Mods and Schematics idea -> schematics upgrade mods

[meganoth]

Schematics at the moment are too similar to mods, i.e. if you have a crafter, most schematic finds are equivalent to finding the mod. Balance-wise ok but not enough differentiation, they feel too similar most of the time.

The idea is that many or most of the schematics don't give you a new mod but upgrade lower tier mods into higher tier mods. This would mean a schematic would need a lower tier mod as ingredient to produce the higher tier mod, i.e. the x4 scope schematic would need the x2 scope as ingredient.

Advantages:

1) schematics feel different than mods

2) lower tier mods as well as schematics can be found slightly more often in loot, trader stock or quest rewards without changing balance

3) lower tier mods have a use even in mid and late game

4) it makes apparent for some of the mods that they relate to each other as upgrades and use the same place in a gun (i.e. can't be used in the same gun)

5) it might make more sense to some that such a schematic is used up because you could tell yourself that the upgrade only works with one specific model of scope and you were just lucky that the schematic fit the mod you had

6) possibility to make generic schematics that apply some bonus to a whole family of mods

 

[Khulkhuum]

Everything cool and dandy, but imagine you want to craft a tier 4 mod, but you lack tier 1 mod and don't have any schematic to craft it. So now you can't craft a tier 4 mod, even though you could have items for it. Now imagine that you have everything for tier 4 mod, but you lack everything from lower tiers.

So the higher the tier you want to craft, the harder it gets and missing one schematic from the chain makes this obsolete. Now imagine crafting mods for a couple people...

 

[Dimpy]

There was a preview screenshot Madmole had sent out some time before A17 released, and it showed schematics as having quality. I remember thinking they were a means to craft higher-tier items. For example, if you have a blue quality iron pickaxe schematic, it allows you to craft a blue-quality iron pick, even if your crafting skill only allows for the crafting of yellow items.

 

[meganoth]

Everything cool and dandy, but imagine you want to craft a tier 4 mod, but you lack tier 1 mod and don't have any schematic to craft it. So now you can't craft a tier 4 mod, even though you could have items for it. Now imagine that you have everything for tier 4 mod, but you lack everything from lower tiers.
So the higher the tier you want to craft, the harder it gets and missing one schematic from the chain makes this obsolete. Now imagine crafting mods for a couple people...

Exactly, only what you see as disadvantage is an advantage. First of all it means that schematics can drop more often without them unbalancing the game. It also means a crafter might have to manage his resources.

Consider that you could have a diverse arsenal of upgrade schematics:

1) upgrade a 2x scope to 4x scope. (the most common)

2) upgrade any scope to one tier higher

3) upgrade any targetting device to one tier higher

4) upgrade any targetting device of tier 1 to tier 2

5) upgrade any tier 1 mod to tier 2

6) upgrade anything one tier higher (a seldom uber-item)

Finally crafting would be an "art" requiring thought. Where you have to find an optimal path with the limited resources you have. A good crafter could get more out of his schematics than a careless crafter. At least as long as he doesn't have schematics galore.

 

[Khulkhuum]

I would see this implemented only having tiered mods and schematics concerning mod groups.

For example:

1. If you want to upgrade your scope, you need a schematic for upgrade, no matter if its from tier 1 (like 2x) or from tier 3 (to 8x), you use the same schematic. Could be upgrade groups like small mechanics would need one type of schematic (like upgrading scopes or shafts), sharpening another (blades, damage to specific blocks), etc.

2. More diversification required with some of the current mods having tiers, with wood/stone/iron/dirt damage having varied statistics on various tiers (tier 1 = 5% bonus, tier 2 = 10 % bonus, tier 3 = 15 % bonus, etc.), bleed/stun chance rising (tier 1 = 5% bonus, tier 2 = 10% bonus), etc.

3. Different tiers wouldn't have to be different items (some probably would need that), but just having different quality. This way you would instantly know how good the mod is.

 

[meganoth]

I would see this implemented only having tiered mods and schematics concerning mod groups.
For example:

1. If you want to upgrade your scope, you need a schematic for upgrade, no matter if its from tier 1 (like 2x) or from tier 3 (to 8x), you use the same schematic. Could be upgrade groups like small mechanics would need one type of schematic (like upgrading scopes or shafts), sharpening another (blades, damage to specific blocks), etc.

2. More diversification required with some of the current mods having tiers, with wood/stone/iron/dirt damage having varied statistics on various tiers (tier 1 = 5% bonus, tier 2 = 10 % bonus, tier 3 = 15 % bonus, etc.), bleed/stun chance rising (tier 1 = 5% bonus, tier 2 = 10% bonus), etc.

3. Different tiers wouldn't have to be different items (some probably would need that), but just having different quality. This way you would instantly know how good the mod is.

I agree with 2 and 3. Not all mods have an easy relationship where one is obviously better than the other and should be a tier above. In those cases the boni have to be what puts a mod into a higher tier

1 it depends on how fine-granular the schematics are done. Obviously the less flexible an upgrade kit is the more common it can be in the world without being overpowered