Black Market needs work (some ideas)

from Sins Forums
Hello everyone, I'm currently playing a game where I have a huge excess of minerals (yey orbital refinery's) and very few credits. I'm constantly converting minerals to credits via the black market under diplomacy. The current process is, in one word, awful. It could do with several improvements.

1: Move the buttons from diplomacy to right underneath the money bar (I dunno what you call, that bar near the top that shows your current credits, metal and crystal reserves) for easier access. Going into the diplomacy window to convert 100 metal to credits is slow and tedious and best if you are micro managing your economy.

2: Add a second option to convert 500 (example number) crystal/metal to credits, for the same rate as 100 to credits. Same with credits to cystal/metal. The current values are a little low if you need to convert, say, 10,000 metal to credits. Right now that is 100 clicks. (Carpal tunnel, anyone?)

Those are two things that would make the black market MUCH better in my opinion.

One other idea I had was to replace the buttons in the diplomacy window with sliders that, depending on how they are set, convert a certain percentage of ALL the minerals/crystal you take in to credits. Same with credits, a certain percentage of all the credits you earn (through trade/tax/bounty) would be converted to metal/crystal)

For instance, if you are getting tons of minerals, but not very many credits, you could set both the metal and crystal sliders to 25%. Then, with out having to do anything else, 25% of all the minerals (25% of all the metal, and 25% of all the crystal) you earn are converted to credits (at black market rates). Current credits/minerals in your reserves would be unaffected, the only way to sell those is by the current method, only newly generated credits/minerals would be affected.



Thoughts? comments? better ideas?

5,014 views 18 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
putting ships up on market.
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
mid to late game money is always much easier to get than minerals and crystal and it doesn't run out, yes refineries help but not that fast.
Galactic Civilizations IV
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
Yes please.
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top

mid to late game money is always much easier to get than minerals and crystal and it doesn't run out, yes refineries help but not that fast.


I don't mean to sound rude, but my post had nothing to do with that. I was only saying "i had lots of mins, but not a lot of credits" (and it was true, at the time) as an example. The situation could easily be reversed (lots of credits, not to many mins) and what I'm asking for would still help you.

It's improvements to the black market interface, and the last idea would apply to your end game "lots of credits, less mins" by allowing you to automatically convert your credits to mins and in a few simple clicks, rather than tens/hundred(s) of clicks.
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top
I think the black market should have its own screen with different options such as bulk trades with a higher return and ships - not just your own but enemy ships as well. There should also be spy and intel options just to spice it up.
Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top
Or buy ships of the pirate variety, if they exist.
Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top
It should have both in my opinion.

Additionally, I would also like the chance to subvert other player purchases. Meaning when someone tries to purchase something via the BM I am informed by my friendly neighborhood representative and I'm given the option of paying a certain percentage more to stop the order BUT I dont get the resources. They somehow are "lost". There could also be tech oriented towards this ability as well so if you invest in it you get a chance of claiming a certain about of the materials. I firmly believe that BM has to be fully developed for this title to really shine.
Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top
I disagree with spartan, while I do feel that at least the TEC should have techs for getting better output out of the black markter, the idea of stopping someone is not right for the game.

Selling ships however would be nice, especially if they go to a pool where other players (or yourself) can buy them from. You could get higher returns from BM sales, but your opponent might buy the ships cheap to.


2: Add a second option to convert 500 (example number) crystal/metal to credits, for the same rate as 100 to credits. Same with credits to cystal/metal. The current values are a little low if you need to convert, say, 10,000 metal to credits. Right now that is 100 clicks.


YES PLEASE!
Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top
To continue my earlier post, I also think that the pirates and the BM should be linked in some fashion to further enhance the system. For example when the pirates take over a new system the prices for goods drops conversely when they loose a system the prices rises.

Furthermore when a player attacks the pirates that players prices should rise because the BM management and its suppliers (read as pirates) have a difficult time trusting the player - to some degree.

There should also be direct tie-ins with the diplomacy system as well. There could be some "pirate empathy" rating which increases the more you do business with them. This rating would then affect all other players accordingly. Moreover if you get to a very high empathy level maybe pirate ships start to show up at your planets as "allies" and you can get a "piece of the action" for all trade in your area if you are the dominate power in that star star system.
Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top
Or the ability to pay off the pirates to attack another empire. Some how link it to the bounty feature perhaps.
Reply #11 from Sins Forums Top

Or the ability to pay off the pirates to attack another empire. Some how link it to the bounty feature perhaps.


Yeah. I knew I forgot something real basic - good job. I hate trying to type after 18 hour workdays as well as during that all important two minutes in between client meetings. I tend to forget a lot of stuff and my fingers don't always hit the right keys.
Reply #12 from Sins Forums Top
Nice, nice ideas!   
Reply #13 from Sins Forums Top
The TEC (and maybe Advent) should be the only ones to get access to the Black Market.
Reply #14 from Sins Forums Top
...
may I inquire as to...

why?
Reply #15 from Sins Forums Top
Everyone should have access to it, tho the TEC should have better access seeing as how they are former traders.
Reply #16 from Sins Forums Top
The TEC (and maybe Advent) should be the only ones to get access to the Black Market.

Lower prices (or perhaps better - more goods available) would reflect that better than exclusive access.
Reply #17 from Sins Forums Top

The TEC (and maybe Advent) should be the only ones to get access to the Black Market.

Lower prices (or perhaps better - more goods available) would reflect that better than exclusive access.


That is a reasonable type of solution and one I would support given the nature of the race.
Reply #18 from Sins Forums Top
I like the idea of separating the Black Market into it's own entity within the game.
It can definitely do with improvement. However, this is still a beta so let's hope it will improve over time. Sliders for volume conversion are absolutely necessary in a game like this, if only to reduce the time it takes to make a transaction. Linking the pirates to the Black Market is a very intriguing idea!!!! I also like the idea of enhanced diplomacy and spying. Count me in as an advocate.