*Carbonum and Bronto Hide are good. . .but where next?*

[secondkenlon]

As of 14.4, we have two new tools in the Tradeskill armory.

Shape Soft Armor and Shape Hard Armor.

What would you like to be able to do with these tools in the future?

I want to be able to build bog-standard basic armor. In the QLs I want, when
I want, so I can sell it to other players.

I want to NEVER have to do the "Shopping Terminal 500" just to find some
bloody Metaplast in a QL I can wear.

Note: If there is anything already in the tradeskill items that you feel
would be appropriate to use in the making of armor, post and TELL ME.
This *will* be submitted to Funcom, in hopes that at least some of it
could be implemented.


Suggestions:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make Leather armor from Pelted Monster Parts. Use a "MTI Leather Pattern
Machine" to format the Parts, then use the MRR (Shape Soft Armor) on it.

Make Sid's Leather by taking Leather armor and adding a "Heat Distribution
and Management Unit".

New armor: Energized Leather. Take Leather Armor and add an "Energy Shield
Pack". This would raise the energy protection to 50% of the melee protection
and turn the green color to black. Mostly a style thing, but it would make
Leather not suck quite as much. Should be trivial to do.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make Steel Ribbed by combining "Armor Undersuit Matrix *part*" with Plasteel Ribs.
Then apply the MRR (Shape Soft Armor) to turn the resulting "Ribbed Clothing
*part*" into Steel-Ribbed Armor.

Make the Ribs by combining Plasteel plating with a "Skeletal Construction Kit".

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make Plasteel Armor using Plasteel Plates from the Armor components terminal
plus a HSR Etch 'n Sketch and the MRR Shape Hard Armor. This would produce
"Basic Plasteel Armor *part*".

Stats: (QL 200 Body Armor)
Energy ac 875
Projectile ac 1000
Melee ac 1000
Chemical ac 150
Cold ac 150
Fire ac 150
Poison ac 150
Radiation ac 150

Basically, this is un-upgraded Plasteel Armor. It should be silver-grey in
color, but otherwise identical to the other Plasteel armors..

Upgrade to Chilled Plasteel by adding a "Comprehensive Refrigeration Unit".

Upgrade to Heated Plasteel by adding a "Heat Distribution and Management Unit".

Upgrade to Titan Plasteel by adding a "Mk IV Radiation Damper".

Upgrade to Vito's Plasteel using a "Automatic Neutralization System".

It should also be possible to use a Hacking Tool to strip out the upgrade
and turn any of the Plasteel types back into Basic Plasteel.


New Armor: Enhanced Plasteel

Also, there should be a way to combine multiple types of upgrades into one suit
of armor, but it should be *damn* hard.

Take a "Personalized Robot Brain" and combine it with a "Connective Matrix". This
produces an "Activated Connective Matrix".

Then add this to the Basic Plasteel. (The "Activated Connective Matrix" must be at
least 75% of the QL of the armor.) This produces "Enhanced Plasteel Armor". Same
protection as Basic Plasteel, but adds an Intelligence requirement. (350 at QL 200,
other requirements same as Vito's Plasteel.)

Next, add the "Comprehensive Refrigeration Unit", the "Heat Distribution and
Management Unit", the "Mk IV Radiation Damper" and the "Automatic Neutralization
System". Armor becomes Chilled Enhanced Plasteel, then Temperature-Resistant
Enhanced Plasteel, then Shielded Enhanced Plasteel, then finally Perfected
Enhanced Plasteel.

Final Stats: (QL 200 Body Armor)
Energy ac 875
Projectile ac 1000
Melee ac 1000
Chemical ac 875
Cold ac 875
Fire ac 875
Poison ac 200
Radiation ac 875

Should take *serious* tradeskill. (I.E., you ain't making QL 200 unless you're an
Engineer or Trader with full buffs and implants.)

Definitely should be some sort of cool color. I recommend glowing purple (like the
eyes on that one Opifex face.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Omni-Pol should be hackable.

Take some Omni-Pol (not Elite, as that is *far* too well protected for casual
hacking).

Apply hacking tool, get "Hacked Omni-Pol". Description states that the auto-ID
systems have been stripped out but the armor is presently damaged and un-useable.

Combine Hacked Omni-Pol with Metaplast Plates.

Produces "Overplated Omni-Pol". Description: This armor has been crudely repaired
with slabs of Metaplast. Unfortunately, it is still unuseable.

Next, MRR (Shape Hard Armor) the Armor. This produces "Assault Issue/ Recruit
Issue XXXX-XXX Armor". Is Slate Grey in color and has no Omni Symbols. Otherwise
identical to Omni-Pol Armor.

