Thylbanus
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Posts posted by Thylbanus
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It's because someone is a Furry in the Dev team. You know someone is going to make a female Cathar and have them run around in one of the dancer's outfits.
Just kidding.
maybe...
no really, just kidding....
o.O
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With this latest update we have seen a rash of new bugs. From decreased frame rates to broken quests. This is the inevitable reality of updates. So why do we clamor for more? I don't understand people who say that updates every six weeks is too slow. Hell it will take a week or two to figure out what what errors are real and what are just player end missteps. Then another week or two figure out how to fix them all (without messing things up further), then a week or two to do all the coding to actually fix them.
Well in the worst case scenario, that's six weeks right there. And during this time they are supposed to be doing work on the next update. Does anyone see this as overextending? I'm one of the few who actually think that there is no way that they will be able to keep their promise of doing updates every six weeks. Three months is more realistic. It's not like we don't know what has been going on with EA. A company that is flailing makes it's workers uneasy. Uneasy workers don't work their best, they are either too nervous about making a mistake or spending more time distributing their resume or in useless "brainstorming" meetings than actually working. Either way productivity will be down, bugs will abound, and three day CSR response times will be the norm if they try to keep up a six week pace.
Now I'm not saying give them a break either. Be vocal about what you see wrong. Don't hope. Upper management has failed to provide realistic vision to the company, middle management has set unrealistic or counter-productive goals. Don't let up on them. They need to know that we are not content. Now I do caution about how you complain. Rude behavior will not win your case. Well thought out and articulated ones will. If there is a solution you think is viable, suggest it when you complain. A complaint is a gift. Can't fix it if you don't know what's wrong. How competently it is done is up to EA/BioWare.
The ball is in your court...
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It's more like yet another step in a downward spiraling path of cheap cash-ins to blend in with other fantasy fiction.
If I saw space elves, I'd be very tempted to jump ship.
Funny you said that, Star Wars elves are called Sephi.
Plus, Warhammer 40K has space elves, they are called Eldar.
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It seems that Leslie Nielsen is an idol of Commander(?) Haken of the Esseles.
Also speaking of the Esseles, Vyn Asara putting on a Republic Uniform is not the best disguise for a BRIGHT blue Twi'lek hiding from Imperials.
Complain all you want about the ship droids, play the Trooper and get M1-4X. He's the Scrappy Doo of the Star Wars universe. (Let me at 'em! I'll splat 'em!)
What other funny stuff you have noticed?
Other than the already intended funny situations like Captain Jeelg and Trymbo.
Capt. Jeelg -
Trymbo -
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Well we have the Anzat, who are quite vampire like. Then you have Sith Sorcery that has created zombies, as well as the Blackwing virus. In the "Clone Wars" the Dothomiri made an Army of the Dead (where's Ash when you need him?) and then again in "Death Troopers". Dr Evanzan created a resurrection serum similar to "Herbert West - Re-Animator" by H.P. Lovecraft (although I do love Jeffrey Combs in the movie). The Rakghouls are ghouls if you take away Rak.
They could also be compared to lyncanthropes, since once bitten the change into a beast. Speaking of werewolves, there is the Codru-Ji.
Why is a sucubbus such a stretch?
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You sound like you know how development works, please tell us more
Nice one Fay, but Storm does have a point, they did write a pretty big check and missed on a little short of half. To Fay's point, Storm, 6 weeks is pretty a aggressive schedule. Frankly, given EA's ability to follow through on their commitments, I don't believe it for a New York second. But it does make those, who don't know any better, feel better about SWTOR. I'm here for the BioWare people who have toiled tirelessly, given the red tape and rediculous barriers set up by EA.
I salute you code monkeys! Keep up the fight!
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I'm with you on that Bigryuubi. I try to play the space game, but I just can't after Jump to Light Speed.
Thylbanus
Corbantis server
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Show me evidence where ALL material values (of the same level of material i.e. ALL grade 6 materials in SWTOR) remain consistent AND uniform in ANY MMO for more than a week and I will say I am wrong.
