Droid Engineer Archive

This list is updatedas neededand is meant to supplement the work done by the current correspondant and provide an idea of where this profession currently stands. Please read it over and provide any information you have regarding any of these issues, or any new issues you may have discovered.

I am a Master Droid Engineer on Bloodfin (Lime Akob). I also participated in the beta as a DE and bring a lot of knowledge of the profession from those days. I also read just about every single post in the DE forum and have a good idea of where this profession stands. However, I am one person and need your help to make sure that we've got all the real bugs nailed down, so we don't have DEVs chasing issues that don't exist due to confusion on our part.

Thanks to our correspondant for all the work done so far. Try not to makethe correspondants' lives difficult bybadgeringthemfor answers that they may not have. They're still only players like the rest of us. Players who have volunteered to organize and prioritize this information and present it to the DEVs. I'm sure any discussions between the correspondant and the DEVs will be shared with us regardless of how insignificant it may be.

We now have a voice, and the DEVs are listening to that voice. Hopefully I'll be able to start removing items from this list instead of just adding new ones.

Many, many, many thanks and respect to all those who have contributed. My personal thanks to Tyim for starting this thread during beta and for starting it up again now that we're live. Also, thanks to the devs who have worked like fiends only to be ranted at and badgered. Special thanks to any dev that cares to respond to this post.

1.Recent updates
2.Bugs still in evidence
3.Uncertainties
4.Wishlist

1. Recent updates
A.Altered droid repair kit bug since... well... they've been removed. Can't say they don't work since they don't even exist anymore.
B.Removed uncertainty regarding medical modules allowing for the use ofvarious skills based on module level. They don't do this.
C.Moved item storage not working in converse droids uncertainty to bugs now that we know which droids are borked.
D.Removed droid armor issue from uncertainties. Looks to be working now as far as I can tell. My droid is lasting one heck of a lot longer than it did before they completely broke armor.
E.Addeduncertainty regardingBH droids being 'infinite use'.
F.Added two bugs and an uncertaintyregarding customization.
G.Added uncertainty regarding 'call' sometimes showing up as 'store'.
H.Added a new 'show stopper' class of bug. Show stopper bugs are the fun bugs that turn us all into Artisans with fancy titles.

2. Bugs still in evidence
A.Droids are not giving any UXP
B.Droid names use the standard name filter.This may beby design, butwe're calling it a bug because droids should use a modified name filter that allows for numbers in the name. Yes, Artoo-Deetoo works fine, but I've seen NPC droids wandering around with REAL droid names. So we should be allowed to do the same.
D.Droids with no attack capabilities none the less have attack speeds and damage base modifiers in the datapad.
E.Experimentation on droid parts has no noticeable effect on final droid (experimentation seems to alter the part quality, but no end effect is observed... 5 point HAM difference on a probot doesn't count). Resources also fall into this area since resource properties influence the experimental property values. There is no point to experiment either on droid components or the final product. The droids seem to all function about the same.
F. Droids often stop following without reason. This is a generic pet problem as it happens to all pets, not just droids.Pets seem toget stuck on invisible zone boundries.Walking up to about 10-20m from thepet and re-issuing a 'follow' command fixes it (most of the time).
G.Item Storage Module 2s coming out as Data Module 2s during the assembly stage. What you seem to get at the end is a Data Module 2. This is only a NAME problem. The module is said to function as it should - as an ItemStorage Module 2.
H. Droids dragged from the datapad to the secure trade window are invisible. Secure trade itself DOES work, but until we can see the droid in the trade window, this is a bug. If it does not exist for bazaars and vendors as well, then this should also be implemented for them. Secure trade is important when you're selling something like a droid.
I. Droid repair kits arenot just fubar anymore... they're missing.Give us something that works please.
J.Multiple crafting stations in a single droid breaks the crafting modules in the droid. Only one of the modules seems to work when this happens. Crafting modules also seem to break when the droid's crafting field intersects crafting fields from other droids orstationary crafting stations.
K.Droid deeds shouldn't be tossed into the misc area of the bazaar. They're deed versions of entities. Give droids a proper home so that people can actually find them with ease.
L.EXPLOIT: Cluster modules not only fit into cluster module sockets, they fit into service module sockets.This allows cluster modules to fit into cluster modules ad infinitum. Thishas the added effect thatcluster module slots are nowpointless and allows any number of modules to be placed in any droid. Clusters should only fit in cluster sockets. Otherwise you're further exploiting the idea that the droid frame used is irrelevant.
M.Skills for the Droid Engineer don't reach +100 at Master. Droid Assembly and Droid Experimentation only go as high as +55. Droid Customization (currently useless) goes to +64. Other engineering professions get skill adds like assembly/customization/experimentation at novice. Droid Engineers get squat.
N.Repairmodules do not functionat all when placed in an LE Repair droid or Power droid.
O.Medical modulesaffect the effectiveness of stimpacks. Reports say that a stimpack is more effective when a medical module-equipped droid is nowhere to be seen (unless it contains a level 6 module).
P.Droids and components have been changed so that some of the experimental values have been removed from the schematics. However, these values remain during crafting and experimentation. As such, they are always 0%. If they can't be altered, don't show them.
Q.Droid deeds need to show ALL the modules installed and any important properties associated with those modules.
R.EXPLOIT: By telling a droid to stay, running 800m (need to cross a server zone?) or so away and calling another droid, you can effectively call all your droids at once.
S.Droid Storage Compartments use Artisan Experimentation instead of Droid Experimentation. It's a DE craft, it should use DE skills, not Artisan skills.
T.Item storage modules do not work with Surgical Droids (basic and advanced). The option to use item storage is not available in the radial menu.
U.Droid customization is so borked, it isn't funny. No xp is gained from colouring droids, the colours don't hold, and some droids I am hearing even seem to have problems being called as a result of customization.
V.Droid customization tools give General Crafting xp instead of Droid Crafting xp when crafted.
W.SHOW STOPPER: Droids of certain models cannot be called. From what I'm reading, it's all the 'dual colour' droids. So this sounds like a customization bug to me.

