Architect Archive
Thread: State of the Architect End of October
State of the Architect as per the end of October 2003
As a part of the new "Correspondant Program" initiative put in place by Thunderheart, I have been asked to prepare a "State of the Architect" post to summarize the progression of our profession since I have been aboard, so here it goes.
Well folks, since I've started as your Correspondant about a month and a half ago, there have been a few major changes, some positive, some negative, but all bringing us that much closer to finally getting a stable, functional and productive profession both in the long and short term.
Essentially, little has improved since I have started. The bulk of the issues that we have collected still remain problems on the live servers, and very few of the fixes have found their way to Test Center, despite the fact that I was advised the are being worked on. Many key problems, such as low overall value (per ressource unit) of our products, no renewable income, and market saturation remain unresolved.In addition to this, none of thesehave even been publicly commented on by either community representatives (Holo, Q-3P0 or Thunderheart) or developers, wether through myself or otherwise.
In fact it seems that there has been very little communication towards us on the part of the official SOE representatives (either through me or directly on the forums). Structure experimentation made it's way to Test Center without even a mention in the update notes (an accident as quoted by the CRs), and then went Live without much more info. Of course Greenmarine was quick to respond after the fact, which was appreciated, but as we all know, Update section on the main exists so that players can have an idea what is coming, and this is not being made a reality. Many members of this forum feel they are in the dark about what's going on regarding fixes for our issues, and I also feel that there has been a lack of official response on SOE's part. Thunderheart has assured me that this is something that will be worked on, and while I look forward to seeing the results, I will be glad when this passes the planning stage and into reality.
However, to counterbalance the negative, Player Cities have just gone to TC to fill out our empty Construction skill tree, and while it isn't the economic boost that many of us have hoped for, it is something that many architects have looked forward to producing. As many have you mentionned, one big plus for being an architect is seeing structures crafted by you, and cities will be much more impressive than just a mere pile of houses. In addition to this, experimentation has been made functional, which while still having an uncertain future, is still an important part of the architect profession and many agree (on a 2:1 vote) that it was a much needed fix.
So that being said, what do we have to look forward for the future? Aside from the fixing of our numerous existing bugs and key issues, many non-combat classes have been asking for a piece of the Glactic Civil War pie This is something I will be pushing for down the road, once the more pressing issues have been resolved. Other plans include implementing some "end-game" for crafters and adding more stuff into all of our skill trees, so we can make more cool stuff, including furniture, structures, and the much needed artwork fix on on the Corellian houses. As things progress, of course, I will be asking for your feedback on all of these ideas and issues. I'm planning to do my best to get some arse kicking going, and at least get us some info regarding the status of some fixes. Thunderheart has been very sympathetic towards the communication issue, and he will be working with me alot (I hope) to get the information where it needs to go - to you guys.
So in conclusion, there is a lot that still needs to get done. Communication is something that will be worked on, and we still have alot of fixes to wait for, but the future is not that far off, and with a little patience and a little time, we will finaly reach our goal of getting what we want most, a solid workable class that we can all live with happily.
Thanks for reading through this huge post. Thank you also for your continued patience, support, feedback and most important of all, constructive discussion.
I have a dumb question Arch....off the record.....Do you feel like what you are saying/doing is being heard at all and that what you are doing is making any difference at all?
No slap at you at all,but from your post the under tones kinda havea note of you feel useless. Just curious as too your honest feelings as i think it will in the long run speak to the devs desire or lack there off towork with us on our issues.
To be honest, I feel very useful. I am able to get your ideas to the devs, and the devs recieve them very well. What frustrates me is that I don't get anything to give back to you guys, which makes it look like I'm not doing anything, and it also means I can't do half of my job (which is report back to our community). Alot of Architects are really frustrated with the current state of affairs, and when the community doesn't get info, alot of people feel there is nothing being done.
The devs KNOW about our issues, but I don't get anything to pass on other than the fact that they know, and they're working on it. It sucks for me, and it sucks for you.
