Droid Engineer Archive

ArkhamRefugee, if you plan on taking my threads apart then I would advise you actually READ them first.

"So what if there is a huge influx of new DE's? You make this sound like someone picking up a basic class skill? They not only have to get level 4 engineering, but if I'm reading these schematics correctly, the really good stuff requires master level artisan components. But we'll get to that in a second. Let's concentrate on your main arguement for this point, which is 'I can barely make money selling what I do now,' to which I say, how does that make you any different than the so-called usurper DE's that are going to be coming over in droves? They want to make money, you want to make money. They earned the skills through hours of grinding out mouse droids and power ups and so did you. The only thing that you have going right now is the excuse that you were there first. Sorry, pal. Seniority counts for bupkiss. Try making a better product than the unwashed masses and capitolizing on that. "

Firstly, Gaining the engineering tree is EASY. I did it within a day of playing. Secondly, the "DE grind" isn't that hard either. Especialy if you start off with money. A day's grind can easily gain you the entire blueprints tree. Thirdly, my point was that the majority of these "new DEs" arn't in it for making money. They would be chosing the profession JUST to use a combat droid. For this reason, they will grind out R2 units for XP and sell them for 2k or something equally as stupid. That is my gripe. Lastly, if you haden't already noticed there is currently next to no experimentation. That means I am unable to make a better product than the "unwashed masses" ... this is why the DE class is having such a problem with prices right now. The only variation in droids is the level of certain modules and armour.. and since level 4 modules can be grouped to be the top-level, this means the only difference is ARMOUR. So the difference between a Master DE's R2 unit compared to a lowe-level DE is that his can take 1 more shot in combat? Wow, what a great selling point.

"If you're catering to people who aren't going to buy from you because you refuse to give them something they can't use, then maybe you need to find a new class of customer. Everyone wants the Massive Robot of Destruction +10 (TM), but not everyonecan have it. So use a little salesmanship and sell them a probe droid. And while you're at it, quit whining. "

Re-read what I said. It has nothing to do with me "refusing to sell" its about people "refusing to buy". Doesn't matter if you try to offer something else, they arn't interested. They want one thing and one thing only ... if you can't supply that, they move on. "use a little salesmanship and sell them a probe droid" Probe droid or probot? If you are going to criticise my posts, you could atleast try to look as if you know what you are talking about.

"So DE becomes the new hated class. So what? Are you in this for the "prestige" of being a Droid Engineer? Well, then I guess you're just going to have to suffer with the rest of us when the critter stigma hits the DE's. We're going to be the Flavor of the Month until something new comes out and all the cheeseheads move on. But who cares? Someone wants to bitch and whine about how DE's are overbalanced? Let 'em come say it to my face. And then I'll cut them off and see how loud they cry THEN. My CH friend did it and her buyers quickly learned to shut the h*ll up about it. Are you in this for the money? Learn some salesmanship and networking skills. I don't have to worry about money because I a)network and get my name out there, b)have a pretty solid client base that I sell to and c)I'm not too good to do money quests. But the REAL reason I do DE stuff is not because of the money or the rather non-existant prestige of being a DE. It's because I think DE is cool and I want to be a part of it. They could bust me down to making nothing but mouse droids, R2 units and donks and I'd STILL be a DE."

Actually, I have a very good network and a very good customer base. I am well known throughout Bestine and Mos Eisley, Theed and Keren and also staked a claim to VR. On top of that I have 4 large PA's who *ONLY* use me as their DE, as well as many other PA's that use my services. But alas, once again, you just took 5 words from what I had said and formed the best flame you could think off. When people form a hatred for something in a game (especialy an MMO) they go to their best abilities to have nothing to do with it. In many cases, they will even attempt to pursuade other people to feel the same way. There are a *LOT* of people that flat-out refuse to by a pet, even a mount.. simply because they dislike how the CH profession has made the game. Fortunately for the CH'ers there is nothing else in-game right now that can do what their pets do (save the AT-ST) so people reluctantly buy them anyway. As soon as DE gets this way too... there will be a large community of players that flat-out refuse to buy droids. There will be a large amount of Creature Handlers that flat-out refuse to buy Droids because they feel we are croppin on their turf. There is ALREADY a community of players that refuse to buy droids because they feel they are worthless and over-priced. And as for existing customers? They already have a droid and since this proposed plan doesn't give us any new ones that non-DE can use... existing customer base is pretty much pointless.

