Droid Engineer Archive

Yea, I've been thinking about some of those sames things... Going to see if I can press for some kind of love for us, but the devs have a lot on their plate right now with the TEF changes, the base changes, and all this inventory and structure stuff.

I'd suggest to change someway Structure maint. module, the 3 possibilities I see are:
1) The droid can be programmed to automatically take energy from a generator and deposit it into another (or more than one) harvester
2) The droid can be programmed to automatically collect resources from one or more harvesters and bring them to me (or to return to a specified point)
3) Both of the above

Maybe we can get them to organize our Crafting Tool list a bit? That shouldnt take more than 1 person reworking the tags and names, right? With all the new loot in that DE and Artisans make, we could use a "Temp" category to hold these guys. Maybe this is a little luvin they would have time to do before this upcoming publish?

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Naurbrannon wrote:
I'd suggest to change someway Structure maint. module, the 3 possibilities I see are:
1) The droid can be programmed to automatically take energy from a generator and deposit it into another (or more than one) harvester
2) The droid can be programmed to automatically collect resources from one or more harvesters and bring them to me (or to return to a specified point)
3) Both of the above

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Excellent suggestions. Adding to the first idea, perhaps the structure maintenance droid can simply allow you to add energy to a harvester from your personal inventory, since not everyone has energy generators. It would give it the extra value it needs.

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Drashk wrote:

I can see possible programming issues arising with adding items to a PCs inventory, in the form of gathering resources from a harvester, or removing items from a PCs inventory, in the form or depositing power to a structure.

Possible programming issues aside (though don't underestimate the Devs), I am simply conveying the sentiment that many non-DE's have expressed time and time again about the module. I agree that gathering resources may be an issue, but I don't see how transfering power from your inventory would - I have always assumed that was a question of balance, not difficulty.

The harvester interface already makes calculations based on the power you have and now displays it in it's true power value (not simply the quantity of resources) in the GUI, and since they were able to emulate the GUI slider on the credit deposit from away - the same end-user interface exists for both - I would tend to believe they could adapt/trick/whatever the corresponding harvester interface in the same way. The only difference is distance, and as we know the power wouldn't actually "travel" there - it's as much a metaphor when you "deposit" it when you are "touching" the harvester as opposed to doing it from the other side of the galaxy.

Gathering resources shouldn't be considered at all, and I'd never suggest that- that is definately out of the realm of balance - but possiblychanging resources is not. Bring up list of that type of resource on the planet (require the use of a survey droid toget the list in the first place! and simply let you pick one.Again, these are just ideas for saving the module - I'm all for scrapping it and deleting it from the game.

Creating Chassis/Module function might be another route to take in the form of a Power Droid and Structure Maintenance Module. When a Power Droid has a Structure Maintenance Module installed, the option to add power to a structure is introduce, at the cost of X credits to every 1 unit of power. If the ratio was somewhere between 2 to 5 credits per unti of power, it would not only ensure that it was still cheaper to use already established forms of powering a harvesters (IE Wind, Solar, Radioactives) but it would also provide one more additional credit sink to the group of people who should be offered more credit sinks (IE Resource Barons, Uber Rich, High end crafters).

That's an interesting idea. The only issue I'd have with it is that the structure maintainance module would then be useless on it's own, and we might as well just make it a part of a Power Droid, or hybird of such. And if we are gonna do that, might as well just make a new droid period, which would kind of defeat the purpose of "saving" the structure module.I'm not sure the Devs would go for it balance-wise (and the architects who make power generators and the resource miners would scream holy-heck for awhile), but it would be a neat feature. Maybe scrap the current structure maintainance module and then create a new limited use "power delivery" droid like a disposable survey-type droid?

AO

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AudioOrgana wrote:

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Straker_Atrella wrote:

Lot adjustment and going from 60 to 80 spaces in your inventory. Again while it is a good change, it reduces to some extent the need for storage droids.

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Give them storage, and they will find a way to use it.

This one actually doesn't concern me at all, because a) the main reason many players (i.e. combat) use storage droids is not simply for extra items to store, but for the no-decay on death (for armor, clothes, etc.), and b) the more storage space you give, the more people will "need". People want the biggest advantage possible, and that advantage will still be served with droids giving up to +50 to players item storage - the base has just been raised, that's all.

As to the structure maint, well, as noted, it was pretty much DOA. I tried to find use in it - and did for a time as a way to monitor my structures remotely, not necessarily actually add to their maint. pool, but with so many bugs it might as well be removed at this point. With the structure change, I think this is the best idea - unless the Devs cave and let them deliver power too (and maybe even change resources?)in which case they'd easily be my #1 seller (for a time, until everyone got them and never needed to buy from me again because droids don't decay ).

AO

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/agree

Please let them add power, that would make'em sooooo valueable, idbe making hundreds of them at a time and selling them

Seriously though it is a hassle to go planet hoping to make sure your harvs have maints/power, would reduce a very unneccessary time sink(one of the ones that makes crafting very un-fun)

Message Edited by Gron_DM on 02-07-2005 08:52 AM

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Gron_DM wrote:

/agree

Please let them add power, that would make 'em sooooo valueable, id be making hundreds of them at a time and selling them

Seriously though it is a hassle to go planet hoping to make sure your harvs have maints/power, would reduce a very unneccessary time sink(one of the ones that makes crafting very un-fun)

08:52 AM

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Maybe a bit too valuable. At 2:1 it would hit the energy market hard and take way too many customers away from the players that gather resources. Better to suggest it at 5:1 so only those people who can find resources will use it.

Though this brings up an interesting point. We want to increase droid functionallity? Well this case has us employing a droid to do something even while we are off-line. We should do more of that. Droids in shops that fix and recharge other droids like the garages fix speeders. We should be able to use droids provide minor services to other players even while offline.

The trick is to find something that they could implement easily/quickly. Yea, a system where we could leave droids behind in our shop to perform services would be very cool, but it doesn't really fall under the quick and easy category. While they're doing these little fixes we're better off comming up with things like paying credits to add x amount of power, or giving full structure control through the droid (changing admin lists, turning harvesters on/off, changing what they're mining, etc). These kinds of things should be fairly easy to implement and still provide a nice increase in the droid's capability.

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Straker_Atrella wrote:

Lot adjustment and going from 60 to 80 spaces in your inventory. Again while it is a good change, it reduces to some extent the need for storage droids.

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Give them storage, and they will find a way to use it.

This one actually doesn't concern me at all, because a) the main reason many players (i.e. combat) use storage droids is not simply for extra items to store, but for the no-decay on death (for armor, clothes, etc.), and b) the more storage space you give, the more people will "need". People want the biggest advantage possible, and that advantage will still be served with droids giving up to +50 to players item storage - the base has just been raised, that's all.

As to the structure maint, well, as noted, it was pretty much DOA. I tried to find use in it - and did for a time as a way to monitor my structures remotely, not necessarily actually add to their maint. pool, but with so many bugs it might as well be removed at this point. With the structure change, I think this is the best idea - unless the Devs cave and let them deliver power too (and maybe even change resources?)in which case they'd easily be my #1 seller (for a time, until everyone got them and never needed to buy from me again because droids don't decay ).

AO