Engineering

Engineering is not just for upgrades. Skilled engineers can use their knowledge to create new ships, weapons, armor, or improve existing goods.
As, currently, no guide exists, this is a placeholder for information, taken from channel discussion on the topic. Once the process is finalized, this data will be digested into a convenient guide form.
<Ask> Toma the Hutt says, "Sure. An engineer contacts a judge or wizard and performs a design check. That costs him a week's worth of effort and some cash. He can then choose to put that design into prototype production or scrap it and try again in a week."
<Ask> Toma the Hutt says, "The engineer then makes chances each week. The number of changes he/she can make is determined by his/her Engineering skill. When the engineer is satisfied he can pay the cost to put the new ship type into production."
<Ask> Pesiro says, "What do you need to come to the judge or wizard with? A basic design idea? Just an idea of what size/type of ship you want to create?"
<Ask> Toma the Hutt says, "The class of ship. Microfighter, Fighter, Shuttle, Freighter, Bulk Freighter, Corvette, Cruiser, Battleship.."
<Ask> Toma the Hutt says, "Your stats and the shiptype are used to generate a basic hull type. It wont have any weapons or anything special to start with. You add all of that over time."
<Ask> Pesiro says, "Hrm. So, the more engineering skill you have, the more you can do with prototype?"
<Ask> Toma the Hutt says, "... And the number of actions you have per week are limited. If you have 3 then that is three total even if you have a dozen prototypes."
<Ask> Pesiro says, "As in, better engineers would be able to create better designs or with more capabilities?"
<Ask> Toma the Hutt says, "The more skill you have the better the starting hull will be and the faster you can generate a finished product."
<Ask> Zann says, "But the starting attributes are random?"
<Ask> Toma the Hutt says, "Semi-random. They are skill based"
<Ask> Pesiro says, "So... an engineer is able to see how good a prototype design could be at the start? If you don't like the potential capabilities, you scrap it and try again next week?"
<Ask> Toma the Hutt says, "What you will see is the Size (Less is better), speed, docking, armor, systems, price and shields. All of those can be upgraded later on as well."
<Ask> Toma the Hutt says, "You will be told something like 'Your Battleship hull's armor is 80% of a Guardian Battleships' so you have a standard of comparison."
<Ask> Toma the Hutt says, "All upgrades you make will change the ship's price. Many will change the speed and and size of the ship."
<Ask> Cienna Diak says, "More or less related query: were there plans in the works to allow custom modifications to existing designs, beyond the current upgrade ability?"
<Ask> Toma the Hutt says, "That is actually much easier and faster than a new ship design"
<Ask> Palpatine says, "Yes, it's easier to build a variant of an existing design than a totally new prototype."
<Ask> Cienna Diak says, "I mean, like, if I have a specific ship"
<Ask> Cienna Diak says, "And want to customize it"
<Ask> Cienna Diak says, "Not a specific ship class."
<Ask> Toma the Hutt says, "We dont have a formal system for that, no."
<Ask> Cienna Diak says, "Customizing the Millennium Falcon, as it were."
<Ask> Palpatine says, "We have actually discussed that, though."
<Ask> Palpatine says, "The idea is, beyond the spec limits, further upgrades push the design, so that there's a chance of system failure in use."
<Ask> Palpatine says, "The Falcon may have a 15% fail rate."
<Ask> Pesiro says, "Ah. So if I wanted to make a micro-fighter Talon III, it would be better to start with the original design and make it mini?"
<Ask> Cienna Diak says, "What would the failure do?"
<Ask> Cienna Diak says, "Hyperdrive malfunctioning and all that?"
<Ask> Palpatine says, "Like being hit with ion cannons."
Category:Guides