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Godot 4

We are thrilled to announce the release of the Godot4 version of gw2cc! This new release includes exciting updates and improvements that we are confident will elevate your experience.

Batteries Included

The Godot4 version of gw2cc comes with a significant improvement: the integration of gw2cp, a rewrite of gw2a that now serves as a core component of the default gw2cc configuration. This change means that you now have a high-performance ACR built into the platform, without requiring additional plugins.

The benefits of gw2cp are not limited to players, however. ACR developers will find it easier than ever to create ACR using gw2cp’s high-level interface to interact with the skill bar. Furthermore, bot development is now simpler since combat behavior no longer requires manual implementation.

Overall, gw2cp is a game-changer for gw2cc. Its integration is a testament to our commitment to improving the experience and making it easier for developers and players alike. We hope you enjoy this exciting addition to gw2cc and look forward to your feedback.

GW2 API Be Gone

We have recently made the decision to switch entirely to using GW2.dat files to retrieve content data, due to various issues with the official GW2 API. We believe that this change will greatly improve the update experience, particularly after larger GW2 updates, as it speeds up the process and reduces the chances of any issues arising.

However, we do want to acknowledge that this change has its downsides as well. One of the main challenges we are facing is that it is now more difficult to automatically update to new GW2 versions. As a result, you may encounter issues with the auto-updater failing more frequently during the first update in each GW2 update chain.

We want to assure you that we are working hard to address these issues and make the auto-updater more reliable. We apologize for any inconvenience that these temporary disruptions may cause, and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to improve the overall update experience.

Improved Launcher

In addition to the changes in the platform itself, we are excited to announce that the launcher has also undergone significant improvements. We have worked hard to make it more reliable and user-friendly, with the goal of enhancing your overall experience with gw2cc.

One of the most notable changes is that the launcher now offers the ability to select different update channels, catering to those who want to be early adopters of new features and improvements. We understand that many of our players are eager to try out new content as soon as it becomes available, and this feature makes that possible.

We will be providing more information on how to select different update channels at a later date, so please stay tuned for updates. We do want to emphasize, however, that support for channels other than the default master channel will be limited. We encourage users to use caution when selecting a different channel, as doing so may result in unexpected behavior or issues.

Improved Performance

One of the most exciting aspects of the Godot4 version is the significant improvements in rendering performance. While we are still in the process of fully utilizing all of the available features, gw2cc already benefits from automatic mesh LOD and the new Vulkan-based renderer.

Another important new feature is the fully headless mode, which allows gw2cc to run without any GPU available via the --headless command line switch. This is particularly useful if you plan to run multiple bots on the same machine.

Furthermore, players who have multiple GPUs can now explicitly specify the GPU used by gw2cc via the --gpu-index command line. This can help to further optimize the game’s performance and ensure that it runs smoothly on a variety of different hardware configurations.

How to Update

If you already have a running installation of gw2cc, you can try simply starting the launcher (as admin). The launcher will attempt to delete all files from the old version and then download the new launcher. However, please note that this process may encounter some issues. If you encounter any issues during the update, please proceed with the next step.

If you do not have a running installation of gw2cc, or if the automatic update failed, please delete the entire gw2cc folder, except for the settings.cfg and gw2cc.cfg files. Additionally, please delete the %APPDATA%/gw2cc folder to remove any old plugin data. Afterward, download the new launcher from your account page and simply run it in the folder where you want to install gw2cc. Just like with the old launcher, please make sure that the folder where you are executing the launcher is writable.

We hope that this update process will be smooth for all of our players, but if you encounter any issues or have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask for help in our support channel.

Acknowledgments

We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to all of our supporters who have been with us throughout the development process of the Godot4 version of gw2cc. We could not have reached this point without your support and feedback.

We are particularly grateful to the developers who have provided us with valuable testing and feedback over the past several months. Your input has been instrumental in helping us to identify and address issues and improve the overall quality of the platform.

We will continue to rely on the support and feedback of our community to guide our development efforts going forward, and we are committed to making gw2cc the best possible experience for all our users.

Once again, thank you to everyone who has contributed to the development of gw2cc, and we look forward to continuing to work with you in the future.

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News

Blunderbuss Joins the gw2cc Team!

We are thrilled to announce that Blunderbuss is joining the core gw2cc team as official plugin developer! With Blunderbuss on board, we are confident that we will be able to create an exceptional combat system and user experience for you that will take our platform to new heights.

