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Businesses on Era: The Life and Death of a Businessman
As promised, I'd like to start being more open about Era's development, including getting real player input. I've discussed this idea with both Exolia, the business admin, and Squirt, the manager, and I believe we've come up with a reasonable plan for businesses both before and after the reset.
To explain this system, I'm going to walk you through the life and death of an Erian businessman. (there's a summary at the bottom!) Quote:
The money amounts used in this example, as well as any items, are all rough estimates and are probably not even remotely accurate. This plan would basically take the old, much-loved business system and fix its flaws. It would not affect businesses like Era Hotel which are not stocking businesses. Summary: We plan to create a business system which lets owners choose what to call their business, what items to produce, how many to produce, and what to charge for them. There would be money reserved in the safe which the owner can't touch to prevent employees from being scammed. Employees would automatically be paid at the end of the week. If businesses failed to earn at least a certain amount in a week, or failed to pay their expenses in a week, for two weeks straight, the business would automatically be taken and auctioned. This is very similar to the old system. We plan to put this system in place on Era before the reset, but it may take a while to create. I would love to hear comments and criticism before the system is built, and address any potential issues before they become a problem. Please let me know what you think. |
I want to say that i really like the idea of the new Shop System, I always wanted this on my own server but we never got to it.. I would love to see it here tho!
This way the system will be much better because of the pays and stuff.. I vote yes! |
Sounds good to me
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I will invest money in different business, I will make a fortune!
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hope this isnt like noctorious's system were you buy the stuff and drag and drop on ur shop table................. didnt bother reading the wall of text
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I like this!
Yes, yes and yes! |
Why are the businesses re-auctioned or auctioned at all?
Couldn't you simply place "lots" or empty stores on the map, in which players will have to purchase for a certain amount? To begin this process. Also; if the player feels as though he can't handle the business anymore, there should be a function that allows him to sell his business (paying his employees for that week), and cut his losses. (Sell it back to Bank or whatever it is, or AUCTION it him/herself). Note: If he sells back to BANK, he of course is not returned what he initially paid for it. He should also be able to sell his licenses for an amount as well. Or sell them to other storeowners. That sounds to me like a better system, it keeps money rotating in the economy and does not simply "delete" all of it. As well as it takes away a certain degree of staff-involvement which can get messy, as we know. The GBA can take care of the auctioning and etc. Its most-definitely more interactive. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Loans can get messy, what if a player doesn't pay back? Its not like irl, where you can imprison them... that'll get things too complicated. |
Like Wil said, loans wouldn't work out, there's no way for them to be enforced if the player doesn't have the money.
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I like the idea, its getting more realistic however something I notice.
4 per lead 3 per stock automatically sets the price at 7 and if owner wants a profit its more. People will go to NPC shops unless you set NPC shops veerryy high, which would deter new players. I know your numbers are theoretical but this is the problem I see |
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There's no mention of protection fees, and this sounds like quite the project but good luck.
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kinda dislike this idea.
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So what's your plan to make this system not fail like the last time it was tried?
Giving players complete control over prices is a big mistake. If I recall correctly, the "small biz" system that we had once before allowed everyone to buy the same licenses, and eventually everyone sold the same things. Inevitably, owners kept trying to sell them for lower and lower than their competition. Eventually some idiot sold the items for a price which caused him to actually lose money, released a ****-load of guns for that price, and then ruined it for everyone else. The items were mass-released, under-priced, and now impossible for other businesses to sell. Unless guns can break, or you keep guns to NPC shops, this system will never work out in the long-run. (or everyone will just end up selling ammo, and it will become a popularity contest to see who gets the customers) |
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To prevent prices from going too high through some kind of monopoly system, NPC shops would be "smart" and adjust their prices to set a maximum limit for each gun. |
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List of random ideas: 1. Make limits on how low or high the gun can be sold for, for the low price the minimum would be what ever the gun/ammunition costs to make it. 2. If there is going to be certain licenses that can be purchased, only allow up to 2 bizs to purchase this license. 3. Ammunition/Gun Licenses, a list of option to choose what type of weapons you could sell. Uzi Ammo, available guns to choose from that use uzi ammo can be sold at this store. 4. Just a nice feature (sort of lol) when one of these bizs are completely out of stock the biz auto closes. (not sure about that one) 5. Possibly add every single gun that can be sold at these shops to the pawn shop, which would create the minimum low price. 6. Possibly turn your biz into a food shop? is that allowed? 1 + 5 are pretty much the same =P Well this is my random list of possible ideas that could be incorporated into this biz system. (my bad if I said one already mentioned :\) |
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Sounds like a cool idea. PLEASE make sure that there are no bugs. Actually upload the script onto Era dev or something and allow people to mess around with the system and if they find a bug give them like 10k or something on the real server. I don't know, i just don't want that glitch back like last time where people could buy a business and not lose any money or even have the money on them.
Like someone said earlier, the locations of these businesses need to be taken into account. Prime real estate should have higher expenses compared to businesses in more worse of a location. Also, there should be a limit on how many licenses there are per a item, and these licenses SHOULD expire after 30 days or so and be sold in an automated auction, so that one business can't keep all the good licenses. |
Allow players to make a multi-kind of biz, where he can be successful, make a ton of profits, then add on to his store, like he can add another department and sell another product like food or explosives.
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It sounds good, but I hope it's not one of those ideas where it sounds good in writing but fails when it's made.
