Smuggler Archive
Thread: My ideas for spices
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KincaideStrangeways
Thu Jun 17, 2004 8:17 am
#1
I have never posted on this particular forum. i am usually in the GCW or other forum. I used to go by the name CyberThugg. Those that know my posts know they are never short and this is no exception. I had mentioned these ideas to my guildmates and they thought I should post them here since they are talking about revamping smuggler anyways. Well here goes.
Star Wars Galaxies
Smuggler Discussion
Spices
Version 2.0
Smuggler Discussion
Spices
Version 2.0
Overview
This topic covers the problems with the games current drug trade and with a few changes I hope to improve the role of spices in the game. The way spices are done now are too rigid and self limiting. You have 2 uber spices and nothing else is worth selling. These changes are meant to bring spice use closer to the way real drugs work.
The Suggestion
Currently Spices force a downtime on you whenever you take them ... The downtime was meant to show there was a downside to using drugs. It's not a realistic effect. You can make spices more dangerous while at the same time removing the silly forced downtime. I also suggest making downtime more meaningful by extending your downtime when you do stop spicing. This would give drugs the addiction factor... people will want to keep spicing to avoid the downtime. On top of this I propose making each successive use of a spice without a downtime less effective until the player goes through the accumulated downtime. I propose changing spices so one or two are not the most uber in the game. It kills the demand for anything else. I also will work in a way to stack different spices but make it dangerous to do so.
The Details
A. Downtime
1. Remove the forced downtime. Oh the downtime still exists but it can be prevented by re-spicing. As long as you’re spicing you will not experience the downtime.
2. Spices become less effective as you use them until you have quit and gone through the complete downtime.
3. The downtime is cumulative. Each spicing you do with out going through a complete downtime makes the eventual downtime longer.
4. Spices should be revamped so there is at least one uber spice for each HAM group.
5. Downtime is longer while offline. Meaning your downtime takes a lot longer to clear if you are not logged in. This is to help prevent the spice all night and sleep it off syndrome. (When I mean a lot longer I mean in the order of a day or two.) Essentially the timer will progress at a much slower rate. (There needs to be a serious counter slowdown to prevent the spice all you want then sleep it off overnight effect but not to completely stop the counter so as not to hurt the casual player who only plays a couple of times a week.)
6. Downtime can be reduced by visiting a medical center.
7. Doctors can create medicines to help speed up the downtime counter. Once the pack has been applied the counter will decrease at an improved rate. However, only doctors can administer them and they are only effective while in the medical center. (Essentially Rehab.) Once a player leaves the medical center the timer returns to normal speed.
B. Spices
1. Spices should be revamped so any particular spice only affects one out of the nine ham bars.
2. The crafter would make the individual spices and sell them. They could experiment on Power, Duration, Amount and Mutability. (Mutability determines the likely hood of suffering bad effects when the end user mixes them.)
3. Add drug kits to the game. The end user would buy portable drug kits that would allow them to do various things with the spices they have purchased. The kits would also be able to hold multiple doses of prepared spice cocktails and each kit would only take up one inventory slot. (Just like a crate but these may be used like food is during combat.)
4. Allow persons to mix and match spices. Using a drug kit a person may mix different spices into a cocktail, concentrate dosage or weaken dosage.
C. Overdosing and Drug Poisoning
1. Persons who create cocktails or concentrate dosage risk overdosing or poisoning themselves and suffering ill effects while the spices are in effect. Each additional spice added to the original spice increases this risk.
2. Doctors can create medicines to counteract the overdosing or drug poisoning. However, they may only be administered by a doctor of sufficient rank and only within a medical center. Droids, Camps do not count.
3. A player may be incapacitated by a spice overdose. This would be a good use for the mind bar after the combat revamp. I don't advocate being killed by it because the combination of losing buffs, having to clone, and then suffering item decay due to a spice death would blow blue whale.
4. A player may suffer a psychotic episode by taking extreme spice cocktails. I could see it having effects like doing random emotes, performing various commands, garbling text, weird color effects on screen etc…
5. A player may suffer a drug poisoning by overdosing or taking an extreme cocktail. This would cause a mind wound damage over time effect (DOT).
