Development Cycle Archive
Thread: Desired Rewards
Knock, Knock, Knock Hello anyone home!
The rewards do not have to be thing that can be made by crafters! One of the most prized rewards is the polished dragon shull. Hmmm what crafer lost business by my getting this skull? Wake up! Do you play the game. Walk around and go into hall and house. Players want cool collectable items to display in there houses! Rewards do not have to be weapons, armor or clothes. Is your imaginations so lacking you can not think of cool rewards. Cool pottery, more and different paintings, different plants, rugs, sculptors, and do you need more. All these items are in the game. I see them in the cities. Why not make some of them rewards you do not even have to use your creativity. They are already in game.
Ecco Ton
Hmmm, not sure if your going to read on to page 52, but I'll add my comments.
I've been a weaponsmith operating a shop for 5 months and had a great time, but as I've started to go out hunting with friends (holo craze), I really realized there is zero purpose to explore or hunt unless you need cash (which I don't). SWG has beautiful and massive planets that I enjoy just wandering over, but these lack of content comments, I believe have more to do with a lack of rewards rather than a lack of quests or mobs to find.
Here are things that I would enjoy spending hours searching and hunting for.
Low Quantity, Unique Schematics
Pre-made schematics with findable resources that can be put into a factory to produce 3 to 10 items. All those things people mention such as furniture seen but not craftable, paintings, unique or extra powerful weapons (they wear out quickly), etc.
Limited Duration Skills
Similar to skill tapes, but when activiated, they gain the user with a skill box for a fixed duration (say 30 days) such as Terrain Negotation 4 (including the stats required), the Smuggler Low Blow skill, etc. I would expect people would chase the great ones full time as they could provide them some unique combos not possible for a short period of time.
Emergency Travel Pass
Limited use (30 uses) where the user can buy a ticket but can catch the shuttle at any time (no wait for the ship to arrive. Clicking on the pass reduces the remaining quantity and looks for a shuttle ticket to use.
Exploration - Items spawned that can be picked up
I have run all over Dantooine (nicest planet) and gone to most of the special areas (statues), etc. This takes hours and is fun, but it would be great if similar to how mobs spawn, occasionally an object is spawned that you can just find and pickup. This again could any of those items in game that people can't make such paintings, parts of a vehicle, bones, fancy chests, etc.
Deeds - Unique Buildings
Make use of some of the other building currently in the game but not craftable (city buildings, POI buildings, etc). These would be prized tropies to own a house with a wall around it. This can be integrated in any fashion to involve a crafter if required (via schematic or requires a naboo house as a component to make)
Rare Resources
This game is driven on resources. You have the right idea on dropping resources, but you need to drop quantities that make it worthwhile to search for (i.e 1-5K). Crafters will pay a fortune for copper that is 1000 conductivity and 1000 quality.
Credits
Don't underestimate the power of greed when there are random missions or loot drops that give out 10K-100K as the reward. The best example is treasure maps. I love those things, but there is NEVER anything worth doing them. Make it so 1 in 30 or 100 drops some GREAT amount of credits or item.
Comments on Loot Drops
One of the flaws in the game is an item is too easy to get (repeatable by just doing that mission) or it drops off a mob that spawns in a specific place or the opposite, you have no clue where to find something. The farming of Krayt tissues is a bad setup whereas finding holocrons is almost perfect.
Any new loot should be random across any area or set of mobs that are not in one specific place or random from any NPC mission. Give the users enough guidance of where to look, but don't make it so easy that the uber group just camps it (i.e crytal caves, krayt graveyard, etc).
Looking forward to more reasons to explore those huge planets.
Merett, Lowca
Master Weaponsmith
Badges. And Titles.
also for imperial or rebel faction quest a peice of armor or clothing that screams i am a valuable asset to my side.
What would make it worthwhile to me to do a long hard dungeon or quest?
