Barter System... pwitty pweeze?

[Barter System FTW]

Why would clans, tribes, factions, markets and so on all use a single fixed currency? The answer: they would not! Vote yes on Barter System and receive a free internet hug!

 

 

Barter System Awesomeness in action!

Oh yeah, haggle that junk!

 

 

I had a big long post written out. Then I deleted it. Anyhow, what do you think of a currencyless bartering system...? Hint: Say yes or the kittens get it.

[Aedelric]

I voted both, depending on culture/NPC should depend on system used.

 

Side note, I do not like hugs.

[Playgu]

They said that the game's setting is comparable to late medieval/early renaissance era. Coin and currency should be a part of the world. In some undeveloped parts of the world bartering may be more natural however. I voted for both.

Edited September 24, 2012 by Playgu

[molarBear]

too much realism is not good for the game

sometimes practical way (one fixed currency) is to go

[True_Spike]

I dislike barter in games in general. There's no point in making the game overcomplicated for the sake of it being complicated.

[Jozape]

I love bartering. Fallout ftw.

 

But of course we should have a currency too. It would be silly not too.

[dlux]

It won't work. How do you expect a "pure" barter system to work in a game? This sword is worth 2 shoes, an arrow and 2 kilos of flour - or 5 arrows a helmet and a gauntlet? Then people would start making lists like: arrow < flour < helmet < gauntlet etc. etc. etc. Then you would take the "cheapest" item and start measuring the value of everything in arrows. E.g. flour = 2 arrows, helmet = 15,5 arrows, etc. Eventually making arrows your basic currency. What a tedious mechanic.

 

Anyway, even if the game did have a pure bartering system then the programmers would need to add a value to everything anyway (a certain number). Might as well just make these "generic" numbers the currency.

Edited September 24, 2012 by dlux

[dlux]

I love bartering. Fallout ftw.

 

But of course we should have a currency too. It would be silly not too.

Fallout had a currency system (bottlecaps). The value of everything was measured in bottlecaps.

[GhostofAnakin]

I think a pure bartering system would actually be unrealistic. Unless I'm way off, I don't think Project Eternity is going to be about a bunch of tribes trading a boot for a stick. So, like most civilized populations, being able to trade gold for goods makes sense.

[timobkg]

Wow, this poll isn't skewed at all.

 

A barter system sounds good in theory. In practice, it's a nightmare to design, code, and play. A gold system is actually managable, and makes playing the game much easier, which is why every game uses it. I don't want realism for the sake of realism when it detracts from actually playing and enjoying the game.

[Jozape]

It won't work. How do you expect a "pure" barter system to work in a game? This sword is worth 2 shoes, an arrow and 2 kilos of flour - or 5 arrows a helmet and a gauntlet? Then people would start making lists like: arrow < flour < helmet < gauntlet etc. etc. etc. Then you would take the "cheapest" item and start measuring the worth of everything in arrows: flour = 2 arrows, helmet = 15,5 arrows, etc. Eventually making arrows your currency. What a tedious mechanic.

 

Anyway, even the game did have a pure bartering system then the programmers would need to add a value to everything anyway (a certain number). Might as well just make these "generic" numbers the currency.

 

You just answered your own question. A pure barter system would work by doing the same thing as other games with a bartering system: attaching a value to each item. Voila, it works!

 

Not that I'm advocating such a thing.

 

I love bartering. Fallout ftw.

 

But of course we should have a currency too. It would be silly not too.

Fallout had a currency system (bottlecaps). The value of everything was measured in bottlecaps.

 

Uh, yes, I know that. I was responding to the poll options.

Edited September 24, 2012 by Jozape

[Barter System FTW]

If not a bartering system then at least a wide price difference depending upon where you happen to be in the land, as in, prices that fluctuate according to what that trader would want or actually need.

 

Maybe barter could be restricted to poor, destitute areas or nomads with no real use for currency, thus used as a worldpainting device?

