Development Cycle Archive

i think it would be a good idea to have some wookiee armor or special clothing to enhance defence, i know there is always the professions with dodge and such, but it takes a while to master pistoleer or fencer and I take a beating while doing so. All im saying is that with armor i would have a more enjoyable gaming experience. I have considered restarting my character multiple times because wookiees are too weak but im too far into it in my opinion to restart now.

I doubt this will get read so late in the thread, but it's something I just though of, after getting about 12 kills sniped out from under me and the loot stolen.

When you attempt to attack something that someone else is attacking, unless you are in their group, you shouldn't be able to. A message should pop saying "x is currently engaged in combat." This would prevent almost all of the ninja-looting. And ninjas in groups don't last too long.

I know a lot of people like to be able to help someone in trouble when they're not in their group, myself included. So in addition to the above recommendation, I'd like to see the /join command work as a request too. Target any member of a group and hit /join, and the group leader would get a message saying "x has asked to join your group." Then they could use /invite or click the button.

Since more artwork is coming into the game, like paintings and such, how about having an art contest for players to submit drawings or paintings they've done in Photoshop(tm) or another graphics program... something like 160X160 pixels or such. Prize would be putting the art in the game and naming the painting "XXXX's Painting" -- could be given out on missions or at theme parks later on.

GENERAL GAMING
What really ruins the game at times for me is the total lack of name filtering, not just on the creation level, but on a random level. I mean I really don't mind seeing inspired names like "Hobobacca", "Jose Windwalker", or "Pan Holo". I don't even mind real world type names like "Bowlingball Joe", "Spuds Mckenzie", "Mr Eggroll", or "Ronald McDonald" (heck I sometimes use stuff like that ). Those don't bother me.
BUT, What I DO mind though is completely stolen names, like Ardyn Lyn, Carth Onasi, and General Ackbar, and moreso names that are just plain stupid and use all CAPS or some junk like that, like LEETDOOD, BigAzz Ballz, lickedyomomma, or IMAKEELYUU. I mean really, c'mon!
What I would really like to see is ingame GM's instead of just CSR's sitting somewhere. Something like in EQ where they wandered around when not doing anything. If they saw a character with a name such as those they'd let you know and give you a few min to decide on a new one, or give you a little time to decide.


COMBAT/CLASS BALANCE
The only thing I would like to see is as someone else suggested.. certifications for armour,. This would apply to all. I'm not sure on how to impliment this as to prevent someone from being novice in one class to gain that classes cert. Maybe only granted while having more points spent in that combat profession.
Say a MasterTKA-4/0/4/0Commando would only be able to wear up to light as his main profession is TKA.
A 4/4/4/4Commando-4/0/4/0TKA would be able to wear up to medium as his main profession is Commando.
A MasterTailor-1/0/0/0Commando however would be able to wear up to medium as his main combat class is commando. Tailor not being combat wouldn't override that.
Anyways, this is just a quick suggestion on how it could work, I'm sure you guys can make something better...

light armours armour rating 0 = bone, ubese, and all tailored products
- would be worn by TKA, rifleman, and all non-combat classes
medium armour armour rating 1 = mabari, tantel, and padded
- worn by carbineer, commando, pistoleer, swordsman
heavy armour armour rating 2 = chitin and composite
- worn by BountyHunters, Fencers, Pikemen
xheavy armour armour rating 3 = nothing, would be too powerful
- noone, lol
There aren't too many sets of armour so it looks a bit weird. If there were another 2-3 more sets it would make it work better.
Factional armours as well as wookie & jedi clothing would be seperate from these certifications. (when we have them)

Other than that they are going in the right direction. Though knockdowns and dizzies seem to be slightly overpowered.
I've seen alot of people call for balances in the way of damage, defense, and abilities, but you can't have them all the same across the board with just different weapons, they need thier own strengths and weaknesses.
This is how I'd suggest to tweak the classses a bit...

PIKEMAN
Should focus on attack (armour piercing thier claim to fame) and defense.

Attack - just under average damage in comparison to combat classes, but having thier weapons do medium armour piercing, possibly heavy if that doesn't turn out to powerful. Seeing as how the purpose of a pike is to pierce that would only be logical. Thier attacks slow and a bit harder hitting. Upping thier accuracy a bit would help, but still keep it slightly inaccurate.
Defenses - helped with the new "heavy" armour , being medium. MelMit3/rangMit1 at master
Abilities - area sweaps and attacks

SWORDSMAN
The hardest hitting combat class.

