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The Daily Grind: Do you craft for fun?
Yesterday I spent an hour or so crafting a full set of gear and mods for one of my Star Wars: The Old Republic alts. I guess I could have farmed slightly better equipment in the lowbie flashpoints, but it would have taken longer and relied on the RNG gods, so it seemed more satisfying to hop on my main(s) and trick out the new guy with homemade armor mods, enhancements, stims, and weapons. Plus, I just like to make stuff, you know? What about you, Massively readers? Do you like MMO crafting enough to do it for fun? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Camelot Unchained plans a robust, anti-mule crafting economy
Welcome back to our coverage of City State Entertainment's batshit-crazy days for Camelot Unchained! A few weeks ago, we spoke with CSE co-founder Mark Jacobs about each of the topics being revealed this week via livestream; this afternoon, we're digging into my personal favorite: crafting and economy. Massively: I just wrote about a game with excessive recovery time for crafters, likewise implemented for economic reasons, and wow, players hate those restrictions. Doesn't introducing (I'm going to say it) "designed downtime" for crafters encourage crafter mules and arbitrarily interfere with the natural economy? Aren't there more organic ways to slow down crafting? Why allow combatants to fight 24/7 but not allow crafters to craft equivalently? CSE's Mark Jacobs: It's a really good question and a definite concern for us. My feeling was that I wanted to create a system where crafters don't have to sit around, crafting 24/7 in a manner that could lead to carpal tunnel. Other games, including Dark Age of Camelot, were more like that. Crafters shouldn't have to sit around and simply click-click-click, etc. The comparison isn't totally correct though, because combatants have downtime to recover their health or power, during travel, etc. (especially in an RvR MMORPG), while crafters can sit in a shop and use the Vox Magus to craft.
Star Trek Online introduces Research & Development packs
The next major Star Trek Online update is all about new stuff for the crafting system. That means that you're going to need lots of materials, and the designers are making sure that there are even more ways to get them. If you don't want to just harvest, you can also try your luck with the new Research & Development Material Packs. How do you get the packs? For starters, you can grab these packs as a bonus for PvE queue content. Normal packs contain 20 materials and are awarded from normal queue missions, while Advanced packs contain 25 and are awarded (predictably) from Elite queues. Advanced packs also contain rare materials based on the nature of the particular mission, letting you focus in your efforts if you need something specific. Players can also purchase additional packs from the in-game store for 300 Zen each or 1000 Zen for four. Read the full article for more details on how you can pick up extra packs without harvesting.
Landmark contest winners enshrined in game world
The vaunted Landmarks of Landmark Competition is over, and the player architects who out-designed the rest have secured a spot in special claims across the game world. These structures will be retained for and used when the game goes live. The contest winners' displays are one part of a modest-sized patch for Landmark that was released today. The patch also added customizable keybindings, Marketplace recommendations, and new craftable outfits that come in various colors (mmm... minty).
Star Trek Online's Tribble patches in Star Clusters, uniforms, and crafting prices
If you're looking forward to Star Trek Online's big crafting revamp, you've still got a little while longer to wait. But the latest patch notes for the Tribble server makes it clear that it's closer than ever. Prices on Dilithium crafting goods have been lowered to values far closer to their final point (although they're still not quite there), the Aegis set has been fully revamped and brought up to par, and a number of lesser crafting issues have been resolved already. This patch also sees the addition of Foundry options so that players may use the defunct Star Clusters in missions, although the old versions of these maps remain gone. Players can also enjoy a wider selection of uniforms, as the Odyssey uniforms have been made available to all players, with fleets gaining access to a new set of uniforms at a discounted cost. Read the full patch notes for more details, and jump on the test server if you want to see the changes up close and personal.
EVE Evolved: Making ISK from the Crius release
EVE Online's economy has been studied over the years for its resemblance to the real world, and it is often cited as an example of a hyper-capitalist society with no laws or regulation. But underneath the emergent interplay of supply and demand that has fueled everything from freighter businesses to virtual investment banks, EVE is ultimately a game. The biggest influence on the markets by far has always been CCP Games and the changes it deploys in expansions, which shake the universe up and force players to adapt to new circumstances. There's always money to be made from major gameplay changes, and accurately predicting how an expansion will impact on the market can put you on the head of a short-lived but very lucrative gold rush. Though EVE's updates now come in the form of ten smaller releases per year, the upcoming Crius release scheduled for July 22nd has practically a whole expansion's worth of changes to industry and research. That gives you just over two weeks to prepare for the change, train any skills you might need, and figure out how to cash in on EVE's industrial revolution. In this edition of EVE Evolved, I run down some tips for how to prepare for the upcoming industry revamp in Crius and make some ISK.
