Town Stores

[AdvanceOp]

As my message count will testify, I'm not a big forum poster, nor a big reader, so please excuse my ignorance, but...

I've traveled a few towns on Mistone, and a couple off continent, and they all seem to have the same stock.. I mean the *exact* same stock. I haven't checked to see if the prices vary (maybe they do) but it seems awfully odd for a land as rich and detailed as Layonara would miss such a small detail.



Is there some RL reason (server space, etc) that limits the stores? Or am I missing something my 6th level character isn't privy to? It just seems out of place that a small town like Hlint stocks the same kit as a port city like Leilon.

[Talan Va'lash]

I agree it's a little dull and maybe a tad unrealistic, but it's one of the things we need to do in order to have a player based economy.

Many many PWs have a merchant based economy where you just go buy stuff from stores once you get enough gold and then sell stuff you don't want back to stores.

While there are fun aspects to that system, like exploring new towns to find their stores then pouring over all the goods etc. I can attest that it gets old once you know all the stuff for sale everywhere and that having a player based economy is more fun overall.

One of the things I'd like is a bit more diversity in the player based economy. But what that requires is a large array of rare and semi-rare items of all powers and level spread. Another challenge is how to make something rare without making it impossible to obtain.

Some of these things will and are being worked on for v3 and there may some fun features like... a few stores scattered throughout the lands that operate on a randomized inventory that refreshes every game week (or some other game time period.)

[AdvanceOp]

Talan Va'lash - 1/30/2007  7:24 PM
Many many PWs have a merchant based economy where you just go buy stuff from stores once you get enough gold and then sell stuff you don't want back to stores.

Oh I didn't mean anything as fancy as that. I don't mind the fact I cant buy willy-nilly, although I feel the pawnbrokers could offer up a little more! After all, I seem to have little to spend my money on!  

I just mean that in Spellguard I'd expect a greater range of magical supplies, and less supply of say melee weapons & amours. Leilon would have a greater range of... well everything... compared to say Hlint to reflect the increased GP limit.

In the same way I need to trek over Mistone to collect components for crafting I would need to do the same for (relatively) mundane items.

Talan Va'lash - 1/30/2007  7:24 PM
Some of these things will and are being worked on for v3 and there may some fun features like... a few stores scattered throughout the lands that operate on a randomized inventory that refreshes every game week (or some other game time period.)

Cool. Looking forward to it.

[Dorganath]

It has more to do with keeping things simple for both players and developers than anything. Any time we change items that are sold, we have to update each merchant object in the palette that sells them. Along the same lines, it is convenient for the players to be able to count on certain supplies being available everywhere.
  As Talan said, things like this will probably be reviewed for V3, though it may or may not be like that at release time. There are things that are happening for V3 that will be likely rolled out over time. There are things that will probably be available in all store locations, so that players aren't unduly inconvenienced by having to go across a continent just to get CraftingWidgetA, but we can still have local flavor.
  Thanks for the suggestion.

[darkstorme]

Also, pricing can be different from town to town, so you can still (pre V3) go about bargain-hunting.  It's kinda fun, really - and necessary, in the case of Enchanting Oil.

[Eight-Bit]

darkstorme - 1/30/2007 11:18 AM Also, pricing can be different from town to town, so you can still (pre V3) go about bargain-hunting. It's kinda fun, really - and necessary, in the case of Enchanting Oil.

 Or anything for that matter. They say adventurers flood the economy with gold, so it is perfectly reasonable to assume that where few adventurers the prices are naturally lower. Wink wink, nudge nudge. Etc.