The Big Change - Tradeskills

Sarapis

Sena said:

If that's not going to work (which it probably won't), another option is to let smiths design custom descriptions (with an approval process) for specific item/descriptor combinations. So I could have one custom description for any fearsome, diabolical longswords I forge, another description for my pink warhammers, while everything else just gets the current basic non-description. There would be a credit cost of course (either a one-time cost like the crafting licenses, or a smaller cost for each custom design, or a mix of both), and it could be limited to legendary blacksmiths and to descriptors they've mastered (I imagine that should limit the number of designs you'll have to approve even more than the credit cost). That would add an additional benefit to specialising in certain descriptors, and further differentiate different smiths by letting them add their own unique touch to their items.

We're not looking to add more things that require admin approval, so I'm afraid not!

Bluef

Sarapis said:

Sena said:

If that's not going to work (which it probably won't), another option is to let smiths design custom descriptions (with an approval process) for specific item/descriptor combinations. So I could have one custom description for any fearsome, diabolical longswords I forge, another description for my pink warhammers, while everything else just gets the current basic non-description. There would be a credit cost of course (either a one-time cost like the crafting licenses, or a smaller cost for each custom design, or a mix of both), and it could be limited to legendary blacksmiths and to descriptors they've mastered (I imagine that should limit the number of designs you'll have to approve even more than the credit cost). That would add an additional benefit to specialising in certain descriptors, and further differentiate different smiths by letting them add their own unique touch to their items.

We're not looking to add more things that require admin approval, so I'm afraid not!

Drat. This had my credit purchase senses tingling.

Shirszae

Alas. It would be awesome, and I am fairly sure a lot of people would rush to make designs (and thus buy lots of credits)

Sarapis

Kresslack said:

What if each descriptor just came with a single line description? Perhaps that would allow them to mesh, so to speak. Ex:

a balanced, vermillion longsword

This weapon has been perfectly balanced, a testament to its skillful craftsmanship. Gleaming a brilliant red, this weapon appears to have been infused with cinnabar.

Things that describe the...well, descriptors (at the risk of sounding redundant) instead of the material the weapon was made out of, or the type, might work better. Especially since they'd be interchangable.

a vermillion, balanced longsword

Gleaming a brilliant red, this weapon appears to have been infused with cinnabar. This weapon has been perfectly balanced, a testament to its skillful craftsmanship.

Yeah, that's in the ream of doable but is pretty low impact and is going to result in formulaic descriptions that will be barely more satisfying than now I suspect, but may be worth doing at some point in the future when we have time. 

We'd also replace weapon with the kind of weapon. Would not be an issue making it pull the name of the weapon/armour and inserting it. 

Not going to happen tomorrow or this week or anything though.

Sarapis

If you one of you wanted to take on the process of organizing writing those sentences for the descriptors and compiling them into a spreadsheet, it'd be a lot more likely to get done quickly....

Just sub $thing for the weapon/armour name in them.

Amarillys

Sarapis said:

If you one of you wanted to take on the process of organizing writing those sentences for the descriptors and compiling them into a spreadsheet, it'd be a lot more likely to get done quickly....

Just sub $thing for the weapon/armour name in them.

Can I get a list of every description-word out there so I can start working on that? I can shoot you my e-mail if that's a better way to get them to me.

Kayeil

Is there going to be artefact armour or can we non-decay the stuff the armoursmiths make?

Tael

Sarapis said:

Sena said:

If that's not going to work (which it probably won't), another option is to let smiths design custom descriptions (with an approval process) for specific item/descriptor combinations. So I could have one custom description for any fearsome, diabolical longswords I forge, another description for my pink warhammers, while everything else just gets the current basic non-description. There would be a credit cost of course (either a one-time cost like the crafting licenses, or a smaller cost for each custom design, or a mix of both), and it could be limited to legendary blacksmiths and to descriptors they've mastered (I imagine that should limit the number of designs you'll have to approve even more than the credit cost). That would add an additional benefit to specialising in certain descriptors, and further differentiate different smiths by letting them add their own unique touch to their items.

We're not looking to add more things that require admin approval, so I'm afraid not!

