Entertainer Archive

Cross-posting this from the General Discussion board:

I just wanted to rate some of the ideas expressed here on a scale of 1-10 with explanations why I rate them that way.

Idea #1: "Entertainment Vending-Machine"

This is the idea, that when someone clicks /watch or /listen, a window pops up with the pre-set "rate" on that performer's services, which can be accepted or rejected.

I am passionately against this idea, because:

1. It cheapens the profession, reducing it to being all about the healing and the money, and nothing else.
   
2. Customers wouldn't tip much, if at all, because they'd feel that they're already paying for the service. Therefore, it doesn't reward positive social interaction and good roleplay, which is currently rewarded in the form of /tips.

Why not just let droid engineers make dancing/playing droids, installed with convenient coin-slots? I am not a wind up doll.

My rating: 1

Idea #2: Cover charge

Charging an upfront fee to enter the cantina which gets split among the entertainers.

Although this seems like a popular idea, it's not a very good one for several reasons:

1. Long-term AFK Macro Entertainers (LAMErs) don't deserve a cut.
   
2. You shouldn't restrict access to the cantina, in case people need to meet business clients, buy a Jawa beer, etc...
   
3. Difficult to program, especially in such a way as to make it fair.
   
4. People would be less inclined to /tip, feeling that they were already paying for the service.
   
5. It is an indirect extension of the Entertainment Vending Machine in #1 above.

Otherwise, it's a fine idea for private cantinas... along with the ability to "bounce" rude or troublesome clients.

But that already exists.

My rating: 3

Idea #3: Deny Service

The abilityof an entertainer not to heal someone's BF or mind wounds on a case by case basis.

Not a terrible idea, but it has its problems:

1. It's not realistic. If I can hear a musician, I can enjoy the music. If I can see a dancer, I can enjoy the show.
   
2. It creates the abilityforEntertainers to become Entertainment Vending Machines as in #1 above, which I am dead-set against.However, this is hopefully balanced by the large number of entertainers who would only use it to block out griefing customers. Still, enough entertainers would set up as "play for pay" that it would add resentment against the profession as a whole.
   
3. How would you implement it at a group level? Can anyone in the group choose to /denyservice on a customer, and thereby deny the services of the entire group? Or would it only be that portion of the healing provided by that one performer's actions? If the former, then that leads to group problems. If the latter, then will it really stop the griefing? I doubt it.

My rating: 4

Idea #4: Focus Performance

The opposite of Deny Service. Reduce the benefits of entertainment healing across the boardfor people who are /watch-ing or /listen-ing passively. Add a way to make it a two-way interaction for enhanced healing.

Two ways of doing this are:

1. Add a /focus type command for dancers. Those who are being /focus-ed will get a healing boost.
   
2. OR simply give the /flourish command a target.(i.e. /flourish 1 %TT) Those who are targeted by the flourish get a healing boost for the duration of that flourish OR until the performertargetssomeone else.

The reasons I like this:

1. It's realistic (for dancers at least). Tip a dancer, and she pays more attention to you. The more attention, the more "entertaining" it is for the customer.
   
2. Though it's not quite as realistic for musicians... it still approximates the idea of the "tip-jar" for musicians, who often take requests from tippers. (thinking of Billy Joel's Piano Man song)
   
3. It discouragesLAMErs. I don't think there isa way to macro changing the target is there? (without 3rd party utilities, which are verboten).
   
4. Griefers and non-tippers will still get their healing, but more slowly.

My rating: 8... but to make it a 10... add the following feature:

I just found out about the mind boosting abilities of performers. Make it so that mind-boost is impossible without this entertainer focus. Healing can be free, albeit slow... but mind boosting is a "premium service". Plus, since mind-boosting takes time to build up, it will take the long-term attentions of aperformer to max it out. This makes the dancer's time more valuable, and people will tip well for it.

This last idea is the best one yet, especially,IMHO, withmy additional feature. Anyone care to dispute it?

Lorilei Celestri
Apprentice Dancer
Chilastra

I think the word TIP should be banned from this site LOL

for Medic/Entertainers It payment for services rendered. a Tip is a gratuity added on to a payment.

Also I prefer scenario 1 or 2.. 3 and 4 i dont care for at all

I think there's too many people who want the Entertainer profession to be an Automatic money making profession. Just hit the Dance macro and read a book while the money flows in.

Heaven forbid that someone should actually have to WORK at it. God help us that one dancer should make MORE money than another because she works harder or is BETTER at it.

