Shop Open Times

[ditchhook]

I've noticed that in a number of cultures in hotter regions of the world, that businesses often close down in the heat of the afternoon, but stay open late into the evenings.

I think this would also be a convenient convention to adopt in the gameworld: shops closing at high sun, and opening again at dusk, staying open until about midnight. I notice a lot of PCs go out in the daytime to hunt or gather, and then come in at dusk. To have the majority of shops open when they return would make a lot of IC sense.

I often get stuck with my PC pinnnig for dawn with nothing to do, and then having to decide whether to stay in town to do business, or go out to gather or hunt.

[brytta.leofa]

Great idea.  On an OOC level, it gives players something to do in town while the gates are closed.

[enigma]

Good luck to the shopkeepers in getting business on moonless nights during sandstorms.

[ditchhook]

Good luck to the shopkeepers in getting business on moonless nights during sandstorms.

Yeah, I would think that ICly, most shops would close up during sandstorms, day or night, just to keep the dust out of their stock.

[Agent_137]

shops close unrealistically enough that all it does is piss me off. any improvement toward realism w/ these shops i'd appreciate. otherwise, focus on playability and leave them open all the time.

[Malken]

How about they just never close down.

[Maybe42or54]

I'd like it if the wandering merchants just don't start screaming over the storm, instead they find a spot where you can see each other and conduct business.

[Mood]

How about they just never close down.

[Qzzrbl]

How about they just never close down.

The shopkeepers need to log off too y'know....

[musashi]

If we want to have them close ... I say close up during sandstorms (now city dwelling players can be pissed off at the weather too, yay!), and during the hottest point in the day and let them stay open late into the evening.

If that's too hard, yeah just leave them open all the time and let people RP around it.

[enigma]

Or you could chalk it up to the fact that this is Zalanthas, life isn't meant to be easy or convenient, and RP around existing shop hours.

[Lizzie]

Another batch of suggestions:

1. Never hunt/forage/chop more than you can keep in your bags and/or inventory (even if it's unbelievably heavy).
2. Always try to find another PC to sell something to. You have good odds at earning more from a PC than you would from a shop, most of the time.
3. When you go hunting/foraging/chopping, try to gather the things your "headquarters" location is most likely to actually need. Bringing in assorted types of branches into Tuluk won't get you nearly as much income as bringing in a single skinned hide from a southern critter. Assume, when you head out, that by the time you come back, the shop you intended to sell things to already has 5 of most things.
4. If you are looking to BUY, try finding another PC to buy from. They come in with tons of stuff, chances are one of them will have exactly what you're looking for, and cheaper than you'd have to pay for in a shop.
5. If you're a buyer, hang outside the shop that buys and watch for "very tired" people carrying bags to come by. Grab them with a quick Hello before they get into the shop, maybe they'll have something you need.

The moral of the story is:
Don't rely on shops, if at all possible. You will profit more in most cases if you make solid sincere attempts to do most of your buying/selling/trading of raw materials and finished craft goods with other PCs.

[Mood]

Or you could chalk it up to the fact that this is Zalanthas, life isn't meant to be easy or convenient, and RP around existing shop hours.

Oh yeah, because nothing gets me into the harsh Zalanthan atmosphere more than having to wait around for a shopkeeper.

[musashi]

Or you could chalk it up to the fact that this is Zalanthas, life isn't meant to be easy or convenient, and RP around existing shop hours.

Oh yeah, because nothing gets me into the harsh Zalanthan atmosphere more than having to wait around for a shopkeeper.

Yeah ... I'm gonna have to give a big  in response to that as well.

[Simple]

Or you could chalk it up to the fact that this is Zalanthas, life isn't meant to be easy or convenient, and RP around existing shop hours.

I see that you're not for changing it, but it is true that shops adjust their hours to cater for their clientele, that's just good business.

Some shops do stay open all night IG too.

[enigma]

That may be true, but you can't expect them to.  Ultimately a shopkeeper is going to do what the shopkeeper wants to do if the shop is not run by a larger entity (like one of the GMHs.)  I really do believe that too many people rely too much on selling things to NPC shopkeepers, and run right to the shops as soon as they can after a reboot.

[musashi]

In theory those shops can also run themselves out of business for failing to accomidate a customer base as well as their competitors do, but I don't think the game's coded economy is that advanced.

I think the theory first mentioned is a sound one though ... Zanthalas is hot almost all the time, so why don't shop keepers take a break and stay out of the heat at noon, and open up in the cooler hours of the day.

For that matter it made me stop and pause, thinking to myself: why don't most PC's try to stay out of the heat around noon, and be more active during the cooler hours of the day? Unless you're just a real badass ranger that doesn't mind the harsh constant glare of Suk-Krath.

[Archbaron]

I'm up for anything that makes nights more interactive. I dislike the forced barsitting it imposes. You do one of four things when it's night. You either idle at the bar until dawn, log off and wait, do whatever you're doing in your clan's base/headquarters, or sneak around. It gets dull.