Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: Droid Certification System......
sintrosi? sintorsi? SINTROSSSSSIIIIII?!?!?!
/breathheavy
i feel so alone
The fact remains that DE is a crafting combat support class, and therefore wont be able to pull out their own droidekas
Setting aside the use of the term 'class' for a moment, what makes you think thatwe won't?
Ignoring the in-game rationalisation for why certification should be needed for the moment, the design question of who should or should not be able to use a droideka is fundamentally one of balance. Probots were crippled because anyone could use one, wheras only a CH can use, say, a Rancor. In fact, balance is the whole point of a droid certification system in the first place, because we'll never get a decent battle droid unless its use is restricted.
So, I offer two points. Firstly, it might actually act as a balancing factor if use of a droideka requires a large investment of experience and skill points in something unrelated to combat - A character that can use one will be weak in other areasof combat, and thus should not be staggeringly unbalanced on their own. (Not entirely unlike requiring a master level in a 'Droid Management' skill tree that actually used up skill points: A lot of character potential would be required to get that advantage.)
Secondly, and a point that should be considered in combination with the first: I can't speak for everyone, of course, but I'm a DE basically because I like droids. I know the profession is broken, but I don't care. I want to make droids, I want to own and use droids. I strongly suspect that those of us who are persisting with this skill choice feel similarly. Given that, the very prospect of being suddely able to build the droids that we've been hoping for all this time, but simultaneously denied the ability to use them... That would be just awful. It's hard to imagine a worse slap in the face.
So, you say, just re-work your character as a Master Artisan / Droid Engineer / Droid Commander? Well, maybe. I'd consider it, and there had better be enough skill points to do that. But it would still seem a bit insulting to not be able to control the droids that we have built ourselves and understand in every detail...
ChrisF0001 wrote:
The fact remains that DE is a crafting combat support class, and therefore wont be able to pull out their own droidekas
This statement is incorrect based on the fact that the game is "Star Wars". The Devs have stated it in the past and the Droid Engineers have said it all along. In "Star Wars" everyone was able to use droids *Period*. Granted in a RPG non-Star Wars game I would say yes DE is a crafting class and there should be a Separate class to use droids, but then there still is a problem. Riflemen can find Rifles from loot. CH can tame pets in the wild. Droid Handlers can only get droids from Droid Engineers? This would ruin both classes. 1) Droid Engineers would quit because they cant use what they build or make money from it and 2) Droid Handlers would not be able to find droids so they would quit or become Droid Engineers and still quit because of statement #1.
Anyways back to the game we play which is "Star Wars". Everyone should be able to use droids. The nerf was put into place to keep Newbies from using high lvl droids on the first day they play. Whatever system they put into place should work on two facts. 1) Newbies can't use high lvl combat droids on the first day and 2) Everyone at some time should be able to use all droids no mater what class you choose. I still think everyone should be able to use all droids, but the droid should malfunction based on your game age (Damm I want to see a droid shoot its owner).
If you don't remember the reason for the patch please follow the link below:
http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=Development&message.id=152109&view=by_date_ascending&page=1
Regards,
SirWalter
........did you actually read my original post?
Yes, yes I did. Admittedly a few days ago now.
both of what you are going on about i CLEARLY outlined in my plan, a droid certification system based solely upon experience or "game age" as walter put it.
Indeed, and it's a good idea. But, I don't see why it shouldn't be possible to place some certifications outside that system as well, and I do find it rather jarring to contemplate the possibility that we, the DE's who actually make these things, might have to pass yet another hurdle before we can use them.
Your analogy about someone working in a car factory not automatically being able to drive is perfectly valid, after all - But equally valid would be the analogy that a programmer who writes a bit of software is automatically able to use it, wheras others might require some instruction.
Chris......it's just not gonna happen man, there is star wars, and then there is SWG where balance is going to play the larger role, trust me.....weve all seen it before.
Yes, I know that balance is very important to this issue. I do believe that I specifically agreed with that point myself. However, there are all sorts of ways of interpreting the concept of 'balance'.
For example, if you consider primarily the combat potential of fully developed characters facing off against each other, it would be possible to make an argument that a system of droid certification that costs no skill points to purchase is completely meaningless in terms of balance. The CH / Pistoleer, or whatever other profession combination is the most powerful in the absence of droids, will still be the most powerful with the certification system in place, because both they and their opponent can be assumed tohave their full compliment of droids deployed.
Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe that's the whole point of a skill-point free certification system. But, maybe there are other possibilities that could be incorporated into the idea that might allow the whole combat balancing situation to be tweaked slightly, and maybe even fix some of the existing imbalances - And maybe it might be considered (by the designers) that the use of particularly powerful droids should require characters to invest skill points in that area.
I know that wasn't in your original post, but I could see it happening, because, as you say, balance is critical, and the only thing that a skill-point free certification system requires a player to invest is time. That might not be considered enough. An actual Droid Engineer, though, has invested more than just time. We have sunk skill points into our appreciation of droids. Isn't there the possiblity that we might get something back in terms of actually using the things we make?
Please, actually read the post before you flame, its so childish
I didn't intend it to sound like a flame, and I certainly didn't intend it as one. I intended my post as a comment, and I apologise if it seemed more inflamatory than that.
Perhaps that's just what I get for letting a train of thought run on too long, and just writing it...
Maybe they could make an electronics/droid programming skill onion (similar in some aspects to the creature handler tree). It could control what commands droids know, give a modifier to their effectiveness (be that combat, crafting, or medical), and provide a certification system to be a gatekeeper for n00bs.
Don't have any requirement to take novice in it. Make the skill point cost low. Make a reasonably powerful tank/combat droid available at level 4 of one of the columns. Make the best (like droideka) only available to master.
BDG,
thats the best Idea so far.
I've submitted a few ideas that I thought were the best, but..
yours has more simplicity, less confusion, and less questionable intent than any other popasal so far.
Bravo!
sorry chris, i misinterpereted your thread
and about this statement -
ChrisF0001 wrote:
both of what you are going on about i CLEARLY outlined in my plan, a droid certification system based solely upon experience or "game age" as walter put it.
Indeed, and it's a good idea. But, I don't see why it shouldn't be possible to place some certifications outside that system as well, and I do find it rather jarring to contemplate the possibility that we, the DE's who actually make these things, might have to pass yet another hurdle before we can use them.
Your analogy about someone working in a car factory not automatically being able to drive is perfectly valid, after all - But equally valid would be the analogy that a programmer who writes a bit of software is automatically able to use it, wheras others might require some instruction.
i addressed that in a reply/extension to my idea......
BUUUUT on the other hand id like to state that DE should get certain certifications just for being DE,
what?
ugh, im not going to jump to a conclusion just yet, but are you referring that all the certifications for droids should be obtainable by DE's only?