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Firefall is prepping an all-new crafting system
Good news for those disillusioned with the state of crafting in Firefall: Red 5 is preparing an "all-new crafting system" to replace the current setup. New crafting dev Gortok spoke a little to this on the forums over the past month, saying that as a person who's designed four such systems for MMOs, he finds Firefall's crafting both pointless and grindy. Fortunately, Gortok has ideas to make it all much, much better: "It will take some time, and my plan is to actually rip out the existing recipes and research, replace the entire thing from scratch, and implement an entirely new system for the actual act of crafting. There are a lot of great things that we lost, and I want to bring some of those feelings back without the complication and confusion" Some of the changes include restructuring research, consolidating recipes, crafting in batches, and making thumping "more desirable" again. [Thanks to Eri for the tip!]
Flameseeker Chronicles: Crafting up a storm in Guild Wars 2
Merry Wintersday! Guild Wars 2's non-denominational twinkly winter celebration is in full swing. Despite earlier reports from ArenaNet that we'd get pure repeats of both Halloween and Wintersday, this year has added some new quests and a thematically appropriate relocation to Divinity's Reach. I was wrong last week about the sad Dickensian atmosphere of ruined Lion's Arch decorated with snowflakes, but there are still plenty of unfortunate children, so it all evens out. As your resident Scrooge, I'm going to skirt around the topic of candy canes and jumping puzzles to talk about a game feature that's much closer to my heart: crafting. However, I come to lob snowballs at GW2's crafting system, not to praise it.
Star Trek Online details the rewards of a new crafting system
Star Trek Online has been focused on crafting in a big way for its Season 9.5 update, but thus far we've heard little about what the new crafts will actually produce. I mean, what could convince you to play? Other than, say, heavy cannons with an extra-wide firing arc. Or projectiles that leave behind damage fields. Or all sorts of new rewards with bonus effects that can be accessed only through the updated crafting system by dedicated captains. There are also new traits unlocked via the crafting system, allowing such bonuses as increased ship performance upon use of skills or creating nigh-invulnerable shields for a moment when healing. And if that alone isn't enough, you can pick up unique modifiers on items that can be obtained only through crafting, such as cooldown reduction on Science consoles or free Beam Overloads on beam weapons. Read the full blog for all of the fascinating bonuses unlocked by masters of the new crafting system soon to hit a live server near you.
Field Journal: Picking up the pieces of Fallen Earth
I was introduced to Fallen Earth way back in the mists of time, around when I first started reading Massively. It was one of the earliest Choose My Adventures, and I was so impressed that I made my own account and joined in on the fun part of the way through. My character even made a few cameos in the column later on. I have a lot of fond memories of the game, and a significant part of that is due to the crafting system. There are some really good ideas in there, even if the execution has always been a bit flawed. Despite those flaws, I wouldn't trade my early days with the game for anything. Well, other than a better version of the same game.
Wakfu announces plans for crafting revamp
Ankama Games' quirky, cel-shaded, turn-based title Wakfu is tearing down its old crafting system and rebuilding it into something totally new. While the dev blog on the topic makes it clear that the final version of the crafting revamp is still subject to many changes, the basic idea behind it is to recreate crafting as a time-based system in which players assign crafting tasks to their (NPC) workers, with each task taking a variable amount of time to complete. Players can continue their adventures as usual while their workers complete a task, so there's no need to park your character and go make a sandwich while he crafts. Each crafting task occupies a craft slot, with each character beginning their crafting career with a single slot. Players can unlock additional task slots (allowing more crafting tasks to be completed simultaneously) by completing crafting achievements, up to a maximum of nine slots. In addition to this new crafting system, the revamp will also introduce a contract system that will allow buyers to place orders with their crafters of choice, complete with the tools for price negotiation and the ability for buyers to supply the required materials to the crafters. When a contract is completed, the item is delivered directly to the buyer's inventory upon its completion, making for a hassle-free shopping experience. All the finer details on Wakfu's proposed crafting revamp can be found in the full dev blog on the game's official site. [Thanks to Avaera for the tip!]
