Artisan Archive
Thread: A Galaxy of Adventure Awaits; crafters need not apply.
Br-10n wrote:
Well, it is a Multiplayer game. You could always, like ask some of the other players to help you out. Group and such-like stuff.
Well that is true, I have two chars so I can do both, but for those with only one char, and if you devote yourself to being a master crafter...well you're kinda committing to locking yourself in your room and never coming out. Now I agree with the other poster that for difficult things like the Peko Peko Albatros feather,large amounts of hide/meat/bone,it is good to pay someone else to go get it, or buy it from them after they get it (auction). However, I do think there should be things that allow the crafter to get out and participate in the game world more than just grinding items out for others.
Take the GCW, crafters should be able to make things that actively contribute to the effort of the combatants on the fly out in the field. You take healers with you into combat so you can have their immediate benefit...why not the same with crafters? Protect the smuggler for five seconds while he slices and disables the bases turrets...protect weaponsmiths while they disable minefields (that exists), etc etc, there are lots of opportunities for crafters in combat and that's just basic examples of what you can do in the GCW. Maybe you need some sort of bunker to assault a base from...get an architect to build it (kinda like a camp).
For quests etc, its the same deal. Speederbikes lets the crafter get through hostiles...but they have nowhere to go but their harvestors. Give them places to go and things to do when they get there, otherwise the crafter will get bored (like a couple of friends I know) and start giving up their crafting char in favour of their combat chars.
You really want crafted items to become rarer and good crafters to quit? Gotta keep their interest or you'll always be looking for a new best friend to make you stuff.
I'm sure SOE does things this way to encourage the multiple account idea (get more money out of the suckers), but there are quite a lot of people out there with just one char, and they don't get a second combat char, they just quit entirely. I can't count the number of Tailors/Armorsmiths/Weaponsmiths that have quit the game since I started last year...its a lot. I don't know why they quit, but lack of care is probably the underlying reason.
- Get the crafters into the GCW.
- Give the crafterscontent.
- Give the crafters things to do.
- Stop with the idea of 'grinding'.
- Make crafting fun. (Get rid of CFs and micromanagement.)
JansosHosphe wrote:
It would be SOO cool if the theme parks gave you stuff to do based on what skill tree you had chosen. Like a marksman gets a shooting mission, but an artisan gets something like that deadeye decoder thing from act II, where he has to go hunt for the components. A dancer has to go dance for some minor character, a medic has to craft a special drug, a... well you get the idea. All these missions should come from the same mission giver. And which one you get depends on which skill tree you have developed farthest.
Thats not locked out, they still get to do the quest. Turn it around, imagine they couldn't even accept the quest without Tailor skills, that sums up the crafter adventure game.
Combatants can't use the new Tailor schematics that the theme parks give out.
Development should really be focused on creating a rich and vibrant trade and political environment. I got in on the latter portion of the beta, and one thing I noticed was that the most advanced players spent a lot of time away from the major cities, as the wilderness was the only place to put a house. Up and coming players seemed to be looking for a way to get out to the "burbs" as well. The community was forced to spread out. If people were allowed to hold real estate, setup shops, and run for office in the pre-made cities, Theed, Mos Eisley, Coronet, etc.., there would be opportunities for a more dynamic experience for the non-combat professions. Missions dealing with political intrigue, industrial espionage, trade between factions, not just Rebel and Imperial, could be centered around this.
I enjoy being a tailor and merchant. It's what I did in beta and what I still wanted to do when the game went live. I didn't grind to Master; I took my sweet time and explored as much as I could, spending almost all I made on tickets to the next place to see. But I always wished I could go see the places the warriors came back to town talking about. The danger, the sights, the glories. Ruins and temples and caves and dungeons... I have seen none of them. Epic quests against Epic foes... I have done none of them.