D. Medications
1. Rehabilitation packs – Created by doctors to speed up the downtime counters of spicers withdrawing from spice use. These may only be crafted and administered by doctors of the appropriate skill and are only effective while the target is within the medical center.
2. Drug poisoning stims – Created by doctors and combat medics to help cure ill effects caused by overdosing/drug poisoning. These may only be crafted and administered by a doctor or combat medic. Doctor versions are more effective but may only be used in a medical center whereas combat medic versions are weaker but able to be used anywhere outside of combat.
3. I try not to get into specific time lengths or effectiveness because there is no way to really know what’s acceptable until it’s been tested. That said, I am thinking along the lines of the same length of time it takes entertainers to heal bf.
4. These stims and packs would have ratings and effectiveness similar to current stims and wound packs. They would be crafted in a similar manner by the respective professions.
E. Other things
1. I never liked the idea of the imperials scanning for spices and sliced goods. The imperials have better things to do like look for rebels (I have some ideas for this but that’s another post). I would love however for law enforcement NPC’s to be setup in the larger towns and if you’re openly sporting questionable items or if you’re spicing within sight of one, they can stop you and scan you for illegal goods. This could open the door later for a possible Law Enforcement faction idea that would allow players to get involved with enforcing laws within SWG. (But that’s another topic.)
2. Lets see some NPC’s take spices. Players aren’t the only drug users.
3. How about a line of spices for pets. There could be ill effects made for them for overdosing like going incapacitated, attacking its owner not responding to commands etc…
Conclusion
These changes should make spices more useful, more versatile and also give a true downside that’s lacking with current spice use. Currently I almost never spice except when I'm in immediate danger and then I only use one type of spice. Buffs last like 5 times longer and have no downside plus they are much more powerful. I don’t get why spices are so gimped when food and buffs are so much more powerful. In reality spices are supposed to be the ultra-powerful method of mind and body alteration not meds or food. The downside is they can screw you up royally.
BabyRancor
Thu Jun 17, 2004 10:19 am
#2
Good ideas - I like them a lot.
Not so sure about the psychotic episode though - sounds interesting but I personally never liked that effect in other games.
Geauxx
Fri Jun 18, 2004 9:02 am
#4
I like the thought put into your ideas. I think the psychotic episode would be hillarious but not too pratical. Some fool might thinkthey are talking to a player and really talking to a Wort! 
Geaux Darkcloud
KincaideStrangeways
Sat Jun 19, 2004 2:35 pm
#5
Thanx for the replies. Keep them coming. The psychotic episode seems to be a sticking point for some people. While personally I think it would be an interesting addition to make more of a downside to using spices I understand reluctance in doing so. If it was happening constantly I could see an issue. I would suggest making it so you could build up dosage to avoid the episodes. start with very weak dosage and gradually increase dosage. Those who suffer psychotic episodes usually do so because they took too much too quickly or because they mixed drugs they shouldn't have. Could see careful spice usage preventing such things. I wouldn't suggest making it happen often anyways.
BountyHunterReb
Sat Jun 19, 2004 6:25 pm
#6
Great idea, except Imps do look for spice smuggling and illegal weapons. I read in one of the Han Solo books that the Empire considers spice their property and arrest others who carry it without permission. Also weapons could be sent to rebels and pirates and such, so they need to be hunted for as well. Other then that its a great idea.
EnderUK
Sat Jun 19, 2004 6:44 pm
#7
some very good ideas in this post. I like the drug kits and the no force downer addiction idea. THat would really increase the selling of spices.
KincaideStrangeways
Sun Jun 20, 2004 4:20 pm
#8
thanx for the support guys
just a note though ..... the empire didnt usually stop people on the streets. They also wern't specifically looking for spices and altered weapons/armor. (I refused to call them sliced. Slicing has nothing to do with weapons and armor. Slicing is the starwars version of hacking which has been killed by SOE.)