Values can align at intervals, but it can't last. MMOs are supply and demand economies with infinite supply (all anyone has to do is take the time to "harvest" the materials), and constantly fluctuating demand (no one needs one thing all the time). As old markets dry up (due to lack of demand, or too much competition, or both), new markets open up (due to lack of supply, or little competition, or both). And this process is cyclical; those old markets become the new markets eventually. Even fairly consistent markets like consumables (i.e. Stims in SWTOR), eventually slow down because those consumables are less needed due to over-gearing.
I've been playing MMOs for close to 15 years, and have worked the "marketplace" in all of the MMOs I have played. And in all that time, I have never seen material or finished good values remain consistent long enough for all equivalent items to be equal. It just does not happen.
Ever play LotRO?
Just checked the Riddermark and class 1 mats are going from 25-100, class 2 150-300, class 3 only had 1 item so can't count that, class 4 600-1200, no class 5 or above. Perhaps the Riddermark is the "anomaly" of the MMO world. I don't have characters on other servers so I didn't check. I'm not saying that there is no ebb and flow, but when you are talking variations of 10,000%, that is a little over the top. There is a difference between market fluctuations and a poorly designed crafting system. This is the latter. I've been playing MMOs for over 20 years, since the time of Meridia 59, and I know how to spot problems with gaming systems.
I'm used to being in the minority, when I beta tested this game, I said that it would be F2P within a year. I was trolled endlessly because of it. I posted tirelessly about lack of end game content, poor pvp options, space combat, lack of mini-games like pazzack and swoop racing that are iconic in the Old Republics, race selection, Clone Wars cartoon style graphics, weapon selections (still want to point out Luke and Obi-wan used blasters, and even in the "Return" trailer, Master Kao Cen Darach used a double bladed lightsaber and single at the same time), character customization, lack of class variation, too much reliance on side quests, and more. All of these things are (or were) complaints of the current community. Back then, I was among a very few who felt this way, everyone else just seemed to excited about being in the beta to be objective.
Time will bear me out, just as it has always done.
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NEVER GONNA HAPPEN!
Supply and demand fluctuate wildly in MMOs. Especially in a "more mature" economy. You just have to get used to riding the waves of supply and demand and be diverse enough in what you supply to not fall into a trough.
It happens in other games. Never say never.
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When you pass level 20, and the materials needed to make level 20 items, things smooth out alot more.
You highlight my point. With this going F2P soon, this will be a major issue. If people get frustrated with crafting early, they will probably not sub (for those who love crafting, that is). The whole point of going F2P is to keep the game going, and as I've said, for some reason I love this game (with it's multitude of flaws).
Cleet_Xia - I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees this imbalance. This is why I espouse the monitoring of consumption. If it's not being used, why put it in the game (kind of like all the MILLIONS of pieces of junk!). The crafting system has been put on auto-pilot and no one has bothered to check to see if it's running properly. Well there is a mountain up ahead, so someone needs to take the stick.
And sorry Kerensk, it's just the way my mind functions. I can't even keep my job out of my entertainment.
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OK. Perhaps I'm not being clear. So to be clear, I'm going to get technical. Here are my findings as of Friday 17th of August, 5pm.
HARBINGER SERVER
Green Goo 50-100 cr/unit 75 cr/unit average
Desh 25-65 cr/unit 45 cr/unit average
Silica 10-30 cr/unit 20 cr/unit average
Rubat Crystals 200-300 cr/unit 250 cr/unit average
Color Crystals 5-20 cr/unit 13 cr/unit average
Price range for basic materials: 5-300 cr/unit 81 cr/unit average (sum of averages)
Range: -94% - 370%
Min/Max range: 6000% (300/5)
Min/Max Average: 1154% (250/13)
Target ranges: 65-97 cr/unit
SHADOWLANDS SERVER
Green Goo 25-100 cr/unit 63 cr/unit average
Desh 5-30 cr/unit 18 cr/unit average
Silica 23 cr/unit 23 cr/unit average
Rubat Crystals 350-500 cr/unit 425 cr/unit average
Color Crystals 5-31 cr/unit 18 cr/unit average
Price range for basic materials: 5-500 cr/unit 110 cr/unit average (sum of averages)
Range: -95% - 455%
Min/Max range: 10,000% (500/5)
Min/Max Average: 2361% (425/18)
Target ranges: 88-132 cr/unit
JEDI CONVENANT SERVER
Green Goo 50-230 cr/unit 140 cr/unit average
Desh 60-80 cr/unit 70 cr/unit average
Silica 25-45 cr/unit 35 cr/unit average
Rubat Crystals 300-400 cr/unit 350 cr/unit average
Color Crystals 25-45 cr/unit 35 cr/unit average
Price range for basic materials: 25-400 cr/unit 165 cr/unit average (sum of averages)
Range: -85% - 242%
Min/Max range: 1600% (400/25)
Min/Max Average: 1000% (350/35)
Target ranges: 132-198 cr/unit
As you can see there is a huge disparity between like items. The target ranges are what they should be ranging on each server. Anything above or below is abnormal. Min/max is the highest price divided by the lowest price given in percentile. This shows how bad the disparity is. 150% is normal given such a limited number of items. As you can see the best server is still over 10 times what it should be and 6 times against the average. Price ranges are determined by eliminating aberrant pricing of sellers just trying to dump or store material.