The Repopulation allows you to queue up 100 recipes at a go
If you consider that The Repopulation will feature crafting so heavily, is it any surprise that the team is working hard to beef up that portion of the game during its alpha test? In its end-of-June update, the devs say that they've added a batching system into the game that allows players to queue up 100 items at once. Even so, doing the job by hand will generate better results, albeit over a longer time frame. Other changes in the game include improvements to harvesting info and the inquiry system. Players can now use the latter to generate missions to take camps in order to get better resources. According to the letter, The Repopulation is "getting closer" to transitioning into beta testing.
Cryptic removes exploration clusters from Star Trek Online
If you were particularly attached to Star Trek Online's exploration clusters, you'll probably want a shoulder to cry on for the next sentence. Cryptic has decided to remove them from the game altogether with this month's Season 9.5. The team explained the rationale behind the decision, saying that while these clusters were created to fill an exploration niche, the end result was too limited and simple. "With the steadily improving quality of mission content available throughout STO as well as our recent efforts to explore more distant parts of the galaxy, exploration clusters have become something we're reluctant to steer new players towards because they are not up to our current standards," Cryptic posted. With the reworking of the crafting system, exploration clusters are no longer needed as crafting mat havens, and so they have reached the end of their usefulness in the game. However, the team said that Foundry users can still whip up player missions that use exploration cluster settings.
EVE Online's in-game industry to be more challenging come Crius
The EVE Online team is trying out a new type of blog post today, this one taking time to look at the "bigger picture" of how in-game industry will function with the upcoming Crius release. According to the post, the team wants industry to be understandable by players and both interesting and skillful to use. "You should feel that you are 'good at industry,' rather than just that your character is. You're good at industry because you make good decisions, you outsmart your competitors, you've invested in the right places and you're ahead of the market," the post states. CCP says that it sees the purpose of EVE's industry as a different breed than what goes on in other MMOs, because the player is challenged to do more than just make certain items: "This is the world we're trying to create, the industry that New Eden deserves: one where you're in charge, where you're facing a new challenge every day, and where you have all the freedom in the world to decide how to solve 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.
Final Fantasy XIV breaks down Desynthesis
In most MMOs, you want your efforts with crafting to produce more items by the time you're done, not fewer. But the upcoming Desynthesis system in Final Fantasy XIV is meant to destroy items rather than make new ones, although you can end up making new ones after you break them down. It's a chance to take your crafting skills and apply them to break down items that you have no use for, making something better from the resultant materials. Desynthesis will allow the breakdown of items by crafting classes above level 30, who will recovering some of the items used in its construction. Skill level affects the odds of a successful desynth; there is a maximum skill level shared across all crafting classes, which will prevent players from being equally skilled in all crafts. More to the point, breaking down an item can unlock materials that can't be acquired through other means, allowing players to make even more powerful items than would otherwise be available.
EVE's Crius to revamp manufacturing on July 22
Are you sorta curious about EVE Online's science, manufacturing, and research aspects but have never managed to jump in with both feet? If so, you might want to hold off until July 22 when CCP releases its Crius update. The patch will feature "a complete overhaul of the tools for industry activities," along with dynamic pricing across New Eden helped along by the removal of slot limitations for science and industry jobs. Traveling worker teams will also be available, as will new options for reprocessing. There's a lot more to the update, too, and CCP has helpfully provided links to all the appropriate dev blogs in today's news post.
Choose My Adventure: Crafting in WildStar
This week's Choose My Adventure is all about crafting in WildStar as I'll give my impressions on the creative system that seems to be pleasing finicky MMO fans already. You voted last week for me to focus on Relic Hunting and Technologist as my tradeskills, and I've been having a blast. Get it, blast? Because that's how you collect... the... ahem. Anyway! First of all, I want to thank you for voting on two compatible tradeskills. That makes things much easier. Both Relic Hunting and the Farming hobby contribute the proper materials for the Technologist trade. Since the additional hobbies are free and don't count toward the two-trade-at-a-time limit, I also played around with the Cooking hobby a bit, too.
