystrokes immediately. If they are sent before the window arrives in the foreground, they won't be received by the window. To avoid this problem, add a Wait ('http://hotkeynet.com/ref/wait.html') after SendWin. This is illustrated in the first example below."

The only problem is that I see no reaction from the client - this is even if the window is currently active and in the foreground.



i battled with this for ages and eventualy got it working however it was terrible. the game is design to run in low frames if it is not in focus and to not accept key commands with means you have to focus the window, input commands and then refocus back to your main window.

Only way to do this is to put in a small wait comman. "switch to wondow X, wait 50milliseconds, input commands, switch back to window Z" and so on. so everytime your pressing a buttom your pc is switching between multiple screens and nearly always bugs out when you mashing buttoms or constantly holding on down. Also to add to this the "Wait" time depends on your pc, how long it takes to focus or load up the other window and to add to the frustration this may even change while your playing because if lots of things are happening your pc slows down and you need a longer wait time.

if its not being picked up on slave windows try increasing wait times or make sure HKN is focused on correct window names is another big thing.

In the end it was just too unplayible and just too many varialbes, all because Mythic thought it would be smarter to make the game this way. pity i really enjoyed WAR as a possible multiboxing alternative.