Droid Engineer Archive

---

Why couldn't a slicing droid increase the potential for a higher slice? Yours would probably be more appropriate though.

Chris

---

---

AudioOrgana wrote:

I guess I just don't understand the logic.

For instance, I've repeated it a half-dozen times in the past weeks, but I see no reason why something like a slicing module could not have a higher MINIMUM slice when used with a "slicing droid". I.E.right now, a Master Smuggler gets a slice of between 15-35% - a slicing module could increase the MINIMUM to like 18/20%-35%. The hard cap stays, and the minimum simply given a slight boost.

This is why I may not have been so "positive" about future droid changes - I have been waiting since last summer for the profession to be worked on, and telling us outright that droids will never have acutal utility beyond what they do now is very sad to me. With the exception of the merchant module (which I fear will get nerfed before it arrives), the proposed droids add little essential value to droids, or even make them much more desirable.

Saying that it's "free skills/abilities" is like saying "armor gives free protection",or that BE clothing gives "free skills".

Some feel that DE should be akin to a BE - well, a BE can make awesome clothing that can increase some stats up to+25. I don't think anyone is asking for anything near that powerful - justsomething to make having a droid out when doing certain activities desirable to the average player. As I have suggested in other threads,currently with each and every slice a Smuggler goes through two laser precision knife charges. What if having a slicer droid out while slicing meant you only went thorough one knife charge instead of two? Most smugglers make their own knives, even at novice levels - is this really game unbalancing?

There have been so many cool ideas, like making a droid a very-limited use factory (say, it canproduce no more than 10 items in a run). How useful would THAT be for making R3 droids to order (sincethe R3 requires 2 Adv Droid Brains from a crate which needeight identical subcomponentseach) - Or to any number of professions. We are told that things like that (and survey modules) are technically too challenging.

So I guess my question is, what do *THEY* want droids to do?

We have answered the question dozens of times, but we really need to know if the utility of droids will surpass what was given to us in the "where we are/going" post or if novelty modules are all that's in our future.

Audio

---

One thing that we should consider is the other mechanisms that increase peoples abilities, and if we should be looking at utilising something similar to these (I'm about to leave work, so I'll put up my previous post about the benifits/time/cost of other buffs when I get home). I can already see how we could use a system similar to Chefs, or indeed similar to skilltapes. One thing as a Question to Thunderheart though. If giving people extra abilities etc is unacceptable in the game, can we assume that this is a prelude to you removing chef food and drink, doctor buffs, bio engineered clothing, skilltapes and uncertified armour?

---

MachineZed wrote:
I think there is fault in your logic. You say that Chef food and drink, Spice, Doctor Buffs, Bio Clothing, Skill tapes and armor are unbalancing. Which I do agree for the most part. But they way they are in game they are consuables, droids are not. Now I know the cloths can be worn at 0 condition so that makes them not consumable, but in theory it still applies. They all have some sort of timer that you can use and cannot use. I think that is where TH is drawing a line. A droid can always agument your skills

---

What is a good time frame for the droids to decay? I bet you a nickel if you ask 1000 different people you would get 1000 different answers.

Lets also not forget somewhere the devs thought 20 call/storefor a droid would be good decay for the paint job.

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
X Machine'Zed X
Obsidian Dagger Squadron

---

Gribnitz wrote:

---

MachineZed wrote:
I think there is fault in your logic. You say that Chef food and drink, Spice, Doctor Buffs, Bio Clothing, Skill tapes and armor are unbalancing. Which I do agree for the most part. But they way they are in game they are consuables, droids are not. Now I know the cloths can be worn at 0 condition so that makes them not consumable, but in theory it still applies. They all have some sort of timer that you can use and cannot use. I think that is where TH is drawing a line. A droid can always agument your skills

---

Well, make droids decay over time then. We have been asking for this for a long time because you never get any return sales. Decay should't be rediculous, and the droid should last a good long time, but they need to wear out eventually. You may be able to consume food and clothing, but all you have to do is run back and buy some more hence it is a permanent effect as well.

---

Exactly, Gribnitz.

Make the droids take consumables - this is something we have been begging for in many areas.

Let's talk about Surgical droids. At first blush, a surgical droid that actually heals you (with you having no medical skills) would sound bad for medics/doctors, right? Well, if done correctly and given very limited abilities (say just the ability to use wound-A or stim-A packs) AND requiring consumables that only medics can make, it would be great for everyone and the mythical concept of "balance" can still be attained.

DE's get a droid to sell, medics get a new product to sell to the general public (they are 1/4 crafting yet only can sell to each other), and players who don't want to travel to Coronet or Theed just to be greeted with a med center full of marcoers and /tumblers can sit in a med center and be attended to. It should be slow, and a real medic should always be preferable, but having that option in the manner I describe would support everyone. Some days I'd rather spend 20 minutes sitting in room waiting for my surgical droid to finish with me than taking flights across the Galaxy - something that will become increasingly less desirable for mundane tasks once the Space Expansion hits.

While chef food is inherently disposable, it is compared to it's benefit. +70 for knockdown defense is a pretty massive advantage.

We aren't asking for that.

BE's can get up to +25 in a skill with clothing which isn't terribly disposable unless you only kill critters and die constantly - factional dying (PvE or PvP) no longer adds any decay if you are insured, and clothing can also be repaired. Even then, it is easily replaced - make modules in droids more disposable and allow DE's to "replace" them in the same fashion. This keeps all those balances in check, and would do a HECK of a lot more for repeat business and keeping DE's useful into the life of the product than droid customization which in many models doesn't even stick.

Droids can be killed rather easily, and there is no way to heal their vitality. Using this progressive scale of skill benefit -> disposability :Chef=Disposable product=high skill mod; BE=medium disposability=medium skill mod; DE=better durability but still not static=None at all? I don't see droids as being "0", I see them as +5-+10 on that scale.

There are so very many ways to do this in a balancing way, in a way that helps everyone have more fun.

I think we often times forget that's why we play, because many of us are used to a lot of frustration seeing how much fun we could be having if we weren't dodging nerf bats and fun-eating bugs.

I would like to think that everything is going to be "okay" - and am still hoping that on the last hours of DE Christmas, Santa Clause is going to show up and surprise us all. I've been urged to keep positive - and all I'mwaitingfor is something to be positive about.

Audio

---

MachineZed wrote:

What is a good time frame for the droids to decay? I bet you a nickel if you ask 1000 different people you would get 1000 different answers.

Lets also not forget somewhere the devs thought 20 call/store for a droid would be good decay for the paint job.

---

---

Arcid wrote:

One thing as a Question to Thunderheart though. If giving people extra abilities etc is unacceptable in the game, can we assume that this is a prelude to you removing chef food and drink, doctor buffs, bio engineered clothing, skilltapes and uncertified armour?

---

---

AudioOrgana wrote:

Droids can be killed rather easily, and there is no way to heal their vitality.

---

---

TheRealTK421 wrote:

---

AudioOrgana wrote:

Droids can be killed rather easily, and there is no way to heal their vitality.

---

Audio,

Just a quick point of clarification here...

I've been able to use pet vitality packs to heal a droid's vitality. So, to best of my knowledge, the statement above is incorrect.

---

Message Edited by AudioOrgana on 03-04-2004 12:51 PM