[MUD-Dev2] stock market mechanisms in muds

[John Buehler]

Johnicholas writes:

> Hi,
>
> I don't know much about what "stock market" mechanisms already exist
> in muds, so in mud-dev tradition, I will speculate and propose an
> idea. If you have experience with market simulations in muds, would
> you please reply? (to me or to the list)
>
> I say "stock market", but I mean more of a commodities market. Please
> forgive my inaccuracy.

Dark Age of Camelot permitted NPC merchants to be posted outside of
player-owned houses.  Those merchants were stocked by the player, and other
players could purchase from the merchants.  The difficulty with that
approach is ease of access and comparison.  There was no "market" per se,
requiring players to wander around the large housing area, looking for NPC
merchants.

Then they created a market that permitted players to visit a central
location in the housing area that accepted queries.  So if I was interested
in a certain ring, I could put in a specific or general query about rings
and be told which player-sponsored NPC merchants had rings of the sort I was
after, including their price.  If I wanted to buy, I'd run over to the
merchant and transact the item there.

Purchases could happen while the merchant-sponsor was offline.  I don't
recall if Camelot NPC merchants could be told to purchase raw materials.

This is my understanding of the system as of a couple years ago.

JB