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Supply and Demand: Selling Components to Shops

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 5:43 pm
by Adabelle
We currently have tones of problems getting spell components from spell component shops. For example the entire realm has run out of Adder Stomachs. With some components the shop list says they have sand but they say they are out when you try and buy some.

I would love to be able to sell the spell components I find to the component shops but they are never interested. I, for example, must have had near 100 sands recently, and the shop says they are out. Sounds like a case of supply and demand to me! =)

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 6:37 pm
by Selveem
This has to do with the way the MUD is coded. I don't particularly understand why the MUD can only generate a certain number of a specific object (I don't remember that ever being the case on any of the other MUDs I've played). There are some things that should never have a ceiling. Things like sand... SAND. Even an island has sand. The only time you should ever run into an issue like that is if you're trapped on another, odd plane or some sort of floating city or the like..

Is it possible to just remove the caps on items? I would think that would greatly fix the ridiculous demand issue..

Re: Supply and Demand: Selling Components to Shops

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 5:45 am
by Glim
Yes, so basically, say, if the cap on the mud for sand is 100, and someone is carrying 100 sand, then no more would be able to be sold.
Adabelle wrote:I, for example, must have had near 100 sands recently, and the shop says they are out.
:roll: *cough*

Also, I agree that removing the cap does sound like a good idea.

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 12:02 pm
by Kregor
Problem is, the sands she's talking about are likely sand she harvested, not hoarded. You don't actually have to BUY the sand to "sell it out" of the shops, any you find through the harvesting of it counts toward the number of the item currently in-game, and so in a way, adding the ability to harvest the components in the wilderness has actually exacerbated the problem in the stores, as much, or maybe more than it relieved it.

I really think the best solution would be for area code to support putting -1 in the inventory field, so that ridiculously common items (components for common spells, loves of bread(!), glasses of ale(!), pieces of parchment) would not be subject to the "out of stock" message, because it really shouldn't be an issue for something that isn't meant to be intentionally scarce.

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 2:48 pm
by Dalvyn
Why don't you organize ICly a spell component market? Have your character buy/sell components from/to characters who have too much/few and get a few exra coppers?

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 3:28 pm
by Adabelle
While I would love to see events for such things, buying and selling to other PCs becomes problematic when it comes to availability. Finding a time when you and your customers are both free and both have money or goods.

I know my character would rather sell to a shop simply because she is not a merchant and does not want to spend all that time locating and coordinating with potential buyers.

The Yearly Bazaar I mentioned in the Events area would allow buyers and potential sellers to come together at the same time in the same place with a minimum amount of fuss. I think once a year in game would work out to about once a month RL?

Another idea is a classified section on the paper but I think that a Bazaar seems MUCH more fitting with mood and feel.

Does anyone have any other ideas on how to coordinate potential sellers with buyers? (Something that does not involve spending all your time in the Market searching for people to buy things?)

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 1:50 pm
by Raona
Adabelle wrote:Does anyone have any other ideas on how to coordinate potential sellers with buyers? (Something that does not involve spending all your time in the Market searching for people to buy things?)
Yup! I think(hope!) it's in process. But it would still only be practical for large purchases, not single components, or just a handful.

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 3:10 pm
by Adabelle
Oh come now. Do not leave us hanging! What is the idea?

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 4:55 pm
by Raona
Ok, no promise it'll happen, but the suggestion was a simple one, basically a set of note boards dedicated to merchant interactions. One for making offers, one for taking people up on offers. It certainly wouldn't be a magic fix, but I think it would help unite buyers and sellers of all manner of things. I swore I posted about this before, but I can't find it at the moment.

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 5:35 pm
by Nysan
Note posts set up in the merchant guild outposts throughout the realms perhaps?