Lord Azraiel
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Posted - 2004.03.28 05:39:00 -
[1]
Well, Tech 1 was too cut and dry. Earn x isk to get y blueprint and buy it. The research and designing was already done. Now that we are doing research, it shouldn't be so cut and dry anymore.
Also, people need more control in what they are researching. Right now, some of those who are fortunate to win end up getting complete crap.
I think that the research system needs completely worked over. This random agent handout is complete crap and needs to be thrown out. Thus I propose the following.
I propose a player driven research. Not one where agents are the soul means of research. Instead a person with a tech 1 item and the corresponding original blueprint should be able to conduct research for a more advanced tech level of that particular item. It would cost money, and resources aside from the tech 1 item and the blueprint, like a supply of minerals, and maybe a small staff of some science grads. It would take a certain amount of time and at the end you have a small chance of getting an advancement.
Example: I have a 1400mm Artillery 1 and the corresponding blueprint for it. I get myself a research lab, and choose technology advance in the list of research to do. I put the 1400mm, the blueprint original, 10 science grads (hypothetical number), and lets say 100 units of morphite, and I have to pay a million isk for each week, instead of just a 1000, because more intensive research is being done rahter than just on a piece of paper or some info on a disk, but a whole huge gun is being worked on. So I and my science grads get to work on our research and experiementation and try to make this gun better. We know it will take considerable time and it may not work, but we dont know how long it will take or our chance of success.
So lets say that 3 weeks later, we are stumped on ideas for how to make this better, thus our research is done. Now two outcomes can happen. A) We succeed. This has a small chance, say 5% chance of success with max skills. We have the prototype weapon, the 1400mm Artillery 2, and the original bp for it. It shows what skills are needed to build it and research it, and what materials are needed. Or B) Research fails, we were unable to improve its design succesfully, and everything is lost. The money is lost, the materials are lost, the gun is beyond repair from our modifications, but the blueprint is ok because we backed it up  . So we could either try again, or say **** it.
Now, this seems like it makes more sense to me. It is more player driven. The bigger the item is, the more money needed, the more staff needed, the more time needed, and the less chance of a break through there is. Skills would decrease these hinderances, could even make new skills, like Researching efficiency to cut down on costs, some social skills to woo over the lab owner npcs to lower the rent cost, another skills to cut down on time, the research skills we already have would improve chance by a small amount.
Anyhow, I think I will make a more detailed description of this and put it in the idea and suggestions forum.
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