Droid Engineer Archive

Controlling multiple droids is a very appealing idea, but there are a ton of balance implications involved. As was mentioned before, it would be similar to giving WS's dual weild, or AS's armor certs. Most of these issues go away if you limit what modules the droids have (classify combat and auto-repair into "combat capable" and say the player can only have one combat capable droid out) but that starts to get complex as far as implementation goes.

---

Jenden wrote:
Controlling multiple droids is a very appealing idea, but there are a ton of balance implications involved. As was mentioned before, it would be similar to giving WS's dual weild, or AS's armor certs. Most of these issues go away if you limit what modules the droids have (classify combat and auto-repair into "combat capable" and say the player can only have one combat capable droid out) but that starts to get complex as far as implementation goes.

---

I agree with the WS/AS point of view.

So then, question would become: why allow use of 2 droids for *everyony*, with the restriction one can only have1 combat droid (as with a combat rating, currently no showin tho).

From DE crafter perspective it would make sales more interesting, cause the other kind of droids (repair) would be beneficial on the battlefield... Imagina a group of 8 people with some combat droids and repair droids taking up arms and going into DWB...

From Other profession perspectives (numerous abilities):

- low cl characters: 1 to protect, 1 to repair

- entertainers: multiple effect droids, multiple soundtrack drpids, combination

- someDE specific: taking others peoples droid to repair/heal them by using other droid (no vit loss)

- Scout: 1 harvester droid (max chb), 1 trapping droid in the field

and i'm sure others can think of other combinations as well.

If done, it might increase the number of droids seen in the world.

If/how the coding is difficult or not, I do not know. But CH is being checked on the number of pets, and droids are now, in most way, regarded as pets too. And combat rating droids alone have an "attack" ability. So I assume coding issue should be minor.

---

xakia wrote:

Hell...do anything...just make this starwarsy again. It was Pokemon at one point. Why can'tI see the same thing for DEs?

Allowing people to have more than one droid out would be beneficial for that starwars feeling. Giving DEs the ability to have 2-3 droids out, command them all with *Specials* would make DE more appealing to players. SWG is more combat based than anything else. There's supposibly a huge war! (who would know??) so ...supposibly...everyone hasto evolve into something more combatant.

Isn't Grievance suppose to show up here soon?

---

This is how I think it should work. Note: These are my opinions and I'd like your opinions on them. But please, don't flame them.

Droid Engineers should be able to craft several droids. This would range from basic street scrubber droids to pit droids to lethal combat droids. Why? Because we can see these droids 30+ years before this time period (short while after the Battle of Yavin). Droid Engineers in this time period would know nearly everything about droids, including how to build older models.

So, if we are able to build stronger combat droids like those in the Clone Wars, who could use them? That is where Droid Certs. come in. Now, how would you determine who would be able to get these Certs.? I have an answer for that. Since I don't think that many people in the Star Wars universe were actually smart enough to use more complex droids, go ahead and make the game more Star Wars-y and apply an "IQ" system to characters. It would be much like the CL system now. Depending on your profession, your IQ changes. Combat professions would tend to yield a "brawns over brains" class, whereas entertainers/crafters would be the opposite (with of course Master Droid Engineer with the highest possible IQ).

Not only could this IQ system work in the matters of droids, it could open up more things to do in the game. You could play Sabacc, with the higher IQ character providing a better chance of winning. You could allow characters to command x more people depending on their IQ. And the abilty to "sweet talk" your way out of crack-downs could come in handy.

So, you have your IQ. What will it get you droid-wise? Well, having more than one droid out, stronger combat droids, longer running time between maintenance (if we ever get decay, smarter characters would probably take care of the droid more), and more module opitions could be some ideas.

And wait, there's more. I think that if you could have more than one droid out or have a group member take their droid out, both droids would get better at whatever they do if you allow them to talk to one another. C-3PO and R2-D2 worked better as a team, so I think droids in SWG should be the same as those two.

Just my two creds.

