98 replies to this topic

[Riptor]

Well basically what the title says.

Since it was said that the player gets his or her own upgradable merc HQ I think its not to far off to discuss crafting.

Mind you I dont mean crafting entire mechs but rather stuff that gets put inside mechs: weapons, ammunition equipment for electronic warfare etc.

It might be not entirely canon but do you guys think it would be a good addition to the game?

After all crafting would enable a player driven economy, also it could make salvage more realistic as in you take bits and parts from a wreckage that are still functioning and put something new together with them.

Now this is all based on the premise that we might have different manufacturers/levels of quality in a given weapon class. So that medium lasers for example have slight stat differences depending on the manufacturer. (little bit more reach or damage for lower recycle time and/or more heat...stuff like that)

I think a crafting system would go well with a customisation system that is surely to come in some form or another.

Oh andjust to make it clear...i dont want this to degenerate into an items race ala WoW with green, blue and purple levels of weapons, if a weapon has bigger range it would have a drawback on another statistic.. so what it would boil down to is choosing the right weapon for your playstyle and not "one laser to beat them all"

[Tarmok II]

sounds interssting i would go for yes ^^

[Haeso]

I don't think it really fits the universe that well, what I hope is that for variety we'll be seeing each manufacturer's equipment have different properties.

Lets say factor A is the 'base' for a large laser, factor B might have slightly more damage in exchange for slightly more heat, or slightly longer recycle. And Factory C might give up some damage for a shorter recycle.

I can recall in lots of novels mentions of specific brands being better or worse, some having quirks, etc.

I like the idea of slightly varying stats, but it should be based on where you buy it from, not the player's making it themselves, that just feels very weird for Battletech.

Edited by Haeso, 02 December 2011 - 04:06 AM.

[Rustic Dude]

"Other"-not the crafting we're used to in this type of games.

Lorewise, the craft of weapons, Mechs and other components is a thing of the few factories that still exist in the Inner Sphere. Maybe, a unit's HQ could craft some basic weapons and components: industrial armor, machineguns, SRMs...that sort of low tech things that can be used in a pinch

BUT...there is another way of crafting that could be implemented: salvage. You get components on the field, more of less damaged, more or less complete, and then your Techs at the HQ do their best to repair them-maybe they can bring back to operational status half the items you recover, and cannibalize the other half. You could even build Mechs this way, although it would be a long process. One engine here, a torso chassis there, arms, legs, cockpit....

Edited by Rustic Dude, 02 December 2011 - 04:27 AM.

[feor]

I vote other, i think "crafting" skills would be nice, but that hteir main application would be that you can help your technicians with repairs and refits. Lowering cost and/or time to complete (depending on how they restrict it, I'm hoping it'll be a time based thing, for reality's sake)

[Agasutin]

The variety of weapons manufacturers should be enough in my opinion.

[Mason Grimm]

Agreed. I'd rather grind my pilot in his mech rather than at his workbench.

[kazrok]

If there are going to be " skills " you can improve such as Light Mech pilot or LRM Targeting I would like to see Mechanic as one of them. That would be sticking to canon as some pilots were very good at repairing or tinkering with their mech and others just handed the keys to a dedicated tech and said "Fix it " .

I would like to see a system where if you wanted to invest the time repairing your own mech instead of paying c-bills it would eventually be cheaper for you to do so as you got better. Using a simplified formula where X = Amount of Damage to Mech , Y = Time to repair Mech and Z = Cost in C-bills to repair, improving your Mechanic skill would decrease both Y and Z. Downside to this would be that this Mech is unavailable till repairs are finished. Upside is at some point you will be good enough to customize your own mech (and maybe others ) for far cheaper.

Repair time would have to be available when your logged out of game.

[Barantor]

Salvage yes, crafting new components, no.

[Saranpaa]

Riptor, on 02 December 2011 - 03:32 AM, said:

Well basically what the title says.

Since it was said that the player gets his or her own upgradable merc HQ I think its not to far off to discuss crafting.

Mind you I dont mean crafting entire mechs but rather stuff that gets put inside mechs: weapons, ammunition equipment for electronic warfare etc.

It might be not entirely canon but do you guys think it would be a good addition to the game?

After all crafting would enable a player driven economy, also it could make salvage more realistic as in you take bits and parts from a wreckage that are still functioning and put something new together with them.

Now this is all based on the premise that we might have different manufacturers/levels of quality in a given weapon class. So that medium lasers for example have slight stat differences depending on the manufacturer. (little bit more reach or damage for lower recycle time and/or more heat...stuff like that)

I think a crafting system would go well with a customisation system that is surely to come in some form or another.

Oh andjust to make it clear...i dont want this to degenerate into an items race ala WoW with green, blue and purple levels of weapons, if a weapon has bigger range it would have a drawback on another statistic.. so what it would boil down to is choosing the right weapon for your playstyle and not "one laser to beat them all"

No.

