Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: Ideas for new modules and droid types.
sorry i dont speak english very well... i am spanish
But I want to explain an idea for the mew modules.
Autonomy Serrvice module
It is a module thought to be able to programme complex actions. This can possible using a simple scripts lenguage, as that of the UO Autopilot. This scripts lenguage should to allow variable and conditional, and to use many of the available macros in the game and a Patrol Points's advanced system.
ok for all you that a droid should be specailized by chasis i say you are wrong a droid is a computer on with a body that body can look like anything we make it but it can still do anything we program it to do << i think specialized droids should get a bounus to there specialization but any type of modul can go in any type of droid what should be limited it the lvl of module that can go into certain droids
on same note we dont need new comabt droids just new chasis types. what we do need is a series of modulars that give comabt ablity to any droid lvl 1-6 ranged attckes or lvl 1-6 melee attcks these would fit in normal modulal slots , also armor modules shod fit in the same slots so you would have to decide between all the differnet modules making it harder to have 1 all purpose droid ,, the comabt modules would need weaponsmith parts just like armor needs armor smith ,
i personally would like to also have ALL adv droids need chasis so that i can display in my store all droid types not just the high level ones meaning MSE , tredwell ,d270 and R5 too.
as for other types of modules ,, the slicing would be nice , give BH more reason to buy droids (as if they arnet already the ones keeping us in biz),
Didn't read all these.
Info / Management module - Givesstatus ofharvesters / buildings
Heres a couple of suggestions I havent seen yet
Imagine a droid that you could program to use the items in it's storage compartment. Perhaps with a programable timer. load up your droid with some fireworks shows and have him patrol in a circle setting them off 5 seconds apart. how about a DZ that floats to a waypoint and lobs a grenade? Maybe something that can deploy a structure. Keeping balancing in mind, there could be a limit as to how much and what can be used in this manner , and also the risk involved in spending lots of cash getting the grenades and that DZ set up, just to see it sniped half way to the target... but oooh the payoff if it actually works.
Also something for entertainers to bennifit from. A droid that set off a light show or pyro. an amplifier to increase the effectiveness in a camp, maybe?
As for combat droids, make a new slot that will accept specific offensive modules made by weaponsmiths. A probot that fires acid ,another that uses a heat module, etc.Not many creatures have ranged capability, so the droid would filling that role. Add to it programability to use a specific firing mode such as supression or panic shot.
More profession specific modules would be cool too. A tactical droid mod that gave a bonus to a squad leaders ability. or a mod that allowed a slicer to work on a locked door from a distance, decreasing risk to himself. a scout droid that can relay visulal information from a distance would be useful too (Im thinking perfect dark/bind sight from EQ/or(gasp)what the probots actually did in ESB.
Implementing droid certs or profession restrictions, limiting quantities and what types of items and keeping everything balanced in mind. I think these would be pretty simple additions to the game and wouldnt be putting anyone out of a job.
Ok - this thread has ALOT OF GOOD IDEAS, if i may add a few;
A New Line ofDroids:
1) Masters Assistant Droid -
A droid specifically designed to enhance the professions at the Master Level.
i.e. This would be a Weapon Smith Assistant, that would allow for less crits to happens during crafting, would allow for better stats on the weapons being crafted, allow for better results during experimentation, etc.... this type of assistance would apply for all Masters - another example would be the Master Rifleman would have a Assistant Droid that would allow for target spotting (i.e. enhanced accuracy, or better speed for shooting, etc.) ... this line of droids has many possibilities.
2) Give the DE Profession a viable Battle Droid. The probot sucks as it is and with everyone having pets that have near 3 to 4 times the HAM - i really dont understand why not.
Some New Modules:
1) Modules that allow: For ANY Weapon Crafted by a Weapon Smithto be attached and used by a Droid, Modules that allow for Additional Armor Plates to be used, Modules that allow for Droid Weapon Powerups, Armor Powerups, etc. to be used by the Droid.
Heres a few more ideas to add to the pot...
a)How about multi control units or modules, these would allow people to use more than one droid at a time.
b)Trade Federation style battle droids
c)weapon add ons to other droids ie BLL or any of the humanoid types, these would be partly made by weapon smith.
d)keep medical droids as they are as giving them healing abilities would kill docs off.Its like taking away from peter to feed paul 
e)Give power droids the ability to re-power harvestors for players and same with maintainance.
f)Give BLL the ability to carry large structures with out re-deeding or at the vary least at a reduced cost.
g)Bring in some form of Decay for all droids to promote a better market for DEs
h)imperial probe droid
i)trainer droids could be used as a very weak combat droid, made by the novice DE as well as just mouse droids
I do not usually dwell on the subject of Combat Droids but I did have this idea: have a "Buzz-Bomb" Droid that could attack a building and do a small amount of damage to it. If we are at "war" then building sabatoge should be a useable tactic. Granted, this attack should be limited to maybe 3 attacks per building per server reset (do about 500 credits worth of damage per attack) and the droids should be one-time use.
Redskull Lobobo, DE
Tarquinas
Lots of great ideas in the thread, and I'll admit I was just skimming along. Here are some thoughts after reading.
1. I love the idea of a power droid making the trip from a power installation to a harvester and back. Excellent idea, and exactly what you'd make a droid for, to perform a menial task that no Human (err... or non-human, I guess) wants to do all day. Only problem is, with harvesters working the way they do, i.e. not really being there if not in view range and just running a fast update when someone comes into range and 'activates' them, having a bunch of entities moving between to objects that don't exist could create problems. Solution could be tie the droid into the harvester somehow, and put a limit on the distance it can go on the transfer (so you don't have a droid walking from Mos Eisley to Mos Espa carrying power) and just load the droid and harvesters whenever any of the ones in the loop come into view. Of course, having multiple powerdroids working from one power source to multiple harvesters might monkey up the mechanics...
