This was posted on the SWG beta forums.

Since I'm tired of crafting bugs I'll talk about my favorite thing in crafting.
Experimentation.

Experimentation is how a crafter can make an item that has far better stats then the defaults for that item. I believe that with experimentation it is theoretically possible to double any attribute of an item.

Materials

When you sample a resource you need to really pay attention to the stats for that material. Materials have a bunch of stats that tend to vary depending on the type of material. Some examples are durability, quality, conductivity, etc. Knowing which materials have which properties is very important. Each material characteristic can be from 0-1000. Ive never seen any over 1000 so I'm assuming thats the limit.

When you sample a material it has several names. It might be titanium aluminum. This is the generic name for that material. I believe this has a general impact on the properties of the material. The other name you see is a generated name for that material. I think these names vary from planet to planet and when materials regen will change. So for example the titanium aluminum is Fone this time next time is Ossime. Or sometimes both types might exist. The key is that each type is different. BTW I also believe that animal hides, meat and bones are the same. They also have secondary names. These secondary names will i suspect change over time.

Now that you understand materials you need to understand your schematics. Shematics tell you what materials you need but they also tell you what characteristics of the materials are important. For example a CDEF pistol, if you look at the information on the schematic you will see that experimentation/damage is 50% conductivity and 50% quality. It will also list other attributes of that item. These vary from item to item. Duration might be 33% decay resistance, 33% material toughness, 33% quality. These percentages are the relative values of the material characteristics contribution to that attribute.

Putting it together.

Ok so you want to make a kick ass CDEF pistol? First what attributes do you want to make best. Damage? Ok damage. Look at the experimental/damage information in the schematic. You see that conductivity and quality are the main material characteristics.

So we head out and do some surveying. We note that from the schematic most of the ingredients are metals so we sample a few metals. We look at their conductivity and quality. We get steel, aluminum, copper. We discover that copper has the highest conductivity. Then we search for all the coppers. We look for the one with the highest sum of conductivity and quality. In my experience you should be able to find one that is in the 1500-1600 range. Now the CDEF pistol also needs a chemical. So we sample some chemicals. They don't have any conductivity (at least I dont' think I saw any that do) so you focus on quality. You should be able to get on in the 900 range.

Now take your materials and head back into town. When you get to town you can wander around looking for a public weapon crafting machine. One thing you might try is doing a /find and look for a university guild. They usually have public crafting machines inside. When you find your crafting machine you are ready to start.

Make the pistol the way you would normally using your selected materials. When you make it use a weapon crafting kit. When you click next to put the materials together instead of getting the little dialog showing you the item and letting you name it you get a dialog with 3 buttons. Make the item, make a schematic, and experiment. If you chose to make the item it will produce it like normal. If you chose to make a schematic it will put a schematic in your datakit in the same area with waypoints. I think then you can take the schematic to a manufacturing maching to make lots of identical items. Finally experiment. Click on experiment.

Ok this screen has 5 areas. In the upper left it shows your current status for the item you are making. In the right upper area it shows the picture of the item and little bar on the far right showing the difficulty of making the item. On the lower left is a bar showing how many experimentation points you have. In the middle are the attributes you can experiment with. And on the right is a red bar showing the risk of failure based on the number of experimentation points you are using.

Ok we are focusing on damage. To use an experimentation point click on the little boxes above the attribute you want to enhance. If you click the left most box it will spend 1 point if you click further to the right it will spend more. You can either spend your points one at a time or you can spend them all at once. However hte more you spend at once the greater the chance of failure. I recommend spending them one at a time. So click the left box by damage. Then click the run button. You will see the effect of your experimentation. You will see that the damage is maybe 21%. If you click the next box and run again it will go up again to maybe 31%. You will notice a little bar below the boxes. This is a bar that shows you how far you can go based on your materials. So if you are using 1500 and high quality chemicals you will probably be able to go upto 70-80% before the bar is full. If you still have experimentation points you can put them into other areas.

Once you have used all your points click the button I think it is called make experiment or something like that. This will bring you back to the earlier menu and allow you to make a prototype or make a schematic. Make a prototype. You now have an awesome cdef pistol that does far more damage than normal. Congratulations and welcome to the world of experimentation. You might try experimenting on other items like repair kits or crafting kits.

I hope this guide helps you with experimentation.

