Vendor changes

[Steel DarKnight]

From Vex.

We decided to push the vendor changes out of Pub 19 and into (theoretically) Pub 20 for a couple different reasons. One was internal -- some unrelated backend server development work caused problems getting the vendor changes into QA testing. Without confidence we could have it all thoroughly tested, we'd either have to delay Pub 19 or move the Vendor Revamp to another publish.

Once putting Vendors in Pub 19 became doubtful, we decided to have another look at the feature. We found that while there was a lot there, most of what was there was features that we needed to improve the quality of the game as a whole. For example, the rental contracts are there to allow players to work out vendor agreements without GM intervention. If we put in a set of server-enforced rules regarding vendor contracts, then Game Masters can't take calls asking for vendors to be removed from people's houses. A lot of possible scams and opportunities for generating ill will between house owners and merchants vanish. GMs are able to focus more of their time on other types of calls. It's a net win for everybody.

But, if you really think about it, this kind of compromise win-win thing doesn't really make everyone ecstatic about the feature change going in the game. (Part of compromise is that both parties have to give up something they want.) It will undoubtedly be a good thing in the long run, but for the short term a lot of people are a bit peeved about things.

So, by pushing Vendor Revamp to another publish, we have an opportunity to do further refinement and development work on the feature. Now, we are going to reconsider many of the "optional" items that we initially cut from the list. For example, we're looking hard at finding a way to allow player vendors to buy stackable items from players, and a bunch of nice interface improvements -- like allowing a player-run vendor to use the same Sell Menu that NPC shopkeepers do. Designer Helios is going to be the point man on this, so I'll leave it to him to talk about the details as these further changes to the vendor design become more solid over the next couple weeks.