Droid Engineer Archive

I dont think Holo's comparison of a DE Engineer and DE Handler vs Creature Hanlder and Bio Engineer is at all valid. After all, a Creature Handler can tame pets to acquire them. They don't have to buy them from Bio Engineers.

So what are they gonna do, let Droid Handlers pull droids out of a hat like a magician so they can be equivalent to Creature Handlers? That won't fly. Are they gonna remove taming from Creature Handlers? Uh huh, talk about an outroar that will cause. The analogy doesnt work and doesnt fit. Just like Droid Handlers doesn't fit in the Star Wars universe.

And we are already squeezed to the limit on skill points. Just about must master artisan in order to master droid engineering. That leaves just enough points to master half of the marksman profession and on advance combat profession. That will force DE's into become the first mandatory pure non-combtant class. Well, sorry, but sometimes some of us feel the need to get away from our crafting stations and kill something.

I don't really care if i never sell a droid again. I would rather use them.

You're missin the point here...

Droids are supposed to be SENTIENT artificial beings, they're not supposed to be controlled or handled.

You are supposed to be able to say "Oi, li'l machine! Scoot over here" and it should walk to your destination.
You're not supposed to study binary codes and circuit wiring to be able to tell your droid to follow you.


Adding a droid handler profession would just make things worse.
If certifications are a must, then put those in the droid engineer tree. At least that makes sense.

Well, I caught wind of this thread too late to get an early opinion in, but frankly splitting things out into yet another profession will just weaken things further.

Just look at the state of things currently...you've got several professions with clear roles and solid skills in all their trees. Then you've got professions with one or more trees that are weak or pointless. Now they want to add another profession in when there's still unfinished professions? I don't think so.

Even though this is slightly off topic, it is an example of how things aren't finished. Take a look at the merchant profession. Every time people find ways to draw attention to their shops and wares, such as colorizing their house signs, it suddenly becomes part of the Merchant profession only. It is becoming that the only way to sell anything is either to be a merchant or to keep your prices under 3k and use the bazaar.

What'll happen if there's a Droid Handler profession in addition to DE? Will we see things that DEs can do be moved over to Droid Handler to make it more enticing? What about skill points? Any DE worth their salt will have Mastered Artisan...so few, if any DEs will have the points to take on Droid Handler.

Frankly I think either Holo mentioned the Droid Handler for shock value...or the devs have _really_ lost touch with what they're doing to the crafting professions that combat professions have little need of.

ok I have thought long and hard over this one issue and while my 1st reaction was wholly against a "Droid Handler" profession, now I am beginning to wonder if it might not work,

IF (thats a big if :smileyhappythey make the profession cost zero skill points, but rather only xp to progress through. This would balance the whole newbie owning the most powerful droid question very well, while at the same time allowing anyone who is interested, to use any droid as long as they put in the time to master it.

But for God's sake dont call it Droid Handler, call it Droid Technician, or something reasonably technical and different from the cookie cutter naming Holo suggested.

ok lets really get to brass tacks here.

People are pissed cause SoE has been saying "wait until you see what we have in store for you" We have waited.

Now they are kicking the ball around that says " we maybe considering letting only certain people use new droid frames". Does this sound right? I don't think so.

When ever Han and Chewie needed to use droids to fix the falcon did they have to have a cert? When Luke used Artoo or 3PO did he need a cert?

Did the droid armies need to have a cert, of course not. Droids, combat or otherwise, should not have to have a cert. system. Any old person can get a pet and use it why are droids different. If anything certain people can not handle certain types of animals very well, but I digress. Droids are machines anyone can use a toaster, why not something that understands plain commands?

Keep droids for the masses.

In my opinion, Certs, if done correctly, will solve many of the problems the Devs have with unskilled people having early access to powerful droids. People need to earn the right to use the high-end droids, without limitting those droids to particular profession choices.

