Armorsmith Archive
Thread: Armor Customization Kit FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY!!!!
linusboarder wrote:
Personally i don't want Armor Colring kits. There seem to be 2 types of AS's. The mass producing ones who distribute armor to the masses, and smaller ones who run their AS shop more like a tailor shop. I fall into the latter. I do a ton of custom orders and custom colors, and i charge a little more for this service, but not a lot more. It has helped me find a loyal and large customer base.
It's also helpful to the AS's who haven't been around long enough to really get all the uber-resources. They can focus on one type of armor and make sure they d custom orders and good colors. People will take the slightly lower resists for the chance to choose their own colors, making it easier for new AS's to get customers (which is needed, because SWG isn't attracting many new crafters).
There is an AS for hire list at the top of the forum page, i suggst you contact one in your server...
What you don't understand is that people see the colors differently on their system, based on monitor and video card. So what looks good to you, may look horrid to them. The new rebel rug is this ugly orange and green color to me. Others see a gray and yellow. The thing is, it is their armor, their toon and those need to look good on their computer not yours. The only way to do that, and I mean only way, is for them to pick through the colors. Well I guess you could make every single possible color combo for every single armor suit and display that. Short of doing that, the client needs armor color kits so it looks right on their client. This is very true for armors like padded or kash hunting where there are many choices and combos and the color drift between clients is huge.
Yes that ugly pink colored armor probably looked like a nice crimson red on the AS computer.
Yeah seriously.
I think it'd be cool if each armor had a couple of different textures. Kinda like the clone armor is now. It's basically one texture with three different color schemes applied to it. How cool would it be if there were like three completely separate textures and you could change the colors? We'd see much more diversity in armor with them having to add more sets to the game.
Color kits would be awesome, but it would kill those smiths that focus on custom works.
As a smith they are not good, but as a customer it would be simply awesome.
I dont think those of you with this view quite understand: PRE-CU ALL ARMORSMITHS MASS PRODUCED. We have been forced into this petty means of production by a game-crippling bug, and now you people aim to accept this bug? Why the hell would an armorsmith want to NOT make as much armor in as little time as possible, and spend hours doing repetitive crap over and over again?
Honestly, what are you thinking? Because of this idea, "Protect the custom order armorsmiths", the DEV's have fuel to put this off. They can keep saying its not game breaking. Well it is. You need only open your eyes and realize the truth, instead of spouting rhetoric.
linusboarder wrote:
Personally i don't want Armor Colring kits. There seem to be 2 types of AS's. The mass producing ones who distribute armor to the masses, and smaller ones who run their AS shop more like a tailor shop. I fall into the latter. I do a ton of custom orders and custom colors, and i charge a little more for this service, but not a lot more. It has helped me find a loyal and large customer base.
It's also helpful to the AS's who haven't been around long enough to really get all the uber-resources. They can focus on one type of armor and make sure they d custom orders and good colors. People will take the slightly lower resists for the chance to choose their own colors, making it easier for new AS's to get customers (which is needed, because SWG isn't attracting many new crafters).
There is an AS for hire list at the top of the forum page, i suggst you contact one in your server...
I'm with you bud...the factory bug has gotten me used to custom orders, and the satisfaction of making people happy because they have their custom colors far outweighs the highre profit margin with factory runs. It's rare for me not to be able to satisfy a custom order in 24 hours, so if you are on Intrepid and want custom armor, give me a shout
Meplorium wrote:
linusboarder wrote:
Personally i don't want Armor Colring kits. There seem to be 2 types of AS's. The mass producing ones who distribute armor to the masses, and smaller ones who run their AS shop more like a tailor shop. I fall into the latter. I do a ton of custom orders and custom colors, and i charge a little more for this service, but not a lot more. It has helped me find a loyal and large customer base.
It's also helpful to the AS's who haven't been around long enough to really get all the uber-resources. They can focus on one type of armor and make sure they d custom orders and good colors. People will take the slightly lower resists for the chance to choose their own colors, making it easier for new AS's to get customers (which is needed, because SWG isn't attracting many new crafters).