Starting with the upcoming Godot 4 release, GW2A will be rebranded as gw2cp (GW2 Combat Platform), and will seamlessly integrate into gw2cc (without extra fees!). This integration will provide both users and developers with a means to fully automate combat, and we can not wait to see the many new bots powered by gw2cp in the future.

Until then, the currently existing GW2A plugin for Godot 3.5 will be made entirely free for everyone to use. While your existing GW2A subscription should have been automatically cancelled for you, it is paramount that you verify this. You can do so by going to Account -> My Subscription.

Blunderbuss will also help with overhauling some of our existing example plugins to make them more user-friendly and will assist in maintaining our open-source repository. This will allow us to focus more on the core functionality of gw2cc, while users can look forward to a more polished experience.

We are confident that Blunderbuss’s wealth of knowledge and experience he brings to the table will be an invaluable contribution to the development of gw2cc. We are excited about what the future holds for gw2cc and gw2cp as an integral component of it, and look forward to share our progress with you in the coming months.

Thank you for your continued support.

Best regards,
The gw2cc Team

A Word From Blunderbuss Himself

For a long time many have asked about core combat functionality in gw2cc only to be met with the surprise that it has to be purchased one way or another or self developed. I started working on GW2A during the gw2co times and to the month, one year has passed since then and while talks about making GW2A open source and part of gw2cc’s core started way back then, it never gained any momentum, until now…

This statement comes after the fact with the announcement already been made, however: I hope that you all benefit from this change as it was intended to do. Work on porting GW2A to gw2cp (GW2 Combat Platform) is being done for release with gw2cc’s upgrade to Godot 4.0 as an open source plugin that enrich gw2cc’s existing functionality with a more abstract experience for those wanting to take advantage of combat capabilities in their plugins and providing new gw2cc users with combat capabilities right out of the box.

GW2A and its only ACR are now considered as end of life and will eventually stop working when gw2cc discontinues support for Godot 3.5. The only ACR will become an open source plugin as an example of how to write your own combat plugin using the combat platform. As of now, they are both free of charge while we work away at making Godot 4.0 stable which is making very good progress. Discord will remain open until that time and I’ll be moving back to the gw2cc discord for future engagements. There is still a long road ahead of us and those that are beta testing the Godot 4.0 version of gw2cc can already start checking out the new functionality gw2cp brings to gw2cc.

Finally, I’d like to thank you all for your support for GW2A’s development and hope that this change will be met with the reaction we intended for you all.

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Help Wanted

Join the community and help improve the functionality of gw2cc! With many plugins in the public repository currently lacking polish, we’re looking for dedicated developers to open pull requests and add valuable contributions to the repository. Not only will you be making a positive impact on the project, but you’ll also have the opportunity to earn rewards for your efforts. As a token of appreciation, we’re offering monthly, yearly, or lifetime subscriptions to gw2cc or any bots developed by the gw2cc team based on the quality and impact of your contributions. Don’t miss this chance to gain recognition and support while making a difference in an exciting project!

Here are a few examples of the rewards you could earn:

  • Impress us with your improved item plugin, and receive a 12-month subscription!
  • Make a splash with your reworked party plugin, and enjoy a 6-month subscription!

For additional opportunities to contribute, check out the “help wanted” tagged issues in our repository, or propose improvements that you believe are necessary.

Also, lifetime subscriptions are available for a GW2-inspired UI skin and an improved website design.

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News

A Glimpse on 2023

In 2022, gw2cc saw rapid development with over 2000 commits. In total, over 700 bugs have been fixed, and over 600 new features have been implemented. Given that development on gw2cc only started in October of 2021 we are very happy with the progress that has been made. Now with the end of the holiday season, we would like to give an outlook on what to expect from gw2cc in 2023.

This year we want to focus on three major points. Firstly, making all remaining gameplay aspects of GW2 that haven’t been implemented yet available in gw2cc. Secondly, improving the overall performance and reliability of the client. This among others encompasses an upgrade to Godot 4. And finally, improving gw2cc’s scalability and making it overall easier to use for everyone. Beyond these, there will of course be countless other smaller (or bigger) changes throughout the year that didn’t make it into this list. For instance, a better plugin manager and a rewrite of the TradingPostManager are on our to-do list as well.

We also want to use this opportunity to express our gratitude to everyone that submitted bug reports and feature requests in the past, as well as the many people that supported us throughout the last year. To all those people we want to say: Thank you! Without your support and trust throughout the beta, gw2cc wouldn’t be where it is today.

With that being said, let’s have a look at what we have in store for gw2cc in 2023!

