The set comprises of 4 (so far) Kinds
Researcher
Chemist
Constructor
Biotechnician
The Process
Before I continue, it's a good idea to show you the workflow of an item. The Tradeskiller responsible produces a schematic - this is the base idea/plans for the item/drug/chemical.
This schematic is researched to produce a "blueprint" we haven't come up with a name for it yet. The blue print decides the quality of the item it is used to produce. The quality is key, a bad quality blueprint will only ever be able to produce up to and including bad quality items, regardless of the skill of any other tradeskiller in the chain.
Blueprint quality is determined by skill. The blue print also contains a list of parts/chemicals etc needed to create one unit of the item it is for. Blueprints come with charges, the amount of times data can be read from it before it degrades. This is once again based upon the skill of the researcher.
The blueprint is then taken back to the tradeskiller of the same class as the creator, to be produced - for example drugs could only be produced by a chemist - implants by a biotechnician and items/parts by a constructor.
The tradeskiller then produces the item. in some cases item quality is further defined based on the skill of the producer. For example a good ueprint and a bad chemist - Bad drugs! ( more chance of side effects - and less of it's intended benefits)
Overview
Researcher - Produces blueprints from schematics - determines item quality and Use quantity for Blueprints.
Chemist - Creates drugs/chemicals etc Designs schematics for drugs and chems, and produces them from Blueprints.
Constructor - Creates Items/weapons/armour and Parts. Designs schematics and produces finished articles from Blueprints.
Biotechnician - Designs implants. Creates schematics and produces finished implants from Blueprints.
We believe that by doing this - there will be a lot more demand for tradeskillers and more variety for people who are interested. Tradeskills are not just restricted to these classes - we want to have some kind of secondary tradeskills for other classes like salvaging parts from MoBs and Skinning creatures for armour components and other lower technology parts. There's a lot of scope for tradeskill, but we don't want to dilute the pool too much, that is why these will remain secondary bilities and therefore not essential to production.
There are some rare items that cannot be designed, thier schematics will be part of endgame loot. There are some not so rare items, that canot be researched either, these can be downloaded by players with teh appropriate skills, from data storage devices and data archives in dungeons placed around the world. That way there will always be some variety in how you get your items.
Thats all for now