Most core planets had strict rules about wearing any type of armor or opening sporting a weapon. It did not matter whether the weapon was altered or not. You had to have special permits to carry weapons and or wear armor within the major cities. (Some planets like Alderaan had planetwide weapon bans.) Further more the empire was looking for rebels not the items themselves ... if they found items they would of course confiscate them and fine or imprison the offending party (I do not say person because the empire would fine or arrest the entire group.) On planet most checks were done like customs at the starports and they were done by a bureau that answered to the gov't .. in most places you did not see stormtroopers in the streets. The only time you saw them was if they were looking for something specific like the stolen death star plans or if there was open insurrection. The empire left enforcement of planetary laws to the gov't of that planet as long as they remained loyal to the empire. Where the empire did conduct searches was in space because that wasnt controlled by any specific planetary gov't. This is why i said imperials have better things to do than to stop people on the street and search them for contraband. The local gov't had that responsibility.
thanx for the support though guys please keep it coming.
KincaideStrangeways
Mon Jun 21, 2004 5:21 pm
#9
/bump. been kinda slow on the smuggler boards with most people just posting in the 2 active dev threads.
Irxosskisx
Mon Jun 21, 2004 10:11 pm
#10
well thought out Idea's I Like them.
What I would like to see is a differance between what spice will do and what food will do.
Food is pretty good as is right now and with the downers Spice will never compeat. But if we aboandond for the most part having spice affect the Ham bar we could open a whole new market.
Example: Gliterstim - In the EU gliterstim has been described as giving people a precognitive ability (the ability to see what is going to happen slightly in the future). Using this in combat would give you a bit of an edge as you would know what is gonna happen before it dose (or in your spiced up haze think you do). Thus this paticular spice would give the user incresed dodgeing abbilitys (yeah i know there are foods that do that but it makes more sense to me for that abbility to be in a spice.)
Example 2: Have a spice that will Delay some of the damage you take in combat. Many drugs will numb your pain receptors to the point where it won't matter what you do you don't feel a thing untill you sober up then Bam you notice your left arm is broken and you are bruised from head to foot. In game while on this spice you would take damage but it would not effect you right away, kinda like srugging it off. or more likely increase your damage mitigation.
Other ideas that i have would be a speed like spice that increases your movment speed and shooting speed by huge margine, but as a downside because you are so hopped up your aim would go down.
If we do get a Spice Revamp along the lines of what they did to Chef I hope that they give us something new.. not just what Food will do in a spice pakage.
What I would like to see is a differance between what spice will do and what food will do.
Food is pretty good as is right now and with the downers Spice will never compeat. But if we aboandond for the most part having spice affect the Ham bar we could open a whole new market.
Example: Gliterstim - In the EU gliterstim has been described as giving people a precognitive ability (the ability to see what is going to happen slightly in the future). Using this in combat would give you a bit of an edge as you would know what is gonna happen before it dose (or in your spiced up haze think you do). Thus this paticular spice would give the user incresed dodgeing abbilitys (yeah i know there are foods that do that but it makes more sense to me for that abbility to be in a spice.)
Example 2: Have a spice that will Delay some of the damage you take in combat. Many drugs will numb your pain receptors to the point where it won't matter what you do you don't feel a thing untill you sober up then Bam you notice your left arm is broken and you are bruised from head to foot. In game while on this spice you would take damage but it would not effect you right away, kinda like srugging it off. or more likely increase your damage mitigation.
Other ideas that i have would be a speed like spice that increases your movment speed and shooting speed by huge margine, but as a downside because you are so hopped up your aim would go down.
If we do get a Spice Revamp along the lines of what they did to Chef I hope that they give us something new.. not just what Food will do in a spice pakage.
KincaideStrangeways
Tue Jun 22, 2004 7:23 pm
#12
Thanx for the additional support guys. I was halfway thinking people wernt going to like these ideas because the changes were so complex. Glad to see they are well recieved.
There already are some foods that are used as skill buffs instead of HAM buffs .. I could see the same with spices... Deathsticks and glitterstims are two good ones that could be added to provide skill buffs along with an improved version of dead-eye. I would still like spice HAM buffs though especially since I hear they are nerfing buffs sometime soon. Between that and the upcoming armor nerf we are gonna need all the help we can get.
please keep the replies coming.
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