Auto material use on projects

[Yoldash]

I don't dig for a similar suggestion, so if there is any, move this topic to junk..

When manifacturing something..

It can be quite complex for a newbie to find out how the system works. Like.. (s)he first have to find the manifacture button or machinery on the location (I've seen people who couldn't).. then the selection.. next go to the inventory, select required resource.. select the project from a swamp of old ones.. redo it with other materials nedeed.. finally go to the activities and participitate.

To help the process, I suggest:

(1) At the manifacture selection approve page (the final one).. A checkbox writing "Use material from inventory" along the explainations. When you check it, you spend the needed amount of material or all you got in the inventory on the project.

(2) When approved the project, and if the above suggestion is implemented.. since the materials will be automatically put to the project. After the approval, you may start to work on the project automatically. (like hitting a body burial.. you don't start it first, and then use a body on it, then go an participitate)

I believe it will really help and speed up the game.. we know the effects and using the checkboxes on hunting and active search.

Also, it will not be hard for our programmers I think, since there are similar codings already in the game

waiting for opinions..

[T-shirt]

Good suggestion.

[tiddy ogg]

Agreed, good idea.

[Antichrist_Online]

Good thinking.

[Thetaris]

Yeah, it's a good idea as everyone else says. I like the idea because it prevents the event of not wanting to put things into the object straight away.

BUT!

It wouldn't work.
In some cases, such as where you need items, rather than quantity, your suggestion could possibly not work. For a composite recurve bow, for example, what do you do if all you have is wood? It'd come up with an error message, but!:
What if it had 2/5 items, and it put them in- you wouldn't know what you had in the construction, especially if you're a newspawn and you can't check. So because this idea is for newspawns, and it requires Experts to figure out the problem if there is one, it won't work- like adding an apple to a diet of meat.

[Sho]

I don't see that problem. The system will use all the required materials if you have them, but do nothing and return an error if you don't.

The only problem I have is that it would have problems with projects where there is a choice of input resources or objects. To my knowledge none exist, but there have been before (the three bowstrings were interchangeable), and RD may want that capability back in the future. A lazy workaround would be to block the auto-use system for such projects.

Should be workable in terms of server load, since this only happens once per project, and interface sounds fine. I'm for it.

[Yoldash]

When I was first suggesting it.. (advocating satan)

The main problems in my mind was rather:

(1) If you approve the project with a wrong decision, you spend all the resource automatically. For example yesterday, I figured that I opened a popcorn(wood) rather than popcorn(coal) at the stage of item use. But, I'll accept this possible mistake rather than the old process.

Still, I suggest the idea.. better this way.

(2) For the insufficent material problem for the newbies.. I don't suppose it will be a problem. After the approval, an error message will come saying not enough resource to work on the project. At that point, the system may pay the whole resource in the inventory or may be not put any at all (say your opinion) And you may turn to Activities screen to check your current position. (For newbies, we may also write to check it in the project [and may be how])

(3) [If we choose to spend the material in the inventory even its not enough] If you enter the final output number wrong in a miss calculation, you may spend all the resouces, but it may be not enough. So you end up with no material in inventroy, and a useless project, if the resource target is far away.


* I generally depend on the amount of the raw material I have when planning, thus the value of how much resources I have to use on the project is a more important number for me than the amount of output. For this I always have to calculate it via ms-calculator.. how much will be the outcome, for the resouce in my hand? And if a mathematical error occurs you delete the project and restart..

I'll prefer to enter the resource amount to the text box rather than the output targeted.. ( another suggestion)

[T-shirt]

Good point.

You must be able to cancel projects before Auto material use on projects should be implemented. If all resources are returned when a project is cancelled, it would be a good change to automatically add resources to projects.

Then the question is under what conditions a project can be cancelled and where the resources go.

[Yoldash]

It'll be very good to have a chance to cancel a project with %0 progress even its materials are used. Thus returning the materials.

Point is .. would it be possible to cancel a project belonging someone. If thats the situation, the materials must fall to the inventory. But in case of a building for example they will fall to the gound since no inventroy space will be enough for it. Thus, the easy way is falling of the whole material to the ground (simple for coding). But, we will create a new method for thievery. Only solution is to be able to cancel only your projects I believe.

But we have to ask it to the programmers I guess.. can these be done?
Because, it looks like against the current system.

*Good points, thanks for critics.. hope we can collect them to form a proper proposal

[Oasis]

Why not just have a "are you sure you wish to continue" check box, before these items are automatically added. Or, as when you pick something up, you have to put the number in yourself, in case you don't want to fully apply all you have at that time.

[Yoldash]

"Are you sure?" must be a new page rather than a checkbox, which may come if the checkbox "Use material" is checked while approving the project. Otherwise it will be two checkboxes without addintional help..

About the amount entry.. I believe it will slow down the activiy. But if its prefered, then our suggestion may come to this:

* After the project approve page, if a player says Ok for the project; a new page comes decribing the project.. saying which materials are needed.. asking with text boxes how much to spend on the project (defaults to the needed amount) [maybe we should also write how much there is at inventory.. like a table]

* Or shortly, when you chose a project among list.. with the coming description page, above text boxes come (with defaults) within the same page also, and when you press the continue button.. they will be used (like dropping something)

Still, I'm for just a small checkbox with "use material" text, when its checked during process. After the approve, all the materials of the project spend through inventory (none of them, if any of materials is less for project and an error message) and you start to work on the project automatically.. very simple and fast, but if we are after the effectiveness and details, as you wish...

[Yoldash]

Can a programmer say his opinion and the possibility of the suggestion..?

[Chris Johnson]

It is possible to do , but my personal opinion is that if it was implemented then it should only be done after a means of project cancellation and resource recovery has been implemented (whihc has bene accepted as a suggestion).

[UloDeTero]

Ok, this thread is close enough to the idea I had, and I couldn't find it anywhere else.

I don't think materials should be 'auto-used', but when starting a project, there should be text boxes saying something like 'This project requires 88g of Stuff. You have 99g of Stuff. How much Stuff would you like to use?' Something like this exists in the game somewhere already (I think when adding materials to a project from the inventory), but it should be there when creating a project, so that you can use whatever you already have on you straight away.

Also, on existing projects, where there are buttons for Participating in a project and Deleting a project, and also info about how much material is needed and how much has been used... There should be a button (or link) there too: 'Add materials'. One button for each material.

So in all there should be three ways to add materials to a project:

1) While starting the project.
2) From the project info screen.
3) The existing method. From the inventory.

[Duckers]

Indeed, I think this is a VERY good idea. I remember, when my character was a newspawn, and I had no clue as to how to start projects.

It would help if you had Automatic Material Usage. So, all in all, I agree with what is said...

Yes...