I strongly disagree with letting players have control over businesses, but that's mainly because of bad experiences with player-owned businesses in the past. |
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Also, why not make new businesses?
Food is old and it's never gonna boom like it use to. Ammo shops will be w/e unless some cool guns are added, and pyro tech is always closed. Give radio stations a purpose instead of just trying to get random people come and listen to music that shuts off if you walk around and hear other sounds. Make farming a job. Would be hella fun, and players can eat what they make or sell it, and make things factor how well you farm, like strength levels for easier tool use, different kind of tools, or machines. Also a cool feature would be if people could purchase the soda vending machines, they have to stock them and keep them and blah blah. House building? They just added the wood cutting system. Would be pretty neat if you could build a house from the logs you chopped down. Fishing? Seems like a job that shoulda been added to Era along time ago. Fix Era news. Add a cell phone biz and you pay monthly like a bill that is taken auto-matically out of your ATM, you can leave people messages like texts (an improved version of the mail system), and you can call people and set up your own number, take pics/screen shots and send them. add that egg-roll shack that Rave wanted to do. I'm pretty sure levels, graphics, scripts, ganis and everything were made and ready for upload but they just decided not to at the last minute? Trying to blurt out as many ideas that could be discussed, I know alot of these ideas would have problems or something that would be unfair but just keeping the discussion up. |
Just give us all the items already we do not want to work AT ALL.
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Secondly: John's a twat. If he dropped like 30 pounds and shaved his god-awful goatee, maybe I could take him seriously. As it stands... |
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I'd say, guns are the most difficult to deal with and there really isn't a feasible way to give player-shops control of them. May sound abit drastic, but its the simplest method, do-away with weapons being sold in these businesses. Only depletable items, ex. Ammo, Cappucinos, Food, and perhaps go with what Hector stated, add newer products that are DEPLETABLE. As for guns, let the Pawn-Shop ordeal control that entire aspect. Do not allow the Pawn-Shops to release an infinite amount of every item. Give them a limit, and as an gun is "Pawned" back to the shop, put it on the shelf. So the guns are basically rotating throughout the economy, giving every item a limit, as well as a minimum price. Of course if there's a limit on every weapon, you'll have to release a vast majority of them, but thats not a problem. Era has more than enough. As well as, players don't have to worry about WORKING to repair guns and crap, we already worry about ammunition. Lets not go overboard and make whats accepted; unacceptable. |
Businesses on a game won't work at all. You see, i'm in business management and I have somewhat knowledge on this.
Reasons: -Items run out of their "new" feel. There will be about 20 players who actually purchase an item, and then it is dispersed throughout the community by sales to other players. One this happens, the business owner is left with extra stock, and employees to pay but he isnt selling anything. The only thing that will keep sales, is ammo. -If we allow players to set prices, they will set prices to redicilous amounts for their own common wealth. But then again will set low for friends. There needs to be a guideline for this such as no less then $3,000 no more then $6,000 on a weapon. This would keep it somewhat fair. -Not to mention it causes 1 player to get rich quick. All the players working hard to feed their money to 1 player. I say that the money isnt accessible to the owner, and staff pay the owner a percentage of the safe, rest is payed to taxes. |
I wish you'd read my post, the Pawn-Shop is NPC-Ran. Thats where I suggest guns, and other more "permanent" items should be sold. To prevent all you just explained, and to simplify things. Depletable items, like Ammunition, Cappucinos, Sewer Elixir, and so on and so forth, can be marketed by players... seeing as there will always be a demand for them.
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Can you decrease the price you can sell minerals at the NPC shop for so you profit more for working for a good business then mining by yourself?
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Not sure if this problem can even be solved, but usually what I've noticed when a new business comes out and they're selling new guns, they stock it and buy it just for themselves.. Then they will will hold on to them and try and make a lot more money off the gun.
Not sure what could be done to prevent this.. Maybe block accounts from buying their own products, and after a certain period of time after no one has purchased the item it can then be bought. Also make I do not think owners should have the power to be able to close their shops.. Not really needed, and like i said before they should automatically close if no items are stocked. Quote:
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That sounds good, but it'd be pretty messy in-game. As well as complicated to put what gun with what parts and what effects and so on.
As well as, GUNS being the products they buy for themselves. If they can't sell guns, that problem is solved as well. Players selling guns will bringforth more than a few problems. Thats the largest flaw in this plan. |
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sound good, or what could be done to make it better? :) |
Well, I originally was going to suggest add-ons in my post with the whole pawn-shop idea. But any gun-altering add-ons would be a disaster without a doubt. Hence why I withdrew that, but if you're speaking of add-ons not impacting gun statistics, I'm all for that.
Ex. An add-on that makes the gun lighter, able to use another primary weapon with it etc etc. Then again, all this would take alot of time and is it really "necessary" for such trivial improvements? As for the Pawn-Shop twist you added; I like alot. Still enables players to sell weapon as well as limits the amount of weapons produced, and involves the pawn-shop to initiate the rotation. Since Era has 100+ items, licenses shouldn't be a problem even if it is limited. Players can strategize as t what items/weapons are in-demand and purchase licenses for them, this would actually make businesses more applicable to Era as well as add a "realistic feel" to them. |
I'm not so sure about the limiting of licenses or the limiting of the number of guns that can be produced. I think it would be better to have a "smart" price system for parts used to make guns. The more "Super Metal Handle"s that are used, the more the stock depletes, and the more the price rises. Eventually it would go back down to a base price each week or so (or maybe it could just be based on current demand).
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