Artisan Archive

Hey all,

I've been asked to supply the Top Three questions from my profession to the devs to be answered. Clear, focused, Artisan relevant questions are needed, please.

As usual, I only have a little time to collect information before replying. I'd like for all of you to post what you feel are the top three Artisan questions in this thread. I'll collect all of them in the morning and submit the best three of the thread to the devs.

Thanks,
Guru

I actually think many of the other professions took a much more significant hit in the CU than we did. We should be thankful.

Biggest question/concern for me is the fact that my crafter/merchant can no longer wear armor and is a sitting duck any time I have to go run my factories or my harvestors. With how things load on most planets it's pretty much impossible to NOT find yourself with red around you.....you think it's clear and suddenly everything loads in and your in the middle of a merek lair. In the past my good comp armor would allow me enough time to RUN and get away. Now it looks like, with my huge 1 combat rating, that I could be dead before I even realize I am being attacked.

Suggestion: How about a crafter/merchant/non-combat armor that we could wear that could have huge hindrances on it so that you could not effectively use weapons when you were wearing it. And maybe you have to put it on while in a city. This would be a strict defensive armor used for "out in the wild" runs by crafter/merchants, etc.. Maybe you could make being a crafting profession required to wear it (and if you had a combat profession you could NOT wear it). PSG's are worthless out and about in the wild to be honest with you....and right now that is our only hope. I was thinking /mask scent or camo kits from a ranger might be the answer but it seems like critters dump you out of mask scent and camo pretty easy now post CU...even my alt toon who is a ranger was having trouble staying hidden....so not much of an option for a crafter.

That is my main concern/watch out post-CU. At least so far. Having a bodyguard/player help you out is not practical for as much time as we spend at factories and at harvestors, surveying, etc... Maybe an NPC guard crafting professions could use sort of like a Stormtrooper? Could call him a BodyGuard and we would have to pay for him, maintenance, on a daily basis to keep him in our datapad. He could run with us while we are out and help protect us. Maybe make it so if he is out the owner can not equip a weapon (to keep combat folks from getting them) or make having a crafting prof be a pre-requisit for taking him/her out of your datapad ( and a combat prof would prevent it).

If we are going to keep our economies running at a good pace then crafters/merchants are critical. Making resources harder for us to get will drive up prices or even yet have folks not gathering them, which will drive up prices even more and stifle the economy. Plus, working harvestors and surveying, etc.. is a nice break from constant crafting....don't make us stay in the city all the time for fear of our lives!

Message Edited by xDiggerx on 04-29-2005 02:14 PM

- Is the staff happy with the benefit / detriment ratio on powerups.

- Another nudge on the lack of craftable 'sign' since the loss of armor segs.

- Would one of them with a combat toon follow me around dath as I look for a place to put harvesters

Ok, you don't really have to ask the last one

I was thinking of other alternatives for the crafters getting wasted every time we leave the city.

If we are attacked by NPC's...what about a ransom option? Sort of like getting stopped by the stormtroopers....the NPC who normally would just open fire stops you and demands some cash. Think about the real world...would a mauler just open fire and kill me as a chef or demand some money or goods first (did I just say "real world"...eh gads!). Well, you get the picture.

How does this save us from critters? It doesn't....what we need for critters is what every good postman, FedEx driver and UPS man keeps in his pocket.....DOG BONES! Ok, maybe not dog bones per-say but something we could toss out that would distract attacking critters long enough for them to leave us and give us time to RUN. I know my Rifleman can now go into Cover mode and disappear off the radar even (we disappear in game also....very kewl!).We need some form of temp cover to run from things also.

But I like the bodyguard/mercenary idea the best.....let us spend our cash for protection!

Instead of my joking third question above how about asking about the new Survey BE tissues and if they're supposed to work (and if Survey SEAs work now as well)

My three questions:

When will we get craftable signs? This can't be that hard. I mean take the old bone armor segment. Make it so that it takes wood and bone and then voila craftable sign...change name to Sign.

When will we get some sort of Armorsmith precursor item? For instance the proposed Light PSG, Blast Helmets and Blast Vests.

Might it be possible to make it such that spawns of creatures are weighted in such a way that it is more likely that non agro creatures would spawn near factories, homes and player cities? When will it be done?

Honestly, my only real main concern is for my safety.

I really liked the idea of a crafter armor of somekind. Perhaps just simple closing with some kind of protection on it that could be made by an AS. Anything so we don't die the second we get breathed on.

I was scared to leave my house when I logged into the post CU for the first time. I was surrounded by purple con mobs. I couldn't do anything.

That protection issue seems to be a big one for sure.

All of my Artisan/Elite Artisan mates on Corbantis are pretty well "scared" to leave the cities. Myself being the only one with a higher combat tree (smuggler) am constatly being send on errands for them because of this danger.

A new set of artisan armor aside... is there any way to make the world creatures/npc's just not attack anyone without a combat tree? or any other way of identifying an artisan as a non-combatant to the creature system?

At the very least, make the likely hood of provoking an attack far less for artisans.

BTW - Any word yet on what the "3 Questions" will be?

These are what I submitted. I have no answers.


1) What, if anything, is being added to Artisan to replace Bone Armor?

- The loss of a protective item that Artisans could make and use has been felt keenly by the community. We would love to see a new protective item or items that could be used by Artisans (or other non-combat characters). Some suggestions include: Simple PSGs that protect against Kinetic, Flak Jackets, etc. This is related to question three, but it also refers to the loss of a income-generating item. Further, many Artisans used bone armor segments as 'signs'. I posted a proposal for a 'sign' schematic in this forum a few days ago. I suggest that that schematic be added as well, please.

2) What plans exist to improve power up utility?

- Power Ups appear to have been greatly reduced in power and utility. Many feel that the changes in the CU have greatly reduced the desireability of powerups. In many cases, the use of a powerup reduces the DPS of the weapon, as well as accelerating its decay.

Suggestions: Increase the 'bonus' and reduce the 'reduction' fields some. Re-assess the resource requirements, the PE component is really hurting the quality. Make powerups removable without destroying them. Increase powerup use counts. Remove/reduce weapon decay with powerups.

3) What, if anything, is being done to improve non-combat viability/survivability?

- Many non-combat players are feeling that the new CU balance has seriously impacted their ability to function and play in the game. One-shot incaps and kills are common, the level system makes the damage and impact of even low-level thugs in starter planets deadly. We would like to see some mechanism implemented to increase survivability of CL1 characters.