Dev's Diary: Science System, Part 2

Hello, So, The treasure hunt searches are mostly useless, might be good for lower level players maybe. But for most players like myself that is level 49 (1/2 to level 50) will just go for these skills that are listed below.

Will Obsessively find more adventures per day, maybe some betters ones and also the cost will be reduced, some more map fragments. Will get even 2 adventures sometimes maybe and some rare buffs as well maybe. But I do guarantee that 99% of players will for sure get theses skills and max them.

I'm pretty sure everyone knows the point I'm getting across here anyways.

Bad news about this. More chances on getting Sons of the Veld and Victor the Vicious.... Which will totally SUCK in most cases. But meh, oh well.

Name: Fearless Hiker
Effect: Shortens the search time for all adventures.


Name: Wild Determination
Effect: Allows finding more Map fragments on Adventure searches.

Name: Travel Expenses
Effect: Reduces the cost of all Adventure searches.

Name: Trouble-seeker
Effect: Grants an additional chance to find an additional Adventure.


Name: Pathfinder
Effect: Shortens the search time for all Searches.

Name: Sophisticated Pillager
Effect: Grants an additional chance to receive an Adventure bonus quest.

Name: Traveling Erudite
Effect: Allows the explorer to use "Artifact search" - as a result he finds buffs and items that improves your city's productivity.

Name: Bean-A-Colada
Effect: Allows the explorer to use "Rarity search" - as a result he finds rare resources.[/t]

Bad news part 2 RomanGodCamper is you'll have to waste a lot of books to get to higher levels to get to the good stuff.

The one thing I will add to this topic is STOP MAKING IT MORE EXSPENSIVE TO MAKE BOOKS!

This is my opinion on what I see from this:

Name: Fearless Hiker
Effect: Shortens the search time for all adventures.

I hate waiting 1-2 days for my explorer returning so props on this one.

Name: Mountain Boots
Effect: Shortens the search time for all treasure searches.[/t]

I still do very long searches. So thank you for reducing that time down.

Name: Wild Determination
Effect: Allows finding more Map fragments on Adventure searches.

I won't complain about finding more map frags to run more adventures. :)

Name: Travel Expenses
Effect: Reduces the cost of all Adventure searches.

I get to save gc & sausage. Woot Woot :)

Name: Sturdy Shovel
Effect: Allows finding more loot on all Treasure searches.

I get to find more granite? Yea :)

Name: Trouble-seeker
Effect: Grants an additional chance to find an additional Adventure.

I already don't burn through my adventures fast enough. Horrible idea except to sellers.

Name: Sabbatical
Effect: Shortens the search time for Extra-long treasure searches.

Woot another way to shorten my extra-long searches :)

Name: Pathfinder
Effect: Shortens the search time for all Searches.

Woot shortens adventure searches & treasure searches :)

Name: Sophisticated Pillager
Effect: Grants an additional chance to receive an Adventure bonus quest.

I have no clue what this means but will be interesting to see.

These last three, my gut is saying it is like the Lucky Find, Natural Born Digger, and Nature's Gift from the Geologist Tree.

Name: Streetwise Negotiator
Effect: Grants an additional chance for a Treasure bonus quest.

No clue what this is referring to. I would like to know what the treasure bonus could be or the quest for it before criticize it.

Name: Traveling Erudite
Effect: Allows the explorer to use "Artifact search" - as a result he finds buffs and items that improves your city's productivity.

Very useful for players that don't have time to run pvp campaigns (when it finally arrives) and more into Sim Island Building.

Name: Bean-A-Colada
Effect: Allows the explorer to use "Rarity search" - as a result he finds rare resources.[/t]

If your into the bean industry good one to have. I don't think I'll be going down this path though I have enough explorers to make a few do this as well.

Personally these are the skills I thought would be helpful for my playstyle. I have enough adventures in my star menu to run with 3 explorers returning to me every 2 days to last me until I quit. So for those who use more then 3. Bravo, I just know I can rely on finding other resources including the useless ones such as salt peter and some other ones.

