That's why the title is "Problem" I can't think of a good solution either. Just checking if I have not overlooked something obvious here.
Okay, so if you don't want to implement different quality levels; you don't want to modify the quantities used based on skill; and you don't want to modify the quantities produced, then why the fuck bother with having a skill level at all? And what's with the ""Come on people please" condescending bullshit? Are you out of your damned mind?
[quote name='Acharis' timestamp='1319210169' post='4875060']
That's true you can use less resources in some cases (like carpentry), but you can't use it for bricks (no matter the skill, you always use the same amount of clay to make a brick).
Not Necessarily true. An unskilled brick maker might use 3 times as much clay because the first two don't turn out. You don't have to show to the user that the first two didn't turn out but you can infer it by the fact that it takes more materials.
[/quote]Failure rate... OK, maybe for low level brick maker it would make sense (still, I don't see how average brick maker could waste any brick, therefore there won't be any difference between average and excellent), but what about other activities like milling grain to flour or threshing? You can't really really waste resources there
Typically, in games the crafting system is about making complex stuff (swords, armours) and there quality and failure rate works. But here, with these very primitive products it can't be used...
No matter how I would think, I still can not imagine any game (even a building simulation) where 10 brick types are present There has to be one type of brick. That's the nature of bricks. Only one type of brick exist in the real world. I really shouldn't make a game more complex and detailed than reality Games are supposed to be simplier than reality, not more complex.
You aren't thinking like a game designer with all those "can't"s in your OP. If you want skill levels to matter you can easily tweak or add features until they do.
The suggestions you've gotten so far would work, namely the ability to make better products (this approach keeps more of your current design intact than others). You don't have to have fifty types of bricks, but you could have ten without a lot of hassle, as long as the type or quality is meaningful.
Or you could have higher skill allow the player to use better equipment which in turn produces more things with less stamina. Or other options. The bottom line is that if your current design doesn't allow for different quality of products or rates of production, then it probably doesn't allow for different skill levels either. So either be willing to adjust the design or ditch the idea of skill levels, but don't imagine that the constraints your design places on you are in any way absolute.
Now you are not thinking like a designer. We can't give up so easily Some solution should exist.
if your current design doesn't allow for different quality of products or rates of production, then it probably doesn't allow for different skill levels either
Yes... Production with less stamina (time used) is logical and realistic in all cases. But here I have a small problem with the numbers. The crafting action use between 3 and 5 stamina, that's not enough to make any discounts... With 3 stamina -1 is equal to 33% and -2 equal to 66%. That would be enough for 2 levels of the skill only (alse these skills levels would be very powerful ones).
Or you could have higher skill allow the player to use better equipment which in turn produces more things with less stamina.
- I don't want to make stamina non integer, the confusion and ugliness of this solution would make me prefer to drop the whole skill system
- adding one digit (so 30-50 stamina per action) would solve it but the stamina numbers would go higher in the whole game (and I have to display them as numbers for that project) and no other system in the game need the higher precision of stamina, so I'm very reluctant to do it
- making a percentage chance to refund 1 stamina after action completion is a bit strange one but would work
Are there any other options how to modify stamina?