Crafting Basics for Camelot Unchained are located on this page.
Crafting Basics
The Guiding Principles
- We must support both “popcorn” crafting (simple crafting/repairing) as well as a full-time
crafter class - • We MUST create a vibrant economy that ensures that the crafter class plays a key role in
the game's economy - With no Auction House, we must design the class so they have time to do the social stuff as
well as actual crafting and build support systems to help - Crafting is magic! Abandon the “nod, nod, wink, wink” and embrace magic being at the core
of all crafting - Use a singular interface for all crafting but customize it for each Realm. Use of this interface
cuts development time and resources overall but allows us to “go to town” on the main
interface - System must be designed with a long-term view. Crafters must be able to make a profit
throughout their lifetime but we also must make sure to prevent/slow down “Mudflation”
through use of mechanics such as item decay, repair costs, fees, slower item creation, etc.
Core Philosophy
- Quality over quantity
- Slow crafting = rewarding crafting
- You are what your minerals say you are
- Recipes are great for cooking but not for our crafting system
- Buying/selling shouldn't be a PITA
- Rarity should be embraced
- • Nothing lasts forever
Vox Magus
- Updated/modified version of “old school” crafting station
- Used for every main system of crafting from Taking to Breaking
- Soulbound to individual crafter
- Continually upgradeable, from day one to game's end
Vox Power
- A Vox contains a limited, but upgradeable (remember, no cash shop)
power supply - Power comes from crystals that are embedded in it
- As the power supply dwindles down, Vox is still functional, but
efficiency begins to suffer - Players can choose to let Vox recharge but they can also use their own
power to recharge it. Players can also use a backup power source and,
in an emergency, “Take the reactor to 105%” by hitting a special
button
Libro Magus
- Instruction manual for Vox Magus
- Equivalent to a spellbook, living entity
- Portable, players can take the Libro and use it in another Vox
- Crafters can choose to level their Vox and/or their other crafting
abilities for RvR or otherwise
Upgrading your Vox
- Upgrades for the Vox itself (as opposed to crystals), are sold by the
Realm (again, no cash shop) - Players earn the right to upgrade their Vox when they reach certain
goals within the game - Vox can be upgraded to allow for more total power, power curve,
cosmetics, possibly additional hoppers, etc. - This, along with the Vox operating costs, are the crafter's equivalent
of combatant's equipment upgrades, housing costs, etc
System's Overview
Taking
- This is how our crafters will plant fields, tend flocks, etc. that will
supply them with some of the raw materials for the game - Magic will be used to “raise” trees, and potentially other resource
locations as well - Players will be able to mine in “bubbles” or quarries
- Whether in mines or in the fields, this is how players will convert the
materials from items in the world to items in their inventory - All players are always able to gather most materials that are just
laying around the world, but crafters will get certain advantages! - Non-crafters will not be able to see or gather as effectively as
crafters, the highest level of raw resources in the world - We will allow some automated gathering/harvesting/mining
- Nothing comes for free, costs are also associated
- The more valuable the raw material, the riskier it is to obtain
Purifying
- The process through which raw materials are converted to their next
stage using the Vox Magus - More interactive process than Taking
- Making this process meaningful, not just a time sink. Use impurities
and by-products to add some extra spice - Minimize the use of RNG here, unless the player chooses to “go 4
greed” - Well suited to a mini-game that is not Connect Three
Purifying - The Process
- Player adds raw material to the Vox
- Player chooses which reagents to add in process
- Player makes initial adjustments to Vox's settings including Mode,
Risk Factor, Quality Level, Quality Target, Impurities Level, Impurities
Target, Purifying Time, Vox Power, Power Cost - Process begins
- Players can make adjustments at this point based on process
including adding more reagents, power, other crafters - Process ends with block of material as well as by-products if any
Shaping
- This is how players will take the purified materials and process them
again in preparation for the final stage - Players need to attune all the materials to the same magical
resonance - Players can create blends (alloys) of the different materials that they
want to use to make the final item
Shaping - Blending
- Allows players to mix and match minerals that will be used to make
the final item - Players can alter the physical characteristics of the materials by
adding different base materials. This way, the crafter can gain benefits
by combining the properties of one mineral with another - Making steel from iron and multiple reagents
- Steel can then be mixed with other purified materials to make another blend
- Blends can make materials more resistant to things like fracturing,
temperature and other physical stimulitors - Blends can also be used to simulate properties in real world like luminescence
but also can be used to create more magical properties - This is not a recipe system, the finished items reflect what was put
into the system and how it was altered by the crafter - Blending the materials allows the crafter to have more control over an
item than in most other MMORPGs
Making
- This is the final part of the item creation system
- The player takes the shaped materials and feeds them into the Vox
Magus - The VM can now either work in supervised or unsupervised mode,
both online and offline - Players can choose to make blueprints as well as the item
- Players can choose to use the soul system to imbue the item
- This is the step that will be the easiest to automate
Making - Extra credit
- Chance of catastrophic failure needs to be low, especially if high-level
mats are involved - Special successes are possible in this step, the “1 in 1000"
- Final step is the signing of the item (crafter/maker's mark)
Breaking
- Breaking is a term for the scavenging/salvaging of items.