There is an AS for hire list at the top of the forum page, i suggst you contact one in your server...
What you don't understand is that people see the colors differently on their system, based on monitor and video card. So what looks good to you, may look horrid to them. The new rebel rug is this ugly orange and green color to me. Others see a gray and yellow. The thing is, it is their armor, their toon and those need to look good on their computer not yours. The only way to do that, and I mean only way, is for them to pick through the colors. Well I guess you could make every single possible color combo for every single armor suit and display that. Short of doing that, the client needs armor color kits so it looks right on their client. This is very true for armors like padded or kash hunting where there are many choices and combos and the color drift between clients is huge.
Yes that ugly pink colored armor probably looked like a nice crimson red on the AS computer.
I understand That different comps see it differently but the fact is most is about the same. I've had exactly one complaint about the color of my order, so i bought it back from them, made them something else, and put the armor on my vendor. It sold in a week. And the differentation of color isn't really that big of a difference. What about tailors? does that mean we should have clothing color kits? Since everyone's cloths will be different looking.
I stand by my statement that Armor Coloring kits would severly limit new AS's trying to make it. It's already hard enough for them because they haven't been able to have a stockpile of resources so they can't make the best stuff, and their best chance to compete and make some money while they stockpile is to do custom orders with custom colors. Without this no one would evr buy from them, unless it was outta sympathy. Until they really put something in that allows smaller newer AS's to compete, then Armor customization kits are a detriment. If the AS market isn't allowed to grow new AS's then EVERYONE is screwed when one of the big established one's leaves. (we're going to go through this very soon on Naritus. We have 2 of our best AS's quitting the game this month, and there really aren't many AS's capable of covering. I can only think of 2 bigtime Mass-producing AS that can handle the amount of armor theat these two produce the quality and quantity of Armor that these 2 produce)
Circe' Pojia People still go to top of the line armorsmiths for custom orders and really high quality stuff. The low end is basically dirt cheap or low resists for non masters. Not seeing the logic that some how beginning armorsmiths have some untapped market, other than the low end, that the high end armorsmiths don't cover on some level.
Armorsmith is a very pricey profession to get into. A friend went AS a few months back and he did it using looted cores to start with. Mostly vendor sales at very cheap prices, not many custom jobs. Just not how it happens in the real world.
I do understand wanting to preserve the one edge one may have over some of the top armorsmiths, such as turn around time on custom orders. That of corse will always be there. Too many armors and configurations to stock everything even if color was taken out of mix.
Meplorium wrote:People still go to top of the line armorsmiths for custom orders and really high quality stuff. The low end is basically dirt cheap or low resists for non masters. Not seeing the logic that some how beginning armorsmiths have some untapped market, other than the low end, that the high end armorsmiths don't cover on some level.
Armorsmith is a very pricey profession to get into. A friend went AS a few months back and he did it using looted cores to start with. Mostly vendor sales at very cheap prices, not many custom jobs. Just not how it happens in the real world.
I do understand wanting to preserve the one edge one may have over some of the top armorsmiths, such as turn around time on custom orders. That of corse will always be there. Too many armors and configurations to stock everything even if color was taken out of mix.
Many top AS's wont do custom orders, or when they do it, it is slow and takes a while because it's not their priority. In the time it takes them to do one suit of orders, They could make a factory run (or two) and know all that stuff is going to sell. Their time would be wasted in doing that one order. However it's worth it to a smaller AS.
And if you make a little lower quality, but offer it at a much better price AND customize it, people will not only buy it rather than go to the bigger guy, but they will also more than likely be repeat business.
