Ilandrin Yona
Red Federation RvB - RED Federation
32
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Posted - 2014.12.16 02:30:16 -
[1] - Quote
So, the reason given for the removal of clone grades is that they presented a false choice. There were no pros or cons about whether or not to upgrade your clone. There were no benefits to not upgrading, so of course everyone upgraded their clone.
Well, when I recently explored Eve industry again I got some blueprints and played around with them. One I submitted for material research. Another I submitted for time research. When they were done, I asked myself, "why wouldn't everyone submit all their blueprints for material and time improvement?" Is there some benefit to *not* improving a blueprint's material or time efficiency?
So, wouldn't the same logic to lead to the removal of clone grades also apply to material and time research on blueprints? It's a false choice because there's no benefit to not doing it.
But rather than simply say blueprint research should be removed I thought it would be better to replace the current research with something better.
One of the things I've always found a little lacking in Eve industry is the ability to innovate or experiment. Every item that is manufactured is identical to every other instance of that item. What Eve industry needs is variety. And I think blueprint research provides the place to introduce some variety.
My idea is based on the fact that when you make changes in one aspect of a product, another aspect inevitably changes with it, and often in the opposite direction. So for example, one might increase the armor on a ship, but this increases the weight and makes it slower. Or you increase the firing rate of a gun, but that causes it to use more power, or be less accurate. Nevertheless, sometimes the negative changes are worth the positive changes.
What I'm suggesting is that through a blueprint research mechanic we could choose to improve one or more aspects of the end item but in doing so we affect other aspects of the end item in less desirable ways. To make things interesting I'd suggest something more complex than just pairs of inversely related stats.
Such research could have an effect also on quantities of materials used in the manufacture of the item. Might even affect manufacturing time. Heck, time and materials could still be aspects that can be improved, but at the expense of something else. Like, maybe you can try to reduce manufacturing time, but at the expense of reduced values in some random stat of the end item.
I think players that make such altered blueprints should also be given the opportunity to name the item themselves. Maybe the options of naming it after their character, corp or alliance. (I'd be OK with freeform naming but we all know what kinds of names we'd get if that were the case.)
The point to all of this is to give players a real reason to choose one kind of research over another. There will be pros and cons to consider no matter which way they want to go. Maybe they want to make an afterburner that provides greater thrust. But in order to do so that will require more materials, as well as increase the activation cost. Is it worth it? Maybe yes, maybe no. But at least the choice will be meaningful.
If the various interactions between materials and item stats are constructed well enough there shouldn't be one best blueprint, but rather many different blueprints, each valuable depending on what aspect you are looking to emphasize.
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My Eve Biography:
Ilandrin Yona
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Komi Toran
Paragon Trust The Bastion
453
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Posted - 2014.12.16 04:05:33 -
[2] - Quote
Do I buy an unresearched BPO and research it myself, or do I buy a fully researched BPO off contract? Is it worth taking 280 days to research this freighter BPO from 9 to 10, or do I build 12 freighter instead? Do I research this BPO at all, or do I just want to copy it for invention?
Now, you were saying something about lack of meaningful choice?
And I stopped reading after I realized that you were just rehashing an idea that has been discussed a hundred times already. Next time, research the search function. |