Tabula Rasa: Crafting Update

Here is the update on the progress with TR's new Crafting System.
the new system will be up and running and ready for a preview. Note that this system is NOT complete and it is NOT scheduled to be published to the live game with D12. The current D12 preview of the system is functional, version of the new crafting UI. It has changed pretty significantly, and here's a quick rundown of how it works:

1. You activate the system by using (right-clicking) a Crafting Station in the game.
2. The Crafting Window appears showing the Main Menu.
3. Like before, it has an input slot for you to place a recipe or an item in.
4. There is a new type of item, called an Equipment Module, which represents a "loose" loot module removed from an item.
5. Once a recipe, item, or module is placed in the input slot, appropriate menu items awaken and can be selected
6. The menu items are:
1. Fabrication: used for paint recipes and recipes for consumable items
2. Salvage: used to destroy enhanced equipment to receive Mimeogel
3. Extraction: remove a module from the item without destroying it
4. Upgrade: upgrade a module to a higher strength
5. Integration: insert a loose module into a piece of equipment
7. Each submenu displays appropriate costs and requirements
1. These highlight red if the requirement is not met
2. Note that modules have special restrictions and attempting to violate those causes red highlights:
1. An item may only have 1 module of a type on it
3. E.g. only one "Body Bonus" is allowed on one item
8. Modules can only be inserted into the same type of equipment they came from
1. E.g. you cannot extract a module from armor and integrate it into a weapon or tool
9. Each submenu has one or more buttons to perform the desired action using the target item(s)
10. Once clicked, the costs are deducted and the new or modified item(s) are displayed along with a "Take All" button
11. You MUST take any pending outputs into your inventory before doing any further crafting
12. There is no longer a 12-slot crafting output buffer
13. There are no longer any skill requirements for Crafting

The new crafting UI is unpolished and will be improved. Note also that the new crafting system obviates module upgrade recipes and the old crafting components (like Tau Conduits, etc.). This preview version of the system does not remove those items from the game and the crafting skills are still present even though the new system does not use them. The cost structure has been set up with these things in mind:
1. At lower levels, crafting upgrades to your gear should be inexpensive and easy to accomplish
2. Crafting lower quality gear with fewer and weaker modules should always be fairly cheap and easy
3. Crafting top-end high level purple items containing 4x Strength-5 modules will be very expensive but well worth it
By allowing modules to be removed from items, this new system makes it possible to create customized items more easily than before. While you could always add modules to items and upgrade those module strengths, creation of a truly customized item required starting with an item that had no undesirable modules already on it. During D12 we will be collecting feedback about these changes and testing the new system not only for balance within itself but to see what impact on overall PvE and PvP game balance this will have.
This new crafting system is intended to become an integral part of ongoing character development. As such, it is intended to be easily accessible to all players without the need for skill point investment. Salvage creates value for green item loot drops. It should be easy for any player to obtain Mimeogel needed for lower level equipment upgrades. At the very top end, crafting "perfect" purples at levels 45+, will be a big achievement.