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Yes, I do have it backwards. The problem is the crafting system, but in the mean time, my suggestion is to modify the drops. Like I said before in my previous posts, I don't want to call for a complete overhaul of the current crafting system, just a simple quick fix. All crafting materials should be of use. There should be no "filler" or "junk" materials. If you are running a business sim, this would be fine, but since this is not, an adjustment must be made. One would think that with 3 crafting skills (Armstech, Armormech, and Cybertech) using Scavanged materials there would be more comsumption, but their prices on the GTN do not reflect this. Therefore there is an imbalance. Imbalance leads to dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction leads to dropped subs.
In reality, a full review of the cost of materials in each should be done. Desh and Silica are only of use for a brief time compared to other crafting materials, yet they are the most abundant drops. Even EVE Online, which is a business sim, solved this by making it's most common material (Tritanium) a part of almost every schematic from beginning to end. Keeping Tritanium from being a "junk" material.
The drop system is flawed in that each one has a predetermined location. If you find a Rubat Crystal in one area, once gathered, the replacement will only be another Rubat Crystal, Color Crystal, or Lost Artifact Fragment. This is just silly. While certain areas would make more sence than others (Archeology mats in caves and ancient ruins and Scavanging mats in junk piles and starship wrecks), they should still be set by the consumption of materials. Having a predetermined location for materials also is a factor in over-saturation of the market.
Personally I've always said that if a player takes the time to craft, those items should be the best availible. My rule of thumb is, creature drops yield decent items with a rare good one. Storyline items should yield good items, with a great item at the completion of a story arc. Finally player crafted items should yield the best for a PvE environment. PvP items should be the coolest (i.e. not necessarily the best, or are the best in PvP situations). Resource gathering is tedious, so is crafting. There has to be a reason to craft. Otherwise, why have it to begin with? Because players want it is not a reason to have it in the game. Crafting is not a mini-game, it is meant to accentuate the game, not distract from it. Crafting is a facet of MMOs, but certainly not the Star Wars Universe. Crafting needs to be as much a concern as the storyline, otherwise get rid of it.
As for Asbalana, I would agree that certain things should be kept cheap, but that should apply to all things in a given tier or grouping. As it stands, Desh and Silica should be as important to Armormechs, Cybertechs, and Armstechs as Rubat Crystals and Lost Artifact Fragments are to Artificers and Synthweavers, but it is not. This is the point of my post. The basic materials are Green Goo, Rubat Crystals, Color Crystals, Silica, and Desh. These are the items first used to start crafting. If there is a disparity of +/- 20%, this is just normal. The disparity, on at least 3 servers that I have been testing this theory on, is over 1000%. Check out your own server and see.
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Yes, you missed my point. I don't care if it is 20 cr/unit or 2,000,000 cr/ unit, I just want it to be uniform. If something is so common that people just want to get rid of it for 10-20 cr/unit when all other materials of the same class cost 200-300 cr/unit there is a problem with drops or crafting. I don't want to have a complete overhaul of the crafting system, so just adjust the drop rate to be more consistent with consumption. Desh and Silica are Class 1 common materials, Laminoid is a Class 1 uncommon material. It's apples and oranges. Similar materials to Desh and Silica would be Dielectric Cell Fiber or Rubat Crystals. I'm testing my theory on another server and Dielctric Cell Fiber is going for 400 cr/unit and Rubat Crystals for 500 cr/unit. Desh and Silica are still 10-20 cr/unit. That means something is off about the system. I don't want to sit down and graph this out, but with the F2P around the bend, problems need to be solved before launch or it will become a larger issue. Crafting is a cornerstone of MMOs for some people. If you played SWG, there were people who NEVER fired a blaster after they left the starter area. For some reason, I love this game and I want it to continue for a while. As they stay, you can't fix it if you don't know it's broken.
