Ranger Archive
Thread: A device that draws specific creatures to it.
Ah, I think I get it.
It's one of those traps that a hunter leaves in the wilderness for a bit of time, and then checks it every so often to see what the "take of the day" is. Just for the "is it Star Wars" crowd, it sounds like a variant on the Ewok trap that got Chewbacca et al in Episode 6.
Unfortunately, as you've defined it, I don't see the Devs going for it. It's basically an Organic Harvester. We can already do that to a degree, but not really with the ability to harvest a great amount of resources. Organics are supposed to be rarer than their inorganic kin. Your idea could make for worse inflation, driving down the organic CPU and increasing order quantities to such a degree that you're basically required to use this trap. And then you're not really a Ranger anymore. You're an Organic Miner 
I think it's definitely technically feasible. Harvesters don't actually harvest. They calculate the time between now and the last time you were there and estimate how much it should have drawn based on Base Extraction Rate, hopper size and percentage of the vein. Then they give you those values when you open Operate Machinery. This Trap could do the same. If you want to watch it do it (like watching a Windmill turn... it only turns when you're in view), then it could just run scripted events to show it working.
But having said that, I think I still prefer a trap that works with actual hunting instead of one that replaces it.
Just my thoughts 
Allright allright... just trying to make our ranger lifes a tad easier
We could make it a master ranger type thing
Im opposed to meat/ bone/ hide harvesters because that really takes the fun out of hunting and areatrack.
although, i really like the lure idea a lot
I'm definetly open to suggestions... I don't really present my ideas as well as I could, so if anyone has any tweaks they'd like to add, then I'm all for it
One thing a frined mentioned is that the .. ehh. .let's call them "thumpers" would have to take up lots... so you had a limit as to how many you would place..
It is better than just harvesting.. i mean, you do have to go there, and kill the critters that got drawn to your thumper.. so it's not necesseraly a walk in the park... it just gives us some guaranteed spawn points... granted, with a limited number of spawns. Just makes us more efficient at what we do.
I also never really notice prices dropping that much.. people always need the good stuff, and they are always willing to pay top credit for it. They might not pay as much when it's available, but if you wait two weeks when the good stuff goes away, then you'll definetly get the price you want. I figure we all pretty much try to do that to some extent.
CapnKill wrote:
Allright allright... just trying to make our ranger lifes a tad easier
We could make it a master ranger type thing
Hehe, no doubt our lives could be easier I'm just thinking of the children the children man!
Ahh, yea. Where was I?
Oh, the idea.
Automated Lure systems could be really cool. I'm just concerned that there might be a disparity between the type of person who's a Ranger and a system of automated resource harvesting. I'd love to find a middle ground. Something that makes our hunting more fun. More options. Really, there's very limited reasons to use Traps currently. They're fun, but so few provide much benefit, and none are ones we couldn't live completely without.
So your Thumper followup could be that great halfway point!
Youdrop one. You walk away. Come back a few hours/days later and within an energy field "pen" are X number of mobs. The Thumper attracted them all in. Now you need to kill them.
There's a few dynamics here that may be compelling:
- The Thumper could have two concentric "dome" radii:
- Attraction field- This is the area of coverage in which all mobs would be attracted to the thumper. Experimentation widens/narrows the area. (I just got a huge deja vu here... this been discussed before?)
- Retention field- This is the area in which the mobs are held. Experimentation widens/narrows the area.
- The Thumper is crafted on site. It's mob specific. You want to attract Gurrcats, you need to make a Gurrcat Thumper. At higher levels of skill, you can widen that to be a Herbivore or Carnivore Thumper or the like.
- When you return to check progress, there are X mobs there. X is based on the time away and the fields used.
- They are all within the Retention Field, but are all socially aggro now. If you fire at one, it's coming with his buddies.
#4 is where it could get interesting. Wait too long between checking and you'll be coming back with a group of friends to assist. But the riches.... oh the riches! In box harvest and XP.
It's a complicated concept. I'd love to hear from veterans though
Coincidentally, I just posted as my first preference in the Trap Launcher thread, the desire for a Stationary Trap and Lures
I thinkyour's is asolid idea. But because of the way the spawn system works, I would rather see it just be something you plant and then start drawing in the mobs that you already see. For example:
- Come upon a static spawn lair which has mobs around it
- Determine the mob type and craft a Lure and Trap for it. Both appear in your inventory
- Plant the trap
- Equip the lure
- Activate the lure (using /attack). The mobs start a comin'
- They get whatever-affected by the trap. Maybe it's a super mesh. Maybe it's a frag grenade
I recommend using a Lure to bring the mobs in instead of attacking them (which will certainly draw them) because a Lure is a benign way to draw the curious. If you opened fire, the mobs would be so focused on you that they'd ignore even an enticing trap.
Of course, I would be just as happy if they gave us an AOE Adhesive Mesh at Master Ranger 
Message Edited by Darniaq on 02-06-2004 03:11 PM
Yes, the lure idea is very good.
My thoughts were on a seperate system which actually will spawn creatures in a desired location over a period of time..
I would prefer that the creatures get drawn to the device as opposed to spawning right next to it.. but, I think having them migrate over to it is probably not likely to happen... I'm talking long ranges.
I can just see two people walking in teh wilderness.. rain is pouring down... then they seem something in teh ground with a beacon flashing at regular intervals... All of a sudden they hear heavy footsteps, and then crap their pants when a Krayt finally comes to investigate the "lure".
Obviously the bigger and tougher the creature the smaller amount of spawns you'll get.. Krayts maybe 1 or 2.. etc..