SKINR Tool Feedback

[Cannonsteel_Armory]

Definitely agree with the notion of being able to skin for an entire corporation. I could see the situation working well if there were some kind of toggle that allowed CEOs to broadcast available corp skins – or for FCs to toggle a skin in real time to apply it to an entire fleet, at that. The only limitation I could see being obvious here is that one size definitely does not fit all with skins and distinct hull types. I have yet to read someone answering the question of how that would work, outside of flat color applications.

As for most everything else here (or described in threads elsewhere) – the full removal of tax, giving market mobility to skins as tradeable objects, lowering or altogether eliminating sequence time, using EM in consequential ways within the system to save on ISK/PLEX, etc – I think there’s a sharp philosophical divide between folks that want the SKINR system to work as an instant, minimal-cost personal transmogrifier and folks that would rather it now thrive as a profession by keeping its cost/time efficiency rooted in initial skill, nano, and/or pattern investments, and that divide often isn’t acknowledged appropriately enough in these conversations.

The following are a couple of changes I could see working well to make skilling into sequencing as a profession better overall while also somewhat improving quality of life for folks that just want skins for free. Have a look…

@Cannonsteel_Armory

The skills that lower sequencing time (eg. Basic Induction) and skills that allow for more concurrent sequencing jobs (eg. Parallel Sequencing) are nice, but skills like Industrial Sequencing, which only deal with per-sequence volume upwards of a whopping 4700, seem tone-deaf to current demand and accessibility for the consumer base, at least for now.

Hardly any independent designer needs to sequence in volume (yet…) because consumer confidence for purchasing even a single sequenced skin is pretty low, and anyone looking to sequence anything in counts more than 5-10 are taking an incredible risk in doing it. Some community-positive, QoL skills seem to be missing. At the very least, it seems like there are skills and tools that could be implemented to make it easier for individual makers to build a brand.

For example, in an ideal situation, the following skill concepts might work better in tandem with the existing skillsets while still maintaining profit margins for designers/CCP, allowing NES skins to have a continued foothold in the premium skin space, and simply allowing better access overall for individual designers to feel like they’re actually accomplishing something…

• Creative Direction (Senior Creative Direction, Executive Creative Direction) - a skillset that allows one additional save slot per level, to a maximum of +15. (Though, it’s my opinion that this one comes with some subtle caveats if nothing else about the system changes. I might recommend ditching the ability to read pattern slider values before implementing more save slots.)
• Basic Licensing (Expanded Licensing, Universal Syndication) - a skillset that allows for either a reduction of sales tax or a reduction of sequencing cost (but maybe not both), up to a maximum of -15% OR perhaps more interesting, a skill that allows for automatic duplication/triplication/quadruplication (depending on the tier level of skill category, Basic, Expanded, Universal) of sequenced skins when sequenced in bulks of 200+, 100+, 50+, 25+, 10+ (depending on level within the skill category, I-V)
• Studio Efficiency (Improved Studio Efficiency, Major Design House) - a skillset that provides discounts against the application costs of patterns and nanocoatings, up to a maxmium of -15% OR that same kind of discount, but applied as -1% per skill level, up to a maximum of -5% at Skill V, with each skill category (three total) applying to specific design element rarities in ascending order
• Basic Brand Strategy (Improved Brand Strategy, Brand Empire) - a skillset that increases the scope of branding, allowing for an increased available character count for skin naming and line descriptions whle also potentially allowing modified tools for demarcating limited or vintage editions, clearance items, and, potentially, skins on consignment

Food for thought!

EDIT: Also, on the note of skills that promote volume sequencing and how they’re likely problematic at the moment, I should highlight the extreme caveat and risk of producing a high count of any particular skin and listing all of that stack at once. Folks would be right to assume that such a large pile needs to be listed for weeks or months at a time, but, there’s currently (AFAIK) no way to cancel or modify listings. Say you sequence a skin to 2500 and list all 2500 in a single listing for a three-month duration; someone might come along, undercut your design with something markedly similar, and there’s really not much you can do about it until the listing expires naturally. It all just needs a big rethink pretty desperately.