Answer:
1) maybe a rare component, schematic, or resource that enabled a weaponsmith to dramatically enchance the power of one of my weapons. (I'm a pistoleer so that would , for me, mean a DX2 or FWG). Or to simply create the item, using one of the components I obtained.
If it was a really hard quest the particular item would have to either last a REALLY long time or be immortal. Say I have a design schem that I loot. I can have ONE item made from that schem at a time and the schem can then be reused to make that item again. (or something else to that effect... I just don't like the idea of having the hard work of a quest eventually mean nothing)
1)A Fabric that a tailor could use to make a really cool garmet of some type. or perhaps a sewing pattern that would enable them to do so. This is something that would just be fun.
1)B Some kind of design that would enable an image designer to do some kind of body/face/hair customization that was unique
1)C rare armor component that could enable an armorsmith to craft a set of uber armor for me (looks like the RIS thing is covering this)
1)D a drug or chemical that could enable a doctor to make a stat enhancement kit that would permanently increase one of my stats.
1)E a blueprint that would enable an architect to build me a unique house design that only someone who'd completed this quest could have.
1)F perhaps a quest that would get a scope that I could attacth to a any ranged weapon that would permanently increase its accuracy? It would have to be able to be removed and attached to another weapon after the first one was worn out though.
1)G as you can see, some idea along these lines could pretty much be implemented for any profession that makes anything.... maybe a smuggler could find an item that increases his/her slicing effectiveness or the potency of their stims? or perhaps a chef could find a sort of cook book or rare seasoning that could cause all his foods to increase our stats more effectively. A design for a long lost type of droid that a DE could make for me....the list goes on and on.
2) I'm a CH so if perhaps I could go on a quest that would, at some point, spawn a lair that I could track down that would have a rare animal baby that I could tame? It wouldn't even have to be that much more powerful than what I can already get. maybe a dark red colored rancor that could spit acid? Or a giant sized reptilian flier that I could mount??? Or just something cool. perhaps a different type of quadriped animal that I could mount. just something that looked cool and was unique.
2)A or perhaps obtain a rare DNA sample that would enable a BE to create a special creature for me
2)B maybe an old CH wiseman could teach my how to train my pets in a new command that had some fun OR powerful OR unique effect. like maybe a sort of way I could like train and raise and condition my pets that would make them a little tougher, harder hitting and faster running? Or maybe some way that I could motivate them so they could hit twice as fast for short periods of time? anything useful or fun really.
3) a quest for some type of item that could maybe enable me to turn invisible for a short time...something like a personal cloaking device (OBVIOUSLY I would be able to attack while invis) or that would enable me to run faster or give me some other type of enhanced super ability.
4) 5 more skillpoints would be a great reward. =)
5) getting back to what I was talking about with weapons, perhaps I could find some ancient weapon, that was onced used by some advanced alien race, long since extinct, that is increadibly powerful. Perhaps it could be rendered unusable by the centuries of laying around and I would have to take it to a weaponsmith to be repaired and made usable? and perhaps doing this would also enable the weaponsmith to have a chance of duplicating the design a small handful of times?
6) faction perks with NPC's. maybe safe passage through areas of hostile NPC's, that leads to some kind of treasure. This would be near impossible to do if one had to fight their way through the hostile npc's. Some kind of quest I could do to win their favor and be allowed acess to their treasure (which could be anyone of the previously mentioned ideas.
7) a map, waypoint, key, or some other such mechanism that would allow me access to a planet, dungeon, island, fortress, etc..., which would grant me one of the previously mentioned rewards
8) a title before and/or after my name, in addition to my profession title and guild tag.
9) something that would enhance my body so that spices/buffs/foods had a more potent and longer lasting effect. IE less of a "downer" when a spice wears off?
10) Perhaps I could do a quest for an NPC as a favor and in return, he/she trains me in how to move and fight while wearing armor that causes me to be less encumbered when I wear it?
