6.6 KiB
Crafting & recipes
Vision for turning inputs into outputs at benches (and similar stations): recipe shape, skill gates, multi-step pipelines, and how crafting stays skill progression while combat use of products follows gig rules.
Runtime ownership: E3.M2 — RefinementAndRecipeExecution validates CraftRequest against RecipeDef, produces CraftResult (success/failure, outputs, reason codes), and mutates inventory server-authoritatively with E3.M3. Inputs include gathering.md outputs, drops, and trade.
Skill roster: Process and Make tables in skills.md (Refine, Fab tech, Data scrub, Make skills, etc.). Chain shape: skills.md Production chains (Gather → Process → Make, branching and depth). Seams (bench vs combat): skills.md — Seams. Item buckets from outputs: items.md. Hybrid vocabulary: progression.md.
Gig vs skill
- Crafting and refining are skills, not gigs. No gig XP from recipe execution—skill XP from successful craft/refine (and related activity) via E2.M2 (progression.md, Epic 2 — Skills Slice 3).
- Bench = skill / recipe gate; equip, wear, combat-deploy for most non-consumable products stays gig-tagged when brought into combat (items.md, Seams). Consumables and general utility may have no gig use gate per item data.
- World gates (rep, licenses, station access) add content without “you picked the wrong class” for the whole economy (skills.md Pillars).
Pipeline (design-facing)
Authoritative recipe graph is data (RecipeDef); design intent:
| Idea | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Depth | Gather → Process → Process → Make (or longer)—intermediates feed intermediates (skills.md Multi-stage processing). |
| Branching | Same inputs can route to different skills or recipes for different outputs (overlapping chains)—dense economy, not a single trunk. |
| Skill per recipe | Each recipe names required skill (and level band TBD); one Process skill is not the only mid-pipeline actor. |
Prototype scope: Epic 3 — Slice 3 (Recipes pipeline) targets a starter recipe set (e.g. 8–12 minimums in epic text) proving gather → refine → item used in combat or quest.
Stations, co-op, and UX
- Station types (personal bench, public fab, corp line, mobile kit)—open;
RecipeDefmay carry station or tag requirements as scope grows. - Crafting for others (commission, party assist)—valid fantasy aligned with items.md Trade and Seams; implementation open.
- Queue, batch, cancel—open UX; server remains authoritative on
CraftResult.
Failure, quality, and mastery
- Craft failure (lost materials vs returned partials vs soft fail)—open; must play nicely with exploit review and E9 integrity patterns when live.
- Quality on output (tier within
ItemDef, bonus stats, durability band)—aligns with items.md Rarity, quality; whether skill level, recipe mastery, input grade, or RNG mix—open math. - Recipe discovery (trainers, experimentation, rep unlocks, data theft fiction)—open; mission grants may teach recipes without replacing do the loop as primary fantasy (skills.md XP).
Module map (crafting-focused)
| Module | Role | Ties to this doc |
|---|---|---|
| E3.M2 | RecipeDef, craft execution |
Core |
| E3.M1 | Gather outputs | Inputs |
| E3.M3 | Costs, outputs, stacks | Inventory |
| E2.M2 | Skill XP on craft | Progression |
| E3.M5 | Faucets/sinks | Craft vs drop parity (later) |
| E7.M1 | Quest steps | Craft objectives / hand-ins |
| E6.M4 | Reward parity | Craft vs other reward lanes |
Decisions log
| Topic | Direction | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Bench vs combat | Craft on skill; combat field use of most non-consumable Make = gig-gated | Agreed (Seams) |
| Pipeline shape | Gather → Process → Make with branching and multi-hop depth | Agreed (skills.md) |
| Craft → skill XP | Skill XP from craft/gather pipes; not gig XP | Agreed (progression.md) |
| Player-made relevance | Crafting is a primary progression lane | Agreed (Epic 3) |
Open questions
- Critical success / crit craft—flavor vs economy distortion.
- Time gating (real-time jobs, offline queue)—fantasy vs session pacing.
- Ammo and consumable churn—how much Make is repeatable grind vs milestone crafts.
- Cross-character recipe locks (account, legacy blueprint)—social and alt policy.
Where to read next
| Topic | Document / module |
|---|---|
| Process / Make skill names | skills.md Process and Make tables |
| Raw inputs from the world | gathering.md |
| Item categories & tooltips | items.md |
| Epic 3 craft slice | Epic 3 — Slice 3 (Recipes pipeline) |
| Gather slice (inputs) | Epic 3 — Slice 2 (Gather nodes) |
| Economy (sinks, trade, tuning) | economy.md |
| Death / loss (durability, repair) | death-loss-recovery.md |
| Risk & security (trade/theft context) | risk-security-bands.md |
| Zones (bench access, district flavor) | zones.md |