Shop stock items

[Greve]

Since the mud is starting to consistently stay up for over two weeks at a time between reboots, the automated vNPC sales really take their toll on some shops. Certain sales-only shops with very specific inventories become unusable after a while, losing most or all of their inventories. This is a problem especially with shops that provide something that cannot be acquired elsewhere, such as the costume store in Tuluk for example, and I can't imagine that this is an intended consequence of the vNPC sale code. I think it would be better if a shop's stock inventory (the items they load with after a reboot) were not subjected to this code feature, or made unlimited in supply like some items such as flour and arrows seem to be.

[mansa]

Some items are.  You should email the immortals / bug / idea the specific items that you think should be infinite.

[Majikal]

Some items are.  You should email the immortals / bug / idea the specific items that you think should be infinite.

Having ran into the current situation recently, it's not so much that an item should be infinite as much as it should be available occasionally, which reboots made happen. The shady stuff market in particular gets nailed pretty hard with this and I can think of a few other shops as well.

[Synthesis]

Heh, the "shady stuff" shops are typically barren within 3 hours of a reboot.

I doubt this has anything whatsoever to do with automated vNPC sales.

[mansa]

Heh, the "shady stuff" shops are typically barren within 3 hours of a reboot.

I doubt this has anything whatsoever to do with automated vNPC sales.

"limited" items do repop overtime, anyways.

[Majikal]

Heh, the "shady stuff" shops are typically barren within 3 hours of a reboot.

I doubt this has anything whatsoever to do with automated vNPC sales.

"limited" items do repop overtime, anyways.

No shit? I haven't noticed this. Awesome if so. Probably has something to do with what Synth was saying. lol.

[X-D]

Many limited items in fact do NOT repop without a reboots, sorry mansa...I would go so far as to say most do not.

As to the OP, I agree that this needs to be fixed. A good fix I think for certain limited items would be to make them unlimited but 2-3 times more costly.

[Greve]

It's an entirely OOC consequence that certain items become unavailable when the mud has been up for two weeks straight, so I don't feel that it should be handled by affecting the prices. Why not just make it so that stock items are not bought by vNPCs? The problem only really occurs in shops that don't buy items back where the intended function of the sale code is irrelevant anyway. It should have no influence on Salarr's and such shops where the code was implemented to prevent the shopkeepers from running out of cash five minutes after reboot because these shops serve mainly as a place to unload the items noone want.

Or we could simply have scheduled weekly reboots again, even if it's only half a fix.

[mansa]

Many limited items in fact do NOT repop without a reboots, sorry mansa...I would go so far as to say most do not.

As to the OP, I agree that this needs to be fixed. A good fix I think for certain limited items would be to make them unlimited but 2-3 times more costly.

Well, if you think an item should repop over time, you should email the immortals / bug / typo it

[Eyeball]

Many limited items in fact do NOT repop without a reboots, sorry mansa...I would go so far as to say most do not.

As to the OP, I agree that this needs to be fixed. A good fix I think for certain limited items would be to make them unlimited but 2-3 times more costly.

Well, if you think an item should repop over time, you should email the immortals / bug / typo it

That's what the staff has said to do, but how many hundreds of emails will people have to write given the current situation? It sounds to me like a thorough review of the NPC merchants by the staff, who have all the information at hand, is needed.

[X-D]

Because Greve, Certain items are limited because they SHOULD be limted in some manner. In the past these items were controled by making the merchant a little harder to find or get to and limiting the number the merchant had.

But at the time the mud also rebooted at LEAST  every 7 days, but normaly would crash about every 3. So though the shopkeeper might have stocked only 3 of the item, you had 2-3 chances a week to get to him and he might even have them. So, that shopkeeper could possibly allow 6-9 of these items in game per week.

Currently though, that number has fallen to 1 or less a RL week.

SO, the fix to keep the item somewhat limited in Use would of course be to make it much more expensive but unlimited in the shopkeepers inventory.

Mansa, I saw it the first time, And DUH, of course these things have been bugged, typo'd, Idea'd.

The point to the thread (I think) Is more that although staff has looked at and fixed the problem of no reboots and shops being full...nothing was done about the other way around.

And sadly, as far as I know, many of these items are also not even craftable. Something I also think staff should take a look at as a fix.

Hell, I would be happy if backroom items became craftable and the venders left as they are.

[Eyeball]

Because Greve, Certain items are limited because they SHOULD be limted in some manner. In the past these items were controled by making the merchant a little harder to find or get to and limiting the number the merchant had.

I really doubt that a lot of these items have been made less available through conscious decisions. It's a side effect of the changes to how NPC merchants operate in combination with longer periods between reboots. The staff have even said to write in about them.

[X-D]

Um, I said that Eyeball....you did read the rest of the post yes?

Here, let me help.

But at the time the mud also rebooted at LEAST  every 7 days, but normaly would crash about every 3. So though the shopkeeper might have stocked only 3 of the item, you had 2-3 chances a week to get to him and he might even have them. So, that shopkeeper could possibly allow 6-9 of these items in game per week.

This means, nearly twenty years ago,(about the time I started playing) in most cases, staff decided that some things SHOULD be limited and used this method to limit them.

Far more recently the reboot schedule was changed, the side effect being that these items are now, for the most part, not existing.

