#1385 Two-way trading system

[Anonymous]

Hi, I think it would be cool if we could place requests for items on Harold as well as sell items. That way if Im looking for an item I dont have to send messages to everyone, just place some money in harold and someone can claim it if they give the item!

[Storyteller]

Hi, I really like the idea :) The shop system should be redesigned for that, as the various commands like /sell, /buy, /show can get quite confusing, if you don't want to only put an offer, but set a request for an item to get. I just thought of making Harolds shop system not chat-based, but chest-based, like the player-to-player trading system.

Instead of "/show" there could be a scrollable chest-window with all availiable items, sorted by class and with the price below the item. The window might have a dropdown list at the top to filter different item classes. The players can drag the item which they want to buy into their chest, then a small window will pop up which shows the item name, the price and two buttons "Ok" and "Cancel". Basically something like the "community chest", just with a trade system behind :)

For selling items, players can just drag their item (or more stacked items) into the chest and a small window will pop up where the price can be set. If there are already three offers made by a character then there will be a message that it's not possible to put the item for sale, as there are already three offers made.

For making an annouce to look for a special item there is a complete list of all buyable items with pictures (as the items page on the webpage) and players can click on their desired one. Again, a window will pop up where (for stackable items) the amount can be set and where the offered money has to be dragged into a special box. After putting the money and clicking on "Ok", the announce will be set. Other players can check on the "Announces list" for items to give and to get the money for them.

The advantage of a chest-based shop system is, that more than one player can access it in the same time, because an NPC can only focus on one player, but a chest can be accessed by more than one player at a time (like the community chest).

Harold might greet attending players automatically and still explain the trading shop and post the trading offers, but the main part about the trading is the shop chest then.

Best Greetings,
Storyteller

[Markus]

The chat based approach has the advantage that we do not have to deal with two players wanting to buy the same item or fullfilling an item request.

[Balaur]

I also like Finn's idea with placing item requests to Harold. By the way, it doesn't have to be Harold, maybe another NPC can take care of this kind of trading.

Storyteller, I also wish the trading system were more simple to use, and I like your idea of using a GUI.

Markus, maybe we could show the GUI only as an alternative to talking? So the player goes to Harold, says "Hi", and "Show" - then Harold shows him the window and closes it when the conversation is over. If another player comes in, he is asked to wait.

[Balaur]

How about something like this?

• The "Market" tab would show what you can buy from Harold
  • The category drop-down would let you filter by item category, the same as on https://stendhalgame.org/item/, like Storyteller said
  • There would also be a "Most recent" category and an "All" category (à la F-Droid)
• The "My Offers" tab could have 2 parts:
  • A group of 3 slots, like a chest, for what you are offering.
    • There would also have to be a way to input the price for each slot.
  • A list of expired items, with a button to "remove" and a button to "prolong" for each item (like the price-labeled "buy" button from the "Market" tab).
• The "My Requests" tab would contain what Finn asked for.

[Storyteller]

Balaur, that's amazing! :) The price on the "Buy"-button is a clever idea, I think this GUI will work very well :) And sure, as Markus mentioned, this shop system can run in single-access (just one character at a time) for the moment. A multi-access can be implemented later, when we know how to manage with two players wanting to buy the same item in the same time.

For setting an offer there could be a drop-field (like a chest) with a number-line next to it to set the price and an "Offer"-button below. When you click the "Offer"-button, the item will appear in one of your three offer-slots which are shown just under the input buttons and are looking similar to the market list, empty slots are shown as empty. Next to the offer-slots there may be the days left to expire and the "Remove" and "Prolong" buttons, always visible (the item can also be prolonged, if it's not expired). If the item is expired, there is written "Expired!" instead of the days left to expire.

[Balaur]

Added some mockups on this wiki page:
https://stendhalgame.org/wiki/Ideas_for_Stendhal/GUI_for_Harold
I'm sure they can be improved, any other ideas are welcome.

[Storyteller]

I just thought of some kind of stack trading. You give a stack of items to Harold, lets say 100 wood, and set a price for one item, not for all 100! This way other players can decide how many wood to buy. For example, a player just needs 20 wood, so he pays the money for 20 and gets the items, without having to buy more than he needs. A stack of items at one price will count as one offer, but you are able to put more items into your offered stack to refill it. The stack will expire normally like every offer, so you have to prolong it regularly.

[Balaur]

Interesting :) Also, when you refill the stack it gets prolonged automatically, doesn't it?

[Storyteller]

That automatical prolonging should be implemented then, yes :) But for every time you prolong manually or refill your stack an offering fee should be taken again. I don't know how the fee is currently calculated, but the more items you offer in one stack (or refill), the higher the fee should be. (For refilling it should be just calculated with the amount of the refill, not for the complete stack, as not to pay twice for the items which were already in the offer-stack before refilling.) Calculating the fee should also keep the price of the offer in mind.

[Balaur]

This is how I imagine it:
https://stendhalgame.org/wiki/Ideas_for_Stendhal/GUI_for_Harold#Stacked_items