Portable Crafting Stations - The Dilution of Possibilities

Gidorick

With the recent data-mining by @Akavir_Sentinel (thanks for that mate!) I feel the need to speak out against some of the items, specifically the Portable Crafting Stations.

DISCLAIMER: Data-mined items are subject to change and the following post is going with the assumption that Portable Crafting Stations are in the works.

While I personally disagree with the design decision and core concept of Portable Crafting Stations for ESO, my primary concern with their existence is that ZOS is going to severely limit their options for both future gameplay possibilities and Crown Store offerings. As I see it, the two most likely resons for the release of Portable Crafting Stations are to:

1. Address the inventory issue many players continue to experience
2. Offer a Crown Store item that will sell, and sell well

Let's take these reasons separately and discuss how this could be accomplished in different ways.

Inventory Issues

I have previously suggested a few concepts that would address the inventory problems players continue to have. My More Bags and Encumbrance concept is the most in keeping with previous Elder Scrolls titles.

In short, my concept would add sub-inventory bags and the ability to be encumbered to ESO while adding the following items to the game and to the Crown Store:

• Backpacks - 20 inventory spaces
• Heavy Sacks - 15 inventory spaces
• Sacks - 10 inventory spaces
• Small Sacks - 5 inventory spaces
• Alchemist Satchel - all of this craft's materials
• Blacksmith’s Haversack - all of this craft's materials
• Clothier’s Tote - all of this craft's materials
• Enchanter’s Purse - all of this craft's materials
• Provisioner’s Knapsack - all of this craft's materials
• Woodworker’s Duffel - all of this craft's materials
• Potions of Feather (Craftable and Crown Store)

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/162693/more-bags-and-encumbrance-concepts/p1

This concept would more than provide players with inventory options and it would fulfill the second reasoning for adding Portable Crafting Stations...

Adding Sellable items to the Crown Store

I am not against ZOS adding items in the Crown Store to turn a profit. Quite the opposite. I truly believe the above bags and encumbrance concept would provide players with more options and would result in many more crown purchases.

I am not even opposed to the idea of summonables. In my Summonable Beast Merchants and Banker concept I suggest that three summonable features be added to the game:

1. Mudcrab Merchant (merchant)
2. Creeper (launderer)
3. Goblin Banker (personal bank)

Both the Creeper and the Mudcrab Merchant are from previous TES titles and would even serve as kind of fan-service to TES buffs. The Goblin Banker just seemed to make sense to me.

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/149698/summonable-beast-merchants-and-banker-concept

One of the suggestions in my Target/Training Dummies concept was a portable training dummy for players that could also be placed in the Crown Store.

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/172547/training-dummies-concept



I am not even opposed to contextually fitting crafting type items. In my Expanded Rested Bonus concept I suggest that we eventually get a craftable/purchasable campfire that would allow us to cook out in the wild.

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/137394/expanded-rested-bonus-concept

I even suggested Portable Dyes in another concept but not an entire station, just a purchasable kit that is fillable at the dye station.

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/192831/the-day-eso-dyes/p1

So... what?

So, it's not the idea of using these type of tools out in the wild that I object to. Magical summonable crafting stations that provide the exact same functions as in-town crafting stations will limit future gameplay and Crown Store variety.

In my Player Home Personal Crafting Stations concept I outline an idea that would add personal crafting stations to the eventual release of homes and would actually extend the crafting gameplay. Possibly even creating a sort of crafting end-game. These types of options would extend gameplay a great deal more than simply giving players portable magical versions of these items.

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/208786/player-home-personal-crafting-stations-concepts

If ZOS releases these stations now, they will limit their options for future crafting and inventory expanding releases. Why would players buy inventory upgrades if they can just whip out a woodworking station? Why bother with expanding crafting into player homes in an interesting or creative way if players can just pull a forge out of their oblivion holes?

