Droid Engineer Archive

Thread: Droid Module Focus (Structure Maintenance): Information, discussion and bug-reporting (04/24/04)

TheRealTK421
Wed Apr 14, 2004 11:46 am
#1




Fellow DEs,




I now present the work-up of a 'focus thread' on the new Structure Maintenance droid module.




The posted discussion/focus threads for other new droid modules can be found in the Publish 8 "Hot Topics!" thread.




There will be other such focus threads coming as I get them finished.






Note: The information in this thread will be updated as needed and represents only our best information on the current state of these modules (as reported from personal experience and TC DEs reporting in). Any aspect of the information can and may change up to its release to Live and after.




If you find information that's false or misleading, let me know so I can update the section below.






Enjoy!





/bow




Respectfully,













Structure Maintenance modules (level 1-3):





Items of note:



  • This is monetary maintenance only; it does NOT allow the droid to add power to a structure (harvester, factory, etc.) or remove resources out of the harvesters/factory. It also cannot be used to maintain vendors.



  • If one of your droids is on a maintenance run, you CAN call a 2nd droid while the maintenance droid is on its run.



  • Even though you have to wait for the droid's return, the maintenance is paid nearly instantly when you click "Go".



  • Added confirmation message when assigning a droid to maintain a structure (TC notes: 04/19)



  • Structures on other planets can now be maintained. (TC notes: 04/21)


    To get structures to work properly (on-world or off-world), you need to use the "Set Name" feature and assign a name for the structure for something other than do the default.


  • Radial menu options should no longer conflict when using a droid with both a maintenance module and an effects module. (TC notes: 04/23)


  • Speed of completion increases as they go up; a level 1 with 3 structures (within a generally close area) = 1 day 1 hour to complete; Level 3 with 1 structure = 15 minutes.


  • Updated information on "stacking" Structure Maintenance modules. (05/13/04)




Schematic / Resources:




Level 1 Structure Maintenance droid module: available at 1/0/0/0

Maintenance Module level 1 = 3 structures


  • 15 units of Non-Ferrous Metal

  • 10 units of Crystaline Gemstone

  • 1 Electronics GP Module

Durability (Decay): 50/50% Conductivity and OQ

Effectiveness (Quality): 50/50% Conductivity and OQ








Level 2 Structure Maintenance droid module: available at 3/0/0/0

Maintenance Module level 2 = 6 structures


  • 20 units of Aluminum

  • 15 units of Crystalline Gemstone

  • 1 Electronics GP Module

Durability (Decay): 50/50% Conductivity and OQ

Effectiveness (Quality): 50/50% Conductivity and OQ








Level 3 Structure Maintenance droid module: available at Master DE

Maintenance Module level 3 = 9 structures


  • 25 units of Duralumin Aluminum

  • 20 units of Vertex Crystalline Gemstone

  • 1 Electronics GP Module

  • 3 EMM modules (from a factory crate)

Durability (Decay): 50/50% Conductivity and OQ

Effectiveness (Quality): 50/50% Conductivity and OQ









Description of functionality:



  1. You have to first use the "Assign Droid" radial menu command, available on a structure's "Structure Management" menu of a house or harvester, for example (up to the allowed structure number for that droid).




  2. When you select this item, a list will appear which allows you to select any droid you have in your datapad with an installed Structure Maintenance module. Select the droid to use from the list and hit "OK".




  3. After assigning any/all structures to a particular droid, you will be ready to use it to do maintenance 'runs' on your assigned structures.




  4. Call your droid which has the installed Structure Maintenance module and left-click-and-hold (or use your "~" (tilde) key) on it to bring up the radial menu. You'll see the following menus:





    • Droid menu: "Structure Maintenance"



    Sub-menus:



    • "Perform Maintenance Run": Selecting this will allow you to select the structures to which the droid will add/pay maintenance, view the structure(s) planet/coordinates and start the droid off on its way ("Go").

    • "Edit Maintenance List": You can remove structures from a droid's list using this menu.


  5. After clicking "Perform Maintenance Run", select a structure, then hit "Add". You will then see a window similar to that of making a bank withdrawl (with the horizontal slider). Note: In this window, you can view the current monetary status of the structure in question.




  6. Type in a number or use the slider to select the amount of maintenance to add to that structure.




  7. Select the next structure in your list (if desired) and perform step 6 again.




  8. When all structures are assigned to your satisfaction, click on the "Go" button (in the "Maintenance Run" dialog window) to start the droid on its journey.




