The Merchant is Coming to VulcanVerse!
It was only a matter of time. As word of VulcanVerse’s riches spread, merchants are setting up in VulcanVerse. As part of the ongoing work to improve our flagship game continues, we’re aiming to launch the first stage of our trading system around December-January.
The premise is a simple one, but one that has been missing from VulcanVerse for too long. Previously, materials were foraged and sit there in each user’s inventory. For many of the materials collected, there is no use yet in place. For other items, building on an owned or rented plot consumes resources. Well now, the merchant is coming to VulcanVerse! A marketplace trading system is being introduced to the game, allowing players to trade items from their inventory with a merchant NPC who will initially be located in Vulcan City.
The marketplace serves as a mechanic where players can exchange their hard-earned foraged and fished resources for other resources with a dynamic price that works on a “supply and demand” principle for every player; where the most in-demand resources are expensive to obtain and the least in demand items are the cheapest to exchange.
Developing an Interface
The VulcanVerse development and art teams have built a shiny new marketplace user interface. This appears on screen when an avatar interacts with the merchant NPC. On screen, a ‘Give’ list and a ‘Receive’ list with tradeable options available will be displayed. A player can either enter the amount of the resource they wish to trade with, or the amount of the resource they want to trade for, which will automatically update the opposite field’s price. Like any savvy trader, the merchant will adjust prices based on what is or isn’t an in demand item. If users are buying up pebbles like crazy (where are all the pebbles in VulcanVerse?), the merchant will mark the exchange price up. Likewise, if nobody is buying clay for example, the exchange price of clay will drop.
Each material has a base exchange price that it cannot drop below. For rarer materials, the base price is higher than for common resources. Some resources like gold and adamantium won’t be able to be traded with the merchant (as he doesn’t have enough security to stop thieving kobaloi).
Further Stages of Development
The static marketplace trader in Vulcan City is only the first stage of a three stage process as we build on VulcanVerse’s strong foundations. At a later stage, we’re planning to introduce a traveling merchant who will make his way through VulcanVerse using the Sacred Way, VulcanVerse’s road, as well as visiting landmarks. Unfortunately, VulcanVerse can be a dangerous place for a traveling trader. For this reason and to ensure the merchant safely arrives at his next destination, mortals are encouraged to escort the merchant, ensuring his safety. Who knows, maybe the merchant might show favor to those who protect his caravan the most. We can see the inhabitants of VulcanVerse fighting over the best deal though!
A further phase will see the introduction of personalized special offers. The merchant knows his customers well!
Merchant Phase 1 update:
- Merchant Logic Development successfully implemented the core logic for the merchant. This foundational step has been crucial for the subsequent tasks.
- Bug Fixes and Improvements: Our focus has shifted towards addressing and fixing various bugs, ensuring a smoother experience.
- Resource Exchange Feature: We’ve completed the functionality that allows for the exchange of resources between entities. This feature is a significant milestone in enhancing user interaction.
- Merchant Initialization: We have corrected the initialization process of the merchant during the first interaction. This fix ensures a seamless introduction of the merchant to the users.
- Trading Block During Transactions: To maintain the integrity of trades, we’ve implemented a feature that blocks the exchange between players while transactions are being conducted.
- Exchange Rate Display Accuracy: We’ve improved the accuracy of the display of exchange coefficients, providing clearer information to the users.
- UI Initialization and Opening Sequence: The order of initialization and opening of the merchant’s UI has been corrected for better user experience.
- Merchant Character Collision: We’ve resolved an issue where there was a collision with the merchant character, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.
- Merchant Chat Window Clarity: Modifications have been made to the merchant’s chat window to prevent the overlapping of dialogue, ensuring clearer communication.
With work complete and the merchant tested out by our wonderful community testers, he has arrived in VulcanVerse and will be open for trade at 1pm UTC on 13th December 2023. Just in time for your Christmas shopping!
The marketplace and merchant are just one section of the overall economy work that our VulcanVerse development team are implementing during the coming months. To remain up to date with all VulcanVerse developments and our Vulcan Studios ecosystem of games, join our Discord community and follow us on social media!