 

Maybe its not a good idea, actually... lol.

[rjshae]

Hmm, a biased poll question. How useless.

[ogrezilla]

I don't think bartering is necessary. It may make sense, but for the most part its just an unfun complication. Having some specific places not accept currency could be ok, but it shouldn't be common.

[Klaleara]

Seems I'm losing, but I love trading goods for goods. However it really only fits in certain settings (Fallout is perfect for this). I'm not sure what the setting is, but if it allows it, trading goods for goods is the way I'd like it.

[dlux]

It won't work. How do you expect a "pure" barter system to work in a game? This sword is worth 2 shoes, an arrow and 2 kilos of flour - or 5 arrows a helmet and a gauntlet? Then people would start making lists like: arrow < flour < helmet < gauntlet etc. etc. etc. Then you would take the "cheapest" item and start measuring the worth of everything in arrows: flour = 2 arrows, helmet = 15,5 arrows, etc. Eventually making arrows your currency. What a tedious mechanic.

 

Anyway, even the game did have a pure bartering system then the programmers would need to add a value to everything anyway (a certain number). Might as well just make these "generic" numbers the currency.

 

You just answered your own question. A pure barter system would work by doing the same thing as other games with a bartering system: attaching a value to each item. Voila, it works!

 

Not that I'm advocating such a thing.

In Metro 2033 the game used bullets as currency and fallout used bottlecaps. Using arrows like I described would make them the currency. The only difference being that the player would have to figure everything out himself.

[GhostofAnakin]

I don't think bartering is necessary. It may make sense, but for the most part its just an unfun complication. Having some specific places not accept currency could be ok, but it shouldn't be common.

 

This is kind of where I was going. It's one thing to have a bartering system if the PC and companions come across an isolated tribe that is quite primitive, so maybe that's the only thing they're used to, and the PC and companions have to barter shoe for fish type deals.

 

But generally speaking, most established and civilized populations will have some sort of "gold" monetary standard in place to buy and sell goods for.

[dlux]

Seems I'm losing, but I love trading goods for goods. However it really only fits in certain settings (Fallout is perfect for this). I'm not sure what the setting is, but if it allows it, trading goods for goods is the way I'd like it.

If the merchant in Fallout (and even Skyrim) ran out of bottle caps then you could barter with him, even though the value of the items was still measured in bottle caps.

 

I used it all the time. I would trade all of the heavy stuff I had for light weight drugs and stimpacks. I don't think anybody here really has a problem with this system either.

[hideo kuze]

A pure barter system won't work on all locations all the time. Well, technically it would but it would likely annoy the hell out of everyone.

Considering we won't be starting the game like in FO or get the chance to visit some remote island, it doesn't make much sense.

 

A pure coin system always ends up on the ridiculous side of things, with the PC having dozens or hundreds of thousands of coins.

 

With both of that in mind, a scenario where each merchant has a certain number of coins and wares, and if you deplete his coins it will take a while for him to refill... is what I'd like to see.

 

But in any case, a copper, silver, gold coin system (like in ToEE) would be good to have and avoid the unrealistic "oh I have 3,565,235 coins of gold in this bag" scenario.

Edited September 24, 2012 by hideo kuze

[Jozape]

It won't work. How do you expect a "pure" barter system to work in a game? This sword is worth 2 shoes, an arrow and 2 kilos of flour - or 5 arrows a helmet and a gauntlet? Then people would start making lists like: arrow < flour < helmet < gauntlet etc. etc. etc. Then you would take the "cheapest" item and start measuring the worth of everything in arrows: flour = 2 arrows, helmet = 15,5 arrows, etc. Eventually making arrows your currency. What a tedious mechanic.

 

Anyway, even the game did have a pure bartering system then the programmers would need to add a value to everything anyway (a certain number). Might as well just make these "generic" numbers the currency.

 

You just answered your own question. A pure barter system would work by doing the same thing as other games with a bartering system: attaching a value to each item. Voila, it works!

