Architect Archive
Thread: The Problem....?
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Flatfingers
Fri Jul 22, 2005 3:13 pm
#27
I'm curious: Was this discussion intended to go any place in particular? Was there a goal?
I enjoyed reading what other people thought. Would it beworthwhile to encourage more participation, or should we just move on?
We now return you to our Jello wrestling discussion, already in progress.... 
--Flatfingers
MorrowMoondancer
Sat Jul 23, 2005 9:11 pm
#28
You know and I know you're only asking to make us feel better. Crafting and architecting in particular are irrelevant to the decision-makers who establish game developer priorities.
But here are a few observations in response to your questions:
1) Crafting is too repetitive, with too little variation driven by too few meaningful variables to choose from on important products; hence the sea of sameness. Shipwright comes close to being an exception, but falls short in the end. The solution to this is NOT through resource dependency, but through crafting skill (not level, but skill) and through inclusion of more either-or choices.
2) Architect crafting has no decay to drive business. No reason furniture can't last for ever, but buildings and harvestors really should take repair kits and components to maintain, not just cash. Did I mention repetitiveness? Give us colors, shapes, floor plan control, and options, options, options. Require architects to craft GCW bases and structures.
3) The economy is still combat-driven, to the point where combat loot regularly outshines craftable products. Sure, have there be great looted items, but any reason why the weapon taken from a dead guy isn't beat to hell and almost destroyed? Institute reverse engineering into other crafts, and allow crafters to "learn" how to create a limited number of items from their reverse engineering (i.e. more than one and less than too many to take over the market). Eliminate ALL looted items that don't make logical sense (weapons and armor pieces, pocketable items) for the context in lieu of data pads containing schematics and firespray-like schematic sections. And do this in parallel with a process that gives crafters a way of obtaining these schematic sections without relying on combat, such as by doing favors (i.e. delivery or crafting missions) for NPCs.
In short, make each crafting skill not only relevant, but as important to a full game experience as combat.
But here are a few observations in response to your questions:
1) Crafting is too repetitive, with too little variation driven by too few meaningful variables to choose from on important products; hence the sea of sameness. Shipwright comes close to being an exception, but falls short in the end. The solution to this is NOT through resource dependency, but through crafting skill (not level, but skill) and through inclusion of more either-or choices.
2) Architect crafting has no decay to drive business. No reason furniture can't last for ever, but buildings and harvestors really should take repair kits and components to maintain, not just cash. Did I mention repetitiveness? Give us colors, shapes, floor plan control, and options, options, options. Require architects to craft GCW bases and structures.
3) The economy is still combat-driven, to the point where combat loot regularly outshines craftable products. Sure, have there be great looted items, but any reason why the weapon taken from a dead guy isn't beat to hell and almost destroyed? Institute reverse engineering into other crafts, and allow crafters to "learn" how to create a limited number of items from their reverse engineering (i.e. more than one and less than too many to take over the market). Eliminate ALL looted items that don't make logical sense (weapons and armor pieces, pocketable items) for the context in lieu of data pads containing schematics and firespray-like schematic sections. And do this in parallel with a process that gives crafters a way of obtaining these schematic sections without relying on combat, such as by doing favors (i.e. delivery or crafting missions) for NPCs.
In short, make each crafting skill not only relevant, but as important to a full game experience as combat.
Message Edited by MorrowMoondancer on 07-23-2005 09:14 PM
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