I'd like to be able to create 'shops', in which I can set prices for merchandise.
I propose three sections. In the first section: a box in which you can put what you want to purchase, a place where you put what you pay for the merchandise, a box where you can drag out your purchase. Second section: an inventory-style set of things you can purchase. Third section: your inventory. Drag the item you want to buy to the first box, put your payment in the second box. The item will show up in the third box. If you choose to drag it out of the third box, your payment disappears from the second and replaces the item in the chest.
A similar UI could be used to create proposed transactions.
This seems like an okay idea, but what would you pay for items with? Is this supposing the implementation of an economy of some sort (which I don' think would be a really great idea) or will the shop vendor be able to sort of say "here are arrows, I'd like a ham for every two arrows" or something?
The UI obviously isn't clear enough in the mockup. The idea is, you drag an item into the first box, and the field at the top tells you the price (in the example, a shovel costs 64 cobblestones). If you drag 64 cobblestones into the "pay" box, then the shovel shows up in the 3rd box, which you can then drag out.
No money required, just trade. This lets players pick their own currency.
Ah, okay, now that I understand it more I think this is a really great idea! But yeah, antigriefing measures are important. If it's indestructible what happens if you misplace it?
Buuut I'm digressing, those are problems Notch can probably figure out. But yeah, thumbs up for the concept!
The griefing issues will be the very same issues that face other types of blocks - crafting tables, furnaces, etc. If those get solved, then this automatically gets solved too.
The 'asshole' answer is simply going to be 'qq moar, if you don't want your shop destroyed, hide it underground so no one can find it'.
It would also be nice to have something like this for trading. Currently you'd have to just drop everything and hope to god he's honest/isn't fast enough to grab everything. Would work very well with the land claiming (as if everyone didn't already say that).
Yeah, this one sort of works without currency... but it does seem to be the same basic idea.
I don't like the idea of currency, though, so it works for me!
I think this is an awesome idea. People with a nice farm built up could make a huge sign out of dyed wool that reads "shop" and put in a few tables of bread for sale, in exchange for iron, or whatever. It would be a fun way to exchange stuff. Players could do low-risk farming and sells stacks of wheat to players who kill monsters, or mine, or whatever.
If there is a central map, it would be convenient if shops showed up on that as well.
Alright, well, would crafting a shop chest be different than crafting a normal chest?
Also, this does raise the usual free-market difficulties of differently priced goods over different regions, leading to little battles, revolts, lootings, and all other manner of very interesting things.
Something simple, there's no reason you couldn't have as many as you wanted to. Wood border, something in the centre, say, iron. A regular chest with an extra feature.
I wouldn't want them to be indestructible anyway, it might be fun to have a way to 'rob' the store. Perhaps, destroying it would release all the items. But it's protected by a claim flag, so if you want to destroy it, you have to get to and destroy the main flag first.
Really it all depends on the implementation of land protection. Best to not make it too complicated though. Simple is best.
Excellent idea. I like the shopkeeper NPC and chest variant equally. So, my thoughts are this: You need a chest, and the NPC guards it and will trade for anything stored in the chest, you can assign one npc to guard up to 3 chests. The chests must be placed within X distance of the NPC but do not need to be adjacent, however, if they are, you get slightly more storage. Each chest comes with a sign inside it you may choose to plant or discard. If you plant the sign, it will make your shop easier to find, possibly by marker if maps are made. Only the owner can remove chests. Burglars might be able to lockpick one which would be like opening it, but take some time, in which time the shopkeeper will begin hunting them down, giving them limited time to pilfer what they will. Everything else works as previously stated.
Adding a way to do it properly will make more people stop trying to exploit bugs to troll and grief.
It's a fairly simple and working concept to allow people to steal from it, but have the shop NPC attack them.
Think of it, if you put the chests right near the shopkeeper, sure they're visible, but the NPC can just slap someone off as soon as they try. If someone wants to put a complex series of traps and puzzles in, they're just inhibiting the shopkeeper's ability to stop a burglar.
When you can't make something foolproof, you make something have a moderated weakness rather than try to tackle all the clever little tricks people use to break an otherwise working system.
But with land claim flags you can't dig under a shop NPC, so you just nulled your own argument against it.
You're assuming that just because it's easy to start something, it's easy to finish. Anyone can right click on an object, but you can't pilfer an entire chests contents when you're getting smacked out of a menu by a hostile NPC. It's hard enough to take one item/stack, let alone two.
But like you said, someone would just find another way to grief, so why have them at all if it's just going to make griefing that much more doable? Heck, why play minecraft at all? Mobs can make life just as miserable as unruly players. And there's no point to trade stations in singleplayer anyways.
The choices are: Have a measured way to allow someone to attempt to, but most likely fail, at theft.
Attempt a rock solid solution, which we all know is impossible and would lead to more horrible forms of griefing.
I propose three sections. In the first section: a box in which you can put what you want to purchase, a place where you put what you pay for the merchandise, a box where you can drag out your purchase. Second section: an inventory-style set of things you can purchase. Third section: your inventory. Drag the item you want to buy to the first box, put your payment in the second box. The item will show up in the third box. If you choose to drag it out of the third box, your payment disappears from the second and replaces the item in the chest.
A similar UI could be used to create proposed transactions.
See below for an example mockup.
forum: http://minecraft.novylen.net
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No money required, just trade. This lets players pick their own currency.
Here's an updated mockup that might be better:
forum: http://minecraft.novylen.net
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Buuut I'm digressing, those are problems Notch can probably figure out. But yeah, thumbs up for the concept!
The 'asshole' answer is simply going to be 'qq moar, if you don't want your shop destroyed, hide it underground so no one can find it'.
:roll:
forum: http://minecraft.novylen.net
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Similar idea, mine doesn't involve currency at least.
forum: http://minecraft.novylen.net
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I don't like the idea of currency, though, so it works for me!
It adds a reason to keep several different kinds of rock with you.
If there is a central map, it would be convenient if shops showed up on that as well.
So i like this.
But it needs to be more refined and discussed about.
"You know Squids are totally going to rule the world once they develop Battle armor for the land"
Also, this does raise the usual free-market difficulties of differently priced goods over different regions, leading to little battles, revolts, lootings, and all other manner of very interesting things.
Farmer John better not make pork too expensive :3
forum: http://minecraft.novylen.net
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Really it all depends on the implementation of land protection. Best to not make it too complicated though. Simple is best.
forum: http://minecraft.novylen.net
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It's a fairly simple and working concept to allow people to steal from it, but have the shop NPC attack them.
Think of it, if you put the chests right near the shopkeeper, sure they're visible, but the NPC can just slap someone off as soon as they try. If someone wants to put a complex series of traps and puzzles in, they're just inhibiting the shopkeeper's ability to stop a burglar.
When you can't make something foolproof, you make something have a moderated weakness rather than try to tackle all the clever little tricks people use to break an otherwise working system.
spell check died today...
You're assuming that just because it's easy to start something, it's easy to finish. Anyone can right click on an object, but you can't pilfer an entire chests contents when you're getting smacked out of a menu by a hostile NPC. It's hard enough to take one item/stack, let alone two.
The choices are: Have a measured way to allow someone to attempt to, but most likely fail, at theft.
Attempt a rock solid solution, which we all know is impossible and would lead to more horrible forms of griefing.