  9. After you hit "Go", the droid will disappear from you. You will be unable to call the droid again once it has started on its maintenance run. You should get a message (when it goes) telling you the length of time that will be needed for the current maintenance run. Note: Pay attention to the time shown for it to return/complete, since it will not currently) warn you when its done and let you know that you can call the droid again.









Message Edited by TheRealTK421 on 05-13-2004 08:18 PM



TheRealTK421 a.k.a. "Doughbacca"
SWG DE Correspondent
Co-Founding member of Ahazi DENet & SWG DEA (Droid Engineer Association)
"I think all right-thinking people in this country are sick and tired of being told that ordinary, decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. ...I'm certainly not. And I'm sick and tired of being told that I am."


Redondo
Wed Apr 14, 2004 1:38 pm
#2

Question: Do you have to be the owner of the structure to maintain it orcan you just be on Admin list? I am responsible for maintaining some guild and city structures that I do not own and the droid is the perfect tool for that, but it would be limiting to only be able to use it on structures I own. Anyone test this yet?



Prin Eckbo





Prin Eckbo
Hall Monitor

TheRealTK421
Wed Apr 14, 2004 2:11 pm
#3






Redondo wrote:

Question: Do you have to be the owner of the structure to maintain it orcan you just be on Admin list?





You need only be on the Admin list. That's all...


/bow

Respectfully,






TheRealTK421 a.k.a. "Doughbacca"
SWG DE Correspondent
Co-Founding member of Ahazi DENet & SWG DEA (Droid Engineer Association)
"I think all right-thinking people in this country are sick and tired of being told that ordinary, decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. ...I'm certainly not. And I'm sick and tired of being told that I am."


DigitalOne
Wed Apr 14, 2004 2:23 pm
#4

I agree with Javacs issues, its a nice module, but its just for play. If you really want it to take off you should implement one of those suggested features.
Naufragus
Wed Apr 14, 2004 2:26 pm
#5

this is a great start....


but it really needs to be able to add power as well...


the numbers are wacked on the structures....they should be 4, 8 and 10 IMO


lets just assume that i only have 10 lots (hehehehe) and i am using 10 harvestors, i would have to buy 2 droids to handle the maintence.. a level 3 would only allow me to manage 9 and i would have to buy another droid to manage the 10th structure...just seems logical to me to make the highest count equal the total structures we could have


also the ONE DAY time seems a bit excessive but if it works while we are off line then that would be fine i guess..


my concern is also location...


what i mean is that say i am doing some stuff on Endor and i want to manage my mines on Tat



  1. does the droid tarvel from planet to planet

  2. does having to go to a different planet make it take a really long time...how long

if i have to be close to my harvetsors for this droid to work and have to own 2 droids to pay all maintaince and wait 3 or more hours before i can send the second droid out to pay the maintence, then this module really has limited usefullnes

Kollos
Wed Apr 14, 2004 2:46 pm
#6

As others have already said, this module desperately needs to be able to add power as well. The ability to add maintenance is all fine and dandy, but it's only half of a harvester run. Unless the droid can be used to add power also it is useless for maintaining harvesters.


I suppose it is still at least marginally useful for checking maintenance levels on all structures or for adding maintenance to buildings, but that's a very minor part of the average player's maintenance cycle. The bulk of day-to-day maintenance is tending harvesters, and tending harvesters requires the ability to add power.


I like the idea and it's a good start... but seriously, it'll be useless unless it can be used to add power.




Kollos Orcslayer : Master Droid Engineer : Master Artisan

Droids by Kollos -840, 3980 Seacht, Naboo (NW of Keren)
Bounty Hunter Droids by Kollos 4924, 6107 550m SW of Kaadara
Vehicles and Master Artisan Components also available
paying 250k/point for Droid Assembly Skill Tapes, minimum of +4

Akkori
Wed Apr 14, 2004 5:16 pm
#7

I too hope they add a little more functionality. I'll probably only use it to manage factories and homes and tents otherwise. I wouldn't expect them to let us retrieve stuff with it, that could easily be a BLL's job. But I dont see the problem with getting access to the Resource info as well. It wouldbe cool to be able to change resources, and start/stop harvs. Honestly, adding ower isn't out of line either. I would say that to "balance things out, since the Devs like to try to do that, that the harv who is being maintained by a droid (power, maint, start/stop, resource list) gets an increase in the maint and power cost. Lets just say that the Droid "Interface", when added to the standard harv, takes extra maint and power to use. This makes for another credit sink, and balances the greater functionality we get.