(Good looking armor, with good stats and lets you taunt the Omni Opressors!)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Building Cyber Armor:

Combine "Skeletal Construction Kit" with Carbonum Plate. This produces "Carbonum
Exo-Structure". Then combine the "Carbonum Exo-Structure" with an "Armor Undersuit
Matrix *part*". This produces "Carbonum Structured Armor *part*".

Next, combine a Nano Sensor (must be 75%+ of the QL of the armor) with
the Carbonum Structured Armor. This will produce "Incomplete Cyber Armor *part*".

Next, run the MRR (Shape Hard Armor) over the Cyber armor, completing it.

To produce Bau, add a "Mk IV Radiation Damper" before MRRing the armor.
Will produce "Incomplete Bau Cyber Armor *part*".

To produce Waitt, add an "Automatic Neutralization Unit" to Incomplete Bau.
This will produce Incomplete Waitt Armor.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Making Low-Tech:
Use a HSR Etch 'n Sketch on Plasteel, then combine the Etched Plates with an
"Armor Undersuit Matrix *part*". This will produce "Plated Clothing *part*".

Then finish with MRR (Shape Soft Armor).

New armor: Reinforced Low-Tech
Take the Plated Clothing and add it to a "Sheet of Kevlar Weave".
Stats: (QL 200 Body Armor)
Energy ac 900
Projectile ac 1125
Melee ac 1125
Chemical ac 150
Cold ac 150
Fire ac 150
Poison ac 150
Radiation ac 150

Looks like Low-Tech armor, but black and white instead of earth tones.
Very good basic protection, and gives us another cool looking helmet to use
with other suits of armor.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kevlar Armor:
"Sheet of Kevlar Weave" Plus MRR (Shape Soft Armor).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tech Armor: Dunno. Ideas most welcome.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Light Combat Armor:
Produce a "Carbonum Structured Armor *part*". Finish with MRR (Shape Soft Armor).

New Armor: Shielded Light Combat Armor
Add an "Energy Shield Pack" to a "Carbonum Structured Armor *part*". Produces
"Shielded Carbonum Structured Armor *part*". Finish with MRR (Shape Soft Armor).

Produces Shielded Light Combat armor. Identical to normal Light Combat, but it
has Energy AC equal to it's Projectile AC.

Energized Armor:
Take a "Shielded Carbonum Structured Armor *part*" and add a "Mk IV Radiation
Damper". This produces "Incomplete Energized Armor *part*". Finish with MRR
(Shape Soft Armor).

Raven's Energized:
Incomplete Energized plus a "Comprehensive Refrigeration Unit". Produces
"Incomplete Raven's Energized Armor *part*". Finish with MRR (Shape Soft Armor).

Link's Energized:
Incomplete Raven's plus a "Heat Distribution and Management Unit". Produces
"Incomplete Link's Energized Armor *part*". Finish with MRR (Shape Soft Armor).

[Snakee]

modifing armor would be sweet aswell, like adding say, 12 ranged energy to some elite, or 2hb skill, depending on what part you use.
maybe with alot of skill even remove weaknesses in armor =P

[Kzak]

These suggestions are all well and good...

But, very little can be done as the PPPEs for Shape Soft Armor and Shape Hard Armor are so ultra-rare or hugely expensive.

The PPPEs will be have to made more common drops first, as the Improve <weapontype> Weapons disks are.

[secondkenlon]

. . .that they will become more common and I will be submitting this with that thought in mind.

Holy: I want to keep this as basic as possible for a first submission to FC. Let's get them used to the idea of us useing tradeskills instead of Clicksaver or the Shop Terminal 500 before we get into further suggestions.

[Mercatura]

Have them actually drop on disc form, and drop from solo mobs like the q/10/20/30 weapon MRR discs do. Then we can worry about more uses.

[Onaris]

Kenlon,
Lots of great ideas there and all I was thinking was maybe where you were suggesting adding things like "Comprehensive Refrigeration Unit" to modify the basic armor types to the modded that maybe it would be better to just use clusters. I know it only a minor thing but anything would make it easier to code would help get it implemented. Also was thinking that maybe for the cyber armor rather than having a new skelatal thingy maybe use the implants as the basis for the cyber armor.


Also on side note should there be an uber armor. Like maybe heavilly augmented nano armour. Built from a full set of implants and carbonium plating that gives a limitied benifit of the implants plus extra protection? Make it trade skill only but easy to get the pieces and hard to put together. I mean real hard. So that it would take a few poeple to make it.

[secondkenlon]

Some interesting ideas here.

