Squad Leader Archive

Thread: Here's what I put in IC I'm told you really HATE this idea...

Grimhand
Fri Apr 09, 2004 10:46 am
#1


Just promise me, you will read the whole thing, not just read the first sentence or two, or skim it...


* * *


Allow a squad leader to control a new, powerful combat droid (how about the "Battlemaster Droid" or the Droideka), with the droid's CL determined by his SLs skills and the number of people in his group. The supporting fiction is that the droid become more and more effective as it gets more inputs - that is, people in the squad - to process.

An example is below.

A 3/3/3/3 squad leader can control a Battlemaster droid and, at the 3/3/3/3 skill set, the droid can range from CL 30 to CL 40.

For every 5 people in the group, the droid's CL moves up. Minimum of 3 people. So 3 to 4 people, the droid is CL 30; 5 - 9 people the droid is CL 33;10 to 14 people the droid is CL 35; 15 to 19 people the droid is CL 38; at 20 people the droid reaches its max of CL40.

(I put the full table of SL levels / people in the group/ CL droid at the end of this note.)

Here are some advantages -

- Gives the droid engineers a new market

- Allow the introduction of truly powerful droids; makes things a little more Star Warsy

- Makes the Squad Leader profession more attractive

- Encourages large groups to form

- Successfully brings forward something like a "Droid Handler" without introducing a new profession

Restrictions -

- Only player characters are counted, and not creature pets, factional pets, or normal droids. You cannot group with 5 player characters each of which has a pet in the group and have that count as a group of 10. It's a group of 5.

- Only player characters within, say 256 meters, are counted. You cannot group with some guild buddies, get the CL boost to your Battlemaster Droid, and then go solo on another planet.

- The minimum group for this feature to be enabled is 3 people. A solo SL, or a SL grouped with one person, does not get access to the Battlemaster Droid.



Lastly, do **NOT** view this as giving the SL a droid pet that makes the SL a "Droid Handler" - view it as the SL having the ability to bring a powerful droid into a squad.


Ok, that's it. Have it.

* * * *

Full table -

Squad Leader Level
1/1/1/1 2/2/2/2 3/3/3/3 4/4/4/4 Master
Group
Size
3 - 4 10 20 30 40 50
5 - 9 13 23 33 43 54
10 - 14 15 25 35 45 58 <=== The intersection is the
15 - 19 18 28 38 48 62droid's CL
2020 30 40 50 65



Izu - Master Scounter


Yeraze
Fri Apr 09, 2004 10:56 am
#2

You say you don't wanna make us a droid handler, but this is exactly what you've done.. Just we can only have 1 droid instead of a droid army.

I'm still against it, as I think giving this us would mean losing other abilities I consider more important in the name of "balance".



Rebel Colonel Date Sunrunner
RAID Elder
Master Squad Leader - The True Jedi of SWG.
Master Carbineer
Master Alliance Pilot
Grimhand
Fri Apr 09, 2004 11:14 am
#3



Yeraze wrote:
You say you don't wanna make us a droid handler, but this is exactly what you've done.. Just we can only have 1 droid instead of a droid army.

I'm still against it, as I think giving this us would mean losing other abilities I consider more important in the name of "balance".




(1) "Droid Handler" - It depends on how you define it. This is not at all like the Creature Handler profession. You can already command a CL10 Combat Droid. We all can. That does not make us all Droid Handlers. What I proposed is the CL10 Combat Droid gets better and better as you become a better SL and you have more real-life people in your squad. None of the Creature Handler abilities and skills are part of this proposal.

I want to say again that this feature is only enabled with a minimum of 3 real-life people in your squad. You need to be playing your profession to enable this feature. No solo'ing with a big droid.

So, it's a matter or perspective on whether or not this is the Droid Handler.



(2) "Losing other abilities" - I respect your comments. You are a Squad Leader, I am not. You have studied the strengths and weaknesses of this profession, I have not. If you and your peers value other improvements when there's a limit to how much can be done, you know best. I say that sincerely.


Be good.



Izu - Master Scounter


irott
Fri Apr 09, 2004 3:05 pm
#4

Ok... I have tossed this back and forth over the past few months.


Think of ESB and Cloud city... Think of Lando.

Now lets say he was a squad leader, sending his troops throughout the city. But he had Lobot there to back him up. Im not sure if Lobot counts as a droid but he was sort of a personal assistant...


So I will ask:

Would all of the Droid handlers and NPC handlers be happy if SL's got their own assistant of sorts? Im not sure what extra purposes it could serve, maybe certain special skills and abilities like splitting the group into 2 smaller ones and being able to direct the other one through the assistant (though this would require some way to view the other squad).





