New Proposal: Traders #557
Open
Conversation
This file contains hidden or bidirectional Unicode text that may be interpreted or compiled differently than what appears below. To review, open the file in an editor that reveals hidden Unicode characters.
Learn more about bidirectional Unicode characters
github-actions
bot
added
Design
|
Im extremely iffy on shuttle roles as a whole, but these are one of the few roles that dont gain significant detriments (Granted, it doesnt have many benefits either). I think the largest problem here is the fact that crew almost never have actual access to spesos or any alternative form of credits unless said members are cargo or command, which are what makes the trader feel like a much more RP-heavy role, opposed to harvesting the station or otherwise stealing things for money (Dont incentivise tiding basically). The largest subtractor in this version of the role is its use or bargaining over using actual money, which would also likely be more efficient for the trader to handle, and alowing the crew to ethically gain bartering material (The trader would like to trade for guns, not 10 tomatos, botany and chef.), also allowing all kinds of crew to interact with the trader instead of those with items the trader would want specifically. In addition to all of this, with how the shuttle itself supposedly works, what differentiates it from current visitor roles aside from its access to infinite resources? You mention how the shuttles machinery would be DNA locked which I assume extends to the shuttle itself, but what if its parked at evac and the evacuation shuttle is forced to move because nobody else is physically capable of moving the shuttle out of the way? The role is also supposedly crew sided but it incentivises crew to steal, smuggle and keep quiet on contraband being perpetraded by the trader and people they are interacting with, causing more chaos than they may be worth. This leads into how a trader would be 'banned' from the station, which you do not mention at all in the doc. Would they just be removed for the entirety of the round after an arrest? are they taken under consideration by spacelaw? If the trader IS banned, are they expected to give up or continue selling contraband to crew while being a 'crew-sided' role? |
Author
|
The shuttle is used to give them an initial shop space without having to build it on-station, and it allows them to relocate it to somewhere convenient. They can always venture out with the cart, it's just less convenient. The shuttle console is not DNA locked, just the unique machines. I think the bartering part is important, because theoretically any role could find something of value. If a greytider happens upon something interesting in maintenance, or a chef ends up making a gigantic burger tower, then the trader could accept them. It lets item value be a bit subjective. Not to mention, if they decide to hold out for their "ideal trade," they aren't making progress toward their objective. Banning was supposed to be more of a paperwork thing, but I suppose I can put some hard mechanics behind it. How about this: a switch on the shuttle that can only flipped by someone with command access. If it gets flipped, you can't sell until it's flipped back. It's like putting your whole shop in jail. |
RemFexxel
reviewed
Dec 7, 2025
|
|
||
| ## Overview | ||
| <!-- A very short, maybe three sentence summary of what this proposal is about. A high level "overview" or "what this adds". --> | ||
| The trader is a mid-round ghost role that is largely crew aligned. Each trader is given a unique shuttle (like the visitor) that is equipped to function as a mobile shop. Traders get a randomized inventory of items, and in order to access these items, an item must be placed into the trader's vault. Traders get an open-ended objective to make as much profit as possible without getting banned from the station, and must haggle, barter, and price on their own terms to fulfill this goal. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Suggested change
| The trader is a mid-round ghost role that is largely crew aligned. Each trader is given a unique shuttle (like the visitor) that is equipped to function as a mobile shop. Traders get a randomized inventory of items, and in order to access these items, an item must be placed into the trader's vault. Traders get an open-ended objective to make as much profit as possible without getting banned from the station, and must haggle, barter, and price on their own terms to fulfill this goal. | |
| The trader is a mid-round ghost role that is largely crew-aligned. Each trader is given a unique shuttle (like the visitor) that is equipped to function as a mobile shop. Traders get a randomized inventory of items, and in order to access these items, an item must be placed into the trader's vault. Traders have an open-ended objective: make as much profit as possible without getting banned from the station, and must haggle, barter, and set prices on their own terms to fulfill this goal. |
| <!-- Give a description of what game mechanics you would like to add or change. This should be a general overview, with enough details on critical design points that someone can directly implement the feature from this design document. Exact numbers for game balance however are not necessary, as these can be adjusted later either during development or after it has been implemented, but mention *what* will have to be balanced and what needs to be considered when doing so. --> | ||