Attack - most damaging attacks this side of disposable commando weaponry. Slow but VERY hard hitting and some armour piercing. slightly inaccurate. A few damage types.
Defense - just under average defense. MelMit3 at master
Abilities - sweeps and heavy hitting single hits.

FENCER
Best defenses of all professions, as well as more abilities than most others.

Attack - sub average damage, though the widest range of weaponry and damage types. Medium armour piercing on stabbing type weapons.
Defense - best defenses in the game. Heaviest armour along with blocks. Melmit3/rangMit1 at master
Abilities - stuns, status effects, and taunts. maybe a little crowd control

TKA
Attack oriented class with more abilities than most.

Attack - Above average attacking, quick and accurate. overall doing about equal to swordsman level damage per minute on a creature. If unarmoured doing a greater amount. Have thier attacks stay limited to kinitek and light piercing, since using only fists and knucklers.
Defense - should have worst defenses available, but able to dodge and counterattack better than anyone as that is how they survive. Overall defense should still be subpar giving thier strengths to thier attack and abilities. MelMit3 at master
Abilities - meditate. knockdown and dizzy effects and other status changese.

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RIFLEMAN
Long range, hard hitting and piercing attacks.

Attack - above average damage. Slow firing but harder than average hitting attacks. They should have the most piercing weaponry as they are firing very high velocity shots. shooting at the mind pool also gives them thier attack advantage.
Defense - worse defense in all combat classes. Staying out of range is how they stay safe. Thier attacking is thier strength, not defense. RangeMit3 at master
Abilities - attacking the mind pool, bleeds, stops and stuns. hiding

PISTOLEER
Quick and precise. Abilities being their greatest ability.

Attack - sub average damage, quick and precise. Also having the widest range of weaponry as damage types.
Defense - just under average defense. Being close range fighters thier dodge and counterattack should be average but still light for quick movement. rangMit2/melMit1 at master.
Abilities - bleeds, stuns, status/posture changes. precise shots allowing them to target areas of the body to affect thier targets abilities.

CARBINEER
Larger gun totin damage dealing specialists.

Attack - above average damage, hard hitting and piercing. Thier attacking should do a good deal of damage, also being light to medium piercing though not as much as riflemen.
Defense - average defense. being slower with thier weaponry they know the need to be defensive as well. rangMit2/melMit1 at master.
Abilities - hard hitting single and area attacks

BOUNTY HUNTER
Good defenses and good attack knowing they face difficult marks.

Attack - well above average damage with LLC's, with hard hitting single attacks, no area or other attacks. Average damage with pistols, but with bleeds, and status changes. Above average damage with carbines, single attacks and posture changes.
Defense - just above average defense. rangMit2/melMit1 at master
Abilities - bounties of course, lol. maybe add more use to thier roots... traps, and other abilities?

COMMANDO
heavy weapon specialists with field abilities.

Attack - most damaging profession aside from swordsman. Light armour piercing and slow but harrd hitting. Special disposable weapons seem to need improvement.
Defense - just under average. focusing more on attack and tactics they don't rely on defense but have some. no dodge, counter, or anything. rangMit1/melMit2 at master
Abilities - grenades and disposable weaponry. Though they seem to need more weaponry selection as they are weapon specialists.

SMUGGLER
though not a combat class they do have some combat skills, so I included them here.

Attack - not strictly combatant so damage only slightly better than thier marksman root.
Defense - below average defense. though not a combat profession they do need some protection when being caught smuggling. very little counter attack. rangMit1/melMit1 at master. (being slightly combat oriented this would be an added protection to masterSmugglers who choose that as thier only combat oriented profession without giving alot of power to masterSmuggler/master***)
Abilities - well aside from their smuggler abilities thier combat ones seem fine, not being combat oriented specifically themselves.

ok ok. so I doubt all those combat stuff is going to happen. Just my thoughts on how it could play out though.

