Tailor Archive

The decay issue is all over the place. The issue is database load, increasing number of master tailors, price wars, etc...

Clothing decay seems like the simple fix but I dont think it will be. How is the database load problem going to be solved if i have to replace items that decay away? This keeps the same number of items in the game. I do understand tailors have to create items in order to level (unless they practice), and that decaying/replacing clothes may offset the dramatic influx of new items..but if you are a consumer, like me, when clothing decay comes in, i stop buying clothes. I will of course, have to have one outfit, and no more. I will not spend my money because i am forced to do so. I would rather spend my money because i WANT to do so. Anyone that thinks like me will simply stop buying more than the absolute minimum necessary to maintain a simple shirt on their back. I wont pay 10k for the same tactical skinsuit over and over.

Not every player enjoys, or even does, activities to keep money coming in...i dont want my gaming experience to be about having to keep making money all the time. Cash sinks are good if they are positive (fun)in nature, and not "penalizing".

I currently have over 70 items of clothing...bodysuits, pants, shirts, etc.. I like to mix and match outfits.. i have fun dressing my character. I will stop doing this because i dont want to spend that 100-200k over and over and over again to maintain the same wardrobe i have now. Now, if people like me STOP buying and keeping a 70 piece wardrobe and keep a 3 piece wardrobe because we dont like being FORCED to spend our money, and the tailors keep pumping out piece after piece of clothing in order to level, or try and generate sales...wouldnt this nullify the "ease load on database" argument?It certainly wouldnt help YOUR sales as a tailor.

I would propose an alternative solution that is only initialy flawed because it would require work on behalf of the DEVs.

1) limit the number of clothing items we can own...we currently are under a max item limit.. say 250 for a guild hall, 100 in the bank, 50 in inventory, and 50 in a backpack.. nobody i know has this many clothes, nor will they ever have. Say perhaps limit the number of clothing items a player can own.. maybe 50...maybe 100 items. Perhaps make it so a Tailor can have skill modifiers that raise the cap.. or make items on vendors not count..or something.

2) introduce NEW clothing Content in waves, maybe a spring line, fall line, etc... keep a revolving sets of clothing that can currently be made. I for one would gladly pay another 200k for NEW clothes, but not for repeats of what i already have. There should be MORE options for character customization. Maybe these could last a month or two, then bring in a new line...its like starting all over. This is the part that would keep the art team busy. If fashion in real life only consisted of 75 cookie cutter items with only variations of colors.. there would be no industry.

3) Create NPC's that we can trade in old clothes for cash. Like a junk dealer, this NPC would buy your old clothes for a minimal amount of credits..call him the imperial salvation army or whatever.. you get the point. The items you sell him could then be deleted from the Dbase. This would give players an alternative to taking that crappy headwrap that dropped off a thug and sticking it on the bazaar. Maybe they can do this now with junk dealers, i dont know, i havent tried.

The tailoring industry in real life is a multi-billion dollar thriving industry. It is this way because NEW trends and fashions come in waves...and old stuff fades away.. and gets turned into rags. Eventually the "retro" phenomenon brings some items back...but its a small amount compared to newer ideas and trends.. and if its retro, its new anyway.. its just based on old stuff.

I'd MUCH rather see a system like this in place that regular ol' cut and dry item decay. It would add NEW content. It would keep a steady demand in place, and keep the suppliers happy. Decay is NOT a bad idea...but do you honestly think the DEVs would implement this properly when their track record is a long history of OVERDONE nerfs and one-way thinking?

This is a thread for ideas, not flames. I'm sure ill get some flames anyway, but it would be nice to see some positive ideas that are an alternative to decay..something that would keep things fresh and interesting, and something that is by all means plausible. The system above is certainly not perfect, but creative minds can flush out the details and come up with the good questions and answers necessary to implement such a system...and not just another nerf.

Decay is not a BAD idea.. but that doesnt mean there cant be a BETTER idea. If you MUST have decay, a system like this should be in place anyway. Decay doesnt have to be a double-edged sword...and Player ideas arent going to keep the game fun or balance.. it will require developer IMPLEMENTATION of these ideas to make it, or anything else, work..

I've used up today's brain cell...

How about your alternative solutions? What do you think would be a better system than Just item decay?

I'm all for creative ideas..hell.. someone might actually hear them!

While all this makes sense, there are some mechanic issues that are going to greatly limit what could be done along those lines.

For one - good luck getting art team time for seasonal changes to clothing.

Secondly - you get over a magic number on schematics (I'm thinking I read it was 256 - someone correct me if I'm wrong here) and all sorts of bad things start happening, i.e., you can't access them in front of a crafting station.

Lastly - you probably already have enough clothing to last you for a majority of your SWG career. Decay needs to be in - but not so quickly that the casual gamer has to replace something more than every other month or so - and the hardcore gamer playing MANY hours a day - a couple weeks - bare minimum.

Why you'd want to limit clothing - when there are already storage limits - ummm, what difference does it make if a player wants to collect clothing - or widgets? I can tell you who that WOULD hurt tho - tailors, I usually have at least 300 to 400 pieces of clothing between storage, display and for sale on vendors and until they change hands - I'm the 'owner' of all of them.