Architect Archive
Thread: Architect Profession slowly dying
meeksspeaks
Mon Feb 16, 2004 1:33 pm
#14
What I don't get is that people are saying the market was so much better some length of time ago. Well DUH! Nobody new is joining, therefore there's nobody who needs houses, and very few return customers.
If you really want to make some money, wait for a new server to open, grind architect, and sell your stuff for way too much. The advent of player cities has done a good deal to put coin in our pocket. I'll be honest, I only made it to M.Arch. within the past couple weeks, so I don't know what it was like in the "good-old-days" but I'm pretty happy with my profession. Generally, I make one or two big sales a day, (I define big sales as large houses, factories, medium or bigger harvesters, city buildings, etc). And I'm approaching 2M in credits. That's while running about 25 lots.
I can imagine it's not how it was, where people were willing to pay through the nose because of scarcity of good architects, but I really don't see it as a huge problem. As long as the game is continued to be promoted, new people continue to play, then I can see me enjoy Architect for a good deal longer. That's the real problem, the turnover in the game is too high. I'm pretty happy with the game, granted I took a couple months off because I was sick of having to look for resources on foot. Then came the vehicles, and back I came. I honestly don't know what can be done about the turnover. On average I probably talk to as many vets who are sick of the game as newbies who just started. I don't know if that's an alarming rate to anyone else, but it is to me.
I will make one point, having no decay does suck. I buy a shield generator for 15k it's wasted in an hour of heavy game play if I leave it on. Someone buys a house from me for 10k, they have it forever. Then again, how would you implement such a decay? Based on time? Imagine losing your internet service for a week or something, not only do you lose a 100k+ house, but all the items in it. Even worse, a guild hall. Plus over the course of a real life time, houses really don't "decay" do they? What abouta house fireorflood due to lack of the architect's skills, or forgetting to pay maintainence. I can see factories and harvesters decaying, they all have moving parts.
I'm probably rambling here and not making much sense, and realize that I've contradicted myself, but whatever, it's 3:30.
StumanKadir
Mon Feb 16, 2004 6:19 pm
#15
Can agree with you there. When I ran my ads, I had stock just walk out the door - so much so that I had to do non-stop production for a couple of weeks before hand to meet what I thought was the perceived reception to the ad campaign, and sold out within a quarter of the time I had anticipated. Even continuing the runs well after I had hoped to stop didn't quell demand.
Which was good in a way in that I did make oodles to fund my semi-retirement. But since then I have seen some very serious price slashing from a couple of folks with multiple accounts /shrug. I don't mind leaving the prof for a short while whilst I go hunting and fighting, but I know that I have enough stock on hand to keep earning a decent living, and enough resources to grind my way back the Master within a day or so, and to hit full production within 3 days.
Folks are right though, it ebbs and flows like all markets and you just have to cope with the ebbs with the memory of what its like to ride the flows 
HoOdRaT707
Tue Feb 17, 2004 12:14 am
#16
Thats kind of true there is not a lot of orders anymore there use to be. Still architect makes a lot of money.
Manipulative
Tue Feb 17, 2004 5:40 pm
#17
It doesn't feel quite dry to me yet. I still have trouble keeping my vendor stocked, and the sudden surge in Flora & Water sales (due to new chefs) has been quite noticeable. And roaming around the galaxy, I still see a ton of small houses and personal harvesters. Every time you see either, you should be thinking "fewer sales opportunity".
Along with the holo grinding fest, a lot of rich architects left the profession to chase the holo. That left a void, which a few of us younger architects were somewhat able to fill. Those that later try to come back find that it's difficult to rebuild, as now their namespace has been taken by the new architects. I've seen this with my contemporaries. When they re-open, they see that their absence has created an alienation, that isn't easily overcome.
Among the younger architects (those of us, with less than 6 months xp) a few will eventually leave as well, due to low demand. If an architect survives into the space expansion, that architect will be known galaxy-wide as the place to go. They will be legendary, so to speak, in the game.
Grisbilen
Wed Feb 18, 2004 7:27 am
#18
Entierly my own oppinion:
The problem on chimaera is that even though old archs quit cause the profit vs works is nothing (compared to a as or ws for example).
New/current ones still sell things extremely cheap, a guy advertised on the forum that he took 35k fora medium chemical, fine for him, but i would make like 5k (if even that)on an item that takes a great deal of time and effortto make (comp runs, gathering materials, buying power, buying ore, paying maintenance etc).
Other crafting professions take huge amounts of work/time, but they make good/huge profits also, architect take great amounts of time/work and make low profit.