[irott and the full effect]
Master Squad Leader


"We're all in it together" - Archibald 'Harry' Tuttle

BlkTom
Sat Apr 10, 2004 11:13 am
#5

Lobot was a registered Cyborg, according to the fine people who created:


'Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology'


(small text under that massive title)


The illustrated Guide to the sophisticated armament of the Star Wars universe!


Yeah, a real book...buddy of mine got it...for instance, did you know that 2 man tri-pod gun in 'Strike's Back!' is a T21? Who would have thunk. Not the best book in the world, as all they really cover is stuff from the movies, but what the heck.


Anyway, besides the cyborg bit, I feel that droids are the area of a DE and DE alone. Let a DE have a couple of droids, I would be happy for them. If you want a SL to control droids, I say no. Here is why, besides saying PEOPLE.


A droid is a machine that doesn't feel pain, fear, or inspiration. It has it's programing that it follows. Just because it's personality programing is 'prissy' doesn't mean it is a coward. Just like Lucas and his broad brush strokes of 'good' vs 'evil' by saying that /every/ person in the Empire is 'evil' (cept Vader at the end) and /every/ person in the Rebelion is 'good'. Every robot with a 'human' personality is something we as humans watching thismovie can relate to. It is more amusing for us to think C3PO is a 'prissy coward' than a cold, caculating machine that doesn't know the feeling of cowardness. This is called an 'effect'. It serves the same purpose as say ewoks.


The true calling of SL is a leader of a small group of men (or women). These people can feel fear, can feel bravery and can be inspired by a leader that is fighting along side of them. Droids do not need a 'leader', they need a 'controler' that can adapt to the flow of combat and can direct the droids as needed. The problem is with this game is that a Droid, a Storm Trooper, and a Rodian Rebel Commando all act the same way. In effect, every NPC is a droid for us because they are programed. Every person who has used NPC followers prefers humans just for the simple fact that a human will help you when attacked by a Rancor, while that ST medic will stand there and watch you die... just like he will not heal you or himself or his buddies unless he is in combat.


So, in realistic terms, in game terms, and even in movie terms a SL is not a droid controler nor does a SL have anything to do with droids, as droids do not respond to them for crap. A leader doesn't have to tell his men when to attack or what to attack, a controler does.


I have seen a ton of messagesrecently involving droids, I haven't really commented on it because Yazerman and others have have done a good enough job to cover my thoughts on the matter well enough. Hope this covers my opinion on the matter.



Vec Prybrom (ICE)
Master Squad Leader
Master Marksman
Master Rifleman

Man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.- Clint Eastwood
Grimhand
Mon Apr 12, 2004 5:05 pm
#6



Interesting debate.


I really hope you guys get something added to your profession, because it seems second class right now. My guild does not actively look to recruit SLs, nor do we make sure a SL is around for a big PvP engagements; I do not see people calling for SLs as they form hunting parties at outposts; I do not see SLs at the big-game locations.


The few times I have talked to SLs, I have been disappointed to find most are just holo-grinding through the prof. Jeez, we cannot let you become a footnote profession!


My idea was to bring something new to theprofession that got people jazzed about having a SL around. I would love to hear "Rancorhunting group forming - need aSL" I thought "Hey we all get a CL10 droid - how about having the SLs raise the CL of that droid as they improve and the group gets bigger." A lot of you saw "droid" in the first sentence or two and immediately dismissed it - not even bothering to try to understand that this feature only is worthwhile when you are leading real-life people! Lots of real-life people!


Oh well, best of luck to you all.


Signing off now...




Message Edited by Grimhand on 04-12-2004 07:06 PM



Izu - Master Scounter


BlkTom
Mon Apr 12, 2004 5:23 pm
#7

Thanks for your concern Grimhand, as alot of us are hoping that SL becomes something better than what it is... worthless unless your in a group. Don't stop with the ideas, but I think I made a valid point with making a distinction between someone controling droids and being a leader of a squad, and your idea would not fit very well with at least the current concept of SL.


As I have told others who wanted things like Fortifications, I suggest that your better off suggesting it as a totally new profession, a union of DE and SL. Call it Droid Commander. Say you need Engineering 4 and at least Novice DE and Combat Experiance 4 from Marksman. For the Fortification guy I would say Combat Engineer and have the same thing but have Novice Architect. There are ways to make such characters in the game, you just have to convince the DEVs that they should have such Professions.


I have seen alot of stuff like this recently, I will make a thread so it can be more centralized and so others could post suggestions and ideas.





Vec Prybrom (ICE)
Master Squad Leader
Master Marksman
Master Rifleman

Man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.- Clint Eastwood
Page 1 of 1
Previous Next