Development Cycle Archive
Thread: In-Concept Open Discussion (Week Ending 2-16-04)
I think merchants should be able to set up vendors in someone's house or other place of busienss that can be used by that person.
Ie A merchant can put a bartender in a cantina and the owner can access it as if it where their own. Perhaps the merchant can put a cover charge on the vendor so they receive payment from the user.
Right now the process of offering to a merchant vendor and having them relist them is a pain in the rump.
I understand that weapons and armor need to now be fixed by weaponcrafters and armorcrafters. This needs to change. I don't think crafters want to be bugged with tells to fix stuff. They have other more important things to do. (Maybe I'm wrong)
Ok, well I'm back and I hope this one doesn't take me 4 hours to type like the last one 
First I'm going to start with a comment about armor. I noticed someone earlier mention that perhaps armor could have a lower encumberance for artisan and medic type classes. I stand agains't this for a few reasons. One, anyone who is not in combat, has no need to be wearing armor. Why should a chef be wearing a set of composite armor while they are in the kitchen? Why should a doctor be wearing composite armor while they are in the medical center.... I don't suggest lowering the encumbrance on armors for people who don't need to be wearing it. Now, BH or commandos, I could understand having a skill that lowers the encumberance of armors. Why you ask? Simple. By doing all their work in it they learn how to move and act in it they way that they need to. My actual position would be to not have anything that lowers encumberance on armor other than crafting experimentation, but that's just me. As for the person that was starting to light a match to those of us who do craft gear for people. If anyone can get better gear than any player made gear by simply trading FP for it. Then there is no reason to even have the crafting professions. Why would you buy a set of 99% composite, when you could save your money and just drop a few FP and get 100% factional armor? (I know exageration on the resist %) And the same thing would go for weapons. What crafters are trying to remind the devs is, the best player made stuff should never be substandard to nearly free factional stuff.
He who still suggests the Yuuzhan Vong. I don't mean to sound like I don't like the idea... I'm just weary of it. Thats all. I read the NJO book The Final Prophecy, and yes I was entertained by it. It was a fun book. However, tobecanon... it must be fully sanctioned by George Lucas himself to be considered canon. Just cause it is on the official website doesn't make it canon. The only post RotJ books that are canon are the Thrawn books. I would like to see the Vong in the game too, they seem really interesting and engaging. I'm just not sure that the players are ready for them yet. The way I see the Vong, it would take well over 20 players to take out a small group (6-8) of Vong. If they were to be added, I would probably suggest that what would happen is, a group would spawn out in the wilderness of a random planet. Then they would spread out and send one scout to each NPC city, where it would hide as best it could and watch what happens for maybe 30 minutes then they would all head back to their spawn point hang around for about 10 more minutes then *poof* be gone. Maybe this would only happen once a week, at a random time... you are right in saying they would be interesting, and as for a story it would be kind of an ominous foreshadowing of what is to come.
As for player cities I will simply say, please read my last post, I had alot of good ideas there.
I had a good idea for a new profession today. Chemist. I don't mean like a pharmacist, I mean one who could experiment with the different minerals chemicals and gasses, to make compounds and alloys. Could be really interesting I think. The branches would be: Mineral alloys, Chemical compounds, Gasious compounds, and Chemical Experimentation.
Mineral alloys would be the ability to meld together to different kinds of minerals. Doing so would cause the attributes of the minerals to average out and make one kind of alloy. That alloy would still fit the main requirements for it's mineral type (steel, copper, etc.) At rank one they could meld 2 types (restricted to the same catagory of type, steel can meld with steel, copper with copper, etc.) At rank 2 they can meld 3 types,.. etc.
Chemical compounds would work just like Mineral alloys but with chemicals.
Gasious compounds would work just like Mineral alloyw but with gasses.
The experimentation would then allow the chemist to adjust the alloy or compounds attributes just like experimentation works with other crafting.
I really would like to hear what others think about this idea.