Upgrade to Godot 4

Not only gw2cc but also Godot, the underlying game engine, saw a lot of work and improvements over the last year. Its next major iteration, Godot 4, is slated to be released very soon and will not only bring massive performance improvements but also a lot of new features and quality-of-life improvements for developers. Therefore, we will evaluate upgrading to Godot 4 as soon as the engine is stable enough. Preliminary experiments showed huge performance gains, especially when a lot of agents were present on the screen.

Source: https://godotengine.org/article/dev-snapshot-godot-4-0-beta-14/

Since the upgrade to Godot 4 will be a breaking change, all plugins and bots need to be ported to the new engine. While we understand that this means additional work for plugin developers, we believe the advantages Godot 4 brings to the table far outweigh the extra overhead.

To make this transition as smooth as possible, we will first introduce a beta version of the new Godot 4 client and allow everyone to use and test it for multiple weeks before it will replace the old client. This not only allows us to fix any remaining bugs but also gives developers time to migrate their code to the new Godot version.

Physics Rewrite

The second major upgrade this year will be gw2cc’s physics engine, i.e. the part of gw2cc that is responsible for calculating how agents move in the world. In its current form, it has become increasingly difficult for us to add new features, such as mounts, dodging, or gliding. This has been the result of many small ad-hoc changes and workarounds over the last year as we slowly learned more about how the GW2 physics engine works under the hood.

Consequently, the physics engine needs a complete rewrite. While doing so will be a great endeavor, ultimately it will allow us to implement many features we have postponed until now and it should bring movement more in line with the official client. Among others, we hope to support moving platforms and mounts in 2023!

Collision avoidance using Godot 4’s new NavigationServer.

While we are at it, we potentially also consider switching to Godot’s navigation system. Godot uses the same pathfinding and navmesh generation libraries as we do under the hood, Recast & Detour, but arguably dresses them up more nicely. It exposes many features that we currently only support partially or not at all. With Godot 4, navigation saw huge improvements. One additional benefit this would bring is collision avoidance, which would allow a bot to get from A to B while simultaneously avoiding any monsters on the route if possible.

Missing GW2 Functionality

While most of GW2’s systems are already available to developers in gw2cc, some core gameplay aspects are still missing; most notably, chat, projectiles, and guilds. In 2023, we aim to implement most of these missing systems to give developers complete control over all aspects of GW2.

To this end, we encourage all developers to open issues for all features they are missing. Especially, so we can prioritize what to implement next.

Scalability

Supporting botting at scale has always been one of our primary goals, if not the goal. It is also the reason why we specifically chose to write a standalone client for GW2, a much more challenging task than a mere memory-based botting API, and until now also unprecedented. With gw2cc becoming more stable and feature-complete with each passing month, we believe that in 2023 the time is finally ripe to give large-scale botting the love it deserves.

While there are already some users running a larger number of gw2cc instances successfully, support for larger bot farms is still lacking. There currently is little to no support for managing multiple gw2cc instances. Log files are not correctly created for multiple instances, and there is no integrated way to monitor or control gw2cc instances remotely.

One step to improve the situation will be the introduction of a monitoring plugin, likely within the first half of the year. This plugin will periodically record a set of core statistics, such as gold, experience, acquired items, or current position, and will work independently of any specific bot. Similar to a logging library, the plugin will be written in a modular way allowing users to output these statistics and events to various sinks, e.g. either writing them to disk locally or forwarding them to web services via REST requests. Its arguably most important feature though will be session management. Session management will allow one to check the health of a bot by sending periodic heartbeats, as well as enabling remote restarts or shutdowns of a bot.

The most limiting factor with regard to scalability currently is the memory consumption of a single instance. Even though memory is cheap these days, it’s easy to see how a memory consumption of a mere 2-3GB per instance can become inhibiting when one tries to run 40 bots on a single computer or server. A major step to improve the memory usage of gw2cc will be the introduction of a shared navigation server. The navigation server will handle pathfinding for all clients simultaneously and thus allow sharing and reuse of navigation and map data between clients. Since this data makes up most of gw2cc’s memory consumption, this system will significantly reduce the amount of system memory required to run a large number of clients.

Furthermore, with the migration to Godot 4, a true headless mode will become available on all supported platforms. This means, going forward, no GPU will be required to run gw2cc in standalone mode. With a fix for the Linux version coming within the next months, this will make a wide variety of cheap servers available for botting.

We believe that with all these aforementioned improvements, running 30, 50, or even 100 instances on a single computer should become possible!

Long(er) Term Plans

Beyond the current plans for 2023 outlined here, there are also some other things we have in mind for gw2cc that might or might not be realized in 2023 already. This entirely depends on how fast we will be able to progress, and we can’t make any hard promises about when the following features will be ready.

