Making Trading harder: Take 2

[the570z]

Heh pickles thats why ive been against just doing things like forcing traders to be slow. The PSF is overpowered and nerfed it turns into a PF so just take it out of the game. However, as I said rather then forcing traders to take risks I think we should mold the ships on a scale of safe and low efficiency to flying coffin and ultra high efficiency. If there was an incentive to take risks and not a requirement I think for the short term it would appease both camps. I realize its my own idea but I would very much like to try and build a more economics based trading system, if trading is a complex and engaging system it will help us a lot as everybody has to start out trading, if trading is boring, very few will stick with it long enough to try out the rest of the game.

Note: Going to a standard model of S/D in trading is more complicated, but conversely should be much easier to learn. Most people playing this game will have taken at least one economics class so having the game rules match up with the way they expect it to will result in much shorter learning curves and less folks banging heads on keyboards which is what even the current system causes in those without any knowledge of the game.

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Most people playing this game will have taken at least one economics class

I've never taken an economics class?

The fact that it is a simplified aspect of the game is a good thing in the sense that newer players can easily grasp the concept of it.

Actually quite a few players find the whole DI system a bit hard to grasp at first, but besides that trading does need work because whilst it should be as simple as possible to learn the basics (in hunting you learn to go buy a weapon, then find someone and click attack a lot, raiding is just go to the sector you are told then go to uno when told, then go to next sector when told, etc), it should require a lot more to learn and a lot more skill to actually be the best at it, rather than being capped at once you've learned the basics you've learned all there is to it really (yes there is the ability to learn to build routes, but for that you really need to have an entire alliance backing you up and is mostly unrelated to trading and more to raiding).

[Kard]

I think the trading system could use an overhaul. TDZK had an interesting system. Every half hour, the supply and demand at each port would change. Some ports would be buying slaves or selling luxury, then 2 hours later, be the opposite. Make the trading dynamic. You have to open a map and see what ports are trading what goods, then make your own route on the spot.

The current system is hard for newbies to pick up. Without help, they dont know they have to look at the distance between ports that buy and sell. They dont know what a 4x5x5x4x is, they dont know what a perfect 6x is. Make it more intuitive. New player comes in, opens gal map, sees a port selling something, sees another port buying somethig, and starts trading. Then a couple hours later, the goods are changed. Maybe those ports that needed circuitry, used it all, they are now selling their excess. Maybe the port that was selling narcotics, is out of it, so its not on that port for a few hours until their new crop comes in, or until they get a new shipment in.

I think we can improve trading, making it more fun and dynamic, and rewarding for those that are good at it. Then, there will be more targets to hunt. Having the same two ports being your destinations isnt fun or intuitive, so the exp and money multiplier shouldnt probably be the distance between ports. It should be supply and demand. The bigger the supply, the cheaper the goods and less exp. The high the demand, the higher the price and less exp. And vice versa. Trade either money, or exp, not both on the same port for the same good. Would make faster weaker trade ships more important, because now you open gal map, see what ports are trading what, then you can go scout them and see where the best exp and money are for the time being. Slower safe trade ships have to waste turns scouting which lowers their efficiency or makes them wait around longer for good routes. This would also make every port upgrade and gain defence and money, instead of 80% of the games ports being useless. Could even introduce rumors at the bar, which give intel to where some good or bad supply/demand is.

Ive said it before and I'll say it again, SM wasnt a finished game. It needs to be fleshed out and polished still.

PS. nerf the psf/remove it.

[Siege]

Some of these suggestions are asinine.

No cpl? Probably the most important screen in the game.
Remove green sector when dropping a mine? Not going to even start on this one.


I am sure that this has all been covered but I think the easiest solution is just to change the trade ships, the /15 of a PSF worked back when people were active and there was a chance multiple hunters would come after you while trading (also more likely that you'd be double teamed) since this is no longer the case I don't think there should be a trade ship above /9 or /10. Also the whole system is backwards, ships with more cargo and less speed have the higher defense.. So the guy who has to trade less frequently and spends less time on the route vulnerable to hunters while he trades also has more defense?

Make the ships with less cargo higher defense so that they have to spend more time in the open, make the ships with 400+ holds have lower defense. It's a risk reward scenario.

[JettJackson]

Some of these suggestions are asinine.

No cpl? Probably the most important screen in the game.
Remove green sector when dropping a mine? Not going to even start on this one.


I am sure that this has all been covered but I think the easiest solution is just to change the trade ships, the /15 of a PSF worked back when people were active and there was a chance multiple hunters would come after you while trading (also more likely that you'd be double teamed) since this is no longer the case I don't think there should be a trade ship above /9 or /10. Also the whole system is backwards, ships with more cargo and less speed have the higher defense.. So the guy who has to trade less frequently and spends less time on the route vulnerable to hunters while he trades also has more defense?

Make the ships with less cargo higher defense so that they have to spend more time in the open, make the ships with 400+ holds have lower defense. It's a risk reward scenario.

The red part I said today while out to dinner with a few SMR people, word for word. Honestly the changes I have seen are just not enough to the PSF. The only trader that should be higher than /10 is ATM.

[Fatman]

All these arguments are the same old things being said for years.......make the game easier or better for hunters and worse for traders. It seems that a select few want things their way as always...i just hope page doesnt go the way of past admins or coders and change the game dynamics to satisfy the selct few.

[the570z]

The only real changes with regard to hunting ive seen have been against hunters. Scouts and force lifetimes have been cut in racial galaxies, the defense and holds on the ATM have been increased. About the only pro hunter change was the one that lets the ITAC park in fed almost fully armed and that one sucks.

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Scouts are fixed at 1 day per scout (as long as they are the only type of force on that stack) so lifetime for them has not been cut, the defense on the ATM has not been changed although the holds were indeed increase (to actually make it a bit better than the PSF seeing as it is a top racial)

[N.ator]

i remember 1.6 had a pretty dynamic trading system. new trade routes would be released daily .. i sort of forgot how azool did it but i sort of liked it.. you would have to do your research every day for the new best trade route! and i rmember ports would have deals. like a bonus if the port isnt traded often..

this would make people go into lower ships like ist so they can move around more..

this might make hunting easier and harder.. as for routes change not one trader will always be trading the same ports..

but the hunter can do the research too and hunt the really popular ports for that day!

[Kard]

i remember 1.6 had a pretty dynamic trading system. new trade routes would be released daily .. i sort of forgot how azool did it but i sort of liked it.. you would have to do your research every day for the new best trade route! and i rmember ports would have deals. like a bonus if the port isnt traded often..

this would make people go into lower ships like ist so they can move around more..

this might make hunting easier and harder.. as for routes change not one trader will always be trading the same ports..

but the hunter can do the research too and hunt the really popular ports for that day!