 

Not that I'm advocating such a thing.

In Metro 2033 the game used bullets as currency and fallout used bottlecaps. Using arrows like I described would make them the currency. The only difference being that the player would have to figure everything out himself.

 

Okay, I think I misunderstood your complaint. It's not that you didn't think a pure barter system would work, but that it would be tedious to learn the worth of each item to the denizens? Personally I don't see that as a problem but as a positive feature, if it were a game without an official 'currency'. Although I would get more creative than simply adding a hidden value if I were making a game, and at the minimum add a little personal character value to certain items, even if it was just a plus or minus 100 toggle.

 

Which would be good in PE too if it had bartering. Bartering ought to be more interesting than simply a replacement for 100 gold.

[ogrezilla]

I don't think bartering is necessary. It may make sense, but for the most part its just an unfun complication. Having some specific places not accept currency could be ok, but it shouldn't be common.

 

This is kind of where I was going. It's one thing to have a bartering system if the PC and companions come across an isolated tribe that is quite primitive, so maybe that's the only thing they're used to, and the PC and companions have to barter shoe for fish type deals.

 

But generally speaking, most established and civilized populations will have some sort of "gold" monetary standard in place to buy and sell goods for.

 

Right. Basically it just cuts out going to somewhere to convert my dollars to euros.

 

Seems I'm losing, but I love trading goods for goods. However it really only fits in certain settings (Fallout is perfect for this). I'm not sure what the setting is, but if it allows it, trading goods for goods is the way I'd like it.

If the merchant in Fallout (and even Skyrim) ran out of bottle caps then you could barter with him, even though the value of the items was still measured in bottle caps.

 

I used it all the time. I would trade all of the heavy stuff I had for light weight drugs and stimpacks. I don't think anybody here really has a problem with this system either.

 

like you said, that's still a currency system. It just lets you skip the step between selling and buying. That is definitely a nice thing to have if the vendors have a limited gold supply.

Edited September 24, 2012 by ogrezilla

[Enclave]

I voted for both, however I don't expect to walk into a merchants shop and do much bartering. I'm more thinking of bartering being good when dealing with tribals and the like.

[Crusty]

Was going to start my own thread, but I guess I'll bump this.

 

I loved bartering in Fallout and the like, a mixed system definitely is best. It might not rate as important in the grand scheme of things, but it added another dimension to the gameplay IMO.

 

I think with the focus on different cultures in PE, bartering becomes a viable method of interaction with NPCs. There are some cultures that may not recognize or value gold, for example. Or perhaps a certain culture, or faction, or NPCs place different values on different items.

 

Having universal values for items altered by an NPC's culture, faction, location (local economies), etc, could really aid in making the world seem more alive because it forces the player to consider the beliefs and foci of cultures and factions when you interact with them.

 

For example, a organization of knights may highly value quality steel armor and weapons, but would not pay much for light armor such as leather.

 

Then, once you add the skill system into consideration, it opens up new avenues in how to play the game. It could open up bribery as a natural playstyle (offering items valuable to the NPC for quest items if you don't want to steal it or kill the NPC for it) and would nicely complement a charismatic smooth talker character concept.

 

It also helps to compensate for merchants that are low on gold, giving the player a better opportunity to try and get better value for their items, or vice versa if the player is low on gold. As I said, adds another dimension to gameplay.

Edited September 30, 2012 by Crusty

[Kai]

I have to give it to you, this poll is so amazingly biased that I simply can't take it seriously. It also convinced me that I want a pure money based system with no bartering of wares whatsoever which I'm sure you would be thrilled to have.

[Theobeau]

Made this comment in an another thread but FNV did it really well. Fixed currency, paper notes, different factions preferred units and barter into a perhaps too seamless economic transaction system.

 

An additional step they should have considered is having antagonistic factions discounting or refusing to accept certain currency. Made little sense to me for the military bases of the NCR accepting Legion gold at a non-discounted rate.