If we are to build a cooking fire out in the wild, we should have to gather firewood and actually build the fire. Perhaps even with tinderbox and flint. Perhaps with a minigame. It doesn't have to be a "click-here-to-win" implementation.

There are numerous alternate options to Summonable Crafting Stations that would provide players with more depth of gameplay, more options, and more freedom. These alternatives would offer ZOS more sellable items to place in the crown store and would likely result in greater profits. I can't fathom the reason Summonable Crafting Stations were even considered in the first place.

P3ZZL3

Edit: Yes, it's datamined, it may never happen, blah blah disclaimer...

If this is genuinely on the cards @ZOS_RichLambert then I for one am SHOCKED!

Of all the things that people discuss heavily on the forums, the mechanics, the bugs, the guild store changes, etc how on earth does "mobile crafting/dye stations" get to the top of the list?

I mean, I've NEVER seen any request for this in the last 6 mths I've been active here. I'd like to see the over whelming numbers of people asking for this?

Surely addressing the lone player of PVE not being able to sell is somewhat more important.

Not only that, what's the actual point of it? I mean, everyone's concern with player housing is that it will remove people from the "sudo community" in towns. Removing the need for them to actually come to a town save for a Bank or the Stable Master is ludicrous.

I thought as a company, moving forward (as per the "we will interact more with the community" thread, these kind of things might be surveyed? Have a simple Poll - created by the devs - show a couple of pics and ask - Guys, what do you think about something like this in the game.

*sighs*

Why is it so hard for companies to work with their communities these days which they depend on for revenue?

Rev Rielle

I can't honestly see how there's any real need for portable crafting stations, but time will tell. Perhaps - if they are indeed coming - there will be some new mechanic that makes having (and using) them worthwhile.

snackrat

They wouldn't have setbonuses. They'd be for decon in the field, and even then would still take up all those slots.

Probably the only ones that would be useful in any conditions would be pot, cook, and runes. And you're unlikely to need to make runes on the fly.

As trophies, they could be either reusable (like quest trophies) or consumable (trophy fish, cheevo trophy drops).

Let's be honest - a lot of people are using 'bounce' mail (ie mailing a friend so they can return your items) for indefinite storage, primarily so that they can keep things they got in the field for decon later. Perhaps this is their way of 'treating' that.

AlienSlof

Gidorick wrote: »

I am not against ZOS adding items in the Crown Store to turn a profit. Quite the opposite. I truly believe the above bags and encumbrance concept would provide players with more options and would result in many more crown purchases.

I am not even opposed to the idea of summonables. In my Summonable Beast Merchants and Banker concept I suggest that three summonable features be added to the game:

1. Mudcrab Merchant (merchant)
2. Creeper (launderer)
3. Goblin Banker (personal bank)

Now, THESE I would definitely use. When I played Tera, that game had summon scrolls for useful NPCs such as the banker, trader, etc. I used them all the time while out in the field.

The only one of these portable stations I might use a lot is the dye station.

Pallmor

Having already maxed out most of my craft skills, I don't really have much use for them myself. But if they're reusable trophies, they will probably be given for those annoying daily crafting writs. I guess they need to offer some incentive to do those worthless fraking things. So if you want to waste a ton of resources and time doing crafting writs every day for several months, then whoopee! You get a portable crafting station!

Now a portable merchant, THAT would be useful! I'll just stuff him in my saddlebag.

willymchilybily

Am i missing something? as to me the idea of a portable crafting station to reduce my inventory space is flawed. As soon as i deconstruct i start getting trait gems, materials, and style components. i find normally these are of wide variation and take up as much space as before i started deconstructing as by the time I'm finished. Surely the whole concept and usefulness as a means of reducing inventory in the field without scrapping stuff is flawed? or unless they also include a portable bank?

as for complaining why this gets attention instead of fixing bugs etc, we all know they have different teams working on different aspects, more people working on one aspect doesn't progress it any quicker. But I fail to see any usefulness from these items

anitajoneb17_ESO

Anything than can help me avoid towns as much as I can is most welcome.