I was thinking about some complaints about citys and I got to thinking that a great idea for politians, would be the ability to make small changes to the layout of the land with in the city limits. I've seen many times where a building can't be placed because the ground is too rocky. It isn't hilly or steep it just simply has alot of fine gravel in that area. Why not have mayors be able to change that. They could also benifit from an over head view of their city, much like the over head view for placing buildings, but it would show them the entire space that the city covers, and would show them where buildings can't be built and would tell them why. That way they could go there and fix it. A similar landscaping problem that perhaps mayors could fix might be the occasional culverts that are sometimes layed about the areas. I don't mean moving whole hills or revines, but like the little 2 meter wide 9 meter deep cracks that lay about.
Lots. I had a thought, and you guys had probably had talked about it alot before launch, but... Why not have the ability to purchase more lots? Or have your maintenance costs cover the fees that would also cover all of your lots. Another thing, why not have all of your structures be managable from the structure management tool in your residence, rather than on each structure.If apartments are made available on live, then there is probably going to be a big loss of demand from players to need lots. In this way, the only limit to lots you may own is how much you can afford to maintain. Perhaps players would have to purchase their lots from the mayor of a city. The mayor could purchase lots for their city outside the city proper. So where the city proper might be 400 meter radius from the city hall. The city total might acutally be much larger than that. Then the lots outside the city proper would be lots most often used to harvest resources.
You know it sure would be nice if I had a job that paid me to come up with ideas and solve problems like this. I'm almost having more fun addressing issues in SWG gameplay and content, than I'm having just playing the game heheheheh
Raynor Talos - Interplanetary Knights Of the Republic - Gorath
To my knowledge, the reason for needing a Recruiter is to cut down on greif, from people sneaking into an area covert (a seemingly non-threat to the other side), then flipping the switch and surprise-attacking.
The way it would work: You use the command (followed by a yes/no "Are you sure?" prompt). At this point, you recieve a special flag which would put you, in a sense, in a cross between Covert/TEF'd and Overt. Covert/TEF'd portion: You have the same attackability rules as if you were Covert and TEF'd. Those who could attack you if you were Covert and TEF'd can attack you. Overt portion: All can see your "colors", either the Rebel/Imperial emblems shown next to your name, a modified version, or both the faction emblem and the new TEF icon, to show your special status.
This would last some period of time (perhaps 5 minutes, just as a covert TEF), after this period, you are fully overt, and gain all the abilities of being overt. An additional option: all opposing faction members within range recieve a message (either system message, or perhaps planetary-chat style, like when people sit or stand, etc) that you are changing your status. You could still go overt in the normal fashion as well, at a recruiter.
RP aspect: Going Overt would be a simple action, such as pulling on an arm band with your faction's emblem, putting on your ST or Marine armor, or just screaming to a crowded room, "I am an [faction] soldier! Do you have a problem with that?" You would still need to see a Recruiter to go covert (with a 1 hour waiting period... think of it as them slicing the local enemy com traffic, deleting identifying information before it gets to a master database, or sending some commandos to take care of witnesses, so that you can resume your activities with anonymity).
If this could get rid of the greifability of a simple on/off switch, it's something the devs may want to bat around (as I understand you want to make it easier, and provide more incentives for PvP).
Lazarus Long
Star Wars Galaxies - An Empire Divided, Take 2
If this were to be implemented a dynamic purpose would be added to SWG that any player from Novice to Master can participate in and have an equal part in affecting the Balance of Power in the Galaxy.
-The Galactic Civil War and the Economy - Symbiotic Creatures
The Galactic Civil War and the Economy should both revolve around the control of planets and there resources. Each Planet should have it's own unique resource that can only be mined from that planet. Players can then go and mine resources from that planet, but to do so, they need to be flagged by a factional NPC. This means that only players of the planets controlling faction will be able to mine there. The only way a player can mine on a planet when they are not a member of that faction is if they are a Smuggler, or flagged to mine by a Master Smuggler. As a balancing factor, illegally mined resources will show up as Contraband during Imperial searches. The likelyhood that they will be found will depend on the skill of the Smuggler. Players can also still build resource harvesters on a planet, but if you have a harvester on a planet that is of an opposing faction, that harvester is now able to be destroyed by other players.