One of the major issues we currently face with gw2cc is the reliance on the GW2 API for item and skill data. In the long term, we aim to get rid of this dependency altogether, especially since the data provided by the API is often inaccurate. Instead, we want to read out the data directly from the content files that the official client uses as well.

Related to this is our plan to directly read from the .dat archive file used by GW2. This would remove the requirement to download the same data again and instead enable reusing the data already downloaded by GW2. We hope that this change will give people with weak internet connections some relief since they are facing a lot of issues with the gw2cc update process right now. This does, however, not mean that we won’t improve the updater until then. There is definitely a lot of room for improvement there, especially with regard to usability and robustness, and providing a smoother update experience is one of our goals for 2023.

Hopefully, this article gave you a solid overview of what is planned for this year. If you have any questions, feedback, or concerns, leave us a message in the discord. We would be very glad to hear your thoughts on this. Happy botting!

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We are Open!

We are happy to announce that with today’s update the store is now open to third-party developers! This gives developers a platform to reach all gw2cc users, while users can find bots and plugins in a single, unified place. The days of obscure Discord channels and private messages are finally over.

Checkout what we have to offer already:

If you are a developer that would like to get his work included on the store, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us on Discord.

Image by Leo Campbell

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Script

(Over) frenkey_Teleporter Early Access

And another release this week! This time an early access version of frenkey_teleporter. This plugin allows you to teleport to various POIs as well as NPCs. Currently working for Core, HoT, and PoF.

Thanks go out to Frenkey for making this plugin available to the public!

Download & Install

Download the frenkey_Teleporter.pck file from below and place it into the plugins folder. Use the cogwheel button in the top menu to open the Settings menu and make sure that frenkey_Teleporter.pck is checked.

Changelog

  • Added dozens of game markers
  • Added all EOD maps
  • Added Click To Teleport
  • Waypoints now show on any map even if the coords file isn’t added yet.
  • Markers which are grayed out are disabled as they are missing a propper Vector3 position.
  • Distances are now displayed behind the marker name.
  • Added categories for quick filtering.
  • Adjusted the font to match GW2’s font.
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News

Scheduled Downtime

In order to move to a better server, there will be a scheduled downtime on Monday, 25th July from 6:00 to 6:30 UTC. During this time, gw2cc, as well as the website, won’t be available! Thank you for your understanding.

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Script

(Over) GW2-Assist Preview Release

GW2A provides assisted combat using any build. That means that it will automatically fight for you, no matter what skills you have equipped.

Download & Install

Download the zip file file from below and unpack gw2a.pck your plugins folder.

Using the cog wheel button in the top menu, load gw2a.pck from the list by ensuring it is checked.

Adjust keybinds as required using the keybind setup tool in the settings window.

Updated: 27/07/2022

Bug fixes
– Fixed an issue where the reward collector service would become idle even though it was enabled in the preferences window.
– Fixed an issue with the preferences window being transparent on startup.
– Fixed an issue with world boss type targets would crash the game or cause GW2A to become unresponsive.

Features & Improvements
– A new immersive experience has been added to GW2A , you can toggle this in the preferences window using the UI combo box.
– GW2A will now try to configure an initial attack for maximum damage.
– If a character is stunned, GW2A will attempt to stun break if such a skill is equipped.
– Combat efficiency has been improved at longer ranges.

Previous updates
  • Fixed an issue that sometimes cause gw2a to stop working if it was trying to cast a profession skill that hasn’t been loaded yet.
  • Fixed a crash if a player rapidly cycles through equipment like rapidly flipping through the build templates tabs while equipment is being detected.
  • Willbenders won’t be confused with Firebrands anymore.
  • Internal services now try to panic and unload gw2a if something goes wrong.
  • Players can now change the log detail level using the preferences window. It is set to warning by default.
  • Underwater assisted combat remains disabled.
  • Fixed an issue where skills with a long cast duration were interrupted.
  • Added an option in the preferences window to disable line of sight checks.
  • Targeting will be less aggressive under busy conditions such as meta events to the extent that it may not select targets at all, this is intended until targeting can be optimized.
  • Removed largest group targeting mode until it can be optimized so that players don’t accidentally toggle into this mode under busy conditions.
  • The built-in target indicator has been removed, it is no longer needed.
  • Temporarily disabled combat assist underwater to root cause a crash.
  • Fixed a crash when a character has nothing equipped.
  • Combat assist status indicator now turns orange when assist mode is unable to perform any tasks or has nothing to do.
  • Added a swap weapons setting to the preferences window.
  • Fixed a quirky targeting issue when the player selected a target and assist is toggled off and then toggled on.
  • Most classes should have their profession skills detected.
  • A basic profession combat skill selector has now been implemented for all professions.
  • Fixed an issue with any service that needed environmental information causing a crash in busy or populated areas.
  • Physics processing tasks have been significantly improved which was found to be contributing to unexpected crashes in busy or populated areas.
  • Virtuoso basic combat has been implemented.
  • Chronomancer basic combat has been implemented.
  • Mirage basic combat has been implemented.
  • Core mesmer basic combat has been implemented.
  • Skill casting reliability has been significantly improved, less skills are being automatically blacklisted.