PAX Prime 2013: Adjusting butts in Elder Scrolls Online
After my hands-on demo at E3, I was cautiously optimistic about sitting down for another hour of Elder Scrolls Online at this year's PAX Prime. I was ushered into the press demo area and immediately dived into character creation. There were significantly more options available here than during my last demo just a few months ago. Among the additions was a feature I'm sure you've been waiting for: the "posterior dimensions" slider. Beyond butts, the variety of the options Bethesda brought to PAX Prime was pretty impressive. I spent more time in character creation than I expected, even customizing my stomach size. After I decided on the appropriate butt girth, I loaded into the snowy, nordic area of Bleakrock Isle and immediately spent a solid 10 minutes exploring my option menus.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2's endgame progression is leveling up
I don't like Guild Wars 2's Ascended gear. I've never liked it. My initial response to the controversy surrounding it was "wait and see," but after the details came out and the first pieces were implemented, my opinion of it settled somewhere between frustrated disappointment and apathy and has lived there ever since. While I didn't have much of a problem giving ArenaNet the benefit of the doubt where its desire to avoid a never-ending gear treadmill was concerned, what did bother me was how reactionary and rushed Ascended's inclusion seemed. When I thought of all the cool things the developers could have done to provide players with ways to continue progressing our characters after level 80, a new tier of gear with slightly higher stats and largely time-gated acquisition was not even on the list. I'm sure it was on the very top of some people's lists, because I remember reading several of their comments and thinking, "Wow, I could not be less excited for this, but at least somebody likes it."
Captain's Log: Interview with Star Trek Online's Al Rivera, part one
Late last month, I had the opportunity to drop into the offices of Cryptic Studios to talk with the Star Trek Online team members. While they were still recovering from the intense work required to bring the Legacy of Romulus expansion to bear, they were all still very busy working on new material being produced for the game. New ships, UI changes, fleet holdings, and events were all being worked on. I even got the opportunity to play a bit of the summer event before it went live in the game. However, I was really there to talk to the developers themselves, and I interviewed several different people. This week I begin my series of interviews with the team of Star Trek Online with a synopsis of my discussion with Lead Designer Al "CaptainGeko" Rivera.
City of Steam's Tears of the Oracle patch hails the return of the greenskins
When City of Steam threw open its browser-based beta doors to all players, certain classes and races were noticeably missing from the soirée. But some fan-favorites have finally gotten their invitation and will be rejoining the party when the 1.3 patch Tears of the Oracle hits next week; greenskins, dwarves, and Channelers will once again be available to play. And that's not even the half of it! This next patch will also be raising the level cap, expanding questlines, and adding plenty of new things, including the Founder's Annex suburb, a PvP event, a collection system, rare mobs in dungeons, plenty of cosmetic items, and even a new crafting system. On top of that, levels one through nine can resurrect for free in dungeons and the salvage system got an overhaul. So get ready to get your goblin (or hobbe, or orc) on next week! [Source: Mechanist Games press release]
The Nexus Telegraph: A speculative look at WildStar crafting
Sometimes my plans coincide perfectly with real-world events. Last time I wrote this column, I planned to talk about crafting, and then on Friday WildStar gave us a look at some of what we can expect in the system. Admittedly, we don't yet know how the whole circuit board system plays into crafting or what "one of two systems" means, but we can speculate, can't we? Before anyone asks, let me say that no, I had no forewarning or advance preview. I'm just pleased that everything came together by coincidence. So right now we know that the circuit board interface is the basis of one of the crafting systems in the game, and we know how the circuit boards in general work. That's enough to make some reasonable guesses. Let's start by guessing at a system in which you sidestep the entire process of finding the best stats on the best items by just making it from scratch.
