"+1" Vendor Reputations

Discussion in 'Crafting & Gathering' started by LordSlack, Apr 26, 2013.

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  1. LordSlack

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    I was thinking about building my empire and running a successful business, and how successful companies, or vendors in the game world, could begin to stand out above others if their products are valued greatly by the community.

    The details could be examined and tweaked, but the thrust of the idea is to be able to "+1" vendors that you believe sell a quality product at reasonable pricing, similar to an ebay seller's rating. A great vendor you plan on returning to could let you +1 it on purchase, and increase its standing, eventually being more noticeable in some way.

    A few examples could be a +1 system by category. A vendor is always fully stocked on potions, and is one of the best potion dealers around. There could be a +1 for weapons, armor, potions, food, etc on a broad level. You would +1 this vendor for Potions, which let's just say is Purple for the sake of argument. After a substantial amount of +1 reputation for being a potion dealer, a tiny purple dot could appear on the minimap when in that town so players know where a reliable potion vendor is. If minimap marking is too "WoW" or what have you, the vendor could develop the option to hold a purple banner with a potion on it or something, so when passing by we know that guy is reputable for potions.

    I'd recommend keeping something like this pretty broad. Either a generic rep for vendor quality without any category, so a vendor is recognized for being a good one, or at the most be recognized by category of goods that players know it for potions or weapons. This would somewhat simulate a "word of mouth" feel in town for which vendors are most notable for their reliable products.
     
  2. Umbrae

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    I hope reputations and silver tongue skills come into affect when talking to vendors as well. Of course, reputations should probably only be a regional thing.
     
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  3. Acrylic 300

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    I like this, it could save a lot of time looking for something if there is a visual cue. I wish there was a non-exploit way to give a -1 negative. The first time I got ripped off in UO was buying a Katana of Vanquishing. It was actually a Katana of Ruin. I didn't realize vendors could lie.
     
  4. Mishri

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    +1 to your idea OP, i like that. And for some people who sell a variety of items, they can have plus ones all over and you'll know they are a fully stocked vendor.. so cool idea, it will help save time hunting for specific types of items.

    sadly, I can't see a way to do negative rep well...
     
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  5. LordSlack

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    Thanks guys. I didn't touch on negative rep on purpose. I figured if a vendor stinks, they just won't get any rep or stand out in any special way so no harm done. Downvoting competitors would be an issue and wouldn't fairly represent a vendor's worth. You could have your guild go rep-bomb the other guild's vendor in town daily. I don't see negative rep working either.
     
  6. PrimeRib

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    The idea is good.
    In L2, you could /evaluate a few people every day. This would scale their name from white to blue (0-255) and it would degrade by 1 point per day.
     
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  7. Mishri

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    Right, it would need some degrading element to it so that people would know if someone stops stocking their vendor or changes to different types of items. Maybe the player themselves can reset the vendor to help that change if people aren't buying what they are selling. (labelled as potions, but now it's mostly weapons).
     
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  8. PABS

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    I really love it! Really nice idea. But I can see how friends buff each other in order to get those reputations or schemers who want to play big can do that to their partners. How can this be prevented?

    Edit: Oh wait! Maybe you can see the list of people who voted +1 for the vendor?
     
  9. The Captain

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    I agree that a semi-persistent way to track vendor reputations is valuable much the same as tracking any player reputation is valuable (ie PvP killers vs. saints). However, the +1 concept seems too ebay, too technological for me. If I was a newbie, I'd rather check with the town crier, ask around the pub, read notices nailed to the old tree in the square, or be able to call the guards if I'm in a safe zone and a vendor sells a +5 Vorpal Blade for all my gold and it turns out to be a pig in a poke. Fraud just seems like a form of PvP.
     
  10. High Baron Asguard

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    i cant see any benefit at all for not automatically listing an item as what it is. Sure add a makers mark to it but apart from that it should be automatic
     
  11. Mugly Wumple

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    Create some local competition. When asked about a category the Town Crier will recommend the vendor with the highest rating.
     
  12. Strongsquirrel1

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    @Mughly Wumple: That could easily be abused by guilds, that have over a 100+ members with their smaller side guilds, I would find it better if a player walking into town can pick up a paper, labeling where vendors are and what type, would allow for toggle-able option to clear clutter.

    As for people voting up or down maybe you should be able to see their guild, I don't think player names will be needed, since it mainly will only be affected by guilds, friends will not have so much impact since most people will not have 50 die hard friends to +1
     
  13. Mishri

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    Players will figure out which ones are getting +1's not for low prices, and +1s on the wrong categories.. another thing players might do is check the ones with very little rep to see if anyone is missing something, avoiding really high rep vendors due to a tendency for guilds and scammers doing that.

    This does depend on how many vendors there are per city/town/village.. if you go into a village and t here are only 5 vendors.. you can check them all without it taking too much time. with the scarcity of housing and therefore vendors it might be a moot point.
     
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  14. Ara

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    I think only word of mouth should be the decider where you choose to buy you equipment. It's up to you as the owner of vendors to advertize it. I dont want to see a developer created +1.
     
  15. Valandur

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    While I like the concept, I don't see a way to prevent false +1 readings, by having guild members all go rate a vendor +1. Likewise I see the same issue with -1 to a vendor. If a system could be developed that prevents, or at least lessens the possibility of abuse I would be all for it.
     
  16. Urganite

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    Vendor ratings are something I just want to be sure I'm vocally -against-.

    Yes, you should be able to buy from reliable vendors that can be trusted. You should accomplish this by finding a well-stocked vendor you trust, maybe talking to the store owner, in the locality you plan to spend most of your time in, and having an ongoing business relationship with that seller instead of buying your goods based on price alone. This isn't a facebook game and this isn't ebay. Start looking for the maker's mark and buying items from the same person, if that ends up being a thing.
     
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