There are three main qualities to the pre-cu SWG crafting system that make it unique to this day
1) Forgetting exception weapons as loot drops (these were definately rare enough not to cause balance issues), player crafted items were the best in-game and the players drove the economoy. I cannot stress enough the importance of this as helped foster community relationships. You sought out the "guy". That player who had the best stuff. It was awesome.
2) The crafting system itself was dynamic, and not static. Most mmo's let crafters craft the same item with the same stats as everyone else. This means no differentation other than price. Resource spawn in pre-cu SWG were dynamic such that no two spawns were ever the same (their statitics were always different) In pre-cu SWG a good chef would make brandy with 400 strength that would last for 40 minutes. Great chefs who worked hard to gather the best resources could craft brandy with 460 strenght and lasted for over 45 minutes.
3) Decay. I cannot stress enough how important this was also. Stuff eventually broke and you had to replace it. This allowed the economy to thrive as people continuosly sought out new gear to replace old worn out gear.
Comments
There are three main qualities to the pre-cu SWG crafting system that make it unique to this day
1) Forgetting exception weapons as loot drops (these were definately rare enough not to cause balance issues), player crafted items were the best in-game and the players drove the economoy. I cannot stress enough the importance of this as helped foster community relationships. You sought out the "guy". That player who had the best stuff. It was awesome.
2) The crafting system itself was dynamic, and not static. Most mmo's let crafters craft the same item with the same stats as everyone else. This means no differentation other than price. Resource spawn in pre-cu SWG were dynamic such that no two spawns were ever the same (their statitics were always different) In pre-cu SWG a good chef would make brandy with 400 strength that would last for 40 minutes. Great chefs who worked hard to gather the best resources could craft brandy with 460 strenght and lasted for over 45 minutes.
3) Decay. I cannot stress enough how important this was also. Stuff eventually broke and you had to replace it. This allowed the economy to thrive as people continuosly sought out new gear to replace old worn out gear.
Still to this day the best mmo ever.
regards