[www.sotatraders.com] - Recipe Resource, Recipe Costing & Aggregated Player Vendor Prices

Discussion in 'Player Created Resources' started by Rowell, Sep 14, 2016.

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  1. Rowell

    Rowell Avatar

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    Background: It was after R32 of Shroud of the Avatar that it happened. The "Soft Release" (ie, Persistence) had happened. I spent many days leveling up, collecting everything that dropped and sticking it in my bank. Close to the time when I could choose my lot and drop my house, my bank was bulging at the seams. Raw materials, refined components, furniture, rugs...you name it, I had it. When I had the chance to drop my vendor, he was going to be stuffed to the gills; and I would be rolling in the cash. (or so I thought).

    Finally, placement day happened. Long story short, mad dash, many swears, a death off a cliff, a frantic search for an Ankh, ending up at the very last available village lot in Brittany Fields. Days of decorating followed. And finally, time to stock my vendor for my store's grand opening.

    That's when I ran into the trouble...
    I had dozens of items to sell. And absolutely no idea what the going rates for these items were. I could guesstimate, but what if I were too high, and scared away the very few customers that actually found my shop? So I ran around. A lot. I looked on the main street vendors. I looked on the back street vendors. I looked at vendors that were little more than shriveled up husks, begging for sunlight and the company of a customer. I saw prices. So many prices. I saw prices that were insanely low. I saw prices that were ludicrously high. There was little rhyme or reason to it.

    That's when I got to thinking. "Wouldn't it be nice to somehow see what the going rates for an item were, across a number of stores? Wouldn't it be nice to see the lowest and highest selling prices for Silver Ore, and even the median price?" Yes, I thought...that WOULD be nice! And thus was born the idea for www.SOTAtraders.com.

    The web site is community driven, and allows members to enter their character home/store placements into the SOTAtraders database. Members can also manage the store inventory by adding items to their store(s), and setting the selling prices. The site is not meant to track live quantities at any given store. Rather, it allows members to list the products they gather, create, collect and stock, along with the prices that they sell those items for.

    Members can view the aggregated data on the main page, which displays the NPC Buy back and Selling Price (if available on an NPC vendor), what the lowest and highest prices are per item, as well as the calculated median price for an item. This data is searchable by several dozen criteria ranging from item source to item sub-type.

    Members can also view the contents of other member stores. The list can be filtered by Town, as well as all the filtering features from the aggregated data on the main page. This view allows a member to view *ALL* player vendors in an area; not just the vendors closest to the main entrance. Additionally, members can place orders for other members, based on what they stock. The store owner can manage orders. Of course, interactions (payment, delivery, etc) must be handled in-game; but the site offers members the ability to say "Hey, I need X, Y and Z."

    Because community interaction is key to this site, members have the ability to notify the staff of any changes. New items can be added. Incorrect items can be updated. Old, obsolete items no longer in the game can be removed. Recipes can be added or updated. Members police the data, and once the data is verified, the database is updated; keeping the information fresh and correct.

    So, I invite you to visit the site often. Become a member. Spread the word. Help make www.sotatraders.com the premiere site for the Shroud of the Avatar in-game vendor market place.
     
  2. Tahru

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    Good idea. Although it is completely counter to the principle of regional economy in the game, I can apreciate how overwhelming that concept is for people. If players knew my prices, they would tell many others (esp owls head) where to stick it. Maybe this will help tone down the scalpers a bit.

    I won't list there though (for now) because I am struggling to keep up with demand and still maintain fair prices.
     
  3. Rowell

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    Seeing that each town is associated with a region, it really is not that hard to factor that into the search criteria (ie, "Search for Shops by Region").
    Being a community site, any input to make the functionality work for the player would be greatly appreciated.
     
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  4. Kabalyero Kidd

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    I created an account to try it out but I can't login... T_T
     
  5. Rowell

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    Oh noes! Let me see what I can do about that.
     
  6. Rowell

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    Just updated most of the items on the site with the most recent prices received from selling to vendors. Also, all the recipes for Butchery, Milling, Smelting, Tanning, Textiles and Alchemy have been added. That leaves Cooking, Carpentry, Tailoring and Blacksmithing left to do.
     
  7. Rowell

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    Completed all the Cooking Recipes.
    Also added the required proficiency necessary to complete all the current recipes in Butchery, Milling, Smelting, Tanning, Textiles, Alchemy and Cooking.
    And, added the ability for members to add multiple characters (for those with multiple accounts).
     
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  8. majoria70

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    I think in a way while we don't have a perfect system as it is atm, it is kind of interesting to hunt for deals. Sometimes it is not a deal but you are in a hurry and have the couple hundred to buy a teleport scroll and don't have time for hunting around to make sure it is the best deal. In fact I did that yesterday, just grabbed a couple on my way til I could craft some myself. In a way I like this not knowing and yes sometimes people will sell for more than others do, but we should not be too micromanaged on this. This is a player driven game and let us hunt for deals if we want or buy a little higher price if in a hurry. ;) I am hoping our market gets a lot more fun for us to be creative with, like using our cute little colored bags or containers that have sets of armor in them and we can sell the bags of sets, like blue ladies ball gown, slippers, gloves, and hat or epic armor set, or living room furniture set, or 6 piece rug set. I loved that about UO finding different and unique little bags of goodies. It was fantastic. So here's hoping @Lord British2. @Lord British
     
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2018
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  9. icekiss

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    I very much like this idea! :)
    Yes, for commodities I'll sometimes pay more for a small amount just because I don't want to spend any time getting it.
    But most often I am genuinely hunting for the best deal - and a website to help me find that is much appreciated!
    Hopefully I will find good vendors that way, which I'll then take time to visit whenever I need a certain type of product. :)

    Is it possible to input your own item types/names (possibly with a longer description) for non-bulk items like enchanted rings (e.g. "ring +4 [+2dex/+2int]")?
    If that is possible, I'll enter my store data next release once my new vendor location is up (so hopefully next weekeend).
     
