[dev1016] Synthesis interface improvements

*[dev1016] Synthesis interface improvements

* Examination of synthesis recipe balancing
* Adjustments to begin after settling on specs
* Expansion of synthesis recipe history (currently stores eight recipes)
* Adjustments to the item synthesis process

As I will agree that some recipes make crafting seem non-progressive, and some recipes require materials made by other classes sometimes 30rks higher then the end product. I don't mind it, it keeps everyone from using the same items. It also promotes that people need to work together, enforces economy and diversity.

I will always disagree with the simplifying of the crafting system, EQ2 had a system similar to this one at first and then they patched in a system that made crafting so easy that everyone started crafting and made crafting undesirable. LOTRO is another example of why not to mess with a good hard crafting system, after 2yrs they dumbed the crafting system down to a point where crafting is just an annoying feature that nobody really use for anything but themselves.

If anything make crafting harder, or more challenging. If you dont like it, then dont craft. The only thing simplifying accomplishes is disrespecting everyone that went through the hard grind, and makes items have less value and purpose.

I'd just like it if crafting was fun and exciting.

I would like to say first, that this game isn't in the position to make any claims of, "If you don't like it, then don't [insert whatever here]" right now. People don't like it and people aren't playing it right now as a result. I'm not specifically referring to crafting, just anything with the game in general. I find crafting to be the only thing really enjoyable with the game currently. But I will say that making it harder will not help. Due to the game's economic design it needs both fighters and crafters. And I wouldn't have it any other way. The last thing you want to do is scare away people from crafting.

One thing I would like to see change involving crafting is for the color of the lights to be more vibrant. I can barely make out the colors shown currently. Another thing would be to make crafter abilities more potent. I don't notice much, if any, difference after using either Maker's Muse or Fulfillment.

I see nothing wrong with crafting, some people just hate crafting in all mmos. I think to make the majority happy they would have to make it like WoW. Easy to do, easy to level, and fast. (aka eliminate a mass part of the grind of leveling the craft). But this will also destroy the economy, with crafting I see it as something you do to make money in the game making it too "Fun" will destroy the whole purpose of doing it.

Crafting in my opinion is something they should not change at all fundamentally SE pretty much hit crafting on the head of what it should be. They need to streamline the UI and remove the downtime from that, but keep everything else mainly the same.

If they do anything they need to add crafting into something like defending(Re-enforcing)/rebuilding the hamlets after an attack or something.

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Originally Posted by Nephera

I'd just like it if crafting was fun and exciting.

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I dont see how it can get any more fun than this.. any suggestions?

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Originally Posted by Point_Zero

I dont see how it can get any more fun than this.. any suggestions?

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Turn the crafting minigame into a ripoff of Bejeweled, or Puyo Puyo, or Tetris, or some other game.

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Originally Posted by RabidSquirrel

One thing I would like to see change involving crafting is for the color of the lights to be more vibrant. I can barely make out the colors shown currently.

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Maximum this, depending on what tool you're working with the contrast between it and the lights often isnt very good making you mistake one color for another (Weaver's embroidering ring is probably the most guilty of this)

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I dont see how it can get any more fun than this.. any suggestions?

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there's been a few ideas put forth like school sessions and team crafting, also bolstering defendable positions as a crafter, maybe more depth to the minigame, maybe a new and better minigame. Maybe some flashier effects and sounds for crafting to add a bit more on the psychological side.

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Originally Posted by Rentahamster

Turn the crafting minigame into a ripoff of Bejeweled, or Puyo Puyo, or Tetris, or some other game.

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Oh god everyone would be at max crafting TOMORROW.

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Originally Posted by RabidSquirrel

One thing I would like to see change involving crafting is for the color of the lights to be more vibrant. I can barely make out the colors shown currently.

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I agree with this. As a weaver particularly, I sometimes struggle to see exactly what color the light is. I've found that it's easier to distinguish if I move the camera angle so I'm looking up at the bottom of the hoop, but let's face it, having a camera angle like that just makes me feel creepy.

Way too many menus and confirmation screens to go through each craft. There should also be an option to craft in mass production like during leve quests. Just a simple "Do you want to produce this recipe again?"

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Originally Posted by Nephera

Oh god everyone would be at max crafting TOMORROW.

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Yep, it would be more fun, and it would get more people to play the game.

Thought of something else. When you click on the items to be used in the synthesis, you should just be able to click on "Main Hand" or "Off Hand" without having to close out of the inventory screen. This also applies to a lot of other menus. If the menu is open, I should be able to click on it without having to close out of the lowest level of menu open.

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Originally Posted by Rentahamster

Turn the crafting minigame into a ripoff of Bejeweled, or Puyo Puyo, or Tetris, or some other game.

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I've said this once already. In Goonzu, the crafting is click + wait but they add a mini-game that is a rip-off of Bejeweled, and if you score high on that mini-game your crafting end result get more bonus. First hour it's fun, and after that most people simply don't care about that mini-game any more. The same developers went on to make another MMO, Atlantica Online, and they just scrap the mini-game.

And don't let me get on about "crafting" in Puzzle Quest or PQ: Galactrix mining mini-game. I hate them, they feel more like grinding than MMO grinding.

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Originally Posted by Rentahamster

Turn the crafting minigame into a ripoff of Bejeweled, or Puyo Puyo, or Tetris, or some other game.

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One more note about this - if the crafting minigame were to become something a little more involved and complex - something that couldn't be accomplished by merely pressing enter every 3 seconds, it could cut down on a lot of botting activity.

Even if it takes a little more time than the process we have now, it would be balanced out by being more fun, and by awarding more SP, and by the ability to do multiple crafts at once (so that it would actually be more time efficient to do it that way instead of the old way, even with a bot).

