A Slight Tweak to Contracts to Encourage Those Who Sail

[Iroquois Confederacy]

After talking with the US Faction about where to get different woods, I would like to make a recommendation to change the way "Buy" Contracts work.  Currently, as soon as a material is supplied at a port (by AI, typically), it is bought by people with the highest contract price.  This actually reduces the amount of open world merchant traffic, because sailing to and from these ports is not rewarded - there will never be anything there, as those with deeper pockets will have a contract placed already.

My suggestion is this:  Buy Contracts only buy AI supplied goods at server maintenance.  Whatever is left at the end of the day, those contracts will be filled from.  That way, those players who are willing to actually travel to ports and buy goods "in person" will be able to get some of the resources that are currently out of reach for them.

I recommend this be split off from players selling goods, as those individuals should also be rewarded for transporting "live."

So, in sum:

Player places buy contract:
If another player sells goods in port, buy contract is immediately filled.
If AI fills goods in port, buy contract only takes effect at server maintenance.

Risks:
Bid sniping at the last minute before server maintenance.  Will tend to favor later players.  Might be resolved by having buy contracts resolve periodically, instead of once a day.

[Anolytic]

It's a novel idea, but in practice there would be no valuable woods for whoever sailed to those ports anyway. Goods would be monopolised by players with more time to teleport in and buy up all the stock at regular intervals (or an alt permanently stationed that just needs to be logged in a few times a day. 

This would only serve to make contracts absolutely useless, as there would be no resources left over at maintenance to deliver to the contracts. 

The good thing about contracts is that they facilitate price competition. This makes it an actual auction rather than everything going for a set price from AI. What is wrong with those with deeper pockets winning the bidding war? Merchants would never hold onto their stock just in case some customer came by and sell it dirt cheap at that, rather than making a profit by selling to the highest bidder.

People with contracts also have to transport their goods out of the ports when their contracts are filled. Unless they craft in that port, in which case other materials need to be brought in. There is no less open world sailing if you sail there and are guaranteed to get what you need, or if you sail there to pick it up only after you have stockpiled what you need.

The only way your proposal could work would be if:

Contracts only fill at maintenance.

AI stocks the port with goods during the day.

However to buy a resource directly from port without contract you have to pay 100% above the current highest contract bid.

[Iroquois Confederacy]

2 minutes ago, Wraith said:

I'd rather have NPC traders arriving regularly at those ports with those goods that the port "produces."  Leave the markets for those with deep pockets and no time on their hands, but open up avenues to get those goods to others who have more time than money by capping that relatively steady stream of traders. This is the equivalent of "gathering" in any other MMO.

This would also be a viable avenue to make money, by capping traders and selling the goods to the contract-placers. The best part is that these ports would also become centers for hunting, sheep-dogging, and group-based activities. I'd contend that this mechanic should be the primary one through which these kinds of limited goods enter the world.

I believe this is how goods are arriving now, however, many ships still get through.  (If it's not how it's done now, the forthcoming econ changes sound like they're moving that direction, or so I read them.)  Really, all I'm looking to do is see some way for ports that do end up getting those materials to actually have some for people willing to sail to them.  I want to see active playing encouraged over passive playing.

In regards to Anolytic above, the buy contract could set the minimum price, but I don't see a reason to charge double it except as a means to discourage players from sailing.  That is counter to the spirit of this idea.  (A minimum price set at contract price could open up a new econ perk:  "Friends at the Docks" or something like that that might discount the in-person price to 80% of the current max buy contract.)

Also regarding contracts - it used to be the case that your faction had to own the port, or it had to be open, to place contracts.  Is that still the case?

[Barbancourt]

7 hours ago, Anolytic said:

The good thing about contracts is that they facilitate price competition. This makes it an actual auction rather than everything going for a set price from AI. What is wrong with those with deeper pockets winning the bidding war?

In these games the rich can get WAY too rich.  Then they buy everything up and get even richer off of everyone else.  It spirals out of control.  I'd rather see everything in the economy produced and traded by players.  Nobody HAS to buy anything, but instead does so for convenience. 

 

[Beeekonda]

You will log on before server reset and overbid all current contracts on fine woods = profit 😎

[Tiedemann]

WHat about only allowing contracts to be placed by clan owning the port. And then let them open it for specific clans or nations as they see fit? 

[staun]

It will reward those that make RvR. The general idea of RvR guys is RvR are dead because of 2 reasons. 

- Port dosent matter.

- To much AI grind to flip.

Your idea will make ports matter. So plenty of RvR. If thats not enough, well lets bump Down hostillity to. Should give plenty of RvR. Thats the Pro. Is there a Con to the idea. Might make the game more unbalanced. But not sure it is bad. It is a hardcore game and better to reward those that make content, then those that dosent.

[Sea Archer]

Why not going a step further with the contracts. Let players trade missions in other ports. 

Deliver a certain amount of good to this special player in the specified port and get a certain amount of reales and doubloons or whatever the player wants to offer for it.

The buyer will deposit the payment in port and the seller the goods until the contract is completely fulfilled. Then everyone gets his stuff and both are happy. You can be sure get the stuff, since it is transferred directly to you.

It is only necessary to place the mission in a port, where not too many richer players place theirs.

[Macjimm]

Player to player trade - It would be great if there were more ways to source and buy stuff.  Currently rare woods and repairs are just about the only items, in demand,  for traders to sell to other players.  Perhaps with the new patch trading will have more options.

I would love to see more trade  options that provide incentive to sail.