I didn't want to use implants/clusters in making armor for two reasons: Implants are *too* *damn* *expensive* to be useable in making armor. We want to make building the armor cheaper than buying it from a terminal.
And second, I want to use clusters for "improving" armor later. (IE, making armor with stat or skill boosts, like Nova Dillon, or Kirch Kevlar. . .)

Also, I chose not to add the top-of-the-line armors to this list for a reason.

I'm assuming that in the far future of AO there are still patents, meaning that the latest and greatest armor types (Nano, Biomech, Graft, Flower's Tech, Obtru, etc) are not something you can get away with making. (You can try, but the ICC goons will be a-knockin on the door shortly after, no?)

Idea: The weakest/oldest armor types should be the ones with the most variations, with fewer as you pyramid up to the newer armor types.

C'mon, gimme some more ideas here! (Especially ones for building Tech armor).

[Sean-Roach]

I like it, but then again I want FC to give us recipes to everything in the game.

From melting down that picture of Phillip Ross you see in missions to make ammo, (based on the event of the American Colonists melting down a statue of King George to make ammunition in the American Revolutionary War,) to full, COMPLEX recipes for making the Yalmahas. I also want FC to provide us with an easier way to acquire these recipes. Let us take, alternately and on varying steps, a hacker tool and a screwdriver, to the items to break them down into their basic parts, (with the occassional part lost/destroyed/mangled beyond recognition).

Of course, another nice thing to have would be to give us upgrade/degrade capability ingame. Need that cyber armor raised from QL 45 to QL 50 to match your new stats/level? Run a cheapened form of the mass-relocating bot, (a disposable form, perhaps mass-relocating paste), on it. Remove the sight assembly of that too-complex gun, and add a new compensator sight assembly, (easier to use, less accurate, resulting in less damage).

Oh, and I think omni-pol armor should be easier to hack than that. Apply spraypaint PART to omni-pol armor to get clan armor.

[Animosity]

I totally love your suggestions.

I would love to be the gadget rich engie. My MP character is always being asked (and getting payment occasionally) for buffs.

For me, it would increase my gameplay fun if I could post "lvl x engie working at xxxxx I can improve your weapons and armor. Tips not required but appreciated.

[Darkbane]

I'd like to see much more stuff makeable by players too. And better yet, upgradable by players. You should only be able to buy/find basic armour types. You'd then go to a trade specialist when you find the relevant part and get your armour upgraded.

Would be nice if there was ways to 'upgrade' the QL of armour and weapons too.

FC really missed out on trade skills and much more in the current design, they could have made life much more interesting.

Probably too late now, but...

[Cosmik]

Some awesome ideas here, guys. And I know Jim Salabim will be reading over this thread.

And Kenlon....kick-arse sign. Hehe.

[Unit99]

You need to take that 2 second delay off the mission request. And your excuse to lower server load don't cut it. If your servers are being overloaded by people requesting more then 1 mission every 2 seconds you people are in SEVERE need of up to date server power. I'm >>paying<< for this game to have >>fun<< NOT incur one annoyance after another. Clicksaver cures your extremly poor mission requesting interface. You should not punish us further for your bad design by making it even more annoying to request missions for goods we are in need of.

Also something needs to be done with Broken Shores City of Home! This place is hidious!!! Topped with all the memory leaks your game causes and severe lag this playfield is all but unuseable to most. The only problem is high level missions there are made so desireable! I have a few suggestions. First make it so it IS NOT storming there almost ALL of the time as this does nothing but add to the memory leaks and lag. Second make missions there LESS desireable by making them MUCH larger and harder to obtain from common high level team forming areas like Newland City. Third do a little better job @ making outdoor hunting more attractive then you did in last patch.

One other thing I would like to see addressed is the fact that MOST of the time it is so dark in your game that all your memory leak causing over done graphics are unseeable. I don't think making the game dark MOST of the time and telling people to adjust their game gamma is the proper way to go about things. This is poor design and thinking in the highest. Why should I have to change settings on my PC to be able to see a game I am PAYING for??

Well those are a couple big issues for me. Those at the moment are about the biggest problems with your game that are selling Star Wars Galaxies to me. Also the ninja looter problem, but that issue is being covered already. And let us not forget about your nerf happy attitude.

[Unit99]

Oops posted that in wrong window

[JimSalabim]

Hehe, Jim Salabim IS reading - and I do agree there's many good ideas here. There are also some excellent tradeskill ideas on the profession boards and other boards.

If I had the time I WOULD make "everything" in the game possible to make with tradeskills

[secondkenlon]

Originally posted by Sean Roach
I like it, but then again I want FC to give us recipes to everything in the game.