| Traders spawn on a trader shuttle, with some new machines that help them handle transactions and protect both their inventory and their spoils. These machines only allow access to people with the trader's specific DNA, meaning the trader does not have to worry about getting robbed blind during a snack or drink break. When a trader spawns, an announcement is given that a trader is approaching the station. | ||
|
|
||
| Traders have in-built flash protection, to prevent them from ever becoming a revolutionary. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Suggested change
| Traders have in-built flash protection, to prevent them from ever becoming a revolutionary. | |
| Traders have built-in flash protection to prevent them from ever becoming a revolutionary. |
| ### Machines: | ||
|
|
||
| Bluespace Vault: | ||
| A large, indestructible machine that cannot be manually unanchored. All of the items that the trader takes as payment end up here, and traders can freely retreive and deposit items from it. Traders can also add items in the vault into their lockboxes' inventories, recycling payment into product. The only items this cannot store are "trash" items (whatever can go in a trash bag) and objective items. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Suggested change
| A large, indestructible machine that cannot be manually unanchored. All of the items that the trader takes as payment end up here, and traders can freely retreive and deposit items from it. Traders can also add items in the vault into their lockboxes' inventories, recycling payment into product. The only items this cannot store are "trash" items (whatever can go in a trash bag) and objective items. | |
| A large, indestructible machine that cannot be manually unanchored. All items the trader accepts as payment end up here, and traders can freely retrieve and deposit items from it. Traders can also add items from the vault to their lockboxes' inventories, recycling payments into products. The only items this cannot store are "trash" items (whatever can go in a trash bag) and objective items. |
| A large, indestructible machine that cannot be manually unanchored. All of the items that the trader takes as payment end up here, and traders can freely retreive and deposit items from it. Traders can also add items in the vault into their lockboxes' inventories, recycling payment into product. The only items this cannot store are "trash" items (whatever can go in a trash bag) and objective items. | ||
|
|
||
| Bluespace Lockbox: | ||
| Multiple indestructible machines that cannot be manually unanchored. Each contains a different "category" of items that can be bought from the trader, such as clothes, materials, weaponry, etc., and are filled up with a random selection of those items when the trader spawns. In order for an item to be dispensed, an item must first be put into the lockbox, and that item will be sent into the trader's vault when the item is selected. Lockboxes have a limit to how much they can stock, and if a trader wants to refill them back up to this limit, they have to use the Restock Radio they spawn with while on the Automated Trade Station. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Suggested change
| Multiple indestructible machines that cannot be manually unanchored. Each contains a different "category" of items that can be bought from the trader, such as clothes, materials, weaponry, etc., and are filled up with a random selection of those items when the trader spawns. In order for an item to be dispensed, an item must first be put into the lockbox, and that item will be sent into the trader's vault when the item is selected. Lockboxes have a limit to how much they can stock, and if a trader wants to refill them back up to this limit, they have to use the Restock Radio they spawn with while on the Automated Trade Station. | |
| Multiple indestructible machines that cannot be manually unanchored. Each contains a different "category" of items that can be bought from the trader, such as clothes, materials, weaponry, etc., and is filled with a random selection of those items when the trader spawns. For an item to be dispensed, the item must first be put into the lockbox, and that item will be sent into the trader's vault when the item is selected. Lockboxes have a limit to how much they can stock, and if a trader wants to refill them back up to this limit, they have to use the Restock Radio they spawn with while on the Automated Trade Station. |
| Traders can select an item from the lockbox's inventory to be displayed above it as a hologram. This allows them to showcase their stock without compromising its safety. | ||
|
|
||
| Bluespace Cart: | ||
| A draggable item that can be linked to a lockbox with a network configurator to preform that lockbox's function on the go. Useful if the trader can't find a good place to dock with the station, but can only be linked to one lockbox at a time. Convenience of location at the expense of your selection. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Suggested change
