Kubrow Scrambler Replacement: Gene Therapy (Warning, Long Post)

[drhead]

A lot of people don't like the scrambler.  Why?  Because it is a purely RNG-based way of changing Kubrow appearance, with no guarantee you'll even get something you like.  A lot of people would like to be able to have more choice over their Kubrow's appearance.  Imprints are supposedly there to fill this role, but the limit of two imprints per Kubrow makes it impossible to use these imprints for anything more specific than a specific breed.  I propose a system where players can take specific attributes and apply them to a Kubrow.

 

Before I go into detail, it is important to understand the reasons why the Scrambler exists.  First off, DE is looking for some form of recurrent revenue.  This is completely understandable.  The most important part is that we gain no gameplay advantage by using the scrambler other than not having to hatch another Kubrow to get one that looks good -- DE has been good about not overstepping the "pay for convenience/cosmetics" line.  DE knows that with the variance among Kubrows, people will not stop after breeding just one.  Some people might not even stop after breeding one of each class, but it is pretty likely that most people will.  The second reason is because something like the Scrambler is easy to implement (just re-roll the fur pattern and deduct 10 platinum, simple).  This made it a good start for monetizing Kubrow cosmetic appearance.  My proposed system should monetize just about as well (if not better by increasing participation), while making it possible for players to get exactly what they want.

 

For anyone unfamiliar with the concept, gene therapy (in real life) is a currently experimental medical treatment where a specially-programmed virus is used to actually replace a defective gene with a working copy of that gene.  This has been used to treat several hereditary genetic disorders in clinical trials.  If we can do it today, I would seriously doubt that this process would lie outside of the capabilities of the Orokin.

 

Here's how I would implement it:

 

Foundation changes:

 

 -- First, give us some way to expand our ship so we can have more than one active Kubrow slot, and please make this doable without platinum.  I'm unwilling to get more than one Kubrow at the moment because the stasis system seems like too much of a hassle to deal with, plus it is annoying to have to not use a Kubrow for 48 hours while waiting for an egg to hatch.  This will balance itself by increasing the amount of DNA stabilizers you must use proportionally.  A maximum of four active Kubrow slots should be enough for the regular user, so make that many able to be acquired without platinum.  I'd be perfectly fine with people purchasing more than four with platinum.

 

 -- Make a distinction between Kubrows that were hatched randomly, and those which were made from templates of any kind.  If a Kubrow was hatched randomly and has not been modified at all, allow an infinite amount of templates to be made from it.

 

 -- Ditch the Scrambler.  It will be obselete, and random-hatched Kubrows with good attributes need to be somewhat scarce for this to work.

 

 -- Reconfigure the odds of getting a certain pattern or color.  Every Kubrow I've seen in game has been gray.  Seriously, every single one of them.  Make the absolute rarest colors and patterns occur no less than 10% of the time -- any rarer would be a bit too rare.

 

 -- Maybe reduce the costs or crafting time of Templates.  With this system, you will be using a LOT of them.  Maybe even too much with the current costs.

 

New Feature: Template Analyzer

 

This would be the starting point of gene therapy.  Using the Template Analyzer, you can analyze templates of your Kubrows in order to extract specific attribute templates.  These attribute templates can then be traded to others who can then use them for their own purposes (more on the uses later).   The Template Analyzer can analyze up to four templates at a time.  The time that the process takes varies depending on the amount of templates being analyzed, as well as the cost to rush it and the yield per template.  Suggested values:

 

1: Yields 1-2 attributes, takes 30 minutes, 5p to rush

2: Yields 1-3 attributes per template (2-6 total, average 4), takes 1.5 hours, 10p to rush

3: Yields 2-3 attributes per template (6-9 total, average 7.5), takes 3 hours, 15p to rush

4: Yields 2-4 attributes per template (8-16 total, average 12), takes 6 hours, 20p to rush

 

What kind of attributes would there be?  First, there's the obvious ones -- specific fur colors (base and pattern), and specific fur patterns.  Some would be rarer than others.  There is also variation in body shape, obviously -- my Kubrow is really slim and tiny, while every other one I see is big enough to ride into battle.  However, I don't think it'd be realistic or reasonable to allow myself to make my tiny Kubrow into one of the gargantuan ones everyone else has overnight.  I'll talk about this more later.

