Droid Engineer Archive

I think what everyone missed in the spreadsheet that I created and made available...is that it is designed to be flexible. If you really want to see what your costs are and what type of profit you are making, last I checked, you have to assess as much of your direct (and eventually indirect costs) are for making a specific product. All you have to do is change the factoring numbers in the spreadsheet. Just throwing arbitrary numbers out there does not really help you determine anything. And yes, I am against people selling stuff so far under market price that it hurts the economy (i.e. the probots i've seen for 3k on bazaar). I even put this in the thread regarding my spreadsheet because someone had questioned approx 7k for a probot.

The spreadsheet is a TOOL. It allows you to look at costs and determine what the best cost for YOU and YOUR customers will be. By using the laws of aggregate supply and aggregate demand, you will eventually come to equilibrium and find that spot where customers are willing to pay the highest amount you are wanting to receive. But with the way the economic structure is in the game and the devs constantly changing how currency comes into and flow out of the game, it may take awhile for everything to balance.

Stick me in the Anti-madcat camp too.

Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided is an online multiplayer game, in which the players are charged a monthly fee for the privilage of interacting with others. It seems to me that in this instance the majority of the consumers of this product believe that above all else, there should be a level playing field for all paying customers. As such, we have 'anti-fail' features like skill surrendering, starting as 1 of 6 professions, with the unhindered ability to train in any profession, and a cap on the price of items sold on the bazaar.

It is obvious to anyone who chooses to live outside of their own egocentric world (which, by the way, is contrary to everything we are taught by the social forces exurted upon us in the western world), will come to understand that Sony Online Entertainment and Lucas Arts intended from the outset for their game to be fair.

Fair, in this regard, means taking measures so as to not detract from the enjoyment that any one paying customer will have durring the course of their gameplay. This could mean that SOE may be forced to set a minimum price for all items, just as they took it upon themselves to usher in restraint when they capped the bazaar prices. This sort of action would not be required if people who share the selfish view, illustrated here by madcat, would understand that by their nature, they do not wish to play multiplayer games; People like madcat would find great joy in playing single player games, whilst at the same time not ruining the gaming experience of thounds of other people around the world who do not share their limited perspective.

As soon as the eka's come out someone make one(best you can), and I'll pay u 100k for it.

Eclipse server : Voco

BH

Frankly, I dont see what the fuss is about. Selling seekers at 250 is not that big a deal! It helps out the currently crippled BH's and doesnt do anyone else any harm. If someone is selling at 250, and word gets around, and they continue to sell at that level, then they dont make much of a profit, but are forced into volume sales... thats how it works in real life, and this is no differnt. Selling low volume/high profit or selling high volume/low profit can make the same bottom line figure. On top of that, selling in the high volume situation requires a considerable amount of game t9ime to make very little in credtis. It also means that the one selling at the higher price could possibly find a way to cut costs somewhere and pass that along to their customers. (And for the record... no I dont sell Seekers at 250 )

So, whats the big deal?? My prices are NOT the best on my server... I wont pretend they are! I have to rely on an artisian for electronics, which automaticly boosts my prices... but I still sell droids.

In a player driven ecconomy, the ecconomy is driven by the players!! That may not be profound, but it IS the way it works. If your prices let you sell droids, then you have the right price.

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MadCat0911 wrote:

Companies would willingly take losses in order to drive other companies out of business, then once they were the only company around, set the prices at what they want.

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Exactly. If no one can make a profit because you're selling so low, how is that fair?

If you only make droids as a hobby, why price them so low? Is it more fun selling them for less? Or do you just enjoy annoying all the other droid engineers on your server?

I'm wanting to see more droids than pets in the game, for one. As another thing, all I want is my guilds name and my character's name out there. I'm not one of the other droid engineers on my server, so I don't have to worry about what they think. If I make a droid, I want someone to use the droid, I'm not worried about making money off of it, there are lots of ways to make money in the game. So I've listed a price, I made a droid, I sold a droid at said price. Everything I looked for in my game happened, so I enjoy it more. That's all I need.

Even bounty hunter's would think 250 is too low, especially now that you can use them multiple times (or is that just probe droids?). In a few bounty hunter posts on this board when the vendor terminals were first removed, I think 700-800 was agreed upon as a good price.

Complain about me if you want, but it's not like I make a lot of droids, I make at most 20 a week of anything that's not a bounty hunter droid. And it's not like I'm flooding the market with bounty hunter droids either. Like I said, when I do get around to making droids, I'm going to sell them at what I think is fair. Now can we end the complaining? It won't do any good to anyone.

If you notice, I didn't attack you directly or complain about your prices I was just commenting on the attitude prevalent in your post. This seems to be the over-powering attitude of everyone in this game and it's very sad that people only care about themselves (not saying you do, just saying that's how it came off)

Well, my attitude is pretty much the same thing as in real life. The world's pretty much a place where people use other people to their advantage, or have to step on them to get ahead. Everyone's out for themselves, which is shown by my selling at my prices, and others throwing fits that I do because then they might not be able to sell at their price. In the end, it all comes down to greed, in life, and in this game. And yes, it may be sad that people only care about themselves, but how many people truly care about others over themselves?

I do. Which is evidenced by the my actions on a daily basis.

This is a game...this isn't supposed to be real life, this is supposed to be a place you can go and role-play...become something you've always wanted to be, do things you've always wanted to do. I sell at higher prices than you MC, but I don't have huge stockpiles of money. Why? Because I love helping people out...I love giving people personal "missions" to run for higher than standard fees. I love buying items and giving out "gift bags" just because no one is used to having people just be nice to them in the game.

This is just me, and I'm not saying everyone should be like I am...but being self-absorbed and only caring about yourself leads you to a pathetic and lonely existance.

But how would you feel if one guy suddenly started selling them for 5,000 or less?

This is a pointless argument, the people who don't care about the DE profession are going to continue to sell at low prices and basically give away the droids. Those who actually give a **edit** and look at this as a form of RP and not just "another game to play" will continue to sell at reasonable prices and try to make our profession flourish.

Neither side is going to give in, because both feel that they are right and no amount of arguing will make someone care about something that doesn't matter to them. Why should they care if they ruin the game for all the other DE trying to RP and run a business? Answer...they shouldn't in their view, it's their game, they pay their money, they should get to play however they want...other players be damned.

It's sad, it's pathetic and those who keep saying "I only do it to provide competition" are full of crap. Just making the droids and selling at slightly lower prices provides competition without fostering the idea that DE are useless and the droids should basically be free.