- Using the VM, players can:
- Salvage broken items
- Break down existing items for their materials and blueprints
- Improve their own knowledge of other items
- Reforge existing items into newer ones
- Improving Breaking abilities allows players to also recover more
materials from catastrophic failure
Raw Materials
- A mixture of real-world materials and fantasy materials allows us to make
certain things possible such as wood that is strong as steel, for example - Crafters will be able to gather and work with a large variety of items, many
of which will also be used by combatants as reagents for their abilities - Raw materials can be found in everything from mines to farms to skinning
animals - Each raw material has a wide range of inherent properties that are used to
create an item's final properties - Finished items are only as good as what is put in them
Playing a crafter
- Each Realm will have its own unique look
- Each Realm will have unique abilities/skills that differentiate them
from the other Realms. No mirrored classes applies here as well - Each Realm's crafters will also have unique tools and weapons
- Crafters will have a wide range of abilities that are centered around
crafting and RvR. This will be covered in another document. - Crafters will not be forced into RvR
- “Day 1” crafters will have the ability to take work orders from their
Realm to allow them to get started. This will then evolve into the
Realm Rewards system - Realm Rewards are earned by crafters for donating goods to their
Realm via work orders - Work orders will be limited, and soulbound for delivery to the Realm.
These are not daily quests! They will not always be available, and they
will scale based on the needs of the Realm - Work orders will also scale based on the crafter's performance and
there is a penalty for non-completion
Player Character Apprentices (PCAs)
- Players can hire assistants to help them in their tasks
- They can work with the crafter, either when the crafter is online or
offline - Apprentices can free up higher level crafters from doing some lowlevel
activities such as taking or higher-level, but less challenging
aspects, like watching the Vox during shaping - Players can mentor other crafters via the apprentice system
- Player apprentices help build the social network between crafters and
allows new crafters to get involved quickly
Non-Player Character Apprentices (NPCAs)
- Similar to PC Apprentices but they are, of course, NPCs
- Less effective than PCAs
- Costs are paid to the Realm for their services via a contract
- They use “surge pricing” to encourage players to use PCAs during the
busiest times of the day - Realm will decrease cost of NPCAs while it is outnumbered/losing to
help the war effort
Merchant Guild
- Players can act as merchants in the game by setting up a storefront
- Stores are licensed from the Realm, but like work orders, players have
to earn the right to be able to buy a license - Storefronts will start in the safe cities, but can be expanded in player
towns as world conquest/settlement game continues - Merchant guilds run caravans between Merchant guilds in different
cities/towns - Merchant guild will have a separate leveling track
Stores
- Stores serve many purposes within Camelot Unchained
- Goods can be bought and sold through them
- Crafters can set up their Vox in them
- Can serve as primary/secondary housing for owners
- Stores can only be set up in areas zoned for them. They cannot be set
up anywhere in the world - Commercial areas will be designed for maximum ease of use by
players - Exterior of stores will have signs, decorations, etc.
- Interiors will be highly customizable
Crafter Honor
- Measures how well respected the crafter is within their own Realm
- While honor itself won't be processed as part of the progression
system (the crafter's actions that feed into honor will be), players who
have a higher honor within their Realm will definitely be rewarded for
doing so - Different types of honor to reflect different play styles
- Realm War Donations
- Realm Defense
- Realm Charity
Caravans
- Transporting heavy goods throughout Camelot Unchained will not be
a simple nor easy process - Players can't rely on just their carrying capacity/encumbrance. You
can't fill your bags with 40 full suits of armor (even if you are a giant)
and walk through the land - Groups of people/animals that can be loaded up with goods and sent
to anywhere within the control of your Realm - Our caravans will be populated by a giant creature of some kind
(sorry, it won't be a duck!) with a platform on top of it - Can be set to run through a pre-defined route, or they can be led by a
caravan master - Routes run from caravan stop to caravan stop
- Some caravan routes will be attackable by players (land routes), while,
at least for now, routes between islands have to be safe from attacks - Players will be able to pay for their goods to be shipped from one stop
to another - Insurance allows the player to receive cash in case the caravan that
his goods are on is hit, and the goods lost
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