The future of trade in Xsyon - Auction Houses suck

[mindtrigger]

Is there anyone here who has a clear picture of the dev's intended development of trade in this game? I have to be honest and say that if there is going to be an Auction House system only, I'm going to have to pick up my toys and go home. I truly believe that the invention of Auction Houses is one of the biggest destroyers of community and socializing in modern MMO games.

The auction house takes trade where people must interact and turns it into a nameless, faceless system where people simply buy stuff out of a shopping-cart like system. No one cares who crafted stuff. Relationships are not developed through AH trade like they are when you run your own in-house shop. No one has to travel to find high quality goods from master crafters, reputations are not built, trade agreements are not forged, etc. AH systems are lazy development, IMO.

What say you?

[baka77]

Is there anyone here who has a clear picture of the dev's intended development of trade in this game? I have to be honest and say that if there is going to be an Auction House system only, I'm going to have to pick up my toys and go home. I truly believe that the invention of Auction Houses is one of the biggest destroyers of community and socializing in modern MMO games.

The auction house takes trade where people must interact and turns it into a nameless, faceless system where people simply buy stuff out of a shopping-cart like system. No one cares who crafted stuff. Relationships are not developed through AH trade like they are when you run your own in-house shop. No one has to travel to find high quality goods from master crafters, reputations are not built, trade agreements are not forged, etc. AH systems are lazy development, IMO.

What say you?

As the game stands now, I don't think we'd see any AH system like the theme park games have. Why? Because we have no universal currency. Everything right now is barter. Now, there could be an AH system that allows you to place orders. For example, I could post 10 metal blades on the AH with a cost requirement of 100 steel rivets. I think that could work. However, I agree in not wanting AH's run by NPC's.

However, what about a compromise system that actually would help develop trade routes & relationships???

Imagine a Trade Board, where people could post orders like I mentioned above. However, rather than "doing business" at the trade board, bidders would be given directions on who/where to contact if they want to do some business. If I want some saw blades...I can go to the board & see who has some for trade, see what they want for them, & contact that person to begin negotiations. There, of course, would be no mail delivery systems. I think a trade board would be kinda cool & help streamline player interaction.

[outfctrl]

I would like to see vendors like UO has. They stand outside and you click on them to see what they have to sell. The owner of the vendor sets his prices. Say 20 steel bolts for a fur hat or whatever.

The owner then checks his vendor to see what has sold. Soon, your tribe will become well known and more people will visit you. This also gives you a chance to meet people who are walking up to your tribe.
just my .02

[afterclap]

As the game stands now, I don't think we'd see any AH system like the theme park games have. Why? Because we have no universal currency. Everything right now is barter. Now, there could be an AH system that allows you to place orders. For example, I could post 10 metal blades on the AH with a cost requirement of 100 steel rivets. I think that could work. However, I agree in not wanting AH's run by NPC's.

However, what about a compromise system that actually would help develop trade routes & relationships???

Imagine a Trade Board, where people could post orders like I mentioned above. However, rather than "doing business" at the trade board, bidders would be given directions on who/where to contact if they want to do some business. If I want some saw blades...I can go to the board & see who has some for trade, see what they want for them, & contact that person to begin negotiations. There, of course, would be no mail delivery systems. I think a trade board would be kinda cool & help streamline player interaction.

i think this sounds like something that could work well. A board would really fit nice with the setting rather than some AH. I imagine it would be more of a set of posters with traders/consumers announcing their needs/services and contact info but no magical vending machine. Maybe there could even be an option to add tips on which locations have good crafters or low prices in some area, or where a need for something is present. Like a trading/bulletin board in short. I prefer this way more than some AH, so i'm with you on this.

The way towns are gonna be build up (since we don't have any NPC cities) maybe it could be something separate from, but maybe still connected to, the tribe totems. so you could set up the board any place you'd like in the tribe/town without compromising the location of the totem.

[NexAnima]

From what I can tell, there will be auction houses. Not in the traditional sense though. Each tribe has a setting under ranks to enable the ability to control auctions, this hints (to me anyways) that towns will have local auction house. I could be wrong, but with the tools we are given this is what it looks like to me.

[mindtrigger]

As the game stands now, I don't think we'd see any AH system like the theme park games have. Why? Because we have no universal currency. Everything right now is barter. Now, there could be an AH system that allows you to place orders. For example, I could post 10 metal blades on the AH with a cost requirement of 100 steel rivets. I think that could work. However, I agree in not wanting AH's run by NPC's.

However, what about a compromise system that actually would help develop trade routes & relationships???

Imagine a Trade Board, where people could post orders like I mentioned above. However, rather than "doing business" at the trade board, bidders would be given directions on who/where to contact if they want to do some business. If I want some saw blades...I can go to the board & see who has some for trade, see what they want for them, & contact that person to begin negotiations. There, of course, would be no mail delivery systems. I think a trade board would be kinda cool & help streamline player interaction.

I did like the way SWG balanced having some sort of AH with player ran stores (npc vendors). They had a system not unlike your Trade Board idea called the Bazaar that allowd players to buy smaller priced items directly, but it also listed player items for sales on their own personal vendors at their shops. Originally the Bazaar would give you information about where the shop was so you could go purchase the items and pick them up. This system encouraged people to travel great distances and make friends with master crafters who consistently sold high-quality and hard to find items. The crafter/traders made basically built up their own brands and ended up with server-wide reputations for their amazing goods.

The AH has killed this aspect of MMO gaming, along with making crafting its own gameplay style. Sure, people still craft in very simplified crafting systems and post to the AH, but there is no sense of owning your own shop/brand or any of the other neat community aspects this creates.

The Trade Board idea you have is a good one, and it has already been proven a successful way for people to have a central place to find goods, but it still makes them travel and potentially make new friends and have adventures on the way to getting their goods. If we are going sandbox here, lets do it all the way. Those of us who are interested in craft/trade should be able to build our own outposts and shops wherever we live.

One of my favorite things to do in SWG was set up "Outdoor Survival" shops where I would sell things that adventureres needed such as tents, foods, meds, fishing gear, pet foods and other such items. It was very themed and decorated to look like a hunting lodge/shop in the context of the game. People loved it.

[jumpshot]

Is there a reason OP thinks there will be AH's? Not trying to be smart it just seems like you heard there will be and are up in arms.

I do think there'll be a system on tribe totems for set trades. ATM the Quest system can be used for that.

[Archangei]

We wont see traditional AHs in this game, if we even get any Auctionhouses it will be something like a vendor, some people made some good examples from SWG Here.

But im up for manual trade the way we try to set it up will be a neutral trading post, how practical it will be... well only time will tell.

[Vadio]

http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthrea...-House-Markets

>)
But vendor is cool

[mindtrigger]

Is there a reason OP thinks there will be AH's? Not trying to be smart it just seems like you heard there will be and are up in arms.

I do think there'll be a system on tribe totems for set trades. ATM the Quest system can be used for that.

No, in fact if I can say anything about this game so far, its that there seems to be little definite information about anything, really. All I wanted to do here is start a conversation about how AHs take away from games in general and help people who may be new to such games understand why leaving them out is important. AH is an easy-button feature that should be reserved for easy-button themepark games. If community is a goal of this game, then trade should be thought through completely.