---

Yoda-5499 wrote:
This is how I think it should work. Note: These are my opinions and I'd like your opinions on them. But please, don't flame them.

Droid Engineers should be able to craft several droids. This would range from basic street scrubber droids to pit droids to lethal combat droids. Why? Because we can see these droids 30+ years before this time period (short while after the Battle of Yavin). Droid Engineers in this time period would know nearly everything about droids, including how to build older models.

So, if we are able to build stronger combat droids like those in the Clone Wars, who could use them? That is where Droid Certs. come in. Now, how would you determine who would be able to get these Certs.? I have an answer for that. Since I don't think that many people in the Star Wars universe were actually smart enough to use more complex droids, go ahead and make the game more Star Wars-y and apply an "IQ" system to characters. It would be much like the CL system now. Depending on your profession, your IQ changes. Combat professions would tend to yield a "brawns over brains" class, whereas entertainers/crafters would be the opposite (with of course Master Droid Engineer with the highest possible IQ).

Not only could this IQ system work in the matters of droids, it could open up more things to do in the game. You could play Sabacc, with the higher IQ character providing a better chance of winning. You could allow characters to command x more people depending on their IQ. And the abilty to "sweet talk" your way out of crack-downs could come in handy.

So, you have your IQ. What will it get you droid-wise? Well, having more than one droid out, stronger combat droids, longer running time between maintenance (if we ever get decay, smarter characters would probably take care of the droid more), and more module opitions could be some ideas.

And wait, there's more. I think that if you could have more than one droid out or have a group member take their droid out, both droids would get better at whatever they do if you allow them to talk to one another. C-3PO and R2-D2 worked better as a team, so I think droids in SWG should be the same as those two.

Just my two creds.

---

hehe, I just love the idea of an "IQ" system, though I think some combatants may take offense to having low IQ's (no matter how true it may be).

---

Straker_Atrella wrote:

I have always felt that all crafting professions should have some "ability" that pertains to their profession that others don't have.

---

It's a neat idea in general, but to what end would this specifically benefit the WS/AS/Arch/BE/Chef crafting classes? Seriously, besides it being a selling tool or a template-building option, I see no real reason to do this. WS with dual-wield? AS wearing armor?

Another thing to consider about a DE handling two droids, which expands on the whole balance issue: Having two CL 30 combat droids out at the same time (in essence CL 60) is getting awful close to what a Master Creature Handler can do, which can handle a cumulative creature CL of 70.

What I keep hearing is how no one wants DE to become combat oriented, yet the alternative is very limiting. When you watch the SW movies you see a huge variety of Droids. Even in game the Droids are just a varied and strong. Wether DEs become "combat" oriented is a matter of perspective. Building a strong CL60+ Droid and being able to assign it "special modules" (ie, knockdown, stun, ect) I believe if far from DE becoming Combat Class.

I read a guy post a decent idea, then some senior DEs shoot it down rather rudley (My way or the highway, noob). So since players obviouly cant voice a discending opinion, the real question is where the Devs, Correspondents and chosen senior players want the profession to go. Everyone else has to sit back and accept it.

So that being said, are DEs simply glorified parts mechanics or will they actually have a viable role in SWG? My guess is the 1st since it seems "everyone" wants that.

P.s.

I think DE should be a similar to a cross between a BE/CH while leaning more toward CH. With the crafting and effort that goes into making droids it doesnt make sense how gimped DE are.

Message Edited by Skurr on 10-01-2005 02:21 PM

I've been playing since release and I've always been upset about the (still current) DE/droid problem. If DE's get an awesome improvement like this, then thats a GOOD thing. If WS,AS, Chefs ect want something more, then they can address it in their own forum. We should be worried about Droid Engineers...nothing else.

Currentlythe majority of"Droid Engineers" on my server are just DE enough to pop out Bounty Hunter droids on their vender. Nothing major has been done for the DE profession in terms of how crafting works..and the bugs. Perhaps its time to ask for something else...something more?

