Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: No combat droids, please
Now Personaly i'm not to familiar with Star Wars history interms of the laws in SW, but i keep hearing that Combat Droids are illegal. WHy not make it that if you have a Combat droid out, the individual Police forces of the planet aggro you.Like say your In Tyrena and you whip out your like Deathdroid 4000, a CorSec sees the Droid and Starts attacking you and your droid.
I also realise these ideas would be rather annoying to program into the game but honestly it would also keep the integrity of the Droidsmith while enhancing them from the combat percpective.
Now From the Non-Combat percpective (yes i can take both, I'm an ex-Weaponsmith who is looking to do vehicles when they hit, aswell as a pikeman.) Anyway, I'm Thinking WHy not make it so that droids are more then just Portable medical units and minor storage units. Why not allow a droid to be some what intelligent. like, Hey i have a house at point x and a Harvestor at point y, I can log on in my house, bring out my droid, tell it to go to point y grab resources come back to point x. Now in this regard i'd say keep it limited, like say the droid needs an intelligence module, a storage module and an loader module to do this. Now this is just one example, earlier i read someone had an idea about a Merchant droid Which i thought was too cool of an idea, A droid that could wander around selling some ones wares.
As i view it now I like droid more then pets they have so much more potential for all types of players, be it your powergamer or your casual gamer, A Roleplayer or the PVPer I can see droids being able to fill a niche in ever style, but only if they were given more flexability.
I thought I'd take a sec to throw in my two cents.
Right now, it is looking like Droid Engineer will be the only profession I master (haven't gotten there yet, though), at least for a little while. I like the profession alot, even if many things aren't overly useful or functional. I have seen some neat innovations with some droids such as those I've seen "patrolling" around as business advertisements. I also love the crafting system of SWG and probably enjoy crafting droids more than anything else. I also don't see Droid Engineers as just artisans. They are engineers, which, to me,means they design, build, repair, and perhaps operate. In a way, I compare them somewhat to drone riggers in Shadowrun.
Personally, I am not really interested in being a businessman, so once I master the profession, I'll probably sell a few models through a merchant friend and build upon request, but mostly I'll be more concerned with maintaining my own lot and the droids of my friends (which means functioning repair kits, hopefully). Having not just combat droids, and more functional other types of droids would make that a far more enjoyable route. Before the developer's droid plan was posted, I'd been thinking about getting master droid engineer then once vehicles came out I would slowly migrate over to whatever the appropriate profession for making vehicles would be. However, my intention has changed and I am quite excited by the proposed plan. I think that it may be a bit rough and need some balancing, but most plans are like that.
I like SWG mostly because there are a number of different things I can do. I'd rather not be stuck just crafting, or just hunting, or just entertaining. I like being able to switch between the three, and while it does spread me a little thin on points, I can still always release and respend points. I think greater variety and functionalityneed tobe available for droids. That includes combat droids, and repair droids and medical droids that have more capabilities. Slicing modules and self-destruct capabilities could be a neat step in the right direction. The concern will be, of course, over stepping on the toes of other professions. I think limiting Slicing modules to terminal slicing (or whatever slicing is required to control/destroy factional HQ) is an example of how slicing modules could be kept from overshadowing Smugglers. I also don't think combat droids necessarily need to be "krayt dragon" uber, but a decent to good tool in a firefight isn't too much to ask, I don't think, but definitely more combat worthy and "combat-looking" than probots. Now, who gets access to them, I don't have too much of an opinion on yet. Definitely Droid Engineers, of course.
Okay, so this post wound up a little longer than I originally intended, but to sum up: I don't think Droid Engineers are /just/ crafters, I like the proposed plan, and I think combat droids (as well as other droid functions) are necessary, though I think balance will definitely be an issue.
Capt_Richman wrote:
I just want to be able to make droids peop[le will buy. Lets face it combat droids will sell.
DE's should be ablr to use any droid they can make.
Other players should have to get some kind of combat cert. They higher the cert the better the droid.
Droids should play a bigger role in SWG.
/agree
As a former (and soon to be again) droid engineer, I just want to say that I think THIS issue is going to cause rifts within the artisan and combative communities no matter how it's resolved. For my own opinion, I agree that there SHOULD be more combat chassis introduced, but that DE itself should remain a crafting profession, sans combat droid certifications other than the currently existing probe droid and DZ70. While DE's will be essential to produce parts and manufacture the new chassis (whatever they may be) I think the least worst way to go would be to (and I know half of you are going to hate me, and the other half will probably hate me as well) introduce a droid controller profession with the heavy combat droid certifications enclosed within that. As Bioengineers are to Creature handlers, Droid engineers shall be to the droid controllers. It's not a perfect solution, but the combat classes might not be as miffed that a crafting class gets combat capabilities without taking a combat tree, and crafter classes might not be miffed that they're missing out by not having combative capabilities within their own trees. Yeah, a lot of people who just want combat droids will take the droid controller (handler, whatever) skills and you'll see an unreasonable number of combat droids out being used just as creatures are now, but that's how the game has evolved. This IS a galactic civil war happening and people who feel desperateor sufficientlyjustified will take the means necessary to attain their goals or simply survive,including the construction and deployment of semi-autonomous weapons systems. we already have most other forms of weaponry in game ranging from stone knives to chemical and biological weapons and frickin' laser beams, and soon enough, space based weapons systems and starships, I think there's room for combat droids.
