Please randomize the traders and their inventories

Discussion in 'Suggestions' started by japp_02, May 18, 2022.

  1. japp_02

    japp_02 Commander

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    In the long run it's no fun if you always know where to go to buy or sell your stuff, it only turns to be an exploit.

    With 'Randomize' I mean that with every new game start even a veteran player cannot tell you that station X has the item Y to buy or sell, it will be random at each new game start. This should also make exploration more interesting. Essential goods for the gameplay could still be available everywhere.
     
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    Last edited: May 18, 2022
  2. Vermillion

    Vermillion Rear Admiral

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    That won't exactly work with stations that have named counters, and would cause exploits where two or more NPCs that sell to each other happen to spawn on the same POI.
    An alternative would be that traders have a configurable maximum amount of different trades that are randomized from the TraderNPCconfig. Allowing say... an InterWeap trader to have 30+ possible trades, but only 8-10 appear on the NPC at any one time.
    They could randomize when the trader refreshes, or be fixed on spawning.
     
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  3. japp_02

    japp_02 Commander

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    About your your first concern: Some small exploits in the prices with profit margins wouldn't make it worthwhile to go upstairs and jump from one to another NPC to get maybe 15000 credits profit in 1/2 hour gameplay, who would do such stupid play, really? And even if someone did he would deserve the profit! So I don't think that randomizing NPC stocks and prices would create horrible exploits, it would certainly be a huge improvement to the current system.
    Your second idea is ok, we players should just not be guaranteed like now to find all possible trade goods in the same POI over and over.

    It's a question about chosing a 100% predictable system like now - which is boring, or one whith realistic randomness and with the drawback of only marginal exploits but acceptable.
     
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    Last edited: May 19, 2022
  4. ravien_ff

    ravien_ff Rear Admiral

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    You can easily get millions in an hour doing nothing but standing in the same poi. That's the problem.
     
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  5. Popper

    Popper Ensign

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    After all, it’s so true in life, you go to a shopping center and suddenly buy a T-shirt in a vegetable store, and a coffee grinder in a car center.
    But you went there for a toothbrush, but for some reason you couldn’t buy it!

    But I see the very idea of the authors of the mod liked it. The main thing is to solve the very terrible problem of easy enrichment by buying on one floor and selling on another. We are waiting for her wonderful incarnation in RE 2.0.
     
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  6. ravien_ff

    ravien_ff Rear Admiral

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    Random traders just wouldn't work for many reasons. (Why would a colonist farm sell thrusters?).

    But like was mentioned, being able to randomize what trades a trader uses from among all their possible trades would be good. So then not every farm trader would sell the same seeds, etc.
     
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  7. japp_02

    japp_02 Commander

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    Yes, your second section is all what I'm asking for, of course it's a prime argument saying: If like in real life you want a toothbrush, then indeed, you know where to go, there is no mystery and no 'randomization' necessary.
    I was talking about the entire list of a category for a trader to be randomized, this list is currently big enough - and it doesn't need to have such a high-volume of goods like it is now with more than 20-40 products, I would also make an exception for really important gameplay products that you need to advance the game, including all products in the farming or medecine catalogue, these would always be in the list like now. For example, even a minimal set of 3-5 random products with varying prices belonging in the catalogue area of the vendor would be fine.
    The simplest way doable without too much coding is to set a seed at the initial game loading for all POIs that you have discovered but not yet visited, or a seed for every new playfield you visit- but from there on it will keep unchanged, still you won't know what to expect in a specific POI. A more elaborate way to randomize is a dynamic system which changes even as you go on playing, but if well done I challenge you, me and everyone to see any real differences between the 2 methods (or any other method).

    I realize that my ideas are naive ones, not taking account of what is possible to do in the coding department, but whatever is done in the matter it will be highly welcome by the players of EGS.
     
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    Last edited: May 30, 2022

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