[Eyeball]

Um, I said that Eyeball....you did read the rest of the post yes?

Here, let me help.

But at the time the mud also rebooted at LEAST  every 7 days, but normaly would crash about every 3. So though the shopkeeper might have stocked only 3 of the item, you had 2-3 chances a week to get to him and he might even have them. So, that shopkeeper could possibly allow 6-9 of these items in game per week.

This means, nearly twenty years ago,(about the time I started playing) in most cases, staff decided that some things SHOULD be limited and used this method to limit them.

Far more recently the reboot schedule was changed, the side effect being that these items are now, for the most part, not existing.

Ok.

[Twilight]

I think it would extremely easy to fix.

Random VNPCs come by and buy items, decreasing shop inventory (or PCs come by).

So reverse it.  Random VNPCs come by and sell items.  Probably with less chance than VNPC buyers and restricted to whatever is on the producing list of the shopkeeper that is not unlimited.

Heck, there is probably a way to tweek the shopkeeper code such that super cool stuff only has a chance of loading on reboot, and then a chance with VNPC sellers.

This would provide benefits to those who regularly check shops during uptimes, rather than rushing just after a reboot.

And probably be less work than instituting the rotational scripts certain stores have.

[Riev]

I've got a feeling I know some of the items that X-D is talking about, and I agree. Some of the items deigned for more sneakytweaky types are only on boot, and often are on a blackmarket that requires a cover fee just to browse the wares. If you know the item you're looking for is only on boot, whats the point in ever checking without a reboot? Just think, if there was a random chance to replenish stock on these items, how much 'sid would virtually fly away as people scramble to be the ones that catch it?

I'm always for more reasons to spend 'sid, because people just don't do it enough.

[mansa]

I've got a feeling I know some of the items that X-D is talking about, and I agree. Some of the items deigned for more sneakytweaky types are only on boot, and often are on a blackmarket that requires a cover fee just to browse the wares. If you know the item you're looking for is only on boot, whats the point in ever checking without a reboot? Just think, if there was a random chance to replenish stock on these items, how much 'sid would virtually fly away as people scramble to be the ones that catch it?

I'm always for more reasons to spend 'sid, because people just don't do it enough.

I've witnessed a random chance to replenish stock items of these items, this year.

[MarshallDFX]

If there is a constant problem with these items being out of stock, then the price should just be made to be 20 times as high.

[AmandaGreathouse]

Because that won't encourage twinking for the sid.

[Xagon]

I think restock rates should be increased somewhat, and the prices left alone. If it makes sense to have the item, they should restock it with one of them maybe twice a day. If it's a "specialty" item (The florist selling a pretty vase) the restock should be anywhere from 1 a day to 1 a week.

[Greve]

One day after a reboot and many shops are already missing essential items like tools and basic profession supplies. Is this really not worth changing?

[Morgenes]

One day after a reboot and many shops are already missing essential items like tools and basic profession supplies. Is this really not worth changing?

typo the items you think should have more regular availability in the same room with the shopkeeper and we will investigate how to remedy the issue.

[Greve]

The issue is not with the individual item but the fact that shops worldwide run out of things that should otherwise not be in limited supply. I feel that if an item is essential enough to a shop that it is loaded in its default inventory, it should never be depleted. The automated vNPC sale code takes a heavy toll on shops, and any shop that is not regularly re-supplied by players selling things back tends to end up empty when the game has been up for over a week. Is there a way to blanket code stock inventories to be infinite? It seems a preferable solution to typoing half the merchants and items in the game world. It is as much a problem of item availability as it is the general annoyance of seeing shops with nothing for sale due to a completely OOC factor. It seems to be in place for some shops and some items, but often not the ones that actually provide things that cannot be acquired elsewhere.

[Lizzie]

Not everything has a "default" inventory Greve. Some shops have a rotating inventory, with only a limited number of stock items.

Edited out my diatribe to say simply, sometimes items are put up for sale in shops' rotating inventory in limited supplies, on purpose. Considering there are thousands of items in dozens of shops, it really isn't very efficient to ask the staff to simply code every stock item to default to unlimited. Not all of those items are -intended- to be unlimited, and not all of those "stock" items are stock items. If someone is buying up all the widgets when there's only ten (and likely selling them in another shop for a profit somewhere), imagine how much *worse* the game's economy would be, if everyone could buy an unlimited number of those widgets, and sell them in other shops for a profit somewhere.

As I said. Some things are in limited supply for very specific reasons. Some, might be an oversight. If *you* feel that something is an oversight, then that's what the bug/typo/idea commands are for.

[Riev]

Maybe someone has the focus of buying all the basic tools and profession equipment, as you put it, so that you all have to go to him/her?

Because. You know. That'd be really cool. Buy out absolutely every useful tool in the game and make people come to you. GMHs would come down SO hard on you, it'd be great.

[Adhira]

As Morgenes said please typo the specific shopkeeper noting which item you think should be available more regulary.  That gives us specific information on where and what so we can more easily investigate.

Shops have the ability to have infinite items, they also have some items which load regularly, but on a randomised basis. Mansa correctly stated that these random items have the chance to reappear during the week, without reboot.  Not all items that are loaded in to a shops inventory are considered essential, and not all are meant to be always available, the random factor is how we influence availability and this is a feature that we have some measure of control over re: frequency.