  10. Rowell

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    Just a reminder that SOTA Traders is still online and running.
    I still have high hopes that Portalarium will add Player Vendors and Public Vendors to their API, so I can grab and use that data.
    Until then, data is abstracted from NPC merchants in combination with the web site user base posting their items and prices.

    Additionally, the site has a good resource for recipes, in that when you look at a recipe, all the necessary items are listed, along with the recipes needed to make those component items.
     
  11. Rowell

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    I've added all the beginner Carpentry Recipes to the site. Will be going through the beginner/basic recipes for Blacksmithing next.
    Added a field to denote in which region particular recipes can be found, so players can more easily find out where to find those elusive recipes that aren't local to them.
    Then will go through my in game recipe book, double check the recipes, and add the ones that are missing (mostly the recipes added after telethons).
     
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  12. Rowell

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    Just added every single recipe that I know of to the web site (with the exception of about 100 Blacksmithing recipes..will get those next).

    Need to add the locations that special recipes can be found in, and double check the required proficiency to learn/use.

    I'm pretty sure that the site has more recipes/items than any other SOTA crafting site (over 1250 items, and 850 recipes).
     
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  13. Rowell

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    Updated a vast majority of the recipes with the Required Proficiency to Learn/Use, as well as the general Region that the recipe can be found in.
    That should make it a good resource of where to look for recipes to buy from merchants.
     
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  14. Rowell

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    Just finished adding all the Properties/Bonuses/Buffs to all the items in the database, including Blacksmithing, Carpentry, Tailoring items, as well as all the foods.
    So now the recipes also list this information.

    At some point soon, I plan on making an Item Builder, so you can select the type of item you want to build, and plug-n-play with the different components to craft an item and see how the stats change.
     
  15. Rowell

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    Improved the way information is displayed on the Market and Recipes page. Included the number of recipes a component is used in, as well as list all of those recipes.
    Marked key towns as "capitols" of each region they reside in; these towns contain the vendors that will have the specialty recipes (though, in several cases, other towns in a region also have the specialty recipes).

    Have all the recipes that are purchasable in game on the web site, save for the Castle Wall recipes, the One-Man Band (shirt and hat) and the tailoring Spider Legs recipe (not quite high enough to learn that one yet).
    Aside from that, SotaTraders has the recipe. Over 1300 items. Over 1000 recipes.
     
  16. Rowell

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    Spent the last two days running around all of Novia and the known realms, jotting down all the merchant locations and what recipes they sell. That information is now listed on the recipes (the recipe now lists the proficiency needed, the general region it can be found, the exact vendors/towns/locations where to buy them, what recipes rely on the item you're looking up, and what items can be used to substitute the item you're looking at...as well as a list of all the component recipes needed to make your item).
    That's in addition to the pricing information (which I am in the tedious process of initializing for new items).
    It's basically one-stop shopping now. Very happy with how the site is coming along.

    Stop on by.
     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2017
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  17. Rowell

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    Completed adding all the store-bought recipes, their locations, their sellers, their proficiency requirements to the database. Added all the dropped poisons and potions as well.
     
  18. Rowell

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    Going to be implementing some code in the site later tonight to read from the SOTA API, in order to get item prices straight from Portalarium's data. Of course, the prices gathered are just what the item is worth (NPC buy / sell price). What players are actually selling them for still has to be entered by players in their stores set up on the web site. That is, until Portalarium starts tracking Player Vendor prices in their API (which I am really hoping they do soon).
     
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  19. Rowell

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    - Added the first version of the interface into the SOTA API. It grabs pricing data (items sold to and bought from NPC Merchants) and places them into the appropriate item. The mapping of the API identifier (Archetype) to the proper item in the database is a manual process, so will take a little time to map nearly 1400 items. I do have the tools, fuels, some foods, most potions and poisons properly mapped.
    - Added the ability for people to add Master Crafted / Enchanted items to their stores on the web site. So, you can price out a Long Sword +1, Long Sword +2, etc differently.
    - Added the ability to leave notes/custom orders (such as "I want an Iron Longsword +2; Copper Hilt, Iron Blade").
    - Did some site and data clean ups to make things run more efficiently.
     
  20. Rowell

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    The connection into the SOTA API is working like a champ. The data is coming in and filling in the holes in our database. Every day or so, more ArchTypes in the SOTA data is being mapped to items, which means that more items are being properly costed (from the NPC merchants).

    Several more players have joined the site and added the item pricing offered on their Vendors, which helps out for valuing items. The next logical question, I think, would be is how to get more people involved, more shops online and more items with prices added to the database to get a better picture of the in-game economy?
     
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