As a former (and soon to be again) droid engineer, I just want to say that I think THIS issue is going to cause rifts within the artisan and combative communities no matter how it's resolved. For my own opinion, I agree that there SHOULD be more combat chassis introduced, but that DE itself should remain a crafting profession, sans combat droid certifications other than the currently existing probe droid and DZ70. While DE's will be essential to produce parts and manufacture the new chassis (whatever they may be) I think the least worst way to go would be to ( and I know half of you are going to hate me, and the other half will probably hate me as well) introduce a droid controller profession with the heavy combat droid certifications enclosed within that. As Bioengineers are to Creature handlers, Droid engineers shall be to the droid controllers. Droid engineers make the hardware, Droid controllers have the combat operating system licenses.It's not a perfect solution, but the combat classes might not be as miffed that a crafting class gets combat capabilities without taking a combat tree, and crafter classes might not be miffed that they're missing out by not having combative capabilities within their own trees. Yeah, a lot of people who just want combat droids will take the droid controller (handler, whatever) skills and you'll see an unreasonable number of combat droids out being used just as creatures are now, but that's how the game has evolved. This IS a galactic civil war happening and people who feel desperateor sufficientlyjustified will take the means necessary to attain their goals or simply survive,including the construction and deployment of semi-autonomous weapons systems. we already have most other forms of weaponry in game ranging from stone knives to chemical and biological weapons and frickin' laser beams, and soon enough, space based weapons systems and starships, I think there's room for combat droids.
Balaam
It is stupid to compare droid engineers to biogengineers. Secondly, the idea of droid controllers is also lame. Droids are not creatures. Droid engineers are not bioengineers. Droids are artificial constructs that are prorammed. You don't need combat experience since the droids combat skills are programmed and does not depend on the maker skill nor combat experience. Second, it is shortsighted to think that droid engineers are crafters only. As an analogy, droid engineers are like scientist--they can use their own creation. As an analogy to RL, if you've seen robowars in Tech TV. The people handling those robots are the makers.
TiberGrim wrote:
Need droids that will do some of the grunt work for crafters. Like a droid that you can fill up with credits and waypoints that will go out and maintain your harvestors for you. Of courst they take awhile to reach each one and you would probably have to have one for each area/planet you have harvestors on. Another droid could pick up resources mined. It should look like some kind of cargo vehicle.
I'd like to see a housekeeping droid that wanders around my house vaccuming, dusting, and repairing deteriorated walls. I can load him up with credits and he will keep doing this and keep the house at 100% until the credits are used up. Of course make maintaining your house this way cost slightly more to have a good money drain. I think some would pay the cost for the coolness of it. I want to see a droid up on my roof making repairs some day.
These are both great ideas and things that I think are both more feasible, easier to aggree on, and less likely to cause massive reactionary changes as people see new balance issues. I think if we concentrate on other uses such as these we will achieve much more than if we continue arguing over combat droids.
Jenden Morn - Master Droid Engineer - Mos Espa, Tarquinas
Owner, Operator, and Founder of DarkStar Inc.
Jenden wrote:
Another idea, for those who are saying that they want something to make them feel special (as thats what I've heard many essentially saying), allow DE's to heal damage on droids similar to medics. This would make you invaluable in combat, but still not cause serious balance issues (assuming DE's weren't certed for any stronger combat droids).
This is a bad idea. No one wants pets that are harder to heal now than creature pets. This proposal would be curse not a blessing to DEs, particularly pure crafters that can't hold there own in the squill caves.
Aside from my main point, I'll add gently that it seems counter-intuitive to strip DEs of combat ability by denying them the use of the very droids they create, while requiring them to be in the heart of battle repairing the same droids they can't control. There's some irony in there too if you think about it for a tick.
I don't know how things will work out with the AI changes they're working on but I know that as of right now you have very little to worry about if your in a group (assuming things don't all fall apart on you, at which point everyone is screwed). If this weren't the case, then you wouldn't see a single medic without some really good combat skills (many that I know, including myself, have no combat skills). Since as it is droids can't be healed, other than time, I don't see how this would be any worse off than we are now. Also, if you wanted to make them easier to heal let a repair droid heal them as well, but not as efficiently, or not as intelligent, or any one of a number of ways to limit its abilites while not making it worthless. And as far as stripping DE's of combat abilities, since we never have had any to begin with, not sure how your taking any away. If you want to be able to fight or are worried about your safety, take up a combat profession, you do have another 158 skill points, enough to master an elite combat profession as well.
Jenden Morn - Master Droid Engineer - Mos Espa, Tarquinas
Owner, Operator, and Founder of DarkStar Inc.
Trying to poll consensus on some narrow issues relating to combat droids. Please vote here:
http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=droid_engineer&message.id=35665
Thanks!
If you DO transform DE into 'we make our pets, but otherwise it's a lot like creature handler', you'd better do an amazing rewrite of bio engineer, who make their pets but can't use them at all without the direct intervention of a CH (and even then only if the CL allows 'non-CH' usage, or they cross train in CH themselves).
ArdenStarmariner wrote:
Look ppl. No matter how you say it, it boils down to one thing. If you don't want to use the CH part of the new DE plan, then just dont use it. You want to play the class as a pure crafter, then do so. The economic concerns are alot of hogwash. So what if it goes in and those of us who like it use it? But this demand to close the door on all of us that want to use the new CH type functionality is just pure selfishness. Who the hell are you to dictate to everyone how to play? Or try enforce that nobody play a DE anyway but your way? If you want to sit in your shop and never go hunting and use a Droideka, then do so. But don't tell me I can do it. You won't like my response.
Actually Arden, the way I see it is you are the one demanding things be changed. The way the DE profession stands right now we are a crafting class. Sure we can use combat droids, but no more and no better than anyone else. Who the hell are YOU to dictate to us how to change the profession to please you?
Just in case TH is still reading this thread, my vote goes to crafting. I want to be able to sellANYTHING I make. I would like to be able to use combat Droids, but only to a level that keeps game balance intact with whatever cert/limit system is put into place.