"Dummy" Type Question

Language: JP EN DE FR
New Items
2023-11-19
users online
Forum » Windower » General » "Dummy" type question
"Dummy" type question
Offline
Posts: 177
By runeghost 2015-03-22 15:35:41
Link | Quote | Reply
 
While I have been playing since the Sparkling Treants of 2003 and have a playtime near 800 days, I have never installed anything 'extra' - the only windower I ever used was the official PlayOnline windower.
I will also admit, I took amusement at all the complaints when after each monthly update, people would complain left and right that all their stuff would not work; I would also be irritated at the people complaining how if they couldn't do all the 'extra' stuff that they would quit the game.

However, being in a group of people where the vast majority (the exceptions being me and people on X-Box360) of the linkshell bots all the time (gotta earn those job points at night or while at work), I get tired of defending my position (as well as counting how many job points I have, while they count how many jobs are capped). So after nearly a dozen years I thought I should at least look at it.

In this, my staying away from it for the last decade serves against me. I know that "windower" and "botting" are different; I know that not everyone uses the permanent flee or whatever lets other people just change their elevation instead of having to go 'the long way around'.. as well as always knowing when to recast spells without using sand-timers and egg timers. I am also aware that their macros have "pre cast, mid cast, post cast" and all sorts of stuff that is far faster than I can type (and is probably done automatically).
In any case, my question - seeing no "stickied" or "faq" post here, is there a 'dummy' or 'idiot' guide to all of... the windower 'stuff'?
Offline
Posts: 177
By runeghost 2015-03-22 15:36:55
Link | Quote | Reply
 
I suppose that (1) I wanted to play the game the way it was meant to be played - the same reason as I always prefer subtitled films of any country to dubbing, and (2) I did not want to risk the (admittedly slim) chance of losing the character I had played for years ..

I guess I am just tired of it all now.
 Leviathan.Chaosx
Offline
Server: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
user: ChaosX128
Posts: 20284
By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-03-22 15:45:31
Link | Quote | Reply
 
YouTube Video Placeholder
[+]
Offline
Posts: 12227
By Pantafernando 2015-03-22 16:03:40
Link | Quote | Reply
 
Install, select what plugin/addon you want to use in the upper tabs, and run the game.

Fixes are done instantly as your windower automatically update at launch. I just dont know if there will be people working in windower in a long run after the end of vanadiel days. But really windower is very intuitive.
 Bahamut.Malothar
Offline
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
user: Malithar
Posts: 396
By Bahamut.Malothar 2015-03-22 16:20:17
Link | Quote | Reply
 
runeghost said: »
In any case, my question - seeing no "stickied" or "faq" post here, is there a 'dummy' or 'idiot' guide to all of... the windower 'stuff'?

Not as far as I'm aware. Best advice I can give is to look over the plugins/addons once you load it up and try out some that sound like they'd be useful to you. Things like AzureSets and Digger are great if you play Blu or choco dig, but are useless for those who don't. Others like Distance, Battlemod, Gearswap, and FFXIDB are useful for just about anyone.

For Gearswap specifically, I'd check out the job forums on FFXI for a starter LUA, look it over, and get a feel for what does what. For starters, this guide will help you understand a lot concerning LUAs.
VIP
Offline
Posts: 111
By Iryoku 2015-03-22 18:07:08
Link | Quote | Reply
 
runeghost said: »
In this, my staying away from it for the last decade serves against me. I know that "windower" and "botting" are different; I know that not everyone uses the permanent flee or whatever lets other people just change their elevation instead of having to go 'the long way around'.
I just want to clarify that these things have nothing to do with Windower, and that we have a strict policy about things like this. Bots, flee hacks, pos hacks, etc. are not allowed in our addons repository. We can't stop people from making them, of course, but we won't distribute them.
 Asura.Taidis
MSPaint Winner
Offline
Server: Asura
Game: FFXI
user: tidis
Posts: 251
By Asura.Taidis 2015-03-22 18:10:34
Link | Quote | Reply
 
Everything in Windower, while against the ToS, I would suggest SE would turn a blind-eye to as there are much more serious things for them to pursue, largely because Windower just enhances the playing experience.

Generally I would say a lot of people start off sceptical, perhaps even judgemental of Windower but most come to love it.
Offline
Posts: 177
By runeghost 2015-03-22 20:29:43
Link | Quote | Reply
 
Iryoku said: »
runeghost said: »
In this, my staying away from it for the last decade serves against me. I know that "windower" and "botting" are different; I know that not everyone uses the permanent flee or whatever lets other people just change their elevation instead of having to go 'the long way around'.
I just want to clarify that these things have nothing to do with Windower, and that we have a strict policy about things like this. Bots, flee hacks, pos hacks, etc. are not allowed in our addons repository. We can't stop people from making them, of course, but we won't distribute them.
For whatever reason, the people I am currently with bot and perma flee (etc) all the time. Are there different 'flavors' and sources of windower (like the various flavors of linux), or is there just one distributor of ffxi windower? Or is there a "Grey" version with access to certain "benefits" and a "black" version that does the other things? -_-;
 Sylph.Jeanpaul
MSPaint Champion
Offline
Server: Sylph
Game: FFXI
user: JeanPaul
Posts: 2623
By Sylph.Jeanpaul 2015-03-22 20:44:28
Link | Quote | Reply
 
There's Windower, which is pretty user-friendly, and then there's also Ashita, which I know very little about other than it's supposed to be an alternative. Windower is definitely the more popular version and I can vouch for it's reliability, ease of use, and the fact that people are more likely to respond if you have questions.

