I have found when synthing with the 'chunky' tools or in crowded areas, the lack of being able to switch to first person is a pain. It is difficult to assess the risk because I have to play around with the camera just to get a decent enough view. I believe this should not be the case, it is making synthesis in crowded areas or with the bigger tools (such as ones with workbenches) more irritating than it should be.
Sometimes, people have run to where I am, stopped to do something in their menu or with an NPC, and been stood right over my synthesis. Their leg is going through the glowing orb, which makes it difficult to see what the risk is at. I can't wait for them to move, because the timer ticks down.
I believe there are three ways of addressing this problem with crafting:
- Add the Ability to Change to First Person when Synthing
This would help focus our camera's point of view on the synthesis orb, making it difficult not to see what colour it is or whether it is flashing or not. The problem is this may not work if somebody decides to stand right on top of you when synthing, which I have had happen a few times.
- Add an Icon to the Synthesis Window to Indicate the Risk
A small icon in, perhaps, the top right of the synthing window that changes colour depending on the risk would be an unintrusive way of making sure the player is always sure of the current risk of their synthesis. It would reflect the current colours, ie, white for minimal, yellow for medium, etc, and it can flash colours when the synth is doing the same.
- Make Other Players Fade Out when Synthing
When you fished in 11, if other players were near or on top of you, they faded out, the closer they were the more they faded out. This would guarantee that the synthing orb is never obstructed by somebody, and would also work perfectly if combined with a first person view.
I don't believe it would take an awful lot of work to implement one or more of these changes. I think this little change would really help with crafting, because one of the biggest issues I have with it myself is having to play with the camera all the time just to see what colour the synth is.
Thoughts / suggestions welcome, maybe you have a better way of improving this? :)
Making Risk with Synthesis Clearer
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07-31-2011, 09:55 PMSeleneVenizelosMaking Risk with Synthesis Clearer
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07-31-2011, 10:11 PMDeminia
There is a simpler way to avoid these problems. I don't craft in the laggy, busy areas. The market wards are one of my favorite places to craft because of the lack of players running through and no chat spam. The guilds are rarely crowded, and there are lots of places throughout each city that see very little traffic, in case you do want to be listening to the town shouts.
I'm not opposed to them adding some sort of indicator on the crafting synthesis bar to display the crystal color (perhaps treating it like the aggro meter) though. -
08-01-2011, 08:33 AMSeleneVenizelos
Strangely the market wards are one of the laggiest areas in the game for me. I synth near empty parts of the city when possible, but the biggest problem is the synth I am spamming at the moment does not stack, meaning I have to clear my inventory out every 20-30 synths at an NPC. :(
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08-01-2011, 01:39 PMDeminiaAlthough the lag is obviously a greater concern for you, did you know that several floors in the wards have vendors? I park myself right next to a vendor and craft. Then I can easily run back and forth to get more crafting materials out of storage from my retainers, and vendor things as needed without zoning.Quote:
Originally Posted by SeleneVenizelos
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08-02-2011, 01:55 AMtymoraTerm clarification. "Risk" means a completely different thing to SE. There is a "Risk" factor that starts out at a random value and accumulates throughout the synth.Quote:
Making Risk with Synthesis Clearer
The color of the orbs appear to add a different amount of risk on success/fail.