What should you expect?

  • A popup menu that will give you access to the skill visualizer, a preferences window to adjust settings, and two indicators on the plugin button for combat and targeting status.
  • Key bind for combat assist toggle.
  • Key bind to cycle targeting mode.
  • The skill visualizer demonstrates GW2A’s ability to detect skills. Note that not all skills are currently being detected. You may also press the skills in this window to test them being cast.
  • Basic combat routines for skills that are being reliably detected. Very basic, you’re not going to impress anyone yet. Look at profession support to understand which professions may work better than others.

Supported Professions

The below list gives an overview of what is currently supported:

[🟡] GUARDIAN     [🟡] DRAGONHUNTER [🟡] FIREBRAND    [🟡] WILLBENDER
[🟡] WARRIOR      [🟡] BERSERKER    [🟡] SPELLBREAKER [🟡] BLADESWORN
[🔴] ENGINEER     [🟡] SCRAPPER     [⚫] HOLOSMITH    [🔴] MECHANIST
[🟡] RANGER       [🟡] DRUID        [🟡] SOULBEAST    [🟡] UNTAMED
[🔴] THIEF        [⚫] DAREDEVIL    [⚫] DEADEYE      [⚫] SPECTER
[🟡] ELEMENTALIST [🟡] TEMPEST      [🟡] WEAVER       [🔴] CATALYST
[🟡] MESMER       [🟡] CHRONOMANCER [🟡] MIRAGE       [🟡] VIRTUOSO
[🟡] NECROMANCER  [🟡] REAPER       [🟡] SCOURGE      [🟡] HARBINGER
[🟡] REVENANT     [🟡] HERALD       [🟡] RENEGADE     [🟡] VINDICATOR

STATUS KEY:
[âš«] - NO STATUS
[🔴] - RED:   NOT READY, QUESTIONABLE STABILITY.
[🟡] - AMBER: ACCEPTABLE QUALITY, NEEDS REFINEMENT.
[🟢] - GREEN: READY, STABLE.

Known Issues?

  • Some skills may be visible in the visualizer but will not be cast during combat, these are not implemented.
  • The skill visualizer may take some time to show on the first load due to it collecting the skill images from the render service.
  • Windows may appear to be quite large when they are shown for the first time, resize them to your needs and they will retain their position and size.
  • Largest cluster targeting is mostly laggy and unreliable.
Categories
Script

(Over) DAT-Condi-Virtuoso Weekend Trial

Starting from today, Mesmer Players can try DatAccount’s Condi-Virtuoso rotation script for free until the end of Sunday. The script automates combat for the Condition Virtuoso build and hits 93% benchmark. Thanks to DatAccount for sharing his work and making this trial available!

Download and Install

A guide video explaining how to activate the plugin

Simply download the .pck file from below and place it in your Plugins folder. Start gw2cc and activate the plugin in the Settings menu and you are ready to go.

Build

Make sure that you have Dagger/Sword equipped as top weapon set, and Dagger/Focus as bottom weapon set!

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Script

(Over) DAT-Condi-Scourge Can Be Tried for Free Over the Weekend

DatAccount is on it again with a free trial of his Condition Scourge rotation script! After last weekend Engineer players were already able to test his Scrapper script, this weekend all the Necromancers among you can test his Condi-Scourge script for free.

Achieving a whooping 96% benchmarks, this plugin completely automates combat for the Condition Scourge build (see below for details). The only thing you need to do is to move your character while the scripts eliminates enemy after enemy.

Many thanks to DatAccount for making his plugin available!

Download and Install

Guide video showing how to activate the plugin (no sound). Hold right-click to move the top menu.

Simply download the .pck file from below and place it in your Plugins folder. Start gw2cc and activate the plugin in the Settings menu and you are ready to go.

Build

Condition Scourge Build. Setup your traits and skills as shown.

For details, checkout the corresponding page on Snowcrows.