Compendium Of Commerce

The Pastebin links are to my own edits to the item worth lists under; https://github.com/Baystation12/Baystation12/tree/dev/code/modules/item_worth
When I asked about what changes people might want for the merchant job and trading, this - was mentioned by almost every single person on top of many other requests. It is absolutely unanymous from just about everyone I have met, including devs, that these changes are necessary. Lower the prices. Of which I’ve done. Additional information below also relates to how it can be improved further of which I cannot do. I’m willing to pay anyone interested a sum of money of around $80 if they are willing to code some of those changes, though will accept if those changes are ultimately not implemented into the server by the dev team. I can also write down all the descriptions and titles for each merchant, as well as any additional lore required for the Wiki.

https://pastebin.com/pCcVYAkP
https://pastebin.com/i8Czu4dZ
https://pastebin.com/Erq9aFfF
https://pastebin.com/if3PSiec
The following prices assume that;
Your average crew member is dealing in a total of 1000 Thalers of spending money, but that they can also trade in goods equal to a total of 500-2000 additional Thalers. The effective worth someone can bring in is 1500-3500 Thalers total, with the majority bringing 1500 unless they are from RND / Security.

Command Staff can bring in a total of 2000 Thalers +, with the limitation total being 9000 Thalers in exceptional cases. They are also able to trade in goods at their disposal in total of 1000-5000 Thalers worth.

Antagonists for these same purposes should be considered able to trade in great deals of cash, whether or not their ability to spawn in Thalers at the cost of TC is a concern is a bit of a mystery. On one hand, the effective purchasing power of TC compared to the Thalers they spawn is limited to them contacting a merchant, how much the merchant charges and the TC worth of the gun they purchase from a merchant as opposed to their uplink. Generally speaking the worth is higher - but the cost of time should be considered also.

Simplified - The amount of money each player can use to purchase things from the Merchant ranges from;
500 - 9,000 Thalers (Average is about 500 Thalers for non command staff and 1,800 for Command Staff, species and skill can change this number up to a factor of 3.)
500 / 1800 / 4000
Other:
The following are context for the market price of the items under the new lists I’ve made.
https://wiki.baystation12.net/Standard_Operating_Procedure#Controlled_Substances.2FItems
The following have been assigned high costs due to SolGov laws surrounding these objects and their use, primarily in either regulation or their being made illegal. Other relative notes to costs is that items that can be constructed RND should still be feasible to buy from a merchant, as the RND is not a factory that mass produces weapons - therefore their methods of fabrication would not be at a level of industrial efficiency. See video; $1500 dollar sandwich
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URvWSsAgtJE&vl=en

(Prices without clear justification will have a times 5% percent reduction for each 1000 units it exceeds over 3000)











= Addendums =

Information / Availability:
It is important to provide full, complete lists of what Merchants sell under the merchant’s console instead of randomizing what items are available for both immersion and for consistency in what a merchant can do each round.

Making every merchant available from the getgo is more viable then having them disappear, certain purchases and trades take a great deal of time to commence and even if the merchants are bribed, they only stay for 5 minutes or less longer in exchange for the bribe. This means that if you contact a merchant, you must have what they ask for in advance and do not have time to ever obtain it, defeating the purpose of merchant ‘quests’ in the first place.

It also means that a Merchant can do something like inviting wealthier buyers to their station to commence a trade, which plays more onto the roleplaying aspect of the role and involves the crew more thoroughly. They are able to understand the market that is available to them and make plans in regards to that knowledge, the more someone knows - the more they can prepare. When everything is random and chaotic, they are put into a situation where any planning they make is ultimately futile.

Random Prices:
These prices all mean nothing if the variables for what is priced aren’t lowered immensely, random prices are a very bad idea on a large scale. What happens is instead of the pricing making sense, merchants are looking at a 9mm pistol and a 45, with one massively overpriced and the other affordable. The changes to the costs that I added in keep in mind the laws, the costs of their real life counterparts and rough estimates that make everything believably priced. That is enough.

Antagonist Roles:
I would also recommend allowing Merchants to be selected for antagonist roles as it gives security more reason to suspect them, generally speaking they are the most fun when they are played as criminals or ruthless traders, as opposed to happy go lucky space clerks. Storytelling is important in this respect, and the reality is, in space - when you encounter a shady merchant with their own private ship, you expect and want them to be a criminal. It’s just more interesting and it makes for a much better interaction.


Being a criminal means having to establish contacts and constantly be aware of each action you take, it’s why I do it myself. There’s a heavy emphasis on wordplay, teamwork and secrecy, every conversation suddenly has gravity and every friend or employee you find is a valuable asset. It creates tension where there wasn’t as the command/security staff become unsure of your erratic actions, each step you take is like a footprint which forces you to play the game smart or in a prison.

Often this means a massive, massive focus on roleplay and dialogue, because you understand that if you don’t roleplay things out people are more likely to be adverse to your actions. In my case I did act like a bit of a spook and that worked out in my favor, people seem entertained enough to not do anything about it because I made the round a bit more interesting. Good roleplay doesn’t mean just sitting at your station and doing your job, in some circles repetition is considered an essence of bad roleplaying. It’s like acting, you need range and criminality creates that variance, stories are not supposed to be consistent, they need to be in some way unpredictable so they can remain refreshing and interesting.

To simplify, this allows rounds that might normally be similar to The Office, become akin to shows like Firefly and Bebop. Yes, even Bebop, because an antagonist merchant doesn’t have to say they are a merchant - they could be on the ship looking to capture a bounty. I once roleplayed as an Arms dealer on behalf of a totalitarian government, we had a blast and what would of normally been a dead round was interesting and full of interaction.