Ludeon Forums

RimWorld => Ideas => Topic started by: Halinder on January 26, 2015, 06:22:19 PM

Title: Trader Affinity
Post by: Halinder on January 26, 2015, 06:22:19 PM
Many times, a trader is passed up on without their wares even considered for a moment. This frustrates merchants that make a living from trading, yes?

I think that traders should:

-Have their own status, like factions, upon map generation.
-Have a general affinity toward your colony, decreasing if too few or none of their items are bought and increasing if they gain a certain amount of silver or buy a certain amount of wares.
-Increase or decrease traffic with your colony depending on affinity.
Title: Re: Trader Affinity
Post by: FridayBiology on January 26, 2015, 06:41:41 PM
sounds good,
If your colonist isn't buying why bother flying all that way.
Title: Re: Trader Affinity
Post by: SuperCaffeineDude on January 26, 2015, 11:03:55 PM
I'd dig that on a a smaller scale, say a ground-bound trader, but in the lore the ships are pretty much just passing through, presumably the crews are in cryostasis and wake up to do business before spending a further 30 years sleeping on either a return journey or their next stop. So building a working relationship might be impossible unless they're local, though i suppose they might be if there's an advanced world in your planetary system.
Title: Re: Trader Affinity
Post by: TrashMan on January 27, 2015, 02:55:35 AM
IIRC, won't trade ship be completely replaced with traveling traders?

Makes far more sense to me than constant ship traffic around a abandoned planet with shipwreck colonists.
Title: Re: Trader Affinity
Post by: shade88 on January 27, 2015, 05:12:53 PM
Quote from: TrashMan on January 27, 2015, 02:55:35 AM
IIRC, won't trade ship be completely replaced with traveling traders?

Makes far more sense to me than constant ship traffic around a abandoned planet with shipwreck colonists.
Plus, with all that traffic, you'd think the colonists could just call for help...? Like asking the traders to "beam me up, please" and "get us the hell out of here!"
Title: Re: Trader Affinity
Post by: Haplo on January 27, 2015, 05:59:28 PM
Quote from: shade88 on January 27, 2015, 05:12:53 PM
Plus, with all that traffic, you'd think the colonists could just call for help...? Like asking the traders to "beam me up, please" and "get us the hell out of here!"

.. and their answer is most likely "F**k off you little sh*t. This is a trade ship and not a luxus liner." ;)
Title: Re: Trader Affinity
Post by: evrett33 on January 27, 2015, 06:12:23 PM
In keeping with Ludeons desire for storyline centric content..why not make the trader leave the ship and be an actual person who comes down and you need to babysit. Think like the Postman.  This arrangement creates much more story and character attachment then a com computer. He can stay in Haplo's tents...or one of your colonist's bed!
Title: Re: Trader Affinity
Post by: DFDelta on January 27, 2015, 07:40:54 PM
Quote from: TrashMan on January 27, 2015, 02:55:35 AM
IIRC, won't trade ship be completely replaced with traveling traders?

Makes far more sense to me than constant ship traffic around a abandoned planet with shipwreck colonists.

In my headcanon the traders just aren't suicidal enough to pick up a bunch of unknown (possibly armed) people on the promise of "no really, we aren't pirates".
Trading from beyond orbit by beaming stuff around or teleporting some poor smuck into a slave hold is something that should be somewhat safe.
Title: Re: Trader Affinity
Post by: GlassDeviant on January 28, 2015, 10:28:36 PM
Having finally read the Magnum Opus for Rimworld, I noted that "it takes years or decades to travel or communicate between stars" and "interstellar travel is unusual". This seems to indicate to me that traders from off-world popping by would be a lot less frequent, and most trade would be between on-planet groups.
Title: Re: Trader Affinity
Post by: Johnny Masters on January 29, 2015, 12:25:43 AM
The sheer amount of random people dropping by your property every other day and the regularity of orbital traders puts down (hard) the whole "we're stranded" concept. So yeah, it needs to be toned down or the initial game should be changed to space pioneers instead of survivors

on time: Seems good that traveller regularity or even available wares &\or prices be molded by events.

Eventually it could be possible to set trade routes, so a single map isn't gifted with everything, thus making specialized traders?

That said, orbital spaceship traders aren't there for you probably, they either are just dropping by to discharge their drive cores ( :P ) and\or trade with whomever shows on their comm console: might be you, might be the raiders, might be all.

Docking a spaceship should be mostly out of question, just as is sending someone down (i mean, it's 2015 and people already barely feel the need to talk face to face anymore).

Why space traders don't beam you into safety is a 'plothole' yet to be properly adressed.
Title: Re: Trader Affinity
Post by: ousire on January 29, 2015, 05:41:55 AM
I think factions should become your new trade partners instead of random ships. We already have a comms console that lets you contact the other factions and give them silver for relationships boost, so I think it would be relatively easy to flesh out that system and integrate it with trade. Different factions could act somewhat like the various trade ships in the game, and their relationship with you would influence their prices in addition to the colonists' social skills.

Pirate factions would charge really high prices, but would offer weapons and prisoners, like military and slaver ships. Tribal factions would offer medieval weaponry and fur pelts and other 'low tech' items. And other towns would offer random assortments of goods, like general traders and exotic traders. Ships could still pass by, but they would be rarer, and would provide sources of the items that would be unrealistic to see rimworld colonists producing, rare glittertech and such.

What would be the MOST impressive was if prices could be made flexible, and factions relationships could raise or lower depending on how good of a deal you give them. Basically, if you trade with them but only give them the lowest amount of value you could get away with, they'll accept the trade but feel somewhat cheated, and would lower your relation slightly (or at least not boost it). Give them a fair deal, and it would raise relations a little. But if you give them a generous deal, it'll start to really boost relationships with them (Which would basically replace the current method of give silver to boost relations ). Higher relations would mean better prices in trade, and possibly a wider selection of goods in the future.