This brings up something I've always wondered - when I was checking out Aetolia it looked as though tradeskill design approval was farmed out to groups of volunteers (the group aspect helping to ensure that nothing slips through just because one reviewer has bad grammar or poor judgement). Why doesn't Achaea just do the same? It seems like the problem of admin approval for custom things gets mentioned pretty often, and removing that necessity would really open up opportunities for crafting of more varied things without the credit cost attached for requiring admin time (again, like Aetolia), which all that seems like it offers a lot in terms of support for RP. I guess it would mean a small loss of revenue from the crafting licenses, but you (or maybe Tecton?) brought up a few times that the crafting licenses are already more cheap in terms of how much admin time they buy than is probably reasonable.

Sarapis

@Amarillys‌

ugly

tapering

sharp

dull

small

pointed

lightweight

curved

straight

nimble

pitted

dented

ragged

worn

plain

ordinary

rustic

unadorned

primitive

simple

shabby

thick

thin

solid

sturdy

training

malformed

scarred

unembellished

archaic

sooty

soot-covered

notched

grooved

tarnished

mud-caked

steel

iron

leather

bulky

single-edged

double-edged

beefy

hardy

rugged

slender

iron-tipped

durable

heavy

big

stout

large

polished

keen

honed

jagged

sleek

barbed

gaudy

costly

hefty

balanced

beveled

sizable

ponderous

well-made

begrimed

molted

resilient

rippled

daunting

hooked

winding

supple

rounded

grim

sinous

undulating

tempered

brawny

double-sided

fancy

flashy

spiked

shining

graceful

elegant

razor-sharp

knife-edged

lustrous

serrated

impressive

ostentatious

grandiose

ornamental

ceremonial

savage

snaky

twisted

puissant

ominous

baleful

menacing

saw-edged

unnerving

cruel

lovely

splendid

etched

Ashtani

Targossian

Cyrenian

Hashani

Mhaldorian

Eleusian

desert

northern

southern

eastern

western

Vashnari

Peshwari

Theran

Delosian

Siroccian

steel-tipped

obsidian-tipped

bronzed

gruesome

brutal

intimidating

powerful

sinister

barbarous

wicked

ornate

formidable

stunning

scorched

charred

delicate

grand

rune-carved

rune-etched

shimmering

barbaric

vicious

glorious

serpentine

bejeweled

fearsome

gleaming

beautiful

blue

green

orange

yellow

red

purple

violet

pink

brown

white

tan

grey

devastating

overpowering

immense

colossal

extravagant

massive

mighty

exquisite

indomitable

deadly

monstrous

mammoth

enormous

gigantic

huge

gorgeous

dazzling

flawless

radiant

perfect

blackened

gilded

golden

black

silver

nightmarish

heavenly

diabolical

skull-festooned

diamond-edged

crimson

vermillion

cerulean

indigo

turquoise

amber

scarlet

ochre

azure

bone-white

jet-black

alabaster

ivory

Sarapis

Kayeil said:

Is there going to be artefact armour or can we non-decay the stuff the armoursmiths make?

Maybe and no.

Sarapis

Tael said:

Sarapis said:

Sena said:

If that's not going to work (which it probably won't), another option is to let smiths design custom descriptions (with an approval process) for specific item/descriptor combinations. So I could have one custom description for any fearsome, diabolical longswords I forge, another description for my pink warhammers, while everything else just gets the current basic non-description. There would be a credit cost of course (either a one-time cost like the crafting licenses, or a smaller cost for each custom design, or a mix of both), and it could be limited to legendary blacksmiths and to descriptors they've mastered (I imagine that should limit the number of designs you'll have to approve even more than the credit cost). That would add an additional benefit to specialising in certain descriptors, and further differentiate different smiths by letting them add their own unique touch to their items.

We're not looking to add more things that require admin approval, so I'm afraid not!

This brings up something I've always wondered - when I was checking out Aetolia it looked as though tradeskill design approval was farmed out to groups of volunteers (the group aspect helping to ensure that nothing slips through just because one reviewer has bad grammar or poor judgement). Why doesn't Achaea just do the same? It seems like the problem of admin approval for custom things gets mentioned pretty often, and removing that necessity would really open up opportunities for crafting of more varied things without the credit cost attached for requiring admin time (again, like Aetolia), which all that seems like it offers a lot in terms of support for RP. I guess it would mean a small loss of revenue from the crafting licenses, but you (or maybe Tecton?) brought up a few times that the crafting licenses are already more cheap in terms of how much admin time they buy than is probably reasonable.