Odano Akkori
First Mayor of Tempest
Jaxian Bay
Elder DE, Rifleman, Swordsman

Jedi will never be a starting profession...Looted items and quest items will never be better then crafted items, this is not a loot based game...CH will return shortly...CH and BE will not be back in game...Rangers are getting their revamp next!...The stealth system will not be changing in the spy expertise...Need any more examples of things the devs said that did not hold true?
Deidre_DE
Wed Apr 14, 2004 5:50 pm
#8

I agree it would be nice to be able to add power to my harvesters using this module. I think this ability should require a storage module to be installed in the droid, and the required power to be in that storage area.


Deidre


DigitalOne
Wed Apr 14, 2004 5:59 pm
#9

I like the idea about makeing power deposition the job of a Power droid. Maybe the mantinance module can be put in any droid. But maybe it should be made possible to make a power supply module that can only be built into the power droid. Operates the same way as the mantinace module but only for power. It would give the old midget in a box a nice new job.



And espcialy your idea about the BLL being able to retrive resourses, same deal with them.



Alone the maintinence module is next to useless.



It dosent bother me so much that it only has 9 slots, of coarse it assumes you have aleast a small house. It also assumes you opperate out of your house in which case you would have to be absurdly lazy to have to send a droid down the hall. It should be upped to 10 for the sake of things but its not a top issue.


RotorofCorRng
Wed Apr 14, 2004 7:34 pm
#10

One thing. If it is limited in it's ability due to programming, how hard (asking dont really know) would it be to make another module amost carbon copy, but with the power ability?

Message Edited by RotorofCorRng on 04-14-2004 11:34 PM



Rotor - Will cease to exist May 3rd.
Dhav
Wed Apr 14, 2004 11:08 pm
#11

Argh, forum timed me out when posting the last response, then ... argh.




RotorofCorRng wrote:
One thing. If it is limited in it's ability due to programming, how hard (asking dont really know) would it be to make another module amost carbon copy, but with the power ability?

Message Edited by RotorofCorRng on 04-14-2004 11:34 PM





Coulple troublesome things I can see. Primary one is.. money is a relatively simple thing: It can only exist in the bank or in your wallet, and money has no real value, other than where it is and how much of it there is. Power has multiple values, types and sizes, and can come in varrying stacks, so the system now needs to take all of those into account.


Can power be turned (permanently) into a numerical value, like credits? I figure it can: we have a process that does this in the Add Power interface where the system looks at all the power in your inventory (and sometimes stuff not in your inventory ) and gives it a numerical value. It is already handling the conversion of all the different power rates as well. Sooo... we add a 'Add Power' radial option to the droid, and voila, power. But...


Can a numerical variable value be stored in a droid? Interesting, not sure. We see items and datapad schematics stored in droids, but other than HAM stats, we don't see any other numbers being stored. If the droid went back into a deed form when it was done, I'd say sure, since that system (at least as it goes) is already in the game with structural deeds. Question is, how does the droid system with its control device on the datapad work?


I wonder...




Javac
Thu Apr 15, 2004 12:14 am
#12

I think this module is a great start. That being said, it's only a start if it's going to be truely useful. Just being able to deposit maintenance is of limited use. Even just #1 below would greatly increase the utility.

Thoughts in order of importance (to me)
1) Have the ability to see the complete structure report (maint, power, time left for each) on each structure you've added.
2) See if harvesters are on/off
3) Deposit power
4) Activate/deactivate harvesters
5) Change resource type
6) Collect resources



Calis Exud - Droid Engineer Extrodianre - Retired
Earymi
Thu Apr 15, 2004 12:17 am
#13






TheRealTK421 wrote:

Durability: 50/50% Conductivity and OQ
Effectiveness (Auto-Repair Power and Quality): 50/50% Conductivity and OQ







Quick question (and one I have probably about every droid I craft):


Do we know if the experimentation on "effectiveness" really accomplishes anything in terms of droid functionality? And why does this have an experimentation line for durability-- that is, in my experience, experimenting on durability affects absolutely nothing on most things that have this as an experimentation line, so why is it there? And if it does affect durability, what does that mean in terms of how it affects the droid's ability to perform its tasks?


Inquiring minds want to know...





Earymi Iekia, Master Doctor, Pikeman
Arolena Eto, Master Droid Engineer, Master Artisan, Master Chef

Sunrunner
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