Crafting poll

[Kronos]

Okay,so I thought it would be nice to do a simple poll on crafting.

 

The main point is to see which games out of my limited selection you would like to see influence the PE crafting system the most. Obsidian will obviously do their best to make the most compelling crafting system that'll add to gameplay and enjoyment. This will hopefully be able to give some sort of indication as to what games we'd like to influence the crafting system.

 

Hopefully my selections as answers are reasonable and offer up a suitable array of options.

Edited July 4, 2013 by Kronos

[dukeofwhales]

While I disagree with the decisions outlined in the most recent update, I hope the devs don't take these polls too seriously.  The thing with crowd sourcing decisions is that it creates a game destined for mediocrity - when you try and please everyone you end up completely pleasing no one, and I would like this to be an exceptional game, not a mediocre one.

 

My main hope is that the game is fun to play, no matter what mechanics are chosen.

[Kronos]

While I disagree with the decisions outlined in the most recent update, I hope the devs don't take these polls too seriously.  The thing with crowd sourcing decisions is that it creates a game destined for mediocrity - when you try and please everyone you end up completely pleasing no one, and I would like this to be an exceptional game, not a mediocre one.

 

My main hope is that the game is fun to play, no matter what mechanics are chosen.

Everyone hops the game if fun to play and I'm sure it will be. The purpose of polls is to try and give an indication of where kickstarter backers stand on various topic, which the developers can then disregard or incorporate into their design. Just as the various backers can be divided in opinion amongst the backer community, the developers can also be divided in opinion amongst themselves. Hell, an individual can have conflicting opinions of their own. These polls can give valuable direct where conflict arises.

 

This acts as a form of market research which any company worth their salt does. What I'd actually like to see is some polls initiated by the devs asking backers feedback where they are unsure.

 

Point and case, Josh ask for opinions on what he feels are the best money sinks, that sort of thing should go into a poll which is a lot better way of ascertaining the community's opinion.

 

PS: the whole kickstarter thing is still all very new new territory and I'm sure the process and communication/feedback loop will continue to evolve over time.

[teknoman2]

im fine with it as it is... and if they add the ability to mix and mach randomly stuff to see what comes out even better, but i wont really miss that feature if it's not there.

and of course it would be nice to have npc crafters to make stuff if you cant, however they should charge you an arm and a leg for the work

[Valsuelm]

The extent of crafting I'd like to see in this game is the extent of crafting we saw in the original IE games.

 

While it was somewhat novel and interesting some years ago when we first started seeing crafting in just about every RPG type game that was made, I find crafting ala you see in MMOs, NWN2, D3, Witcher, etc to be tedious and largely a waste of time. Crafting was actually one of the final nails in the coffin of my MMO gaming career, and it's by far my least favorite feature in NWN2. I'm beyond burnt out on crafting, and I know many other folks (two of which backed this game but don't ever go to the forums) who also are.

 

Give us alchemists or blacksmiths, or the like to go visit with really rare things to craft something special, sure. Don't give us tons of weeds, ore, plans, etc to pick, mine, or make.

[Adhin]

I kind of selected both and what they have as being fine but that's mostly cause I have no idea what options to pick. Ultimately I think smaller end stuff like herbalism related things make sense for the player to make (and make just about anywhere). Anything else beyond that requires, to me, to much work and practice for it to make sense for the player to really do it in any meaningful way.

 

I think NPC should be the ones doing the 'crafting' which, ultimately as a system goes, doesn't really change anything it's just a matter of how its presented (also gold added to the making cost as its an NPC). That's the jist of it on my end anyway. Player shouldn't be crafting some legendary weapon or armor or experimenting and refining special potions, doing so, to me, makes lite of what that actually takes. They take a lot of experience and skill to do anything really meaningful with.

 

Knowing what plants are useful for certain situations is a good survival skill and useful for making quick use kits or whatnot which is why I think, for the most part, herbalism is what makes the most sense (not necessarily a 'skill' for herbalism, survival skill fits that too) for in the field 'crafting'. Anything else major that makes equipment or complex potions should be a place you goto and do a special order for something. Would also give far more use to a smith you end up getting to move into your keep and setup shop. Being able to head to your homebase, hit up your smith and instead of dealing with there basic inventory or some random preset unique items you can say I want to make a Longsword of fire or something would be nice.

 

LIke I said it's mostly presentation, but that's a detail... and details make all the difference in how a game feels when ya play it.