One/many points at a time Posted @ Tue, Dec 7th 7:57 PM 2004 By: Stuey 1 posts Score: Decent [3.00] Thank you for the great guide, R-Niner. Just wanted to back up your claim that it is better to use the experimentation points one at a time with some numbers. So here goes: You are experimenting on a Survival Knife. Putting one experiment point in Damage gives you an 8% failure rate, and adding another point raises that rate to 13%. So, if you add two points to damage one at a time, you chance of succeeding both times is 0.92*0.92 = 84.64%. You have a 6.4% chance of failing both times, and an 8.96% (100%-84.64%-6.4%) chance of succeeding one time out of two. So, your average success rate is ((0.8464)(2)) + ((0.064)(0)) + ((0.0896)(1)/2 = 1.7824/2 = 89.12%. In other words, 89.12% of your points will be put to good use. However, if you add the two points at once, your chance of succeeding is 87%. Since you lose both points the whole other 13% of the time, this means that only 87% of your points are used. Adding points one at a time may have its disadvantages (e.g., increasing insurance costs), but it does maximize the item's potential.   ---------------------------- ******************************** CEO & Founder, Bolton Industries 0 Replies

Resource Stats Posted @ Mon, Sep 22nd 4:28 PM 2003 By: EQbubs Scholar 65 posts Score: Decent [3.00] anyone tell me what the other stats of resource apply to in crafting?  specifically towards med crafting? (the stats i'm referring to are maliability, etc) thankx                                                      ---------------------------- "Kneel before me!!!" says the evil priestess 1 Reply

RE: Resource Stats Posted @ Thu, Feb 26th 2:07 PM 2004 By: guyvii Scholar 31 posts Score: Decent [3.02] for meds you want overall quality for power (generally ) and UT for charges. Someone said maliability is something that help make experimentation better but this is undocumented and they were not sure.                                         ---------------------------- Master TKA |Master Doctor | scout Now that you are fully Buffed, I dubb thee, "The Emperor's Right Foot", now go kick some Rebel buttocks. 0 Replies

Meaning Posted @ Sun, Sep 7th 11:43 PM 2003 By: Merkutio, Eater of Souls Scholar 62 posts Score: Decent [3.49] Very interesting guide -and helpful- as I myself have dabbled somewhat in the arts of crafting. Whether it be medical supplies, traps, or weaponry, what R-Niner intends in this post is a very insightful and abiguously applicable point. That point being, no matter what you are crafting, experimentation is key.  Insurance afteraffects, complexity, are non-issues. His point is that by experimenting, you can change almost any characteristic, or trait, of a crafted item. His examples of a CDEF Pistol and Damage are just used as a universally understandable illustration. Whether you are crafting stim-c's that you want customers with lower medical skills to be able to apply, or crafting monster damage flamethrowers -experimentation, and examining all aspects of each materials traits- are key in successfully making an item that is above and beyong the norm. Therefore making the product you wish to supply one that others will demand. Overall, he makes key points through his example that myself, as well as others, may have overlooked in our crafting endeavors. Flaming him on HAM costs, Insurance costs, his choice of a CDEF, is a waste of board space. If you don't understand, don't speak. If you do understand, you'll notice this was an insightful guide that R-Niner took the time to post, and I would just like to say thanks for it. Good luck all, Keep safe in your travels. Imperial Warrant Officer Fuhror Fencer - Scylla   ---------------------------- Zamochit, CM of Scylla Pecheur, Scylla 0 Replies

Guide Posted @ Mon, Aug 4th 9:12 AM 2003 By: Anonymous Score: Default [2.00] LoL 3 Gems                                                                                0 Replies

GRT GUIDE Posted @ Mon, Aug 4th 9:09 AM 2003 By: azazale, Eater of Souls 9 posts Score: Decent [3.00] Very infomative to say the least. As  a new player to SWG it was and still is somewhat...Overwhelming. lol Thanx for the Good info keep it coming                                                      0 Replies

Good Guide Posted @ Sun, Jul 27th 2:28 AM 2003 By: AnastaysiaFantaysia 4 posts Score: Decent [3.00] I liked the guide but would like to add one main point to experimentation that I learned along the way - Start experimenting from the beginning.  Collect the best resources and experiment to create one or two great crafting tools. Then use your best resources IN the great crafting tools WHILE experimenting to make QUALITY items. If you start off good it will stockpile so that that stats just keep getting better and better. Also, carry this onto components of Larger crafting such as buildings. Use the best resources, great crafting tools, and continue the process to make the best components you can and finally the best building. In the end pennies add up and you will have a stronger and more efficient product.   1 Reply

RE: Good Guide Posted @ Tue, Jul 29th 9:32 PM 2003 By: Anonymous Score: Decent [3.00] For weapons I find the followign more important than just damage: 1) HAM cost, since most attacks will be specials HAM cost is important(unless its that rifle for just pulling then its all about range accuracy and damage) 2) Speed.  Sometimes higher speed is even better than higher damage, this is especially true for things like pistol. 3) Average damage. Sometimes a lower Min Damage is just as good as a high Max Damage, if not more. Low Min Damage ensures a 1 hit kill to clean up annoying aggro creatures, saving time during travel/credit-runs.   1 Reply  RE: Good Guide Posted @ Fri, Aug 1st 10:53 AM 2003 By: Krahn Guru 15 posts Score: Decent [3.00] Yeah, reducing HAM cost is always a priority, especially for Carbines.  Their HAM costs are insane!                                                                   0 Replies

