Still forging the Blacksmith NPC code

[Sami]

As announced earlier, we're working on a fundamental new addition of featuring blacksmith NPCs and possibility of ordering various iron goods from them.
Our hopes to have it all completed this month has proven slightly too optimistic, so the release will take place in April.
The good news is there's far more done, than still to be done. That is, if we manage to avoid time consuming sidetracking and spin-offing, as this is indeed an addition that can easily grow and expand with to-dos and ideas popping up here and there.

Let's continue with some dones and to-dos after a screenshot of a new NPC in town:


By now there's a solid groundwork done for the blacksmith NPCs;
- new NPCs tiles have been drawn
- blacksmith NPC generation is in effect
- blacksmith availability and their level of expertise among different cultures have been considered and in effect in the village generation
- chat options for talking about and ordering goods are set and working
- blacksmith item production works and ordered items get created
- chat options for asking about the ordered item and obtaining it when ready are working
- trading for the ordered item works

In a nutshell the process of ordering goods from a blacksmith goes like;
You talk with the blacksmith about the possible goods to order, and then confirm your choice.
Blacksmiths will give you an approximation of how long the item production will take, and you can ask about the remaining production time later on too.
When the item is ready you go to talk the blacksmith again and the trading for the item starts.

So you pay for the ordered goods when they are ready, not beforehand. This way you don't have to carry your wealth
around all the time, but can go fetch it when the time to trade for the ordered goods is at hand.
It's the usual trading system in use so you can try to offer offer whatever goods you want.
You can also ask beforehand what the blacksmith would like as a payment from your current inventory.

Time for another screenshot where some of these factors are seen in action;


Then, what still remains to be done is to;
- go through the item lists and consider what items blacksmith will produce, considering their culture and expertise.
- set production times, and few other variables, for the items they produce.
- check everything
- check everything again
- test everything
- repeat the previous
- fix, adjust and possibly rewrite something
- final adjustments
- release

Phew.... forging the forging code is a serious business, but we're getting there and it will be a blast!

Stay tuned.

[PALU]

A couple of thoughts about complications (you've probably thought about them already, but it probably doesn't hurt to bring them up).
- What to do with a shifty player customer that either doesn't return to pick up goods within a reasonable amount of time, or just keeps showing up with insufficient goods (or willingness) to pay?
I'd say the blacksmith should probably sell the goods to someone else if the player is too sluggish to pay for the goods (with a fairly generous time limit). It also ought to reduce the standing of the player either with the village or with the blacksmith (or both) so efforts to improve the relations would be needed before the blacksmith is willing to take the risk of dealing with that customer again.
- There should probably be a limit as to how much a character can order at any one time. After all, crafting things take time, carries a risk (even a trustworthy player may run into a njerpezit war band and not return from that encounter), and the blacksmith should probably spend most of his efforts on serving the community. However, there's a gaming aspect in that players probably will find it rather tedious to trek across the whole world to place orders for a single item when picking up the previous one, so it would be useful if players would be able to increase the number of items that can be on order (but not finished) at any one time with successive return business. I probably wouldn't take on a new order for an item if I've finished an order but the customer hasn't payed for it yet.

[Privateer]

 Great stuff!
*****
Are you planning a penalty for not coming back or not purchasing after completion?
*****
Could your reputation play a role in the payment? eg: "Unknown traveler, I need x to begin your order." to "Hi trusted friend, I can get that started for you right away."?
*****
- chat options: What the NPC is capable of making? Expanded: If known to NPC, general location of a more skilled blacksmith.
*****

 Yea small business!

[Sami]

A couple of thoughts about complications (you've probably thought about them already, but it probably doesn't hurt to bring them up).
- What to do with a shifty player customer that either doesn't return to pick up goods within a reasonable amount of time, or just keeps showing up with insufficient goods (or willingness) to pay?
I'd say the blacksmith should probably sell the goods to someone else if the player is too sluggish to pay for the goods (with a fairly generous time limit). It also ought to reduce the standing of the player either with the village or with the blacksmith (or both) so efforts to improve the relations would be needed before the blacksmith is willing to take the risk of dealing with that customer again.

Yep, the blacksmiths surely shouldn't keep the items available forever if they aren't paid for within a reasonable amount of time. This is still to be considered.
To add village/blacksmith reputation changes based on player failing to complete the trade or hanging around with no intention to pay is surely something we'd also like to add,
but it will among the last phase adjustments if we managed to keep in time with the release.

- There should probably be a limit as to how much a character can order at any one time. After all, crafting things take time, carries a risk (even a trustworthy player may run into a njerpezit war band and not return from that encounter), and the blacksmith should probably spend most of his efforts on serving the community. However, there's a gaming aspect in that players probably will find it rather tedious to trek across the whole world to place orders for a single item when picking up the previous one, so it would be useful if players would be able to increase the number of items that can be on order (but not finished) at any one time with successive return business. I probably wouldn't take on a new order for an item if I've finished an order but the customer hasn't payed for it yet.

It will be one item order at a time.

[Sami]

Are you planning a penalty for not coming back or not purchasing after completion?

Would be nice to have, is still to be considered.

Could your reputation play a role in the payment? eg: "Unknown traveler, I need x to begin your order." to "Hi trusted friend, I can get that started for you right away."

Some pre-payment for laborous orders (especially from unknown characters) would be reasonable, but maybe we'll see about that later on. No plans for that at the moment.

- chat options: What the NPC is capable of making? Expanded: If known to NPC, general location of a more skilled blacksmith.

It would be nice to have villagers to tell about the important (or more skilled) people in the neighbouring villages, so this is something we'd like to feature, but might be that we can't fit it in in the next release. We'd also like to have a possibility also to ask about other sages in the neighborhood, if there isn't one in the village.