Kelnarn Shaelingrath
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Posted - 2006.04.30 23:32:00 -
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My Post on Next Gen Research, and my Ideas:
alright. Let's start with Research Agents.
Seems like once a month (avoiding comments here) the research agents get handed BPO's, and they randomly select the person with the nicest kneepads (had to say it) to give the BPO to. What about some BPC's for those of us who don't have the flashy kneepads but give it a good old down home try anyways? Maybe give the user a chance to cash out their research points and get a BPC for it. (Yeah, look, this isn't working out, you don't want to hand me a BPO, can I get a BPC with the work you've done for me?)
Now, on to the next concept... Reverse Engineering.
I've heard there was some kind of a provision originally for the idea at some point, well it'd be a much beloved idea. Maybe instead of just one or two skills, make it a mini profession (hell, it's a big enough profession in the real world). Easier for me to expand this in an example so I'm better understood.
Bob walks into his lab. We'll assume he's got the skills. He has his goons drag in a nice 1400mm Scout Artillery Cannon. He wants the inside edge on what makes these puppies go boom so well. Of course, this is going to take time (money in a public research lab).
Time to research: 2h (can be adjusted with a skill, we'll name it RE Efficiency)
Will Produce: 1400mm 'Scout' Artillery Cannon Blueprint
Copy: Yes (level 5 in say Advanced Reverse Engineering can give you a 5% chance at BPO)
Number of Runs: 1 (more runs with Reverse Engineering Skill.)
Destroys Object: Yes (Some Salvage skill might give you a chance to salvage the item)
Mineral Efficiency: 0 (+5 per level with a skill relevent to increasing that)
Time Efficiency: 0 (again, another skill to give you some PE on the BP)
Chance of Failure: 40% (can be brought down with a skill. Fail it, you get Nothing.)
End result: You put the gun in the oven, pray you don't fail, and if you have high skills, pray you get a BPO. Hell, if you're really good, it might come out with some ME/PE on it. In the case of T2 gear, you might need research DB's or other things to get the job done, and they get consumed entirely if you fail, resulting in frustration and annoyance, but that's the catch 22 of gambling.
Now, an Experimentation skill branch.
What does Experimentation Do: It allows the person doing the experimenting to Alter Blueprints for ships.
Example:
Bob, our Engineer, has a BP for a ship. Let's say he's got a Thrasher BP. He wants to improve on it a little. Bob's a gun man, and he wants to fly a purebred gunboat. He pulls out the Thrasher BP, and unrolls it on his desk and starts doing some tinkering.
Ship being Experimented on: Thrasher.
Experiment in Progress: +1 Turret Hardpoint.
Tradeoff: -1 Launcher Hardpoint.
Time till completion: 2 hours (sacrifice and time are inverse proportionate, or it consumes a Database or something.)
Skills Required: Minmatar Starship Engineering, Destroyer Construction (You have to know what you're working on to get it to work, right?)
Materials Required: Data Sheets, 10 units (place holder, and besides, he needs a notepad)
Chance of Failure: 30% (can be governed by the level of the experiment, with more extreme changes resulting in deeper chances of failure, or brought down by skills, but essentially if you gamble, there's got to be a chance you lose.)
Result: Bob puts the BP in the oven, maybe has to hook the computer up to a Research Database to get the results, and starts work. Maybe it works out, maybe he loses it all. Note, Experimentation should be doable on a BPC, but you'll only get the same number of runs back.
Really, I think Research should be expanded on in a large quantity, and given more of a look at it as a profession. I think it would be cool. Also, allow the players to do this work on anything, like Shuttles, faction ships, T2 ships, anything.
Anyways, my two cents on Next Gen Research and what I'd like to see.
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