11) what about profession specific quests. perhaps one that I, as a pistoleer, could do that would grant me the knowledge of how to do a new special attack? perhaps one that was more damaging or had some unique and usefull effect. IE like bodyshot4 (replace with mindshot4 or action shot4 ETC... whatever was appropriate for the profession of the character doing the quest)
12) how about one that results in having the next month's SWG subscription fee waived? jk. =)
13) maybe some skill or device that allowws me to once, per every 24 hours (real time), instantly chance my faction status... IE a fight is going bad so I am able to instantly go covert.... or if I want to ambush someone I could instantly go overt from covert. obviously there would have to be some pretty beefy limitations on this or it would be imbalancing.
14) perhaps an attack move that would be kind of like a super "last ditch" attack, that could only be used once a day, that would destroy the weapon but do like 10 times damage.
boy that list was a LOT longer than what I had in mind when I started this post lol... really got my creative juices flowing. =)
BADGES!!!!!!!
MWHAHAHA. I AM OBSESSED WITH BADGES. Ok but seriosly if thedungeon took 1 month straight of power gaming and you weren't allowed to die or you ahd start over I would do it. I know badges don'tdo nothing but I love them. I currently have all 8 attainable badges (DEVS: PLEASE FIX COURAAGE AND HONOR BADGES). Badges would motivate me to do almsot anything. I have spent weeks working on my bio hoping a CSR will read it and I might get the Amazing Profile Accolade badge. I am marked as (HELPER) in hopes that I can get the Good Samaritan badge. I don't think I have a chance at Professional demeanor badge since I am nota crafter but I try to be kind to everyone so I can get Interesting personage. Ok I am just babbling but my point badges make it worth it for me.
As rewards for quests, I'd very much like a pen set, a self-portrait, and/or perhaps 25 credits.
C'mon, I just helped a Jedi NPC at the destroyed Dant Academy turn the tide in the GCW. Not that I expected her to fork over a zillion credits (Jedi salaries are a tad low), but puh-LEASE can we get something cooler for big quests?
It doesn't even need to be unique items nor badges. It could be a tip to where a camp of hoodlums are, and they can have the cool swag. Or maybe the mission-givers have connections, and all of our travel fees for the next 24 hours are free. Or maybe they're artisans, and restore an appropriate item in our inventory to 100% durability.
.... Somethin'.
As a crafter I am happy that discretion is used when looking at loot drops, however as a player there are things that are exceedingly hard to get that I think would help crafters.
Krayt scales/tissue, without grouping and possibly multigrouping it is impossible to get these items, and even then you may not get the drop within your group.
If you are worried about dropping good things that will kill the economy, drop less wonderful things lets say bone armor that looks awesome/different (not even bone armor but something new that has the same properties of bone armor in ref to protection ham etc,) but hasn't got the same resistance or high ham cost/encumbrance. These types of items would not be craft-able but are so low that it limits their monetary viability. I would love to see Mandalorian Armor, But different looking bone, mabari, etc would be way better even if the stats were low for the armor class.
I'd like to see better drops from npc's, drop something that an npc is actually using, i.e. anything but a cdef, which everyone knows, is crap. WhenI get shot at by an npc whom ismost definitely using a laser carbine then the guy only drops a cdef if anything at all, I tend to get a little angry. Devalue certain guns a little, but make them decay faster etc to counteract this.
Lets talk about your treasure hunts...
They suck!
You go on this 800 mile/Kilometer journey only to end up getting jumped by high power NPCS, and if (the BIG IF) you survive and you dig up the treasure you get one unit of crappy mineral and a cheap cdef pistol, **edit**, this was, according to the write upan UBER pirate treasure, instead it was a retarded exercise in patience.
Lets talk about locked containers...
Either the smugglers got way more going on with respect to professional development, (they are all cheating the rest of us {which I doNOT believe}) or there is nothing worth anything in ANY locked container. I have gotten
1. A warm hat, looked like an angry Russian discarded it.
2. A cdef pistol.
3. A cdef rifle, and one unit of really low grade copper.
4. A cdef carbine.
5. One unit of steel (low quality)
These were five separate locked containers. And not a single thing I actually wanted nor used, its a waste of my inventory space which you yourselves have said is a danger to players of the game, i.e. pack ratting.
