Chuckar
   |
Posted - 2006.08.25 19:55:00 -
[1]
Edited by: Chuckar on 25/08/2006 19:55:58
I would like to see players able to create named items, and to create BPCs and BPOs.
BPs
IMHO this would have to be tied closely with Research agents. The higher quality/level the agent is the more capabilities they have. For example, Level 1 agents can make low run BPCs with no chance of a BPO while the level four agent can make a higher run BPCs with a small chance for a BPO. This chance would be improved the longer you work with the agent not the player standing with the NPC corp.
Ideally the player would go to their agent with an item and request either R&D or an upgrade to the item. The agent then comes back with a quote on the materials needed and maybe a time frame. I would keep the idea of having to have the same skills as the agents. So if the player wanted to reverse engineer something, they have to have the skill at the same lvl as the agent.
Example: I really want a Demios BPO. I would take a BPC with a few runs. I go talk to an agent that is capable of Gallente Ship research and ask for a quote. I bring with me a Thorax. The agent comes back and says I will need some of these components (list of some components used in making a Demios and some quantities - this doesn't include minerals, just the items ie Ion Thrusters, Fusion Reactors, Thorax BPO) to get started.
During the course of the research the agent contacts the player with further requirements. The quality of the agents might determine how. These might be in the vein of another posterĘs ideas, The agent needs help(get me some science graduates), Agent needs more of a particular item (my experiments didnĘt go so well I need some more). My difference being that these side requirements are not optional, and all research stops while the agent is waiting. (Flavor idea: The player is using a Caldari agent in Amarr space, so the agent asks for some elite slaves to bribe the local authorities with in order to go out and test some designs theories.)
Example: I want to improve my item. Take one of the items and the BPO to the agent that is capable of improving it. Same thing applies, they gives the player a quote for doing the research and require some items. The agent then requires side trips to get some integral item(s). Maybe kill missions, or courier, basically something that the player has to be do in order for the research to resume. At the end the player has a customized item. What can a player customize? I donĘt know, but ship slots should be left out. Too many balance issues. Maybe just things that can already be modified by modules, just in smaller amounts. i.e. weight, cap recharge, etc.. Players shouldnĘt be able to give an Amarr ship a hybrid bonus for example.
In a nut shell, I think the process shouldnĘt be something players can just sleep through, and it should be a somewhat level field as well.
|