BB keep up the good work but unfurtantely I'll just save my tomes/codes/manuscripts for when the home island/general skill tree comes out. I have too many explorers to do and I know I won't get as far as I would like on them when the other two get released.

so do medium for granite got it......or not.

not sure why the extra long for granite which can give 60 stacks of granite didn't get any love

just the salt peter (which unless your what 48+? is useless to you) and titanium

I see very few of these being as useful as the choices we have for geos (mind you the geos choices could use some work as well)

I could care less on the time it takes to make a book BUT the buffs are useless as the buff works for 24 hours BUT if you don't log in an pick up the book you made the buff is wasted the bookbinder needs to just run!

but that's just my 2 nuyen's worth

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Exavyer

Its probably part of the reason they are waiting so long in between each implementation. So we all have some time to upgrade our geos, next our explorers, then after enough time our gens ect ect. Because honestly, you dont think they have pretty much all of the science system already figured out? I would think if they really wanted to they could put the last three parts of the system on the live servers tomorrow if they REALLY wanted to. But they are keeping us in wait and building anticipation for each phase.

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when writing code it is best to not add a ton of new code to the site or game.. doing it piece by piece allows for minor errors or bugs.

i would like to see the new adventures such as Surprise attack able to be found with the new explorers.. would be nice, but what do we know. we just play the game :P

This is all good stuff... making manuscripts are not too slow, nor the dimnishing returns are too punishing...all it needs is ability to queue production....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wujcio

This is all good stuff... making manuscripts are not too slow, nor the dimnishing returns are too punishing...all it needs is ability to queue production....

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Hear, hear.

how about you come up with a skill that finds new levels beyond 50 and PvP as promised. it appears the only skills the so called "Devs" have is finding slow grinding menial tasks. maybe they could develop a budget for some actually creative people to work on this dying game.

Ok these books are getting expensive, 2 maniscripts for a tomb. and still climbing in price

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Artillerist

Ok these books are getting expensive, 2 maniscripts for a tomb. and still climbing in price

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ouch... ok, not that's a bit too punishing, lol... i was under impression that only the "normal" resources increase as you make more codices...

but hey, maybe you get a break if you get a "premium" account?? that'd be cool!

I wonder if the Devs realized the more they are pushing to get more $ and dragging everything out, the more they are pushing us away from this game?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Awesomesauces

I swear to god if you make me put points in the salt peter skills I'll cut your ***.

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LOL - just like the wasted points I had to use on "stone deposit" to achieve next book level for my first upgraded Geo, saltpeter would be a waste of points.

Just finished my first 31/31 Geo this morning, specializing in copper & gold for this one. Even though the upgrades for LVL 50 are nice, I am at lvl 45 and decided 50 is a long haul from here and it is better to use up the skill points now. I will make a mid-lvl Iron spec Geo next, then start saving books for the future Explorer release.

As many have mentioned this before, using books on Geos now may not be most efficient use of them - but we just don't know. "Island" or "General" trees may be much better but you have already spent your "easily" obtainable books on Geos, and now it takes 4 times longer to produce just 1 Codex.... otoh, if you just save all the tomes, you're not utilizing the benefits they already offer for months and months.... "fair" way to do this, would be to release tree specs all at the same time...

I wonder if medium searches will become better to find granites with these 2 skills maxed out:

Name: Lucky Detour
Effect: Raises chance to find Granite on Medium treasure searches.

Name: Loot Wagon
Effect: Allows finding more Granite on Medium treasure searches.

Considering the odds:

12H Treasure Hunt

200 Hardwood planks 27%
350 Hardwood planks 13.5%
200 Marble 27%
350 Marble 13.5%
25 Coins 5.4%
50 Coins 2.7%
150 Iron ore 2.7%
250 Iron ore 1.4%
50 Exotic wood logs 2.7%
100 Granite 1.4%
50 Granite 2.7%

48H Treasure Hunt

30 Granite 16.9%
60 Granite 12.7%
40 Exotic wood logs 16.9%
100 Exotic wood logs 8.5%
100 Gold ore 12.7%
150 Gold ore 2.5%
10 Saltpetre 12.7%
30 Saltpetre 4.2%
10 Titanium 8.5%
30 Titanium 4.2%

I would like to see these new techs laid out in a skill tree. The list seems very short on manuscript techs and a bit long on tome techs. Maybe it's deliberate, but doesn't seem to add up how the tech tree will be set up from this list.

