Suggestion: Create a station-local Supply/Demand driven market for non-manufactured (by player or by NPC) items.

An example of this could be at the conquerable stations for Synthetic Silksteel. The game could set a base price then keep inventory of the item sold by players to that station. Adjust the price according to how much supply is available and what price the item was last sold at. This way players could gather the hive drops and sell them to specific stations at a potentially higher rate than the normal NPC-buy price at other stations. This would also make it possible to buy these items (in limited quantity) that would otherwise have to be farmed.

This may be a somewhat simple way to introduce some more dynamic elements to VO's economy without having to deal with the hassles of a fully dynamic game economy.

A market system for selling and trading collectible items might be a nice transition from the ad-hoc manner in which this is already taking place.

I agree that some form of one of the most requested, needed and still missing aspects of the game would be great. It shouldn't be limited to conquerable stations though. Because...

1: there is no logical reason it would be.
2: if it were, it could be overlooked by newbs for months or even years.
And
3: it's such a basic feature, it should be open to everyone.

Honestly, no one even cares if its all pretty and polished... as long as it's there. Drop in an ugly but functional system and polish it as you go.

Yes, do this.

Other games have similar things (GuildWars has NPC rune traders whose prices adjust based on supply/demand)

I suppose it could be available at all stations without breaking much, but I suggested this being station-local in order to not violate the no-teleportation-of-objects idea that exists in the VO universe. If it was available at all stations it may prompt player convoys to buy quantity from stations which have it to deliver to stations that do not where the demand is high. That could work out well.

The only problem with this idea is it could be abused as a safe/secure way for players to trade items, so i think it should be limited to things like the hive drops which are plentiful, but difficult to transport in the quantities needed.

if by abused you mean, fix the completely unrealistic manner in which players have to jettison cargo into space and run over it with their ships... then yes, there is the risk of abuse. Although if that's the case, you have a strange definition of "abuse".

You can use it to trade within the station, but not in a secured manner - anybody who happens to be docked could buy the goods first. Therefor I am okay with it.

As usual, I'd prefer to see a different first limited implementation of this as:

-Limited to gray factions' stations. (XX, In, Ae, Cv, Tu) stations
-Operating with hive drops and capship components
-Limited storage for items, limited bid placement
-Demand-first mode:
--Player.Buy places an offer on item (bid), and pay in advance (item,quantity,price/each)
--Player.Sell sees the offers and only can sell items that someone requested
--P.Buy and P.Sell have no interaction and no way to know each other

As second implementation, the stations start stocking those items based on previous demand, with prices based on demand.

But how to determine the demand for an item you don't have to sell?
Probably we should have a new trade tab while in those stations for [Black Market], where all items are offered without availability.
Selected items shows sell/buy price. Same interface is used when player is selling items to Black Market
Once a player tries to purchase a missing item, station offers an option for a BID, what register as increased demand.

The station have limited storage for each item, and increasing demand costs credits, both to avoid abuses.

And yes, it becomes a limited "P2P trade in-station". A very good start.
And implementing it limited to gray stations and hive drops + capships components is a good first sandbox to implement full P2P trade...

No, Ryan, by "abused" I mean abused.

I believe player trade is supposed to be risky and rely on trust. I honestly feel like that was intentional, and I think it adds to the game experience. If the game acts as a trusted third party for players to conduct trade through, it completely removes the possibility for an ambush or double-cross. Trading in-station via menus would be completely safe with no risk and that is a big fat BORING.

Alloh, wtf...? Why limit this to grey only? Isn't there enough grey-centric stuff in VO already? And no manufactured capship components. I suggested this for the hive drops because they're already plentiful. It's moving them in quantity that is difficult. Capship components are rare and difficult to manufacture. I honestly don't think VO should have a game-driven auction house for reasons I've already stated above.

To foster capship production. To develop P2P trade and easen collective efforts. To increase interaction.

Why grayspace only? RP-wise, Nations don't want civilians flying cappies. RL-wise, to keep it limited and concentrate players, increasing interactions.

Like, each faction starts purchasing a few items and refusing all others. That is completed by bids/requests and manufacture/delivery by players.

It is like a very limited market model including P2P trade and exotic, valuable items. Proper to a initial deployment.

"RP-wise, Nations don't want civilians flying cappies."

Why not? Players with cappies = more commerce = better economy = stronger nation.

Government opposition to civilian owned HACs and Teradons is one thing, but they should have no problem with Tridents and Connies. (If there is a problem with the Connie, it would indicate that either the Connie is overpowered or the military ships are underpowered - in a fight between a battleship and an oil tanker there should be no fight.)

"If the game acts as a trusted third party for players to conduct trade through, it completely removes the possibility for an ambush or double-cross. Trading in-station via menus would be completely safe with no risk and that is a big fat BORING."

Much in the same way that transporting goods through a mine field, in a war torn nation is "...completely safe with no risk...". I like you, so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you don't actually believe any of that and have some ulterior motive for saying something so patently ridiculous and blatantly untrue.

a room get both of ye
but plz baby do not keep : ]

Both arguments for and against in station P2P trade have been brought up before...

FOR: Current system is ridiculous, unrealistic, incredibly time consuming and conceptually makes about as much sense as yelling at a tree.

AGAINST: Trading in station "...completely removes the possibility for an ambush or double-cross. Trading in-station via menus would be completely safe with no risk and that is a big fat BORING."

Allow me to disagree. One of the many times this was brought up, and met with the same patently ridiculous and blatantly untrue arguments, a brilliantly insightful person pointed out that between A and B there is a whole lot of space with hive, ion storms and a complete lack of station guards and strike force providing any protection what so ever where a person could be pirated, double crossed, robbed, killed... etc... etc...

As the same tired and quite frankly ludicrous argument is being brought up again, I have made a visual representation of some of the many areas a trader will find themselves vulnerable to piracy and other forms of unpleasantness...





These map out the safest and fastest routes as well as showing areas where a person is especially vulnerable to attack. You may note that given all the areas a person might run into pirates or people looking to relieve him or her of their cargoes, the

"completely removes the possibility for an ambush or double-cross. Trading in-station via menus would be completely safe with no risk"...

...argument is null and void. What that argument really translates into is...

"I don't want to have to hunt prey, I want to be able to hit a station, pop the cargo ship, outrun the laughably stupid Station Guards and Strike Force, jump out of sector, jump right back in, grab my own cargo ship and bring the goodies to the station where I can sell them... because I'm too lazy to camp a wormhole and honestly... if I'm too lazy to sit still till I see a ship... I'm definitely too lazy to actually go out and hunt for my targets. Also... if you could just gift wrap them for me, that'd be excellent."

Hey! I like my targets gift-wrapped!

Best post ever from Ryan!

If we were talking on inter-station trade, then it would kill piracy in VO. But since both players must reach and leave the same station at same time to actually trade, and we are restricting it to non locally sold items, then all items must be transported from one place into that station, and then transported again somewhere else to be used, then P2P trade in-station simply remove the stupid stage inside NFZ when one drop items and the other fetch...

TL:DR: P2P trade implementation:
-both players must be in same station at same time.
-only drops and crafted items allowed to trade. (No commodities)
-Convoys will remain there as easy targets for lazy rats. Also players passing by with cargo.