bl0

Positively Inhumane Poster
Contributor
(DISCLAIMER: I'm talking about AFK bots, not the normal bots that take over when the server starts dying.)

Alright this is an important subject which has been discussed plenty of times within servers I've joined through out my time here on Skial, but nonetheless I'd like to say that it is without a doubt pretty annoying at times with the way it's designed (no offence) and I'll explain why it needs changing or modifying.

1) AFK Command
First of all even when people use the !afk command to obviously go AFK you'd think after a certain amount of time they'd get auto-kicked when being on the server for too long? Ha guess what, nope... instead you've got people like this individual who spends more time being weird in chat and essentially abusing the AFK bot system by deliberately going AFK more than less of the time. Just check his stats here: https://stats.skial.com/#player/tf/3149425 (he's always typing weird shit, as shown, he's like roger moore) (my point is that people shouldn't be AFK for that long, it's nuts)

2) Fake Activity
"oh hey my favourite server has quite the few people in it" *JOINS* "wtf... why is nearly half of my team AFK bots?" it's quite astonishing how many AFK bots (on a large scale) I've bumped into, with the crazy extra HP + melee aimbot + target lock for classes such as Demo - Soldier. Pyro is by far the most annoying to deal with though, the AFK bot itself gets right in your face and you can't do absolutely anything if it surprises you whilst you're fighting against proper players. (you might just bump into it by accident around a corner) I just don't see how it is fair constantly dealing with stupid AFK bots that have SO much extra HP - aimbot assist that manage to stay on the server for longer than they should, it's just annoying and it does make me question why it hasn't been changed or modified differently already so it's less occurring. Do you have any idea how much ammo you've gotta use to take out an AFK bot Pyro? (short answer: LOTS)

3) Annoying Individuals
More proof that people dislike the AFK bots: https://stats.skial.com/#summary/chat/All/bots

4) Melee Aimbot
Yeah I said Pyro is the most annoying function out of the lot of them but still...
Example: I could be playing Pyro, going around the corner to go into Turbine Tunnels up top to wait for incoming foes (with my phlog crits at the go) but instead I get this AFK Scout that flies straight into my face around the corner and two shots me with the Candy Cane. (with random crits playing a big part into this don't forget) the sheer speed and positioning of the way the melee aimbot works on the AFK bots is impressive but so frustrating unless you're buffed nearly 90% of the time. (note: takes 200+ damage to kill an AFK Scout???)

5) AFK Bots
Yeah I know it has a purpose, but it's dumb when you've just wiped the floor with a bunch of enemies and you die b/c the AFK bot has extra HP and is following you around 24/7 like a mindless child. Consistently doing the same thing over and over again that leads to so many players wasting ammo on them which would be far more ideal on actual PLAYERS. (I've seen teams being able to push out due to the AFK bots soaking up so much sentry ammo that it allowed other players to get free shots off)

Overall conclusion:
  • overpowered (OP) - (extra HP, melee aimbot, aim assist, consistently annoying)
  • some bots are BETTER than players (not even joking)
  • can be abused easily
  • pisses off plenty of people
  • people that go AFK seem to stay around for ages
  • more frustrating when it's multiple AFK bots
  • distracts people easily, ammo wasting
  • you get the idea (etc etc)
Suggestion: Please keep the HP at normal or if you use the !afk command decrease the timer so they don't stick around for ages. (I'm not sure if AFK abusing is a rule, but the link I provided about that player is true)
 

thebosstre

Uncharitable Spy
I can see why your saying that but sometimes they need the Extra health because you can just build 3 sentry's to block them from the intell but yes they are overpowered. I wish there was a command that made the bots normal health when fighting player and more health if they are getting shot at by three sentrys
 
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Bottiger

Administrator
They don't have extra health, they have damage resistance to sentries because they are so easy to kill already. Heavies even take 33% more damage and deal 50% less damage. Sniper bots deal 50% less damage.

The bots are really bad at the game and basically never win. We had a real rating system running, and the average player has a rating of 1500, while the average bot has a rating of 800 (and that was before I nerfed them due to complaints). This means that the bot loses 99% of the time. The bot only wins 1 out of 100 times. So I really don't understand how people think bots are too good.

