Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: Clustering? exploite or not ? What have the DEVs say
Sketh wrote:
Actually, it is the mighty MSE that I truely dispise.You spend millions to grind up to master, then people expect you to make them a (cheap) mighty mouse.
I will only make MSE's with a single module in them, and I sell it for the same price that I would sell an R5 with the same module for.
But that's just me.....
Nope, that's not just you.
I do the same. And if they want a MSE with "all the trimmings" I make 'em pay through their nose.
It is very clearly a bug, which means that using it is an exploit.
In the grand scheme of things it's not a very significant exploit, but it is an exploit nonetheless. Don't try to whitewash it just to make your own conscience feel better.
Kollos wrote:
It is very clearly a bug, which means that using it is an exploit.
In the grand scheme of things it's not a very significant exploit, but it is an exploit nonetheless. Don't try to whitewash it just to make your own conscience feel better.
How can you say it is a bug based on the description?
The descriptionplainly says it fits into a "variety" of sockets. Other than the clustersocket, the only other socket for modules is the normal socket. Variety means greater than one. With only two possible types of sockets (I'm discounting defensive, for obvious reasons), and the word "variety" meaning two or more, then, yes, it fits into the normal socket by design. Ergo, just bad design.
Of course, maybe they meant some other socket type which hasn't been invented. Many interpretations are possible, and I never really liked logic anyway.
Using a bug to your benefit is the definition of an exploit, pure and simple.
Using an exploit just because your profession is 'broken' (read: bugged!) is a double exploit. Two wrongs do not make one right.
In fact, in many ways an R2 is an INFERIOR droid if clusters fit into normal sockets... It's pricier, more complex, and DOESN'T have the option of accepting a normal module.
What probably should have been done was to have normal droid sockets only accept normal service modules, and cluster sockets accept either service modules or cluster modules. This would give the greatest versatility to the higher-end instead of the lower-end droids. And if your customer wanted an R2 with just medical capability, you could do it without the extra step and bother of crafting the cluster.
Explain why an Advanced R4 should be able to install more modules than an Advanced R3. Kiom, you can disagree with it all you want, but the ability to place a Cluster Module in any socket, including itself, is a bug just like being able to store extra pets in a data storage module was, or being able to call more than one droid out at a time is now. By the definition, the use of a bug for your own gain is an exploit.
Besides, there are a number of descriptions in this game, and elsewhere, that are listed incorrectly. For instance, take a look at the Level 2 Data and Item Storage Modules. This is an obvious listing mix up. Take a look at the information given for Pistol Stance III. Take a look at the information in the Commands and Abilities Granted box listed for Pistol Melee Defense 2. It reads ' /pistolmeleedefense2 <target) : This melee attack with your pistol is useful for close encounters. This is more damaging the Pistol Melee Denfense 2.'
And let us not forget.....
Smuggler
or
EDIT...I mis-quoted an errored game text.....This is more damaging than Pistol Melee Denfense 2.'
Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that it makes sense that the do nor am I saying it is a good thing. That wasn't the question. The question is "is this working as designed?". The answer is yes. Read the description. I posted it above exactly as it appears. How can you read that description and say that a cluster module is designed to only fit in a cluster socket?
Droid_Engineer_Rho wrote:
In fact, in many ways an R2 is an INFERIOR droid if clusters fit into normal sockets... It's pricier, more complex, and DOESN'T have the option of accepting a normal module.
Good observation.
Drask,
I think you examples of descriptions that don't match actual experience are not a valid comparision. In this case the description of the cluster module does matach actual performance.
Still, it is a dumb that clusters go in normal sockets. But heck, the BLL is a dumb droid too. What are we to do. 
What are we to do.
Fix it.
I think the description you're talking about is intended to indicate that you can put a variety of droid modules into the socket cluster. Two is not a "variety." Why would they have bothered making schematic slots specifically for clusters? Why include more than one module slot in any droid schematic if it is intended for players to be able to use clusters in any droid?
Saying, "I agree that it doesn't make sense and it's bad, but I think it's a design mistake so I'm going to do it anyway" is just rationalization. It's a thinly veiled version of the same argument exploiters always make, "it's the devs' fault for putting exploitable bugs in the game, not mine for exploiting it." This is in turn no different from an argument that if someone forgets to lock their house, then it's okay for you to walk right in.