Now, in my eyes, the DH idea is a very unsavory one. As everyone has pointed out, Droids are sentient beings, and not creatures. They don't start out as wild, no one "tames" a Droid; they are machines with programs. As engineers, we craft and program these things. Why have a profession designed at using them? We made the things after all. Guns require "handler" professions because even though it's one thing to make a gun, that gun is not a sentient being, nor is it even a computer really.

Finally, using the BE and CH example is a terrible idea because, quite frankly, their relationship is horrible right now. A Creature Handler does not need a BE in the least except for Vitality Packs. In reality, the BE crafted pets are substandard to what a Creature Handler can tame themselves. Bio-Engineers are a broken class, just like we are, and adding a new "Droid Handler" profession would do nothing to solve the issues that we ourselves have; instead, it would simply compound new problems upon the pre-existing ones.

Using this logic then an entertainer or anyone that is not and architect should be able to operate any machine above a personal extractor. If this is the approach of SOE all specialized items, structures should be limited in use dependent on profession. I can buy a flame thrower but cant ust it. So it this is such a good idea lets limit all uses of specialized structures / equipment. No more medium or heavy machines for any class except those that are Architects.

Okay, I don't know if it's pertinent to the issue, but here's a question...

Do you think it matters at all that Droids are sentient computers?

Guns are simple items. Mechanical in nature, yes, perhaps with some computers in them. Same with Harvesters. Droids are closer to being actual people. Indeed, they're programmed with certain commands and capabilities, but do they not become sentient entities? In the first movie, I recall Luke putting "restraining bolts" on R2 as a means of control, kind of like a leash. It just seems to me that guns and harvesters are closer to items, and droids are a sort of advanced form of item, a computer taken to the highest level.

In every class there are the sophisticated elite items that require masters to build. How can you rationalize a Droid being more sophisticated than a Deep Crust machine. Droids were intended for programmed usage not invilvig skills, just a program. Heavy equipment that interfaces with extreme conditions and high stress environmnts should require the knowledge of a master of that skill. No Entertainer or Brawler should be allowed to operate them. Droids are bought for children not Heavy Mineral Harvesters.

I give up. I am glad to see that there are a few people who would like to see this theroritical DH class take off.

I feel some of this anger comes some of the DE's who were able build probots before they were nerfed and were the hit of the exploration group to Yavin IV. Back before the depreesion where you couldn't go 5 minutes without getting "someone tells you, Do you make probots?" Now every now and then i get a tell asking for a crafting station.

I have heard arguments that we do not want to become a support class. Who here as supoported a medic recently? currently we are the support class fo the entier medic professions.

We all can agree that Droids are complex devices. Clearly an MSE is less complex than a Probot.

Lets pretend for a second that I am an Aircraft Engineer and I build aircraft

Most would find it difficult to argue thatthe Cessna 152 i build is less complex than a F-14 i build.

MSE and the Probot follows the same operating methods "Do this" or "do that". Compare that to C-152's and F-14's stay in the air and have the same basic contol input. Pulling on the controls makes the aircraft go up. Pressing on the left rudder moves the plne to the left

Because I build a C-152 should I be able to fly it?

Because I build a F-14 should i be able to fly it?

The FAA gives me my private pilot certificate which allows me to fly planes much like the C-152. However even if i want to fly a slighty more complex aircraft lets say with somethin as simple as retractable landing gear i have to get a new certifificate even if I designed the retractable landing gear system.

Certs are comming, lets instead discuss how they should be implemened instead of trying to resist how they are comming.

Nostradamus Smyth

Aircra...er wait Droid Engineer

Wow lots of posts about this suject!

Well 99% of everyone here does NOT like the idea of a Driod Handler profession, so i think if we don't want it to happen we need to make sure we keep this subject open and alive.

i do remember that in episode I the droidecas and other droids could run autonomisualy (i cant spell) but the empire wanted more controll over them so they had people up in their ships directing waves of droids, being a DE i could see getting a cert in the higher up skills in my class that allowed me to controll waves of droids where your common brawled had no idea how to minupulate the complex controlls for the droids like i do.