Smuggler Archive
Thread: I'd like you guys to look over this before I post it on the other forums.
I know this is long, so thanks for those that take time to read it all. Any suggestions, corrections, and general input would be greatly appreciated. Most of all, I'd like to know what you think of it before I post it in the other forums.
Future Profession, System, and Content Revamp Proposals
Table of Contents:
1. Opening Statements and Disclaimers
2. General Game Sytems
3. Combat/Armor/Weapons
4. Crafting
5. Contraband
6. GCW
7. General Content
8. Specific Profession Revamp/Content/Changes
a. Smuggler
b. Squad Leader
c. Bounty Hunter
d. Jedi
1. Opening Statements and Disclaimers
I'd like to begin by stating that I do not think I have all the answers to whatever problems are perceived by the players to be plagueing this game. Overall I believe this game is by far the best MMORPG I've played, and that although some parts of the game have been largely ignored that this will continue to be the benchmark for future games. As with most games of this type, I also believe that the majority of problems lie in the actions and exploits of some players and not a failure of the game. Unfortunately in our drive to be the best at something, we sometimes trample on the basic principles of what is right and wrong and trample on the basic idea of action and consequence.
I'd also like to state outright that I am not a programmer, or an artist. The only experience I have with computers, games, and their mechanics are classes in basic programming classes and helping a friend set up his own UO server (way back in the day). I haven't had anything to do with art since my freshman year of high school (even further back in the day). I know that in general the simplest answer is usually the best and easiest solution, but when it comes to computers, and especially game mechanics, these are also the easiest to exploit.
Most of the following information is based upon in game as well as forum observations and are even variations of ideas posted by other players. The most important thing I see when making changes to a game of this magnitude is to further diversify the experience the end user has. There should be defined rewards for time and effort invested in the game, but there should never be a cookie cutter definition of what it means to be successful in the game. No combat profession (or combination of professions) should overly dominate another, and although interaction amongst players should not be forced, it should be encouraged through the ability to specialize your character in one way or another.
The following paragraphs are simple ideas written down. As it is, they will take up a lot of space, so I will try and keep them as generalised as possible.
2. General Game Systems
I would like to see a few changes within the general game systems. Mainly the macro system, the faction system , and city system.
a. Macro System
The current state of the macro system is one in which there is little need or reward for having an entertainer or doctor as a primary character when they are just as proficient and profitable as an alternate that uses an afk macro. The answer here is one that seems to have eluded many. When there was a problem with players using afk macros in order to loot debris piles in the borgle bat cave, the game was changed to prevent certain commands from being used in recursive macroes. There simply needs to be more commands added to that restriction. Example, a player can play music, dance, or heal with a recursive macro, however when they use a flourish, the system checks the script for whether or not it is a recursive macro. This will prevent the cantinas from becoming a ghost town, while providing positive incentive for players to actively play entertainers. This also allows players the option of continuing in their afk grind if they choose. I'm sure there are other commands and circumstances that can and should fall under this proposal, but these are the easiest and most prominent examples in the game today.
b. Faction System
In my opinion, this was perhaps the most poorly implemented portion of the game. To start, faction should have had a more dynamic aspect to it. First, I would like to see the non player factions put into more generalised terms. Let's say Townsfolk, Criminal, and (for lack of a better word) Police. If I were to kill authority npcs, I should lose townsfolk and police faction, while gaining criminal, and if I were to kill renegade authority npcs, I would earn criminal and townsfolk faction while losing police faction, etc. To take it a step further, I would like to see faction points decay with periods of inactivity and the cap increased to ten thousand. If I lay low for awhile, then these factions should begin to forget about me and my deeds, be they good or bad.
c. City System
As it is right now, there is no incentive to utilize story line cities other than to travel in space and spam advertisement for your shop in a player city. With the recent changes to voting procedures, I feel this can be turned around. To put a positive emphasis back on static cities, I would to see each city have a position of City Manager. Master Politicians can register for election to City Manager. With many of the buildings in cities currently unoocupied, they can be converted into structures with interiors controlled by the elected manager. He can set certain titles to the buildings and give permission to other players who would be taxed for their permissions. The key to this is the taxes. A player could get rich off of these. To counter this, the level of activity of a city (based on shuttle and starport usage) would determine the percentage of taxes needed to be spent on city defenses. If the manager does not meet or exceed the percentage needed, the city would become randomly raided by criminal (or if the city has an underworld presence) of a medium to high level. These raiding mobs will provide zero xp or loot. Their sole purpose is to harrass the players in that city and force a choice of whether to allow the current city manager to continue with his rule, or oust him in favor of someone who they feel more safe under.