But TH promises to make a few changes on the communication level, so I can't complain. Things are going as smoothly as expected.
Don't misunderstand me, I'm very happy with the way things are going, but they could go alot better all around.
I also forgot to mention something important (once again, devs are aware) about getting Holocrons for crafters. We want to see a way where crafters can get Holocrons aside from killing high end mobs or buying them for horrendous prices. I've also addressed the Holocron-Architect issue for the economy on our part, still no response on that either.
By the way, as far as Holocrons for crafters go, has anyone actually proposed a real idea or working concept? I know we all want to see some way for crafters and other passive classes to have a chance to grab one of these things, but are there any real thoughts on how to implement this yet?
To that end, here's a few thoughts:
Introduce a new schematic that requires 5 holocron shards. When crafted, this yeilds a 1/1000 chance to make a functioning Holocron.
Introduce a new surveying tool, the Archeological Survey Tool. This tool leads you to random buried loot, which you can 'survey' and dig up. Among the loot available is a random chance for a holocron. (When your tool leads you to a site, you can only survey that area once for a chance to receive one random loot item. This prevents AFK Holocron hunting).
Make the Artisan and Entertainer Mission Terminals randomly generate a mission occasionally (1/3000) that rewards a holocron in some way upon completion. Of course, you have no way of knowing if you got this special mission until you have completed it.
Just some ideas, I know they're not perfect. Any other thoughts?
very nice AA 
I for one am glad we are in such good hands compared to some of the other professions.
Anyways, the holocron ideas are nice also. I especially liked the archeological survey tool version. I think as most crafters have the ability to survey/sample at some degree, it would be the simplest solution.
I, like most of the crafting class have given up any hope of ever seeing a Holocron (I wouldn't know what one even looked like 
) - and generally class it the same "unattainable game goal" classification as Act 2. Its kinda sad to know that you are playing a game where the ultimate prize is always going to be out of reach except by sheer fluke 
.
If player cities is a bust, I know I will be looking at dropping crafting altogether and going full tilt at a combat-class. And I know that I'm not alone on that count. There is only so much tedium and boredom people are willing to put up with before they either bail from their wanted profession, or bail from the game completely. And even now, though I love the game immensely, I am starting to ask myself "why am I logging on? I have bugger all resources to make anything, and even if I do build something, I can't compete with the under-cutting Holocron grinders!"
SWG is not just about the fighting classes - though to look at SOEs response to problems and issues - it often seems more like we are playing Unreal Tournament than a MMORPG. /shrug
ok, so we are going to have 100 experimentation points. my question is, then, are our extraction rates going to go up? right now, with just 5 points, i get parts at 62% experimentation. this yields me a +3 to extraction rates. if i have 10 experimentation points and get my stuff to 95%, am i still just getting a +3?
also, don't forget to give us 100 structure assembly points as well. i would hate to ses us having 10 experimentation points chance at a crit fail b/c we only have 55 assembly points...
i ask about the rates b/c i have stockpiled metals, chems, and ores at UT of 950+. i need to know if i should hold off on using this stuff b/c better is coming, or if a +3 is the best i am going to get, regardless...
Hey Joe, that's an awesome list of ideas, I especially like the one with the shards, but once again it feels like it will be a grind. The Archeological survey tool would be cool too... Like a treasure map without the map.
Structure assembly and experimentation are at +100 on TC now, but I don't count this as a success until it's pushed to live.
On TC, I don't have any info on what the high/low end extraction rates are, because I don't have a credit to my name. nicklaus was nice enough to lend me 1k ore, 1k steel and 1k aluminum so I could get some personal mineral extractors going, but it will be a while before I can even build a heavy harvester, let alone test them out regularily
Experimentation on extraction rate is affected by Heat Resistance (25%), Shock Resistance (25%) and Unit Toughness (50%) - hopper sizes is Maelability (33%) Unit Toughness (66%).
I was able to experiment a personal mineral extractor to 54% and that was extraction rate of 3. That's all I can give you right now.