Image Designer Archive
Thread: Alternatives to the timer; how can we improve
I'm sitting here at Novice Ent. Yeah I am hologrinding. And stupid me did not pay attention to anything going on around me, so guess who did not do MID first.
Anyway. I think the timer should be prorated. Look I am Novice Ent, I have 20 colors. It is not like I have to do special things to pick one of 20 colors. It should take me less time. Anyone that has dyed their hair extreme colors with dark hair knows they must first become a very white shade of blonde, then dye it blue. This should take the masters longer to accomplish this. Then what you will see is that effectively the Novice is warranted when you only want to go from a basic natural color to another. Say 10 seconds. If someone wants to dream to be extreme then they should have to visit a MID. I do not want someone who has never dyed hair before to try to turn mine blue. It could burn out and ruin it. So that being said the only compromise I can see for this class at all is less of a timer based first on skill and secondly complexity.
If you will Colors should be given Difficulty Levels like creatures or other MOBs. The higher the DL the longer it takes. In this manner a Nov Ent can say I will change your hair from blonde to brown and undercut the MID because it is so basic for 100cr. While the MID can only change the extreme colors will charge what ever amount they want in order to make more money over time just to keep up with the Novice. If this sounds like it works reverse of real life it sorta does, but for anyone who has ever gotten a hair cut at any Beautician Academy, you will see it is often cheaper than a full fledged real life MID. Often much quicker as well. The comparisons are simpler because the trainee also knows only very basic cuts.
Ok there you have it. Longer timers for more colors and going up in levels. Just my two cents.
If the timer is here to stay then fine, it is not by itself the problem. Macro'ing ID looks to be over, good riddance, I am not a pro at macros but the new interface looks to have stopped that. But the xp gained per session, compared to the time you must wait to do it again and get more is not balanced. SOE stated they wanted the casual gamer to be able to finish ID in about a month, anyone can do the math given the info in these forums, and the info from aspiring ID (like myself, or should I say as I was... I dropped it in dismay at 4/3/0/0 with little interest in grinding 60 hours to finish) and see that only a hardcore gamer, with friends willing to help nonstop, coulf master ID in the stated timeframe. ID had one big problem with several factors to blame for it. The ability to macro and have a friend hit a button like mad was a problem, and looks to be fixed by the interace change. With some brandy or some other buff/ effect the mind hit was not enough, moot point now, with what looks like a permenant timer. No real cost for the profession to master it. I mastered architect in 45 mins by making gungan head statues next to a trainer in bestine, but the actual time to finish was a month and some change, as I spent my time in that month harvesting ore and steel for the xp grind to come, and convincing friends to move their harvesters to the spots I found to help me get the resources I needed. No cost at all here, so in 2 hours you could master a prof with only the training fees to pay. Still no cost, but the time to master is now held in check (may I add far to harshly...) by the combination of the timer, the inability to macro ID, and the pathetic xp. (again pathetice when held against the time involved, use the timer and raise the xp and it would be a lot better..) You want my idea for fixing the prof? Fix either the timer, by making it shorter, or the xp, by making it higher. Leave the interface, as it is quite nice, and the afk macro finishing a job is wank anyway 
I suppose my dislike for only putting the timers on novice ID is a rant for another day, but in that you have made getting the customers you need much harder, as who would wait on the timer if given the chance at no wait ID work. Not a lot, I think most would look to masters for faster, and much more advanced ID work.
Kwee wrote:
I know there's not much to do before Novice ID. Honestly, that's just not something that came up when I've prepared any docs for the devs based on community input b/c those who post here are typically at least Novice ID's. It's definitely a little empty on the Ent branch. Any new content we ever get I have to push for it to be added to the ID tree, that's what I represent as you say. When I was an ent I did find a lot of business for hair color and eye color, but now people wanting changes are mostly interested in the new colors which only start at Novice ID. I'll keep it at the back of my mind if we ever get loads of new art content added, but when we got the latest things for example I was told they wanted them all to be Novice ID on up.
Kwee, have you posted any of our post-timer ideas for the improvement of the profession onto the corrispondant forum, and if so what kind of feedback are we looking at? I still stand by my statment that at all levels a proffession needs to have something to offer that is of use to someone other than themselves. I feel this should apply to all professions, but I am primarily concerned with Entertainer and ID right now, seeing as that is where I am focusing my own skill points at the moment.
As far as new art content is concerned: Yeah I know we arn't getting it. SOE doesn't seem to want to build thier staff enough to deliver on all their promises. However, creative use of what is already there can go a long way.
Kwee wrote:
I know I mentinoed post timers at some point as an option. Personally I'd rather have the timer be in the session, at least for part of it you're working, and maybe all of it. Here obviously I'm thinking of those ID's who get their exp by working on customers mostly, and there are plenty of these. Post ID timers would make their exp grind longer when they have already chosen the difficult path.
You can see in my sig EXACTLY how many customers of mine have not asked for stat migrations. What it doesn't tell you is that two of my stat migration cutomers had to have stat migrations done three times or more. The first was four times, but he communicated well. I am not unhappy with that. The other had to have it done three times, and he didn't communicate so effectivly.
If stat migrations wern't about the only way I could possibly get any money, I wouldn't do them. I really hope that you are polling effectivly and advocating the stance of the IDs you are polling instrad of your own, because most of what I am seeing is that the clock ( not the timer, small difference ) sucks. I don't have a problem with chatting a while with my customer and working on getting more out of them as far as changes are concerned, but it should be my choice and not enforced by a clock and a tent. Spending thirty minutes with someone who's favorite phrase is "lol" is not something that makes my short list of favorite activities.
In short: The Player community ID structures cannot come soon enough. Oh, and a tent is not acceptatable. If art is a problem, reskin a med center like you reskinned the tents.
Being FORCED to spend large amounts of time with people is BAD, Okay? I'll do it if I want to and the customer isn't an ass, but I shouldn't HAVE to. And before you say "Well, don't spend time with those people." I'll pre-emtivly retort with this: I have maintence fees. Refusing customers because I don't like their attitude isn't going to get those paid.
Yes, this post is a little hostile. I'll appologise once I feel that the ID community is being appropreatly represented and recieving anadiquate amount of Developer attention.
As an ID customer, I'd like to add a customer's voice to the timer concerns. This process has become far too tedious, the options far too few, and the value not at all worth the effort. I watched those in front of me migrate hundreds of points in 10 min. My turn, and still 10 min for a mere 50 pts. This is not a working system.
Ona constructive note:
1) Return the ability to make painfully slow changes to stats to the generalplayerbase. Make ID a timely alternative, not a neccissity. This will help the demand subside enough without removing a viable income source for IDs
2) Allow the ID to initiate the process and then go about their business. Accept the change up front, then have it alter over time.
3) Make a correlation between the amount migrated and the time it takes.
Just the thoughts of annother broken player-service master (Slicing)
I was REALLY enjoying it. I didn't know it would be that fun.
But now that the timer is in place i find myself telling people
i'm kinda busy when they msg me for a mod. The whole timer thing
(and this is not a rant) just made me lose interest because I like
to work really fast on people and send them on their way.
It's be nice if xp was lowered A LOT in exchange for dropping the
whole timer thing.
Message Edited by -Boushh- on 05-26-2004 04:00 AM