Don't Stop Til You Get Enough

So yeah, once I completed the Gear Macros for my database I got another bug up my ass and decided to add a Craft Calculator to it.  I've had a calculator I created in Excel for some time now, but I've always felt it was a bit limited and now seemed like a good time to flesh out all my ideas and place the whole thing in Access.

Now, making a crafting calculator isn't the most straightforward thing if you want to do it right as there are a number of factors to consider.  The first of these factors is breaks, SE put a maximum success rate of 95% on everything, but when you are under the craft's synth level, the percentages drop to as low as 50% (anything 11 levels and under can't be crafted at all).  Now the standard calculators don't take into account just how far below the synth level you are, they just factor in 50% and leave it at that.  However, the closer you get to the synth level, the less chance of breaks so the first stage of my calculations and to take this progression into account.  The next factor is HQ Rate, once again this takes into account your levels, but unlike break rates the HQ rates are tiered and much easier to factor in.  The difference I had to look at was the percentage each stage of the craft yield could HQ, and this is where the calculations turn into a mile long statement.  After all of that was processed, I had to create a way that would display single yield items (like armor and weapons) and stack items (food and ammo) in the same form without making the form appear too busy.

When it was all said and done, I decided to add some flair.  The first thing was being able to search for a craft, this is useful because the database holds all of the data input (by design) and without being able to search against it, one could lose track of their calculations very quickly.  I also added a NQ/HQ compass and NQ/HQ days that change based on the crystal used in the synth.  Getting the look of the HQ/NQ parts actually took much longer than writing the code and formulas.  At any rate, the two below images are just a couple of examples.