| A draggable item that can be linked to a lockbox with a network configurator to preform that lockbox's function on the go. Useful if the trader can't find a good place to dock with the station, but can only be linked to one lockbox at a time. Convenience of location at the expense of your selection. | |
| A draggable item that can be linked to a lockbox with a network configurator to perform that lockbox's function on the go. Useful if the trader can't find a good place to dock with the station, but can only be linked to one lockbox at a time. Convenience of location at the expense of your selection. |
Comment on lines
91
to
97
| With their randomized inventory, traders are Chaotic. Haggling over the price of a Mosin is Seriously Silly. Haggling and bartering over the trader's player-determined prices are massively rooted in Player Interaction/Agency. | ||
|
|
||
| With their unique game plan, desire for profit, and focus on player interactions, traders would be very interesting to not only play as, but have in a round to buy from. | ||
|
|
||
| Finding a way to buy helpful items from a trader by trading away valuable but less useful items would lead to a lot of new strategy, and ones that would be dependent on who's playing the trader in question. It would be a unique business relationship. | ||
|
|
||
| Overally, traders would add a lot of dynamic interactions to the round they appear on. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Suggested change
| With their randomized inventory, traders are Chaotic. Haggling over the price of a Mosin is Seriously Silly. Haggling and bartering over the trader's player-determined prices are massively rooted in Player Interaction/Agency. | |
| With their unique game plan, desire for profit, and focus on player interactions, traders would be very interesting to not only play as, but have in a round to buy from. | |
| Finding a way to buy helpful items from a trader by trading away valuable but less useful items would lead to a lot of new strategy, and ones that would be dependent on who's playing the trader in question. It would be a unique business relationship. | |
| Overally, traders would add a lot of dynamic interactions to the round they appear on. | |
| With their randomized inventory, traders are Chaotic. Haggling over the price of a Mosin is Seriously Silly. Haggling and bartering over the trader's player-determined prices are massively rooted in Player Interaction/Agency. | |
| With their unique game plan, desire for profit, and focus on player interactions, traders would be very interesting to not only play as, but also have in a round to buy from. | |
| Finding a way to buy helpful items from a trader by trading away valuable but less useful items would lead to a lot of new strategies, and ones that would be dependent on who's playing the trader in question. It would be a unique business relationship. | |
| Overall, traders would add a lot of dynamic interactions to the round they appear in. |
Comment on lines
106
to
110
| Traders would be a early-to-mid round ghost role that would only about every four rounds at maximum. With their items, they could potentially speed up the pace of a round by providing the crew with more capabilities | ||
|
|
||
| Traders should never be fully able to replace cargo, mostly enforced through their randomized inventory. Cargo is slow and often neglectful, but it is ultimately consistent. With traders, you never know what you're going to get, on either side. | ||
|
|
||
| Traders would introduce a bit of a unique allegience within SS14: they are largely aligned with the crew, seeing as the crew is their primary customer, but they ultimately put profit above all else. As such, they should have no issue selling items to a bad actor that might misuse them ... if they can get away with it. This introduces a new dynamic to the gameplay. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Suggested change
| Traders would be a early-to-mid round ghost role that would only about every four rounds at maximum. With their items, they could potentially speed up the pace of a round by providing the crew with more capabilities | |
| Traders should never be fully able to replace cargo, mostly enforced through their randomized inventory. Cargo is slow and often neglectful, but it is ultimately consistent. With traders, you never know what you're going to get, on either side. | |
| Traders would introduce a bit of a unique allegience within SS14: they are largely aligned with the crew, seeing as the crew is their primary customer, but they ultimately put profit above all else. As such, they should have no issue selling items to a bad actor that might misuse them ... if they can get away with it. This introduces a new dynamic to the gameplay. | |
| Traders would be an early-to-mid round ghost role that would only appear about every four rounds at maximum. With their items, they could potentially speed up the pace of a round by providing the crew with more capabilities | |
| Traders should never be fully able to replace cargo, which is mostly enforced through their randomized inventory. Cargo is slow and often neglectful, but it is ultimately consistent. With traders, you never know what you're going to get on either side. | |
| Traders would introduce a bit of a unique allegiance within SS14: they are largely aligned with the crew, seeing as the crew is their primary customer, but they ultimately put profit above all else. As such, they should have no issue selling items to a bad actor that might misuse them ... if they can get away with it. This introduces a new dynamic to the gameplay. |