"In summation, stop whining. If you can't handle change, quit the game and go play checkers or Parcheesi or something."

I can handle change. And I can handle remaining a DE. However, there are BETTER options that could be implemented with the Combat Droid than what has been proposed. I merely wish to show that.

In summation, don't flame someone that has a different opinion to you. Just because you are happy with this change doesn't mean other people are. It doesn't mean those other people have to sit down and be quiet about it and it doesn't mean those other people can voice their opinions.

Think before you post.

Im almost a master DE and I come here to get advice on how to be a better DE. I'm completely and totaly shocked that you all belive what was writen bellow. Please reread the quote bellow then I will try to explain it to you in a way you MAY understand.

Mabinogi, re-read it. It says:

"Combat droids. We want to add Droid Modules that will convert many droids and give them combat abilities. ONLY Droid Engineers will be able to make and use these modules."

"make and use" ... which means "combat modules (and therefore combat droids) will be DE exclusive"

I expect that the two current "combat droids" (DZ70 and probot) will also be re-worked so that they now use these new "combat modules" which means even the current "combat droids" would be DE exclusive as well. BIG mistake.

Talmor1, I agree with you 100%

Weaponsmith doesn't allow a Weaponsmith to use the gunshe creates. Bio Engineer doesn't allow the Bio Engineer to use the high-level (combat) pets he creates. Why should a Droid Engineer be able to exclusively use combat droids? It not only makes DE a combat profession, but makes it unbalanced to compared to every crafting profession AND current combat professions.

In no way should learning Droid Engineer skills allow you to attempt to equal a Commando. Thats what your remaining skill points are for.

WE WANT TO ADD DROID MODULES THAT WILL CONVERT MANY DROIDS AND GIVE THEM COMBAT ABILITIES.

Ok please please think this though. MODULES!! CONVERT!! People what they are saying is that DE's will now have a new module that will allow us to CONVERT noncombat droids into conbat/defense droids. CONVERT means to take something and make it into something else. It does not mean to take something AWAY. Here is an example--- My wife is a master doctor/master combat medic, she has an R2 droid for wound healing. She thinks he is the cutest thing on 3 wheels. she paid good creds for it as well(just in case you wondered about that). Now along comes the DE and he says "for a small fee I can take your cute R2 and make him a defender as well." Low and behold my wife doesnt have to buy a whole new droid.

The next thing I would like to point out is that ONLY DE'S can made these modules and ONLY A DE can install them in a new or existing droid. I bet that thougth never occured to you did it. Your just a bit to stuck on see the negative side of ALL dev posts. It doesnt take reading between the lines to understand this particular english statment. All it takes is a slight opening of the mind.

Come on people we have enought DE issues to worry about lets not start makeing them up out of thin air.

You are selecting key words and trying to make sense out of them while ignoring what already exists in DE and that already works.

If you want to pick-out words, then pick out the most obvious;

Modules

You all know how modules work. You all know that modules can only be placed into a droid during construction. You all know that modules can not be tweaked, added toorreplaced after a droid has been constructed.

Therefore, the fact that the word "module" has been used here, suggests that this new "module" can only be added to a droid during construction. Can not be tweaked, added to or replaced after the droid has been constructed.

Another word:

Use

Since this word was added in context to the word "module", and since we have already established modules currently exist, lets therefore consider the fact that we can already "use" existing "modules". This is done by the owner "using" the benefits a module gives him. Be it medical abilities, ability to craft etc.

Therefore, since the sentence suggests that only a Droid Engineer can "use" these "modules" it is a good bet to assume that only a Droid Engineer can tell a droid with a combat module to attack something. Of course, it being a module doesn't prevent non-DE's from owning the droid.. it just prevents them from allowing them to command an attack.

I believe what was meant by "convert many droids" was a poorly written way of saying "allow existing models of droids to gain combat abilities" which makes sense.

I could be wrong. I could have miss-read or miss-understood it. But the fact is, the way other people are interpreting this would require a complete re-work of how modules currently exist. The way I interperate it is how modules ALREADY exist. It's more pheasable to assume they are trying to fit this into the current coding rather than completly re-build DE from scratch. If i AM wrong, then good. We can all relax and leave this thread to vanish in the oblivion that is SWG Forums. However, if I am correct then my original post keeps two legs to stand on and the descussion becomes that much more important. I guess we will find out when Thunderheart posts later today.

