Contract Shipping - possible game expansion

[PhoenixKnight]

I like it but it made me wonder, can't admin make an idea like this into Job Board, where people can post jobs and other pick it up to fulfill said jobs?
It is essentially an expansion of the bounty system.

[William one eye]

Re Maha

First - I will present the argument that if it is that easy to cut your competitions income, they are not a worthy opponent and they should have diversified more. If fact even if you think you are cutting my revenue stream by intervention at sea you may be doing something else that is generating a better revenue stream from me. Often I may appear to be losing money when I am actual making more.

second - Sadly a need for a steady income only applies to those who do not purchase credits with real money.
If you read back far enough it has been proven that Wealth alone will not sustain a player in war.
A recent example is former king of Isle of Man.


third - I would also state that money is not the only thing you can take from a guild, nation or individual player and perhaps
not the most valuable thing you can take either.

fourth - Stalemate is an odd concern given the number of groups and players, who would this endless war exist between.
There will always be new players, new guilds and rising nations, that will try to make a place for themselves as will there
also be existing nations, guilds and players, that may be growing tired of the game, or just moving on to different goals.
As there will be nations, guilds and players that declare war on each other and fight.





I will agree this is a way for a smart player to avoid risk and maintain a steady stream of income.
We did not originally intend for shipments to be anonymous, however if the shippers id shown a
customer could maliciously place an order, and then attack the shipment as it was being filled.

player 1 orders 500 gold bars, player 2 picks up the gold bars and is in route. Player 1 then steals the gold bars
from player 2. Player 2 is out the gold bars and may owe a fine to player 1. Player 1 got the gold bars and
perhaps a fine payment with little or no loss.

I don't see a reason the customer needs to be anonymous however, your argument is in the shipping side, as you cannot cut off your
competitions supply chain. That is a fair and reasonable argument.




Maha as far a thinking goes you do more than many, and your logic is usually sound. Sometimes lack of game experience can show, but you are learning quickly. I myself am certain I have much more to learn as well and a do not suggest that I have some infinite wisdom or knowledge of this game. I welcome all suggestions and concerns. That is how we grow.

[Bmw]

this would be nice to use in war time have someone come and fill up your warehouse so you can use a party card lol just so you can get all the gold you can with minimal loss

[William one eye]

I like it but it made me wonder, can't admin make an idea like this into Job Board, where people can post jobs and other pick it up to fulfill said jobs?
It is essentially an expansion of the bounty system.

This is exactly a modified version of the bounty board but for cargo and shipping instead of curses and attacks.

[William one eye]

this would be nice to use in war time have someone come and fill up your warehouse so you can use a party card lol just so you can get all the gold you can with minimal loss

Yes, for you that would be nice and I would agree. However if you are on the opposing side or are someone hired to help the opposing side, that is one of Maha's concerns. I also recognize that view.

[Maha]

i agree with the anonymity and for the same reason.
there is however a difference between the bounty board and the outsourcing board.
the bounty is paid on delivery and funds are available.
an outsourcing contract is accepted before the delivery is made. the payment afterwards.
this leaves room to pick up contracts and sail away. leaving the contract giver with no supplies, and no means to go after the culprit.

in RL trust is build up between through a history of good behavior.
a way to maintain anonymous contract exchange and to give a feel for the contract taker could be that the contract giver can give 'trust points' after the contract is finished. (e.g. 1 points for job fulfillment, 0 points for small break of contract (only 95% of goods delivered, a few hours beyond time limit and -10 for non-fulfillment of contract the max trust could be capped at 9, 10 or 11 allowing for more naughtyness with the higher numbers)
this way, while the contract taker is anonymous, his reputation is known.
some sensitive jobs (empty my gold stock in Prote and deliver it in goroum) could have a +5 trust requirement
a negative trust is a clear warning that somethings smells

[William one eye]

Currently the system designed only allow placement of an order for delivery by the customer.
so the shipper cannot sail off with the customers cargo. If they sail off with the cargo the purchased to fill the contract,
to perhaps fill a better contract they may be subject to a fee.

if you were to allow a shipper to pick up a cargo and transport it. I suggest they must be required to either pay a bond for the
value of the goods, or be contractually obligated to pay for the good should the not reach the intended destination.
to pickup goods we would need an option in the trade route edit to pickup contract cargo when selecting a loading option.
this will even further expand the potential uses for this system.

