Doctor Archive
Thread: Devs comments and answers from the fanfest
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DrendalKahn
Thu Jun 09, 2005 9:49 am
#28
BadgerSmaker wrote:
I did come up with some ideas that I posted on the correspondant forum... cut and paste here for your perusal.
I think this all comes down tothe lack of content for non combat docs, previously they would sit in a med centre and chat with other players, craft some stims, heal wounds and damage for xp and have a nice social time while advancing in the medical trees.
It was great for roleplayers but now that medical xp can only be gained from combat so there is no content for non combat doctors.
The problem with xp for would healing is that it is too easy to macro, players will always find a way to maximise xp gain, either by getting themselves killed or killing an alt repeatedly to incure wounds, and infect wont always be broken. Good points. I dunno how they'd fix this, besides making afk-macros cancel after being idle or something for so long, but... yea, that's open to a lot of problems in itself.
I would propose the following:
- Wound healing out of combat only achievable in medical centres, rangercampor with a medical droid.Please! It disappoints me thatI can heal wounds in some dusty ally in Mos Eisley. Wound healing in combat is still instant but reduced efficiency or another /dressWound command for combat wound healing.I'd say a droid would be required to heal woundsin combat, like before. Med Centers need a purpose again, right now they're just wastes of space.Trying to /dressWound out of combat would tell the player to use /healWound.
- A mini game for wound healing with a droid, in medical centres or ranger camp that brings up an interface and requires user interaction and gives xp, failure to complete the mini game may cause more wounds or poison/disease the player. Completion could provide a "heal wounds over time" buff to the player. This is a good idea, it would keep afkers from grinding the profession, and would be a lot more fun (imo) than it is now. Maybe an xp bonus here too.
- Register Location terminals changed to Medical Terminals that give medical missions involving the healing of sick NPC's and/or PC'sthat give medical xp and credits on completion. NPC's would spawn and walk into the medical centre and only be operated upon by the player that has the misison. Operatng on a PC would do more to move towards mission completion. That would be lots of fun, especially given the added mini game above.
I can imagine lots of chaos and frantic healing at high levels -- would be fun.
- Players able to request System messages when a doctor registers at a location, players able to request doctors help from the medical terminals and doctors can request system messages or "pager" requests. We need this, or something like it.
- Doctors can be rated by the terminal and player bounty hunters can be called upon to address the issues of malpracticing doctors by selecting their misison from BH terminals. Doctors with excellent ratings will receive some perks including house decoration items and possibly skill mods and titles. Hunted by BHs? Oh dear, lol. I dunno how that would go over, but I do like the idea of a ranking system at it's essence.
- Doctors can group up to get more difficult medical missions and operate on NPC's and PC's as a team. Sounds good to me. Doctors could group and share wound-healing xp on PCstoo, so there's no competition, everyone gets xp, and add some synergy to wound healing so the patient could be cured faster.
- Medics can advance to doctor or combat medicby performing medical missions that do not involve wound healing but damage healing on NPC's.
- Going into combat and healing a group is still the quickest way to earn xp. I think they should be equal, myself. Given all the minigames and whatnot, I don't see how it could be exploited, although Im sure someone would figure something out. Maybe there would be away around it, I dunno...Still,I'd modify it to: "Going into combat or healing patients in a group is still the quickest way to earn xp." That way we could encourage doctors to group and do those medical missions together. I realize that's asking for a lot, though.
All feedback appreciated!
You guys, these are some great ideas. We gotta get something done, so let's at least work together here and not slander eachother.
Message Edited by DrendalKahn on 06-09-2005 10:05 AM
BadgerSmaker
Thu Jun 09, 2005 11:42 am
#29
*wanders back in*
Ooo.. thats more like it.
Any more ideas?
SioBabble
Thu Jun 09, 2005 1:27 pm
#30
Realistically, this is a real problem for the developers.
QuiGonWindu wrote:
So because of one profession (Jedi) ... and the inability of the Devs to stand up to and tell them to "Deal with what we gave you", other professions have to change their playstyle to accomodate? To come up with "mini-games" in order to get back to enjoying playing the profession?
Why? Because the people calling the shots (the marketing folks) are pushing Jedi like there's no tomorrow. The main problem is the prequels are far more Jedi-centric than the original trilogy, and we have something of a generational divide here. Older players (like myself) think of Star Wars as blaster battles in detention bays and AT AT assaults on Hoth. The lightsaber duels were cool, of course, but only the principle characters had that ability. Players in SWG are the extras in the movies,a nd we've got a original trilogy view of what extras do. We want to be smugglers, or stormtroopers, or whatever in that environment, and this game is set in that particular timeframe. Which is why having ARMIES of flashlight folk is so wrong to us. The notion that "Star Wars is Jedi" is a prequel notion. The marketing people want to bring the kids in, the kids think lightsabers. Not me. Better to have a good blaster at your side, kid.
Now, with the prequel trilogy, you've got extras wielding lightsabers. Because SWG is the story of the extras, the "next generation" of SW fans want their flashlights. The problem is the setting of SWG is that of the first generation of fans...the world of blaster fights where Force wielders were vanishingly rare, four individuals out of trillions.
How does this affect the game? The devs CANNOT stand up to Jedi pressure. The SWG Jedi have a powerful ally, and it's not the Force: it's the marketing department. Look at the n00bie quest now. It's all hints about how the player is 'special' and has 'a destiny'. Everyone and their mom is a potential Luke Skywalker, on a path to greatness. Go to Mos Eisley, and hang out with the new players, and every second one of them is asking questions about getting their flashlight. Many established players know the path, have two feet on it, and have no interest in following it. I myself have two complete branches of FS. But I've frankly given up on pursuing it. Grinding is boring, travelling to The Village is a pain, even on a speederbike (never in my AV 21), and frankly I'd rather be in space having fun than engaging in buggy quests and mindless slaughter or endless grinding (did that enough to get toons to MD, MCM, MBE, and Master Chef, thank you).
This game was a lot of fun before the first FS unlock. It started to deteriorate at that point.It probably was inevitable, as the profession grind at that point was the only content the game had, despite the potential scattered all around the planets for a lot of story driven things to see and do that were never completed or followed up on in the haste of SOE and LA to get ROI on this property, NOW.
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