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Enlightened_One

Auction House

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Hey, all.  Yeah, I said it... we need an auction house.  I know it's all World-of-Warcraft-like, and Archeage-like.  But it would help us trade with one another much more easily than running around trying to find the right personal merchant who has what you want.  And easier than setting up a merchant of your own and hoping others will find him.

 

Or maybe through our settlement tokens.  If we can sell iron lumps and stone bricks to the King through our tokens and they magically get to him from there, we should be able to see a list of items other players have for sale and post our own items for sale to them, and trade with other players through our tokens as well.

 

If having an auction house in the ether somewhere which is instantly accessible by everyone everywhere is too unrealistic, we could have a physical auction house located in two distinct locations on every server, and players would have to deliver their items for sale to the AC, and pick up the items they buy from the AC.  The advantage being that we could browse through all goods for sale from one building/screen, instead of running from merchant to merchant.

 

 

Edited by Enlightened_One

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Pros:

Easy way to find goods being bought and sold

Easy way to bring goods to market

Creation of polar regional markets for sales

Creates a town square environment of trade and interaction

Create Infrastructure around market locations, Inns, farms.

Moves focus to the game over the forum

 

Neutrals:

Take away from direct to euro sales

Auction House popularity based on people not using the forums

Eases transportation of goods

Negative or Positive impacts on prices based on undercutting individuals to lowest/highest denominator 

 

Negatives:

Creates limited polar regional markets diminishes player run and owned markets

Creates squalor like environments if player count increases, 1x1 shacks, holes in the ground

Depending on implementation could make transporting goods less important

Likely to be laggy due to Java limitations on players in the area

Forces trade to migrate to the node

 

Transportation of goods fits all categories depending on how individuals feel about it.

Edited by FranktheTank

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I honestly miss when mailing ###### wasn't efficient and you actually had to travel to get stuff. Made wurm more interesting when you were practically forced to travel and meet people and form relationships.

 

That's not to say I wouldn't cry if it came back ?

 

-1 its already ez mode

Edited by Toolhead
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4 hours ago, Toolhead said:

I honestly miss when mailing ###### wasn't efficient and you actually had to travel to get stuff. Made wurm more interesting when you were practically forced to travel and meet people and form relationships.

 

That's not to say I wouldn't cry if it came back ?

 

-1 its already ez mode

Transportation of goods created more regional market places to go to shop rather than loading up the wurm forums and shopping WTS and shipping it to the customer.

 

We now have Amazon's offering everything in game you could want cutting out the local supermarkets and shops.

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bring back the server markets

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Edited by armyskin
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The only way I would be okay with an Auction House is that if it is in a fixed location (i.e. starter town) and it works kinda like EVE market does. Let me explain.

 

You go to your local auctioneer at the starter town and check the listings. You find out Angelklaine is selling a rare forge for 5s. You place your order (bid, purchase, w/e) and win the auction. You then go to the auctioneer at the location and pick it up. 

 

Players would have to go to the auction house and drop off the items they want to sell, which will be handed to the winner when they go to pick it up. Nothing gets mailed, and nothing gets transported, wether cross server or not (if you buy an item on Xanadu and the item is on Cele, you have to go there pick it up.)

 

This would be cool and doesnt mess with the spirit of trading in Wurm. 

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5 hours ago, Angelklaine said:

The only way I would be okay with an Auction House is that if it is in a fixed location (i.e. starter town) and it works kinda like EVE market does. Let me explain.

 

You go to your local auctioneer at the starter town and check the listings. You find out Angelklaine is selling a rare forge for 5s. You place your order (bid, purchase, w/e) and win the auction. You then go to the auctioneer at the location and pick it up. 

 

Players would have to go to the auction house and drop off the items they want to sell, which will be handed to the winner when they go to pick it up. Nothing gets mailed, and nothing gets transported, wether cross server or not (if you buy an item on Xanadu and the item is on Cele, you have to go there pick it up.)

 

This would be cool and doesnt mess with the spirit of trading in Wurm. 

As long as we can bid and browse remotely i'm fine with that. I don't understand why are people so much against auction house, I would like very much that trade is totally shifted from forums towards ingame and not dependant on both parties being online at the same time and more automated. If more people would visit merchants I would be most happy to use them tbh. Would even like to see wagooneer system expanded cross server where servers would be connected via ferries wagoneers could cross.

