For climbing its this:
You have ropes or chains or something flexible. You have the option of special shoes or gloves and harnesses. You also have pitons and a hammer. Based on your skill, modified by the lead climber of course, and the steepness of the face plus maybe its handhold score(which you can change by carving handholds) you have a small chance of falling every time you try to move. If you fall you drop down to your last piton just like real climbing.
As I said you can modify difficulty by carving handholds, this was something done by Native Americans at Mesa Verde. You can also leave your pitons and ropes up. You could build and leave a rope ladder. In theory, although it would take a long time, you could carve out steps or the inside of the mountain and whatever other things I have forgotten. I suppose technically this stuff is more crafting than mini-game but the piton and rope part is a mini-game.

Is workable I agree

You could play the entire game just being a boat captain on a trading vessel.

Absolutely - I made an analogy earlier to people playing WoW just to play with the Auction House.

What I am trying to do is steer the thread back onto track in seeking detailed responses. Admittedly I tend to takes aspects out of some people's posts but can you argue that in your posts that you are necessarily providing the detail in similar level to the 1st page including your intial post, which while talking in context of your game still bought valid material to the thread's discussion. A near infinite list of professions is easy enough to complete and moreover it is easy enough to create activities for each of them but in the context of trying to find thoughtful and meaningful posts I don't want what can be easily presented but rather imaginative, relevant, new ways of thinking "Out of the Box" ideas the restriction upon which is that there is no restriction other than it be in keeping with the theme of the thread. I am not trying to piss you off. Indeed you have made valid contributions to the thread. What I am not wanting though, is to lose focus with the thread and have it transform into some other animal, which our current conversation threatens to do.

I am not mad, mostly just confuzzled.

Are you not asking for different professions? Or a description of a specific one? A profession that no one has used before?

Would the teacher one be an example? That's not really a profession but an extra activity that affects all professions. Uncommon implementations of old professions?

I was thinking about getting some more sciencey stuff in games. Like using simplified organic chemistry to implement poisons and acids.

I was thinking about getting some more sciencey stuff in games. Like using simplified organic chemistry to implement poisons and acids.

This!

Now expand a profession out of it in such a way that you think a player might enjoy that profession for inordinately long periods of time inside an MMO where they might also raid, pvp etc. i.e. create a functional profession that is enticing to the player, useful in the larger aspect of an MMO (genre is irrelevant). Be creative. You might reference back to Jefffereytitans posts and my responses with regards one way that might be handled.

The teacher one as you go through the posts has probably evolved into a secondary i.e. common to all players, type of profession which to be honest was a result of your initial post.

[quote name='AltarofScience' timestamp='1334160607' post='4930288']
I was thinking about getting some more sciencey stuff in games. Like using simplified organic chemistry to implement poisons and acids.

This!

Now expand a profession out of it in such a way that you think a player might enjoy that profession for inordinately long periods of time inside an MMO where they might also raid, pvp etc. i.e. create a functional profession that is enticing to the player, useful in the larger aspect of an MMO (genre is irrelevant). Be creative. You might reference back to Jefffereytitans posts and my responses with regards one way that might be handled.

The teacher one as you go through the posts has probably evolved into a secondary i.e. common to all players, type of profession which to be honest was a result of your initial post.
[/quote]

Okay thats a little more clear. You are more concerned about new mechanics rather than professions. An if I add this mechanic what possible things can it be used for.

The orgo chem thing is a subset of alchemy. Basically creatures have various body chemistry with stuff in their blood and cells and some chemicals can react. So you try to find a way to do that. Typical stuff like cyanide blocking cell respiration. So you could maybe test or sample blood and then try to find a chemical which can mess with their chemistry. Also some animals may have magic energy in their system and it may nullify poison so maybe you get some Otataral style dust to counteract that and let your poison work. Conversely something might be killed merely by applying the anti magic dust if its critical to life systems.

You may also make antidotes and such this way. Further you could create potions that improve health and growth and nutrition, say you were a breeder and wanted to raise new plants or animals.


I actually did design a really complex magic system with interactions with crafting and enchanting that was quite unique compared to what I've seen discussed or implemented. but I think I have taken up enough posts here. I want to see what other people have come up with.

Using the above example as a guide I would be interested in other “crafting” professions can people think of that could work in a similar vein

Not exactly breeding based, but something different.
Have you played world of goo?
[media][/media]
Imagine crafting a sword with goo balls. You are given a frame (walls enclosing a sword frame?). It will be put to certain tests (particulary tests for hardness and durability), and the results of these tests will determine the stats of the sword.