3. Combat/Buffs/Armor/Weapons
I know the combat system is currently undergoing preliminary design and programming for overhaul, but there are some things I would like to see come along with the upgrade.
a. Combat
This is essentally what defines the game, and therefore it stands to reason that it should be the most complex and diverse aspect of the game. Because of this, I hope that the how modifiers operate get completely redone. A player should not be forced to master two professions to get both offensive and defensive capabilities sufficient to participate in PvP, however they should still differ from each other enough to make each profession unique. I'll use Rifleman as an example. A rifleman should have a melee attack such as butt stroke that is only useable when standing. They should recieve a "cover" defense to ranged and a mobility penalty to melee when prone, but have an increase chance to hit and the damage that hit does. Melee combatants need to have a substantially higher chance to be hit when stationary and a lower chance to hit as when moving. I know this is exactly what we have in place, but there's more to it really. Defensive modifiers need to be lowered, offensive modifiers need to be lowered, and the main emphasis of both need to placed on the actions (specials) the player uses. As it stands now, defense and offense are limited to static modifiers one earns through skill boxes. This is why we can have 2 players standing toe to toe spamming the same specials. Change the outcome of battle to the tactics a player uses, not the skill box they have completed. Give each class a role in combat with specials that define that role, and modifiers would not be needed. No player should be either unhittable, or assured of a hit because of their template.
b. Buffs
I'm one of those guys who remembers when buffs were not even used in game. Sure finding a group and pets large enough to take on a krayt were hard, but not impossible. Buffs are basicly short term steroids. Steroids have both benefits and consequences. I think the current level of buffs could be continued to used if there was a downside. Have buffs allowed on the main pool (health, action, mind) and regeneration pools (constitution, stamina, willpower). The consequence would basicly be a third aspect of the ham bar, a decay. The decay would be an effect of the buff being removed and would have an associated timer that would remove the decay. What this does is allow players to continue to buff for higher level mobs, but eventually would have to either group, or take a break because the buffs are having a detrimental effect to their bodies.
Now you're asking what about the third pool of each group. To this I say spice. Having spices effect these pools (strength, quickness, focus) would more adequately reflect the effect of "drugs". Drugs can make you stronger, faster, and (in some cases within the realm of Star Wars) smarter for a short period of time. At lower level, spices should be crafted and at higher levels refined and "combined" to have a greater effect. Furthermore, remove the downer, and make the consequence of spice wounds to the associated bar, where the stronger the spice, the more wounds you receive. You should be able to use more than one spice at a time, but not effect the same pool with more than one dose.
c. Armor
To armor I say this. If weapons have a certification, then why don't armors? I would like to see armors have certifications at certain levels of combat professions, as well as the reduction of the stacking effect of its resistances. Simply put, why would a novice combat or crafting profession have experience with a high level armor? They "should" have little use for it since they are not proficient in combat, which is the purpose of wearing armor. To limit the resistances, there should be a total craftable resistance for an armor (above it's base resistance). Let's say (assuming we're using resources that will allow achieving max results) the maximum crafted base resistance of composite armor is 20% kinetic with a total craftable resistance of 80%. I use one layer for an additional 20% kinetic and add two more layers for 20% stun and 20% energy. Ubese could have a different base resistance or level of resistance, so on and so forth. Is this that far off of what we have, not really. What it does allow is the customization of armor without making damage to a player impossible. What we have now is armor clones running around with the only cap to their armor effectiveness being limited only by the resources used and the experimentation points of the armorsmith. This simply provides a better cap for the resistances while keeping the armor and the skill of the armorsmith useful. (Since it also makes custom armor become more important I believe it will promote more player interaction as well.
d. Weapons
I have a couple of changes I'd like to see here. Why are there so many certification in the novice boxes? More weapon certifications should be moved to the elite trees. There is no reason why the master of an elite profession have the best weapon in it's arsenal the same as that of a player still in a novice tree. There should be no weapon in game have an effect that a weaponsmith cannot craft. Yes, I'm saying that if a weapon drops with a mind dot, then a weaponsmith should be able to craft any weapon with a mind dot. Use the enhancement slot some components already have, and make the enhancement a high level looted item.
4. Crafting
We all know they will be taking a serious look at the crafting system at some point following the combat upgrade. With that in mind, I have two things that I would like to see implemented with whatever changes they come up with.
