Forums » Suggestions
A suggestion towards the player-run economy
I got this idea from Stock-Broker apps, which I will describe here. So the system is simple.
The Buyer end:
The buyer docks at a station, and gives a buy order. They specify what to buy at what max price and optionally the max quantity to buy as well. This order is printed on a kind of mission board, but instead with what are essentially player-given procurement missions. Now these orders are still done, but making this interface makes it much easier to take orders, and to advertise both products you are selling and buying.
The Seller end:
When the seller unloads cargo in the station, they can specify some cargo in their station inventory as saleable. So they specify the min price to sell at, and how much to sell. This too is submitted on a board. If a person wants to buy, they can simply consent and confirm their transaction, and the items will be transferred from one players inventory to the other, and the credits will be credited from the buyer. A notification will be sent to the seller, who will receive the payment once they dock at the station.
The items ordered or sold in this system can be anything, not just trade items. Stations will take a brokerage fee for conducting the transaction, holding the credits and displaying buy or sell orders.
This will not replace either of the two current economies. It solves a problem which IMO the current player market faces. The problem is trust and reach. We are often unable to find buyers or sellers whom we can trust, as we can only advertise our products or orders when we are online, and cannot necessarily trust every player. This system effectively negates the need by allowing us to advertise and conduct business without knowing or trusting the other party. At the same time, it will not completely replace the current market due to the cost attached to this system.
The Buyer end:
The buyer docks at a station, and gives a buy order. They specify what to buy at what max price and optionally the max quantity to buy as well. This order is printed on a kind of mission board, but instead with what are essentially player-given procurement missions. Now these orders are still done, but making this interface makes it much easier to take orders, and to advertise both products you are selling and buying.
The Seller end:
When the seller unloads cargo in the station, they can specify some cargo in their station inventory as saleable. So they specify the min price to sell at, and how much to sell. This too is submitted on a board. If a person wants to buy, they can simply consent and confirm their transaction, and the items will be transferred from one players inventory to the other, and the credits will be credited from the buyer. A notification will be sent to the seller, who will receive the payment once they dock at the station.
The items ordered or sold in this system can be anything, not just trade items. Stations will take a brokerage fee for conducting the transaction, holding the credits and displaying buy or sell orders.
This will not replace either of the two current economies. It solves a problem which IMO the current player market faces. The problem is trust and reach. We are often unable to find buyers or sellers whom we can trust, as we can only advertise our products or orders when we are online, and cannot necessarily trust every player. This system effectively negates the need by allowing us to advertise and conduct business without knowing or trusting the other party. At the same time, it will not completely replace the current market due to the cost attached to this system.
Similar ideas to this have been raised in the past (https://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/34929 and https://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/35266, for a couple of examples), and the counter-arguments are typically:
* "The risk of getting screwed by a deal is a feature, not a bug". How persuasive you find that argument is probably dependent on whether you're the screwer or the screwee. For the record, I've never been done over on a deal, but I could definitely see how it could happen.
* "The hazard of getting pirated while doing a trade is a feature, not a bug". Essentially a "third party included" version of the above, with pretty much exactly the same commentary.
I'm about +0.1 overall on this idea, because of a number of conflicting observations.
Enabling "player-absent" trading is *probably* a net-positive, given how scarce players are in-game (and how difficult and real-world-money expensive it appears to be to run a shop bot).
Removing the chance of double-crossing and pirate activity during player-to-player trades is a bad thing. It removes some of the zest from the game.
Removing the need to launch/dock an XC 40 times just to complete a smallish SSS trade would be *awesome*, because ain't nobody got time for that.
* "The risk of getting screwed by a deal is a feature, not a bug". How persuasive you find that argument is probably dependent on whether you're the screwer or the screwee. For the record, I've never been done over on a deal, but I could definitely see how it could happen.
* "The hazard of getting pirated while doing a trade is a feature, not a bug". Essentially a "third party included" version of the above, with pretty much exactly the same commentary.
I'm about +0.1 overall on this idea, because of a number of conflicting observations.
Enabling "player-absent" trading is *probably* a net-positive, given how scarce players are in-game (and how difficult and real-world-money expensive it appears to be to run a shop bot).
Removing the chance of double-crossing and pirate activity during player-to-player trades is a bad thing. It removes some of the zest from the game.
Removing the need to launch/dock an XC 40 times just to complete a smallish SSS trade would be *awesome*, because ain't nobody got time for that.
This system won't completely eradicate the current player trading system. Theres a cost to posting your ad in the station. And a cost for using the stations transfer mechanism. So the chance of piracy or double crossing is not completely removed since the current system isn't completely removed.
And why is it real-world-money expensive to run a shop bot? I'd really like to know since I'm planning one myself on a whole new level above SWAPMEET.
And why is it real-world-money expensive to run a shop bot? I'd really like to know since I'm planning one myself on a whole new level above SWAPMEET.