[-] Slot lock-out is pointless

[MRothschild]

I'm working on adding new routes to ATL (slots are very tight).  Even though I am doing nothing out of the ordinary with refreshes, I have reached that apparently-irrational number of calls upon the slot page and have been subsequently locked out for a mysterious period of time. 

Access to this page is blocked for a limited time - please try again later (if you still receive this error, then please take a longer break before visiting this page again).

How insulting.  It would be nice to know what the limit is, so I can plan my time accordingly.  And when I do try again later, yet too soon by AWS' standards, does my penalty extend?  Why so secret?

I hereby make a motion to remove this feature.

What exactly is the point of this feature?  Simply accessing the slot page doesn't actually buy slots for anyone---so why handicap it?

[gazzz0x2z]

the point of the feature is to avoid someone stealing all slots just because (s)he has too much free time in its hands. And, therefore, to leave some chance to players who can't connect while at work.

[Zobelle]

the point of the feature is to avoid someone stealing all slots just because (s)he has too much free time in its hands. And, therefore, to leave some chance to players who can't connect while at work.

To which I say:

You snooze, you lose. 

[MRothschild]

the point of the feature is to avoid someone stealing all slots just because (s)he has too much free time in its hands. And, therefore, to leave some chance to players who can't connect while at work.

I understand that to be the general understanding.  However, the page I am referring to only shows the number of available slots.  The players with too much free time on their hands can certainly refresh an 'edit route' page just as easily.  All I see the effect to be is to make it difficult to construct a large number of routes at tight airports, just as I encountered today.

I still hold true to my position: what is the point when a refresh on the actual route page will grab the slot, regardless of whether a player can view the airport slot info page?  Are there players here who really stop trying after they receive the error page?  I highly doubt it.  I submit to you that the only result of this error page is to handicap players making a genuine effort to build the most efficient routes possible in a very competitive airport. 

[MRothschild]

Well, I've run into the same issue again today...doing the same thing...simply trying to buy slots, one at a time.

This is protecting the integrity of the game, how?

[schro]

Well, I've run into the same issue again today...doing the same thing...simply trying to buy slots, one at a time.

This is protecting the integrity of the game, how?

It's quite an effective filter against those who elect to use bots (against game tos) to hunt for slot drops. Without that in place, there's always a few bad apples that will use scripts and the like, this shuts it down fairly well.

I've played many a games in slot locked airports with this "feature" and it's never become a problem for me...

[MRothschild]

How does it shut down the purchase of slots?  I can open an 'edit route' page and program a bot to click the save button, which would buy the slot as soon as it became available.  Seeing the actual schedule of slots makes no difference on this process.

What it does affect, however, is someone who is opening the page frequently to schedule routes among the slim pickings of available slots.  It has happened to me two days in a row, contrary to what you might assert.  Shall I screenshot it next time for you, schro?

[schro]

How does it shut down the purchase of slots?  I can open an 'edit route' page and program a bot to click the save button, which would buy the slot as soon as it became available.  Seeing the actual schedule of slots makes no difference on this process.

What it does affect, however, is someone who is opening the page frequently to schedule routes among the slim pickings of available slots.  It has happened to me two days in a row, contrary to what you might assert.  Shall I screenshot it next time for you, schro?

Due to how slots are distributed within an hour, you'd have to have a route scheduled for every 5 minute increment of the day for a bot to be successful at snagging them as they become available. The bots/scrapers that were in use when this was implemented were simply looking for all the 0's on the page to flip to 1's.

I'm not saying the pain you feel isn't real - when this "feature" was first implemented I stubbed my toe on it a few times and adapted. I try to be efficient with the slot page opening and the like...

[MRothschild]

My point is still valid though: this 'fix' doesn't fix anything.  It only handicaps the viewing of the slot schedule.

Now, I acknowledge that a bot looking for 0's to 1's would be stymied by this, but there is still another approach.  No, it does not require a route to be scheduled every 5 minutes.  You would simply schedule the route at the desired time, open a tab that contains that route's 'edit route' page and continue to click the enter button every few seconds or minutes.  It would eventually buy the slot as soon as it became available...regardless of what is displayed on the screen.

And thus...making this 'fix'....pointless, eh?

[groundbum2]

to the original poster

I tend to use multiple tabs in my browser, so use 1 tab to open the slot screen, then leave it open as I fiddle. That way I'm not opening and closing the page excessively and tripping the protection feature.

Just an idea.. I like the feature the way it is. I thought bots were illegal anyway in AWS?

Simon