Artisan Archive
Thread: Artisan Issues Designer Responses
d) Players would like to see a way of tracking harvester and structure maintenance rather than having to go to the particular structure all the time.
We’re very interested in doing this. We’re going to look into a better way to track maintenance. How would you like to be able to track this? A special tool? In the data pad?
e) Maintenance fees are not currently returned when the deed is reclaimed.
This is something we’re going to be looking into. We have to solve where the money comes from and goes when you end up redeeding the structure.
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Code to solve both of these is already implemented and just needs to be applied to these cases. Use the email notification code from factories to notify people when a harvester stops and why (e.g., resource no longer available, out of power). Use code allowing you to retreive maintenance from a vendor to retreive maintanence from a harvester prior to reclaiming the deed. Yes, better systems can be implemented with a nice UI in the datapad for managing harvesters, but these changes can be used in the short-term at least.
I've written two posts specifically covering these topics:
http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=Development&message.id=253070&highlight=#M253070
and
http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=Development&message.id=256273&highlight=#M256273
can we please have a radial menu option on harvesters and factories like we do on vendors to 'RECOVER MAINTENANCE' and to "RECOVER POWER"
man....
The simple shirt
Master artisan gets 1 experimentation point.
The undershirt
Master artisan gets 11 experimentation points.
What gives?
Experimenting points are a little messed up right now.
Bajet Slayer, Eclipse
Q-3PO wrote:
3) Too Many Clicks – Crafters feel that there are too many clicks associated with making items and would like to see more keyboard shortcuts.
We’d like to redo the crafting UI at some point. What types of keyboard shortcuts would you like to see? What would they be connected to?
Is this how they're planning on continueing to avoid the factory xp issue? By making it easier to grind? Still doesn't solve the fact that many items REQUIRE factory made components, components that I know I wouldn't want to be throwing away 90% of my hard earned resources on for no experience.
Too Many Clicks: Let's get serious, guys...we're talking about crafting a house in the time it takes to microwave popcorn. If you make the activity of crafting any less-involved, they'd might as well implement a /craft[itemname]command that pulls the best materials for each component slot from your inventory, removing them from backpacks and factory crates as necessary in one quick easy click of the mouse. We're not playing vendor/factory droids, we're playing artisans! Craft away, and get involved in the process.
The idea of decaying goods is a very good idea. I'm an architect, and wouldn't mind seeing houses cost more maintenance over time. This would allow for repeat buyers. If the technology advances at all over time in the galaxy, a degenerating probot would eventually be obsolete to one made yesterday =) (this would also allow for nerfed items..like the probot...to eventually become useless, thereby giving the customer a need to return to his droid engineer to get another high quality item. This also is a means to avoid the need for a flood of new content every couple of weeks. As it stands right now, a person could buy one of everything I have and never need my services again...yet i would still need to spend credits on maintenance. Decaying goods also allows an artisan's time and effort to pay off better. If i throw together agun that does a lot of damage, but decays after a couple hundred shots...the buyer would likely want to go to someone who built something with a bit more staying power.
did the devs actually read some of the requests? the survey tool makes no notice of when the no build zone is reached. glibly saying fixed is wasting our time. they should just say - 'not done' if they cant be bothered - not lie about it.
Q-3PO wrote:
4) Survey Bugs –
a) Waypoints seem to get stuck while attempting to run down the highest concentrations on a resource, and at times point in the wrong direction.
b) Players are unable to hand sample for a period of time after a resource shift.
These issues are NOT fixed. I had them happen last night (8/16). After only creating a few WP and running down a vein, waypoints got stuck. No new ones could be created, no old ones could be deleted. Relogging or zoning to a new city via shuttle fixes the problem and all the new WPs show up.
There were two new copper resources yesterday, and I couldn't hand sample either one.
I don't think anyone at SOE/LA plays this game enough to know what is wrong with it.
Maybe if we can get someone to write our next bug list in C++ they'll be able to understand what we're griping about - they obviously were unable to understand the first list they were sent.
WPs are not fixed, they're worse.
If you are unable to create the WP stickingbug, devs:
1. Play the game for an hour or so, if you do anything that involves waypoints - they'll stick, and you will not be able to add, delete, rename waypoints. Workaround is a relog.
2. If an hour of play takes too long (I doubt seriously that many of you have played the game for an hour), grab a survey device - and start hunting down a resource. After about 5 minutes of surveying the WPs will stick.
This is not an Artisan specific problem.
Now back to your cubbyholes and do not come back with it's fixed - until it IS.
Bianca Minola
Okay, simple response first. Regarding "too many clicks", only if you're trying to grind-craft items. What I'd like to see instead would be a "best resource" option that could be clicked each time (or checked so it would auto-fill each session until unchecked like "practice"). This would automatically fill all slots with the best items available in the crafter's inventory.
Other fixes to crafting, one was mentioned already. Have the crafting tool be able to pull resources out of packs so I can keep things sorted. The other would be the logical complement and that would be a way to designate where completed items went (general inventory, pouch, pack, etc.).
As to harvestors, several good ideas have been brought up and I think they would ALL work well.