Crafting is not essential in a game/world like this.

Unless you´re an member of Clan Ghost Bear.

Peace.

[RangerRob]

No crafting...We are Mechwarriors...not Techs.

[OnLashoc]

Barantor, on 02 December 2011 - 05:26 AM, said:

Salvage yes, crafting new components, no.

I'm with this fella. Crafting in a competitive game like this could be greatly abused if you think about it. Most other games where direct competition is not a major factor sure, but not in MechWarrior, that would be pushing too far to being a MMORPG.

I just want to level up be able to purchase new mechs and weapons, skill up, get with my teammates and go kick other peoples *****. Collect my C-Bills / Salvage, rinse and repeat.

[Hayden]

RangerRob, on 02 December 2011 - 06:12 AM, said:

No crafting...We are Mechwarriors...not Techs.

Pretty much this. Aside from a few important/well-equipped/lucky mercenary units, few outside the Great Houses and major Periphery powers even have the ability to produce 'mechs.

Edited by Hayden, 02 December 2011 - 06:31 AM.

[Dlardrageth]

What about fishing? What about mining gold? All traditional MMO pastures... oh wait, we are talking about a BattleTech game here...

[Tierloc]

I don't see crafting have a place yet.

[VEDRFOLNIR]

Hmmm... I think the most practical use of 'crafting' would be the ability to take salvage and effect repairs on your 'Mechs... but I can't see myself spending hours arc-welding new armor plates to patch up my Assassin. I could see XP earned from missions being available to invest in an NPC Technician who could then 'craft' repairs to my 'Mech - the more 'crafting' skill he or she has, the better the repairs. This could also be an effective money-sink (in game or real) because my technician would need the right equipment in order to make more extensive repairs.

I don't think my technician could actually 'improve' weapons - in terms of canon, these weapons are extremely complicated (especially energy weapons) and any such improvements (like standard lasers to Pulse or ER) would take teams of technicians and advanced laboratories and shops. I think such 'field improvements' would unbalance the game pretty quickly.

My two C-bills.

[KnowBuddy]

Some kind of "crafting" might be a valuable addition to MWO, but I would see it fitting better if it were more integrated into however the salvage system is implemented.

You're not going to be crafting new weapons or systems, that would be silly. But it might be possible to have some very minor modifications, and repair should definitely be a possibility (e.g. you salvage a non-functional PPC which you can immediately sell for scrap for a paltry sum of C-Bills, but you might be able to eventually repair it and get it working again through "crafting").

I was actually impressed with the "companion" implementation of crafting activities in SW:TOR. Maybe in MWO it will be possible for each pilot to "recruit" a personal Tech and a couple AsTechs, which could be sent on scavenging runs or repair/tinkering tasks behind the scenes. This would fit with the source material, since it really should take an army of techs to maintain a 'mech force.

(Keep in mind that I don't agree with the need for overly long repair times for mechs themselves, that would negatively impact gameplay. But as a largely invisible group of side activities, "crafting" of existing components and weapons could be a rewarding optional part of MWO)

[Major Crash]

No crafting, just detail out the salvage even if just converted to C-Bills so I can repair/refit my Mech and head back to the front. They are going to have to hire someone else for the workshop.

[FrOdO]

TiredOne, on 02 December 2011 - 09:01 AM, said:

No crafting, just detail out the salvage even if just converted to C-Bills so I can repair/refit my Mech and head back to the front. They are going to have to hire someone else for the workshop.

Worddddd

[Kaemon]

it's unfortunate that some people respond to this thread that crafting must be mindless exercises of foolishness like fishing, mining, etc... instead of probably a more fitting ancillary (as in, you don't have to do it) function of one of the pillars or roles of the game.

I personally think if it's implemented in a way that makes sense then yes, if it's mindless WoW/pokemon style fluff, (that the devs probably have no time for anyway) then no.

I'd like the Tech warfare role, or even commander role in a conquest mode to have some skill in this area, whether it's hostile territory repairs, or stockpiling mechs/weaps for your Merc Corp with some repair time cooldown (so they can't be used against the same house/merc corp you're currently fighting), it'd be interesting to get into some wave combat style battles, where you can send X amount of mechs to orbit a hostile planet, and even if you're short on pilots, you can dropship a few extra mechs (up to the number of the defending mech squad) that you can transfer to when your current mech gets killed.

Salvage should be hard, and repairing that salvage should be time consuming, but as an alternative to an xp grind fest, if you want to train up a 'salvage/repair' skill for your pilot and take that on for your MercCo/House, why should you not have the option to do that?

It furthers along the specialist role idea MWO is setting up, and it creates some interesting strategy options when fighting larger more formidable opponents.

Edited by Kaemon, 02 December 2011 - 10:43 AM.