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1

Feature Requests / Re: Buy/Sell small improvements

« on: September 20, 2007, 02:47:55 pm »

I seriously doubt it would have a big impact on gameplay or that it would encourage players to build bases all over the globe, because
1) The cost in bases is always going to be such that any market advantage you can get from it is going to look like peanuts and
2) The market will cease being significant after a while because all the equipment you get is either salvaged from the aliens or produced by PHALANX' workshops. And as we have decided earlier, the selling price of PHALANX produced items is always going to be lower than the cost involved to produce them.

Your points vis-a-vis my idea an affirmation of exactly what I intended.

This game shouldn't be a global economics simulator, nor should being an 'trading wiz' heavily impact play-- That's not what this game is about (IMHO). A per faction system is more a 'flavour thing'. A way for the prudent to save a little bit here or there, and occasionally turn a profit. (With only requiring a minimum of developer resources.)

As far as the 'selling price of PHALANX produced items is always going to be lower than the cost involved to produce them.' that's not really neither here nor there-- No? (Actually that makes good sense given that you have 'workshops' not 'industrial factories'.) With that being said, this is just my idea to add some flavour, and it's not like I'm coding it up right now, so it's not like I have much of a say.

2

Feature Requests / Re: Buy/Sell small improvements

« on: September 20, 2007, 08:11:25 am »

that's a good point. we will discuss this.

As a suggestion from the peanut gallery-- You have about a half a dozen global factions. How about, one market per global faction where:

-The item 'base-price' to buy varies +/- 10% from the global 'list-price' set at the beginning of the game, per global faction.
-The item sell price = regional 'base-price' - 15% (Since the item is 'used', the vendor needs to make a profit, etc.)
-Keep roughly the same number of items in the initial market as there is now (since your base is only in one place at first), but retard the 'item growth rate', as there will be per global faction markets.

This:
-Limits programming overhead, since you're not writing a global trade simulator.
-Encourages item transferring of 'cheap' items, but the 20% variance in 'base-price' vs. the 15% markdown on sell price makes it hard to turn much in the way of a profit through simple trade. (You'd have to buy 'way underpriced', then sell 'way overpriced'.)
-Encourages players to build a global network of bases.

Edit: For brownie points, once a month you could give each item a one in ten chance of changing value by +/- 1%, but be bound by the +/- 10% maximum variance. (The drunken sailor example says that prices shouldn't run away, but...)