1) If a harvestor runs out of something, have it send an e-mail (with waypoint attached for those who have multiples of a single type) to the owner stating the problem.
2) For those who wish more detailed information, make a craftable item to provide real time stats. This could potentially be in several parts: Receiver (character would carry), Transmitter (optional component when harvestor is first crafted), Droid Interface (also an optional component for those who want to use droids to fetch & carry).
3) For harvestors built with the optional Droid Interface, they could then be tended by various droids to pay maintenance, add power, retrieve resources, etc.
4) Allow a command along the lines of "/tip xxx bank", with the associated surcharge, to remotely pay maintenance fees.
5) Have a single "maintenance screen" for each harvestor with sliders for power, maintenance, and output hopper to add or remove items. Also, allow a "Change View" option as is currently available for Inventory, Datapad, etc. to optionally list everything in terms of days & hours instead of just credits & units of energy.
6) Perhaps allow an optional component to be added to harvestors (with associated increases in complexity, etc.) to allow them to be self-powered by wind or solar (excess not harvested) if there is sufficient resources to do so.
Most all of the above could easily be adapted to factories & vendors as well.
Yes, that means the well-established merchant could conceivably have a fleet of droids that automatically distributed power & maintenance as needed, took resources from harvestors to factories, and finished goods to vendors, creating a self-sustaining micro-economy. But it would be EXPENSIVE to set up, more costly to run that way vs DIY (though less time consuming), and manual intervention would still be needed for things like resource shifts & selling excess production on the bazarr.
The upside of such a thorough "patch" would be to give artisans a place to really go. Architects, Merchants & Droid Engineers would all be needed (and possibly Master Artisans as well) to create all the various components to make it work. I would even hope that the combination of skills necessary to completely automate crafting from resource to vendor like this would be IMPOSSIBLE for a single character. (Require all 4 Master levels for the appropriate piece. Thus a Master Merchant could set it up, but only with the help of a fellow Master Artisan/Architect/Droid Engineer. And that's before considering the Medic, Doctor, Creature Handler, Armorsmith, Weaponsmith, etc. to create the schematic going into the factory......
But a PA...... Oh baby!
Tar'Ra -- The great white whale, err, wookie
Okay, simple response first. Regarding "too many clicks", only if you're trying to grind-craft items. What I'd like to see instead would be a "best resource" option that could be clicked each time (or checked so it would auto-fill each session until unchecked like "practice"). This would automatically fill all slots with the best items available in the crafter's inventory.
Other fixes to crafting, one was mentioned already. Have the crafting tool be able to pull resources out of packs so I can keep things sorted. The other would be the logical complement and that would be a way to designate where completed items went (general inventory, pouch, pack, etc.).
As to harvestors, several good ideas have been brought up and I think they would ALL work well.
1) If a harvestor runs out of something, have it send an e-mail (with waypoint attached for those who have multiples of a single type) to the owner stating the problem.
2) For those who wish more detailed information, make a craftable item to provide real time stats. This could potentially be in several parts: Receiver (character would carry), Transmitter (optional component when harvestor is first crafted), Droid Interface (also an optional component for those who want to use droids to fetch & carry).
3) For harvestors built with the optional Droid Interface, they could then be tended by various droids to pay maintenance, add power, retrieve resources, etc.
4) Allow a command along the lines of "/tip xxx bank", with the associated surcharge, to remotely pay maintenance fees.
5) Have a single "maintenance screen" for each harvestor with sliders for power, maitenance, and output hopper to add or remove items. Also, allow a "Change View" option as is currently available for Inventory, Datapad, etc. to optionally list everything in terms of days & hours instead of just credits & units of energy.
6) Perhaps allow an optional component to be added to harvestors (with associated increases in complexity, etc.) to allow them to be self-powered by wind or solar (excess not harvested) if there is sufficient resources to do so.
Most all of the above could easily be adapted to factories & vendors as well.
Yes, that means the well-established merchant could conceivably have a fleet of droids that automatically distributed power & maintenance as needed, took resources from harvestors to factories, and finished goods to vendors, creating a self-sustaining micro-economy. But it would be EXPENSIVE to set up, more costly to run that way vs DIY (though less time consuming), and manual intervention would still be needed for things like resource shifts & selling excess production on the bazarr.
The upside of such a thorough "patch" would be to give artisans a place to really go. Architects, Merchants & Droid Engineers would all be needed (and possibly Master Artisans as well) to create all the various components to make it work. I would even hope that the combination of skills necessary to completely automate crafting from resource to vendor like this would be IMPOSSIBLE for a single character. (Require all 4 Master levels for the appropriate piece. Thus a Master Merchant could set it up, but only with the help of a fellow Master Artisan/Architect/Droid Engineer. And that's before considering the Medic, Doctor, Creature Handler, Armorsmith, Weaponsmith, etc. to create the schematic going into the factory......
But a PA...... Oh baby!
Tar'Ra -- The great white whale, err, wookie
We’re very interested in doing this. We’re going to look into a better way to track maintenance. How would you like to be able to track this? A special tool? In the data pad?
instead of making a new device. Cant you just make this like the mission waypoints and add details to our waypoints for our harvesters. Even if there is a separate window envolved, i think this would be the best way.