Redemption - Mini Makeovers

[surfrider56]

Thought we'd move this discussion to its own Thread. Let the discussion begin .....

[gwek]

As you noted in the other thread, Surf, this isn't the first time the idea has come up (either the general idea, or me pitching it under the name "Redemption").

In an earlier incarnation--possibly on the WotC boards--we had put together a rough setlist.

I will outline the criteria that I used. I am not necessarily suggesting we should use them again, but would like to put them out there for conversation.

1) I viewed Redemption as an "extra" 60-piece set. Therefore, pieces were drawn ONLY from the 60-piece sets (Rebel Storm through KotOR).

2) The setlist was 60 pieces. I think it broke down as 12 VR, 16 R, 16 U, and 16 C (which was the starting distribution for non-huge sets).

3) I went to bloomilk and reviewed their rating, pulling the worst-rated, non-huge pieces from these 10 sets.

4) Huges were not included both because I have throwing a random huge or two into an otherwise non-huge set (virtual or not!) and because people sometimes get crazy and extreme ideas when it comes of "fixing" huges.

I think it went something like that.

[surfrider56]

I suspect we need to stay away from 60 piece sets, lets start small, maybe 20, see how fast we go and take it from there.

As I stated before, lets avoid repeating Gamers work.

My big question; do we really Want to redo every "bad" grunt? Does every thug, guard, fighter, etc. need to be redone? I mean, do we really care if the Alderaan Trooper is fixed up to be worth using? I suggested previously we stick to Uniques that could use a makeover and possibly redo some pieces that fill a niche, like the Iktochi Tech; upgrading it with newer abilities or just better ones.

[bountyhunter9]

I like this idea. It's something new that could be a lot of fun.

A 20 piece set is probably too small: we're just adjusting existing pieces, not creating new ones like the NLT. Also, most of the pieces are going to be relatively simple non-Uniques, so they're not going to need months of work to complete. A 40 piece set is the lowest I would suggest we go, but a 60 piece set wouldn't be too much more work.

I don't think we would want to redo a large number of less-than-playable, basic characters from the early sets. A lot of the weaker choices would be somewhat useful with minor stat increases (ie the CS Klatooinian Enforcer) or cost reductions (ie the Dark Side Enforcer). But do we want to redo a piece, like the Clone Trooper, that is 99% outclassed by other pieces but has been reprinted multiple times and is a "staple" grunt in the Star Wars universe? The Rebel Trooper would be in the same boat.

Some of these simpler pieces would probably be easier fixed with character-specific commanders or abilities than stat changes (how much can you change them while keeping them as basic as possible?). We could change the pieces that already try to do this, but fail (I think the Rebel Trooper has a captain or commander, but I don't know for sure).

[surfrider56]

So, BH are you saying we should do a 40 piece set out of each of the first few 60 piece sets or maybe take 10-15 out of the first few sets and make one 40 piece set?

We seem to be grinding down to a halt again; yet I notice we had 48 "Guests" visit us in the last 24 hours, but the only ones who ever post are the Usual Suspects.

Well, either we do this or not, but I think we also need to make decisions or not.

As Yoda would say .... "Do or Do Not, there is no Try."

[gwek]

I gotta be honest: the V-Sets have taken a lot of the fun out of SWM for me. I don't mean that to sound like a dig at the V-Sets... in fact, I suppose it's sort of the opposite.

For me, the fun of creating customs has come from two sources:

1) Making a piece that WotC was not likely to make
2) Making it feel like a piece that WotC COULD have produced

The V-Sets seem far more likely to produce the pieces that I would want to see than the WotC sets. And since only one set has come out, I don't have a sense yet of what a SWM piece should "feel like" these days. (That leaves me with the option of grasping and hoping for the best, veering off in a whole new direction [which has never been satisfying for me], or sticking with the "traditional WotC feel" [which already seems out of step]).

If you've followed me on my ramble so far, you're probably asking "What's your point, George?" I guess it's this: If we get a project going, I will happily participate, but I don't expect to have the dedication that I had for TNL20.

