Goblin Squad Member
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Since economy and trading is such a big part of the game, I think a barter system would really help capture the flavor of a fantasy medieval society. In a futuristic game having everything traded on "credits" adds to the Corporocracy setting, but bartering makes more sense for blacksmiths and pelt hunters.
The system should work something like Player A puts up an item for sale. Player B puts a counter offer with X item or a combination of items and gold. Player A accepts or declines. This system could work parallel with the global trade market or maybe a separate system just for settlements/nations.
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Goblin Squad Member
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How would you model the value of items bartered?
In a land of many sheep, is a sheep worth less than, or more than, it is worth in a land with few?
If a fellow from a land with much iron and few sheep trades an ingot of iron for a sheep in a land with many sheep and little iron, how many ingots of iron will the sheep be worth when he returns home? How would you model this transaction?
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Goblin Squad Member
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How would you model the value of items bartered?
In a land of many sheep, is a sheep worth less than, or more than, it is worth in a land with few?
If a fellow from a land with much iron and few sheep trades an ingot of iron for a sheep in a land with many sheep and little iron, how many ingots of iron will the sheep be worth when he returns home? How would you model this transaction?
That's exactly the flavor you are adding with a barter system. Both players can check out the market value but are deciding to trade for goods instead.
There are other ways to go about it, separating the markets into regional instead of all global, or making the global market in Crusader's road something you have to travel to.
I just think if the economy is such a big part it should have something in it more attuned to the setting than an instant NYSE.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I think a Trade Contract that allows you to trade some number of Widget A for some number of Widget B makes perfect sense. I think there's a need for this kind of Contract above and beyond the Buy and Sell Contracts that have already been discussed because the player might not wish to Buy unless he can guarantee the corresponding Sale, or vice versa.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I don't know. There's something to be said for a bazaar we're players have to stand around and shout there goods (ie east commonlands in EQ).
I know its not the most efficient method but if you automate it thats the opposite of "meaningful player interaction".
Where is my edit button? Were..their...righting is hard
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Goblin Squad Member
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I hope there is no global market, I think local markets will drive travelling, and promote 'meaningful human interaction'
The thing to keep in mind is that, just because you can see things listed on the other side of the map, and you can even buy them (although I wouldn't be surprised if there are Skills/Abilities that determine how far away you can be when you buy), you still have to actually get there to take possession, and then you have to transport them to where you want to use them.
Goblinworks Executive Founder
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"WTB blue diamonds 5k PST" repeated every 5 minutes isn't meaningful interaction.Neither is an ebay interface in a fantasy mmo
I agree. It's the sale that's the interaction, regardless of the interface involved. Now, how do we make the sale more important than the interface used to implement it?
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Goblin Squad Member
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I agree. It's the sale that's the interaction, regardless of the interface involved. Now, how do we make the sale more important than the interface used to implement it?"WTB blue diamonds 5k PST" repeated every 5 minutes isn't meaningful interaction.Neither is an ebay interface in a fantasy mmo
Well that's the rub isn't it? At some point you sacrafice realism for practicality.
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Goblinworks Executive Founder
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Well that's the rub isn't it? At some point you sacrafice realism for practicality.I agree. It's the sale that's the interaction, regardless of the interface involved. Now, how do we make the sale more important than the interface used to implement it?"WTB blue diamonds 5k PST" repeated every 5 minutes isn't meaningful interaction.Neither is an ebay interface in a fantasy mmo
Well, no. I don't care what the interface is, provided that the costs of learning and using it are kept reasonable. The meaningful interaction isn't in roleplaying an interaction with a shopkeeper, it's in the economic results of the exchange.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Actually, I don't mean the EQ style - Commonlands tunnel, I would like to see local markets, that are built using either EQ style 'bazaar' where the player must stand in a stall in a certain place to sell, or, for a slight fee, to hire an NPC within a community to do the same thing.
For me, why would a market in area A have perfect information on what area B market has for sale and at what price.
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Goblin Squad Member
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... why would a market in area A have perfect information on what area B market has for sale and at what price.
This came up in a thread a long time ago. Ryan's response was something to the effect that "We live in an Information age. Whether the information is spread real-time in the game or outside of it, the information will be spread real-time."
This made me realize that the key to making Knowledge skills viable in an online game in this day and age is to model the Knowledge itself as in-game artifacts, that must be traded inside the game in order to be acted upon. This was a bit of an epiphany for me because it opened up the possibility of designing systems in such a way that the Alt-Spy in your guild might be able to tell his Bandit friends about your plans over Ventrilo, but they would need in-game knowledge artifacts in order to make use of that information.
Obviously, this is not something that will be easily designed, but I think the general idea is sound and I hope that someday it makes its way into our games.