3. Uncertainties
A.Is your droid supposed to travel with you when you take a shuttle? The datapad now thinks that the droid has returned to the datapad. Can anyone verify that this is what is really happening? Is the droid being left behind (have someone ELSE check after you leave the shuttle port to see if the droid is left behind)?
B.Patrol point list is not saved between store and call, is this by design?
C. Some droids, when given a repair module, gain a 'repair other droid' option in the program menu. Some, when out, add a 'repair' option in the radial menu of OTHER droids. I can only assume that both are possible. 'Converse' droids do not have a programmable 'repair' command, but usually allow the repair option to appear in nearby droids (I've never seen this myself). Seems a little inconsistent. Also, the power droids and repair droids with a repair module do not grant the 'repair' option in other droids.
D. Power droidsare the onlydroid with a non-modular function (ignoring combat capable droids here). Repair droids have had their repair systems removed and changed into a module. R droids have had their crafting functions removed and changed into modules. Power droids remain as an inherent function. Can we get some consistency here?
E. Some of the advanced droids are using 'Converse' instead of 'Program' for programming. Nobody seems to know how to name these droids. Can it be done?
F.Protocol droids(basic model only)and Binary Load Lifters (both basic and advanced) seem rather useless.Protocol droidsdon't help with languages, since everyone who cares about languages already knows all the languages. BLLs don't lift any loads.Neither of these droids have room for any modules. So, from what I'm hearing, they're just a nice droid to look at. Anyone find a good use for either of these?
G.Many of the 'level' based service modules stack. However, there arecaps in place which make stacking kind of pointless with thehigher level modules. Also,by stacking lower modules, you can achieve the same effect as a higher level module, reducing the point of using a higher level module. This is further enchanced by the cluster module bug. Also, when crafting the droid, the stacking results show values which do not take the cap into consideration. So a droid while being crafted can show a storage value of 15, but the final storage when the droid is tamed is capped at 10. Which is intended? Stacking or no stacking?
H.Some people are reporting that armor resists sometimes degrade. Can anyone confirm this? (Screenshots are always nice)
I.Information in the datapad for some droids no longer lists things like the commands programmed for the droid, customization, etc. some of them do. What's the deal?
J.I'm hearing that BH droids aren't using their last charge, making them infinite use. Anyone confirm?
K.Anyone still having problems with 'store' showing up when you're trying to call a droid (and no, the droid isn't already out)?
L.Anyone notice if the number of colours available with the customization tool are different than the colours available during crafting?