I like the idea of contractor ratings. Let us say that to contract trade a player must get a contractors license.
this license is an id number assigned to a player. So you can identify a shipper by id but cannot link the to an actual player.
as a player completes trades successfully perhaps if could increase the contractor rating.
and like you said, perhaps we could add a provision for a customer to specify that a shipping contractor only have a rating of x points or higher. It is a good way to also protect both the shipper and the customer as new shippers with less experience will be less likely to get in over their head if they cannot take high value contracts.

An alternate to a contractor license and Id would be to allow players to name their shipping company.
this would allow a player use a obvious name that gives away their identity if they choose to,
Ie Williams quick ship cargo company, or something random that is not linked to a persons, such as Ocean Transport Co

[Maha]

a shipping company sounds more to something that should be earned - maybe through trust points- and part of the hideout

my mind is racing with possibilities; such a company could be like what a bank is for gc and credits. but with a more physical aspect to it.

through these companies, players, guilds or nations can exchange supplies for a small fee.
for the company, the normal rules of travel time etc. apply. the companies could open huge distribution centers in the ports; lvl 1 of the company gives 2 ports a distribution center and each constructive lvl another one.

when this wild idea gets implemented, then the impatient can buy supplies from the distribution center instead of gathering the resources by ship. This should be more expensive, but also open for market regulation. a way to do this is through fixed nation taxes, 3 turns per transaction and a profit marge that is set by the distributor.

[William one eye]

a shipping company sounds more to something that should be earned - maybe through trust points- and part of the hideout

my mind is racing with possibilities; such a company could be like what a bank is for gc and credits. but with a more physical aspect to it.

through these companies, players, guilds or nations can exchange supplies for a small fee.
for the company, the normal rules of travel time etc. apply. the companies could open huge distribution centers in the ports; lvl 1 of the company gives 2 ports a distribution center and each constructive lvl another one.

when this wild idea gets implemented, then the impatient can buy supplies from the distribution center instead of gathering the resources by ship. This should be more expensive, but also open for market regulation. a way to do this is through fixed nation taxes, 3 turns per transaction and a profit marge that is set by the distributor.

I was not suggesting a shipping company to be set up like a bank, but rather just an alternative to being known as an ID number.

Interesting thought about an actual shipping company that operated similar to how the banks work. I think that could be an alternative to this,
or possibly integrated with this, I think perhaps If you like that idea and want to see it grow, It should have its own thread. I would certainly be open to discussing that idea via PM or openly on the suggestion board in its own thread.

If this were implemented, even with its current structure, players could build mass warehouses and stock them in hopes to sell cargo instantly to other players in port. Perhaps a warehouse property tax could be imposed, a percentage based upon the level of the warehouse. This would add benefit to nation to have warehousing players choose to operate in their ports. I suspect game fees may applied also.

If a player owned cargo pickup option was added players could potentially trade or sell cargo with one another. although the anonymous system would make it difficult to specifically trade with friends, guild mates, business partners, or residents of your nation.

[Maha]

Interesting thought about an actual shipping company that operated similar to how the banks work. I think that could be an alternative to this,
or possibly integrated with this, I think perhaps If you like that idea and want to see it grow, It should have its own thread. I would certainly be open to discussing that idea via PM or openly on the suggestion board in its own thread.

i agree that that my suggestion went beyond your initial suggestion and should be separately discussed.
there is a huge difference to 'hey, let's do this' and a well worked out suggestion like the one that is proposed in this thread. so, William, i like to work with you on this to see whether it has real merit and how we could present it in a proper way.