I'm a senior player too. That doesn't make my opinion any better than anyone else's. Asking for the same fixes for years hasn't been very productive. Time to ask for something else.

• WS get a few basic weapon certs, they know how weapons work.


• AS's get a basic armor cert, they know al ittle abotu armor.


• DEs can call 2 droids


• Chefs have say a 10% bigger stomich


• Archs have an extra lot


• Tailors, not sure.


• BE's they can call 2 cl 10 pets.

You make each of those abilities at Master level. That way dabbling wont work. It not only would add flavor to each crafting profession, it would give them some tools to handle the game better.

Somebody asked earlier about the droid commander title. That is an astromech title from JTL for pilots.

Now for part 2...

---

Skurr wrote:
What I keep hearing is how no one wants DE to become combat oriented, yet the alternative is very limiting. When you watch the SW movies you see a huge variety of Droids. Even in game the Droids are just a varied and strong. Wether DEs become "combat" oriented is a matter of perspective. Building a strong CL60+ Droid and being able to assign it "special modules" (ie, knockdown, stun, ect) I believe if far from DE becoming Combat Class.

I read a guy post a decent idea, then some senior DEs shoot it down rather rudley (My way or the highway, noob). So since players obviouly cant voice a discending opinion, the real question is where the Devs, Correspondents and chosen senior players want the profession to go. Everyone else has to sit back and accept it.

So that being said, are DEs simply glorified parts mechanics or will they actually have a viable role in SWG? My guess is the 1st since it seems "everyone" wants that.

P.s.

I think DE should be a similar to a cross between a BE/CH while leaning more toward CH. With the crafting and effort that goes into making droids it doesnt make sense how gimped DE are.

Message Edited by Skurr on 10-01-200502:21 PM

---

Here is the problem. A CH doesn't craft droids, that is done by the BE. So if DE became like CH, then we would have the ability to craft droids as well as being the only class to control high level ones. This would not be fair to other crafters. In order to balance such a hybrid class, you would need to be mediocre at crafting and mediocre at combat. Ok at both but not good at either. I would far prefer to see DE's crafting fixed then add a different way to control droids. That way both are fully viable.

Plus making DE's the droid commanders would shoot ourselves in the foot. If "others" were Droid Commanders, there would suddenly be a new market for DE's, obviously we would see new DEs coming to join in, but overall there would be a big market. If DEs became the Droid Commanders, then every DE could craft their own Droids. Now not every DE would want to craft or have the resources, but every DE would have the ability and much more. It would also flood the game with a huge amount of people able to make general droids and stuff like Seekers or Probes. In the end, there would be practically no profit in making droids, and people would only be DEs to handle droids. That isn't healthy.

It has nothing to do with "my way or the highway noob." It has to do with having this conversation many times and looking at all the angles. If a new player comes here and posts a good idea, many DE's senior or not will be happy to accept it. However, if somebody posts an idea that we have already talked about, we may disagree based upon it's flaws.

It has nothing to do with wanting to model DE the way we want, it has to do with modeling it in a fashion that is best for the profession and game. If you disagree with what I have posted, feel free to do so, we can argue the merits of my above arguement.

---

Straker_Atrella wrote:

Rasal, I was thinking more of just some perks that make sense for each profession.

For example

• WS get a few basic weapon certs, they know how weapons work.
• AS's get a basic armor cert, they know al ittle abotu armor.
• DEs can call 2 droids
• Chefs have say a 10% bigger stomich
• Archs have an extra lot
• Tailors, not sure.
• BE's they can call 2 cl 10 pets.

You make each of those abilities at Master level. That way dabbling wont work. It not only would add flavor to each crafting profession, it would give them some tools to handle the game better.

---

I like that idea. If we made the [item], wouldn't we know how to use it? Allowing Masters to use their crafts would be a grand idea. And I thought you could be both a MBE and a MCH. Or am I wrong about that?

