Sneak Preview of New Crafting System

[Deoradhan]

This week's Feedback Friday has a sneak preview of the new crafting system which will be hitting the Public Test Server in an upcoming build of Deployment 12. Be sure to check this out and give feedback, folks!

Crafting Update

Greetings! Here is another update on our progress with TR's new Crafting System.

A month ago, we posted the details of how we plan to update Crafting in TR. During the development cycle for D12, we accomplished our goals of building the foundation of that new system. When the next D12 iteration goes to PTS, the new system will be up and running and ready for a preview! We'd like to invite you to connect to the Public Test Server and experience it for yourself, and offer your feedback on our progress.

Note that this system is NOT complete and it is NOT scheduled to be published to the live game with D12. We will be using our time during D13 to accomplish some important development tasks with the intention of previewing a polished, ready-for-primetime version of the system on Public Test, and publishing that system to live with D13.

The current D12 preview of the system has an unpolished, but functional, version of the new crafting UI. It has changed pretty significantly, and here's a quick rundown of how it works:

1. You activate the system by using (right-clicking) a Crafting Station in the game.

2. The Crafting Window appears showing the Main Menu.

3. Like before, it has an input slot for you to place a recipe or an item in.

4. There is a new type of item, called an Equipment Module, which represents a "loose" loot module removed from an item.

5. Once a recipe, item, or module is placed in the input slot, appropriate menu items awaken and can be selected

6. The menu items are:

1. Fabrication: used for paint recipes and recipes for consumable items

2. Salvage: used to destroy enhanced equipment to receive Mimeogel

3. Extraction: remove a module from the item without destroying it

4. Upgrade: upgrade a module to a higher strength

5. Integration: insert a loose module into a piece of equipment

7. Each submenu displays appropriate costs and requirements

1. These highlight red if the requirement is not met

2. Note that modules have special restrictions and attempting to violate those causes red highlights:

1. An item may only have 1 module of a type on it

3. E.g. only one "Body Bonus" is allowed on one item

8. Modules can only be inserted into the same type of equipment they came from

1. E.g. you cannot extract a module from armor and integrate it into a weapon or tool

9. Each submenu has one or more buttons to perform the desired action using the target item(s)

10. Once clicked, the costs are deducted and the new or modified item(s) are displayed along with a "Take All" button

11. You MUST take any pending outputs into your inventory before doing any further crafting

12. There is no longer a 12-slot crafting output buffer

13. There are no longer any skill requirements for Crafting

The new crafting UI is unpolished and we will be improving it visually as well as making further modifications to improve its usability.

Note also that the new crafting system obviates module upgrade recipes and the old crafting components (like Tau Conduits, etc.). This preview version of the system does not remove those items from the game, but we are planning for the live release to offer a migration path that will allow those items to be salvaged for Mimeogel or possibly to convert them into modules. Also, the crafting skills are still present even though the new system does not use them. In order to develop the new system for PTS while keeping the old system for now on Live, those elements of the old crafting system have to remain in the game until we actually do retire the old system and activate the new.

The cost structure has been set up with these things in mind:

1. At lower levels, crafting upgrades to your gear should be inexpensive and easy to accomplish

2. Crafting lower quality gear with fewer and weaker modules should always be fairly cheap and easy

3. Crafting top-end high level purple items containing 4x Strength-5 modules will be very expensive but well worth it

By allowing modules to be removed from items, this new system makes it possible to create customized items more easily than before. While you could always add modules to items and upgrade those module strengths, creation of a truly customized item required starting with an item that had no undesirable modules already on it. During D12 we will be collecting feedback about these changes and testing the new system not only for balance within itself but to see what impact on overall PvE and PvP game balance this will have.

This new crafting system is intended to become an integral part of ongoing character development. As such, it is intended to be easily accessible to all players without the need for skill point investment. Salvage creates value for green item loot drops. It should be easy for any player to obtain Mimeogel needed for lower level equipment upgrades. At the very top end, crafting "perfect" purples at levels 45+, will be a big achievement.

We are looking forward to your feedback about this system once it hits PTS in the next coming weeks!

[Deoradhan]

The foundation of the new crafting system is now on the Public Test Server! Log on now and give it a test drive!