The state of vending in RO

[horo]

In many aspects RO is an outdated MMORPG, and I feel vending is one of the more prominent issues. While in RO you have to create a separate character on a separate account and use @at (providing servers have both of these features), most modern MMORPG have moved onto auction house systems, where you can list your items either for a set price or to be sold to the highest bidder, much like eBay.

Now, RO actually does have an auction system, but it really is set up purely for auctions, and doesn't seem too easily customizable either. Presuming a new server where people have not already made merchants, would you like to see this system expanded to somewhat mirror WoW's auction house system and completely replace RO's merchant vending system?

Maybe you do have experience with the auction system on eathena and know of any exploits?

Please share your opinion and experiences!

[LiteX]

In many aspects RO is an outdated MMORPG, and I feel vending is one of the more prominent issues. While in RO you have to create a separate character on a separate account and use @at (providing servers have both of these features), most modern MMORPG have moved onto auction house systems, where you can list your items either for a set price or to be sold to the highest bidder, much like eBay.

Now, RO actually does have an auction system, but it really is set up purely for auctions, and doesn't seem too easily customizable either. Presuming a new server where people have not already made merchants, would you like to see this system expanded to somewhat mirror WoW's auction house system and completely replace RO's merchant vending system?

Maybe you do have experience with the auction system on eathena and know of any exploits?

Please share your opinion and experiences!

Not only WoW has this, Perfect World and Runescape has it too, I would like if RO had this option but won't it like destroy some features of the merchant class?
Anyway, RO>WoW in terms of economy due to pretty much a lot of things in WoE being soulbound when equipped(Some are even when picked up) and those annoying gold seller (RO has some, but it's not as big as WoW's)

[horo]

It'll make the vending skill useless, nothing other than that.

This is really not about WoW, I just named it as the most prominent MMORPG featuring an auction house, so don't discuss WoW's economy or gold sellers or anything about them please.

[Green]

Something along those lines would be wonderful, really.
At the moment, the only think close is the servers' forums.

It doesn't have to make the vending skill obselete, either.
For example, the server I am on, a lot of merchants sit outside the tooldealer, selling things they bought from the tool dealer with DC. So they make more than they bought it for, but sell it for less than the dealer.
Why would someone go to an auction house for something like Flywings when they can just do it this way, which, I imagine, would be closer and faster.


But for more expensive/rarer items, it would be nice. Then I wouldn't have to readjust my zoom and angle all the time to be able to get to every shop. *kicks overlapping edges of shop names*

[Relics]

I'd probably want to keep the good o'l merchant vending, though actioning clearly has the advantage of making people offer through an interface and setting up a 'direct price', I still feel like RO = Vending and not auctioning. plus it kind of makes ragnarok differ from some other mmorpgs

[LiteX]

It'll make the vending skill useless, nothing other than that.

This is really not about WoW, I just named it as the most prominent MMORPG featuring an auction house, so don't discuss WoW's economy or gold sellers or anything about them please.

K, well, IMO, auction houses are a pretty good way to help RO's economy, a good way to prevent merchants from becoming crap is making the "Vending" Skill required, Gravity made a more "specialized" storage in renewal, so I don't see improbalities there in customization

[horo]

@Green:

It can already be used for vending single items if you set the minimum bid and auto-sell price to the same, but what you cannot do is put in more than a quantity of one item (no 100 jellopy for example).

I outlined the problems of merchants in my first post: Extra account, extra character, @at. I remember the early days of RO when you had to vend by leaving your main account logged in overnight since you could not play and vend at the same time.

Putting the auction house fees at a percentage rather than a fixed value would allow for DC'ed items and such to be sold also. Speed of transfer is a valid issue, since auction house items are send to your mailbox instead of your inventory. Considering that making a DC merchant to buy your own NPC goods takes little time, I feel that the benefits of an auction house system outweigh the drawbacks.


@Litex: OC/DC is far more important than vending anyway, I don't mind ruining a classes ability to stand in town doing nothing.