Question Posted @ Fri, Jul 25th 9:33 AM 2003 By: Qyet 4 posts Score: Decent [3.00] Can you do this before you make a Weaponsmith?                                                                                1 Reply

RE: Question Posted @ Fri, Jul 25th 7:27 PM 2003 By: SlackerBoy 27 posts Score: Decent [2.68] Yep, You sure can.                                                                                0 Replies

Experimentation Posted @ Thu, Jul 24th 11:08 AM 2003 By: Krahn Guru 15 posts Score: Decent [3.00] Mostly a good guide, but... I disagree with spending one experiment point at a time.  Doing this will greatly increase the complexity of the item. Now, you may be thinking 'So what?'. The problem is, complexity is directly related to the cost of insurance, the higher the complexity, the more it costs to insure the item. OK, you still may be thinking 'So what?' If you don't mind screwing over your customers, go on thinking that. What you don't realize is that your customers will soon become my customers when they realize they are getting a better quality item from me. Obviously this doesn't matter for some items, but just think of all the extra time you are wasting making all of those extra mouse clicks. The faster you produce the items, the more you have to sell, and the fater you advance in your career. BTW, I almost always get a 'Great Success' whether I spend 2 points or 7 points at once. I haven't noticed a change in success rates depending on how many points I spend at once...   0 Replies

guide Posted @ Thu, Jul 17th 9:09 AM 2003 By: Anonymous Score: Default [2.00] I think that this was an ok introductry guide.  However, You would want to put your experimentation points into efficiency to reduce the hams on better weapons. The part about materials making a difference is very true.                                         0 Replies

Good guide Posted @ Thu, Jul 10th 4:14 PM 2003 By: Anonymous Score: Default [2.00] Great basic guide. Those guys talking smack about the CDEF probably don't even realize how much you can increase the damage with a little experimentation. Not saying it's a great gun, but when it's all you can make it's worth a little time to make a good one.                                         0 Replies

Instant Celebrity!?!?! $$$$ Posted @ Thu, Jul 10th 3:47 AM 2003 By: Anonymous Score: Default [1.50] the main thing of this guide is that he explained it without releasing exploits that can get you lvled extremly fast in artist... for example, i made eng 4, dom arts 3, business 3, and suvey 4 in about 8 hours.                                         2 Replies

Nice guide Posted @ Thu, Jul 10th 6:09 AM 2003 By: Anonymous Score: Default [2.00] Nice experimentation giude.  Womdered what it was all about. Thanks                                                                   0 Replies  RE: Instant Celebrity!?!?! $$$$ Posted @ Thu, Jul 10th 6:05 AM 2003 By: Anonymous Score: Default [2.00] No chance you did that. Share it if you did.                                                                                1 Reply  RE: Instant Celebrity!?!?! $$$$ Posted @ Fri, Jul 25th 3:47 PM 2003 By: Anonymous Score: Default [2.00] It's all about resources.  You can make a ton of quick xp crafting weapons. you just need the right stuff and be set up with enough crafting tools to keep a continual building process. Also having a friend that can train you for free is helpful. I made master artisan, and am moving up the ladder of weaponsmith rather quickly.               0 Replies

Adjusting Range Posted @ Tue, Jul 8th 3:16 PM 2003 By: Anonymous Score: Default [2.00] To change your range on a tool you have already set, you need to access the radial menu on it from within your inventory. It will appear as a submenu called "Tool Options" (I think).                                                       0 Replies

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RE: darrik Posted @ Sat, Jul 5th 3:36 AM 2003 By: Anonymous Score: Default [2.00] the gun is an example, it doesn't mean the guide is terrible                                                                    0 Replies

Survey range Posted @ Wed, Jul 2nd 9:54 AM 2003 By: Anonymous Score: Default [2.00] Hol duntil the radial menu comes up, then select tool options, and the range option should drop down from there.  Happy crafting Ahrimann, Weaponsmith, Bloodfin server                                                      0 Replies

how do you increase the range when surveying? Posted @ Wed, Jul 2nd 9:16 AM 2003 By: Anonymous Score: Default [2.00] I just got Surveying II skill (increased range)how do I adjust the range on the tools?                                                                   0 Replies

great guide! Posted @ Mon, Jun 30th 4:52 PM 2003 By: Anonymous Score: Default [2.00] This is an awesome guide, I always wondered what effected my weapons, I could never figure it out, thanks!                                                                   1 Reply

RE: great guide! Posted @ Tue, Jul 22nd 8:55 AM 2003 By: Anonymous Score: Default [1.50] Good guide, thanks To the previous poster: you mean Affected.                                                                     2 Replies  RE: great guide! Posted @ Mon, Aug 4th 9:20 AM 2003 By: Anonymous Score: Default [2.00] LOL 3 Gems!                                                                                0 Replies  RE: great guide! Posted @ Mon, Aug 4th 9:19 AM 2003 By: Anonymous Score: Default [2.00] You got it Linguo.  ;P                                                                                0 Replies

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