If i charge 6cpu for a house/harv/whatever, and i bought most of the resources at 3cpu (using my harv lots for great resources that i would have to pay the double for), people usually insult me with "ur an idiot" etc.
Now if a AS charge 70-100cpu for an item that maybe cost him 20cpu total (no idea, but im guessing), people sing his praises and buy items each week (armor decays, architect stuff don't).
But i guess your time and effort making top quality stuffhas absolutely no value if you can grind the profession in a few hours...
Ok, i'll stop my whining now 
Moxxinal
Wed Feb 18, 2004 10:48 am
#19
Another slant to the issue: I focus entirely on interior design. I've got 10 people on my waiting list, and they're all willing to wait 1-2 months until I can get to them. For every happy client for whom I complete a job, I seem to get at least 2-3 more based on his or her referrals, so my business grows.
Interior decorating is far from dying. On the contrary, it's just warming up (on Radiant, at least). 
BoberFett
Wed Feb 18, 2004 10:58 am
#20
Just last night, after a couple days of slow sales,I sold 800K worth of stuff. 4 fusion generators and a heavy mineral.
There's still money to be made. As architects we just need to understand that we sell big ticket items, which aren't as steady a business as food, medicine, weapons, or armor. Just as in real life, big ticket items have ups and downs. Real estate andthe auto business go through huge swings, while the boring products like toilet paper and soap are cheaper and don't have the same profit margin, but they're steady sellers.
RotorofCorRng
Wed Feb 18, 2004 11:33 am
#21
Bobber is correct. I can stagnate for 4 days, or craft madly to keep my vendors stocked the next week. Unfortunatly is all Harvesters and no house and very little furnish hehehe. Other than that, the bank account is not shrinking.
WildmanHT
Wed Feb 18, 2004 11:52 am
#22
Howdy all
I just happened to mosey on by and saw this thread. I dropped Master Arch last week after 5 months of it. Also, another Master Arch in my guild is also dropping it. He has been one for over 6 months. At least for us it isnt lack of sales but pure boredom.
I personally never advertised that I had a vendor with stuff. In the beginning I did do the Starport Spam or watch people wanting to buy. However, I mostly got business especially up to the end by just wearing the title. And then folks kept coming back. The last order I recieved was for 90 Fusions and that came out of the blue from an ingame /tell.
As I am leveling down the profession tree I am making a bunch of theitem I am bout to delete and putting on my vendor. I just made the last of the small houses 30 of em last nite. Im still selling stuff...At least one large house a day. What I have noticed is that furniture is still a hot market. I love going to the baazars and see that no one is selling this stuff...Also, got to love the 6K cap now for the Baazar.
What is interesting is the demand still for Ore and Steel. I went into that business just so I could have a steady income weekly...actually, making more then I imagined. Over a million profit a week so far...If Archs arent really selling much any more then where is all of this material going and what is it being used for. People are paying over 3cpu for ore which is insane.....Im selling it at 2.5cpu to archs. I refuse to sell it for more....Just the principle of the matter....lol
Happy Trails all.
Bandola
Wed Feb 18, 2004 1:37 pm
#23
Wish it was the same here, last nightfor the first time I had a load of chem harvs drop off my vendor, in the past I have turned around my stock in about half that time. Now it is possible that with restocking people have been buying the 'newer' ones I have put on, but it sure doesn't feel good. Come to think of it I cannot remember when I made my last batch of chems, I will have to watch if the gas do the same...
BoberFett
Wed Feb 18, 2004 2:36 pm
#24
Pawlin wrote:
Sounds like the hologrinders are still active. Or do you have repeat business from established crafters?
In the past couple weeks, I estimate I've spent roughly 6 million credits on resources. Using my lots, I can't mine ore ormetalfast enough to keep up with my usage in walls and turbines. If I see someone shouting at the starport for 2cpu credits for grind metal I usually purchase everything they have.
Pawlin
Wed Feb 18, 2004 4:45 pm
#25
Yeah, actually after thinking a sec. it sounds like Wildmann's server is still fairly strong economy at least from what he's seen. So it could just be a pretty strong resource demand from the real crafters as opposed to hologrinders causing temporary demand.
Pawlin
Thu Feb 19, 2004 1:33 am
#26
WildmanHT wrote:
...
What is interesting is the demand still for Ore and Steel. I went into that business just so I could have a steady income weekly...actually, making more then I imagined. Over a million profit a week so far...If Archs arent really selling much any more then where is all of this material going and what is it being used for....
Sounds like the hologrinders are still active. Or do you have repeat business from established crafters?