Why not just do it the good old fashioned way? Take EVERYONE'S tips at the end of the day, put them in a big pool and then share them equally out to every Dancer and Entertainer in the galaxy. Sounds Eminently fair and equitable. Lets see I think they used to call that....Communism. Then we could duplicate the wonderful success it was in the former Soviet Union.

Lorilei you get a 10+ for excellent use of colors!

There is a big flaw with your idea #4 though... you could never buff an entire group if you had to /focus on one person at a time for 10 minutes. By the time you buffed a group, your other buffs would be gone already. I personally would prefer to have the 10 minute timer to "charge up" the buff over making it a focused ability.

Overall though, while I don't find the need for it, I think it would be a good compromise for those that want some type of control over their "healing powers".

(I would much rather see them focusing on things like new songs and dances and flourishes)

---

There is a big flaw with your idea #4 though... you could never buff an entire group if you had to /focus on one person at a time for 10 minutes. By the time you buffed a group, your other buffs would be gone already. I personally would prefer to have the 10 minute timer to "charge up" the buff over making it a focused ability.

---

Good point. But why shouldn't a dancer/musician be able to /focus more than one player at a time? Target, type /focus, repeat. Or a group invites you and you can use "/focus group"?

I like this idea. It gives us something tangible to offer other than the small Mind buffs we can already do (and which many players aren't familiar with). I do not, however, think it should be offerable in camps in the wilderness any more than BF. The last thing the entertainment profession needs is to make it ok for Bounty Hunters and CHs to dabble in Novice music so they never have to come to a cantina or hotel.

Want it done right? Call a professional.

#1
- No, no and no. A set price list? Come on that's not a /tip at all. And what's stopping me from accepting the tip and walking away without healing?

#2
- People don't want to do this either. They see the downtime as a burden. FORCING payment like this is not going to improve our relationship with the customer that already despises having to /watch us.

#3
- Just stupid. How people figure pushing people to afk'ers is going to increase their tips is beyond me because that's all /deny is going to do. Someone will always be there to take your place of healing. For me /deny will be the command after /addignore for the people I just plain want to forget they exist not just not wanting to heal them.

#4
- Best idea of the 4 offered. Has a posibility of a tip increase if there's a message on the screen that says "Goldy has focused healing on you" or something so they know who to tip if they want to.

Other thoughts...

#5 /perform
- Similar to the /focus idea but limits healing of the entertainer to 1 person. This makes it more in line with medics (you know exactly who to tip with a medic, the person that just spent fifteen mintues and 10+ wound packs healing you). The customer comes in to /watch and /listen all they want but they will not get healed until the entertainer chooses to /perform for that customer.
Benefits:
- You must be at the computer to heal.
- When someone gets healed is no longer the customer's choice. Like the medical center the person that comes in and /tip me from the get go is the person I'm going to heal first.

I truely believe the power to heal and enhance has to be removed from the customer's power and put into our hands if we want to see tips more frequently. Make us more essential and less like and NPC healing machine. Make AFK'ers absolutely useless to those wanting heals and they will slowly dwindle away.

Anyone care to rate my idea?

Of course other thoughts are to allows us to heal mind in the field for some of that combat cash and UP THE ENTERTAINER MISSION CASH.

Thanks for the comments, people!

Maybe those of you who like this idea can give the initial post a good rating? That way, it's more likely to show up on the Devs' radar, I think... at least for those who search with a minimum rating filter on.

Thanks,
Lorilei

I don't see any logical reason how someone could dislike option 4. Care to explain?

I Have a different Suggestion for the Entertainer issue.

UberSniper01 walks into a cantina with mind wounds and battle fatigue. He find an enetertainer that appeals to him then clicks /listen or /watch at which time the system makes a note of theamount of Mind wounds and BF then opens an box where Ubersniper01 enter an amount of creadits he's willing to pay for healing. the Entertainer get a dialouge box stating UberSnipe01 would like xxx amount of mind wounds and xxx amount of BF healed. and is offering xxx amount od credits . do you accept? the Enetertainer then clicks accept or decline if the amount seems reasonable. then healing begins. when healing has been completed the agreed upon amount is then credited to the Entertainer.

I think this could also work somehow for Medics.

what do you think?

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=entertainer&message.id=3194

reposted from

Payment not Tip!

this is my suggestion for the payment for Healing situation.

I have changed my mind I do like #4..and I see no reason why something like both cant be implemented.