For Players that are more combat oriented, NPC targets during missions can drop small amounts of a planet appropriate resource.
Players can then use these resources or sell them. Resources being sold on the Galactic Bazaar will have a tax placed upon them. Proceeds from this tax do not go to the seller. This tax is waived if the buyer of the resource is the same faction as the controlling faction of the planet the resource came from.
Planetary control is measuredby two things. The first is by how many successful Faction-Based Missions are completed on a Planet. The second is how many Battlefield PVP kills a faction has on a Planet's Battlefields.Whichever faction has the highest combinedpercentage has control of the planet. Planetary Controlcan then be tallied weekly.
-The Galactic Bazaar
Emphasis should be put on the Galactic Bazaar as the primary retail medium of SWG. It offers a common ground for all players to buy or sell the items they need. The Bazaar should have its 3000 credit cap removed, to offer fair competition vs. Player Vendors, and should also have a Price History check available. This will allow players to see the last ten prices paid for the item throughout the galaxy. This will allow a player to see if they are being ripped off or not. This check will be on all versions of the Basic Model. A player will then have to decide for himself if any modifications on the item are worth any extra cost.
-Factions
Simply put, the Hutt faction NEEDS to be implemented. It's there, and it wants to be implemented. It's one of the top three factions, under Imperial and Rebel, and is considered seperate from Borvo and Jabba faction. This will do more to balance the game more than any faction perk could HOPE to do.
-Missions Terminals
Missions should be used to earn Experience, Faction, and Resources. A player should not be able to earn Credits from Missions. This allows players to earn MASSIVE amounts of credits and is unbalancing in a Tradeskill based economy. Credits should come from the aquisition of resources and the selling of resources and items on the Galactic Bazaar. Certain Quests, however, can give out Credits as a reward, as long as it is not an unbalancing amount. Players can also still loot Credits from corpses, since it is never a giant amount.
-Player Housing and Cities
Player Housing and Cities can be handled the same way Player Harvesters are handled - if the building or city faction is opposed to the planets faction, those buildings are now attackable. Players will have to fight to keep control of their planet, and if they fail, defend what foothold they have there.
-Parties and Grouping
Players should be able to form Units of up to 6 players, and then form Raids up to 36 players. The current high number of players to form a single party makes it daunting to try and find a small group of players to group with. Think about it this way - With the exception of Obi Wan, the Millenium Falcon had a Unit of 6 - Han, Luke, Leia, Chewie, Artoo, and Threepio. They could then join up with the Rebel Alliance for a Raid, but they were still effective on their own.
Squad Leadership should not be handled as a profession; any player should be able to earn leadership XP, as long as they are the leader of a Unit or Raid. As a player's group wins more combats he earns more Leadership XP, which will grant him different group related abilities. This would also give players incentive to go out and form groups, since you have to be leader of a successful group to earn Leadership XP.
-Bounty Hunting
Should not be handled as a profession, but instead as an aspect of the PVP gameplay of SWG. As players participate in the Galactic Civil War, they begin to earn more recognition from all sides of the battle. Eventually, if a players accumulates enough hate from an opposing side, the game will place a bounty on that characters head. Any player can then accept a mission to attempt to retrieve the bounty, and if successful, will be rewarded the Credits earned for the kill. Only people who accept the Bounty mission can PK the Bountyhead. If a player can go long periods without being PK'd for a Bounty, and they "lay low" from the GCW, the bounty will begin to lower and eventually disperse. The timing on the Bounty is only active when a player is Online, so a player can't just sign off and wait for the bounty to disperse.
Players killed by a deathblow as part of a Bounty Hunter PVP combat will not receive any decay when they Clone. Players will then start with a "Clean Slate" of Hate, and once they gain enough recognition again,a bounty will be placed on them.
Bounty Hunters will receive hate from the faction of the PK'd Bountyhead, raising the chances of a Bounty being placed on themselves.
-Weapons and Amor
There need to be armor certifications. This will allow Marksmen and Brawlers to wear basic Armor, and advanced classes to wear more advanced armors. Armor can then be balanced so that advanced armors have very specific defenses and weaknesses, and no all around "UBER" armors should exist.
