Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: How new Droid modules can aid in RP'ing and player events (as it relates to P8).
I wanted to throw out to you a bit of my larger-scheme thinking on a possible DE future.
Some of the future utility droid modules like a good first step. There's been a ton of excellent new (and revived) ideas on the DE boards lately. It's a great place again (I hope you'll agree).
When I consider new modules, one of the things that I tend to fall back on is...."How is this fun? How does this feature make SWG more immersive...like I'm IN Star Wars?"
"Is a new module that an Entertainer use to do effects fun and Star-Warsy?" Yea...sorta. I guess I can see that.
"Is a new module that can help Merchants (in whatever fashion it eventually shows up)?" Okay...that's more helpful than fun...but that's cool. I can dig it as long as it actually IS practically worthwhile to own and use.
When I started thinking about what being a DE in SWG would be like (well before beta), I imagined things ("modules", if you want) which would be possible:
- I could build an Entertainment "HoloCapture/HoloDisplay"module, usable by Entertainer's to make 'Help me Obi-Wan, you're my only hope'-stylerecording oftheir performances and save them toDatadisks. However, it doesn't have to end there. It could also be used to 'record' events to send any kind of action or spatial chat by a player (otherwise, how'd Leia program that message so fast? Was she a Master Entertainer?)
Basically, this lets you have a little droid 'videocam' that would capture and playback. If this could be tied in tightly to Entertainers, that's cool. This imagery is, to me, very much the kind of thing that people that think "Star Wars" equate with what was really "fun" about it. It's the kind of thing that I think would be a great kick. Practical? Maybe not directly. Yucky on the Art Dept? Very likely, yes. Star Warsy and fun? Absolutely.
To me, this has "player-created content via events, etc.", and maybe more (via factionable tie-ins) written all over it. - These disks could be traded (user XP to the Entertainer, if played) and sold in any number of ways (including vending via the new Merchant vendor/barker droid module).
- These disks could also contact text/email, which my droids could store in their Datapad storage device. Note: I would think that player created disks would need to take up a higher number of Datapad storage slots.
- These disks could (and likely would) be encrypted by Slicers (with the help of my droids)...and maybe 'hacked' by other Slicers (again, with the help of my droids).
- My droid could be sent as a "Messenger" (autonomously), such that you could effectively be two places at once.
- My droid's could be made such that they would be needed when conversing with the local populace. My poor Protocol (translator) droid is starting to get rust, andsort of forlorn, from not having ever done any translation. I think he's only up to like 4 forms of communication. Gee, those Protocols are a testy bunch...
Okay...so, all of those types of things are what I think of droids sometimes doing for those we see in the movies and/or read about. But, there's a few issues...
Why would we need droids to DO any of these things? True...it is primarily a roleplay, player-content bunch of changes. None of this really is "useful" to anyone in the game, as far as character enhancement or getting an edge....
Or is it?
Some of the kinds of droid changes that I'm suggesting, I believe, might later be well-fed with quest content upcoming via the Jedi Revamp. It is **very** possible for the Devs to build an infrastructure of droid module features that can be leverage into truly completed content down the line (as it is 'switched on').
By this, I mean that the droid utility modules that are being concerned should be considered with an eye towards how they can fit together to form a large whole. A more dynamic system.
Okay, well...that's my random rambling for tonight. I'm on the clock now.
/emote straps on his DE goggles and grabs his can of Wookiee Air Freshner...
/bow
Respectfully,
/bump
TK thou shouldst copy thine ideas to the "Where we are and where we're going" thread. Forsooth!
(read: I moved it over there.)
/bow
Respectfully,
and hopefully :
"As it was written, it came to pass" Bible for "Make it so"