Evocare,
Thank you for looking at this. I really just wanted to bring the matter to your attention, but you have asked what would I like to see happen? - Goodness, what a question!
I am sure a lot of people will jump in with their ideas so let me try and set out some of my underlying assumptions, the principles I would like to see applied and a potential way of applying them (and all in 100 words or less!). There has been a lot of discussion in different threads and a lot of ideas floated about how to change the system. These will have influenced my thoughts below, so if I have used someone's ideas without attribution - I apologise.
Assumptions:
Smith's work hard for some of the higher end hammers, which are limited in number (by the time constraints in the bod system, if nothing else).
There is a lot of randomness in the system - but - when it comes to enjoying the "fruits" of your labour, whilst everyone likes a random "good" item, it really hurts when you get a random "dud" result. The pain with "dud" results is especially sharp when you can make limited items.
There is a difference in randomness in getting the "end product" and in using the "end product". With runic hammers I think the "end product" of the system (when the Smith cheers and jumps up and down!) is the hammer (esp. high-end hammers). If the hammer then makes "dud" items it hurts a lot.
If randomness is desired in the making of items, then providing that you always get sufficient items commensurate with the effort of getting the hammer, things will be fine. So if you have a chance of making a great item, but you don't "get lucky", providing the item is still commensurate with your original effort, you will still have a happy smith.
Players like to influence results.
Players will like being able to choose the properties of items, but I suspect (with no evidence other than a "gut feel") that giving complete control over all the properties will be detrimental to the game.
The level of difficulty in a smith getting a gold or better hammer (let’s call them
high-end hammers), is hugely greater than in a smith getting a bronze or less hammer (
low-end hammers)(this may be controversial and is based on my own experiences - basically you can get a bronze hammer with a single sbod, whereas you need to complete a reasonably high-level lbod to get gold or better).
A high-end hammer typically involves months if not years of pretty dedicated playing. We shouldn't shy away from them being able to make some very good items. Say, with valorite hammers it wouldn't be so awful if they did in fact make close to artifact quality items (although unlike actual artifacts limited to 100% intensities).
Principles I would like to see applied:
Ideally players should have a choice as to the level of randomness involved, although there would be a "cost" to making the system more certain. This is a similar concept to the enhancement system. You can make/keep a good item, but if you want a great item you have to roll the dice.
Smith skill should always have an influence. ASH's can always be used to modify smith skill.
(Again this will be controversial given the scarcity of smith power scrolls - but given that power scrolls exist, the underlying principle should be the better the smith the better they are at smithing).
As a smith, its nice being able to make custom ordered items, the system if possible should facilitate that. Pre-AOS you could bang out what the customer wanted, just now you can't do that.
Two proposed solutions
There are two methods of proceeding, the first is a "minimal" change method - that is use the existing system but tweak it so that the high-end hammers produce better items. The second would require a lot more work, but encapsulates the "choice" concept. I imagine the second will be publishes off, but I for one would wait.
I personally feel that any changes only need to apply to "high-end" hammers, currently the system (for me) works for "low end hammers". The current curve is not so pronounced in the 0-65% intensity range. The number of charges and the availability of hammers are high enough that you can produce some interesting items. The work involved in the low-end hammers is a lot less - you don't break down into tears when you waste 35 charges of a copper hammer. You could easily get that upset when you "waste" 35 charges of gold one. Bronze hammers are a bit of a transition phase, but given they can be obtained with one sbod, I still think they fall in the low-end category. People will validly disagree with me on that one.
Solution one - The minimum change to the system solution.
Lets be honest here - I have no idea what is and what is not a minimum change to the system. I am going to assume anything which invloves a new gump/client change is a major change and anything which can be done server side only is a smaller change.
My view is that tweaking the curve and the minimum intensities will, in itself, give you a bunch of happy smiths. I have also assumed we keep the charges the same - so valorites will make 15 items, gold 35 items etc.
- Make sure each hammer makes items that are better than the one before it
I think you want to make it certain that at least one intensity will be higher than the maximum intensity of the previous hammer. What do I mean by that? Well if you have a valorite hammer, the previous hammer is a verite one. Verites have a maximum intensity of 90%. Therefore with a valorite hammer, you can be assured one property will have an intensity of greater than 90%. A valorite hammer will always produce a better item than a verite one. And so on, so a gold hammer will have at least one property above 65% (the bronze maximum).
Sure valorite items will now tend to be good - but that’s okay there won't be too many of them.
You also have to be sure that this one property doesn't fall on something like night sight, or mana regeneration - it has to be something were an intensity at that level matters (or smiths will feel ripped of).
- Properties shouldn't duplicate.
