[quote=Rakaposhi]One problem with Prospects and Bargains I can forsee is that players will likely stockpile bargains in the bank until the relevant prospect shows up. As time passes and your wealth grows the player is likely to accumulate enough stock to fulfill any prospect at will. It’s certainly what I’ve done in my time in the Reach (with the odd sale of bargains to New Winchester at regular prices when I’ve needed sovereigns for a new ship or the like)
At that point they don’t seem any different than the ‘Major Traders’ who have the regular trading routes locked down - they have a warehouse full of stock and deliver it when requested. Scouring the region for bargains isn’t necessary as they’ve picked all this stuff up previously on their travels.[/quote]
I actually sort of like this, it feels like playing as a proper merchant. Though i agree it does get a bit easy
What i’d like to see is some reason not to buy up every bargain you find. maybe have the price randomised and sometimes be not-a-bargain at all.
Or some cost to storing things in the bank
As it is, every bargain is guaranteed profit, so you just buy out the whole bazaar everywhere you go
I think we have these now, but it’s just a matter of AI.
I got ambushed by marauders going into traitor’s wood, they flew out from behind rocks, two at a time. Unfortunately they were just too dumb to catch me, and kept ramming each other and said rocks.
Ive seen herds of cantankeri, and yesterday i got swarmed by a veritable fleet of marauders near titania. Three at once, and then another three almost immediately.
They did kill me, but largely only due to luck and carelessness. They can’t fly their ships effectively and the AI needs work
I think maybe marauders could also do with some kind of interdicting weapon. A net launcher or harpoon, to slow down little cargo ships that steam on past
I broadly agree with a lot of what’s been said; more variations on prices and text rather than the same few generated that you can always come back to and buy up and sell for a profit at Victoria Market. But presumably more depth was forthcoming anyway.
I would like if they were more integrated into the regular system; perhaps having prices and amounts of stock fluctuate from place to place, time to time, which could replace the dual system of regular traders and the bazaar, or just bring them closer together.
The literature one always generated, from the very start, with 0 literature available for sale for me.
I’m going to preface this by saying I’m sure I’ve poked around with the game way less than everyone else.
That said, one thing I’ve noticed amongst the feedback here and agree with is that while you generally pick and choose Prospects based on your current situation and where you plan on traveling, once you have enough Sovereigns, there’s really no reason not to take advantage of each and every Bargain you come across. You can always either store the goods you get in the Bank to fulfill a future Prospect, or sell them for a smaller profit at New Winchester.
Given that two of the aims of the system were to "[provide] harder choices; better rewards" and "make trade a story", I propose the following radical idea…
What if all Bargains were cargo swaps instead of purchases using Sovereigns?
As an example, maybe a retired Commander in need of personal armaments offers to trade you 3 Caddies of Dried Tea (90 sov each) he’s snuck away from the officers’ club for 3 Carefully-Packed Crates of Munitions (60 sov each). In this manner, Bargains aren’t an instant source of profit, but instead become things to plan around, much like Prospects. Can you source the Munitions the Commander needs before the Bargain expires? I also feel like swaps like this would tell a "scrappier" trade story: you can’t just go around and make a killing by buying random cheap goods that seem to be available at most ports, but instead have to be clever and get people what they need when they need it to turn a profit.
Anyway, it’s a thought. I like the core of the Prospects/Bargains system, but I feel like Bargains in particular could stand to have more interesting decisions associated with them!