Smuggler Archive
Thread: Yee gads...look at what I thought up (slicing stuff)
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NickHeel
Tue Sep 07, 2004 9:36 pm
#1
Eh, my mind was wondering after reading the newest "smugglers ruined my gun with a 17% speed slice" thread and I came up with an idea....tell me what you think.
Here goes:
Ok, we know smugglers have got to get slicing overhauled and will in due time. But how is it going to be done? I'd hate for the same "clamp, click, click, click, result" method to be used only the tools could be experimented on. It's not new, it's not that fun, and it's just....bland. So how do you make it interactive and fun to your smuggler and add immersion?
My idea would be based around the idea that every Joe Schmo Rifleman or TKA doesn't walk around with illegally modified equipment. It's a standard now for everyone to have their gun sliced to 35% damage. And that's just not the way it should be. Slicing was a tedious and dangerous thing to do to your weapon which is why it's not only outlawed by the Empire (and it's an added threat) but by nearly all local authorities. If you make the process more tedious and dangerous you won't have weaponsmiths contracting smugglers to slice 30 crates of T21s. Again, this goes on the basis that local authorities and the Empire actually scan and pick up on these and penalties are enforced (fined 30% of your cash/bank credits) or the offender is assaulted(3mobs that are X number ofcombat levels above the offender)as a real threat.
Sliced weapons shouldn't be rampant. They should be looked at by your average gamer like "wow, look at that Carbine...that's gotta be sliced! I'd love to get mine sliced but I'm afraid of getting stomped or fined by the CorSec detachment at the starport." It doesn't gimp any one but it's risk and reward and this should be a very risky thing.
Here's the way I think the process should go:
When you start slicing it's like opening the inside of the gun. You choose to use a Molecular Clamp(we'll use clamp for this example)or FAN depending on your certification. You apply the clamp to the gun's systems to monitor certain subsystems and it monitors them a little more accurately depending on how well the smuggler experimented on them. Now you get your laser knife out and choose to cut the wire connecting the power output regulator (for damage), the recharge modulator (for speed), the energy purifying system (wound chance), or some other "system" that has a unique name to it. The clamp will then indicate that the wire you cut has caused a certain rise in the instabilty of the gun's power-pak or something. You can slice as many wires as you can to increase certain characteristics of the gun and the text box will report back that you "reconnected X system" or "short-cutted Y modulator".
Each slice randomly raises the instability of the power-pack every time (would maybe only get a 40% change to the weapon at master) and you could only slice it so many timesbefore you failed the slice by "causing an overload to the power-pak. The pak has melted itself into the weapon can no longer by fired". The Clamp would alert you to this by reporting back "The power-paks instabilty has hardly changed". The gamble would be in the times you wish to slice it...."the power-pak's radiant energy signature indicates it can't take much more". Do you slice a certain system again and hope to squeeze out a little bit more before the pak overloads or do you quit while you're ahead and hope you did very good?
The outcome will be random to a degree but be very much selectable which benefits both side of the debate. Smugglers get a feeling that they're actually tweaking something by fiddling with different subsystems and taking a risk at ruining their weapon with that one extra slice to speed for the reward of having the ability to maybe squeeze one more shot off than the other guy. Figure an entirely "damage" sliced gun to have a range in between 35% and 40% randomly. But after the combat revamp, speed might be much more important so you'd want to split it a bit. After the slice is over you'd get a report on what's been affected and by how much "You have successfullyincreased the speed by 10%, the damage by 24%, wound the wound chance by 6%".
What you all think?
Message Edited by NickHeel on 09-07-2004 11:51 PM
NickHeel
Tue Sep 07, 2004 9:44 pm
#2
Here's another lil thing that could make this a real "skill" and not a glorified click this then that until your clamp says that. Kind of a thing I saw a problem with when I read my thread again.
Say you start getting to the end of your power-pak's stability but it only took 3 slices to get there and it usually takes 4. Maybe you still have an option to slice a small bit of damage into it and you don't know it.
So, there's another option...attatch another clamp or maybe just "...check the partical energyoutput wire to see if it feels hot". And "you feel a lot of warmth but nothing serious". So you decide to slice the Power Output Regulator wire one more time and it works, your clamp reports you're still go but in the red. Time to shut 'er down.
Another cool thing to add actually slicing experience with smugglers would be to have different types of weapons have different subsystems so only you're truely experienced smugglers would know that a DL-44's systems say this and do this and that this wire will feel this hot when it can't take any more.
KefkaQ
Tue Sep 07, 2004 10:53 pm
#3
Those are pretty neat ideas. I LIKE the idea about borking the weapons, but the downside would be the people complaining that their expensive weapon was ruined, when they were the one's that asked for 'one more wire..'
Hoenir
Wed Sep 08, 2004 6:23 am
#4
yeah these sound like cool ideas 
I had forgotten about people getting upset at you borking their weapons, I guess that's because for the last 11 months I've only sliced for friends, guildmates, and people from my player city
NickHeel
Wed Sep 08, 2004 6:38 am
#5
That's the thing though...
You make the system tedious and dangerous so you don't see smugglers spamming to illegally modify your bulk weapons for dirt cheap prices right out in front of Starports in front of CorSec.
And as far as breaking weapons, that's the thing. You running the risk of it and you won't even come close to breaking it if you just leave it and "complete the slice" when the Clamp gives you a certain message. You don't have to push the envelope.