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Only other things I think I would like to see is something like a Droid Engineer only droid, like the creature handler pets but only at a max of like cl25. The engineer could set the lvl he desired in creation, making it a lvl10 if he was making a normal droid, or a lvl 11-25 if he was making it for himself. They wouldn't be equal in abilities to a creature handlers pet in regards to attacking and especially tanking but it would be a viable option to bring along when hunting. Also carrying other abilities the owner installed, medical and storage and such.
Speaking of creature handlers. A bit more versatility in pets would be good. As of now there is barely much difference in a simularly lvl'd pet of any kind compared with another, aside from some resists. Anyways, I'll leave that for another post as I've gone on forever with this.. ugh..

the point of adding side games is

more to do

iv played alot of online game EQ,EQOA,EQOAF,PLANET SIDE,SHADOWBANE,DAC, and much much morethe point is they all get whats the word... BORING why you do the same thing over and over and over...

if you add side games like POD racing, Casinos, Personal poker or other cardgame ,THE CHESS GAME R2-D2 AND CHEWY PLAYED and other typs of stupid little made up games for starwars then thaer will be more to do much more

face it we all get sick of the same game over and over SOME TIMES we want a shooter SOME TIMES we want a racer SOME TIMES we want a sports game

the fact is if you add more and more games to only one game the more reson pepoal have to play it and buy it

IF YOU BUILD IT

THEY WILL COME

This is a suggestion and possibly out of character of the role playing ness of the game.

How about a DEV HUNT DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Devs come out with their favorite incarnation, best gear, and a nice tag (like the Imp/Reb tags). Then its open season. Everyone that wants to can chase the Devs about and try to kill them. If you get killed by a DEV then you are out of the game or some other temporary penalty. If you kill the DEV then you get some DEV Killer Badge. Heck the DEVs could have a high class base on some remote planet and the galaxy can try an assault it and bring it down. Further if it needs to be within the role playing ness of the game, say its an uprising of some race or group that both the Imperials and Rebels do not like. The tag allows anyone to attack the Devs.

Now I do not have anything against the DEVs, but it would be interesting to match the best of the regular players against the best of the DEVs. Additionally, it would be good clean fun and wholesome for all involved.

Please please please make a DEV HUNT DAY.

I want to take this moment to thank the devs for adding new content to the game, its great! I'm patiently waiting to see what else is going to be improved in the future.

I just had one thought I wanted to get out. I have seen some players wearing full Tusken Raider outfits and it is definetly cool especially for roleplay, but I noticed I couldn't equip the boots I got from the npc mission in Wayfar so I am assuming female characters can't wear it. I don't really have and issue with that since I personally don't want to look like a Tusken :/ I just think a great addition to the game would be a full nightsister outfit that could be either a rare loot (in separate pieces) or as an additional npc quest. The ones that look the coolest in my opinion are the nightsister rangers (my favorite), initiates, and sentinels. Since I already got the nightsister right bicep piece it would really be nice to have the whole outfit and roleplay a nightsister! Why not if someone else can roleplay a Tusken Raider?

I am not a specialist of wookies as I am not playing one but I think they have a point with the low defence. For me the solution that makes more sense and is quite easier to implement is to give wookies natural armor.. after all many alien creatures are natural armor already
I think giving a dodge bonus doesnt make sense since they are so big but natural armor should be good 30% resistance to all damage except fire and acid for instance Maybe they could use an oil they put on their hair and isolate them from fire electricity and acid.. their kinetic resistance should be higher ... 50%? they should also be able to produce more damage with their fists: like a natural vibroknucker? they should be able to carry a lot more too and their intimidation skill should be more powerful

for shuttles : I suggest a digital clock encased in the top of the frame so that everyone can see it except if a kimogila is standing in front of it. the clock says how long before next shuttle and how long before the shuttle at bay leaves

Languages: I dont exactly see the point of language skills as they are used in the game since everyone can learn them in a few seconds: instead of earnin +100 instantly it should be incremented by 10 and would require not to be taught by same person and would require for a gametime day cycle learning a language would make communication difficult: it would be impossible to group if a member of the established group isnt sharing a language with the person to invite... that would require the possibility to teach someone out of a group ( players could still click for an option to block teaching outside of a group if they feel it can get annoying if people do that without asking first ) all of that would make the protocol droids much more useful.. a protocol droid in the group allows to group someone who doesnt speak the languages spoken by other members of the group. what about adding a diplomat profession? dont know what it does but it could be bought with language xp which would be earned everytime someone earns a language. Actually a politician could also use language xp rather than app xp as it makes sense for someone who wants to run a city to be able to understand all citizens. protocol droids could also have other bonuses for politicians and diplomats

I understand the developpers are planning a major combat overhaul and I would like to address that. I would also like to address a possible entertainer overhaul.