Lets talk about cdef's...
1. They are the lowest weapons in quality, damage, and usefulness.
2. They are in short... crap.
3. They are issued at the start of certain professions, and no one after playing the game for one day wants it anymore.
4. Furthermore by allowing it to be built under generic artisan skill you get a large number of these weapons filling the bazaar and vendor terminals which are useless.
5. In reference to the above... WHY would you REWARD players with these weapons?
6. Who wants it? Refer to #3. Who will use it? Again refer to #3.
These are some reasons no one wants to quest, in order to save your precious player driven economy, you are giving people nothing, and no one wants the nothing you are giving anyway so no one does the treasure maps after the first two or so.
It is the same in respect to missions. I have a warren badge diedsix times to get it, and that was when decay was inactive, now its even more costly than the 2-3km walk/run through angry creature filled terrain, if my equipment took 30% decay (uninsured) while trying to get a badge with no money, and nothing worth looting, why am I going to do this with decay active andno monetary reward.
Doing a badge mission is without monetary reward, which meansI am doing this for no cash, and risking losing life, and decay on ALL my equipment. This decay also results in more pack ratting. I will keep more armor if I know that it is eventually going to decay to death, and where am I going tokeep this extra stuff.Same with guns etc doesn’t mean that More will be sold, Just that people will keep more around. Almost everyone has friends that will "hook them up with either hand me downs or cash etc.
My suggestion would be overall for the code guys and the people implementing this code actually PLAY the game. I can tell from playing that hours upon hours go into the production of this game, the entire crew there must work 20 hour days, and 6 day weeks to pull this off, looks like a refreshing step back for a while is in order to refocus the entire project. Seems like overall integration and development is segmented, each team has its own projects, each group of teams an entire theme but no one seems to be talking to one another, a prime example giving the dlt20 rifle to novice weapon crafter but not allowing a novice weapon crafter to make a component used in the creation of the rifle.
I have tried to mention the good and the bad and hopefully provide constructive criticism, You will take it as you will, but there are many people that play and pay, and still many more that are constantly re-evaluating how to better spend their money, whether through a different mmorgp, or a single player plotted game. At 180 dollars a year US, that is a substantial monetary outlay for something, that as a fairly new player, I feel as if I am beta testing.
Takiwa
Most of the first ideas that came to my mind have already been listed, so I'll go a different direction.
"What kind of reward would make it worth investing in a lengthy quest or dungeon?"
Ok, here's an answer that you may not expect... the very same reason we invested in the game:
To have more fun, and feel like I had a real impact the SW Galaxy story!
Fun is the reward that will keep people doing quests, even over and over, without unbalancing anything due to loot issues. Please, allow me to elaborate.
I would gladly get involved in a lengthy quest... the longer the better... if:
1.It was well thought out, and interesting. Not a typical destroy, delivery, blah blah, quest. I don't want to hunt down and kill 44 zebra-striped purple throated rancors. I don't want to find a 75% deposit of uberanium. I don't want to make sure Chewbacca gets Fonzie's comb for his birthday... I don't care how much he wants it. I don't want to mindlessly slay 2,000 NPCs to complete a collection. There is nothing wrong with having a destroy, delivery, or surveying element scattered in, but it needs to feel like I did something that mattered.
2.It was dynamic. It needs to evolve based on the choices I make, and the levels of success I have accomplished. Perhaps the part of the mission I am on tells me I should take out an escorted courier delivering information on Imperial defense weaknesses. I am supposed to leave no survivors. The escorts are designed to attack me on sight, and the courier is designed to take off at burst run. If I can take out the courier, confiscate/destroy the information, and kill off all the escorts, then I had the highest level of success and the rest of the quest changes. If I die, then the courier gets away, and my next mission in the quest will now be to inform some Imperial leader that defensive strategies must be changed... and the quest evolves from there. If I get the courier, but flee leaving the escorts alive, then perhaps on my next mission those same rebel escorts will try and prevent me from succeeding by blowing my cover or something. I'm just brainstorming, but you get the idea.
