Shoogie wrote:
This follows up to capital ships. For freighters, dreads, and carriers, it is 2 months to get to level 6, 5 months to get to level 7, 11 months to get to level 8, and 2 years, 2 months to get to level 9. Everyone who builds them will research them up to level 6. Someone who wants to make this a major part of their income will research to level 7 (but not on a real character). Nobody will ever research them to level 8 or 9 unless they are taking a leave of absence from the game.
This is going to be a (very legitimate) source of emo-rage among new players akin to that of T2 BPOs.
CCP really screwed the pooch on this change.
They should have simply change ME from int to float, and then handled the conversion in the UI. (9% - 0.11 ME, 8% = 0.25 ME, etc).
There is STILL TIME to do it this way, they have to wake up and realize what a disaster they are creating with this change, BEFORE it goes live... because once the DB scripts run, and convert those BPOs with 1 year of research into perfect, that will take new players a decade to achieve, there will be no going back.
CCP Greyscale. I beg you! Admit this (is just one of) the major flaws in the proposed industry changes. Get management to bite the bullet, delay the release, give you an extra month, and DO IT RIGHT!
I'll even story it and task it out
As a manufacturer, I want a easier to understand concept of material research on blueprints that shows waste as a % of input rather than as a simply integer that is difficult to understand
1) Change ME from int to float. Database upgrade script to unload the table,
alter table inventory add column ME_float float
update inventory set ME_float = cast (ME_int as float)
alter table drop column ME_int
Assume there are 2 tables, one for specific items (objects) and one for class used for packaged (class). The above only needs to run on the object inventory, not class)
Would probably need to cast the int to float at the time an item is unpackaged (moved to object from class table). Can't repackage BP, so no need to worry about that.
2) Modify the show info
float Waste = round(what we need the most of * 0.1/(1+ME_float)) / what we need the most of
Format waste as XX.XX %.
3) Modify the manufacturing job start to expect float for ME. Display is the same, perfect, whole units of waste.
4) Modify the research job start to display radio buttons of whole % and time to get there. Behind the UI, calculate (or hard code) the ME value needed to get a round % waste. 9% = 0.11, 8% = 0.25....
5) Backlog Combine 2 and 4 to only allow options that truly effect this BPO, such as small rigs that need a max of 5 things only needing ME = .61 to be perfect so that should be only option.
6) Backlog: Allow users to do partial research by specifying an amount of time, (days, hours, minutes) less than perfect, behind the scenes, calcualte that into ME, then use that to show the waste that would result. Perhaps a slider with stop points that are only the points where actual waste is reduced.
DONE!
1) Easier to understand than current ME
2) Better than current proposed change it handles rounding, especially for items with low input requirements, that new players are most likely to be building..
3) Current research level is preserved.
4) Research time for future new players is consistent with older players