Pathfinder dev blog rolls up its sleeves and digs into crafting
If you've been looking forward to an involved crafting system, Pathfinder Online is happy to oblige. In the most recent dev blog, the game's proposed system is laid out in great detail, from gathering the resources to the final product. In a nutshell, gear (the majority of which will be player-crafted) will be the final result of many steps involving different skill sets, with the creator's skill rating at each step contributing to the final quality rating. Each step -- harvesting or salvaging, refining, crafting, and enchanting -- can only achieve a quality rating equal to the level of either the starting materials or the creator's skill, whichever is lower. The blog also gives players an update on how Kickstarter rewards will be disseminated. For full details on both this and the entire crafting process, check out the the full blog.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: The crafts of heroes
I want to give major props to Cryptic Studios for Champions Online at launch because the studio did something that most superhero MMOs don't even try to do: Crafting was in the game at launch, and while you can say that it was absolutely terrible, it wins respect for existing no matter what else happened afterward. I didn't play around with the crafting at launch, but I can still respect that it was there. Of course, even if I had liked it, it clearly was disliked enough for the game to completely redo its crafting system later. And from what I saw, it was not well loved. But the crafting systems for DC Universe Online and City of Heroes are both not received with open arms either. Don't get me started on the half-hearted effort Marvel Heroes has for a crafting system, which makes The Secret World look downright deep. (Although that could be revamped for release.) So what's the deal here? Superhero MMOs are often ahead of the curve in a lot of areas, so why can't we get a superhero game with a proper crafting system?
SOE Live 2012: EverQuest II interviews highlight focus on crafting, player stories
It is undeniable: Between panels, keynote addresses, and interviews, SOE Live offered fans a smorgasbord of information this year. Even as we reported on some information, more came our way. Such is the case with EverQuest II and its upcoming Chains of Eternity expansion; no sooner had I shared the new tradeskill AA and prestige lines than I was able to sit down developers to gain more insights into the new features. And of course, another panel came along offering even more tidbits about the expansion and beyond! Did previous announcements leave you wondering whether crafters will be required to grind their own AA tree up from 0? How many crafted items can actually be mass produced at one time? And what's in store for the Dungeon Maker and SOEmote? These questions and more were answered as I sat down with Brain Ferguson (PvP and tradeskill game designer), Holly Longdale, (Producer), and Dave Georgeson (Director of the EQ franchise).
WildStar Wednesday details crafting and economy
Here we are at yet another hump day, but there's no need to moan and groan. Carbine Studios is here to relieve the midweek slump with a new WildStar Wednesday, this time focusing on the upcoming sci-fi title's economic and crafting systems. If you're the type of player who would rather be a trade magnate than a fierce warrior, then this WildStar Wednesday is for you. According to the devs, player crafting "will play an integral role" in WildStar because of the game's item modification system, and they stress that "modifying your gear [is] about choice and customization, rather than following a blueprint for the 'best' choices." The developers also reveal that dye and costume systems will be in the game, allowing players to perfect their outfits so they can explore the universe in style without sacrificing function. For the full interview, which includes a few more juicy tidbits on the costume and crafting systems, head on over to WildStar Central and check it out.
Crafting in The Repopulation unveiled as a viable playstyle
Few gaming features can claim such vastly different implementations as crafting. To the disappointment of dedicated MMO crafters, few games offer in-depth systems. Even worse, when trade skill systems are present, they are often near pointless as mass-produced generic goods or superior loot drops destroy the market. Not so for The Repopulation -- Above and Beyond Technologies just unveiled details of the game's in-depth crafting system mentioned in the End of May report. First and foremost, crafting will be a primary game type; crafters can succeed in their trade without combat. The system will also be very in-depth, involving tools and commanding players' attention in order to succeed. One of the more unique features is the crafting board: Instead of crafters tossing their wares into an auction house, customers post their order, including specifications and price, for crafters to fill. Also, due to the grade system, recipes gathered on the first day will still be valuable years later. Although not unique, harvesting is another interesting feature as necessary ingredients can be gained by manually gathering nodes, placing a structure, or extracting from kills. For more information, check out the full announcement. [Source: Above and Beyond Technologies press release]
Flameseeker Chronicles Extra: Guild Wars 2 crafting explained
Remember how I wanted to talk to you about crafting in Guild Wars 2? Let's do that now. I made a video while I was fiddling around with the weaponsmithing and armorsmithing disciplines in the recent Guild Wars 2 closed beta press weekend, and I've included it in this extra edition of Flameseeker Chronicles. Let's take a look at exactly what's going on for your first 25 points or so in these disciplines.