People have gotten so used to it that they think Slicing is a standard. Slicing shouldn't be the standard. Everyone shouldn't have sliced weapons.
I'd almost rather give Sliced weapons tags to where only Smugglers andBounty Hunters (like Lightsaber), and Masters of elite professions could use them. And if it was a master of an elite profession, they may experience a MUCH faster decay since they wouldn't know how to control their weapon because it would cause excessive over heating in the power-pak and the like.
Some Smugglers may say "But what about my slicing business?" Screw your slicing business, you're a smuggler not a slicer but I won't. What I will say is this..
We shouldn't be earning our keep from slicing, spice, and faction points. We shuold besmuggling contraband such as spice with Underworld, Slicing, and Dirty Fighting being our tools to help us.
You don't see Riflemen having 4 seperate lines that are seperate. You see Riflemen using 4 lines together to perform their main function (using Rifles) that is their name sake: RIFLES.
CorellianCowboy
Wed Sep 08, 2004 9:22 am
#6
Absolutely love the idea. I'd make one suggested change... breaking the weapon to the point of not firing creates a lot of room for griefers. My suggestion instead is to cause failure to void out all the ehancements made by slicing, perhaps make the weapon incompatible with powerups, and cause some damage to the weapon.
FlyinDuke
Wed Sep 08, 2004 10:33 am
#7
I think this is a great idea, but I really agree with NickHeel, it shouldn't be for everyone.
Why? Because too many people with "oversliced" Flamethrowers, Lighting Cannons, Scatter Pistols, Launcher Pistols, etc isn't pvp, its the first person to double click on an enemy to attack who would win.
djswift2k
Fri Sep 10, 2004 9:47 am
#8
i typically hate this sort of idea, but im inclined to like this specific one for a few reasons. its quite similar to crafting experimentatoin and assembly kind of combined in a way, choosing how many points to put in atonce for a single experiment at avaried risk by ammount, etc. seems somewhat feasable under existing game mechanics without too much new coding etc, and seems to fall in line with current game standards for equipment as well. this could be interesting.
stealth mcownzjoo from valcyn
slicemeister
Fri Sep 10, 2004 11:11 pm
#9
hehehe, sounds cool!
but i was thinking more along the lines of making a weapon unstable by slicing it...
So you hand it back to the person there should be a chance with the thing blowing up in their faces. just like with the old guns they were unstable to and would blow up in the users face if
the metal wasn't of a good quality.
I'd say let the persaon using it take the risk...it's a bit like overclocking your computer, it might
make it faster...but it can also fry it!
Isleh
Sat Sep 11, 2004 3:28 am
#10
Love the idea, I also like the idea of not disabling the weapon but seriously reducing the max condition if you push too far on the slice.
CorellianCowboy wrote:
Absolutely love the idea. I'd make one suggested change... breaking the weapon to the point of not firing creates a lot of room for griefers. My suggestion instead is to cause failure to void out all the ehancements made by slicing, perhaps make the weapon incompatible with powerups, and cause some damage to the weapon.
djtorre
Sat Sep 11, 2004 8:05 am
#11
nick man this deserves a stickie
i pretty much agree with you.
i think that slices shouldnt be a that common thing.
if u want a reall good slice you should be able to do oit but at a risk of course.
the thing is that we as a family,the smugglers give really good ideas to help our profesion but sadly we dnt know if they will ever come thru
i hope this does really
NickHeel
Sat Sep 11, 2004 10:05 am
#12
Isleh wrote:
Love the idea, I also like the idea of not disabling the weapon but seriously reducing the max condition if you push too far on the slice.
CorellianCowboy wrote:
Absolutely love the idea. I'd make one suggested change... breaking the weapon to the point of not firing creates a lot of room for griefers. My suggestion instead is to cause failure to void out all the ehancements made by slicing, perhaps make the weapon incompatible with powerups, and cause some damage to the weapon.
Yeah, that would work too! Great idea.
So, if you fail the slice or go too far then you might receive an error message saying "The power-pak's power transfer port has been partially fused. This weapon is now unslicable." And all your modifications are wiped so you're left with the base stats and maybe 60 or 75% condition of the weapon. The gun would also still obtain a "This gun has been sliced and may bring unwanted attention...." tag as well.
Nice idea 
And yeah...this thread should be stickied and...umm...Five-Starred too! Yeah! Nah, really it's just a few ideas that I brainstormed up Nothing organized or that has a lot of input or community support on. I stand behind Caylin on whatever his decisions are since he ain't done us wrong yet (done very well so far in fact) and I'm sure he's got better ideas than this. I kinda actually like the Experimental Slicing thing which is why I kind of put a spin on it by just adding role play text and instead of just maxing out your slicing points something actually happens to your weapon. So, that's all it is.
Thanks for the responses though I appreciate it!
Rogue135
Sat Sep 11, 2004 10:07 am
#13
Not that it matters anyway, but I always thought power packs were ammunition, that's what they're referred to in "Star Wars - The Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology".However, considering there is no ammunition and continuity was blown outta the sky months ago (Slicing in this game has NOTHING to do with the EU form of slicing, which is the equivlant of hacking as far as I can tell... save a computer here or a terminal there), I guess something this small would be barely noticeable.
For the record, I'm still against experimentation on our tools, but I do like the idea of experimentation on the actual weapon. It offers a few possibilities, including maybe being able to slice both damage and speed.
Message Edited by Rogue135 on 09-11-2004 12:12 PM
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