Crafting systems

Flynn1179

Ok, which MMORPG has the best crafting system out there?

I've played AC2, which has the most incredibly tedious method of gathering resource- a kind of 'you're getting warmer.. colder..' etc. method, but has the advantage that other players cannot interfere, and in WoW, certain resources spawn in certain areas, but you have to fight other players to get them, which frequently results in bad feelings ("that was my ore, you *****!!") etc. SWG's method of surveying for resources and planting harvesters is nice, but again, you're fighting other players for ground space to plant harvesters, and the weekly random resource change is a pain in the butt.

As for crafting itself.. although AC2's system didn't seem too bad, I never really got into it because it was just too much work gathering materials. WoW.. I'm sorry, but I hate it. There's a limited number of 'off the shelf' recipes, and that's all you can make. No variety whatsover, one 'truesilver champion' is identical to any other that another blacksmith makes. SWG's is lovely- the quality of your products is directly related to the properties of the raw materials you use, so someone who's been gathering resources for a long time has the chance to make much better products. Also, there's much more customizability.

Anybody have any good/bad experiences with crafting in other games?

Flynn

spydermr2

Well, EQ2 offers a massively deep crafting system, but at the same time because it is so deep, and the methodology for creating the HUGE variety of recipes in all categories (woodworking, chemical, metalworking, etc.) make it sometimes very boring. I give them an A+ for the depth of the crafting and the sheer variety of things you can do (from building furniture for your house to equipment of all sorts, etc.)... but the system definitely turns off some people, which is a shame.

WoW's crafting is crude at best and limited. The recipes are identical, one "sword x" is just like the next "sword x" that's made, and the system is the basic "take x chunks of ore plus recipe plus ingredient - click combine" theory. Boring but simple -- which is probably why it fits with WoW. The whole game is designed like the crafting system -- simple, easy, the system for crafting never gets in your way. Harvesting items is wandering and finding the "hotspots".

Love the "salvage" system in AC1 -- adds another aspect to crafting and equipment. Take items you find, break them down for their components, then use those components to improve your items. Sheer genius.

moonfog

SWG is by far the most advanced, next up EQ2.

Sparks243

SWG by be the most advanced but there way of gathering materials is, to me at least, annoying.

I don't want to take a knee, see flashy lights and be told I found 28 units of Naboo hard wood, or just set out a harvester and log off.

And while I love FFXI there crafting system while nice, was too complex; using all those crystals and what not. But the biggest offence for me was logging, harvesting, and mining.

You can have 5 trees that all look the same and only one is able to be cut, and you only know this since you can target it and it reads "Logging Point" and after you get 1 piece of wood the logging point moves to some other random tree. Same thing with mining and harvesting, and to do any of them you need the right gear.

A Pickaxe to mine
A Sickle to Harvest
A Hatchet to log

I am waiting for a crafting system that I can be carrying any ole axe, or a great sword or what now, and be able to chop any tree. Have it kind of like RTS's were you can only get so much wood from a tree then it disappears.

Sadly with more people (it seems at least) into PvP and PvE than crafting, Devs are not working as hard on making a truly epic yet simple crafting system

Dinion

I like A Tale in the Desert, making a shovel or axe you actaully have different tools and you literally mold it out of steel or another metal, hard to explain have to try it for yourself.

Kibs

Saga of Ryzom has a very enjoyable crafting and harvesting system.  You can harvest or loot the mats to make your items, and different types of mat give different stats.  As a result there is a lot of oppertunity to find great recipies that can make your produce better than anyone elses if you do it right.

 

You cant loot any epic items in ryzom, but supreme materials will provide the best items, thus play made items are the only realistic option avaliable

Dulain

I think EQ2 had a complex crafting system. You had to make many sub-components so crafting took a long time. Not to mention that all crafts were interdependant. You needed other crafters to make items so you could make a finished product. I really liked that the crafting was interactive. You couldn't macro craft in this game without losing components or killing yourself.

It is much easier to gather resources in SWG then in EQ2. Even with rotating spawns at least you will find a usuable resource eventually. In EQ2 it can be a race between other characters as you try to clear out an instance of its resources. I like that in both of these games (SWG and EQ2) the quality of the components actually effected the resulting product.