I am not sure what they are going to change about combat but I have learnt that the ham point spent to do specials regenerates faster. Apart from that I leave all the rebalancing chores up to the devs, I keep the fun part which consists of complaining about what I dont like
Well as far as the balancing is concerned I think the Bounty hunter must be balanced up:for two reasons which are not "because that's the class I am playing"
1) it's an elite profession and in the movie they are seen as an elite that are scary enough to put the heroes in trouble. In the game the tera kasi are much scarier which is not so good: they are not from the movies and they are using little weapons they shouldnt be good against heavily armed opponents: why would that galaxy have developped sophisticated weapons if if was obvious unarmed combat was more advantageous: from the little I know about them from the books I guess they are monks who makes deadly assassins but when I see them fight huge beasts like sharnaffs better than other professions I wonder
To go with the feeling they are the deadliest warriors in Starwars Palpatine choses to clone one to make his galactic army.
2) My second point is that the BH is the most costly profession in terms of skillpoint xp and time investment and most thing the reward for such efforts isnt necessarily worth it. a terakasi can also learn commando skills and I am sure he will impress more than a BH
make it deadlier tougher ( more defence ) or allow him to have less prerequisite so he can strengthen by developping other professions like commando ( Boba fett is seen using commando weapons after all flamethrower rockets ) pistoleer or tka

Otherwise the prerequisite could be reduced: why does a Bh need to make tents? Has Boba fett spent his youth crafting bone huts ? why does a BH need to learn to trap animals ( after all the only skill he could find useful is the ranger trapping skill which allows to trap humans )one thing would be to allow the BH to drop scout skills once he has reached novice BH otherwise the prerequisite to become master scout would go and would be replaced by exploration 4 unarmed 4 and eventually engineering 4 ( understanding machines is much more useful for someone who uses droids )


Another major concern is how armor management is handled : I personnally find it unelegant and bothersome. For devs who are trying to reach a wider audience with a simple character creation and progression system the armor system would give a newbie to the world of rpgs a headache. If you have in mind to attract all the die hard starwars fans around, the armor system is a sore pain: couldnt you have made it less complicated? I mean having to calculate all the ham point you need to fit yourself in a whole suit of armor.. and most dont bother grabbing the whole suit when it's composite.. do you realize that stat migration is a roleplay killer? it has absolutely no rationale within the game other than complex calculus ! give a point give a point there. In rpgs attributes are a guideline that helps define your character and what kind person it is: not here: you start with the same attributes as all members of your race following the same profession and you can eventually change it however you want according to your whim
eventually realizing that even with all your toughness and your extensive experience of combat you cant properly don a whole suit of armor.. without sacrificing hit points er.. health to improve your focus or whathaveya your character doesnt have sufficient mental faculties to wear a bloody helmet!

the whole Ham thing is actually a mess I understand I loose action points and mind points when using a special I see action point as physical fatigue and mind as mental fatigue induced by the efforts but what about health? is the character damaging himself?

That brings me to the entertainers: starwars is the only game where the only way to tend a major head wound is to play music to someone. which such a strange physical property shared by all the races of the galaxy it is strange that musicians are not considered as full fledged doctors and that they are not seen more often practising in medical centers rather than cantinas. Sorry devs but I find that system so ridiculous it ruins all efforts at versimilitude in the game. suspension of disbelief? what is that? how can I take my character seriously? how can a newbie consider playing this game intuitive? I understand entertainers need to be made equally interesting but I dont think brain surgery is what an entertainer has in mind when he decides to go entertainer: by definition entertainment doesnt produce anything useful e xcept help us get away from all the stress of everyday life
maybe stress ( battle fatigue ) should be given a more important part. to be realistic battle fatigue should impair healing ok but not wound tending. a surgeon can heal a wound even if you just got sacked from your work
but stress could prevent you from regenerating normal damage and specials cost ( even with the upcoming system ) battle fatigue could also lower your skill bonuses making your character a good for nothing it could also make all actions take more time as your character gets slower, even resurrection ) players would get double BF from mind wound making it even more important to go see entertainers to relieve oneself of battlefatigue In counterpart doctors would be the ones who heal and tend mind damage and wound and so players incapped because of mind could be raised just as well on battlefield
the mind buff is just as ridiculous, this could be given to doctors too, in exchange musicians could go on battlefield playing military marches ( with proper instruments and play a music that buff their group as long as they are playing also making them more resistant to stun to dizziness to intimidation, they could also lower the battle fatigue lost ) that would remind usof those scottish bagpipe players marching on battlefields to inspire men

Dancers should be given other advantages they could be given extra tumbling extra defence abilities extra movement extra stealth abilities or they could prevent enemies npc ( or players ) from attacking: seduction effect but they could be countered by enemy musicians.
imperial stormtroopers are conditioned they should be more resistant to that or not.