2. Droid vendors is a neat idea, but dangerous. If implemented, they could easily cover the droid bartender/server idea, but I can just see 5000 droids all walking around the Anchorhead shuttleport... If there's some sort of limit on where you can put them, great. Maybe how high a merchant you are limits how close to town/the center of town/popular places you can make them go?
3. Combat droids. More varieties, both in design and functionality. Trade Fed battledroids, Destroyers, Executioner Mk X (Han Solo at Star's End), Xim's warbots (Han Solo and the Lost Legacy)... the list could go on. Droid engineer need to be able to make a droid fit a variety of combat styles, different weapons, ranged and melee.
4. I think it is dangerous to give a droid the ability to do something that another player has to do now, i.e. a musician droid. Basicly throws a profession out on their ear. Make droids that can enhance a profession, great, like say a Binary Load Lifter carrying a big amplifier to let people listen to a musician at a much greater range than would normally be allowed.
5. Only thign I haven't seen mentioned that I'd love to see isthe robot rickshaw from AotC. It would give the DEs a leg into the vehicle market when the vehicles come out.
Thoughts - Load lifter deeds should be required for any vessel capable of carrying bulk cargo in the space expansion. They should in essence be our forklifts. No load lifter means very slow manual and expensive load/unload opns. I like the idea of a smaller load lifter variant enhancing new and existing factory production.
Assembly Line Enhancement Module - Enhances factory assembly speed. Various grades?
Factory Material Recycling Module - Reduced total material burn in a factory by X% via material recycling of scrap in the manufacturing process.
Structure Maint.Module - Reduces structure maint. cost if present as a dropped item in the home. Good use for an MSE chassis here! Limited lifespan so it creates a valuable low end consummable.
Installation Preventive Maint. Module - Same function as above for harvestors and other installations. Perhaps 7 day life cycle (one resource shift) and results in reduced maint. costs. Another perfect use for MSE chassis. Can be added to harvestors as required...stacking not permitted.
Hazardous Materials Module - Who in their right mind would be carrying high quality radioactives in a unshielded backpack. 30 Second transfer time allowed between a fusion-ion to player backpack and then to this module...otherwise player takes normal CONTINUED radioactive sample damage until transfer takes place. Yes - you can die from radiation poisoning! Players should not be running around with a ton of radioactives in their backpacks.
Powerplant Core Service Module- Needed for a droid to be able to service high radiation areas like ships engines.
Paintshop Module - Allowed perm. color customization of droid components. This includes assignment a of a very small 30x30 or 60x60 BMP logo to droid frame. BMP created with droid customization tool.
Ship Damage Control module - limited onboard repair of damaged ship systems - must have suitable master electronics modules and/or basic materials to do a timed repair of damaged ship systems.
Breeder Reactor Module - Heavily shielded module in a mule chassis that can be feed radioactives and used a breeder reactor to create a larger number of radioactives than was input. Gets us around those times when solar only is available. Requires LOTS of shielding and is slow perhaps doubling quantity in a4 week period.
Electronic Cryogenics Cooling Module - Supercools onboard electronics, shields, and weapons modules for enhanced effectiveness. Requires lots of power and supercooled inert gas but ups performance of other elements by X %.
Thermal Vision Module - Enhances weapon targeting and use on those rainy days on rori or at night.
Tracking Gate Pair Module - One module allows tracking of two targets...allows a droid with 2 weapons to engage both targets at once within a fixed radius. EXPENSIVE! as is made of high grade sensor and associated electronics. MA parts for sure...perhaps new MA sensor? Low light TV, Thermal, Low Power Radar? You get the picture.
Droid Types
Ship/Vehicle Maint. Droid - Self Explanatory
Agricultural Droid - Samples and collects only organics atpersonal harvestor rate...attackable and destroyable....but also capable of self survey. Owner can rank order organics he/she wishes to collect and specificy a radius from player location and droid will attempt self survey and harvesting. Player must remain online once droid is active or it autorecalls and stores.
Mule - Large chassis capable of carrying large loads from harvestors to home. Disable player carriage of any resource over X units. Work is what droids are for - they should be used for that. Can also store munitions and be used as mobile ammunition points for expendables (grenades etc)
Datacom Droid - Fixed installation communications droid that allows control of a larger number of droids via datalinking. Deeded and creates a waypoint in player datapad to establish communications link...player dies and datapad link goes dead as do the droids assigned to the Datacom. Each Datacom can control X Low Level, y Medium Level, And X Large Droids (6,4,2??) Maximum per structure equal to number of lots in structure. A PA could drop 9 Datalinks and thus control up to 18 Large battledroids. A player would have to issue orders via radial command at the datacom location...but these could include follow, patrol and attack based on a fixed radius. Who needs a droid handler class...we can build it with this. Operates within a radius of X of player structure installation. May be built and deployed as a player built turret option on battlefields...allowing droid use on the battlefield.
Orbital Sensor Installation - created in conjunction with architecture...community structure that requires population with X droids of type Y to be functional. Allows players to view local space around the player planet
Fixed Space Defense Installations Grades 1-3 - As above but allows multipoint connect of either weaponsmith built anti-ship weapons or deflectors of various grades. Provides fixed point defense of player built cities only based on radius. Player built cities can and should be attackable from space with pubic structures available for destruction. We'll put homes out of bounds for now. X droid population for installation to remain functional and perform its mission.
More later