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Yup, these last 2 comments were what I was thinking, where items would not magically move themselves.  Sellers would still need to deliver items to the AC where they want to list.  Buyers would still have to pick items up at the AC they bought from.  Two AC's on each server would create a nice competitive economy, maybe 3 for larger servers like Xanadu.  And I like the comment about spill-over economic activity surrounding each AC, like inns, restaurants, supplies stores, etc, which would cater to players on their journeys to the AC when picking up or dropping off.

 

Essentially, the main benefit of having AC's would be one central registry listing everything that players have for sale.  For buyers, this would make locating items easier, from your own settlement token, rather than having to interview each individual merchant to see what they're selling.  For sellers, it would give greater exposure to other players than setting up a merchant.  Think of the AC's system as little more than an in-game WTB/WTS board, with the added convenience of handling in-game payments using Wurm coin.

 

It would also stabilize prices.  As it is now, I found one merchant selling a 50QL iron shovel for 50c, and another merchant a few stalls down the road from him selling a 40QL iron shovel for 1s.  The AC would balance pricing out to levels based on actual supply/demand region by region, as everyone would be able to see at a glance what everyone else is selling for.

 

In short, the moving of goods remains.  The AC system would be pretty much just a message board that publishes listings and prices, with a built-in banking system that facilitates payments between players.

 

Edited by Enlightened_One

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Like I said above, I am not against it, but...

 

Creating a unitary market for sale will cause infrastructure, development, and deeds to naturally crowd that structure creating a more urbanized environment which is pretty cool imo.

 

However this will again, continue to have an impact on local and regional markets/squares that used to propagate the map before but died off due to the Amazon like package system.

 

A balance should be struck that will create the server based auction house, while still keeping regional trade, and then nerfing mailboxes.

 

This can be done the following ways:

 

Introduce the Auction House in a centrally located area on each server, or a starting deed. Then, allow the creation of auction house brokerages as middle men between them that requires a large amount of resources (large build esque think pylon, colossus) and a wagoneer connection to send goods between markets. This way individuals can still make their own auction houses as regional hubs in coordination with the main hub.

 

Or option B,

 

Introduce several Auction house locations depending on map size to facilitate the trade from auction house to regions.

 

I vote for option A as is provides additional uses for  current mechanics.

Edited by FranktheTank

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Yes, interesting ideas for sure.  Yet the AC system should make it easier for individual players to buy and sell, not make it harder.  Too many layers of operators between buyer and seller would overly complicate things, and make it harder for the new kid on the block to buy or sell anything.

 

There could still be the option of a clan of players (guild, if we want to call it that) to set up their own AC marketplace which would rival and compete with other AC's.  But there should also be a general, server AC system where even the humblest of players can buy and sell.  Easy for the little guys, but with room for the big boys to set up their own competing AC if they wish.  Of course, to set up your own AC and have it connected to the server's AC system would require large capital expenditures.  We can't have dozens and dozens of AC's, as that would not be an improvement over the merchant system we have now.

 

In sum... a centralized AC system with message board and banking payment system which allows every player to see everything that's up for sale by clicking on their settlement token, with room for clans to add their own AC to the server's AC system.  All with a main registry listing all items and prices, with a banking payment transfer system linked to it.

 

Keep in mind, however, that if we have one AC registry where we can see all items for sale, there really would not be a need for clans or groups of players to set up their own AC marketplace.  They would simply list the items they are selling on that one AC board which all players can browse, much like the WTS message board on the forum, only this would be in-game.  So there would be no need for individual auction houses.  There would be just one auction house board that everyone would list on, so that a buyer could just go to one page and search.

 

Buyers would choose a listing according to price and the location they are willing to travel to for pickup.  Thus, location would still be important, as some buyers are not willing to travel too far.  But there would be no need for multiple regional auction houses.  Just one AC registry where everyone lists their items.  Each listing would show item, quantity, price, and the AC warehouse location where the items are stored.  So yes, location would be a factor.  But all listings would appear on one AC registry.  We want to simplify shopping.

 

 

Edited by Enlightened_One

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I like the integrated wagoner idea. It gives more use to the wagoners. Using them as couriers for auction sales would be great.

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Can we nerf Mailbox? 

My wallet would greatly appreciate it. 

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I don't think Wurm would benefit from an auction house type system. I do think that indexing the markets that do exist would be greatly helpful. I'll use Indy as an example since I know it, we have the Freedom Market. To shop there, you  have to travel, then go from merchant to merchant to see if what you want is there. If I could search first, then travel there, then know where the merchant was, it would make the market useful again. As it is now, people just ask in trade and mostly ignore merchants.

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What is different about the indexing over an auction house?  The only difference I see is that you have to physically travel to the merchant after you have seen everything for sale.