I hope we do come up with something to do--whether it's Redemption or not--but I'm probably not going to be the guy hitting every thread every night any more.

[Dendrite]

Jan 18, 2011 20:09:22 GMT -5 gwek said:

I gotta be honest: the V-Sets have taken a lot of the fun out of SWM for me. I don't mean that to sound like a dig at the V-Sets... in fact, I suppose it's sort of the opposite.

For me, the fun of creating customs has come from two sources:

1) Making a piece that WotC was not likely to make
2) Making it feel like a piece that WotC COULD have produced

The V-Sets seem far more likely to produce the pieces that I would want to see than the WotC sets. And since only one set has come out, I don't have a sense yet of what a SWM piece should "feel like" these days. (That leaves me with the option of grasping and hoping for the best, veering off in a whole new direction [which has never been satisfying for me], or sticking with the "traditional WotC feel" [which already seems out of step]).

If you've followed me on my ramble so far, you're probably asking "What's your point, George?" I guess it's this: If we get a project going, I will happily participate, but I don't expect to have the dedication that I had for TNL20.

I hope we do come up with something to do--whether it's Redemption or not--but I'm probably not going to be the guy hitting every thread every night any more.

I too, must admit that I have a lot less time than I did in the summer while we were working on NLT. And with my senior year at high school coming to an increasingly fast end, my life will be pretty different once I start college and acting.

You know what they say: "Always in motion is the future"

[bountyhunter9]

Jan 25, 2011 22:50:19 GMT -5 Dendrite said:

Jan 18, 2011 20:09:22 GMT -5 gwek said:

I gotta be honest: the V-Sets have taken a lot of the fun out of SWM for me. I don't mean that to sound like a dig at the V-Sets... in fact, I suppose it's sort of the opposite.

For me, the fun of creating customs has come from two sources:

1) Making a piece that WotC was not likely to make
2) Making it feel like a piece that WotC COULD have produced

The V-Sets seem far more likely to produce the pieces that I would want to see than the WotC sets. And since only one set has come out, I don't have a sense yet of what a SWM piece should "feel like" these days. (That leaves me with the option of grasping and hoping for the best, veering off in a whole new direction [which has never been satisfying for me], or sticking with the "traditional WotC feel" [which already seems out of step]).

If you've followed me on my ramble so far, you're probably asking "What's your point, George?" I guess it's this: If we get a project going, I will happily participate, but I don't expect to have the dedication that I had for TNL20.

I hope we do come up with something to do--whether it's Redemption or not--but I'm probably not going to be the guy hitting every thread every night any more.

I too, must admit that I have a lot less time than I did in the summer while we were working on NLT. And with my senior year at high school coming to an increasingly fast end, my life will be pretty different once I start college and acting.

You know what they say: "Always in motion is the future"

I have also been quite busy lately because of first semester exams, but I should have a lot more time now.

I also agree that the VSet does take some of the fun out of customizing. I'll occasionally find a character to make stats for or come up with an idea that I'll try to work into a character. Those moments are less frequent now, probably because of the VSet.

That said, can we do this project? I think so. But I can't speak for everybody else. Guys?

[surfrider56]

We all seem to be in agreement; with no actual new pieces coming out, along with new, "official" powers and abilities, and the toll the NLT took out of all of us, the V-Set age seems to have diminished us all in some way. I havn't taken up either an Exacto, a paint brush or even a serious stab at a custom stat since September.

However, I think enough of us still love this that we can muster up energy. One of the reasons I proposed a smaller set was for the very reasons we've all claimed here; a combination of limited time and the loss of interest in some small way.

How about this ... lets aim for something limited like 10-15 pieces out of the first three sets RS, CS, & Revenge. If we're going to do this, lets get going. My grades are turned in, you younglings are done with your finals, lets set up some parameters and get going. If nothing else, its time to put someting new into our lives and kill off the dullness

As Gw said, Star Wars - Redemption anyone?