3.It needs to really contribute to the SWG story. I want to feel like I was responsible for some kind of "behind the scenes" involvement in the story George Lucas created, that (although not highlighted in the on-screen main story) could believably have impacted the end results. For example: In A New Hope, R2D2 and C3PO leave the rebel starship in the beginning of the movie in an escape pod. Wasn't it odd that a perfectly good escape pod was left unused and unguarded? Perhaps it was because some "behind the scenes" rebel took out or led away the 2 Storm Troopers blocking their path. The story would have been very different if the droids never left the ship. Something low-key, yet critical, like this would be cool to be a part of. To prevent derailing critical storyline turning points, the end result would always be the droids getting on the escape pod... just how it was made possible differs. Perhaps it is actually due to my failure in the mission that allowed them to escape in the first place... and I wasn't aware of it until it was all over, and the quest giver explained the after-effects to me. Irony can be a very cool plot device, too. Also, they don't all need to be combat related. Perhaps it is known an important official will be awaiting a contact in a cantina. The mission would require two people. One must be an entertainer that must successfully keep the official in the cantina. They would have to really dance or play up a storm. If they don't keep varying the flourishes, or stop performing, then the official will get bored, recall the time, and go to meet his contact. Of course, that is inevitable. So the other person has only that long to locate the contact, somehow waylay him, and take his place to get the information (or give false information) to the official. There are just so many combinations available with the material you have at your fingertips!
4.It should make me think, not just push buttons. There should be mystery, and intrigue. Not everything should be cut and dry, black and white. Perhaps the quest-giver has some details and information, but it's inaccurate, or incomplete. Maybe the quest-giver knows his info is inadequate, and perhaps he does not. I want a challenge to think through. Some random code is checked during the quest, and makes the elements a bit different form someone else that did the quest before me. Perhaps I have to puzzle together where to find some contact that we have lost contact with when she went into hiding before the other side finds her. Last place she was known or thought to be was on randomplanetX in randomcityX. I'll need to go there to find leads. In this city I will have to question NPC's until I find one that has a lead. Perhaps there could be two NPC's I could have found... one leads me in the right direction, the other is a plant for the other side and leads me into a trap. If I find one without the other and act on their information, then I hope I found the right one. If I found both, then I have to decide which to believe. It's ok to make people use their noodle. The vast balance of the game is macro-ing and button-pushing. Let the extended quests require some thought.
5. It should have progressive difficulty. Let it begin fairly easy to get you hooked, and then each mission becomes increasingly difficult. Perrhaps you can begin the quest early in a career, but to make it to the glorious end you will need to have some skills, and possibly some friends. Think of the "Ring Wars" quest series in EverQuest. Yes, the rewards were nice, but that wasn't the reason they were so cool... it was actually a fun series of quests to do. Each had a real story that made you feel as though you had an important involvement in the goings on in the realm. Each became more difficult, and required both more strategy and more skills, and finally more friends. It was one of the most popular and successful quests in the game because it incorporated all of the above.
On that note, it shouldn’t require some random leap-of-faith conclusion that baffles the mind as the what the link could have possibly been, that makes no rela sense at all. Those aren't fun, they're frustrating. The conclusions should make sense.
I know the above would require significant story-writing skills, but I know you guys are clever enough to pull it off. I only wish I could be involved in something so fascinating as helping to create interesting quests. This is a reward that will have people looking for the longer quests over and over without accumulating unbalancing wealth or components. There could still be a few concrete rewards... a badge, some profession experience, some credits, and perhaps a small impact on the swaying of the GCW status. Not all rewards have to be physical... we play this game to have fun and feel like we were involved in the SW saga.