Eden Eternal announces new race, crafting system
If you're looking for something new to do in Eden Eternal aside from killing monsters and stockpiling phat lewt, look no further than the mid-September content update. Aeria Games has just put out a press release detailing the patch, and the highlights include the new Anuran race along with a brand-new crafting system. Racial special abilities will also be making an appearance in the new patch, and they're tied into the new tradeskill mechanics. Characters at level 30 and above can participate in Gemcrafting (for Humans), Engineering (for Zumi), and Alchemy (for Anurans) to create a multitude of useful items including gear, potions, and dyes. The tradeskill goodness doesn't stop there, though, as players at level 20 and above are free to set up their own personal shops in the town of Aven. Finally, two new NPCs are being added to Eden Eternal, and Professor Koss gives timed XP boosts while Assistant Teren gifts players with different fortune bags throughout the day. Learn more about Eden Eternal, and grab the client, at the game's official website. [Source: Aeria Games press release]
Lost Pages of Taborea: Improving versatility in RoM's content
I'm bouncing off last week's Lost Pages of Taborea to elaborate on why Runes of Magic's content is lackluster, especially in light of the ability to over-gear but also to come up with some ideas to keep it from becoming meaningless and boring. It's not absolutely necessary, but it will help if you've read last week's article. RoM's gear-system ensures that you get a lot of variety in choosing what kind of character to make and how you want to play it, but there's a threshold at which the only way to allow for even more diversity among class builds is to offset the linear difficulty of new content by replacing your stats with more powerful versions of themselves, adding refinements and tiering, upgrades that just up your sheer power. Players get funneled into more restrictive builds as they gain levels. The downfall is in the content itself because it becomes super-easy-mode killing after over-gearing. It's turning on a cheat code. Any need -- or desire -- to manage blood bars or skill rotations gets thrown out with the trash. It's a foreseeable issue in just about any game across any platform or genre in which you would allow the players to gain extra amounts of power. But is there a way to allow for it and keep in some challenge and variety? Some solutions might be to slow down the pace of combat, stretch the utility of player bars, make content more dynamic, or throw in some sandbox behavior.
Wings Over Atreia: One, two, craft my shoe
Three, four, scream some more. Welcome to the world of Aion crafting, where frustration and despair are produced right alongside daggers, hauberks, and frillneck sausage. Where more than one Deava has left the crafting station and flung himself from the Sky Canal in Sanctum to the depths below... wait, maybe that was just me. Between more attempts at a hot heart of magic craft and scrambling to gather enough material to inch my way up the skill ladder towards mastery, crafting has consumed my hours and thoughts over the past couple of weeks. It has also left me questioning my sanity and losing just about every kinah I had saved up. So why craft? It is true what they say: Some players live for crafting, while others have crafting forced upon them. Prior to Aion I leaned toward the former, but tales of the cost and woes of failed crafts squelched any desires to craft early on. Then the fates conspired against me and I there I was, pan in hand. Somehow the pain of that experience must have dulled because I started another. Why, oh why? Love it or hate it but have to do it, if you are considering delving into a crafting profession in Aion, check past the break for a guide to getting started and a glance at the journey ahead.
Guild Wars 2 is skill-based, says lead designer
Although Guild Wars 2 has had many reveals lately, much of the game is still shrouded in mystery, and ArenaNet has generally remained tight-lipped about specific game information. However, in a recent interview with Guild-Hall.cz, Lead Designer Eric Flannum did let fans in on a few tidbits. A concern for a lot of players is skill vs. level. Flannum revealed that skill will play a significant role in Guild Wars 2 and clarified it by saying, "For really large level spreads of say 10 or more levels, then the gear and raw power of the character is going to be a huge factor. When you are talking about smaller level differences then skill plays a very large role." Given the more action-based combat mechanics of the game, we think this makes a lot of sense. In a related question, Flannum was asked about the quality of dropped gear vs. crafted gear. "It will be possible to craft items that are comparable in power to the best items available through drops and other rewards," he assured readers. For the whole interview with Flannum and designers Jon Peters, Jeff Grubb, Colin Johanson, and Ree Soesbee, hop to Guild-Hall.cz.
