ScottM
08-02-2001, 01:57 AM
We’ve overhauled our crafting system, and have added a number of exciting features that we think will make for a very engaging non-combat experience. Our main goal has been to try to provide an infrastructure that will allow each crafting skill to be as entertaining and to have as robust a career as most combat skills allow.
Since crafting is a low-risk activity, advancement will generally be slower than combat skills to try to help balance things out. Crafting will also not necessarily be that profitable at lower skill levels, either. Over the next few weeks, we plan on supporting with code infrastructure the patron/client system, such that wealthy PCs and patricians are motivated to become patrons of craftspeople.
We will also be overhauling some of the economic aspects of the game in general as crafting skills are introduced. You’ll notice that cloth prices are much higher than current clothing prices in some shops. Those clothing prices will be tweaked very soon.
You can’t directly buy ranks in the overall Skill in Basic Tailoring. This is a change we will likely be making to all skills in the near future. We’ll be testing the concept on Tailoring.
There are a number of things that you can learn and do in crafting skills. Current TEC players will be familiar with the basic skill/action structure of all of TEC’s skills. In addition, crafting skills allow players to learn and earn ranks in “recipes.” (“Recipe” is our generic term for any kind of crafting or creative process, including weapon-making, herbalism, magic spells, etc.) Players may now choose to balance proficiency in a particular recipe with proficiency in the general actions that the recipe may call for. The skill point cost for learning ranks of a recipe will generally be less than for actions of comparable difficulty, and the rank cap for them will also generally be lower.
The new crafting system also makes extensive use of WAP’s Lore System. Various features of a crafting skill will be available through learning bits of knowledge called “lore.” The most prominent of these are “Accessories.” Accessories are embellishments and decorations that can be added to a finished crafted item, such as beadwork, gem encrusting, engravings, embroidery, as well as descriptive transformations such as making it flowing, baggy, form-fitting, etc. Characters will be able to learn and swap Accessory knowledge, as well as to create their own custom Accessories, which can then be used to enhance the value of their work, or traded to other characters, as desired. Accessories will be introduced over the next few days.
New characters will start out with a random item Recipe and the item’s component Recipes and will then be able to learn up to one Recipe or Accessory per rank they earn in the overall crafting skill. This learning capacity will be modified by a character’s memory attribute (Reasoning will play a greater role in skill advancement very soon, as well).
Another type of lore-based crafting knowledge is the “Action Enhancement.” For example, these are things like knowledge of different kinds of stitching that can be learned and used as your character advances in the “Basic Sewing” action.
We started with tailoring because it’s a relatively simple skill set, and its products shouldn’t prove too big a risk to game balance. We’ve still got some bugs and kinks and a few usability issues to work out, and we’d love to hear feedback about what everyone thinks, as well as get any bug @reports and concerns you may have.
Advanced Tailoring will be coming soon. Other related skill sets will include leatherworking, weaving and dying, and tanning. This infrastructure will also be used in our upcoming herbalism and locksmithing revamps, as well as an upcoming healing magic skill set.
Since crafting is a low-risk activity, advancement will generally be slower than combat skills to try to help balance things out. Crafting will also not necessarily be that profitable at lower skill levels, either. Over the next few weeks, we plan on supporting with code infrastructure the patron/client system, such that wealthy PCs and patricians are motivated to become patrons of craftspeople.
We will also be overhauling some of the economic aspects of the game in general as crafting skills are introduced. You’ll notice that cloth prices are much higher than current clothing prices in some shops. Those clothing prices will be tweaked very soon.
You can’t directly buy ranks in the overall Skill in Basic Tailoring. This is a change we will likely be making to all skills in the near future. We’ll be testing the concept on Tailoring.
There are a number of things that you can learn and do in crafting skills. Current TEC players will be familiar with the basic skill/action structure of all of TEC’s skills. In addition, crafting skills allow players to learn and earn ranks in “recipes.” (“Recipe” is our generic term for any kind of crafting or creative process, including weapon-making, herbalism, magic spells, etc.) Players may now choose to balance proficiency in a particular recipe with proficiency in the general actions that the recipe may call for. The skill point cost for learning ranks of a recipe will generally be less than for actions of comparable difficulty, and the rank cap for them will also generally be lower.
The new crafting system also makes extensive use of WAP’s Lore System. Various features of a crafting skill will be available through learning bits of knowledge called “lore.” The most prominent of these are “Accessories.” Accessories are embellishments and decorations that can be added to a finished crafted item, such as beadwork, gem encrusting, engravings, embroidery, as well as descriptive transformations such as making it flowing, baggy, form-fitting, etc. Characters will be able to learn and swap Accessory knowledge, as well as to create their own custom Accessories, which can then be used to enhance the value of their work, or traded to other characters, as desired. Accessories will be introduced over the next few days.
New characters will start out with a random item Recipe and the item’s component Recipes and will then be able to learn up to one Recipe or Accessory per rank they earn in the overall crafting skill. This learning capacity will be modified by a character’s memory attribute (Reasoning will play a greater role in skill advancement very soon, as well).
Another type of lore-based crafting knowledge is the “Action Enhancement.” For example, these are things like knowledge of different kinds of stitching that can be learned and used as your character advances in the “Basic Sewing” action.
We started with tailoring because it’s a relatively simple skill set, and its products shouldn’t prove too big a risk to game balance. We’ve still got some bugs and kinks and a few usability issues to work out, and we’d love to hear feedback about what everyone thinks, as well as get any bug @reports and concerns you may have.
Advanced Tailoring will be coming soon. Other related skill sets will include leatherworking, weaving and dying, and tanning. This infrastructure will also be used in our upcoming herbalism and locksmithing revamps, as well as an upcoming healing magic skill set.