First, I'd like to see the reverse engineering ability in shipwright extended to the other professions, but with a change. Let me give you a scenario. I loot four high velocity projectile pistol barrels. I can either use them, combine them (using a different tool, but along similar lines to what the current RE system is), or I can use another tool to reverse engineer them to a produce a limited use (say 5) schematic that uses resources similar to what is used by the already crafted item it is most like. This means that I can combine multiple items to make one better item, then reverse engineer it to get a schematic to make mulitple copies of this item.
Second, I'd like to see secondary benefits to crafting. By this I mean that if you are a weaponsmith that also happens to be a pistoleer, you should get a benefit to crafting/experimentation when crafting a pistol. An architect who has Survey IV could craft a mining installation with lower maintenance fees. This does two things. First, it allows newer players to compete with more established players (the 12 point guys who have accumulated the wealth or have been around long enough to loot the additional attachments).
I think both of these changes would bring a more diverse crafting process beyond the current factory run and get a geo cube from a buddy or alt character system that is in place. The more options and abilities to specialize and customize there is, the more intriguing the system becomes.
5. Contraband
This is something that cause controversy whenever it is discussed since it would, in order to be meaningful, require changes and/or consequences for the items people deal with right now on a daily basis. Some people will simply have to deal with the fact that like other aspects of the game, the result was not what was intended. I am wholeheartedly behind any system in which there is a meaningful risk and reward system. It simply comes down to this. Some items are completely illegal in certain areas. Weapons should not be carried openly in cities (as they are illegal in many places), and sliced weapons are a big no no. Spices are illegal. High level resources (realisticly) should be tarriffed. Opposing faction items are criminal. Where am I going with this? Implement a customs system when travelling from planet to planet. There is a concern with lag at the starports with a system like this that would lead to griefing. To this I simply say move the starports away from the cities a little, and/or only allow access to the area where a character spawns to them when they spawn (you cannot walk into the area where players load, only walk out of the area, a one way gate). Place fines and tarriffs on items that are declared to be either illegal or taxed (start out small and increase over a short time for players to get used to). If a player cannot or refuses to pay the fine, then they will be prevented from using the travel terminals until they do.
Everyone see where I'm going with this? Good, we have Smugglers (not Smuggler Alliance) in the game, let's finally put them to use. Players should have either three options when travelling with explicit goods. Declare, which would have only taxes, chance it, which would have taxes and fines (and a low chance to of succeeding), and contacting a smuggler. I won't get into the system that would prevent a shady person stealing your stuff as a Smuggler, but there are many ways which have been proposed already on the Smuggler forums. Simply put, your stuff would remain safe, and the Smuggler's ability to avoid detection would increase with his skill level, not to mention if they're caught, they would pay the taxes and fines instead of you. I'd also like to see the removal of "illegal" items from generic vendors and allow Smugglers to register vendors as "Contraband Vendors" with a higher maintenance fee.
6. GCW
The GCW system is extremely elaborate and there is far too much to place in just one or two paragraphs, so I will just discuss some of the things I would like to see. All faction items are purchased as schematics that are crafted by crafters of that faction. I would like to see profession specific faction armor (with a certification in the profession tree). Faction armor should have to layers of stats. One for PvE, and one for PvP, as well as making faction armor competetive with non faction armor. Please resurect the battlefields. Make all static bases capturable, and give bonuses to healing, buffing, and/or the crafting of faction items (this would require expanding the items available from a recruiter) and eliminate the cloning and insuring costs for the controlling faction at these bases. I am not in favor of a "zone of control" where a large chunk of the map is restricted to other players, but this would provide an alternative. More content based missions as well as artisan/crafter missions.
Furthermore, the TEF system needs to be refined. You should only revealed as a member of a faction when directly showing your association with the faction. For example, commanding troops, running a mission, or wearing the uniform or armor.
Finally I'd like to elaborate on my above paragraph regarding faction. Yes I believe playable faction should decay, however, it should never decay below 200. As a matter of fact, the only time you should drop below 200 faction is through a very direct action. A colonel is still a colonel even if a sergeant kills him. A colonel goes on a leave of absence, his influence (faction points) should decay a little, but never to the point where he is ineffective. Along these lines, there should be other factions playable in game. Keeping the above faction system, but allowing for Hutt faction, which would have a neutral effect on the current Imperial and Rebel factions. By this I mean, you could get high level missions from one of these factions by having a high level of Hutt faction, but you shouldn't be an enemy of these factions except for the duration of a mission taken for the opposing faction.
