I feel like 90% of the cool stuff from vendors should be sidegrades, it's really demoralizing to see everyone using the same knapsack and the same cuirass and what not.

In the past I was trying to figure out some kind of flag or whatever system so swords could be made by an NPC kind of similar to the custom clothing maker and just differentiate in basic stuff like colour. So something like 'order machete flint red scabbard' or whatever.

If you want a state of the art maximum schmicko ankheg shell machete with a tasseled scabbard, you ask a Salarri and interact with them. If you want a work sword for chopping up scrabs on Ocandra, you go to a vendor.

But then I discarded the idea as it would cause crippling bloat.

As a former Salarri, I am always for the ability to say "I don't know you and I don't care if you offer me ten large, I'm not selling to you."

The issue is that players get angry that they can't have the OP Sword they built their whole character around for some reason, so then they resort to threats and killing Salarris and being an overall bother because they couldn't get that +1 longsword.

There's nothing in the docs that I remember reading that said you HAVE to sell to people. You can choose who you sell to, and how much you want to charge.



As an aside: Indies may actually be LESS open for custom crafts, as most of them are likely trying to differentiate what they offer from the GMHs and need to wait a few months before there is an "opening". What I think indies are good for are cheap goods, because they don't have many employees. They don't have wagons, and argosies, and eighty tuns of water to fill a day.

I believe sentiments on how people view and use gear will change when:

1. Durability gets implemented, 'Charlie' the very good sword will become for 'display purposes only' until its a life critical situation.
2. Mercy code gets buffed. Beating someone up and taking their valuable things should be more common than just a couple NPC scripts.

The thing is, if you're a GMH crafter, you should just be churning out things your House makes and tossing them into a chest for the merchant to then sell. That's the end of your responsibilities. You finish and then go home. If you want to sell other stuff you can make, it should be allowed, as long as it's not the stuff your GMH specializes in and only uses materials you buy or collect. Indie crafters have to also be merchants, if they are soloing it, so it's different, but again, they shouldn't expect to have the same success as a merchant from a GMH. Their crafts aren't ever going to be better than the same sort that a GMH crafter can produce, because they don't have access to the training and facilities as a GMH crafter. Also, as an indie merchant/trader, you have to be your own pr/advertising guy too, where GMHs are already established names. If you cc things you know the GMHs don't make, unique looking items, people will buy from you. If you just try to sell the same generic stuff sold in shops, people will probably be less likely to buy it.

Quote from: Riev on July 16, 2024, 02:02:39 PMAs a former Salarri, I am always for the ability to say "I don't know you and I don't care if you offer me ten large, I'm not selling to you."

GMH merchants deffo have the agency to do this, but the fat commission from selling things that are 'ordered in' really incentivizes the opposite. I think the present state of affairs still does heavily encourage vending machine behavior.