Star Trek Online Season 9.5 revamps crafting big-time
Star Trek Online Executive Producer Stephen D'Angelo has just one word for you concerning July's Season 9.5: crafting. OK, he's got more words than that, but you probably can guess where he's going with it. D'Angelo posted a short dev diary today stating that the team will be focusing on a crafting overhaul for the next big update: "In this release, the STO dev team has completely reworked every element of crafting in the game... Our goal is to have a crafting system that our players enjoy and are excited to use." D'Angelo said that players will have new ways to earn crafting mats, multiple schools of crafting, and a fresh UI to explore. Duty officers will also be utilized in the revised crafting system.
Albion Online redefines character progression through the Destiny Board
Albion Online is ditching the traditional level grind mechanic for something they call the Destiny Board that allows for more control and specialization for characters. The Destiny board was molded entirely by the feedback of players who were unhappy with the previous version that saw progression they felt was too linear. Now, instead of completing tasks and quickly moving on to the next one, players can choose to dive deeper into any aspect of their character, from combat strategies and tactics to a specific craft or trade. You can try the sandbox MMO out for yourself soon by signing up for the upcoming closed beta. [Source: Sandbox Interactive press release]
Gloria Victis team summarizes new patch, May updates
Gloria Victis updated its website over the weekend with a bit about what the dev team accomplished in the month of May. First and foremost is that the fantasy sandbox now features a basic crafting system. The game's map size also increased by about 30 percent. Additionally, the team "implemented many fixes of already existing systems," including an improved texture load process to combat low framerates. You can read all about the latest patch at the Gloria Victis website. [Thanks Mae!]
Pathfinder focuses on crafting in latest dev video
Pathfinder Online's crafting system is the focus of this week's dev blog by Goblinworks CEO Ryan Dancey. Through crowdforging, the company hopes to develop improvements and features with the help of the community. In the included video diary, designer Stephen Cheney talks more about how resources and materials are gathered for crafting, the importance of tiers, refined items, and how important crafting will be in the game. The dev blog also discusses the Kickstarter rewards, the status of the guild land rush, and more. Check out the complete dev video embedded after the cut. [Thanks to Chrysillis for the tip!]
Azeroth Choppers episode 6 is now available
Episode 6 of Azeroth Choppers is up, and if you've wanted to see some actual work get done on the bikes, today is your lucky day. I'll admit right now, I watch all kinds of TV shows that are about people building things, so I found today's episode to be the best one simply because the bikes are getting worked on. The Alliance bike in particular is starting to look pretty cool -- the armored gas tank and sword handlebars are definitely striking. Of course there's the usual drama of this kind of show - will it get done on time, clashes about what the direction for the build should be, etc - but again, finally we're getting a real sense of what the bikes themselves will look like. Frankly I'm disappointed at the lack of Samwise's beard in all this, though. I think he should just be in every scene.
TERA brings out the Reaper
Today's patch for TERA is bringing a brand-new class in a pint-sized package: the Reaper. Patch 26.04's star attraction is the new Reaper class, which only becomes available once a player hits level 40 with at least one character (And yes, there's an achievement to be the very first Reaper on any given server. Make us proud, Massively readers!). The Reaper is a leather-wearing, Elin-exclusive class that does mid-range damage with a scythe. It utilizes chains and combos extensively to do its DPS work. The patch also contains the new Reaper starting area of Ashen Hope, a big revamp to the crafting system, a production system, and an update to glyphs and the skills UI. It's a two gig patch, so you'll want to familiarize yourself with all of the ins and outs of the patch notes before you log in.
Norrathian Notebook: Upgrading your tools in Landmark
True confessions time! I have been looking forward to showing off my newly minted super pick and sharing with you all how you, too, could get a shiny new upgraded tool in Landmark. Unfortunately, due to the empty chest bug that came with the update, all my resources were lost; ergo, I wasn't able to craft -- let alone upgrade -- any high-level tools. Thankfully, since the new tool upgrade system is not relegated to only the highest of tiers and I can use iron, I can still show you how you can get the spiffy new pick or shiny new ax of your harvesting dreams! As a bonus, on top of guiding you through the upgrading process, I'll delve into why this is such a important step on the way toward the more robust Landmark game that folks are eager awaiting.
