Crafting
Learning paths through this topic
Tell the player how many machines each step of a production line needs
A line turns ore into bars and bars into gears, and the player keeps adding machines at the end while the first step starves. A planner that works backwards from the wanted output can name the right count for every step, and also name which step is holding the line back.
Work out offline progress when one machine feeds the next and the shelf fills up
A player comes back after the night and expects the chain to have run. Multiplying each machine's speed by the hours away gives far too much: the second machine had to wait for the first, and the last shelf was full long before morning. This entry replays the time in honest slices.
Reward a restart for what was crafted, without paying twice for the same items
Many idle games let players restart for a lasting bonus based on what they made. Calculate it per run and players reset constantly to farm it. Calculate it from the lifetime total and a second reset right away pays out again. This entry pays exactly once for each bit of progress.
Price "finish now" for a long crafting job so the cost never jumps backwards
Players can spend premium coins to finish a crafting job at once, and the price must grow with the time left. Done carelessly, a job with a minute more to go costs less than one with a minute fewer, or the last few seconds cost a whole coin. This entry sets a price that grows smoothly and feels fair.
Collect pieces of an item across a level and keep them correctly after a death
Five glowing shards are hidden in a level, and the player grabs three, builds the key, then falls into a pit. Does the key stay? Do the shards respawn, and can they be grabbed twice? This entry ties collecting and crafting to checkpoints so every death leaves a believable world.
Earn field-crafting charges by defeating enemies, without banking them forever
A shooter lets the player craft one heal for every five enemies defeated, up to three at once. Players soon stand at the start, bank twenty kills' worth and clear the final room with endless heals. This entry decides where progress stops when the stock is full.
Bring crafted items into a level and get the unused ones back after a crash
The player packs five bombs for a stage and the game closes halfway, because the phone died. When they come back the five bombs are gone from the bag and the level is not finished. This entry keeps a small note so unused items return exactly once, however often the game restarts.
Keep favourite and equipped items out of the ingredients a craft picks by itself
The craft button grabs three iron bars, and one of them is the shiny bar the player was saving for a quest. Or the equipped sword is eaten as a material. This entry marks locked stacks, takes only from the rest, and tells the player when locked items are the reason for a shortage.
Stop crafting pickups from jittering at a player whose bag is full
Ore chunks fly toward the player, reach them, and cannot be picked up because the bag is full. They hover, twitch and block the way, or they vanish and the player loses them. This entry pulls only when something can be taken, takes what fits, and leaves the rest lying there.
Merge three gems into a better one and follow the chain all the way up
Three small gems make one medium gem, three medium make one large. A player with ten small gems and two medium ones presses merge and the result depends on which row the code looks at first. This entry merges in the right order, keeps the leftovers and stops at the top tier.
Let a watched ad speed up a craft, even when the craft finishes during the ad
Watch a short ad and the waiting time is cut in half. Fine, until the job finishes while the ad is still playing, or the player watches the same ad twice for one job, or the app is closed during the ad. This entry applies the boost at the moment the ad is actually completed and never takes the player's time for nothing.
Craft when the bag is full, because the ingredients make room for the result
A small phone bag has twelve slots, all taken. The player wants to turn four logs into a plank, which would free a slot, but the game says the bag is full. Another time the result does not fit at all and vanishes. This entry works out the space after the ingredients are gone and keeps what does not fit.