Hi!
In total this is a big change that I propose. But I will break it down into several steps where you can stop anywhere along the way.
1. Salvage Armour.
Issue: To me it makes no sense to sell loads of armour/weapons to towns. Who would even buy that junk?
Solution: I would like to see an option to salvage gear instead, create tradegoods from them. Best would be if it worked like smithing smelting with armour and horse-armour. "Salvage" can be a paid town-service or part of an new skill like smithing(More on this option later). You could argue that current system is simulationg/abstracting exactly this but armour and weapons does not play by the trading rules(Also a topic I´ll expand on later).
I want vendors to accept only quality gear/weapons and only in small batches, which leads to point 2....
2. Gear upgrading/refining.
Issue: Currently there are so much trash gear circulatinog in Calradia. Sure that´s enough for bandits and thugs but not for nobles. I find it redicoulous that the difference between a rusty T6 sword and the plain version of the same sword only differs a few points here and there. I can loot the rusty version but to "upgrade" it to plain I need to buy a new for 200.000 denars, more or less only to remove the "rusty" stain. It´s immersion-breaking to see my king with his rusty blade!
Solution: Give negative modifiers real penalties. Besides lower stats, give a malus to reknown and/or influence to clanleaders using them(IE the player!! At least from clan T3)! Give a good reason to use a plain version of a lower tier instead or to spend time on refining your gear! Create quests that removes/changes the modifier to a milder penalty. "Refine" can also be the second "tab" on the new smiting-like skill I´ll summorise in the last point. Artisans have wishlists, mayby working something like the "new" smithing orders. They accept only items that match or surpass their requirements, but a town might give 25-50 wishlist items of different levels(5 of each tier?).
Does troops play by the trade-rules?
3. Quality troops and their gear.
Issue: No, ofcourse troops does not play by the traderules. An Imperial Catapracht has gear for 1.000.000 denars atleast and costs you less than 1000 denars to upgrade from a T2-T6. Don't forget the warhorse! No ofcourse... And he dies as easy, when he does the million denars worth of items(and his warhorse!!) are void.
Solution: I know some will scream "Micromanagement!!!" to this but I want a system where you have "upgradepacks" - a trade item - for your units. Instead of costing gold you give them(spend) a trade item - "Imperial Regular Soldier Gear"(or any level of abstaction!! See Increase troop recruit and upgrade cost and abstract trade goods for their gear for a suggestion diving into this) - to upgrade your Imperial Recruit into Infantryman. Next step might cost another, higher version or a greater quantity. So, to upgrade your army on the map, you will need to bring this tradegoods! They are created by smithing artisans, they are traded by caravans, they are carried and used by armies and parties! As needed when campaigning as food! When collecting loot, your own losses are adding such packs to your loot-stack. Enemies drop a part of their gear as packages too. Armourpacks are the topic of the third(and last) tab of the new smithing-like skill I´m about to propose.
4. Loot.
Issue: Too much trash gear!!
Solution: Only the "best" quality gear is listed. The rest is "transformed" into troop-upgrade tradegoods.
5. Trade.
Issue: You need to buy and sell the item with profit to get trade XP.
Solution: All trade with tradegoods should give at least some XP! Some for looted, more for created(from Smithing or Supplier - See point 6) and most for bought(traded with profit). They could have seperate tradepenalties.
6. Supplier
Issue: This is not really an issue for me but a Suppler- skill would be very nice. All above can be solved with services in town and with a price there balancing it is pretty easy but as a well balanced skill it would be very nice!! Balancing it would be a real challenge as it provides benefits AI would probably need to cheat to balance.
Suggestion: New skill, a "profession" skill like Smithing using a simelar interface but with the tabs "Salvage", "Refine" and "Armourpacks". Salvage is simelar to Smelting. You destroy a selected armourpart from inventory and get tradegoods that can be used for armour-improving and/or armourpacks. Maybe also some for Smithing can be cross-used here. Refine consumes tradegoods to remove or add modifers from a selected item. Armourpacks consumes tradegoods to create an upgradepack, used to upgrade soldies.