Towns just remind me that this is not a virtual world, but an MMO full of "real players" who don't care at all about the game, the immersion, and least of all other players.

P3ZZL3

Just as easy/quick imo to just port to rivenspire, decon and head back out. The time difference is minimal and I can stick stuff in the bank and repair armour at the same time.

Rikal

... Surely addressing the lone player of PVE not being able to sell is somewhat more important...

^^^
Of this whole thread, the only interesting bit I took away.

AlnilamE

I'm not sure how that would even be useful, except maybe for alchemy or provisioning if you run out of potions/food in the middle of nowhere (or a dungeon) and happen to be on your alchemist/provisioner.

Thymos

I hardly ever rely on the information that data mining when it turns up ease of access items like this. I sometimes remember that the developers will create these things for internal testing purposes, and sometimes they get out into the public test server's code.

P3ZZL3

AlnilamE wrote: »

I'm not sure how that would even be useful, except maybe for alchemy or provisioning if you run out of potions/food in the middle of nowhere (or a dungeon) and happen to be on your alchemist/provisioner.

John, Keep tanking The Warriror and fire mages please m8 I'm just whipping up Weapon Power pots
Oh, John....have you got a spare blessed thistle please mate?

redspecter23

The price point on a one time generic crafting station that goes poof after I use it would have to be between 0 and 1 crowns for me to consider it. Now if you offer me a permanent portable crafting station, the amount I'd pay for that jumps up significantly. I'm not a fan of consumables I have to pay real money for but I'll pay way more than I should for permanent trinkets like this.

UrQuan

I have seen one or two people asking for portable crafting stations here and there on the forums. I don't really see the appeal, though.

I mean, for me when I look at what I've got in my inventory and say "hmm, I should go refine/deconstruct some stuff" that means that I want to go to a city, because there I can do my stuff at the crafting stations and sell stuff to merchants and hit the bank up to store the mats I get.

It's not like I'd use these to actually craft equipment, either, because I never make equipment anywhere but one of the special crafting stations for making a set. I guess theoretically you could use these for crafting the equipment you need for a writ, but the writ boards are always right near crafting stations anyway, so what's the point?

Actually, the consumables stations might be useful if you're in the middle of a group dungeon or something and you run out of potions or food and want to quickly whip some more up. Again, it would be incredibly unlikely that I'd ever do this, though, because I always make sure I've got plenty before going into such content, and also odds are if I find myself in need of more potions I'm probably not on my alchemist, and so on.

So yeah, I don't think these portable crafting stations are for me. Unless there's some new mechanic added that I might want to be able to use in the field (like allowing us to repair our own gear?) I just don't see any reason why I personally would use these.

Tholian1

The only way a portable crafting station would be of any use to me, would be if it came with a traveling banker companion too.

Oh I better stop giving them ideas.

icontested

That's so clean. It would be cool if you could set up your own station that people used. You would need the grandmaster crafter achievement to have a station. Level 50 in all of the crafts. People could use it in towns. Maybe add a fee or personal touches to promote economy for better or worse. One use per 24 hours?

This is the best post I've seen yet.

Nestor

Gidorick wrote: »

Both the Creeper and the Mudcrab Merchant are from previous TES titles and would even serve as kind of fan-service to TES buffs. The Goblin Banker just seemed to make sense to me.

Did you know Creeper is in this game? He is one of the merchants in one of the Mournhold Thieves Refuge.

UrQuan

Nestor wrote: »

Gidorick wrote: »

Both the Creeper and the Mudcrab Merchant are from previous TES titles and would even serve as kind of fan-service to TES buffs. The Goblin Banker just seemed to make sense to me.

Did you know Creeper is in this game? He is one of the merchants in one of the Mournhold Thieves Refuge.

