Now I was thinking about how shops exist now. Each is an independent storage of blocks we can buy from, in exchange for credits.
My issue with shops
- They kind of produce blocks from nowhere.
- You can have empty shops which are a pain if you have excess cash.
- In some config setups shops are hard to find.
- You can "trade" between shops for sometimes masses of cash if you pick the right items. (could be an interesting mechanic if used for the forces of good!)
-Despite being owned by a huge intergalactic guild of traders they don't supply/demand themselves.
Now all this leads to a huge overhaul, namely of shops. You see in starmade there is a role which is kind of undervalued, that of crafting and making blocks. Now this comes in later on so don't forget it.
Part one : Basis of the system.
The trade guild shops consolidate into one per system, this shops location is broadcasted to everyone in the system. Void systems have a very low chance of containing one but it should be possible (and lead to a reduced pirate presence. An oasis if you will.). Each of these shops will have a seperate inventory and credits.
Now on to part two, shortages in blocks (say less than 10% of something, config value) will contribute to an overall shop value of shortages. Likewise the opposite will happen if a shop has many blocks in abundance. Every 30minutes shops with the highest and lowest scores will "balance out" their stocks paying the other shop for their blocks and vice versa. This leads to over time sold out items being replenished.
Now here comes an issue, block prices are in this system based on abundance. If we rig this so that the ai doesn't resupply shops eventually the shops will sufer hyperinflated prices. Not very good for the average joe in the galaxy, trying to build up his ship and wait for some mission system to give him something to do.
Here comes the crafter, who now sells the fruits of his efforts for prices in excess of something like 500% of their true value. (He even gets some of those blocks back, thanks to the taxes mechanic mentioned later.) Order is restored to the galaxy, and now the crafter can probably just buy out all the galaxies ores and repeat the cycle.
You end up getting something that resembles an economy. This economy distributes the shops blocks across the universe meaning one can simply wait and have their shop restocked reliably. You can sell your ores, either when there's a shortage or just asap for credits. And are pretty much guaranteed to be able to buy more blocks for your labours.
Now this system has some extensions into already existing mechanics. If you own the system a shop is placed in you get back some of its revenue. You can tax as much as you want but be warned its not really healthy for the shop, if you tax 100% of its income eventually it'll be unable to restore its own block supplies. (To your advantage maybe?) and perhaps lead to trade guild rebellion...
Faction owned shops could also be added to the trade guild system, limited at one per faction. With options allowing them to either act as trade centers like normal shops. Or to sell or buy from the network. With the owning faction reaping 100% of the profit at no cost.
"Trading" has existed in starmade as a method of allowing a newbie to the server to gain large amounts of credits, specially if you have large spawn rate for shops. Now why not making this into a legitimate mechanic? If pilots wish too they can solve shortages before the 30minute rebalancing of the economy. Or sell non-functional "commedities" like gold. A shop would list places which currently lack what this shop has in excess. For example shop A has 45k gray hull, shop b has 200. That'll be listed in the shop tab for shop A. Making this more controlled will make it possible to balance compared to other methods or obtaining credits or resources.
This is an idea with the aim to make a more dynamic starmade universe, more contribution might be necessary to flesh out this idea further and make an easy to use and understand system with more depth for those who enjoy the idea of a functioning economy.
TLDR: Posting is pointless if you can't read all that.
My issue with shops
- They kind of produce blocks from nowhere.
- You can have empty shops which are a pain if you have excess cash.
- In some config setups shops are hard to find.
- You can "trade" between shops for sometimes masses of cash if you pick the right items. (could be an interesting mechanic if used for the forces of good!)
-Despite being owned by a huge intergalactic guild of traders they don't supply/demand themselves.
Now all this leads to a huge overhaul, namely of shops. You see in starmade there is a role which is kind of undervalued, that of crafting and making blocks. Now this comes in later on so don't forget it.
Part one : Basis of the system.
The trade guild shops consolidate into one per system, this shops location is broadcasted to everyone in the system. Void systems have a very low chance of containing one but it should be possible (and lead to a reduced pirate presence. An oasis if you will.). Each of these shops will have a seperate inventory and credits.
Now on to part two, shortages in blocks (say less than 10% of something, config value) will contribute to an overall shop value of shortages. Likewise the opposite will happen if a shop has many blocks in abundance. Every 30minutes shops with the highest and lowest scores will "balance out" their stocks paying the other shop for their blocks and vice versa. This leads to over time sold out items being replenished.
Now here comes an issue, block prices are in this system based on abundance. If we rig this so that the ai doesn't resupply shops eventually the shops will sufer hyperinflated prices. Not very good for the average joe in the galaxy, trying to build up his ship and wait for some mission system to give him something to do.
Here comes the crafter, who now sells the fruits of his efforts for prices in excess of something like 500% of their true value. (He even gets some of those blocks back, thanks to the taxes mechanic mentioned later.) Order is restored to the galaxy, and now the crafter can probably just buy out all the galaxies ores and repeat the cycle.
You end up getting something that resembles an economy. This economy distributes the shops blocks across the universe meaning one can simply wait and have their shop restocked reliably. You can sell your ores, either when there's a shortage or just asap for credits. And are pretty much guaranteed to be able to buy more blocks for your labours.
Now this system has some extensions into already existing mechanics. If you own the system a shop is placed in you get back some of its revenue. You can tax as much as you want but be warned its not really healthy for the shop, if you tax 100% of its income eventually it'll be unable to restore its own block supplies. (To your advantage maybe?) and perhaps lead to trade guild rebellion...
Faction owned shops could also be added to the trade guild system, limited at one per faction. With options allowing them to either act as trade centers like normal shops. Or to sell or buy from the network. With the owning faction reaping 100% of the profit at no cost.
"Trading" has existed in starmade as a method of allowing a newbie to the server to gain large amounts of credits, specially if you have large spawn rate for shops. Now why not making this into a legitimate mechanic? If pilots wish too they can solve shortages before the 30minute rebalancing of the economy. Or sell non-functional "commedities" like gold. A shop would list places which currently lack what this shop has in excess. For example shop A has 45k gray hull, shop b has 200. That'll be listed in the shop tab for shop A. Making this more controlled will make it possible to balance compared to other methods or obtaining credits or resources.
This is an idea with the aim to make a more dynamic starmade universe, more contribution might be necessary to flesh out this idea further and make an easy to use and understand system with more depth for those who enjoy the idea of a functioning economy.
TLDR: Posting is pointless if you can't read all that.