In total this is a big change that I propose. But I will break it down into several steps where you can stop anywhere along the way.
1. Salvage Armour.
Issue: To me it makes no sense to sell loads of armour/weapons to towns. Who would even buy that junk?
Solution: I would like to see an option to salvage gear instead, create tradegoods from them. Best would be if it worked like smithing smelting with armour and horse-armour. "Salvage" can be a paid town-service or part of an new skill like smithing(More on this option later). You could argue that current system is simulationg/abstracting exactly this but armour and weapons does not play by the trading rules(Also a topic I´ll expand on later).
I want vendors to accept only quality gear/weapons and only in small batches, which leads to point 2....
2. Gear upgrading/refining.
Issue: Currently there are so much trash gear circulatinog in Calradia. Sure that´s enough for bandits and thugs but not for nobles. I find it redicoulous that the difference between a rusty T6 sword and the plain version of the same sword only differs a few points here and there. I can loot the rusty version but to "upgrade" it to plain I need to buy a new for 200.000 denars, more or less only to remove the "rusty" stain. It´s immersion-breaking to see my king with his rusty blade!
Solution: Give negative modifiers real penalties. Besides lower stats, give a malus to reknown and/or influence to clanleaders using them(IE the player!! At least from clan T3)! Give a good reason to use a plain version of a lower tier instead or to spend time on refining your gear! Create quests that removes/changes the modifier to a milder penalty. "Refine" can also be the second "tab" on the new smiting-like skill I´ll summorise in the last point. Artisans have wishlists, mayby working something like the "new" smithing orders. They accept only items that match or surpass their requirements, but a town might give 25-50 wishlist items of different levels(5 of each tier?).
Does troops play by the trade-rules?
3. Quality troops and their gear.
Issue: No, ofcourse troops does not play by the traderules. An Imperial Catapracht has gear for 1.000.000 denars atleast and costs you less than 1000 denars to upgrade from a T2-T6. Don't forget the warhorse! No ofcourse... And he dies as easy, when he does the million denars worth of items(and his warhorse!!) are void.
Solution: I know some will scream "Micromanagement!!!" to this but I want a system where you have "upgradepacks" - a trade item - for your units. Instead of costing gold you give them(spend) a trade item - "Imperial Regular Soldier Gear"(or any level of abstaction!! See Increase troop recruit and upgrade cost and abstract trade goods for their gear for a suggestion diving into this) - to upgrade your Imperial Recruit into Infantryman. Next step might cost another, higher version or a greater quantity. So, to upgrade your army on the map, you will need to bring this tradegoods! They are created by smithing artisans, they are traded by caravans, they are carried and used by armies and parties! As needed when campaigning as food! When collecting loot, your own losses are adding such packs to your loot-stack. Enemies drop a part of their gear as packages too. Armourpacks are the topic of the third(and last) tab of the new smithing-like skill I´m about to propose.
4. Loot.
Issue: Too much trash gear!!
Solution: Only the "best" quality gear is listed. The rest is "transformed" into troop-upgrade tradegoods.
5. Trade.
Issue: You need to buy and sell the item with profit to get trade XP.
Solution: All trade with tradegoods should give at least some XP! Some for looted, more for created(from Smithing or Supplier - See point 6) and most for bought(traded with profit). They could have seperate tradepenalties.
6. Supplier
Issue: This is not really an issue for me but a Suppler- skill would be very nice. All above can be solved with services in town and with a price there balancing it is pretty easy but as a well balanced skill it would be very nice!! Balancing it would be a real challenge as it provides benefits AI would probably need to cheat to balance.
Suggestion: New skill, a "profession" skill like Smithing using a simelar interface but with the tabs "Salvage", "Refine" and "Armourpacks". Salvage is simelar to Smelting. You destroy a selected armourpart from inventory and get tradegoods that can be used for armour-improving and/or armourpacks. Maybe also some for Smithing can be cross-used here. Refine consumes tradegoods to remove or add modifers from a selected item. Armourpacks consumes tradegoods to create an upgradepack, used to upgrade soldies.
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