Tried to search for this all over the boards, couldn't find anything. If this has already been suggested sorry.

My suggestion has to do with trading between players. Since we already know who is in a station via "the Bar", it would be nice to trade between the players in the same station without having to undock.

Right now the only way I know how to trade is to undock a ship and then jettison the cargo in space. The other person then collects the cargo and hopefully does "/givemoney"

If there was a way to open up a generic trade ui that allows people to exchange items for cash and vice versa without the above method, trading would be safer and easier.

It's actually been suggested a lot of times. For the moment, "the honor system" has worked fine for 99% of the transactions, and I can't think off the top of my head of anyone who has been robbed using it.

I always ask for payment first and then drop the cargo.

The only real problem with this system is the chance that third parties will show up (like newbies) and swipe up the cargo before the intended recipient can finish collecting. This is especially annoying when they refuse to drop it again, and friendly fire prevents you from taking it back forcibly.

Also it just takes too damn log. Beign able to transfer good in station would be so much more convenient.

Or being able to ship goods via UPS (Universal Parcel Service) to a player's inventory at any station. It would go via one or more trade convoys and might even get there :)

With the removal of the FF system, I actually prefer that for in-flight trade, cargo has to be dropped and picked up. After all, some sort of /trade screen, where the cargo is beamed between the ships, would break immerison and inhibit pirating opportunities. After all, it is only realistic and hardcore and very PvP-y that a player can receive the money, and then bail, or blow the other ship to clusters of very confused ions. (In monitored space, however, this should lead to faction loss and possible law enforcement repercussions. Don't quite know how to implement this, though, since it is based on arbitrary player actions. Perhaps we could assume that every ship carries a recording device, so that the offended party need only dock and report the crime.)

If trade has to be conducted safely in space, perhaps some sort of mini-docking between ships could be implemented, ensuring safe delivery and preventing scams, but carrying with it the risks of being suspended in space together with another ship, unable to flee, dodge or respond with fire immediately if attacked.

The station transfer thing is the best solution, to my mind. After all, once destructible stations are implemented (Soon™), pirates need only blow the station up to steal the cargo from the two trading players ;-)

EDIT: Or the UPS thing, but only as long as the cargo is actually carried by a convoy, and can be pirated along the way. No silly magical WoW mail systems.

And thus, insurance companies finally take to space and join us in VO...

That'd be cool Harpo. Players with high enough standing could hire NPCs to move their goods for a price. We've talked about hireable NPC escorts before but I don't know if hireable NPC convoys have been suggested before.

Ehh, there should definately be an ability to transfer goods to another player in the station. I mean seriously, can you imagine if the easiest way IRL to exchange cargo was to jettison it i space and then pick it up again? WTF are docks and loading bays for??

It should also be possible to ship cargo (for a fee... either Shipper's Cost or CoD would work, since the shipping company can just keep the cargo if nobody pays up), and this would be great if tied dynamically into the trade economy (i.e., the convoys are summoned whenever a lot of stuff is at a station waiting to be shipped, and then depart, taking the necessary cargo with them. If they don't make it to the destination, neither does the cargo)

"Ehh, there should definately be an ability to transfer goods to another player in the station. I mean seriously, can you imagine if the easiest way IRL to exchange cargo was to jettison it i space and then pick it up again? WTF are docks and loading bays for??"

Yeah, three of us have already suggested that ;-) Perhaps I missed a post where someone suggested this should not be implemented, because I can't quite understand your reply.

If such a system to trade between players in station were implemented, players should only be able to trade items that all parties have the licenses for. Deals involving illegal items should only take place outside stations (or maybe in Corvus stations) where there is some risk.

The problem I have with an instation trade system where you can sell things from there to anywhere else, is that it would make trading as boring as it is on EVE. There, all you have to do is sit at a station and click click click. It is the part of the game I refer to when I say EVE looks like you're using a freaking spreadsheet, with the same amount of enjoyment.

Allow us to trade instation, but only with the goods we brought to that station (or bought in that station and remain there) and with people who also are in that station. If the traders all stay inside to do their trade, what are the pirates and escorts going to do?

Kill them when the goods are being transfered to another station? (either by the player or by a NPC convoy)

And of course, those convoys would HAVE to carry loads of my prized minmauds around the universe, yes, yes, very nice, very nice...
And by that, of course, I mean that those convoys would need to be able to transport ships from one place to the other... Or there would need to be some efficient manner of travel (other than bus, cause they have crap speed) from station to station to move ships from point A to point B. And what better way to do so, than by doing it en masse with NPCs!

I am a big fan of the "localized" trading idea. I dont want to trade with anyone in the known universe from just one station, just when the two of us are docked at the same place.

I also like what smittens suggested regarding only what you have licenses for, you'd be allowed to trade. Anything illegal will have to happen outside of station or in an illicit system.

Yes, that is a good idea, specially since it would give traders another real, solid reason to travel to piratespace laden with goods. Right now it's just as good profit-wise as anywhere else, and conversely a lot of traders prefer everywhere else to do their business.

Interesting ideas. We've always wanted an interface for player trading (we have old design docs where Waylon basically ripped off Black Isle's fallout interface for that purpose). Anyway, Ray is in the midst of reworking how inventories work, and we handle a few other cases before we approach this. Whatever we do, I want it to be something that'll function well with capships, and trading large numbers of items and large.. items (like crated ships). Anyway, keep the ideas coming. I'll cogitate on this a bit more when I get a chance.