 

One thing that would make things interesting would be attributes that would modify base health, shield, armor, and attack values.  Have those become independent of the classes they belong to, but restrict them to certain values (like only 75, 100, or 125 for health and shield, and keep 125 no rarer than 20% of all new random Kubrows so they will be common and cheap).  But, of course, this wouldn't be required.

 

New Feature: Template Splicer

 

This would be one of two ways of using your separated attributes.  With this machine, you can use your attributes on a template and modify attributes of the Kubrow, and preview them as you would any other template.  Any template that has been modified at the Template Splicer will be renamed to a Spliced Template and can be used to breed a Kubrow without needing a second template.  When modifying a template, you can pick as many attributes as you want at once and splice them in a single operation.  The operation will take (suggested) 1 day or 35 platinum to rush.  If attributes for body shape and size exist, the Template Splicer should be the only way to use them, because I don't think it is particularly healthy for a Kubrow to be forced through a phase of growth well into adulthood.

 

Splicing has the advantage of being guaranteed to give the attributes you want.  However, it takes longer and requires a new Kubrow to be bred.  It is good if you already have an idea in mind for a 'designer Kubrow'.  I would expect a lot of Kubrows with a red pattern on black named "Red Text"

 

New Feature: Gene Therapy

 

If you don't want to make another Kubrow of a specific class or already have one that looks mostly like what you want and you only want to make minor tweaks, Gene Therapy is the way to go.  Gene Therapy treatments are crafted through the Foundry, taking one hour each, and are crafted using one attribute and... I don't know, nano spores or something.  Gene Therapy takes 3 hours to apply, only can apply one attribute at a time, and the Kubrow receiving treatment cannot be used for the duration.  In addition, you can't apply body shape changes and can only apply fur color or metabolism (base stats) changes.

 

To make things interesting, there should be a 33%-50% chance that the treatment will mutate, applying a random attribute to that slot (but never affecting other attributes), and degrading DNA integrity by 20% (which can be replenished within one login cycle).  This would probably be a controversial element, but remember that it can result in happy little accidents too!  If it gets too bad, maybe make a higher chance of exotic colors or patterns appearing.

 

Gene therapy has the advantage of being able to modify a Kubrow that is already an adult.  However, it is not guaranteed to get what you put in.  It is still safe as it is limited to modifying attributes of the slot you intend to modify (and if you're modifying it, that means you want it to be different anyways).  It can also act as an advantage by surprising you with an attribute that you may find looks better than what you originally wanted.

 

Summary:

 

I think this system would be better for players and would probably make more people want to spend platinum on Kubrows.  It contains enough RNG to keep things interesting without making it too much, and build times are long enough to stretch the lifetime of this content for a long time.  It creates somewhat scarce resources which would make more people want to trade, but which nobody is obligated to buy to remain competitive.  Most importantly, it allows players to get a Kubrow that looks like what they want it to look like without it being behind a huge wait or RNG wall.

 

Please tell me what you think of this idea.  Would you be more willing to spend platinum on the elements added by this than you would want to spend on the Scrambler?

[TheStag]

You have some very interesting ideas, and I would like to read more in depth into them later. I would like to warn you though, due to this being a popular topic this may be merged into the megathread. If you lose the thread, look there.

I really like the gene therapy. +1

If I could give more, I would.

Edit: Topic followed :D

Edited July 21, 2014 by TheStag

[Nopy117]

Isnt it amazing what that scrambler post started? its like, ever since people saw the Plat and RNG in the same place, EVERYONE wants to refine it and there all making these great systems for it.

 

But, your different, you UNDERSTAND that DE needs to make plat revenue and you include that in with your ideas.

I would not be surprised if DE added either this, or a variation or feature from this post, there all great

 

Totally +1

[Voidliuz]

DE pls do dis.

[(PSN)ElZilcho]

I don't know if I like all of this, but I appreciate any suggestion that isn't paying plat for dice rolls.

[Voruna_Umbra]

I can understand this. This system is still very new and I wouldn't be surprised if it changed or applied new things. It's good to submit your ideas now instead of later where DE's choice is final. DE needs the community's input to make this good game into a great game. I like your ideas, DE still needs to make money, but not to practically milk our wallets.

[WarOverlord]

This should really go in, or at least be taken into consideration.

[Nantlais]

Maybe not right away, DE needs to hotfix a metric S#&$e tonne of bugs. However I wouldn't mind seeing this a little later down the road, 14.1 or 14.2 maybe?

[Cephalon-Mura]

this is a good idea but what about people who wasted a S#&$ON of platinum just for a cool looking Kubbrow