Feedback on producer and adventure game loops

Producer Game Loop

If crafting and refining is to be a viable and engaging activity, I’d suggest looking at the ethos of FFXIV’s mechanics which reward intentionality when crafting and provide meaningful progression for crafters.


In FFXIV, if I want to make Iron Ingots and I settle down to craft I have a few options.


I can craft one at full exp and craft safely, drastically reducing my chance of failure.


I can make one ingot, but focus on the quality of the ingot, drastically increasing my chance of exceptional quality items (Iron Ingot HQ) and crafter EXP while drastically increasing my chance of failure.


Once I have crafted one ingot, I can mass produce as many as I would like with reduced EXP per ingot and standard failure rates, even at high levels.


To me, this is the perfect balance of risk and reward in a ‘mundane’ activity. You can pick two from Safe, Cheap, Quality.


Furthermore, this works because crafters have meaningful gear choices for all character slots where one can increase crafting level to achieve mass crafting with low failure or craft more difficult items sooner, or they can choose gear that improves their control, allowing higher rates of exceptional quality items.


This gives crafting a game play loop where one works to exceed the crafting level requirement and can then choose to switch to control gear and focus on quality procs.


Right now, crafters have no choices and the only engagement is to push your skill tree as high as you can. With a system like this, assuming exceptional components are intended to proc exceptional equipment more often when used in a recipe, you can have lower level crafters switch to control crafting to be relevant while GM crafters focus on higher level equipment.


The same logic can be applied to gatherers. Seeing equipment or enchants that can make me some mining gear to increase meticulous or rare drops would provide further meaningful character development and differentiation to make gathering a more complete activity.


So, in summary I’d like to see exceptional components adding to the crit crafting chance of the final product and that reflected in the both the name of components ‘Exceptional Bronze Great Axe Blade’ and the tool tip chance for critical success.


I’d like to see more enchants to equitable items beyond tools to encourage specialisation in crafting and the ability to choose between quick crafting and quality focused crafting. The end goal being I have a set of Gathering clothes and a Blacksmiths attire.


Separate from this, the use of scrolls. Make scrolls effective for you only when you are carrying 10% of your max weight while excluding your equipped items so Heavy Armour use isn’t dinged. Players can jump around to explore and meet up with friends, but you still have to run non liquid assets the long way and preserving some local economic value. This will be very useful if/when you add unique local items to the mines and forests.


Adventurer Game Loop

My biggest complaint with the adventurer game loop is there is so much hidden information that is basic, necessary to know, stuff.


Adventurer Level is a very meaningful stat that affects what level of enemies you can attack, yet I use a HUD to track it when I print to /stats. Either ditch adventurer levels as a way to measure accuracy and power, instead relying on your relevant combat skill level Polearms, Fire Affinity etc’, or provide this info along with exp tnl in the character sheet. Especially when you have exp buff potions for sale. I’d like more feedback on how much exp I am getting in areas since exp pool doesn’t reflect it well when you are spending it simultaneously.


World Map. Put a world map in the game. Cloth maps are being provided to backers at certain levels so it’s not hidden information, but at least a referencing world map with the cities and towns marked. I, and all those I play with are always alt-tabbing to see where things are.


Add an escape skill, or take away “Start on World Map”. Everyone I know abuses this option when starting in the game. Given how remote some towns are within their scenes I would like to keep it, but just make it a skill so we don’t have to abuse the login server. Or take it out if it’s not intended as a way to escape the depths of exciter (Maybe make it town only?).


Cosmetic Stuff

Can we have town clothes? A costume tab that shows only in PvE or Town areas so I can actually buy the elven armor for sale AND use it? There are cosmetic items I want, but they are functionally useless if I don’t have a costume slot. I know I could set up decks, but hey, if it’s on a cash store I want it to be easy and seamless to use, not another set of gear clogging my inventory when not in use.


Mannequins for the housing to display gear? Great for shops and stuff too. Also a way to display things like the Lich’s sword or other trophies.


Anyway. That’s about it for my most coherent and I think broadest feedback for R32.


Thanks for reading.