There are always going to be people who complain about bots. But when we remove them all we've found that it tends to cause servers to empty out faster. When people say they hate bots, what they actually mean is that they want more people to play with and mistakenly think for some odd reason that the slot would be filled by a human instead.

Afk players are only kicked when the server is full. Why would we kick them if the server doesn't fill? They are helping to seed the server if they can't play all the time.
 
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Pit-O-Matic ヅ

Mildly Menacing Medic
I'm pretty sure they do have more health. I'm positive I have to do 200HP damage to a Bot-Pyro to kill it and a Bot-Soldier eats 3 reflected rockets for a kill instead of the usual 1-2.
I want them to have at least their normal HP if they won't get removed.
 
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bl0

Positively Inhumane Poster
Contributor
(I'll be responding back to you Bottiger, just busy ATM)
 

uppe-r

Rage-Inducing Forum Troll
Contributor
I'm pretty sure they do have more health. I'm positive I have to do 200HP damage to a Bot-Pyro to kill it and a Bot-Soldier eats 3 reflected rockets for a kill instead of the usual 1-2.
I want them to have at least their normal HP if they won't get removed.
Ma boi pit! Also +1, totally agreed.
I had talked with bot about this before, and he said some of the stuff he does here, yet what u talk about happens pit.
 
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bl0

Positively Inhumane Poster
Contributor
They don't have extra health, they have damage resistance to sentries because they are so easy to kill already. Heavies even take 33% more damage and deal 50% less damage. Sniper bots deal 50% less damage.

The bots are really bad at the game and basically never win. We had a real rating system running, and the average player has a rating of 1500, while the average bot has a rating of 800 (and that was before I nerfed them due to complaints). This means that the bot looses 99% of the time. The bot only wins 1 out of 100 times. So I really don't understand how people think bots are too good.

There are always going to be people who complain about bots. But when we remove them all we've found that it tends to cause servers to empty out faster. When people say they hate bots, what they actually mean is that they want more people to play with and mistakenly think for some odd reason that the slot would be filled by a human instead.

Afk players are only kicked when the server is full. Why would we kick them if the server doesn't fill? They are helping to seed the server if they can't play all the time.

Believe it or not, they do. (if that's not the case they have resistances from every class weapon) - I've seen people die more than less of the time to an AFK bot due to it consistently doing the same thing over and over with the extra HP. It's pretty exhausting dealing with a Pyro or Soldier AFK bot like Pit mentioned that is pretty powerful considering how much ammo you've gotta use and damage that you need to dish out in order for the AFK bot to actually die. If they were so easy to kill I wouldn't be here suggesting this, it is without a doubt that they are quite op from my eyes and the eyes of many... Sniper bots deal less than 50% damage? I died to an AFK bot Sniper five times yesterday using the Sydney Sleeper, the damage outcome is the same to that of a normal player using it.

I know the bots aren't brilliant but they are still a pain in the bum to deal with, they get in the way and actually end up killing someone randomly out of the blue that didn't deserve to die like that. (Heavy is revved up waiting around the shutter door and an AFK Spy comes out and automatically backstabs the player even though the Sentry Gun should of killed it faster... yes the extra HP lets them get away with really stupid stuff in scenarios like that)

People will always complain about AFK bots b/c if you actually experienced the sheer annoyance of the them you'd understand more. Pit has been playing for about eight years now, we're not saying this deliberately to wind you up. We just simply wish for the AFK bots to have less HP or be less occurring so they don't become annoying more than less of the time, it's so common to randomly die to an AFK bot if you're pushing spawn b/c they get right in your face and have all these abilities that I've mentioned already.

I'm not saying you're wrong with all your points, seeding the server is ideal and I fully agree on that but surely you can grasp the main points about the AFK bots as a whole.
 

Profile_Name

Uncharitable Spy
Based on the discussion so far, I agree with modifying the health.

This means that the bot loses 99% of the time. The bot only wins 1 out of 100 times. So I really don't understand how people think bots are too good.

For winning rounds, this is true, but for the many players that join the server to just dm afk bots can be really frustrating. If the bot already loses that much, I don't think it would be a bad thing to modify the health to make dm against them more fun or at least less unfun when those frustrating moments arise.

Edit: What is the health of a Bot Spy? I'm wondering if a health boost makes afk spy more like a perpetual kunai spy that just got a backstab, but I don't wanna make that claim without knowing the health.