Shop Ideas

[mk59apr]

And again thanks for these ideas,
Staff will probably not have time to deal with shops until this fall, as we have a fair bit on our plate at the moment.

I really like the idea of having markets/malls etc and I'm sure it's just a matter of looking through plugins and trying stuff out.

 

[Nanaliana]

I also like the barter system too. could that be integrated into the shop system somehow?

 

[dph]

I also like the barter system too. could that be integrated into the shop system somehow?

I think that would be a hard system to implement using a plugin and have to wait for both parties to be on. I have said before I like bartering makes the trades more fun!

 

[Nanaliana]

I agree with dph

 

[WECole]

Here's some (late) input from someone that does large builds and therefore uses the shop often...

As a builder, I'm not fond (i.e. I hate the idea) of player ran shops unless there is a standard shop like we have now in addition to it. (And don't even get me started on the barter idea...) I have several reasons for disliking this idea:

1.) I don't see most, if any, shops carrying the volume of supplies needed for a large build. My recent fire genie build is a good example - I bought over 6.5k of web to make the smoke. I buy dirt like crazy, often filling my player inventory several times a day when I'm working on a big project. I can't see anyone selling huge volumes of common blocks like dirt and cobble because it wouldn't be very profitable, nor large volumes of the uncommon blocks because it would be more difficult to collect. We'll end up with a lot of little shops selling small amounts of items and builders like me will have to waste lots of time "shopping" instead of building.

2.) In general, players get very excited about an idea, jump all over it and then lose interest after a few weeks. I don't see this idea working long term except for a very few dedicated players like dph. That makes supplies unpredictable in the long term.

3.) When I'm planning a build, part of what I do is consider what's available in the shop if I run out of something. If we go to an all (or mostly all) player run shop system, that's going to really limit my ability to plan out projects because I won't know what items I can count on getting, what prices I can expect to have to pay a month or more down the road, etc.

4.) I really don't want to have to look in 15-20 "shops" to find a supply of something. I'm lazy - I like one stop shopping. If the new system doesn't have some sort of inventory search, it's gonna drive me crazy... and I'm taking all of you with me!


On a more serious note -
As a builder, what I'd like to see is a shop system like we have now, with additional player-ran shops or auction system (like World of Warcraft auctions) to run concurrent with the server shop. As a builder, nothing else would be acceptable to me (when I'm trying to do large builds).

 

[Nanaliana]

I agree with a lot of what you have just said Cole. Especially Point #2. With school having started, this place has been a ghost town. The server shop is a must. would be nice to see addition of more hard to get items, i.e. ocean monument stuff, more flowers, etc.

 

[Jexter]

So far I indeed feel the best solution is a server shop with optional player shops. I've always been a fan of player economies as they provide a lot of incentive for people who enjoy market opportunities and the business aspect of gaming, but at the same time we don't want to make things too difficult for players who don't wish to worry about obtaining resources. My opinion has always been that if you don't want to worry about resources, build in Creative. It's really what it is there for (the vast majority of build-oriented servers utilize creative mode for this reason). But I also understand the need to keep an economic structure that has been in place since the server started. We have grown accustomed to the shop and the various conveniences it provides.

The optional player shops would be ideal for people who do want to shop for better prices, or have the opportunity to sell goods that otherwise might not be possible through the server shop. Nobody would require that you use these player shops; if you're lazy (like Cole ) you could use the server shop in the format we're already accustomed to. I will say that economic opportunities are one of the more enjoyable aspects of any gaming experience to me, so the option of player shops will always be appealing. If for some reason we could not come up with some plug-in options that would permit both of these shop options (server, player), then we'd be better off keeping the server shop and perhaps utilizing a market forum page for players to advertise their goods. This wouldn't be nearly as convenient as an in-game plugs like chest shops, but it's an option.