Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: A Player's Perspective
I have seen every SW movie, read just about every SW book, played just about ever SW video game released, and played SWG for about six months. I have been NEVER bought a droid--Why? Simple. I didn't see them adding any value to my play. I have been given several droids as gifts, and honestly, the I have only found one use. When I want to heal myself or others in a camp, pull out the medical droid. I supposedly have droids that have built-in crafting stations, but they don't work. So, what do I want from a droid--UTILITY! I want droids that can do things that I would otherwise not be able to do (without earning the skills by taking up some profession).
For example, in SW:KOTOR I had two droids that I used in my party. I didn't focus on slicing skills, but very much needed them. So, I let the droids do it. I didn't focus on handling certain kinds of weapons, but very much had a need to use these kinds of weapons in battle. So, I let the droids do it.
Imagine the following:
1) A slicer droid that could slice terminals--probably not armor and weapons--but something would enable espionage against the other faction. Maybe something I can use to infilitrate (probe droids) and sabotage as well.
2) A medical droid that could heal me without necessarily being instructed to do so, or without me having any medical skills.After all, in the movies I've seen R2-D2 run the aide of his masters alot without explicitly having to be told. Maybe the stupid thing can entertain me too--NO, NOT BY DANCING OR PLAYING MUSIC--telling stories, like C3PO did in ROTJ. Sitting down and listening to a story isn't entertainment? What was it you were doing when you were sitting in a theatre watching the last SW movie? Maybe droids that can be left in player medical centers and cantinas. Maybe droids that people would have to give credits to in order to perform certain services (sounds a little like a vendor).
3) A miner droid that can survey and sample, and perhaps even collect modest amounts of interesting resources.
4) A combat droid with sufficient AI that I don't have to stand there in the midst of battle and spam it to attack. Did I have to spam my droids in SW:KOTOR? No.
5) A maintenance/repair droid that would, within certain prescribed parameters, pay maintenance and input power into structures that I own on the planet I place it. This would go a long way to taking some of the drudgery out the game. In addition, why couldn't this maintenance droid also tend to my speeders--its just utterly ridiculous that I have to go half way across a planet to repair my speeder bike.
6) A vendor droid--NO, NOT THE STUPID LITTLE THINGS YOU GET WHEN YOU ATTAIN CERTAIN MERCHANT SKILLS--but a limited form. Maybe the thing can only handle so many items. Maybe the thing can only handle transactions of a certain prescribed amount. However, why should I waste my skill points obtaining a skill when the droid can do it for me. That should be the purpose of droids, to perform tasks that I can't do.
Of course, any of this would have to come at a price. Perhaps our droids earn skills the same way we do--with experience. After all, there's a reason why Luke doesn't have his R2 unit's memory wiped. Perhaps we even have to pay for our droids to learn skills--just like the way we have to now. Of course, there should be limits imposed on what a droid can do and learn, after all, we don't want the need for player medics to be replaced. A player with a skill should always be able to do it better.
/agree, we all want droids to be more usefull
BUT:
SmallpoxA wrote:
II supposedly have droids that have built-in crafting stations, but they don't work.
Crafting stations already work on droids, even multiple crafting stations in the same droid 
Ellesa - Droid Engineer - Visit my store in Mos Nox, Ahazi