Suggestion: Reserve Orders

[Tomn]

Simple enough; if it were possible for players to ask a shopkeeper to find and hold an item for him to pick up later, it might help reduce a certain amount of shopping frustration.

Of course, in order to remain balanced, the price will be marked up quite a bit, and the time it takes to find whatever the item is would depend on how valuable it is; asking a shopkeeper to find a nova cannon could take a month or two, for instance.

It'd also be kinda interesting if different stores had different markups for ordering.  Relative backwaters would take forever and day to find stuff, and it'd cost a mint as well, while more central locations would be, relatively speaking, cheaper and faster.

[kcwong]

Need big reaction drop if you ordered something from a vendor but end up not buying it. Otherwise we can just order everything in advance. The vendor should send emails to notify once the item has arrived. If player does not return for a long time, or player does return to the shop but exit without buying the said item, give a reaction penalty.

Or have the vendor actively contacts the player when the player is around. Have the player pay for the item (or drop the order, reaction penalty).

Or require a deposit.

Or have the player pay the full price in advance... then pickup the item whenever they want. Also with email notification of course.

[Anticheese]

Or have mail order in at quite a high markup. Gearhead has already demonstrated that it has an ultra efficient mail system (I.E Cough up for postage and blam, it's there), so perhaps if you just phoned in for a special order you just need to show up to any major port/city/whathaveyou whenever its ready...

[Erathoniel]

That could work. But it seems a tad unrealistic to order an Scale 8 SF:2 mecha by mail. Maybe size-weight based shipping fees?

[Francisco Munoz]

You can create easily an script to allow sale and delivery of a limited chosen set of items with fixed prices...
 You could add a 1 hour delivery basic space suit to the starting cavalier guild shop, just to avoid some problems.
 The possibilities are endless (just stolen for you items in the blackmarkets, special mecha deals from the "net", etc...)

[Anticheese]

Quoting: Erathoniel

That could work. But it seems a tad unrealistic to order an Scale 8 SF:2 mecha by mail. Maybe size-weight based shipping fees?

That could work, as well as having a couple levels of shipping speed (I.E Overnight VS I click the order button and the postie is at the door), about 5 might work...Each scaled in price.

Quoting: Francisco Munoz

The possibilities are endless (just stolen for you items in the blackmarkets, special mecha deals from the "net", etc...)

Yeah, Gearhead needs more of a black market. I was pretty disappointed to go all the way down to the bottom of the dungeon in Theles to the black market, only to find the buggers were smuggling things like accordions and light rations...

Damn Banjo Smugglers...

[macksting]

Heck, might even have pirates catch wind that one of your agents has found a given device, and have them attack said agent on the way home to try to get a free mech, ECM or large personal weapon.
Thoughts?

[Erathoniel]

Definitely. You could start your own shipping company and arm it as a side-job, if JH thought it was worth doing. Or someone with enough skills.

[Frumple]

Quoting: macksting

Heck, might even have [your] pirates catch wind that [someone's] agents has found a given device, and have them attack said agent on the way home to try to get a free mech, ECM or large personal weapon.
Thoughts?

My thoughts are in the changes ^^.

[Erathoniel]

True, becoming a pirate would be just so... perfect...

[clasic_traveller_diehard]

my ROBOT ARMY will be the scourge of the high way! YARGHH!!

[Erathoniel]

Robot armies and pirates don't work so well. Especially if the robots have safeguards. If they don't, they may very well turn on you.

[Frumple]

Wait, wait. Robot pirate armada. Pirates don't really do armies, do they?

... so yeah. Robot army on the land, pirate fleets in the water, and robot pirate armadas in orbit. A trifecta of awesome.

Whuzzat gotta' do with the initial suggestion, eh? Well, they're all after the order, whatever it is. It is particularly shiny loot.

[Erathoniel]

You really just need a guy with a gun outside every shop/postal service office.