Messages

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Suggestions / Re: Allowing traders to get new stock?

« on: December 29, 2012, 09:19:03 pm »

Well, david there is a time counter/respawn when harvesting psi schrooms. It's like an hour in real life. I would guess that more of a problem is how the inventory should change.

This isn't quite what I meant - and also illustrates that time is currently rather underdeveloped. Where I mention adding the concept of time to the game I mean in a rather more fundamental, hours of the day, type of time. Walking from SGS to GMS should take time. Shops and bars shouldn't be open all the time, people should go to bed at some point. Jack Quicksilver should wait around for maybe a day and then head off so that his quest is failed. That sort of thing. I think this sort of restock...

trader's stock should change over time - when you complete some quests. Main quest?

... is a bit too arbitrary. I also don't think it will address another of Styg's current concerns. Namely, that certain creatures should respawn to allow the player to use them to gather experience and gain levels. If you're a gunslinger and you need to gun down a few more Burrowers so that you can gain a level and advance the main quest, you don't want to be waiting for the main quest to advance in order for the traders to restock on the bullets that you need to gun down the Burrowers.

I don't think it's that hard to decide how to change the inventory.  A trader should just have certain 'guidelines' of what should be in their inventory and there should be some kind of bounds on the quantities expected. That might be as wooly as saying Lucas should have Bullets[Min:20, Max:200] or as detailed as saying that Lucas should have 7.62 JHP[Min:2, Max:10] etc... When it's time for the inventory to change you just roll up some random results from these settings. I think some of this is already being done since each trader seems to start with a slightly randomised inventory. It just needs refreshing from time to time.

2

Suggestions / Re: Allowing traders to get new stock?

« on: December 28, 2012, 04:07:39 pm »

I agree that a trader's stock should change over time. Not in a wholly random way but in a manner that conveys the idea that the trader is trading with other traders. The likes of Jack Quicksilver and other wandering traders etc. Traders should probably have a particular array of item and component types that they'll carry with min / max amounts of each object. At certain points the trader's inventory chanegs within these bounds. It may be that they should also only buy items off the player that fit into these broader categories but this might be too prescriptive.

For me the problem lies with the idea that there is no 'time' in underrail yet. Having time and the passage of time as a game mechanic would help with this sort of thing. Maybe the trader's inventory changes once a week as a trade caravan passes through. This could be implied or it could be written into the game in a manner similar to the wandering caravans in Fallout 3. After so many days you actually see a travelling trader who deals in medicines show up and spend some time with Doctor Pasqual, restocking Pasqual's supplies. If you happen to be there at the time then you can trade directly with the traveller. If not then you can trade with Pasqual who's inventory has changed.

I think Styg's already working on respawn timers but making time a more concrete part of the game would allow for more creative uses and also make the environment feel more alive.