Bio Engineer Archive
Thread: Making a Few New Enemies
goatt_13 wrote:
Hylidex wrote:
Seriously though, rampant inflation hit the economy without BE influence. It came from the huge solo mission payouts. I honestly don't think there are enough BE's left to seriously influence the economy, either. JTL mission payouts are also quite high, and this is working as intended. The economy has moved to a new level. If a loaf of bread costs 500 credits, I would be a fool to work for 5 credits an hour.
Yet you give away 'decor' pets for free?
Denying they are a valid part of the experience and economy, not to mention a noble initiative, is an attitude suited for a Jedi!
***Edit: I completely missed your point with this message, and I responded to your real one in a later message. I really should delete this one, but I had to write it twice (timed out the first time, and the recover trick didn't work), and I've become so attached to it that I couldn't bear to release it into the wild. So here it remains, rebutting nothing in particular, just taking up space on that great SOE datapad.***
I'm having trouble deciding if you are misunderstanding me, if I am misunderstanding you, or if you are just pulling my chain. I'm horribly gullible when it comes to that, as most of my friends will readily testify.
I DO believe that pets are a valid part of the experience. I think creatures add tremendously to the Star Wars feel of the game. In fact, it is for exactly that reason that I don't mind giving away decor pets. I don't put them on my vendor, but I've gladly made such pets for people who see creatures as a valid part of their experience, too.
I didn't mean to imply that I desperately need the money, either. I can earn money by flying in space or by tagging along with a group of my combatant friends as they do high-payout lairs. BE may not be paying for my living, but it doesn't mean that I can't earn one. (However, I think BE should be able to pay for my living, just as any profession should.)
My comment on the effect I might have on the economy might best be illustrated by an analogy. A tamale vendor may love his work, love how it takes him outdoors, how he gets to meet people from all walks of life, and how he gets to smell the aroma of fresh tamales all day long. Perhaps one day he will realize that the inflation within the country has reached a point that he is earning in a day what most of his customers earn in two or three minutes. As a result, he may decide that he isn't charging enough for his tamales. If he raises his prices in response to inflation, no matter how bad he may think the cause of that inflation is, I think his impact on the nation's economy will be minimal.
I look at one of my recent multigeneration pets: A gurreck with 11.7-13.7K HAM, light armor, 52% kinetic, 48% energy, 37% stun special protections, and smaller resistances to everything but blast and lightsaber. He also does 550-560 damage with an attack speed of 1.98, To Hit of 0.57, dizzy strike and ranged. If he is well cared for, he will last as long as his owner wants him. Even if his owner doesn't care for him, he is likely to last over a year.
My armor on the other hand covers me with 3K HAM if I am buffed. It is light, with about the same protection, except it is vulnerable to most attacks except kinetic. It will last a month before it decays beyond repair. The buffs last about 3 hours.
Mypistol does 250-260 damage with an attack speed of 2.24 and a to hit of 0.44. It has no special attacks. It will last about 2-3 weeks in heavy combat.
The pet has the advantage that it stacks with these.
You know what composite armor and a DX-2 pistol cost. You know how much buffs cost. You can figure what that damage costs over time. Even with my new prices, the pet is by far more for the money. The makers of those items didn't have to die to make them--not even once. While they may have spent time searching for components, as we do for our source DNA, they were able to harvest large quantities once they found it, unlike DNA sampling which may yield one to three samples to a master before the creature dies. Additionally, when I sample the high level creatures it takes to make these multigenerational pets, I have several times greater chance of dying than of getting a sample. A typical multigenerational pet will require 7-20 samples from 3-8 different species of creature. For mutant rancors, even with scent-enhanced clothing and Jawa beer, I find I die about 5 times per sample. I sample about 4 rancors per sample before I get one.
My time is valuable to me too. In game credits, I believe three weeks of my time to be far more valuable than 15 minutes of my customer's.
I'm not interested in sticking it to anyone. I mentioned my attitudes toward career MCH's and those trying to achieve MCH. However, I think the base price of my pets should reflect something closer to their real value, both in my time and in their effect.
Message Edited by Hylidex on 12-07-2004 05:30 PM
goatt_13 wrote:
Well, now that you've done your part to further deform an economic niche, do you next suggest that we take to the trees on Endor?
I hear the cost of living equates amounts to 10 Ikopis a month, there.
Forgive me for being dense. I just now compared this message with your previous one about the /tell beggars. I had interpreted you to be saying exactly the opposite of what I now think you were. You weren't complaining about me raising prices, but commenting about me giving away pets.
--We need a "doh" animation.
I give away decor pets just because I like people using them. They keep my name on them, since they weren't tamed, and it isn't bad advertising. If hundreds of people were looking for them, I'd put them on my vendor.