4.Wishlist
A.Advanced droid engineers should be able to call more then onedroid at a time. Repair modules and power droids might see a little more use if this were changed.
B.Give us information on droid power levels in the examine window and/or in the datapad. Also,since droid batteries repair mind,how about using mind as the droid's power level indicator? The action pool would also work.
C.Examining droid should give thesame data as in the datapad (for the owner).
D.We really want certain droids to only be able to take certain types of modules. There have been a number of really good posts on this topic, and due to space constraints, I'll leave it at that.
E.Take another look atthe “only able to callpets in city or camp” thing. I understand the logic and personally have no problems with it. However, many disagree with it and I think it would work better if it was that you can only call a droid when not in combat, or acertain distance from a battlefield.
F.Consider droids that can survey and report back on a particular resource. Perhaps even a high-end versionwith the ability to go toother planetsto determine which resources are available.
G. Consider droids that can help maintain installations. Senda droid out to pay mantenance. Send a droid out to collect resources. Send a droid out to deliver power. There are many ways to implement this as a viable system.
H. Consider droids that can act as standalone vendors in cities, and/or droids that can act as Barkers. Perhaps even let droids deliver goods to a customer in another city or on another planet.
I. Droids to remember if they were stored or called over a logout. Running around in the middle of nowhere and logging out causes your droid to hide back in the datapad. This means having to go back to town or putting down a camp in order to recall your droid. This is undesireable.
J. Now that perma death has been removed and replaced with the pet 'vitality' system, I have to say kudos for the change. However, it doesn't make sense to give vitality packs to droids. Perhaps a DE equivalent could be used? Same deal, just a different name, and craftable by DEs?
K. There have been several complaints regarding the 5 droid in the datapad limit. While there are some compelling arguments AGAINST this wishlist item, it would be nice to at least have this limit reviewed.
L.Give us Droidekais and other combat droids.
M. Create aslicing module. This module would allow smugglers to get a boost to their slicing ability. We're not interested in putting anyone out of a job here. R2 could slice terminals in the movies, why not our droids?
N.Allow us to drop batteries into the droid's inventoryand have itrecharge itself as needed until the batteries run out.
O.Create an entertainment module akin to the existing medical module to allow entertainers to work ouside of camps, cantinas and hotels. This module would be also level 1-6 with each level giving a little extra boost to the entertainer's skill.
P.Saw a request for a training droid as seen in the movies that 'harasses' its target, pulling aggro. Thisidea is intended togive a little variety to the Novice DE's life. Could also be used as a consumable for training the combat classes.
Q.Let usname our droids through the datapad controller. Droids shouldn't need to be 'taught' a name like pets do. The name is programmed into the droid separate from the other commands.
R.Add the creator to the droid view information, not just theowner. When you look at a pistol, you seewho made it. When you look at a droiddeed, you see who made it. When you look at a droid, you SHOULD see who made it.
S.Allow droids to be re-deeded forease of transfer. Since we can only have 5 droids in the datapad, it makes it really tough forDE's to take old droids astrade-ins for upgrades (like a car). We either have to immediately re-sell the droid or delete it. Would make more sense to re-deed the droid so that itcould be sold to another customer as a 'used droid'.
T.Droid "macros" came up last post. Let us create macro-like droid programs to have a droid execute a series of commands. Not sure how this would be implemented, but it is an idea.
U.Here are some ideas that people have for Protocol Droids. Allow them to have a custom converse menu, programmed by the owner so that the droid can act like a walking FAQ. Turn them into magic 8 balls. Language translator (for non-pc languages?)
V.Make the droid deeds show pictures of the droid itself rather than a silly deed icon.
W.Enough with the 'tame' thing... let us 'activate' or simply 'use' the deeds to first create our droids.
X.Review thisdeal withprobots being nerfed because they were too powerful for newbies. In the light of every boy and his dog being able to get something 'better' from a CH, this argument holds less water than an MSE Droid.
Y.Make BLL Droids useful in 'city planning'. Let us use them to move buildings around without re-deeding. Great for once the player city expansion is released.

Under "Recent Updates" you need

-Removed ability to craft droids.

I know this falls under your H), but this is more to the point.

I'd have to do a little more testing, but from what I've read & heard from my customers, only droids with initial customization problems (Astromechs, MSE's, etc) that were crafted on Friday, 11 October 2003 cannot be called from the datapad... All my old, personal "dual color" droids work... Ones that I sold Friday are not, however.

Au-Ru Blasterkin - Master Droid Engineer of Intrepid

Friday, 11 October 2003

Sorry, It's late... We couldn't even craft droids on Friday...

Thursday, 10 October 2003

Au-Ru Blasterkin - Master Droid Engineer of Intrepid

2H - Droids dragged from the datapad to the secure trade window are invisible. Secure trade itself DOES work, but until we can see the droid in the trade window, this is a bug. If it does not exist for bazaars and vendors as well, then this should also be implemented for them. Secure trade is important when you're selling something like a droid.

Looks like I can remove a major problem or two regarding crafting/calling droids. Yeah, I know... crafting didn't quite make it into the post, but people have been talking about it in the thread.

Sin, sticky me.

Gorantoth: Great work once again! This really helps put everyone on the same page.

Section 4 Part Q is a must for me now. I am really getting tired of trying to teach people how to name a droid. I shouldnt have to spend 5 minutes with them or send them an email when it should come up as an option in the Program Menu. Droids arent animals. Just program it it's name for heaven's sake! And if the Devs want a name/language filter at least give droids a prompt that says something like "Not a valid Name" or something like that.

Also I might have missed it in the post but several droids in the datapad now dont have a list of their trained commands when examined from the datapad. I think Protocol and Probots are two... would have to check on some others. However these are post patch 1 and pre patch 2droids. This might have changed with the newer droids after patch 2.

Cameo

Can't make advanced Probots yet but I can confirm that the regular Probots do show trained commands. After you train them you need to store them and close the datapad for it to properly refresh, or at least that's what I had to do.

i like the colorise option we got with last patch, BUT please devs remove the lifespan on the color, this sucks and will not make us more cash in long run, later nobody at all will want to pay for colors which fade after some uses.

colors brought more varity and fun to the droid class and non the less to the star wars feeling in this game, BUT colorisation should be permanent and only be changed with new coloring.

pls fix that.

Veers - Master Architect / Master Artisan / Master Droid Eng. / Merchant from Dantooine (SWG Beta Tester)
Customer: what i can do with a droid? DE: hmm i dunno, but they are cute ask a Dev