Architect Archive

So, I'm not an Architect, but I am a great supporter (and financer), but I have an idea that bring the same amount of unique combinations that our Tailors give us.

So here is my vision:

How many of you would like a Custom built house? How many of you would like to see a house show it to your customers? How many of you don't want a basement offered in the "regular package?" How about a kitchen with a counter? How about a guild hall with a theater, or a glass dome on top?

Let's let Architects design, and build our dream houses. My idea is quite simple in theory, though I am sure the guys doing the code work will probably hate me (sorry Devs), itinvolves "Modules."

You start out with your basic type of house (built on thenumber of modules, the space for items, and the costof maintenence) then you add the modules. The basic type of house can be simple, a room with a door to the outside, for example, and each module can offer special features, like a kitchen style room, or a dance floor, or a tech room for a crafting workshop.

The possibilities are endless, as each module will change the appearance of the house. Think about having a house that actually looks like a shop, with a counter and a display case, or a house with a kitchen, living room, and a bedroom with a balcony overlooking the city. A house that's a club, with a dance floor, a kitchen in the back, a gambling parlor (yeah that's right your own casino). An office, a company headquarters, a crafting workshop, a cafe, a bar, a movie theater, a fighting arena, a swoop bike chopper shop, a landspeeder garage, a ship dry dock hanger, a resource warehouse.

Finally anything can be accomplished with an inspirationalarchitect with an artistic flare, the right combinations, and probably a lot of money.

If you think this is a good idea, or have any ideas to add, please comment if you support it, and help me lobby for this possibility to become a SWG reality!

Khrim Charan
Gorath Pikeman Old Fart
"I was a Master when you were still in short pants... Okay, ok, Brawler's jacket, but no more!"

Some interesting ideas, surfer dude. Variations on customization idea have been floating around this forum and others for as long as I've been using the forums. I will toss a few ideas into the discussion in two general areas: furnishings and structures.

I don't particularly see the need for specialized structure modules, as much as for additional non-loot furniture for the kinds of rooms you suggest. As well, customization of furniture (specifically colorization) is one of the top architect issues.There is a huge amount of interior decoration creativity using non-furniture items, not all of it coming from players with Architect characters. Nonetheless there are some typical furniture items that (I think) are very difficult to mimic using existing items. One of these is a glass-topped display case. The closest I've seen is the quarter-circle glass-top loot table. A display case piece that could adjut other such pieces, has transparent side and top, and can hold an arrangement of small items would be a great addition.

Likewise, the limited choice in structure floorplan and external appearance (elevation, in real-estate jingo) is a frequent gripe, if not one of the top 5 or 10 issues. Relatively simple customizations such as selectable color and texture have been requested as long as I can remember. Your suggestion evidently proposes external variability of structure shape, so I suspect it will be even less likely to be implemented. I believe the reason for this is the way the game is architected at the base level.I believethat the graphical "recipe" for every object in the game resides on the client side, i.e., the installed "footprint" on every player's PC. The location and orientation of every moveable object (including structures), on the other hand, reside on the server side, and have to be communicated to the client when the area containing the object needs to be rendered. Modular structures, I suspect, would increase communication bandwidth requirements and both client-side and server-side data storage requirements more than additional non-modular structure types and appearance modifiers would.

In summary, as a believer in the upgrade path of least resistance, I prefer pushing for customizable internal floorplans, external color and texture customization, some additional furniture types, and furniture colorization.

Saego Kennar,

Master Architect, etc.

Wanderhome

galaxiesradio.com

Soba -- GalaxiesRadio DJ
Former Mayor, Tyronet