A crafter will have to gain profficiency crafting a type of item. The higher his level in crafting that type of item, the more/better goo balls he has at his disposal. Still it is up to the player to actually craft a good design, and it can't be copied, meaning every single sword will have to be handcrafted in this way.
The best designs will be available on the net, but there would still be minor variations. An unusually good result would sell for a lot. It's also possible to make the best designs quite difficult to accomplish, so that many might decide to use a suboptimal design which has a higher chance of actually producing something useful, so that they won't waste expensive raw materials.

For swords, I see general types of swords. sword, long sword, two-hander, dagger (can be many more). Each of these types will have their own frame. Additionaly they will be subdivided into group of materials used. This could be wood, iron, obsidian or steel swords. When creating an iron sword, you will be able to use your iron (in the form of goo balls) to craft your iron sword. The higher level the crafter is, the more goo balls can max be used (and pherhaps some other stuff).

Items with cheap materials (wood), could be given a frame with walls, acting as a very good support structure. Items with good materials could get a gradually poorer support structure. However, you also gain means to help your structure. It could be baloons, keeping your structure from falling, or goo balls (materials) which is meant for building your own support structure (probably much cheaper than the actual materials used in the sword).

A score could be given to the final product, and they could be named "fine iron sword", "dull iron sword" and so on. You could also give an iron sword, a slightly different graphical appearance based on it's quality.

I've thought of possible mini games for crafting before without coming up with something very good, but I believe this world of goo mixed with crafting has good potential.

One idea i had soem time ago (which i can't really do because i barely make text games right know), is to actually let the player create the scheme of a weapon/tool/spells/whatever, just like the breeding idea but generalized.

Just creating some basic variables like density of a metal and how long the weapon is, you allow the players to be the creative entity, and not having to go and create an creative AI someone mentioned, you let the player be what he wants, giving him the ability to truly craft something, and possibly stories too (dwark fortress is an example where you can create lots of things from the softcoded part of the game, and could give ideas).

Another idea is making the crafting system more player-oriented, instead of giving skills as the only way to be better, mix up some player interaction, so that, for example, hammering the sword at the right time sharpens it better and gives a better attack bonus.

EDIT: Don't really know how, but i found this pen and paper RPG where you can build spells and machines, it's pretty nice and maybe gives a way to implement what i said.

Imagine crafting a sword with goo balls. You are given a frame (walls enclosing a sword frame?). It will be put to certain tests (particulary tests for hardness and durability), and the results of these tests will determine the stats of the sword.

I haven't actually played goo balls - sounds interesting - By effectively collecting the right materials you could unlock certain amounts and type of goo balls that could be used in such a way. I do like the idea of a structured shape mapping system - creation professions would mix well with this - how this would translate to new design creation as in mapping an object into the game will probably be interesting.

Just creating some basic variables like density of a metal and how long the weapon is, you allow the players to be the creative entity, and not having to go and create an creative AI someone mentioned, you let the player be what he wants, giving him the ability to truly craft something, and possibly stories too (dwark fortress is an example where you can create lots of things from the softcoded part of the game, and could give ideas).

Another idea is making the crafting system more player-oriented, instead of giving skills as the only way to be better, mix up some player interaction, so that, for example, hammering the sword at the right time sharpens it better and gives a better attack bonus.

Yeah this sort of creation with recipe of action works well in a lot of ways. Time invested into the creation of a weapon for example should be meaningful without being a slide bar filling up process.

Using a combination of both your ideas into one would be a nice trick to do imo. Either of you have any ideas how you would do that in making of an Axe for example?

first, i forgot to put the link in the edit part.

http://www.semiautomagic.org/

Now, how to do an axe?

Possibly, you need some quantity of wood for the handle (if you feel like using wood, could be bones or metal) and metal for the cutting part.

You shape the axe in some way following the design, the handle in a separate step if it is a separate part (a wood handle for example), possibly by choosing when to heat the metal, when to hammer it, when to cool it with water, and carving the handle with a knife.

you have to sharpen it to some extent, you have to make sure it's not too sharpened or it would be easy to break in a battle, there's a lot of complexity in you can have, and of course you wouldn't pretend everyone that plays to be an expert crafter, so some things should be made easier.

What could you have? weight of the metal used affecting the movement and strength of the hit in a weapon, density making armors more or less protective, a clear difference between stabbing, slashing and blunt weapons. There's a lot of things that could be done.

Ah no - I think you missed my point about trying to merge your post with ImmoralAtheist's post about goo balls -- basically a way of implementing both ideas into one cohesive dynamic by which you could make an axe.

Thanks for the link will look through it now. And am an old fan of the D&D systems

ohh, a mix of world of goo and the idea of creating designs? that'd be nice, and doesn't seem like a difficult idea to implement, each "goo" could be a node in the Axe you said before, possibly with some sort of "design perfection" in a mix of time taken to build the weapon and correcteness in design to get a damage system ranking?