Allow for Player Created Content

[Aramara Meibi]

This is a brainstorm on an overhaul of the crafting system and may be applicable to other portions of the game. The idea is to give the player more control over the products that they create, in order to make unique items which can be used to enhance role play.

How It Will Work

When crafting the player is given a small 'parts kit' from which to select from. At lower levels, this kit is small and contains your most basic, mundane parts. As the player increases in associated skill level, their kit expands to include more complicated, elaborate, or stylish parts. The player can mix and match available parts in order to create more unique items. Of course, only knowledge of the parts is gained through level increase. The parts themselves will have to be crafted or obtained through other means.

An Example

So, for example, let's take the crafting of a shortsword. The player will select from parts available to them for each specific part of the sword, the handle, hilt, blade. The players skill level will determine the types of parts available to them, so lets say this specific player decides to use a bone handle with silver filigree, a basic iron cross bar hilt with inlaid ruby, and a bronze blade with inscribed red way glyphs. This will result in a unique short sword item with unique properties.

!!!BONUS!!!

When equipped, the item description even shows up under the character description automagically!

[Chessire]

It sounds interesting! But granting the ability to create such custom-made items just by level is a bit risky i think. Crafters create hundreds of blades to level up, imagine what would happen if many of these were also special items. Its not about keeping the balance, it would simply be too much info for the database. It would be best to render the creation of such weapons a pretty special occasion that will require a lot of work and preparation, a smith is not supposed to create a named or a magical weapon for fun after all (and we'll avoid another case of the superman syndrome this way too).
For ex. let the player make the experiments and find out by themselves what reagents are needed and what exactly they can use at their level. And then perhaps have a very low success rate or limit to crafts per set time.

I understand that since you said these items would be used to enhance roleplay perhaps making them hard to create would not be convenient. The problem is there's no way to tell whether an item is needed for a cool rp scenario or a newb simply fancies having a cool special sword. It comes back to the same issue when some time ago I opened a thread about creating already leveled characters for the sake of roleplay (http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?topic=40266.msg450810#msg450810).
If something like this is done it will need careful planning and had better not allow just anyone create their fancy weapon.

[weltall]

the idea is based on prepared data, the current system can accomodate using the loot modifier system. It's what will be used, sorta, for magic protection items, only the part to add will have to be made separately

[Aramara Meibi]

How about this then Chess:

Each part comes with a point value, and each skill level allows a certain number of points to be used on each item crafted. This way a player can not spam the world with a bajillion infinity+1 swords.

I also think we can all agree that the insane amount of crafting that goes into gaining crafting levels is, well, insane. That aspect of the crafting process needs to be toned down.

Also, like I said in the original post, the higher quality parts will need to be crafted individually, using other skill sets. So, the magical bronze blade i used in the example will need a metallurgy skill and blacksmith skill levels high enough to work with bronze, as well as a RW skill level high enough to inscribe glyphs. This cross skill necessity could lead to higher player/player interaction, as not each individual player will have all the skill sets needed to produce complex and higher quality items. The crafting process can be divided up amongst players who, as a group, complete the skill set required.

As far as taking up server space, i don't see how it's any different than the named loot items we get now, which, as far as i can tell are procedurally generated.

[tman]

Maybe special weapons require consuming some specific quest reward. The quest shouldn't be too hard but can only be done every few weeks or so. This would force people to think carefully before crafting the item.

Overall I like the idea a lot!

[bilbous]

if you limit players to once every couple weeks it will take a very long time for the bugs to shake out.

[tman]

Maybe every few days then.  Or make the ingredients rare so it takes a lot of work to gather them.  I think it's very important to limit the number of special items players can create.

[Pakarro]

You have to make the special abilities un-repairable and give them a limited life span, otherwise you have an accumulation of special items, which makes no sense...

[Aramara Meibi]

we already have an accumulation of special items. most looted items have stat bonuses/buffs associated with them. this is just an elegant, more creative approach to give players more control over item creation.

the end product is already in play. this would be adding in the creative process.