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Crafting might not suck (a semi-positive, non-fanboy post on MMORPG.com)
Sharajat
Member Posts: 926
Lets give Funcom a chance with this crafting system here. Lets look at the so-called negatives, and how they might not be negatives.
First, the one profession per character, potentially limited to the crafter super-class only. This is going to really limit casual crafting, and make it something that only some people take the time to do. So by nature, they don't have to cater to the casual crafters.
Second, the gathering. They've stated its only in three zones. What they haven't stated is where the rare materials are gathered. They have said there's two versions of every item, the basic version, and the elite version. If the rare materials are only one percent drops from the common nodes, I agree, it sucks. If they are, instead, things you have to hunt down all over the world, it adds a lot of depth. Want some copper? Walk out of your guilds city, and mine some. Want some starforged iron? Go hunting!
Third, the recipes all being quest-based. Can I just say, that's a HUGE improvement? First, why did recipes ever drop off mobs? What was the point? Random Zombie A just HAPPENS to have the incredibly rare recipe for super boots of amazingness? What the hell. Just what the hell.
Fourth, many of the most important recipes in many games have been either rep or quest based. Quests can be long and intricate. Imagine one that needs you to do a series of quests for a nation, to get you friendly with them, then help out a specific village, then AND ONLY then do you get access to Master Crafter Bob, who knows two recipes - but first, you have to go through a long and intricate series of quests for him. That makes a lot more sense than 'go grind mobs until the recipe drops.'
So, all in all, whats so bad? I agree knowing more than one profession would be nice, but as I recall it was a benefit of the crafter super-class (I forget, honestly, and I'm not going to bother to look it up, because its subject to change anyway). So you have to become a crafter if you... love crafting. Wow. Yeah, totally not seeing the flaws here. This system could be very good.
In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own.
-Thomas Jefferson
Comments
I think the crafting is neat from the sound of it. Good post by the way. Also, devs have said that there will be resources outside those 3 zones, just spread thin.
A lot of these concepts already exist in WoW, EQ1, and EQ2. That is not to say they are bad; they are just not new.
For me, I much prefer the LotRO approach to crafting and recipes.
I won't do the details here, but those that play LotRO and Craft and/or use Mastercrafted items know the deal.
The AoC crafting *sounds* good in theory. But, I think you will find the practice severely lacking.
I do like that acquiring recipes are quest-based as long as they don't become repetitive and the quests themselves become a grind.
In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own.
-Thomas Jefferson
It sounds like the crafting prestige class has been chucked out so anyone can learn the crafting skills, but is it still limited to one profession for character? That kinda sucks.
You are going to be disappointed. No matter how difficult they may want to make the quest, it is only a matter of time before everyone who really wants it, has it.
crafting from the sounds of Avery's post sounds super simplified, monotonous, and pretty much lack luster. The only cool thing about it is recipes through quests. But other than that, there is nothing in the summary which would even remotely make me beleive there is going to be complexity, either in crafting or the economy.
The game is called Age of Conan, not Age of Crafting, or Crafts Alot Online. Granted some people like to craft more than fight. However, thats not what this game is about. It's centered around it's combat engine and the massive scale pvp that is frequent within the Conan world.
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After seeing the Tech-Demo for AoC I'm absolutely astonished at how well they have made this game. I just can't wait and I've started to twitch waiting for this game in may (
The Theory of Conservative Conservation of Ignorant Stupidity:
Having a different opinion must mean you're a troll.
so your telling me there were no crafters, no traders, no smiths in the age of conan? And the uberest of swords fell out of the stomachs of wolves? Umm....AoC should be craft heavy. There should be professions dedicated to crafting...it is part of Conan lore
and its fine if crafting is not a focal point, but again, devs seem to go the way of loot being the end all of items. Wheres the fun in that? where are those who like to create things going to find their niche? Games in general have become lazy and instantly gratiifying. Where did complexity run off too? or the challenge to produce? Most games produced now a days are so one dimensional.....with other systems like crafting, economy, entertaining, rolep[laying being a distand idea or just an add on. It is really frustrating. I enjoy crafting, managing the economy, creating things, becoming an entrepeneur. Not just killing and pvping. It;s an aspect developers are losing site of.
Actually, if you try to read Avery's post (which might be tough, given your post suggests a general reading level of about third grade) they said that the crafted items would be on par with any raid item in terms of PvP, solo, and party end-game. It is only raiding where they may lag behind the dedicated raiding loot.
In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own.
-Thomas Jefferson
Yes, he said that crafted items and raiding loot will be around the same lvl while the raiding loot may be best for PvE only and the crafted items can be made with any use in mind. So if you are looking for a PvP sword, you would want to see your crafter.
Actually, if you try to read Avery's post (which might be tough, given your post suggests a general reading level of about third grade) they said that the crafted items would be on par with any raid item in terms of PvP, solo, and party end-game. It is only raiding where they may lag behind the dedicated raiding loot.
and if your 2nd grade mentality can understand, crafting is not complex, the economy is not complex, in fact i can almost say with certainity that the crafting system is VERY VERY simplistic and non challenging.....so tell your 2nd grade teacher your reading comprehension needs some work. Eve's economy is very complex and vibrant, SWG's old crafting was very complex, requiring experimentation and subcomponents, even PotBS economy is complex and resources are needed via port capture. But that's it...and alot of big developers are missing this from the game...not only AoC but war as well, and as are most new games.They are overlooking the crafting aspects. So next time you think about bashing someone...please read the post made. I was not talking about the quality of items, but the quality of crafting
They say 3 zones because theres 3 races and 3 major places owned by each race making up the whole map. And in each of those lets say countrys they have 1 general gathering spot. You will only rarely find stuff outside it
If you've watched the video where crafting is discussed, then you know that rare drops are still mostly going to be found in the 3 main harvesting areas. It's a rare drop while harvesting. You're simply not going to go hunting for a rare harvesting drop.
There will be drops from monsters that can be incorporated into the crafting process, but very little has been covered on this issue.
I think like most people, I was hoping for something really unique with the crafting system, even if the system was fairly simple. What we have here is actually more simplistic than WoW, and certainly takes for less time to master. For me, this is a recipe for disaster in the long run, as people will find that they get bored fast with so few things to do. Sometimes you just don't feel like hitting mobs and want to do something else for awhile.
I'm a casual player for the most part, but I don't like the idea of mastering my craft in a few game hours. In WoW, I can meaningfully craft and play the market at early levels of the crafting trees if I actually put some effort into learning how the system works. It sounds to me like you just want a quick and easy way to get to the top, which for me, is not nearly as rewarding as something that takes a considerable amount of time. Nor is it likely to keep me playing in the long run.
The second part of your post is subjective. There's no information anywhere about people actually having to come to your city or your shop to buy your products. Most likely there will be a global market or broker system independent of your craft. Keep in mind that you can't even be in a city if you aren't in a guild. If you're assumptions are true, then only guilded players could sell items. I don't think that's quite likely.
I like on the one hand how you want an ultra-simplistic, easy to learn, easy to master system, then on the other hand, you want people to have to make a long trek out to your bazaar to buy your items. If you watch the video about crafting, you'll note that your own products won't even have your name attached to them at the game's launch.
So, so much for people remembering you and returning to you. And why would they anyway? SWG had pretty extreme variety in crafted items. The same just won't be true for AoC, as the fact that it's not an item-centric game has been repeated over and over again.