I'll keep this short and simple.
We have a beautiful crafting system, its well thought out for designing masterfully made, signature pieces for crafters-- Chemicals, weapons, armor, etc. Its been very well designed and its perfect for emulating a smithing character in an RPG, but someone made a really interesting comment in Discord that got me thinking.
"This sounds like an RPG".
Which you're right, it does sound like a traditional RPG where players can use the game's in-built crafting system to produce items of varying grades. Which we clearly replicated from other titles and built to suit the needs of the Site. It works well for people who have the capability or desire to invest the time and energy into their character, but simultaneously, it puts a roadblock up for anyone strapped for time in-real-life. So, I would like to propose something new for the crafting system.
The goal of Standard Issue is to:
1. Put greater emphasis on Crafters, directing business to them for higher quality items-- Custom swords, armor, puppets, chemistry is naturally going to be far superior to Standard issue.
2. Open Classes/Items to the broader playerbase that are interested, but otherwise stopped due to time investment.
You might be saying "Well that takes away the value of the crafting system!"
Not at all.
Rather it puts an emphasis and value on people with dedicated Crafters. If you want something special you go to a Crafter or you make it yourself. You still invest the time into it if that is something you really desire. Armor, Weapons, Puppets, Chemicals, all of these have greater value because they are produced by another player who can put their own touches on them.
One thing I am learning from my work IRL, is that generally the less complicated you can make your product or system, the more enjoyable it is to work with and the greater customer satisfaction you achieve. People have other commitments, interests, and higher priorities. So when they want to use Gladius for RPing it should be as enjoyable and effortless as possible in creating and using a character. Not everyone has the time, or bandwidth to dive deep into complex systems. You want everyone to be able to enjoy the site, but not feel like they are being excluded from areas.
Standard Issue Crafting puts the Crafting option in player's hands, with greater accessibility.They get some of the benefits of crafting, but if they want the full experience they should still invest the time into custom crafting their products.
We have a beautiful crafting system, its well thought out for designing masterfully made, signature pieces for crafters-- Chemicals, weapons, armor, etc. Its been very well designed and its perfect for emulating a smithing character in an RPG, but someone made a really interesting comment in Discord that got me thinking.
"This sounds like an RPG".
Which you're right, it does sound like a traditional RPG where players can use the game's in-built crafting system to produce items of varying grades. Which we clearly replicated from other titles and built to suit the needs of the Site. It works well for people who have the capability or desire to invest the time and energy into their character, but simultaneously, it puts a roadblock up for anyone strapped for time in-real-life. So, I would like to propose something new for the crafting system.
Standard Issue
Standard Issue Crafting is unique from all other forms of crafting, in that it is purchased as an upgrade by the Village. Standard Issue crafting allows the Village to produce generic, mass-production versions that can be readily equipped to the general shinobi population. The items produced through Standard Issue are handled exclusively through government contracted manufacturers, largely unknown outside of the Kage's inner circle.
Standard Issue Crafting allows the Shinobi to register, purchase, and utilize equipment crafted by the Village, forgoing a higher-quality product produced by a Crafter.
To utilize Standard Issue Crafting, two requirements must be fulfilled: 1) The Village must purchase "Standard Issue Crafting", and 2) The Shinobi must possess the funds and appropriate skill to utilize the item.
Shinobi will only be able to Standard Issue Craft items equal to their rank (ex. C-class can only possess C-grade items). Additionally, Standard Issue Items cap at A-Grade, and cannot possess any Enchantments or other features otherwise produced by dedicated Crafters. These are items produced for the MASSES, not custom-pieces for individual Shinobi.
Using Standard Issue Crafting is simple:
1. Go to your Village's Marketplace
2. Post your Standard Issue Item in your Purchasing Thread, including the Materials required.
3. Mods will approve the Item (ex. Puppet, Chem, Ration, Weapon).
4. Pay the total cost of the item (Materials, features, etc.)
> Note, this is already done with Particles for $30,000
5. The Standard Issue Item will now be added to the Village's Exclusive Items List, other players can purchase this item for bulk production.
6. Post this in your Update thread, and Train your item like a jutsu.
The goal of Standard Issue is to:
1. Put greater emphasis on Crafters, directing business to them for higher quality items-- Custom swords, armor, puppets, chemistry is naturally going to be far superior to Standard issue.
2. Open Classes/Items to the broader playerbase that are interested, but otherwise stopped due to time investment.
You might be saying "Well that takes away the value of the crafting system!"
Not at all.
Rather it puts an emphasis and value on people with dedicated Crafters. If you want something special you go to a Crafter or you make it yourself. You still invest the time into it if that is something you really desire. Armor, Weapons, Puppets, Chemicals, all of these have greater value because they are produced by another player who can put their own touches on them.
One thing I am learning from my work IRL, is that generally the less complicated you can make your product or system, the more enjoyable it is to work with and the greater customer satisfaction you achieve. People have other commitments, interests, and higher priorities. So when they want to use Gladius for RPing it should be as enjoyable and effortless as possible in creating and using a character. Not everyone has the time, or bandwidth to dive deep into complex systems. You want everyone to be able to enjoy the site, but not feel like they are being excluded from areas.
Standard Issue Crafting puts the Crafting option in player's hands, with greater accessibility.They get some of the benefits of crafting, but if they want the full experience they should still invest the time into custom crafting their products.