| - Could this feature increase the likelihood of griefing, rule-breaking, or player disputes? | ||
| - How are the rules enforced mechanically by way the feature will be implemented? | ||
| --> | ||
| The most troublesome feature is giving traders contraband and/or weaponry, as they would be able to use it freely. However, traders should be rare enough, and randomized enough, that any griefing a trader could do would be contained to only about one round at most. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Suggested change
| The most troublesome feature is giving traders contraband and/or weaponry, as they would be able to use it freely. However, traders should be rare enough, and randomized enough, that any griefing a trader could do would be contained to only about one round at most. | |
| The most troublesome feature is giving traders contraband and/or weaponry, as they would be able to use it freely. However, traders should be rare enough and randomized enough that any griefing a trader could do would be contained to only about one round at most. |
| - Does the feature require new systems, UI elements, or refactors of existing ones? | ||
| - For required UI elements, give a short description or a mockup of how they should look like (for example a radial menu, actions & alerts, navmaps, or other window types) | ||
| --> | ||
| New code would have to be written for the trader's unique machines, and each would need a UI (probably adapted from the menus for lathes or vendors) that shows their contents. In the lockboxes' cases, a section would need to be added that shows the item currently inserted as the price. |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Suggested change
| New code would have to be written for the trader's unique machines, and each would need a UI (probably adapted from the menus for lathes or vendors) that shows their contents. In the lockboxes' cases, a section would need to be added that shows the item currently inserted as the price. | |
| New code would need to be written for the trader's unique machines, and each would need a UI (probably adapted from the lathes or vendor menus) that displays its contents. In the lockboxes' cases, a section would need to be added that shows the item currently inserted as the price. |
Comment on lines
129
to
135
| A method to display items within containers would have to be added to allow customers to see what is inside the lockboxes. | ||
|
|
||
| Traders themselves would be a simple ghost role, created through the event system. They would be weighted to be somewhat rare. | ||
|
|
||
| The trader's unique shuttles would have to be mapped, similarly to the visitor's unique shuttles. | ||
|
|
||
| Items existing primarily to be sold by the trader would likely be added later, and as separate pull requests. No newline at end of file |
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Suggested change
| A method to display items within containers would have to be added to allow customers to see what is inside the lockboxes. | |
| Traders themselves would be a simple ghost role, created through the event system. They would be weighted to be somewhat rare. | |
| The trader's unique shuttles would have to be mapped, similarly to the visitor's unique shuttles. | |
| Items existing primarily to be sold by the trader would likely be added later, and as separate pull requests. | |
| A method to display items within containers would need to be added so customers can see what is inside the lockboxes. | |
| Traders themselves would be a simple ghost role, created through the event system. They would be weighted to be somewhat rare. | |
| The trader's unique shuttles would need to be mapped, as do the visitor's. | |
| Items that exist primarily to be sold by the trader would likely be added later, as separate pull requests. |
Sign up for free
to join this conversation on GitHub.
Already have an account?
Sign in to comment
3 participants
Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.
This suggestion is invalid because no changes were made to the code.
Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is closed.
Suggestions cannot be applied while viewing a subset of changes.
Only one suggestion per line can be applied in a batch.
Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.
Applying suggestions on deleted lines is not supported.
You must change the existing code in this line in order to create a valid suggestion.
Outdated suggestions cannot be applied.
This suggestion has been applied or marked resolved.
Suggestions cannot be applied from pending reviews.
Suggestions cannot be applied on multi-line comments.
Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is queued to merge.
Suggestion cannot be applied right now. Please check back later.
Traders!
Pretty sure these guys are a thing on SS13's Paradise Station, but I've never played that. I've been hearing some complaints about the variety in ghost roles lately, and adding one with an entirely new game plan would certainly spice up the game.
This mostly just outlines the idea, and serves as a draft for the concept. Tell me what you think of it. If I made any stupid grammar mistakes, tell me about them too.