Q&A: Crafting

Devlog
#63

I can see that and I already imagined. Anyway my comparism went to something like the legendary hammer of ragnaros (sticking to wow). If anythng would need that much effort (it doesn’t matter what it is, weapon, armor, or other items), then I recommend to make it last forever. Noone want to do this twice, just to try to slay something with it and after the first run (and maybe fail) it’s destroyed again :wink:

Though I like challenges. Epic quest rows with nice rewards, like special recipies to craft unique items would be great!

I guess, i have to trust in our dev’s sense for balance. It’s hard to find the perfect way between “casuals” and “hardcore gamers”. Both need to be satisfied in some way. Let’s see what they make of it!

A dynamic player driven econemy is definetly a nice thing, as long as it has a good concept.

#64

Which is why progression with weapons/wearables isn’t happening. This won’t really be a concern. One of Ben’s more recent posts suggested that stats and wearables are going to be separate.

I am also a lover of nice epic quest chains with cool rewards (think Dragonwrath I guess?) but Boundless is a sandbox. No NPCs, no quests, nearly total freedom. Progression will happen via tiered worlds (as far as I know, that’s still the plan) and individual character progression (see some of Ben’s more recent wireframes for some not-set-in-stone examples of what they’re thinking about). Harder worlds will have rarer resources, more difficult to safely traverse environments, and tougher enemies (I think?). Rewards will be those rarer resources, mob drops, etc. Maybe these will give wearables more durability, or help out with different professions, or provide faster cores for airships, etc. That’s the progression we’re looking at in Boundless.

Basically think of this like minecraft’s durability for stuff, minus the anvil. I’m guessing there will be different levels of durability across different tools/weapons/wearables but not unlimited durability. I doubt higher-end things will just break after a night of use.

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#65

Do you talk about “wearables” = “skins” in this context because you use your statement also for weapons ? At the moment i can’t remember any reference that there WON’T be progression for weapons / stats eg. We know (as you said) for sure that wearables (skins in this context) will be horizontal and won’t show progression.

This quote from @ben (if i read is right) clearly confirms progression of stat-items like armor-rings and therefore i’d assume the same applies to weapons.

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#66

No, ben said that they dropped that plan in a recent post.

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#67

Thank you for sharing. All I can say is that I find this immensely disappointing and can only hope they change their minds again down the road.

#68

Hi guys,

Sorry for not replying sooner, we’ve just had public holidays on Friday and Monday, so this is the first day back at work since I wrote this.
As always it’s been a great discussion you’ve had here, it’s good to read your thoughts and ideas. This really is an excellent forum for genuine debate by well informed gamers.
I would have replied to people individually, but given how long this thread has got I will just try and answer questions and points overall, much of this has been said in this thread, but I’ll collate the current thinking here:

  • Wearables (i.e. purely cosmetic items) will not wear out. They will take some resources to make, and as such will demonstrate some kind of wealth, but it won’t be a huge investment so many players will choose to spend time and resources on them because they want to look good. If you are a min-maxer and will only put effort into things that have a direct purpose then you will run around naked. Some people will do that, but I would say many people will put some effort in to their appearance, as they will in decorating their house, because it’s fun to look good. But it’s up to you – you pays your money, you takes your choice.
  • @Heurazio asked about storing progression, and that’s a very good question. Progression comes in a few flavours, some of which is stored permanently, and some of which will need to be maintained. You gain experience, and go up levels and select skills as you do so, and that progression is permanent. There is also the physical infrastructure that you own that will never go, i.e. your beacons and machines and buildings. The other side of progression is down to the equipment you have, the money you have, and the reputation you have, and that stuff will all have to be maintained. Having good equipment, and lots of money and being well known should enable you to get more resources, and earn more money, and further build your reputation, but it’s not guaranteed. There is obviously a balance to be struck there between these two types of progression, and we will make sure that the permanent base you build up is strong enough that you never feel like you’ve lost a huge amount by having some bad sessions.
  • Amongst others @Vastar asked about how long the weapons and tools would last, and that is something we will need to balance very carefully. Generally we don’t want buying more items to be a chore, or something you constantly have to do, neither do we want people carrying stacks and stacks of them around, but we do want getting hold of new items as a key part of the game loop(s). If I had to put a number on it at this stage I would say each would last many days.
  • Various people talked about grinding, and whilst there will obviously be times where people are doing something repetitively in order to gain resources, the idea is that this is a fun part of the game, and not a chore. Once again it comes down to balance, but the idea is that each player will choose the thing(s) that they enjoy doing and do those things, and they will be rewarded for it. It won’t be a case of needing to do a boring thing repetitively before I can go and do the fun thing I want to do. Many people may choose to have a couple of activities they do most, some people may want to be self sufficient and do everything, but most people will join or start a guild and work with other players to achieve what they want to achieve.
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Art: Mystery Box concept
Art: Mystery Box concept
Q&A: Character Progression
#69

That is all in all what I hoped to hear, though I would like if machines decraded with use so you would need to maintain your machinery in the same way other people maintain their tools and weapons.

