While discussing the Cost Progression in P99/EQ in my previous post it got me thinking about another issue that seemed to be happening right along with huge cost increase, Skill Progression. While the average skill increases prior to this were steady, they took a dramatic and noticeable drop around this time. This has caused a major slowdown in tradeskill experience.
So now there is a double issue that I must contend with when it comes to my Blacksmithing. Higher cost of materials and slower skill increases for the combines of those materials.
When you reach a point in crafting that your moving to a harder and more rare type of armor and weapons, as I mentioned before, there should be a rise in cost, but it should be more evenly balanced with the progression. I feel the same should be true when it comes to your skill progression, a definite increase in difficulty should be noticeable but also be more evenly balanced along with that progression.
There is a bright side to this slow down in progression that I have found quite enjoyable. It has given me more time to concentrate on the Adventuring side of the game. While this is needed to increase my funds to cover the cost of materials and skill increases, it has allowed me more time to spend grouping with others to enjoy the great community that exists in P99/EQ.
Do you feel that skill progression should rise at a steady pace?
If you want to gradually increase the amount of effort that is needed to skill up.
Doesn't that mean you're going to have to skill up very fast at the beginning? If it's "gradually" from the start that means after skillpoint 100 (at some point in time) everything will get really difficult and would take 100 crafts to increase 1 skillpoint. (just giving example, don't stumble over the numbers). If you still want some feel of progressive in your skillpoints at 100 you'll need to start at the base with a very easy/fast increase of those skillpoints.
If you start to think about it, it quickly turns towards.. ok how many crafts or actions should be performend before you earn a skill point. If you want to make it gradually you'll just fit it into a mathematical formula. Again in this case, after several years perhaps, but still.. you'll end up with a scenario where a player needs to put in an immense effort before gaining anything at all (a skillpoint isn't a new ability or level, if you see what I mean).
One could start with an algoritm up to a certain level/degree. And from there on continue on a platform-base requirement.
Example: lvl 1 -> craft 1 item -> gain 1 skillpoint ; lvl 10 -> craft 10 items -> gain 1 skillpoint ; lvl 50 -> craft 50 items -> gain 1 skillpoint ; lvl 100 -> craft 50 items -> gain 1 skillpoint
To keep going up, might make sense logically.. but for players it just might be offputting to craft 100 items and have nothing improve in the meantime.
As long as the dev's don't allow for 10 items to be crafted at the same time, this could work.
One could also put in a random factor into that algoritm. It's a nice surplus, but I don't see the actually use for it. I randomly gained a skillpoint because...?
Perhaps another question here for you in return.
Do you want skill progression to be level based? Meaning you can only raise as much skillpoints as your level would allow you to? Or is it just a endless amount of skillpoints available no matter what level?
I would approach this in a four prong manor.
1st: All trade skill combines, even failures, give trade skill experience. The amount of experience a combine gives you is based on your chance to fail. For example a combine gives you 100 experience when you have 0% chance to fail and 190 experience on a combine you have a 90% chance to fail.
2nd: Rework reasonable failures: If you had even 1% chance to succeed at a combine and you fail it produces a “ruined” version of that item. Through a crafter specific salvage option you can turn a “ruined” item back to the raw materials used up to this point, vendor consumables would need to be rebought. This way you can truly practice on new combines and learn the mini-game for that combine without burning through mountains of material.
3rd: Access through level, Mastery through practice: Access to learning to use new materials and new mini game skills is based purely on crafter level. Learning a new recipe requires you to already have access to all the materials and all the mini-game skills required to complete the recipe.
Once you learn a recipe you have a starting % chance to succeed which will be based on your crafter level vs the minimum crafter level required to have all the prerequisites for learning the recipe, if you are much higher you start with a high chance to succeed. Every time you complete a recipe or template/material combination your chance to succeed at it improves. While you still have a chance to fail the recipe can either produce a ruined version or a normal version of the item. After your chance to fail drops to 0% you have a chance to produce a Master Craft version. Master Craft versions will be stronger than the normal versions, possibly to the point that normal versions will always just be salvaged unless there is an NPC turn in for them. Your chance to Master Craft is determined by how many times you have practiced the recipe, your Class level, how many sub-combines are Master Craft, contributions from gear and workstation quality.
4th: Crafting Tests: At certain intervals you must prove your mastery of your class up to a certain level. Your craft master will give you a quest to complete and turn into them a selection of Master Crafted items available at your crafting level. Until you complete your quest you will be unable to gain any additional crafting experience once you hit your temporary cap, the next quest can be picked up immediately after completing the previous one. This kind of crafting test can also be used to earn other unique benefits.
your concern does seem to warrant looking into, this though is very common in most games, but in the end can be very tedious, lonely, and annoying which is kind of the opposite of this games idea from what i understand with trying to promote social interaction. i have 2 different potential solutions.
1: a Pre-order system: this would reward additional crafting experience for completion of a Pre-order that a player has placed though a market NPC. you could accept it very similarly to a quest, upon accepting it would have an alotted time to complete it, before it shows back up on the market for someone else to complete it, that way you don't accept and get it all made just to find out someone else completed it first and now you're stuck with 20 copper bolts you'll never find a personal use for, but also doesn't cause the person on the pre-order waiting hours for those same 20 copper bolts because i a guy accepted but then his wife made his go mow the yard.
2: have group crafting in the form of an apprenticeship system: for this you could have one player assist another player in the creation of a better quality item, so say where a lvl 25 blacksmith would have some degree is difficulty crafting a High-quality Mithril Saber by himself, he can have a group member be his apprentice and help make it easier or faster. and the apprentice would get a significant amount of experience, at the cost of only his time, and polieltely helping his friend/guild/random stranger request. this would promote social interaction and build friendships and people can level thier crafting without competing excessively with players trying to get a limitied resource. this would keep the resources limited, still in high demand, and crafted items fairly limited, yet not hinder people who want to level thier skills.
I believe that the profession progression should be on par if not easier than leveling/raid progression, otherwise why craft if you can obtain full raid gear faster. This is one of the mechanics that I have seen over and over again that can ruin a game or at least ruin crafting and the economy. If it is easier to obtain gear by killing mobs it is also quicker and to obtain gold at least in the beginning of the launch. The supply will outweigh the demand quickly if this is overlooked. I also believe that the crafted items should have a higher stat then most if not all items obtainable in raids. On the other hand, it should take a much higher amount of time, skill, and resources to craft items that have best in slot stats to equal best in slot raiding gear. I think it is necessary for a crafter to spend as much time as a raider spends progressing his item rating except for the legendary best in slot gear crafters can make.