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I understand supply and demand. That is my point. The supply of each is not perportionate to consumption. There is some fundamental game mechanic that is flawed. There should be some sort of equilibrium between basic materials. This isn't some sort of business sim like EVE Online. Drop rates should be mirrored by consumption. There are many factors that play into consumption, but in the end there should not be a disparity of 1000%! I can take that the ebb and flow of gaming so that one sort of material is in demand at certain times, but that is too much. I've looked at the GTNs on other servers and the same goes on there as well. Desh and Silica run for 10-20 cr/unit and all others run around 200 cr/unit. This is rediculous. There is some flaw in the system that has caused this. I'm not suggesting an overhaul of the whole system, but suggesting a monitoring of these materials. A simple program that would in effect cause drops to increase as consumption increases would solve this inequity.
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Yup and I have two crafters with 400 UT who constantly try to farm the metals only to get none or moderate amounts.
Yes, that would be awsome. Scaled gathering. The higher your gathering skill the more it should yield. It would make sence as you are more skilled therefore you would make less mistakes and have more usable material.
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I've noticed that for some reason the common lvl 1 scavanging materials are so common that they move for around 20-30 cr/unit. Now all the other common lvl 1 materials seem to be around 200 cr/unit. Is there some sort of imbalance here? I know that Strong and Elite Droid bodies yield material, but so do beasts for bioanalysis. Are there just a ton of Artificers, Biochemists, Cybertechs, and Synthweavers driving the prices up? Really? No one is doing arms and armor? I don't know how the mechanics of drops work, but perhaps someone should take a look at what is happening.
I've had theories ranging from simple to rediculous. I hope it is just a simple mistake or oversight that can be easily remedied by increasing drop rates for all materials. I did a completely unscientific test and made a Republic character with Archeology, Bioanalysis, and Scavenging and I've leveled to 17 so far and I have 2 99s and half way through a third 99 stack of Desh, a 99 stack of silica with another at 88, a stack of 99 rubat with a handful in another stack, a 99 stack of dielectric cell fiber, one and a half 99 stacks of green goo, 66 bacterial strain, 23 lost artifact fragments, 20-30 various color crystals, and a hand full of aluminium and laminoids. Note: no skill missions were run with this character. This is all in environment resource gathering. So it does seem that they are indeed more common. Then again, if this were scientific, I would have to reproduce this MANY more times to get a true study. So if some Dev looks at this please get someone to analyze consumption vs availibility and balance it for everyone, it would be most appreciated.
Also, if you could add in a third click for the price column on the GTN for price per item, as well as a quantity sorter. Sometimes I would just like to buy full stacks.
(Before you ask, No. I will not give you those materials.)
A Message from the Community Manager
in General Discussion
Posted
One suggestion, stop the form letters for ticket responses. When I report a visual error, it doesn't interrupt the flow of my game in any way, other than to think, "Hey, that was lazy. They just copied and pasted the same error all over this castle" (the floating lamps in House Organa). I don't need a line in there that says, "We do appologize if this has caused you any inconvienience." Yea, those floating lamps made me so upset I had an aneurysm.
And please read them. Really. I had an instance where I was one of three players who witnessed a cheat and told you to expect contact from these people, instead I get a letter back how you are looking into them as cheaters. Not the cheater! I'm sure you get a million of these a day, but these form letters and lack of reading comprehension just makes me not report anything that is not a game breaker.
It is tedious work, I know, but develop some way to keep people from glazing over and actually read them. Disperse the work load to all members. Make them take 10 minutes out of every 4 hours to tackle some tickets so that they can be understood and responded to in a timely fasion and without rubber stamping. With this latest update and the errors that occured, I would consider a new approach to handling tickets. Once F2P hits, the community you draw will be less forgiving. (You would think it the other way around, but freeloaders, for some reason, are awfully demanding)