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#70

Machines will degrade, and can be repaired. Where tools, weapons etc. have durability which goes down before eventually the item breaks, machines have “Wear” which goes up until it reaches the maximum at which point the machine stops working. Wear can be reduced by using a special tool (the Spanner), which itself loses durability. So effectively you’re “using up” Spanners to keep your machines going.

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#71

Ah nice, I was jsut slightly worried about the crafter profession having a lack of material sink :smile:

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#72

Going back to my original statement…

… I’d like to substitute good with fantastic!!

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#73

Just a thought, in Minecraft, buildings are forever. That half of a wooden shack you found a year ago in the wilderness will still be there if left alone. (Even if you stay within rendering distance)

This has always erked me. It gets the wild clogged with junk. In addition, I always thought it would be an interesting and unique mechanic to have decay and rot, based on environmental/weather conditions and the material itself, which gives a point to building with different materials other then aesthetics.

I can see this being an annoyance to some, but I am not talking days, I am talking months or years (Again depending on material and environment), even having a ‘stages of weathering’ graphics change. Stone would last longer then wood for example. I personally would love to find a rotting castle in the wilderness, built by someone who has not logged on in a year. Moss, vines, cracks, trees interlaced in the stonework.

This could help with demand for fresh replacement materials.

Plus, these ‘beacons’ people speak of, could slow or halt such effects in major areas, a sort of ‘assume maintenance is being done’ type mechanic.

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#74

Thats… exactly what is planned. Any area outside of a beacon is subject to regeneration and will return to the world’s natural state. Unprotected shacks will slowly vanish, mineshaft will fill in, and trees will return on their own.

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#75

They say great minds think alike.:sunglasses:

Also insane people. :confused:

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#76

Actually, they say insanity is a minority of 1. Which is a paraphrase of George Orwell’s “Perhaps a lunatic was simply a minority of one.” in 1984.

But yes, as Havok has said, regen is planned. There are still kinks to be worked out with how fast, does it happen away from players faster than near players, etc.

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#77

Ingenuity and insanity are really close^^

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#78

Thanks for your answers and explanations :slightly_smiling:
I’m glad to hear what you guys have planned.

I think we need a new Q/A: on How to measure progress and what we will be able to “collect”.
Besides skills I am thinking of recipes, formulas, so on.
I guess there already a lot of definitions on your side :wink:

#79

i have build the legendary axe in wow, i need over 1 month for it ( ~2 months just for build it , and 3 month to farm the precurser). I hope if someone doing so much work for one weapon, the weapon does not break after 1-2 weeks. i think they should not break if they legendary (legendary should not get easy, a hardcore gamer should need over 2-3 month to get a legendary item.).

a hardcore gamer needs something to show other player what he had achieved. and not only at his home.

and thanks for the answer @olliepurkiss

i understand this correct that armor is a cosmetic item and it will not break and has no durability ? because if a armor has no stats, it is a cosmetic item.

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#80

You (and others) are still thinking of items in Boundless with durability too much like WoW or other such games. Who says it’s going to take months of constant farming to get a weapon in Boundless? I haven’t seen any dev say that. It looks like materials will be gathered by gatherers, refined by crafters, made into something by crafters, and sold to others by crafters. If you have different people doing different parts of that process, it’s quite easy to churn out decent weapons in decent time at a decent price.

Forget the old legendary quests for legendary items. Welcome to a player-driven economy in a game with no NPCs.[quote=“Saint_X, post:79, topic:4087”]
a hardcore gamer needs something to show other player what he had achieved. and not only at his home.
[/quote]

With the new knowledge that worlds will no longer be tiered, I am also EXTREMELY interested in hearing more about other thoughts the devs have on progression. I lost maybe half of my interest in Boundless upon hearing that :disappointed_relieved:. I personally feel like I’ll take down my first Titan and then say “ok, now what?”.

Again, you’re thinking like WoW. “Armor” is not really a concept in Boundless. Wearables are items that you wear that, as Ollie’s post shows, are purely cosmetic. It’s not armor. It’s wearables. Stats will come from other things (like rings, etc.).

3 Likes
#81

it may be that you understand something wrong? i know that my english is not so good.
armor is that what you wear on the chest, breast, head, …, i dont mean armor like in wow, thats why i say

and

I thought with those two part of the sentence it is clear that I meant no wow armor

why should i forget legendary items ? i think every game need some prestige items for hardcore gamer`s to show other people what they have achieved.
i like to make a item like this. it need long and make much work, but this is what i like, and i know many people who like this too.

#82

He said you should forget the legendary quests for the legendary items.

1 Like