Droid Engineer Archive

oh, and if the non-CH pets, are overall better than the droids, then yes, they are still out of wack... Droids are where the devs want pets to be capability wise (with the exception of CH pets), so BE pets will be brought in line with that.

---

Jenden wrote:
oh, and if the non-CH pets, are overall better than the droids, then yes, they are still out of wack... Droids are where the devs want pets to be capability wise (with the exception of CH pets), so BE pets will be brought in line with that.

---

Well this definately makes me feel better about the future, but if decay goes in, BE pets will have to decay just as quickly or again it's the better option (don't want to be the one explaining that to BE's or CH's).

But we can lose. People that might think about buying a droid may not if they know it won't last.

I'm not a DE. I am a BE. As one of the non-major crafting professions I have an appreciation for your troubles and hope you receive some attention.

---

JodoKai wrote:
I don't know a single serious crafter that uses a droid to craft. Why would they when they can don't get a bonus a home crafting station gives? Sure they sold great during the Hologrind, but that's over now, and it's mostly the serious crafters back to doing the crafting.

---

In case you were unaware, DNA collected from creatures does not stack and can pile up very quickly. My crafting droid is important to me and I use it a lot to do combines in the field. I like the little guy and use him all the time. Just wanted to throw that out there.

In response to droid decay, yes, you're correct, I've had that droid forever and have no need to replace him. As much as I don't want to lose him, I welcome general decay for the benefit of the profession. Out of all the ideas posted I like the simple vitality one the best. You can repair the droid over time using a kit of some sorts, after a certain amount of repairs it would need to be replaced. Bringing it directly to a DE for repair is a cool idea, though I'd rather not have that be the only option.

Good luck.

• Without decay, a DE can basically work himself out of business, since all potential customers can (1) only have a maximum of five, (2) can pretty much ensure that their purchases last forever with no extra cash outlay, and (3) have little or no need ( or desire ) for supplemental items.


• Currently, droids are little more than vanity items AFAIK. To quote an earlier poster, "I think too many of the droid offerings right now would be difficult to justify a purchase of, if they needed constant replacing/fixing/maintenence. Things like ... droids, ... while fun toys, would be all the more undesirable if they were made harder to own."

In order solve problem 1 ( declining demand ), I think that problem 2 ( droid value ) has to be solved first. Unfortunately, that will require more than a band-aid to do properly.

In addition, decay causes additional problems from a maintenance / RP / etc. standpoint, so it would have to be crafted with care. The Droid Decay Proposal 0.3 seems to be an adequate start, but to me the changes for Droid Value would need to be known to craft an appropriate solution for Declining Droid Demand. For example, combat vs. non-combat decay might be a totally different set of issues if combat droids were marked and made differently than non-combat models.

As a non-DE ( a non-artisan, in fact ), I'm going to crawl off into a hole for a while and try to learn as much as I can about how the current system works, and how it relates to other elements within SWG ( e.g. speeders, pets, other artisan fields, etc. ). Hopefully, by the end of that process, I'll have a clearer idea on how to propose a solution for Droid Value for discussion, that would make DEs happy without unbalancing some of the other professions in SWG.

Comments are, of course, appreciated.

---

Ternque01 wrote:

I think that droids need to "break down" or "crap out" every now and again, and the only way to fix them is to take them to a DE. You would be a crafter/repairman profession then, but at least it would seem more Star Wars fixing all the broken droids and dealing with customers.

---

QFE

This is what I was going to say. It would STILL be in the DE best interest to serve as a repair shop. Using abilities rather then resources for credits. The droids should still decay to the point of no repair, as to stimulate a moving market...but I'd like to see the DEs have more then just a "vendor" purpose.

I usually like working with the details, so I don't see much problem with droid decay. They are easier to make than pets (less time consuming I mean)which can take vitality loss in combatthus should decay faster and not be in the same category as pet decay with vitality packs. Your decay rate of 1 month seems a bit fast unless you mean 1 month of having the droid out at all times during the day. I would hate to see casual gamers get hit too much.

I don't see a reason to use anything other than vitality as the decay measurement. I would propose 1 vitality point every time you need to recharge it. Then use the repair kits like BE vit packs where you can get back full vitality but the total vitality is reduced (1 point for every 10 vitality restored). Combat droids should lose 2 vitality on every incap.

If you are talking about negative effects for low vitality, it can be simiar to pets which have a 75,50,25 vitality marker to reduce effectiveness. I'd rather see something minor below 75 like sparks, maybe just movement after 50, and then something more major below 25.

How about before you talk about Droid Decay, you talk about making droids worth a damn to have in the first place? I still get a kick out of the old Droid's Rebuilt publish that introduced a droid that could use Stimpacks, only to spit on the Droid Engineer profession by limiting them to Stimpack As. Or the incomparable combat droid, which was marginally useful before the CU, but isn't worth the time or effort now. Pre-nerf heavy armored probots were more effective than anything the DE profession has made since then. Then you slap again with droid stims that can only be used every 60 seconds to defend droids with pathetic damage resistance and wonder why their abilities are underutilized in combat?

This on top of the fact that droids are among the most complicated craftable assemblies in the game, with more subcomponents and variations possible than architect, shipwright, chef, armorsmith and weaponsmith COMBINED.

Astromechs, barkers and entertainer droids are about the only ones with any genuine use, and God help the day astromechs and flight computers start taking a beating in space... Death up there is costly enough as it is.

Until the Devs get over this aversion they have to accessory pets/troopers/droids being able to substantially enhance player independence/performance, the idea of introducing long term decay of droids is just flinging pooat the latrine.

---

Rorenikibi wrote:

Astromechs, barkers and entertainer droids are about the only ones with any genuine use

---

from an economic perspective, something like this seems completely necessary if droid engineers are going to be able to remain in business. from a continuity perspective, it makes less sense. anakin built 3P0 and R2 was around... well, forever. they were shot, disassembled, soaked, frozen, smacked, dropped, etc., and still functioned. what they needed was REPAIR.

if i were free to choose the system, i would make droids more interchangeable even after creation. give DEs the ability to swap modules, components, etc., and then make this the basis of droid repair. when severaly damaged in combat or simply used for a long time (a certian number of battery charges), a droid will experience failure in such-and-such a part, and that part will need to be replaced. take it to the DE, who analyzes/diagnoses the droid, crafts a replacement part, and pops it into the new droid. fun and interactive, ne? it also creates business when better resources allow for better parts.

just a thought.

-dc