Also the techs that boost granite, titanium, and saltpeter are confined to only one length of treasure hunt. This makes them of very minimal value. I might suggest expanding them to include all treasure hunts. Then they would be worth something.

I think it would be cool to find books in treasure searches. I personally have 4 geos, 9 generals, 13 explorers so it will take me me a few times more longer to finish filling the skill trees then it took me to get to level 50. I agree with everyone that says it takes to long to make books but since they most likely wont shorten the time to make the books then make a second way of getting the books. ex. treasure searches, loot, mystery boxes, new gem building that can make books, star coins(still don't know what there for but using them to buy books would be useful when you turn lvl 50.) or could use star coins to buy a new mystery box that you could get a book in. or a science system mystery box. Where you can get resources for science system, and books if your lucky and maybe bookbinding buffs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by morz

I think it would be cool to find books in treasure searches. I personally have 4 geos, 9 generals, 13 explorers so it will take me me a few times more longer to finish filling the skill trees then it took me to get to level 50. I agree with everyone that says it takes to long to make books but since they most likely wont shorten the time to make the books then make a second way of getting the books. ex. treasure searches, loot, mystery boxes, new gem building that can make books, star coins(still don't know what there for but using them to buy books would be useful when you turn lvl 50.) or could use star coins to buy a new mystery box that you could get a book in. or a science system mystery box. Where you can get resources for science system, and books if your lucky and maybe bookbinding buffs.

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I like this idea. finding books or loot drops would be a neat idea.

medium searches are already the best treasure hunt, i calculated this a while back.

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Originally Posted by Draconus2004

medium searches are already the best treasure hunt, i calculated this a while back.

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do you have a link to your calculations. i'm curious to see them.

Just_n calculates it out frequently:

Zeus Price List

Explorers Value per hr

Short Treasure 0.510
Medium Treasure 1.138
Long Treasure 0.766
Very Long Treasure 0.795
Short Adventure 1.452
Medium Adventure 1.485
Long Adventure 1.029

Ares Price Guide

Explorers Value per hr

Short Treasure 0.501
Medium Treasure 1.117
Long Treasure 0.597
Very Long Treasure 0.602
Short Adventure 1.253
Medium Adventure 1.472
Long Adventure 1.082

I hope when they implement this they offer a short interval where you can fully refund all of your spent books.

It would be awesome to redistribute them across geos and explorers.

Or at least put a cap on the bookbinder.

This is rather disappointing that they're rolling out the Explorer Science system and ignoring the feedback that has been posted on the test server:


http://forum.tsotesting.com/threads/...ethings-to-FIX


You guys should go over there and make some noise and rage about the new explorer skills system.
Especially the 2 useless top tier skills that provide very little in terms of drop rate.

My only problem is that a single level one lettersmith and a level one intermediate papermill are more than enough to support the science system the whole time(by the whole time, I mean forever). An ornamentalsmith at level one produces way to much as well as a level one advanced papermill for what I need verses the two level four finesmiths and three level three simple papermills that i need for manuscripts. And it gets worse when I need 5 manuscripts to make a tome, and 3 tomes to make a codex. I did the math, and a level one lettersmith and a level one intermediate papermill can produce enough for two people if they run constantly, and the ornamentalsmith and the advanced papermill produces enough for 9 people if they run constantly.

I get the point that it is supposed to take a while to fully develop several explorers, but im looking at nearly six years. I don't mind it taking forever, but is there anyway that we can have more than a level one ornamentalsmith/advanced papermill/lettersmith/intermediate papermill and get benefits towards the massive amount of time that is required?