I give away high-level pets only to people I know or trust, or to people in whose cause I sympathize (career MCH--who have had two nerfs plus a non-CH pet nerf that has affected them). I don't give away pets to /tell beggars. In fact, Gorath has a rash of credit beggars, spamming starports (AFK yet). These have quickly found their way to my ignore list. I hate spamming in general, but I'll tolerate it from people just trying to earn a living in a crafting profession. I'm not sending credits to a career beggar.
A high-level combatant who has used up his extra XP to become MCH can afford to pay for his pet. If he's smart, however, he'll become my friend or join my guild and perhaps have access to some decent pets for free. The down side is that that means he'll have to put up with me
Hylidex wrote:
heh. no need. you're bringing a lot to the table. it's understandable.
i guess i just operate under the belief that singular 'deco' animals, in themselves, are worth the weight of 30+ days of space loot haul.
because they aren't commonly priced as such doesn't mean that they don't ever have to be.
on one hand, i appreciate your spirit of giving away free companions to the non-CH friends of yours; yet the clout that "adoption fees" produce are a link, i would say, to adding an additional lustre on our profession... whether you shirk the idea of monetary gain, or not.
Hylidex wrote:
heh. no need. you're bringing a lot to the table. it's understandable.
i guess i just operate under the belief that singular 'deco' animals, in themselves, are worth the weight of 30+ days of space loot haul.
because they aren't commonly priced as such doesn't mean that they don't ever have to be.
on one hand, i appreciate your spirit of giving away free companions to the non-CH friends of yours; yet the clout that "adoption fees" produce are a link, i would say, to adding an additional lustre on our profession... whether you shirk the idea of monetary gain, or not.
Bendi_James wrote:
Hi Hylidex....
I just wanted you to know that I feel your pain.
Thanks Bendi. I want to thank everyone for their support. Actually, my main reason for posting was not to complain about some of the frustrations we face but to justify raising my prices drastically and offer an opportunity for anyone who so desired to follow suit. To be honest, I feel guilty for doing it. I am the one who has refused to raise my nutrient prices in the face of rampant inflation, meat market cornering, and a sudden insurgence of chef/BE alts. I refused to participate in the hologrind for a similar reason. I felt that fueling the inflation and hologrinding were both damaging the fun of the game.
So in part, I'm trying to convince myself that I'm doing the right thing. I have reached a point where I have to realize that the pets are vastly undervalued, worth far more than I once charged. I told myself that either pets are worth a little more than crafting tools now, and my hobby is merely a hobby, or it is time to let people know how truly hard it can be to make a wonderful high-level pet. I decided on the latter, and as part of that, I raised prices.
Bendi_James wrote:
I have been hearing that Gorath is a tough server for BE's. You hang in there Hylidexand do whatyou think is right. Just make sure you are having fun while doing the right thing.
I find the two rarely go together......I say find a few recipes for crappy pets that dont pass validity check, make one up, stick it in a bag and put it on your vendor marked "12k HAM Armored 60% Kinetic Non-CH Uber Pet" or "Custom Pet Order for AsshatMCH O'neil"
droid327 wrote:
Bendi_James wrote:
I have been hearing that Gorath is a tough server for BE's. You hang in there Hylidexand do whatyou think is right. Just make sure you are having fun while doing the right thing.
I find the two rarely go together......I say find a few recipes for crappy pets that dont pass validity check, make one up, stick it in a bag and put it on your vendor marked "12k HAM Armored 60% Kinetic Non-CH Uber Pet" or "Custom Pet Order for AsshatMCH O'neil"
Oooh a custom order trap. Anyone who has had a custom order "pre-empted" by another player might have a burning desire to trap the scoundrels with fake custom orders. We had a cusom order VENDOR. No one had any business even using the vendor unless he had placed a custom order. We only had one thing stolen from it as far as I know, but a CO trap sounds nice.
"Custom Order fo AsshamMCH" at 1.2M containing a level 11 Verne sounds fun.
I'm going to do it!! I've actually only had one custom order theft, but it was relatively recently and *really* cheesed me off. I contacted the idiot who did it, and he claimed that "his little brother did it". I asked him to return it, he agreed, then never did 
I put a backpack in the vendor saying "don't steal other people's orders" but now I think I'll put in a "trap" one and inside the pack I'll put some 100HAM gnort named "I told you not to steal".
droid327 wrote:
Bendi_James wrote:
I have been hearing that Gorath is a tough server for BE's. You hang in there Hylidexand do whatyou think is right. Just make sure you are having fun while doing the right thing.
I find the two rarely go together......I say find a few recipes for crappy pets that dont pass validity check, make one up, stick it in a bag and put it on your vendor marked "12k HAM Armored 60% Kinetic Non-CH Uber Pet" or "Custom Pet Order for AsshatMCH O'neil"
Bendi_James wrote:
I have been hearing that Gorath is a tough server for BE's. You hang in there Hylidexand do whatyou think is right. Just make sure you are having fun while doing the right thing.