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Originally Posted by MariyaShidou

I've said this once already. In Goonzu, the crafting is click + wait but they add a mini-game that is a rip-off of Bejeweled, and if you score high on that mini-game your crafting end result get more bonus. First hour it's fun, and after that most people simply don't care about that mini-game any more.

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Oh yeah? hmm. Ideally I'd like the mini game to be just as quick as a synth takes now, only going longer if the player wants to.

Mini-game is only fun if it isn't tied to progression. In TES Oblivion, FO 3 or Risen, the lock-picking or computer hacking mini-games are only fun for the first few times. After that they become a chore. I don't think I have ever read anyone going "Oh wow I lock-picked that difficulty 100 lock, it feels much better than blowing up that Super Mutie with Mini-Nuke".

Self-quote from a previous thread.

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Originally Posted by Fieros

2. The synthesis and gathering mini-games- FFXIV absolutely has the best crafting and gathering of any game on the market. Only system coming remotely close is from Vanguard, which was excellant as well. People have been making comments that without a netflix subscription, they wouldn't be able to work up their DoH skills. I definately agree the fun mini-game becomes monotonous after things slow down and the grinding begins. Once I realized mashing standard synthesis overcomes most of the obstacles the mini-game throws at you- grinding while watching a few movies didn't seem like such a bad idea. More challenge, and rewarding intelligent decisions are the key as opposed to making the process easier or faster.

Also, somewhat on topic- I don't want to see hordes of those RMT bots hasty handing fish into shards surrounding the aquarium in LL all day every day; as well as the fishing bots with no bait/lure equipped so all they attract is crayfish sitting at the fishing hole south of Nophica's Wells. Any changes to curb botting activity would be welcome and if it negatively impacted my experience I wouldn't mind since it would hinder RMT.

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Love to see critical thinking rewarded instead of steam-rolling standard synthesis. As Raim mentioned, the option to craft same recipe again as the local levequests use would make everyone happier.

Hmm, true. Even if the game is more fun it doesnt change that you're doing the same exact thing for 50 levels, with little change.

Hm.

Fighting at its core is essentially the same everywhere you go, but the places you fight are different, and the way you tackle monsters are different.

As far as crafting goes while you occasionally get sent out to camps, a sword crafts the same way as a hammer or a pair of shoes.

Maybe if the minigame (whether we change it or not) needs some sort of progressive change to its mechanics, I mean when you play a puzzle game its not the same exact puzzle every single stage, it gets progressively different (also harder but we dont want crafting to be so hard people dont do it)

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Any changes to curb botting activity would be welcome and if it negatively impacted my experience I wouldn't mind since it would hinder RMT.

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Gotta be careful, though. There were a lot of things implemented in this game that were done in order to hinder RMT and botting, but all it's done is just annoy the legitimate players.

(Fatigue, gathering fatigue, market wards, 4 items per trade, restrictive mob claim system, too many menus, etc)

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Originally Posted by Nephera

Hmm, true. Even if the game is more fun it doesnt change that you're doing the same exact thing for 50 levels, with little change.

Hm.

Fighting at its core is essentially the same everywhere you go, but the places you fight are different, and the way you tackle monsters are different.

As far as crafting goes while you occasionally get sent out to camps a sword crafts the same way as a hammer or a pair of shoes.

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Well, I would also like to see crafting-specific leves that give an SP reward at the end.

Perhaps, take a leve to replenish ammo at a Beastribe blockade. You have 10 minutes to craft as much ammo as you can. Bonuses for achieving certain objectives throughout the quest.


Maybe a hybrid quest - travel to a location, kill a beast guarding a quarry, mine for certain ores, then use those ores in a craft.

http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com...cicuid=3165172

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Originally Posted by Rentahamster

Maybe a hybrid quest - travel to a location, kill a beast guarding a quarry, mine for certain ores, then use those ores in a craft.

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That would be very interesting to do as a group.

Group enters a mine, party consists of a gladiator, thurmatauge, DOH, DOL. ( More of one class means they can complete the objectives for that class more quickly) There's been a cave in and in order to reach the stranded miners the party must fight their way down to where the rock is weakest, then the Disciples of the land will begin to clear the area to prepare it for explosives while enemies put pressure on the defenders, once that is done the Disciples of the hand must prepare the explosives and once that is done : boom quest complete, little victory cutscene.

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Originally Posted by Coombah

http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com...cicuid=3165172

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Jesus Christ...

Synthesizing process is a bit dull. It should be turned into more of a mini-game than an obtuse timing gauge.

craft much Coombah :)

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Originally Posted by Coombah

http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com...cicuid=3165172

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Hoooolyy crraaaaaaaaaap

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Originally Posted by Coombah

http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com...cicuid=3165172

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SE need to ban those accounts. Without botting I don't believe anyone could have more than three crafts at 50. You'd have to craft 24/7 to get all at 50 and no one is going to do that legitimately.


Anyway I think crafting is fine the way it is. Maybe speed up the actions and change Rapid to 35% so you can complete a synth in 3 actions and then it will be better. I don't want to see crafting made easier, there's too many high rank crafters already.

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Originally Posted by Nephera

I'd just like it if crafting was fun and exciting.

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But it is fun and exciting. I enjoy crafting. Its what my character is based off of. I dislike the battle system, but only cause i like crafting even more.
We just need more recipes, and that will come in time.

And like other people have already said, some people liek to craft and some dont. Leave it for the ppl who do. If we grind fighters, we grind crafts. The differant things to do, yet with similar aspects are what make this game unique for everyone.