My weak combat skills kept me from surviving so much as a glance at the foothills, much less the entrance to the adventure. 128m radar and burst run were my best friends. I surrendered Polearm 4 in favor of Novice Pistoleer. My friend and in-game Husband has helped me learn to equip for battle, and to make it home alive. I have learned the joys of shooping sprees on guns and armors. I have a loyal Crimson Guardsman who watches my back and dies in my stead When I leave the edges of Serenity Valley, I have my boon companions beside me... for I cannot survive alone.
And after all this time, successful in my trade, I still yearn to see all these places and do allthese things. I have dared to reach for a few.
I have stood in awe at the edge of the Sarlaac pit. Then had a nice visit at the cloning center. But I could not get past the first room of Jabba's Palace. I was in full fright and flight mode in my X34, as a kimogilla chased me out of Kimogilla Village. Cloning center. Huurtons and Pikets are my mortal enemies. Tusk cats know when I have bought a ticket from Tatooine to Naboo and await me on the edges of Theed. I hate Ben Kringal. AT-ST helmet. I wanted it. I died over and over and over. Mos Taike cloning centerwas my home away from home for two whole days. I left without the helmet. I ended up buying it off the bazaar. That just was not the same at all. I wanted to earn it!
And I think that is the pearl in this oyster. I don't want to hear about the adventures and glories. I don't want to barter with mercenaries for the spoils of war. I want to participate. I want to be a part of the story.
Exactly. Beautifully summed up, a pleasure to read your entire experience.
EvilHairy wrote:
booo freaking hoo
Non-combat players, pure artisan professions /whatnot are WEAK, The content they choose is tehre own and if they want to seek a audiance with the Hutt, then they better learn how to use a pistol. Its not like you need to be skilled in using a pistol either.
Flash25 wrote:
This whole thread points to one of the problems that MMORPGs have had up to this point. They all gear themselves around the combatants, and how to get equipment to them. SWG has gone toward fostering other professions, but combatants are still the focus.
Incredible 2nd post. Which gets me to thinking about the concept of morality in MOGs...
Why is all conflict resolution handled at the point of a sword?
Does is say something about the maturity of the industry that there are few tools for non-violent conflict resolutions? Currently SWG doesn’t offer any better options for adventure than Grand Theft Auto. When all a player has is a hammer (blaster) then the whole world becomes a nail (victim). This rigidity in the missions sets up a singular answer to all problems, blast ‘em. Don’t be bothered trying to talk to the NPCs about other means of getting around a problem. Don’t bother trying to solve problems.
Back in Beta the devs made a video about game play where the hero of the clip was tasked with saving some farmers from pirates. In the video the hero and a helper blast the pirates and save the farmers. As a joke a behind the scenes making-of screen shot was released showing one of the pirates exclaiming, “What’s my motivation here? Can’t we just solve this by dancing?” Yeah that’s funny, its absurd. And a video can only show one option unlike a game which can have many. But is it absurd that the hero couldn’t have tried intimidating the pirates, or slicing the locks to release the farmers, or bribing them to go away, or even calling the authorities to come in and take care of the mess? Its kind of sad to see that the joke of that video has been carried out to its extreme. Its also insulting to entertainers, or anyone that wants to explore facets of gameplay other than just killing everything in sight.
One of my biggest fear is that the path to Jedi, which will soon be mission based, will just be yet another series of ‘kill everything in sight’ missions.
This was thepost I enjoyed reading, how that other tripe got mixed in is a testament to my handle...
Mystyrys wrote:
And I think that is the pearl in this oyster. I don't want to hear about the adventures and glories. I don't want to barter with mercenaries for the spoils of war. I want to participate. I want to be a part of the story.
Yeah, my character is a master chef but he has some skill in rifle, for hunting. I am just not interested in quests that involve running around and shooting stuff. I think that in the end this would not be such a difficult thing to implement?
About furniture just taking space in the houses and people not caring what their character's clothes look like... I don't know, when playing with the role-playing oriented gamers, people spend a great deal of money and effort in furnishing their apartments and getting their characters decent wardrobes.