Architect Archive
Thread: Dev Bait, Building our own Future
I was so long winded on this issue in another thread... I decided to make my own thread in hopes it will thus easier be seen... (hopefully by one or more devs...... hopefully)
Plenty of my own issues in-fact.... though I will shorten it down abit.... most all of these come from my agrivation with trying to decorate and fill in our new PA hall......
""Items on walls""
Very much so, there are ways to put items on your walls.... but they require you to use a bug and that makes me feel dirty, the best way to make this workable would be to add a /move up and a /move down command to the rest of the material movement options. Unboubtably some people would do wierd things like put all of thier furniture on the roof, or some such, but the payoff for those not seeking to abuse it would be much grander.... Plus, we could stop using the bugs we are to make things look nice... and even then.. those don't work all the time.
""PA Space""
Ok... I know everything thus far is based on lot size..... I suppose that makes this a bug then... becuase well.... PA halls take up -7- whole slots......7.... yet we max out at 250 items in that house..... that is the equivelent of roughly 3 slots............ well.... no.... that really doesnt work out.... when you need the space to flesh out a four story (though I guess most of the 4th does not count because it is well.... roof thus un buildable) huge building.... the first room is the size of two entire small houses....easily....We could probably use juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust abit more space for the place guys. 
.. really though...... this is about the only truely really serious problem in this post.... its very bad.... and for spending 350k credits.... and losing 7 of my 10 slots... as a tailor..... I really think I deserve that space..... and I am not normaly demanding in the slightest.... please help fix that issue it is very glaring and important... thanks..
There are a few other spatial issues..... but since I lack the knowlege to properly bring them up in a fair argument... I will leave that to others more versed in the issue
""Items on tables/benches/anything""
This too... would be easily managed with the /move up /move down command...... and something else to add to it would be the ever wonderful /tilt command...... to add realism.... remember the nice weapons display near the Martial Trainers? You could put it to shame with your own designs....... Really..... really... want those /commands ...
""More architect furniture""
I know thier (devs) efforts are spent on alot more pressing issues..... but at -least- "Sets" of furniture...... decorate homes... and god forbid this PA hall...would be nice.. its not that nothing really matches..... but it -really... really- doesn't match... bright red sofa chairs.... yellow.... blue and white... none at all that match the tables in the game.... where they naturaly should see'ing that is where they would go most often.. (Cept perhaps the Cafe set... which I really like, but it does not at all fit large formal rooms) Another important thing to remember when thinking of sets are the home designs..... the colors of the walls.... floors... and how much the colors of most of the furniture is terribly off set from it... I know it is early... but please... help with this would be wonderful.... so far the only two real -set- like themes are the cafe items... and the orange couches and chairs...... a grrrrrrraaaaaannnnnnd way to fix this is to naturaly let the architects have a few shade options like we tailors.... you could use the same models and everything...just a few tweakable textures and colors.... another nice (hahah nice doesn't even do it justice) thing would be either carpeting, ceiling, or wall changes possibly made by archs and downloaded into the buildings Structure Management Terminal....where it could be tweaked from there...
I know that is a little far-fetched... so lets try something a little smaller if that is asking too much..... I have seen in npc buildings rugs..... Buying rugs... would be -w.o.n.d.e.r.f.u.l- as the barren floors are just that .. very barren..... and while its not so much an issue on some planets.... in tattooine home it makes you feel like a caveman..... I know it is Tattooine.... but please... If I a wealthy enough to afford a building the size of a PA, I darn sure would add some softness for my feets....heheh even in the movies.. in Anakin's quarters... they were slaves and they had a rug if I remember correctly. I am not sure exactly the mechanics of something so flat as those.... Decals I think you call them in programmer jargon.
. so I can't really gauge how much trouble to expect that to be of you... but if you work it out... I cannot -even- tell you how much it would be appretiated... and when you figure it out... wall decals are only a step behind, for items like wall murals, paintings, and the like....
Last issue on this matter is, well... again I know it generally comes down to your busy scheduals of working on things that actually matter more.... heres a great time saver to make me and others wondering about the issues hold our tongue for a while.... I have noticed a great many items in buildings that cannot be made.... especially a very nice statue I saw in a npc trainers guild building.... to save time, take many of the static meshes of items around the game...like that statue... some pillows I saw.... and make them craftable items.... I know I am making it sound alot easier than it really is... but I digress..... Even those little four post canopy (four wooden poles with a little tarp on top of them) things you see all around Tattooine would be a great addition.... Drop one of those in a large room... toss some pillows under it.. and you have a great mood setting lounge area.... (wow... I just thought of how creepy that sounds.... my bad.) Anywhoo... a little imagination could lead to some very interesting and unique designs.....