I'm *so* there. That's what I really want, but it'd be such a gargantuan task I'm aiming for something a little more doable.

Oh, and I think omni-pol armor should be easier to hack than that. Apply spraypaint PART to omni-pol armor to get clan armor.

I always assumed the protection on the Omni armors was a little more . . .difficult than that. (In a world with nanotech it'd be *easy* to make armor that, oh, constricts sensitive bits if worn by someone without the proper ID signal. Or, maybe, heats the inside of the armor to 300+ degrees. . .or secretes hydrocloric acid or whatever. Insert evil ideas here. )

You'd have to hack out all the id sensors (since they could be fully selfcontained units) and then repair the armor.


I do, however, think that there should be some good Clan only armors. Make em something other than Str/Sta, perhaps Psy/Sta or Int/Psy? (*hears all the Omni NT's scream*).

Perhaps something that looks like the knight armor. . .hmm.

Originally posted by Animosity
For me, it would increase my gameplay fun if I could post "lvl x engie working at xxxxx I can improve your weapons and armor. Tips not required but appreciated.

Watch this space, I have some ideas for weapon modification. (Specifically, taking weapons that suck and making them viable.)

Originally posted by Darkbane
I'd like to see much more stuff makeable by players too. And better yet, upgradable by players. You should only be able to buy/find basic armour types. You'd then go to a trade specialist when you find the relevant part and get your armour upgraded.

I see no reason to force people to misson/shop run for the basic armors. Make the tradeskills work all the way up the chain and it's all good. (Don't worry, I have more armor modification ideas coming. *pats his handy text file* )

Would be nice if there was ways to 'upgrade' the QL of armour and weapons too.

This, I suspect, would be very hard to implement. Is there any possibility of getting this put in or should we not waste our time asking about it? (Hope FC is still watching this thread. )

Originally posted by JimSalabim
If I had the time I WOULD make "everything" in the game possible to make with tradeskills

Naw, we're not asking for everything, just the good stuff!


(Still need ideas for building Tech armor, brain hurts, too much thinking!)

[Darkbane]

I see no reason to force people to misson/shop run for the basic armors. Make the tradeskills work all the way up the chain and it's all good. (Don't worry, I have more armor modification ideas coming. *pats his handy text file* )

I wasn't suggesting that you shouldn't be able to make such armours too... but only the basic types should be in shops (missions are a whole different ball game...)

[secondkenlon]

Gotcha.

Yah, all the nifty armors should be tradeskill only, in my opinion.

This is, of course, predicated on the idea of the materials needed being readily availiable.

[Darkbane]

Yep, but the niftier the armour, the less common the item used to make it or upgrade to it. And special mobs could drop special items that add just a bit extra (and should look graphically unique - badge of honour, or badge of ubercamper at the very least ).

[secondkenlon]

Originally posted by Darkbane
Yep, but the niftier the armour, the less common the item used to make it or upgrade to it.

This is one of those ideas that sound good, but will work out badly in practice. A better way to do it would be to have the niftier armors be *much* harder to craft (more steps, more skills needed, higher skills needed), forcing people to interact to build them.

Do you really want more camped items of boss-loot only items? I don't.

And special mobs could drop special items that add just a bit extra (and should look graphically unique - badge of honour, or badge of ubercamper at the very least ).

Thism however, would be cool. Want nifty spikes on your Primus Decus armor? Want red/green/blue/purplr circuitry patterns all over your Nano armor? Go forth and hunt some specific class or type of mob and get the item needed to add these uber looking addons.

Or go and farm them to sell to others (social interaction good!). Don't make them actually add anything but "coolness factor" to the armor or we'll end up with cookie cutter syndrome again.

[Kuro]

Originally posted by Kenlon

Do you really want more camped items of boss-loot only items? I don't.

The idea shouldn't be to have a mob drop the special part needed. The idea should be to be able to pull the component out of some raw material and make that rare based on skill needed/random chance.

For example, robot junk is fairly common but the only thing that can be pulled from it are nano sensor. Have the nano sensor be the 'base' component that can be removed from robot junk with the bare requisite skill. So if you need and have 100 mech engineering, you get a nanosensor. Then for the skill above that base your chance increases to pull a rare object out of the junk instead. If it's desired that an item is supposed to be rare, make the chance of pulling that from the raw materials as rare with high skill. So a level 200 Trader with max mech eng skill/implants and Maestro: Mech Eng running would only have a 5% chance of getting that object out of QL 200 robot junk. For ql 100 robot junk, he'd have a 15% chance of getting the part.