As the Speeders have the garage's, so should weapons and armor have places that will repair them for Credits. There would then be a 100% chance of repair. Credit costwill be determined by how damaged the item is, the type of item, and Damage/Defense Ratio to Attribute Cost.
-Pod Racing
To help balance the economy, the game can implement many credit-burning Money Sinks. For example, Players can have the ability to customize and build Pod Racers, then enter the Racer into a race for an amount of Credits. Pod Racers are only usable in Pod Races, and not for travel. Winning Players can be awarded with Points that can be spent at the Pod Race Track for valuable items that cannot be traded or sold. The Pod Races would be fun and addicting, and offer great items for players as incentive for playing. Racers can also ante Credits vs. each other so Credit earning is a possibility, but only for the best racers. Very little Credits would be earned from this, but as long as it's fun players will play and spend their credits. And if they spend their credits, they will have to go tradeskill to earn some more.
Grimham wrote
- Have "Crystal Sense" be a passive skill - that is, there is no sampling or foraging - but just something that can happen anytime, anywhere. You get a system message saying "You feel the presence of a Force Crystal nearby" and then through a series of /SenseCrystal commands you hone in on it. Again, perhaps this is a skill that gets better (more detections, or better quality) as you progress in skill
I second this idea
Arimah
How's about reworking the way defensive and offensive capabilities stack?
Everbody gets a fair amount of dodging or blocking ability, as appropriate to their weapon. Make defensive vs. evasive action a decision the player has to make, i.e. your evasive abilities are halved (or even worse than halved) if you're wearing armor. The player is then forced to make a strategic decision before going into a fight whether they intend to dodge and risk taking massive damage, or wear armor and guarantee minor damage.
Defensive bonuses should be stackable for evasion-type defenses. They should not be stackable for particular weapon maneuver type defenses i.e. a fencer's parry. Each profession retains it's uniqueness without becoming god-like.
Players can currently retain all of their innate defensive capabilities and stack them with armor defenses. This suggestion gives dabblers benefits to dabbling but doesn't make them "uber" vs. regular players because good equipment has the potential of negating or even reversing the combat advantages in ways that it doesn't currently.
boceifus2000 wrote:
I would like to see a trickle of info about he space expansionMore than what is on the site already. I bought this game not to ba a jedi, but to fly in space
I would like to see just a little more info on it without you guys giveing away too much.
No more space expansion, please! I've heard enough already to scare me.
The Live team is also the bug fixing team, the testing team and the Expansion team. That's way too much work and too many separate deadlines to get anything done right.
Grimhand wrote:
Regarding crystals, all of the current alternatives to acquiring one break the immersion of Star Wars.
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But please try to introduce bigger and more real cities
with skyscrapers and other tall buildings that we can ascend.
Cities in SWG are too small, and generic. It would be nice
to be able to drive vehicles in between buildings.
Create a more unique place/terrain to battle on, instead of just
underground dungeons that look too similar.
I would like to see more unique graphic and art. Not just
something with the skin/layer changed.
How about some merchant changes?
How about making the planet listing more usable by:
1. Putting empty venders at the bottom of the list. If there is nothing on the vender at all, then that vender should be at the bottom of the planetary list. We as customers would like to know if I travel 8km to a vender's shop that at least they have SOMETHING on the **edit** vender.
completely. list the OFF venders empty taking about how accomplished be cannot above IfJust do something. I have traveled to almost every vender on three different planets looking for a harvester and found 15 of them totally empty. What a huge waster of my time.
Other people have been asking about the Space Expansion and like them i joined not just for the space but the idea of land based and related space piloting....is it going to be Eve style, point and click combat, based on character skills or more player based skills for the combat like other MMORPG's have had? If theres an option i'd go for player based skills like Jumpgate had, rather than point and click with no skill involved. PvP is far more fun when players and not characters determine the outcome. With any form of RPG there must be some type of character based skills but relying just on character skills can detract from the enjoyment. Also will we have any form of inertia or will we just stop when we cut power?
Can anyone give any reliable answers?...Devs?