Lucas Arts

By Omri Petitte
Contributing Writer

BioWare’s aversion to forcing players to rummage through bushes for crafting materials plays a significant role in its innovative approach to resource collecting and item creation.

Massively multiplayer online games typically suffer from extremely mundane crafting systems, but Lucas Arts “Star Wars:The Old Republic’s” introduction of non-player companion characters—a staple of BioWare games—cleanly takes care of all the muckwork inherent in crafting.

The secret? Delegation.

“We drew a line in the sand when it came to boring tasks in ‘The Old Republic,’” says lead writer Daniel Erickson. “We constantly ask ourselves, ‘What would Darth Vader do?,’ and it certainly wouldn’t involve making 60 pairs of boots.”

TOR’s “crew skills” system is split into three main categories: gathering, crafting and missions. The whole shebang is designed for players to capitalize on their retinue of companions who join up throughout the course of the game.

“You can take one companion with you for questing, but what about the rest of the group left behind on your ship?” Erickson asks. “The crew skills system was created to put them to work for you.”

And the entire process can be completely hands-off. “We’re giving the player the power to say, ‘Hey, I’m in charge, and I’ve always got something for my crew to do,’ which adheres to the heroic theme of the films,” Erickson says.

For example, the gathering aspect of the crew skills system can be used to tap into hard-to-reach resource nodes.

Let’s say you spot some tricky mineral ore behind a formidable beastie; grab the creature’s attention and send your companion after the node. They’ll scoop up the precious cargo and lope back to your side.

In fact, players can set their companions to automatically harvest any nearby resources, allowing you to focus on more important matters, like killing things in the name of the Sith Empire or the Republic within the much-touted, story-driven gameplay.

“Crafting” takes place entirely on your ship. Once more, you don’t have to lift a finger to get results. Simply call forth your crew members and give them orders to get crafting. Afterwards, you can kick back in your captain’s quarters, relax and fire up a game of “Sabacc” while your team toils away at the workbench.

And even though crafting times vary “from five minutes to 23 hours,” according to Erickson, “You don’t have to be online to progress your projects.”

Essentially, this liberating feature turns the crafting in “TOR” into a measure of time rather than an arbitrary skill number.

“Set your jobs, give your crew something to craft, and sign off. They’ll keep right on working until the next time you sign on.” he said.

“What are the great parts of crafting? The social aspect, the prestige, and being able to show your stamp of approval on the things you make.” Erickson noted. “What’s not exciting? Watching a status bar 60 times in a row while staring at a wall.”

And finally, even brave, silver-tongued heroes need a break from adventuring and hobnobbing with prominence throughout the galaxy. Enter the “mission system,” perhaps the most lucrative, risky and unique feature of crew skills.

Companions can be sent on a variety of missions ranging from diplomatic negotiations (which earn you “Dark side” or “Light side” morality points) to chance-heavy treasure hunts.

“Every companion is better suited for specific types of missions, and hence a higher chance to get that sweet piece of loot, or an extra bunch of morality points.” Erickson said.

Sending the spunky Twi’lek Vette—whose resume includes the occupation of “treasure hunter”—to find loot will usually yield better results than sending someone else. Assigning the witty Kaliyo Djannis to conduct talks can nudge you a little further towards the Light side or Dark side.

Ultimately, crew skills empower players to “do something interesting and active” with their companions. And while the notion of fashioning dozens of boots may not jive with Darth Vader’s aesthetic, your faithful crew’s eagerness to gather resources, produce higher quality items and complete missions for you, certainly increases the fun factor in a galaxy far, far away.