[MUD-Dev2] [DESIGN] Crafting Systems: Supply-Driven vs. Demand-Driven

[Chris Richards]

On 4/17/07, Shannon Sullivan <sdshannons at gmail.com> wrote:
> One of the common threads in the MMO crafting systems I've seen on
> themarket is that they tend to be supply-driven rather
> thandemand-driven.  What I mean by that is that the crafter will produce
> asupply of goods and, not knowing whether anyone else in the world
> willwant to buy these particular goods, puts them up for sale and
> thenhopes someone comes along and buys them.

I'm of the opinion that more often and not this results from systems
that grant experience or skill points when crafting, much like
acrobatics and bunny hopping everywhere.  The "supply of goods... not
knowing [if others will want]" comes from cheap-to-make items that
grant XP or skill points.

> What I'm envisioning is a system driven by demand instead of supply.For
> example, a player might be able to open a menu-style interfacewith all
> the various crafting recipes and select one to be crafted bythe first
> crafter who wants to make a profit.  They're putting in anorder,
> basically, and the first crafter willing to fill that ordergets it.

EVE Online operates in a manner similar to this.  From my (brief)
exposure to EVE, it operates more like the stock market.  There are
BIDs for items (like your suggestion) and ASKs for items (already
pre-made items for sale).

Cheers,
Chris