7. General Content
We have all seen how dynamic the content could be within the game as live events increase and with the launch of JTL. I'd like to see more city raids, more player interaction with the status if different regions (as exampled in the stalled Bestine elections), and more interaction between space and ground. Basicly more, more, more. Use successful live events to create spawns with specific AI. There's no reason Pex should have to spawn a raid of Tuskens on Tat. There's no reason he should have to spawn Rebels raiding Theed, or Imperials raiding Anchorhead. They have shown what is capable, now they just have to elaborate on it.
One last item on the general content list. Players should not have to go Jedi in order to open an additional character slot. This is counterproductive to the timeline established at the start of the game. The implementation of another quest system in which you can unlock another character slot would add a lot of content, and allow players to have fun with other aspects of the game.
8. Specific Profession Revamp/Content/Changes
a. Smuggler: Smuggler was an afterthought when it was implemented and has since been neglected. It has the potential to be everything the name entails, and provide players with the ability to play as one of the most glorified professions from the Star Wars realm. Since I have more experience with this profession, I'm going to go into a little more detail in the changes I'd like to see.
1. Underworld: I'd like to see the ability to smuggle and the associating modifiers placed in this tree. I'd like to see, at say tier 4, the ability to craft smuggling compartments for our ships to further increase our ability to avoid contraband scans in space and on the ground. I'd like to see a mini game based on this tree along the lines of what GreenMarine posted some time ago, as well as the ability to smuggle for players in accordance with the contraband paragraph above. Finally I'd like to see a one skill point requirement for non smuggler players to learn a language in order to reflect our skill point investment in UW I.
2. Dirty Fighting: Simply put, either put more pistol and unarmed specific moves and modifiers in the tree, or make the requirements more dynamic. Personally, I am in favor of a Business IV and combat xp prerequisite. There's nothing wrong with the specials we have if they work, and they are dynamic enough to be used with whatever combat proficiency we choose.
3. Slicing: The system needs to be based more upon skill, where the more skill you have, the better chance you have of getting a higher slice, with the ability at Slicing IV to choose which stat to slice. At master, we should be able to reslice our weapon (it would be recertified as only usable by the Smuggler slicing it) which would ensure you've got a weapon with the best slice (this replaces the superslice idea proposed by many).
4. Spices: I'd like to elaborate on what I said above. Tier one you would get three schematics, one for each pool (strength, quickness, focus). Tier two you would recieve an additional three schematics, one for each pool (strength, quickness, focus), but with a longer duration. At tier 3 you get a schematic for a refining tool, and the certification for to use a few "multipliers" for the refining proccess. Tier four and master would allow you access to more potent refining "multipliers". A refining multiplier is any substance that can be combined with spice and a refining agent in order increase the effectiveness of the spice. The multipliers would be lootable (or skimable in accordance with GreenMarine's proposals), or purchaseable from criminal factions at an extremely high price.
b. Squad Leader: The worst part about this profession is it's inability to be effective in combat, which is the what it is centered around. I do not have enough experience with this profession to provide tree specific proposals, but I would like to tell you what I would like to see. Many of their specials would be quite useful, making them a valued group leader, if their effectiveness were increased. I'd like to see them have the ability to place temporary combat structures such as heavy weapons placements (steadiness bonus to hit as well as allowing heavier weapons to be used), fighting holes (cover bonuses to defense), bunkers (damage reductions similar to armor), and field hospitals (allows doctors to heal wounds after combat). Finally I'd like to see Squad Leaders have the ability to declare a player/group an overt status (in order to avoid griefing, on the command to make group's status overt, the player receives the option, and if they decline they are kicked from the group).
c. Bounty Hunter: I would like to see one simple addition and one simple change for Bounty Hunters (assuming the CU makes them a powerful combat force). Allow other players to take higher level missions (requiring a 50% mission payout deposit in order to accept the mission in order to prevent abuse of the system). Failure of those missions (either due to excessive time or death during mission) would create a counter on the player. When the counter reaches a certain level, a player bounty is created on the Bounty Hunter mission terminals.
Furthermore, I would like to see marks only attackable by the Bounty Hunter who took the mission on that mark. If this requires them to have a bonus versus their mark in order for them to be effective in combat, then so be it.
d. Jedi: This is the one portion of my post that stands the greatest chance of getting me one starred. I have one change I'd like to see to Jedi. Bring back the perma death counter. Do not inflict perma death, but when the Jedi hits three deaths, return them to Novice Padawan. If the number needs to be tweeked, that's understandable, but I would like to see something to better balance the number of Jedi running around. I can accept the fact that they are in game as long as there is something done to balance their ever increasing numbers.
Message Edited by SmugglinZane on 12-13-2004 12:54 AM