From a metallurgical standpoint, while there was such a thing as open ore nodes for a lot of human history, the ones in the more accessible areas have all been depleted. To me, it would make sense to confine a lot of the lower level nodes to 'mine' areas, while more wild/high level areas would have them distributed in a more traditional manner. It doesn't make sense for there to be copper nodes close to the city gates - the expansion of the city would have necessitated removing and using those. (Of course, I'm not a huge fan of 'copper' being the first tier of metal worked with, either. It makes sense in Civ, but less sense in an RPG)
You could even incorporate this into a crafting faction system, too - access to the mines are granted to players who have earned enough Journeymen faction, for example. Or, players who haven't gotten that faction could brave an abandoned mine, taken over by bandits or giant spiders, for instance. The tradeoff would be facing danger while mining, in comparison to the relatively cushy use of the miner's guild property.
That being said, I have a few questions: Are crafting materials intended to be just raw upgrades to each other, as in, starting with Bronze, moving to Iron, then Steel, or are a lot of materials going to be sidegrades? For instance, Steel might be your standard crafting material that just produces an all around balanced item, but Iron might be more effective against Fey creatures, with Mythril being lighter/faster attack. I'm happy to see alloys in the game! Will players need to get access to other crafting stations, for instance, like a cementation furnace to produce blister steel? Perhaps that could be locked behind some sort of guild faction standing, too. Also, are any crafting processes going to take a measure of time? Farming comes to mind, of course, but things along the lines of, say, refining your iron in a bloomery could take time before you have a usable product, too. Finally, what about crafting in the field? I imagine a lot of cooking will involve producing field food and rations to take with you, but will players be able to, say, have a campfire and some degree of limited crafting there? Maybe the ability to make a shared meal while sitting around the fire, with different stat bonuses than your homemade rations, or, perhaps, the ability to (with a nice animation) sharpen your weapons to maintain some of their durability. Anything to break up the monotony of waiting for mobs to spawn if you're camping a particular area.
Lunacea said:That being said, I have a few questions: Are crafting materials intended to be just raw upgrades to each other, as in, starting with Bronze, moving to Iron, then Steel, or are a lot of materials going to be sidegrades? For instance, Steel might be your standard crafting material that just produces an all around balanced item, but Iron might be more effective against Fey creatures, with Mythril being lighter/faster attack. I'm happy to see alloys in the game!
Obviously Nephele can give a much more accurate answer, but from what I can remember of what he has said in the past it will be a little of both.
The crafting system works by letting you choose a Schematic (ie Mold or Pattern) and then you choose which Materials to use for that Schematic. Which Materials you use will change the stats that are found on that item once it's finished.
The types of Metals could expand or limit what type of stats or what your total stat cap is for specific types. So just spitballing some ideas:
Harder Metals may allow for higher AC on armors but will be Heavier.
Harder Metals may allow for higher Str, Dex, Agi to be applied and yet be limited on how much Int, Wis, Cha that can be added.
Softer Metals may allow for higher Int, Wis, Cha to be applied and yet be limited on how much Str, Dex, Agi that can be added.
Some Metals may allow you to add more Magical Gems but be limited to smaller Gem types.
Other Metals may allow for Larger Magical Gems but can't hold very many total Gems.
Heavy Metals may allow for higher Damage on weapons but will be slower.
Light metals may allow for Higher attack speeds but will not hit for as much Damage.
You may also be able to combine various Metal types for your final product. For example a Sword may have a Steel Blade but with a Silver Edge. Or perhaps you want a Silver Blade with an Electrum Tip.
Each part of the Sword also can have various combinations. The Hilt could have an Iron Core, but an Oak Wood grip. Or perhaps it has a Bronze Core with a Leather Grip with Gold Studs.
This means that even at low level you can choose from a variety of different Metals within the low level Metals Tier, each with their own pro's and cons.
As you advance, more superiour Metal types might become available to you. These higher Tier Metals may have increased stat caps, or perhaps allow for alternative stats to be added, such as Haste or Regen.
This doesn't automatically mean you stop using the older Metals but instead may just open up other Combinations. Now you might be able to make a Steel Blade with a Titanium Edge with Platinum Hooks, and Gold Plated Glyphs. Each of these Metals add their own statistics. This is all using the same Sword Schematic you were using before.