 

Everyone is not hooked up to wagoneers yet.  Some starting cities on Xan are not even connected yet.

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Indexing a physical location and physical merchants, rather than a virtual auction house with delivery. I'm not suggesting remote purchasing, I know that won't go over well, just to know before spending an hour traveling if what I want is available.

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I wouldn't actually mind a updated system for market stalls. I think they should work the same though, you buy it, place it, set items. The catch is, you give the player the ability to view all the public market stalls in one simple user interface for all servers. Allow the potential ability to remotely buy items that way. I don't think this is a bad thing either. I think people need to realize the lack of trading and exploring and the lack of demand for said items these days. Going off on a spending adventure for those market stalls isn't really a thing anymore. Trust me I've done it a fair bit over the years. I used to sail sever to sever looking for deals, but that part of the game is honestly dead.

 

Rares are so cheap because the lack of item sinks. So it was only a matter of time when they're simply were too many rares being shuffled around, messing prices up. However in my opinion the problem is, the is a lack of interesting power goods for "the player" to use or to own. We have rares, supreme, fantastic's and runes. It ends there. Two basic systems that haven't really been improved upon. If the devs did something drastic, like a item sink or disenchanting rares, upgrading rares, combining them etc. It could honestly breath life into the economic side of this game. Which is in poor shape.

 

Something to consider, I wouldn't hold my breath though. Thanks.

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I often play on Mystic Highlands server. As part of the community events we have very successful auctions approximately every month. They are so successful due to the hard work of Valiance and Kaylie (owners) and I fear that this may be the problem with this suggestion.

 

It is possible that I cannot see what is actually possible with wagoneers etc. and would be willing to change my opinion if that is the case.  Some very community-minded players may actually be willing to create events like those described above. If they did, I would suggest that you may find players who did not usually buy / sell will be drawn to the location.  Those involved in the organising should be able to take an auctioneers cut of 5-10%. The auction house would simply be a player-made building in much the same style as the inn. It is theoretically possible for the idea to be trialled now- all it takes is for someone to have the time and energy to try it.

 

The auctions would certainly raise community spirit and may even help support the flagging economy.

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1 major problem with wagoners is the vast distances of highways that need to be built. South Indy is virtual untouched with highways, some on purpose, mostly because of a lack of ambitious players. I imagine the issues I've run into on Indy are magnified significantly on Xanadu.

 

I loved the auction houses in WoW. The worry I have here is the issue that caused the Diablo 3 auction house to close. Equipment creep. All but the best gear gets over looked, and price gouging eventually makes even listing anything but the absolute best futile. It also makes access to the best a little easier, and Devs had to decide on compensating for better gear with harder content, or remove the auction house. There aren't enough buyers and mass producing goods is too easy. It would easily be possible for 1-2 industrious people to completely saturate an already sinking marketplace.

 

At least with merchants there is the cost to buy them and the 50 item limit. Though someone placing just a few is enough to change everyone elses options.

 

A once a month event would be great, give people a reason to gather, much like the impalong. It would make trading no-trade items like sleep powder easier, too.

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There is absolutely no reason not to incorporate merchant into auction house, maybe having courier enchant on market stall would register them for browsing global, having enchanted mail X tiles away would allow automatic delivery of bought mailable bought items, for others you would have to travel just like now just not requiring sellers presence and communication with him. I would also like to see automated trading system for other loadable items via wagoneers though and some way that merchants could sell them too either via contracts or new NPC or container, or expanding wagooneer so they can act like merchants too. Would be cool if wagooneer could deliver someone sold pmk wagon for example for a charge.

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-1

Wurm is a unique sandbox experience, don't do stuff that takes that away.

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-1

as much as a general AH would make it easier, I think it would take away from the social aspect (and for some items, the time/travel/adventures) we have now, I generally buy and sell to the same ppl because, well because it's a social thing, I know them, they know me, and I know I can trust them, they deliver, and they are "friends".

an AH just makes it a buy/sell from faceless because it's 1c cheaper. Not too mention that it could seriously ###### up the economy or change how we play.

 

In my personal, limited opinion, AH doesn't feel right for wurm. 

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Selling goods is already easy with highway system, but if your taking about AH that works as on hub. That can feeds all servers, There needs to be a risk reword system of some kind. That means the good would have to pass or be located in an AH on the pvp side in some fashion. These goods could be raided in some manor.  Whether they raided the transports or a storage unit with beefed up guards or what have you.  Something like approach would add more to the game then just making it easy excel spreed sheet AH market.

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