Different game, different expectations, different population. We don't think it's a good idea, at all, for Achaea.

Amarillys

I'll work on it at work. If anyone has any great ideas for a particular sentence, just send them to me in a message.

Kayeil

  Shimmering pink scalemail please. 

Sarapis

All these threats of pink make me want to remove it as a descriptor....

Dairune

Sarapis said:

All these threats of pink make me want to remove it as a descriptor....

Nooo, do you know how many people want pink junk? There's a viable market for such a horrendous colour!

May

Dairune said:

Sarapis said:

All these threats of pink make me want to remove it as a descriptor....

Nooo, do you know how many people want pink junk? There's a viable market for such a horrendous colour!

May needs pink armour and weapons to match her pink fur! Please don't take that away.  

Amarillys

I've got about 60+ of the 208 done. I think I can get this done tomorrow. Just a snippet of my favourite so far... 

archaic

Harking back to the age of the Seleucarian Empire, this $thing boasts techniques not found in modern forging practices.

Lorielan

Great work, @Amarillys‌!

Melodie

@Amarillys deserves a medal or something for going through all of these and making them so damn quick.

Amarillys

You kidding? I get to have something I do be part of Achaea forever. I'm just so excited I can get to do that.

Sarapis

Amarillys said:

I've got about 60+ of the 208 done. I think I can get this done tomorrow. Just a snippet of my favourite so far... 

archaic

Harking back to the age of the Seleucarian Empire, this $thing boasts techniques not found in modern forging practices.

Cool, though I should add that as a low-level descriptor that's overly special for it. Low-level descriptors should be relatively plain and unadorned, increasing in 'coolness' as you go up the tiers. Nice work so far!

Amarillys

Sarapis said:

Amarillys said:

I've got about 60+ of the 208 done. I think I can get this done tomorrow. Just a snippet of my favourite so far... 

archaic

Harking back to the age of the Seleucarian Empire, this $thing boasts techniques not found in modern forging practices.

Cool, though I should add that as a low-level descriptor that's overly special for it. Low-level descriptors should be relatively plain and unadorned, increasing in 'coolness' as you go up the tiers. Nice work so far!

I'm trying to do that, yeah, but the archaic one provided a really fun chance to add an extra Achaean flair to it. I can remove it if you want.

Sena

I wouldn't expect every novice smith to start out knowing how to use old Seleucarian techniques not found in modern forging practices.

Riashain

similarly, if they aren't in modern practice, why would every smith learn them?

Amarillys

You... you guys know that is what Archaic means, right?

Lorielan

@Amarillys‌, I believe the criticisms are less directed at you and more the place of the archaic descriptor in the training progression for smiths.

Welcome to the wonderful world of creating content for players!

Sena

Lorielan said:

I believe the criticisms are less directed at you and more the place of the archaic descriptor in the training progression for smiths.

It was a bit of both, really. I was about to suggest moving archaic up to a higher rank, or maybe adding "ancient" later on.

Archaic can simply mean old-fashioned or outdated, though.

Amarillys

Sena said:

Lorielan said:

I believe the criticisms are less directed at you and more the place of the archaic descriptor in the training progression for smiths.

It was a bit of both, really. I was about to suggest moving archaic up to a higher rank, or maybe adding "ancient" later on.

Archaic can simply mean old-fashioned or outdated, though.

And old-fashioned or outdated in Achaea is Seleucar. Beyond Seleucar is where you would reach ancient. I can remove the reference but it doesn't change the meaning and keeping it in allows for a bit of Achaean flair like I said. There's not a lot of chances to have that in most of the descriptors.

Amarillys

And as a quick example of one of the less cool (though I still like it) words...

ugly	Poorly crafted, this $thing bears no beauty in its design.

Sena

Amarillys said:

And old-fashioned or outdated in Achaea is Seleucar. Beyond Seleucar is where you would reach ancient.

I see where you're coming from then. I would think of Seleucar as somewhat ancient though. It may have been less than 700 years ago, but it's still more in the "stories and legends" stage of history than the "well-documented and studied" part. The location was only recently rediscovered, and the history related to the end of the empire was only pieced together in 600 AF, for example.