Glimmer of light - Hardware boxing, and it still has the power!

[Ellay]

I've let the dust settle, it's been a week. I've gathered my resources and here to show everyone that we can still adapt and succeed.

Below is a video in a very non optimized way, of tearing through a +9 Mythic Waycrest using no Software broadcasting and only Hardware. (mrs. Dayz also joined, ignore the commentary)




Now it's only been a week, everything I'm currently doing is within the ToS updated by Blizzard. This can always change in the future. I'd let the dust settle even further if you do not have the hardware laying around as I don't want to be the reason you go out and buy a bunch of PC's only for this to be changed to!

I've had a lot asking about my setup as well.
This is what it currently looks like:
***Updated Video****

I've made a video!!




What I've added:
4 potato desktop PC's - specs are old gen i5's, 8 gb of memory and a brand new 1030 nvidia card for each. They surprisingly run wow extremely well.
A 3rd monitor, and if you notice it has 4 screens within it.
I'm using https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q3JK5MY/
Which is a 4x1 Quad Multi-viewer, this allows me to use just 1 monitor instead of potentially 4. There is also buttons on the hardware to view just 1 input and a remote that does the same. While all 4 are displaying there is no noticeable lag, it looks smooth. Almost like looking at security cameras. Switch from quad view to a single view does have a delay of about 1-2 seconds to show the screen. So in the heat of the moment switching wouldn't be worthwhile, but if you want to see the whole screen and are managing bags or similar it would be useful. For now I'm squinting with my eyes and the way say I make terrible faces on my stream.

I'm using a KM Synchronizer switch to control the other 4 desktop as well as a program called Synergy (which allows me to control each PC individually). Why did I choose Synergy when there are a bunch of free options out there? Well the main reason is because a lot of the other products offer Software Key Broadcasting and this is a feature I definitely did not want to avoid any potential issues. Controlling each desktop can also be accomplished by using the current KM Switch or adding a second KM switch and an additional keyboard/mouse if you want to get even more technical.

I'm still modifying my setup quite a bit and I'm hoping I will be able to connect all 5 desktops together instead of mashing keys on 2 keyboards at the same time, currently this is the most fluid and it's what I used to do for so long it feels natural.

I plan to keep this updated further and am excited to go into Shadowlands 5 Boxing and the challenges that await this style of gameplay.
We manual boxed in the past. It's totally doable. Albeit not as easy as it once was - but it's still FUN!

[nodoze]

Nice and thanks for sharing the video and I added it to the spreadsheet where we are tracking various solutions/ideas/utilities/etc since the ToS change...

Note that on the list is the Open Source Utility "Debauchee / Barrier" which was forked from symless/Synergy-core and if I recall correctly the person who recommended said it is both free (due to being Open Sourced) and better than the paid Synergy due to being actively maintained. Since I have not had any time to test it myself I don't know if that is correct or not so if you or anyone does try it and has experience with Synergy to contrast/compare it would be great to get some corroboration.

[z0k]

Thanks for taunting me with my favorite part of Holy Paladins. Just kidding of course, looks good. So stoked to see how far you push this.

[Ellay]

Agreed, Barrier is the open source alternative to Synergy. So if you'd like to save $30, that is a good route I haven't tested it though to see if it has key broadcasting or not. (assuming it doesn't)

[jak3676]

Ellay - what'd you go with for a KM Synchronizer? Any odd quirks about stuff not getting passed through correctly (e.g keyboard macro's)?

[Kraxx]

You are now blizzards public enemy #1


They will hunt you down ;-)


Good Luck!

[Wubsie]

While I don't think the 1 rig per toon is viable for me (or for many others) I really am genuinely happy to see someone taking the plunge and succeeding with it. Keep being exceptional. ^^

[Ellay]

I've barely used it and haven't tested most of the keys. There are a lot of options out there and I've literally only tried one so I can't really "recommend" it.
But this is the one that I got - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NZSZFL8/

As far as being public enemy, I'm making sure my actions are within their new Terms of Service.

[Lyonheart]

Nice Ellay! Did you uses GSE?

[Kraxx]

I've barely used it and haven't tested most of the keys. There are a lot of options out there and I've literally only tried one so I can't really "recommend" it.
But this is the one that I got - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NZSZFL8/

As far as being public enemy, I'm making sure my actions are within their new Terms of Service.

Will you only box in dungeons or will you continue playing BGs/ Open PvP?

Don't want to imagine how many times other players will report you then...