*** Edit: Just thought I would add this video link for you in case you havn't had a chance to watch it: Crafting & Gathering Introduction
Hello,
I mentioned it in some other post but since this one seems to be the place to be...
One thing that in my opinion would make Crafting meaningful and rewarding is if it was somewhat/substantially different from adventuring in terms of what you can do.
One example I like is if you could craft specialized gear that you wouldn't naturally find in, say, a chest, like gauntlets with bonuses for climbing, swimming suits (I mean, who in Feerott's name would go out swimming in full plate ?), ropes, torches, food of course (except if you really want to steal from those orc pots), poisons, ... and all that comes with enhancing objects.
I personally like the idea of using crafts to prolong/diversify/add_utility to the life of dropped items. This can be used very early one, by for instance, using leather strips to add a grip to this rusty sword, and later on add this fabled gem to your sword. This would also be a way to alleviate the need to constantly change gear in order to feel some sense of accomplishment. Gear being somewhat rarer, you would want to get it repaired/enhanced until you get a hand on your next armor/sword/casting_rod.
Jothany said:Assuming we get Bards (either at release or later), will Crafters be able to make any Bard instruments?
Both woodworking and metalworking could be involved.
Assuming that bard instruments are a tool/weapon item, then I think it would be safe to assume that they might be able to be crafted just like other sorts of tools/weapons that players use :)
However, this is all just hypothetical since while we all love bards, we don't have any sort of ETA to share on when they might appear in Terminus :)
Grobobos said:One thing that in my opinion would make Crafting meaningful and rewarding is if it was somewhat/substantially different from adventuring in terms of what you can do.
Without going into details and spoiling the fun, I think you'll be pleased with the different types of things you'll be able to craft in Pantheon. I look forward to your feedback once we get into Alpha/Beta :)
Hmmm... Steve Clover and Nephele have some upcoming crafting news that Joppa doesn't want to spoil? Don't know why but I'm getting a strong EQ2/Vanguard-esque crafting vibe from this matchup. But tell me this, Neph, has the overall design for materials # = end item changed from a couple years ago when you laid out the direction you wanted to go? We've heard a little about possibly taking away some of the grind literally at the forge and making it revolve more around grinding the items to bring to the forge. Is that still the case?
Benonai said:Hmmm... Steve Clover and Nephele have some upcoming crafting news that Joppa doesn't want to spoil? Don't know why but I'm getting a strong EQ2/Vanguard-esque crafting vibe from this matchup. But tell me this, Neph, has the overall design for materials # = end item changed from a couple years ago when you laid out the direction you wanted to go? We've heard a little about possibly taking away some of the grind literally at the forge and making it revolve more around grinding the items to bring to the forge. Is that still the case?
High-level, we're still headed in the same direction that I outlined in the Dev Roundtables a couple of years ago. Obviously, a lot of that comes down to implementation, and the devil there is in the details. But the goals remain the same.
I don't want to spoil the specific surprises (and there's a big one that I think you all will love), but what I can say right now is that Steve and I have been really focused these past couple of months on getting gathering to a state where we feel it is mechanically ready for Alpha. That doesn't mean finished with all the depth we eventually want to have, but it does mean that it's solid, it works, and the core of it is there and (hopefully) fun for players, even if it's not in its final form. A big amount of that is supporting work on the UI so that you as a player can know what's going on in the process and control/manage it appropriately. Once we get gathering to that Alpha-ready state, we'll be working next on crafting.
You'll absolutely hear more about this as we progress through the year. We actually have a pretty major feature working now that I am very excited about and that I think you all will really love, but again I don't want to spoil that surprise just yet :)
I am excited to hear some of the progress made in the crafting and gathering sphere. This upcoming (march2023) information will be a joy to hear about.
Is there any area/zone in the game that you have particular enthusiasm for ? Is it Wilds End and the surrounding areas? Is there something wonderful and special about that area being superior to the other places? Is it because of the mushrooms? Do the mushrooms increase your ability to see pink elephants? I eagerly await the update on pink elephant sightings.
StoneFish said:Is there any area/zone in the game that you have particular enthusiasm for ? Is it Wilds End and the surrounding areas? Is there something wonderful and special about that area being superior to the other places? Is it because of the mushrooms? Do the mushrooms increase your ability to see pink elephants? I eagerly await the update on pink elephant sightings.
I really figured you were joking about falling down and hitting your head in that other thread. Now however......