When a valorite hammer is made, you should see five properties - don't allow it to roll uses best weapon twice and spell effect three times (so you only see two properties applied). Again that just breeds "I got gypped by the system". Remember this is months of work (or weeks of work per hit) - any bad weapon causes pain.
- Step up the minimum intensity or flatten the curve?
You mentioned one theoretical possibility of changing it so as to have a minimum intensity of 80% on each of the valorite properties. My initial reaction to that was "yikes - that seems a bit over the top", but on reflection maybe its not. If you keep the same steep curve then 96% of the properties are going to be on 80%. And that doesn't seem right. Although I railed against randomness earlier - I did caveat it, provided the minimum is good enough, perhaps there is room for randomness here. I would propose with each of the five properties in a valorite have a minimum starting at 90% and decreasing with each property.
E.g. Property one minimum 91% (to be better than a verite)
Property two minimum 80%
Property three minimum 70%
Property four minimum 60%
Property five minimum 50%.
AND flatten the curve - go the whole hog, straight-line it from the minimum to the maximum e.g. if the minimum is 65% and the maximum is 75% (e.g. gold) then roll from 65-75, straight line - not 0-65 = 65, but just 65-75. For a valorite with a property at the mimimum 60% range, the roll is from 60-100.
Only protect the "top" property - the others can fall on things like night sight (where intensity is irrelevant) or mana regen (where intensity caps out at 51%).
You will have to test this, but I suspect that with the 15 charges of a valorite weapon you will always get a good item commensurate with the work, and you have a chance of a great item with your 15 charges – if the curve is “exponential” with only “15 throws of the dice” you are not going to get a great weapon. They have worked hard, let them always make a good weapons and have a very good chance at a great one. Again its a question of balance, would say three items from a valorite hammer with three properties with intensities in the 90%+ range unbalance the shard. Given the scarcity of valorite hammers (and you would have better information on their numbers than me) I strongly suspect not.
Similar methodologies could be applied with the other high-end hammers.
- Allow smith skill over 100 to influence result
If the smith skill is greater than 100, subtract 100, divide by two and add it to the lowest minimum intensity. With a valorite hammer a gm smith with a +60 ash, would add +30 to one of the properties with a minimum intensity of 50% (so that that property has a minimum intensity of 80%), a legendry smith with the same ash +40. If my other proposals are adopted that means that a legendary smith with a +60 ASH and a valorite hammer will produce items with two properties at a minimum of 90% intensity - upto 15 of them. It sounds a lot, but how much work has gone into doing that - and its only 15 of them. Anyway its a question of balance so over to you /php-bin/shared/images/icons/wink.gif.
However, by allowing skill to influence intensity, you will re-invigorate ASH’s and it is inline with the "more skill is better" ideaology.
Solution two - incorporating player choice.
This solution takes the previously discussed changes and adds a further aspect, which incorporates the principle of player choice (which I personally think is very important).
I have agonised over the best way to "cost" the player for the choice. I think utilising more charges is better than some alternatives e.g. lowering the maximum intensity or reducing the properties.
Basically it involves allowing the player to choose (With high-end hammers) up to three properties of the hammer - the cost being an extra charge per property chosen.
So, I envisage, a gump with a list of properties, one choice being random.
If two properties are determined by the smith, the item uses Base 1 + two chosen properties = 3 charges.
Smith's will be able to fulfil custom orders, but at a cost.
A possible alternative (if its needed to balance) is have the cost escalate, e.g. one property = 2 charges (base + 1), two properties = 4 charges, three properties = 7 charges. After all an items with three chosen properties (swing speed, life and mana leech anyone? Physical resist, fire resist, energy resist?) is going to be good. Again a player wants to choose, let them but it costs.
Please resist the temptation of having a chance the item is destroyed. If you are letting them remove the randomness at a cost, let them remove it, don’t replace it with a different random event.
So a hammer can produce fewer custom items, the choice is up to the smith.
The chosen properties should be the ones that receive the highest intensities.
Some miscellaneous things
Put a different stamp on the item depending on the high-end runic its made with e.g. a gold hammer might be - "an item of power crafted by ...", a valorite might be "an artifact crafted by ...". Smiths will love that /php-bin/shared/images/icons/smile.gif - Alternatively give them the chance to name things with intensities say above 80%.
Different GM marks for elder and legendary smiths.
Dragon armour - especially yellow dragon armour - does this have any point. Any piece of gold armour is better than the corresponding yellow dragon piece. Maybe make them "take" runic charges better (+10% intensity?).
Hmm - I didn't succeed in the under 100 words!.
These are just my suggestions. Now that you are aware of this issue, I have every confidence you will come up with a satisfactory solution.
Zardo
