The extent to which this ban interferes with RMT is limited to things like botting, speed hacks, and warp hacks. There is no one on my server that I know of who has been kicked for using windower by this "police action".
For those who don't know, Windower, by allowing one to run tools in the background, and by use of its plugin interface, allows harmless things (Like seeing your party members' TP, or displaying the distance to the mob) and harmful things (ffxiapp, bots, hacks). SE probably couldn't give a damn if you alt+tabbed to look at Alla, or a video, or **** (or all 3), but the same tool that lets you alt+tab also provides an interface for REALLY bad programs. Which is why SE has such a beef with windower.
To be honest, I felt that this was one of their better press releases, because it actually spoke of the real problems, not "Third party tools bad. You go to Hell".
Some quotes are in order:
Quote:
confirmed to have violated the user agreement by... enabling abnormal in-game movement were discovered and have been suspended or permanently terminated
A follow up:
Quote:
Based on the results of an investigation... accounts have been either suspended or terminated... for the malicious and intentional use of these third-party tools
Yep. The GM's ACTUALLY DO STUFF. Granted, once in a ***** Ice Age, but there you have it.
Quote:
use of any third-party tools will not only destroy the in-game balance, but will also encourage RMT (real money trading) activities
It's hard to see alt+tabbing being the RMT concern, but when you consider things like hacks, I would have to agree with SE's Statement.
Quote:
To ensure our customers could enjoy the game safely, we will continue to apply measurements to combat these third-party tools and violations.
They actually have souls. Although, in the future, it would be more believable if the statement actually had Authors, and wasn't a computer printout. Thanks for trying though.
Action Taken Against Third-Party Tool Users
Today, a number of accounts which were confirmed to have violated the user agreement by using unauthorized third-party software tools within FINAL FANTASY XI to enable abnormal in-game movement were discovered and have been suspended or permanently terminated.
Based on the results of an investigation, over 1,400 PlayOnline accounts have been either suspended or terminated on Aug. 30, 2006 for the malicious and intentional use of these third-party tools.
We would like to take this time to remind our players that the use of any third-party tools will not only destroy the in-game balance, but will also encourage RMT (real money trading) activities. We will continue to take strict actions against those individuals that we have confirmed to have used such tools.
Please note that some of these third-party tools may cause character information to be altered, erased, or personal information to be leaked to unwanted third parties. If you come across a third-party tool over the Internet, we ask that you please refrain from the download of such a tool, no matter how minor it may appear to be.
To ensure our customers could enjoy the game safely, we will continue to apply measurements to combat these third-party tools and violations.
We thank you for your cooperation and understanding in this matter.
Based on the results of an investigation, over 1,400 PlayOnline accounts have been either suspended or terminated on Aug. 30, 2006 for the malicious and intentional use of these third-party tools.
We would like to take this time to remind our players that the use of any third-party tools will not only destroy the in-game balance, but will also encourage RMT (real money trading) activities. We will continue to take strict actions against those individuals that we have confirmed to have used such tools.
Please note that some of these third-party tools may cause character information to be altered, erased, or personal information to be leaked to unwanted third parties. If you come across a third-party tool over the Internet, we ask that you please refrain from the download of such a tool, no matter how minor it may appear to be.
To ensure our customers could enjoy the game safely, we will continue to apply measurements to combat these third-party tools and violations.
We thank you for your cooperation and understanding in this matter.
Tags: FinalFantasyXI, News