Selling resources not working?

Sovereignty is a turn-based fantasy strategy game for the PC. It combines a kingdom management campaign game with a general's level tactical battle game.

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gchristie
Sergeant - 7.5 cm FK 16 nA
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Selling resources not working?

Post by gchristie »

Playing as Dragonhold EA 1.3.

Sent my agent off to Boruvian Empire to trade 1 gem, 1 contraband and 1 craft in exchange for 575 gold. Took the agent two turns to make the trip and once he arrives a dialogue box pops up to say BE accepted the deal, but my income did not increase by 675 gold from the last turn to the turn when the deal was arranged. The agent is returning, will the gold increase when he returns? Or is there a problem with how this is working?

I find selling resources in the market nets 79 gold for each resource sold. Selling resources directly to another faction should net about 197 gold per resource, at least that is the amount the factions agree to.
"Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart."
~Anne Frank
gchristie
Sergeant - 7.5 cm FK 16 nA
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Re: Selling resources not working?

Post by gchristie »

Okay, when I wrote this I had a second agent traveling to Hadrigal with his pockets full of gems, crafts and contraband, which Hadrigal said they would pay 575 gold for. He arrives in Hadrigal, the pop up window says Hadrigal accepted the deal, and Bingo! my income increased by 575. He must have arranged a wire transfer.

So this seems a bit buggy, or else the agent returning from the Boruvian Empire got his pockets picked or stopped at many a brothel on the return trip. Regardless, he has some explaining to do...
"Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart."
~Anne Frank
Jekky
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Re: Selling resources not working?

Post by Jekky »

The amounts a realm will pay for a resource depend on how badly they need/want it.

The first case sounds like a bug - once your agent arrives, the transfer of goods should be immediate - it is possible that it did the transfer before your income for the turn was calculated and the relatively small amount just wasn't noticed.

We cold make the agent carry the resources and gold back.. not sure that's the best idea though - they only carry the stuff there to avoid issues where you try to trade it away to multiple realms, or spend it before the agent arrives.
Southern Hunter
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Re: Selling resources not working?

Post by Southern Hunter »

My main problem with selling resources or doing trade deals is that I send my envoy off with a deal in mind, then it gets rejected with a view to "Hey, just add something in, and we would do it". BUT, I cannot just change the terms of the deal, because the envoy is already coming back (and unavailable). Would be nice if they stuck around for a turn so I could alter the deal while we are in negotiations. Or something like that.
Jekky
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Re: Selling resources not working?

Post by Jekky »

There is something of a conceptual issue with that - if you offered money or resources as part of the deal, the agent is actually carrying those with him (to prevent them from being offered in another trade or used up while the agent is travelling to the target realm). So while it is possible, it may be a little odd to have him carry them, then teleport the additional resources to him when he arrives :P
IanF1966
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Re: Selling resources not working?

Post by IanF1966 »

Why not consider having Special Realm Abilities relevant to technology like 'Carrier Pidgeons' or semi-intelligent birds (Ravens, etc.)that can carry messages back in 1 turn. These would only be used for trade reconsiderations, as it's assumed the envoy/spy would be carrying a cage of these birds along with them in their baggage train.

Maybe it's worth looking at designing some Special Realm Features that perform a function or provide a special bonus or modifier, like the Messenger Bird Aviary, above.
These could be bought by any realm, captureed, or be an integral part of that realm's unique features.

They could even be 'cards' that could be played, like leaders in battle.
gchristie
Sergeant - 7.5 cm FK 16 nA
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Re: Selling resources not working?

Post by gchristie »

Jekky wrote:it is possible that it did the transfer before your income for the turn was calculated and the relatively small amount just wasn't noticed.

We cold make the agent carry the resources and gold back.. not sure that's the best idea though - they only carry the stuff there to avoid issues where you try to trade it away to multiple realms, or spend it before the agent arrives.
I would have noticed the increased income Jekky as my balance was 121 gold, any my per turn income was nearly zero, so 575 more gold would have been easy to spot.

As to your thought about agents having to carry the gold back. I think the process should be logically consistent start to finish. If it takes an agent two weeks to carry the message of a trade to a faction shouldn't it take an equal amount of time to return with the gold? Or the entire process takes place instantaneously as it does in the market place. But if you did so why would players use the market place if they had an agent available?

I like the former solution, it's more immersive and reflects that this is a fairly primitive ecosystem and information and resources take time to exchange unless there is some version of smart phone technology you all haven't told us about. The other reason that I like it is that like most things in this game players would be faced with a trade off - go for the quick gold in the market place but accept a lesser amount of gold, or go for the longer process of arranging a trade with another faction in order to obtain more gold.

Like all features, easy to propose and tough to dispose. I have faith you all will come up with a clever solution.
"Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart."
~Anne Frank
Southern Hunter
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Re: Selling resources not working?

Post by Southern Hunter »

I can live with the limitation, if it is deliberate.

It means that you must be canny in arranging trades, and always think of the trade-off involving "best value" vs "certainty of trade".

For example, in exchanging a trade with Bregon Hur, they offer me 10 Iron for 10 Wine, and are right on the cusp of 'Will probably accept this trade". They are, say 3 turns away. So I can go for it BUT:

- By the time I get there, they might have less Iron available
- They might actually reject the deal, and say want, 11 wine. So I have to send my envoy again

OR, I can, if I REALLY, REALLY need say, 4 or so Iron, arrange the trade for 4 Iron against 6 Wine. That way, they are likely to still have enough to trade when I get there AND be willing to make the trade.

If that is how it is meant to work, and that is explained to the player, then it is fine. It is a very clunky way to trade, probably consistent with the technology of the day. There was, after all, no high speed trading interface to a global stock market.

But, being so clunky, some will complain that they want to COMMIT to a trade and then have it carried out. Or send their envoy to arrange a trade and then have the exchange happen later.
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