I know that most serious players must have some type of database of pricings and update it frequently and I was wondering if the community in whole would benefit from having accurate uptodate pricing on any object at any station.

Acourse there would be limitations to what people would know about the pricing for each product in each station.

For example, a Serco that is very popular with the Serco Nation can get all product prices in every station located in Serco space. While on the other hand that Serco is K.O.S. with the Itani Nation and doesn't have a clue what sells for what in Itani space. Now that Serco could be neutral with the UIT Nation and only get moderate price listings for most stations. And the same would go for the other factions.

Now when that player goes to the station that doesn't have any price listing on his/her Trade DB they get an automatic update on the products the station sells and buys without having to bring anything to the station.

It was an idea from another game and I think this would bring great relief to many players.

I'd rather not have this. I would rather see what is being discussed elsewhere, that is player owned stations, and player owned shops within those stations. Those players could advertise their prices at various places, such as station bulletin boards, and players can find out from other players where the good prices are. Maybe a few players or a guild could run a service where they research prices and post them somewhere. Or, if that's too much work, maybe from your PDA you could be able to access the bulletin boards of all stations you are on friendly terms with, kind of like surfing the internet to compare prices at bn.com and amazon.com. If there were simply a single place where all prices were listed and constantly up to date (and assuming players setting the prices they sell), then we'd have a situation like with gas prices in the US, where every price in town is within a few cents because due to competition profit margins are cut razor thin to the point where gas is practically a loss-leader for retail level gas stations. We don't want that in VO, now, do we? :)

You kind of just reiterated what I just said.

Me- "For example, a Serco that is very popular with the Serco Nation can get all product prices in every station located in Serco space. While on the other hand that Serco is K.O.S. with the Itani Nation and doesn't have a clue what sells for what in Itani space. Now that Serco could be neutral with the UIT Nation and only get moderate price listings for most stations. And the same would go for the other factions."

You- "Or, if that's too much work, maybe from your PDA you could be able to access the bulletin boards of all stations you are on friendly terms with, kind of like surfing the internet to compare prices at bn.com and amazon.com."

And having player owned stations isn't a bad idea at all but with a new economy soon to come there is no telling what to expect. You know maybe each station needs to have a trade route inorder to stay open and so a certain product is required for the trade route and then you have certain prices for certain things not a small price range that expands all over VO.

The trade route should happen automatically if the economy is truly dynamic. If you build your station too far from a route or any resources, it will fail and you will have to abandon it. But if it is well placed, it would thrive and become a hub. I imagine the exploration/territory to work kind of like a 3D version of Civilization. You find your resources, and build your station.

Sounds like a build your own home advertisement from an ancient SEARS catalog.

Fuck that, I'll build my station right next to some massive cache of rare ores, far from any interfering storms! It will become the most massive cache of said ore in the VO galaxy!! And, I'll be drunk... much like now =D

Surburbius, there's a mile-wide flaw with your suggestion;

Consider that you are a Serco pilot on likeable terms with the UIT, but KOS with the Itani, of course. Now, should you want to check the prices of Gauss cannons in Itan, the UIT, being on good terms with the Itani would know such price, and you being a Serco pilot on friendly terms with the UIT, would therefor gain the benefit of such knowledge. Even if you were KOS with UIT as well, the Serco Dominion would have knowledge of the UIT's knowledge of Itani price listings. That's the trouble with posting stuff on the internet; it gets around everywhere.

All that aside, why would you want to know the prices of an Atlas Mk II in a nation that won't even let you dock there? If anything, I'd be up for a simply universally, and automatically updated record of all pricings. Should player owned stations come into play, information ought to be only as accurate as the last trader visited, for those space hermits like our Doctor here, who might prefer keeping his station unknown in all respects.

It's all about networking. Give the players a simple, yet dynamic network of a game, and we'll make it happen, traderoutes and all.

Very good, Mynt. The best way to treat any system is to, if possible, make it not a system. In a game we are limited by the fact that constants can't be set by nature (such as how much of what ore is where), and those constants must be set by computer programmers. Other things, however, such as advertising, should be allowed to simply happen (provided there is a place to advertise).

Another thing this allows for is dishonesty, which is an aspect of all strategy, be it military or marketing. Any one bit of information may be suspect; however, if you have access to a lot of information, it is easier to seperate true from false. This means that you should be discerning in your data-gathering.

Automatic in this case means: Leave it alone, and it will simply happen automatically as players network.