I don't think I've ever actually checked out the Mournhold thieves refuge... Time to make a visit!

Gidorick

Nestor wrote: »

Gidorick wrote: »

Both the Creeper and the Mudcrab Merchant are from previous TES titles and would even serve as kind of fan-service to TES buffs. The Goblin Banker just seemed to make sense to me.

Did you know Creeper is in this game? He is one of the merchants in one of the Mournhold Thieves Refuge.

Yep. If you look at the thread I linked you'll see I used the image of that creeper on my post.

Gilvoth

portable campfire?

Totaly Awesome!!!!


portable door to housing by "summon door" and my friends and stuff can enter and see my trophies? <- one can hope (hehe)

Gidorick

dwemer_paleologist wrote: »

portable campfire?

Totaly Awesome!!!!

I completely agree that they COULD be totally awesome!

Could.

Mojmir

anybody thought these might be for housing add-ons?

Gidorick

Mojmir wrote: »

anybody thought these might be for housing add-ons?

"Summon a personal crafting station to your location"... I don't think they are for housing.

Mojmir

Gidorick wrote: »

Mojmir wrote: »

anybody thought these might be for housing add-ons?

"Summon a personal crafting station to your location"... I don't think they are for housing.

maybe you just purchase them and they can be added to your "plot" in addition to being mobile.

Gidorick

Mojmir wrote: »

Gidorick wrote: »

Mojmir wrote: »

anybody thought these might be for housing add-ons?

"Summon a personal crafting station to your location"... I don't think they are for housing.

maybe you just purchase them and they can be added to your "plot" in addition to being mobile.

I guess it might be true, from a certain point of view.

Mojmir

either way its kinda cool, i see potential bugs possible exploits with this though.

Grunim

Tholian1 wrote: »

The only way a portable crafting station would be of any use to me, would be if it came with a traveling banker companion too.

Oh I better stop giving them ideas.

I agree because if I'm out in the field and I want a crafting station I would use it to deconstruct items and this generates style stones and mats that clog up my inventory that I usually want to immediately put in a bank. I wouldn't use a portable crafting station unless I had a portable bank.

Mojmir

Grunim wrote: »

Tholian1 wrote: »

The only way a portable crafting station would be of any use to me, would be if it came with a traveling banker companion too.

Oh I better stop giving them ideas.

I agree because if I'm out in the field and I want a crafting station I would use it to deconstruct items and this generates style stones and mats that clog up my inventory that I usually want to immediately put in a bank. I wouldn't use a portable crafting station unless I had a portable bank.

heres that exploit i was talking about,now just add BOT and rinse and repeat

icontested

Mojmir wrote: »

anybody thought these might be for housing add-ons?

Mojmir wrote: »

Grunim wrote: »

Tholian1 wrote: »

The only way a portable crafting station would be of any use to me, would be if it came with a traveling banker companion too.

Oh I better stop giving them ideas.

I agree because if I'm out in the field and I want a crafting station I would use it to deconstruct items and this generates style stones and mats that clog up my inventory that I usually want to immediately put in a bank. I wouldn't use a portable crafting station unless I had a portable bank.

heres that exploit i was talking about,now just add BOT and rinse and repeat

Anything is possible. Creating a keystroke recorder/macro to execute tasks is easily done for the right people. There will always be exploits and people to create them. Weigh out the amount of exploits each would bring. Can please some of the people some of the time, not all of the people all of the time.

Collectibles would be nice in my "plot"

Gidorick

Grunim wrote: »

Tholian1 wrote: »

The only way a portable crafting station would be of any use to me, would be if it came with a traveling banker companion too.

Oh I better stop giving them ideas.

I agree because if I'm out in the field and I want a crafting station I would use it to deconstruct items and this generates style stones and mats that clog up my inventory that I usually want to immediately put in a bank. I wouldn't use a portable crafting station unless I had a portable bank.

This could also be accomplished with inventory bags, as mentioned in the OP.