---

Straker_Atrella wrote:

Rasal, I was thinking more of just some perks that make sense for each profession.

For example

• WS get a few basic weapon certs, they know how weapons work.
• AS's get a basic armor cert, they know al ittle abotu armor.
• DEs can call 2 droids
• Chefs have say a 10% bigger stomich
• Archs have an extra lot
• Tailors, not sure.
• BE's they can call 2 cl 10 pets.

You make each of those abilities at Master level. That way dabbling wont work. It not only would add flavor to each crafting profession, it would give them some tools to handle the game better.

Somebody asked earlier about the droid commander title. That is an astromech title from JTL for pilots.

Now for part 2...

---

Skurr wrote:
What I keep hearing is how no one wants DE to become combat oriented, yet the alternative is very limiting. When you watch the SW movies you see a huge variety of Droids. Even in game the Droids are just a varied and strong. Wether DEs become "combat" oriented is a matter of perspective. Building a strong CL60+ Droid and being able to assign it "special modules" (ie, knockdown, stun, ect) I believe if far from DE becoming Combat Class.

I read a guy post a decent idea, then some senior DEs shoot it down rather rudley (My way or the highway, noob). So since players obviouly cant voice a discending opinion, the real question is where the Devs, Correspondents and chosen senior players want the profession to go. Everyone else has to sit back and accept it.

So that being said, are DEs simply glorified parts mechanics or will they actually have a viable role in SWG? My guess is the 1st since it seems "everyone" wants that.

P.s.

I think DE should be a similar to a cross between a BE/CH while leaning more toward CH. With the crafting and effort that goes into making droids it doesnt make sense how gimped DE are.

Message Edited by Skurr on 10-01-200502:21 PM

---

Here is the problem. A CH doesn't craft droids, that is done by the BE. So if DE became like CH, then we would have the ability to craft droids as well as being the only class to control high level ones. This would not be fair to other crafters. In order to balance such a hybrid class, you would need to be mediocre at crafting and mediocre at combat. Ok at both but not good at either. I would far prefer to see DE's crafting fixed then add a different way to control droids. That way both are fully viable.

I agree to an extent but what would be the "different way" to control droids.

Plus making DE's the droid commanders would shoot ourselves in the foot. If "others" were Droid Commanders, there would suddenly be a new market for DE's, obviously we would see new DEs coming to join in, but overall there would be a big market. If DEs became the Droid Commanders, then every DE could craft their own Droids. Now not every DE would want to craft or have the resources, but every DE would have the ability and much more. It would also flood the game with a huge amount of people able to make general droids and stuff like Seekers or Probes. In the end, there would be practically no profit in making droids, and people would only be DEs to handle droids. That isn't healthy.

This is exaggerated speculation. CHs dont flood the game. It still takes alot of skill points to become a MDE and some people actually hate to craft. If your senerio were true everyone would be a CHs. I believe everyone would want a good droid yet few would want to actually craft them. As far as Droid Commander goes, I am not suggesting that DE have some inherient ability to guide a army of droids to lay waste in SWG. I agree with the two droids out a MDE BUUUUTTTTTT I would like to see combat droids tweeked. Everyone should be able to use them (one out as it is currently) but they would actually last and be worth the trouble of making them. That is what I mean by a Combat enhancement, the Droids not the DE.

It has nothing to do with "my way or the highway noob." It has to do with having this conversation many times and looking at all the angles. If a new player comes here and posts a good idea, many DE's senior or not will be happy to accept it. However, if somebody posts an idea that we have already talked about, we may disagree based upon it's flaws.

From what I read it came off like that. Too many potential players enter proffessions to be stomped by vets instead of a point in the right direction toward the correct info.

It has nothing to do with wanting to model DE the way we want, it has to do with modeling it in a fashion that is best for the profession and game. If you disagree with what I have posted, feel free to do so, we can argue the merits of my above arguement.

Not so much what you had posted but the way you relayed it. Upon your explantion I pretty much agree. But tweek the Combat Droids.

---