That's how Wal-Mart became the #1 store. When Sam Walton originated it, they used MADE IN THE USA Goods (at a time when many people were very weary of the Japanese taking all our jobs.. so the MADE IN THE USA was a more RL example of how we customize), and then they used a slightly lower quality item, but priced it dirt cheap. People came and were loyal. (then Wal-Mart abandoned that whole ideal when they became big... but that's not the point the way they built was to start small and offer a lower price)
That's exactly what I did too. I didn't have the best resources, but i did make custom colors, kept my vendors stocked, and offered my armor at a much better price than the big-boys. Now i'm making 8M credits a week, mainly from a loyal cutomer base who I give massive discounts too.
linusboarder wrote:
That's how Wal-Mart became the #1 store. When Sam Walton originated it, they used MADE IN THE USA Goods (at a time when many people were very weary of the Japanese taking all our jobs.. so the MADE IN THE USA was a more RL example of how we customize), and then they used a slightly lower quality item, but priced it dirt cheap. People came and were loyal. (then Wal-Mart abandoned that whole ideal when they became big... but that's not the point the way they built was to start small and offer a lower price)
Meplorium wrote:
linusboarder wrote:
That's how Wal-Mart became the #1 store. When Sam Walton originated it, they used MADE IN THE USA Goods (at a time when many people were very weary of the Japanese taking all our jobs.. so the MADE IN THE USA was a more RL example of how we customize), and then they used a slightly lower quality item, but priced it dirt cheap. People came and were loyal. (then Wal-Mart abandoned that whole ideal when they became big... but that's not the point the way they built was to start small and offer a lower price)
That is just a pathetic example. It is like saying walmart is a high quality tailor that uses 1st world fabrics to craft, not produce, fine suits. The truth is walmart uses cheap 3rd world labor and high through put production to sale extremely cheap clothing to people that can not afford better. A correct annology would be chinese people connecting to SWG and making dirt cheap armor using recycled hides and metals and selling them for 1/10th of what others can make them for. Their bosses would then sale the credits and give them a small amount so they can afford live stock grade grain to eat while those bosses live it up very good. Get your information straight. Most of those MADE IN THE USA labels were made in the USA but just the labels. The goods won't pass customs with those labels on them otherwise. If that so called RL example you presented were true then every small mom and pop store that did do as you described would rise to that status. That isn't reality and those mom and pops were run out of business by walmart with the false adverts and labels. That is the true story of walmart and why walmart did so much better than other stores that did offer home made goods and gave great personal service. If they pawned off chinese goods after china got the favored trading nation status in the 70s they would have become walmart. There is of course only one walmart.
You're wrong. You are right in some aspect, yes that's how they currently run their business. And they did that business earlier, after Sam Walton died. But when they first started Sam Walton would only buy USA made products. He would buy them on a mass scale and sell them for cheap and then he made customers because he was selling home made products cheaper than anyone else. It didn't matter that the quality wasn't there. Once Sam Walton dies and his children took over they became the evil company that they currently are, which is why i won't shop there. But when they first started out they did things a lot differently.
the reason ma and pa shops aren't able to grow like that is because they aren't able to buy the bulk ingrediants for less, and therefore can't sell for less than bigger competitors. If they could (which some manage to do) they would grow exponentially. That's where RL differs from SWG (ok there's a lot that differs but that's the one i am talking about).
Meplorium wrote:It comes down to the customer getting to choose and looking over the color palet for themselves and deciding what color is best for them based on their choice and their machine. Some find that to be important for their customers, that personal choice, even if it comes at a risk to them.
This i agree with for the most part. They still choose the color's and if it's that big of a deal and their machine is that different it's very easy to find the color pallette for all the armors via the web. Again i am a medium size As and i do hand made orders only, and that was before the factory crate coloring bug. I have never had one complaint on the colors, and that is honestly why i don't think there is that big a difference on each machine. If there was i would see a lot more complaints. This advantage is why the smaller AS's need to keep custom kits away. If they are put into the game then they are without a job. Right now they can compete because many of them are willing to sit down with the customer and let the customer choose, while many big AS's won't. They will send out a WP to the vendor, and will only specially do big stuff like RIS or BH armor.
Put those custon color kits in and it severely damages a small newer AS's ability to compete. If smaller AS's can't compete it will severely damage the economy, because when one of the big boys quits (which we have 2 quitting on my server withing a month) there will be no one ready to step up and pick up the slack. This will cause massive inflation on the server on armor. It's a long gradual change but it can easily happen.