[A92FL0163]

Hmmm... About the vending skill, you could make using the vending NPC or something cost X zenies for every 12Hours it is on the market, but it is viewable and buyable at every town, and a price of it is taxed, or something, while vending you can only vend in a place, but no taxes at all. Also, while on the market you could only put, for example, 6 kind of items, on vending it would go to a higher number?
Just a idea, people would still use vending to avoid taxes, or to sell stuff that they couldn't put on the market.

Also, I mentioned about that on another thread: Sellrooms, maybe you could make something along those lines?

[horo]

Similar to auction houses in other MMORPG, it would charge a fee based on the price of the item (~5%) for items over a certain value (100k or 1m, something like that). Looking at other MMORPG's auction houses and adapting the functions that have proven to be successful and appreciated isn't the problem rather than scripting it to work on eathena.

I really don't care to preserve merchants vending at all as I intend to disallow players having multiple accounts and the ability to doubleclient, preventing the current method of mass @at vending.

[Omi]

Actually, I wish more games used a buy/sell system like Runescape, as it seems to be one of the most fairest and quickest ways to get items.

Ragnaroks vending system can actually be useful sometimes, but too many people just do it for population / overpricing crap items these days.

[soki]

*hehe i posted that on your old thread*

anyways i definetly support the auction system

first it will or maybe prevent inflatation of zeny (not sure if i used the right word)
because of the tax

and the best part no ghost town filled @at merch

and you can probably still turn on Vending skill for merch for those
who like to sell POTS if the auction system doesn't allow XXX amount of items
to be sold just make sure you turn off the @at and track everyone's IP making
sure there's only one Merch vending per IP and turn off duel client...

it's be trouble some to track all merch's IP but it might help preventing some issue

EDIT: you can also change the lvl of Vend Skill for instance you can either change
it to max lvl 4-5 so that it will only have 5 vending slot or you can change have it
to Max lvl 10 but still have 5 vending slot like it requires 2 skill points to open 1
vending slot

EDIT: and another things you can make a Bulletin Board in the middle of prontera for
those people who want put up ( B>, S> or T> ) (just like the thread's in forums) which
cost them a few zeny to thousand or maybe million.. it works the same as broadcasting
but it stays in the bulletin board and when people click the bulletin it'll show all the
B> S> and T> ... that might ruin the point of Auction Sysmtem ... it's mostly for those
players who doesn't want to go to forum and want a lot of things to buy that's perhaps
not available in the Auction Systems... you can make the Bulletin restart every day or
2days....

[horo]

If the auction system were to replace the vending system, fees would definitely have to be adjusted, so it wouldn't ultimately help inflation much. Good servers shouldn't have too much inflation anyway.

There's so many items that are usually being vended in bulk that the option would definitely have to be scripted in to make it viable at all.

[Descent]

If the auction system were to replace the vending system, fees would definitely have to be adjusted, so it wouldn't ultimately help inflation much. Good servers shouldn't have too much inflation anyway.

There's so many items that are usually being vended in bulk that the option would definitely have to be scripted in to make it viable at all.

But scripting those very tweaks in would be a pain in and of itself, most Admins just don't bother working on an Auction house since players will just be lazy and go to @at anyway.

[soki]

he can always turn of @at XD

no @at no ghost town w/ @at Merch and

new players wont misunderstand the population

if you have Online Status on your website.. just like

FeelRO and Eternity RO

[horo]

But scripting those very tweaks in would be a pain in and of itself, most Admins just don't bother working on an Auction house since players will just be lazy and go to @at anyway.

That's my biggest concern, and I'll have to consult some scripters from the paid service section of the eathena forums about it. While lack of double client will put a huge dent in the @at population to begin with, I might indeed switch it off entirely should I get this system working exactly like I envision, but I've already got a backup solution to all of this should it prove unsuccessful.


@soki

Merchants making for false population numbers is quite annoying especially if you join a server with 20~50 players and it turns out most of them are merchants.