Vamp im willing to conced your point about the modules only being able to be placed in a droid durring constructon. Just like existing harvesters you cant make teh old one produce faster.

IF you really really sit back and give it some thought no matter how messed up SWG can seam there is no way Sony is going to make a part of the game that they have publicly stated is a integral part of SWG and so ristrict it that only a non combat class can use it. They have said before that the game needs more conbat droids than conbat pets. And that they where going to work on getting us more combat type droids so it will be more like the movies.

Your USE statment is very weak and you know it. I cant posible see how you could get all that from the statment. That is like saying that there going to fix the taylor experimentation and only a taylor can use it. SO are you going to take from that that only a taylor can use the cloths made by a taylor that experimented on it? Come now. You apear to be an inteligent person. Just calm down and realize how far out your thoughts are on this.

SilkWalker, I really find it hard to understand why you are not getting this.

When combat droids were initialy planned out it was statedby Holocron that they "will only be added with a cert system".The developers nurfed the probot because they didn't like the fact that people were gaining high-end powerful objects without earning any kind of skill to gain it. So even back then the developers had already decided to restrict combat droids to a certain profession.

Right now, themedical modulecan only be used by medics. This already exists. People can still use droids with medical modules in them despite if they are a medic or not.. but the medic module only works if you have the correct profession skills. And notice the terminology... "medical module" ... "used by". Its exactly the same as saying the "combat module can only be used by DEs". Same statement, meaning exactly the same thing, using exactly the same system.

That is my point. Everything that was said relates to what already exists.. therefore the most obvious assumption to make is that this new module is going to work in the same way as modules that already exist .. the example being the medical module.

(I know I posted this in another thread, but it will probably drop off the map, so here it is where people will hopefully see it - in an already active thread.)

OK, here's my take on the comments on DE-only droids mentioned in the DE plan.

Whomever drafted the plan did specifically say "droid modules that only DE can use".

Now, does ANYONE really think that the devs intended to give combat droids ONLY to DE? That ONLY us DE would be able to use combat droids?

Or do you think perhaps they were thinking or assuming that the skills for USING combat droids would also be placed in the DE skilltree or thinking something else entirely and maybe that's why they worded that statement in that way?

Perhaps it was a typo, or they misstated the true intent of using the modules, or whatever.

SERIOUSLY, does anyone ACTUALLY think that DE would be the ONLY ones that could use combat droids and that NO ONE else in the WHOLE game would be aloud to use them in any way???

I have an idea, why don't we just ASK what they ment by that statement and get a clarification instead of endlessly arguing about something that is PROBABLY not even a real issue???

We're probably wasting ALOT of time on a non-issue which is detracting alot of effort from intelligently discussing OTHER things that are more important.

Let's get the real sh*t straight from the horses mouth and move on already.

progman63, three people asked that question in Thunderheart's post. His reply to each was "What do YOU think?"

Its not good asking a developer a question about droids since they have absolutely no clues. From whats been said lately, I've got the impression that "DE Plan" was a half-arsed effort written up by the DE developer in 5 seconds based on a few things he had been descussing with Sintrosi a while back when they met on TC.

They DON'T KNOW themselves.

I hear ya.....

There would be no harm in telling us the intentions of the plan and then letting us discuss it in a civilized manner.

---

progman63 wrote:

SERIOUSLY, does anyone ACTUALLY think that DE would be the ONLY ones that could use combat droids and that NO ONE else in the WHOLE game would be aloud to use them in any way???

---

I think (and its just my perception based on CH and creature pet changes already in the works) that no general sale combat droid is gonna be too much more powerful than a CL10 (post-nerf) non-CH creature pet. (Probot may not even be THAT tough... the displayed CL16 was its level pre-nerf.) The devs are trying to cut down on player dependence on pets in general.BUT, for"StarWarsiness" sake, we need a mechanical alternative to "Rancor-chu". IF we see any combat droids much more powerful than CL10, they'll be DE only, probably with management points throughout our skill treeand concentrated at the top. Giving powerful pets to professions with already powerful combat skills is NOT gonna happen. That's the whole point of the CH changes they're working on.

So... either we get 'em or they don't happen. Seems to me one outcome is as likely as the other at this point.