Crafting - recipe familiarity

[Brytta Léofa]

Here's the idea. ... When a character joins a clan, the game automatically writes a note into your character file that it joins that clan, as a character note. ... Potentially, this character note could be used in other code, like crafting, saying it retained some knowledge from that clan.

Inspired by mansa, but this is a different idea. In two parts:

(1) Recipe Skill

You get a skill level associated with every single recipe. For recipes you've never attempted, you have zero skill. When you try to craft a recipe and fail, you gain skill in that recipe.

The recipe skill interacts with your skill in the type of craft it is. Compared to the status quo, we'll make it harder to craft with a recipe you've never tried before, and easier to craft with one you've used many times. Like, say, for a basket recipe,
  skill check = basketweaving_skill + (recipe_skill - 30)/10

Many possible add-on features...you might make it less punishing to folks with low crafting skill, you might add collaborative effects from being in a room with someone who has skill in the recipe you're trying, etc.

(2) Recipe Retention

Since we now have to store a shittonne of recipe skill data for your crafty character, let's make it useful:

- Add a "crafts" command listing all the recipes you have non-zero skill in.
- "crafts apprentice" will show all the recipes you're at least apprentice at, etc.

And the kicker...

- When you master a recipe, you will retain it forever even if it's a clan-specific recipe and you leave the clan.


All in all this, this does several cool things:
- Gives crafters a much longer endgame, with a cool "recipe acquisition" mechanic.
- Potentially adds more crafting collaboration opportunities.
- Adds an interesting clan betrayal dynamic.
- Reduces the gorram failure rates for experienced folks crafting fucking arrows.
- I think I had something else but I forgot.

What say you?

[mansa]

I got hung up about the user interface that would be presented to the player for 9000+ unique item crafted skill.

How would you handle that?

[Brytta Léofa]

I got hung up about the user interface that would be presented to the player for 9000+ unique item crafted skill.

How would you handle that?

It only shows items you've crafted successfully:

- Add a "crafts" command listing all the recipes you have non-zero skill in.

I doubt that's more than a few pages for most merchants. And filtering by skill level, type, etc. makes it even more manageable.

[dumbstruck]

I really like this idea as someone who enjoys crafting as well as learning how to make new things with different clans, and unless they required specific tools you couldn't acquire otherwise (say, a still), why wouldn't you retain the ability to make things you've already made, even if you are no longer a part of a clan.

[creeper386]

I'm fine with the idea of somehow tracking stuff you've made before. But I wouldnt' have a skill level for each item.

[Brytta Léofa]

I'm fine with the idea of somehow tracking stuff you've made before. But I wouldnt' have a skill level for each item.

Dude, you've been playing forever: Tell me what you don't like about a skill level for every item.

[Armaddict]

Sounds like a grindy way of implementing specializations, depending on how much you attach to the familiarity.

I'm for it, but have no idea how big of a pain it would be.

[creeper386]

Because sometimes having the crafting system we have now it feels like a lot of weird combinations of skills. Now instead each item would have it's own skill?

Is the main skill still predominantly relevant? Are these completely hidden skills? Or do you have a way to tell what you are good at making?

And honestly, even keeping track of what you've made to be able to "remember" the recipe I'm not sure that would work as an in game interface. I'd probably need to be interfaced through the website.

I forsee this being a lot of work for both these ideas with very little pay off. I think there is lots of other ways that make a bigger impact to improving crafting. This really just adds more ... grind to crafting.

[Brytta Léofa]

Because sometimes having the crafting system we have now it feels like a lot of weird combinations of skills. Now instead each item would have it's own skill? Is the main skill still predominantly relevant? Are these completely hidden skills? Or do you have a way to tell what you are good at making?

The main skill is predominantly relevant. The per-item skill adds about -1 level if you've never made the thing before (master -> advanced) and +1 level if you've made it lots (master -> can't fail). With the added bonus that recipe mastery lets you smuggle GMH secrets out.

And honestly, even keeping track of what you've made to be able to "remember" the recipe I'm not sure that would work as an in game interface. I'd probably need to be interfaced through the website.

I mean, if you care, you can get a list of all recipes you've ever failed, maybe filtered by craft type or skill:
> crafts fletchery journeyman
  a black-fletched arrow        [journeyman]
  a barbed, kicks arrow         [advanced]
And if you don't care, you just never type that command and have the same game experience as now (except that crafts are harder to start with and then eventually never fail).

I forsee this being a lot of work for both these ideas with very little pay off. I think there is lots of other ways that make a bigger impact to improving crafting. This really just adds more ... grind to crafting.

"Hey, don't you want more grind in the game?" is probably a tough sell. Anyway, I haven't played that many craft-heavy characters so you're probably right.

Crafting mastery still is vastly easier to achieve than weapon mastery. But there are some elements that make it grindy already--getting materials, getting money for materials...¿armor repair?

[creeper386]

Actually I find figuring out recipes is far more grind then anything else.

I'm not really opposed to this but I there are better things to put effort into.


I am opposed to the idea of no fail though.