Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: I need some comments/opinions...
It's been requested that I try to get a feel for what we all (now) find either fun or unfun about being a DE in SWG.
Please take a few moments and list one fun item and one unfun item. I'll post some results after I get a good number of responses.
Also...please...keep these brief (like the examples below). I can't really work with a huge diatribe for these, so do me a favor and try to boil down your answers to a sentence or two, tops.
Example:
Fun: "Building up cool 'stock' droids that will meet the needs of my droid clients."
Message Edited by TheRealTK421 on 06-03-2004 07:07 PM
Fun : New combat droids with competative HAM and combat ratings finally giving the DE profession some much-needed competition between products - my combat R3 may be better/worse than another DE's - or better in some ways (HAM) and worse in others (CR). In any case, it finally pays off to be a dedicated DE and the resource mini-game is starting to matter for us past resource type and into actual stats.
Unfun : The old bugs - NAMING FRICKIN' TALKING DROIDS - and the inconsistencies in droid deed statistics. CR needs to translate directly to real-game damage/speed stats (most players don't know what the heck a combat rating is much less what it means), and things like item storage modules need to have the "rating" reflect it's actual use.
Too many people see "13" on a level six module on a vendor and don't know that it only really holds the max of 10 items - in short, there are too many things with deeds and droid abilities that are not only undocumented but downright misleading to the droid customer. A customer should be able to see a droid on a vendor and be able to instantly tell it's exact stats and features - like a weapon or any other product in the game - independent of what the DE labels the deed.
Even DE's get confused about this, and it really needs to be addressed before DE becomes more fun than tediumwhen most of our DE-related correspondence/tells arecorrecting of misinformation.
AO
Message Edited by AudioOrgana on 06-03-2004 10:17 PM
FUN(ish):
The ability to make an almost decent variety of Droid types (even better when some of the types work, or are worth making!) to fit a slightly larger percentage of players.
UNFUN:
Storage limits. We need a LOT of components, resources, and factory runs of things. It gets very difficult to do this effectively with the pathetic storage we have now (gotten honestly, that is). We should not have to rely on lot-swaps to store stuff. DE has the *highest* requirments in the game forcomponents and parts!
Fun:One of the few profession to have this much variety in any particular end product. Customizing a droid to what the buyer wants.
Unfun: Some module stats are too hardto translateand explain to a customer.
Fun-The hugh amount of variety possible when building droids. The Modular construction means we can have a bigger variety of products than any other crafting profession.
Unfun-Being dependant on MA made parts, which restrict the skills a MDE can have. Either moveall the parts down to Engineering IV (best choice) keep the micro suite at MA if needed but EGPs, EMMs & CUs should be in engy IV If thats not acceptablemake MA a prequisite of Droid Engineer (I would accept it but wouldnt like it) as itpractically is anyway!I dont really want to be a MA anymore, got more interesting things I wanna try, but Im restricted by the necessity of having to have Master Artisan for 5 parts that are used in almost all droid construction. I do more factory runs of MA parts than I do of DE parts!
Opps, Soz for the rant. Been trying to work out how to squeeze Master Rifleman into my template and its frustrating
FUN: Having a product that is versatile and can be changed to reflect a customer's desire or need
NOT FUN: Having no bonuses or special enhancements provided by specific droid types other than the MSE droidused withthe Detonation modules (read------no reason for half our droid frames)
CHODA----MDE/Droid teacher to the Kettemoor massess
No fireworks launching droid 40% Display bugs, lots of different armor types that are useless, experimentation meaning less than it could (it's better, but far from right), Super Battle Bots that smoke me silly when my Maxed R3 love taps stuff, having to stack creature harvest modules, ratings we have to "guess at" to know what they really mean (600 Combat, 107 Harvest, 110 Medical, Mech Quality 11).Fun: Being part of an industry that is so complex, challenging, and full of potential. And really a credit to the crafting system which is SWGs saveing grace. I think the biggest boon of the profession is being part of the profession itself.
Unfun: Theres still alot of disorganization in the profession that make crafting en mass difficult. I wish i could say one thing that makes it un-fun, but theres seriously alot of factors that make us very challenging and that kill the buzz fairly quick.
IF i have to say one thing that is most un fun its the limits of customization, Sure you can change a droids colors, modules and combinations, and there are alot of those to chose from, but thats so superficial(in an interior sort of way). I wish you A. Could change a droids phisical features, color plates arrangements, sensors, various protrusions, wheels. I would also like modules to have an effect on the external appearence, for example weapons systems in combat droids. OR more droid chassis to chose from, we have... 12. sure 24 counting advanced modules but does that really count? Im really desperate for makeing something new. Dispite modules, combos, colors, im still makeing the same thing in apperacei was9 months ago.
The other issues i have to complain about are below, basicaly parroting everythingthats been said.
1, resoucses, we require soo many different resouces that on some serveres are practicaly non existant. (Pholokite extrusive-where oh where are you?) I for one hate the resoucse game, although i prefer to procure my own resouces whenever possible.
2, Logistics: Speeking of resources, where are we going to put all these rare resources we require? And where we going to put the non-rare ones.? Not to mention parts, crates, finnished droids, stims, random junk, and what not? I dont think DE is alone here, all crafters have the same beef, but we have the worst situation.
3, Schematics: the layout of the shematics and crafting selection is in dire need of attention. nuff said
4, Ignorence: People still have no idea what droids do, now we have so much more to explain, i think it goes with the trade, after all it always has. But after say your 2000th custom order you just want to punch someone in the face for asking, "What do R2 units do?" because it means you have to explain every module to them. There should be some kind of Friday feature, maybe make it part of the holocron, anything.
5. Falling short. Im not really complaining, after all i made more money than ill ever be able to spend selling droids. If you build it they will come is my motto.Thats not the issue. I find alot of our new modules are very good ideas, but most are poorly implemented, limiting there role they perform in the game. Theres still afew bugs, and some nastyness, not to mention pre existing issues that still dirty up droids.
UNFUN:
--Having to answer the same questions over and over (i.e., we need some standardized source of information about droid modules that customers can refer to).
--The immortal status of droids: they never decay or die, so the customer never needs to come back except for batteries/paint kits.
Rippen Tuck
RippenCo Droids, Inc.
Starsider, Naboo
Fun : - Half the new modules, the things that work, all the possible combo.
Unfun : - Bugs, color lifespan, droid speed, making a droid manual in each droid desciption, repair kit, lack of special items compared to other crafting prof.
Message Edited by Gavvot on 06-04-2004 04:12 PM