While it is technically possible to use either for shadier things, it seems to require that you manually create the code to do said things, or at least get it from a friend. I'm under the impression that most people doing things like Flee-hacking, etc. are doing so with the use of totally separate programs. Windower does not come with any sneaky stuff like that.
VIP
Offline
Posts: 111
By Iryoku 2015-03-22 21:36:47
Link | Quote | Reply
 
Disclaimer: If it isn't clear already I'm one of the Windower developers.

There's only one Windower, though the name is frequently misused. People will frequently say "the official windower" or "SE's windower" instead of the more correct "official windowed mode" or "SE's windowed mode". Windower is a specific tool, originally created by Azaril back in early 2004 to force the game to run in a window before SE added a windowed mode in late 2007. Since this original release many features were added to Windower, including plugins, and a scripting language.

Windower has two update channels, a stable channel which we call "live" and an unstable development channel for people who want to try out new features early, which we call "dev". Both are essentially the same product. The primary difference is that changes are made on the "dev" channel first, and are tested there for a while before being released on the "live" channel; changes made to the "dev" version are usually released a week or two later in the "live" version. We apply the same policies about bots and other "hacks" to both.

However, Windower is not the only tool available, it's just the most well known, and most widely used. There is a competitor to Windower called Ashita. The Ashita devs have their own policies and rules which are generally less restrictive than Windower's. The two projects have nearly identical feature sets, but operate under different philosophies.

Both Windower and Ashita primarily function as general addon/plugin frameworks for extending the game in various ways, but they do provide some basic windowing and extended macro functionality all on their own.

In addition to Windower and Ashita there are countless other 3rd party tools which are more specialized. They don't run as plugins or addons within either; but instead as separate processes. Most of the bots and flee/pos hacks you're thinking of fall into this category. Some of them depend on Windower or Ashita, but many (perhaps even most) do not.

Of course, it is possible to write a farming bot or flee/pos hack using the Windower Addon API, but, as I mentioned before, we don't accept submissions of things like this into our addons repository. I will not presume to speak for the Ashita developers about their policies on such things.
 Bismarck.Misao
Offline
Server: Bismarck
Game: FFXI
user: misacat
Posts: 22620
By Bismarck.Misao 2015-03-22 21:44:13
Link | Quote | Reply
 
I agree with you on your point of view OP, as per one of the reasons I quit.
It just feels like a shitty way to play a game.
I'd go on a rant about it, but not the place. Windower is a nice tool, and while not needed it does have nifty stuff. you can activate or deactivate features if they are too much or just clutter.

It is a nice tool, but some people can misuse it.
Offline
Posts: 1423
By fillerbunny9 2015-03-22 21:52:01
Link | Quote | Reply
 
the primary benefits of windower are going to be specific addons, like timers, distances, and macros. when it comes to windower and macros, you have three options: standard in-game macros, windower macros (which do not have the 6 line limit imposed by SE), and then the GearSwap addon (which automates everything and runs into the pre/mid/post-cast sets you were referring to. these are also the people who cannot function come update day, though I think that was more a spellcast issue). your best bet is going to be to read the description of what each addon/plugin does when booting windower, testing a few, turning them off/and on, and overall playing around with it. Gearswap is not my cup of tea, but the link Malothar posted has the info on it. when it comes to people botting XP, speed hacks, etc, those are going to be outside programs that can generally run with the official windowed mode, and as others have said are not a part of Windower. I recall reading something about Ashita being able to "bookmark" a location to warp you to, but I have never used Ashita/lack familiarity with it in general to know if this is true or merely someone talking out of their ***.
Offline
Posts: 177
By runeghost 2015-03-23 16:23:20
Link | Quote | Reply
 
Thank you for your answers. I am examining it now. It is interesting to -finally- have some clue how big a 'yalm' is - that is one thing that I have never had a grasp of.
Before I can even think of messing around with macros, I will need to work on my inventory - all bags on multiple characters are almost always full -_-;
I do not yet know if I will keep it, but I will mess around with it for a week and then decide. If I have any questions I will return here. Thank you for your consideration.
Offline
Posts: 177
By runeghost 2015-03-23 16:37:08
Link | Quote | Reply
 
That didn't take long. Alright, another question: How do you edit/make macros in windower, and how do you use commands?
I decided to try the 'Porter' lua, to see what was in all of the mog pages, and I see on https://github.com/Windower/Lua/blob/live/addons/porter/README.md that the command is apparently "porter" with options for which slip etcetera...
So How do I -do- this? I assume /say porter and /porter do not actually do anything...
Sorry again for all of this ^_^
 Quetzalcoatl.Orestes
Offline
Server: Quetzalcoatl
Game: FFXI
user: Orestes78
Posts: 430
By Quetzalcoatl.Orestes 2015-03-23 17:00:15
Link | Quote | Reply
 
runeghost said: »
That didn't take long. Alright, another question: How do you edit/make macros in windower, and how do you use commands?
I decided to try the 'Porter' lua, to see what was in all of the mog pages, and I see on https://github.com/Windower/Lua/blob/live/addons/porter/README.md that the command is apparently "porter" with options for which slip etcetera...
So How do I -do- this? I assume /say porter and /porter do not actually do anything...
Sorry again for all of this ^_^

Commands like this are input in the windower console, which you can access by hitting the Insert key on your keyboard, or type //console_toggle. Note that once the console is open, the same command will close it, but you don't prefix it with "//".

Alternatively, you can execute commands directly in-game by prefixing them with a double slash, like I did above. For example, using the findall addon.
Code
//findall Bale


I'd also recommend that addon. It shows items on mules, held with porter, etc.
Log in to post.