""Cloned Furniture""
Ok.... ok.. I admit it.. now I am getting petty.... but none the less I will speak my mind... I ,in my PA have a library.... countless bookshelves all specialy labeled... but.. though at first glance it looks wonderful... it quickly degrades because each and every one of those shelves is identical, down to the little tilted fallen over books.... If it would not be too much trouble for your modelers to copy and paste.. to change things around and make a few different 'styles' of some items... it would really enrich many of the eyecandy elements in the game.... little things can add up to alot.... this also goes for the toolboxes and other such items that have a drawer partialy open.. while that is nice, and shows it off as a possibly functional item... sit a few next to each other and it looks a little silly.... This would be a very interesting specialized skill to add to the architect tree, should you, or when you every decide to expand the skill tree's a bit. You could call it 'Styles' or something and it could give you a few extra 'Styles' to a few existing schematics. Again.... in the scheme of things this is rather petty.... but I'll bet if you ever went through with this more than a few people like myself who concider decorating an art form, would be very happy..... and add great richness to the game...
""Lighting""
Please.... I ask you this with all the sincerity I can muster..... please fix/add to the lights in the game.... currently the only light I have found that functions is the torch.... and don't get me wrong.. were there others the PA would still be full of torches. But, still... though it seems an un-important issue for some, to some classes, such as my own Tailor, it is almost devestating. My shop shows off my work all around the vendors... to better let people know what I am capable of.... and a few patterns and mixtures of clothing sets that I think people would like..... The only light I can fill the otherwise dark rooms with are torches.... which give off a wonderfully realisting orange light. This orange light in-turn splashes all over my clothing.... giving all of my clothing an orange hue... which for someone showing off his clothing...... is... very.. very... bad. Many of the details that would otherwise intrest people and sell clothing are masked and overlooked.... The torches look very nice in my dank stone Tattooine hallways.... but I cannot imaging the aggrivation of some of the more higher class Naboo citizens who have to drive a torch into thier nice red carpet.
""Music""
It occured to me.. when I went into the building in Bestine with the Merchant trainer..... that while you are in the room with the Merchent trainer.....there is a little song is softly emenating from somewhere in the room....... I think it would be a -great- idea to add little music boxes to the game.... great for homes and stores alike.... if nothing else it could be a a drop only item.... an architect item.... or another instrument for the entertainers to create...... either way you look at it, it would make a fun addition. There are alot of player made cantina's around all of the servers... a little music box playing ambeint music would make up for there not -always- being an entertainer around.... like in the actual npc cantinas.. not all of them have in house musicians... but there is always a little song playing in the back ground.... you could have different musicboxes for different songs to promote rarity..... but it would be nice to have them all in one to keep it from being to troublesome to keep up with..
""Creatures and Pets""
Though this has nothing to do with with ones personal home... I would like to mention there is a rather large problem with people bringing larger than life... even AT-ST's into buildings like Cantina's..... plopping them down on dancers and the like to agrivate everyone..... no I know it would not be fair to not let them in.. see'ing as how they need to guard thier masters...... but any help on this issue would be wonderful.
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Anyone else have anything to add? If the eyes of any devs graced this post.... please let me have the rest of mind by knowing at least -one- of you saw it with a reply, no matter how short or cruel you are in mocking my sad plea's lol....
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Thanks for reading this if you did.... sorry to be so long winded,
Kael'thulas of the Sunrunner Multiverse
(hehehe)
-Loserwan Ka'newbie
Nalid wrote:the best way to make this workable would be to add a /move up and a /move down command to the rest of the material movement options.
There is no z-axis in this game. For the math challenged among you, that means that, in the "mind" of the software, everything is on the same level. Things that are displayed higher or lower than others are simply how the artwork was drawn, or bugs (like the moving furniture off the stairs bug.) The lack of a z-axis is why you can't hop over a one foot high railing in your home town, or jump up the edge of the stairs to the landing, skipping two steps. It's why you can shoot through the terrain. It's why you can't jump *off* the balconies of the houses, etc.
It's a lovely dream, but having a /move up and /move down command would require the game having been built wiht a x-axis. (Like they seemed to manage in Everquest with no problems). It was, IMO, a horrid mistake, but I fear it's far too late to fix it now.
But the strange thing is... the game DOES have a Z-axis... Otherwise all the floating items created using the stairs trick would flop right to the floor. The axis is just not utilized anywhere other than object placement. They won't allow it for characters, cause it would overload the server if they let everyone start jumping around and over things. It would cause chaos for their combat line-of-sight routines.
In short tho, when an object is placed, it's Z axis is set to a constant of whatever the players z-axis is.
-Loserwan Ka'newbie
True enough I think..... I will not brag about being a mathamatition.... as I am no where near.... but I do know to some degree 3d modelers and map builders... the bread and butter that all of these games are made from, and there is a Z axis, if not for our use than thier own.... now... a lack of ingame 'gravity' might make it appear to lack such a thing, but I assure you it is there, or the game could not be build in the first place.... its all built of grids... and thus a necissity...
But.... I can also see how giving players control of this could cause problems..... but.. for the most part I think it would serve more to cause answers.....
Kael'thulas
Sorry about the small font by the way... I had issues getting the server to accept the post some reason.... and had to do a bit of cut and paste to get it to work.... somewhere along the lines it shrunk my text...... no idea where or why... becuase I do not remember see'ing it like that in any of the windows....
Kael'thulas