Search for <item> on trade bots

[sufi]

Not sure if this belongs here, as I imagine it would have to be implemented by an individual or guild via their bot. Anyway, here goes

 

I get tired of checking several bots for one item that I want to buy. It would be nice if you could type in (for example) #search <item> and get a list of bots where said item could be found (and prices too...would be a bonus, but not necessary).

 

Now, I dunno if this could be coded into the game...but given the abilities of bots like gossip and vakana, it seems like it's possible for a bot to do that. Perhaps one of those or another could implement this search feature and maybe charge a small fee for trade bots to sign up to be included? If I had a bot, I'd be eager to pay a small fee for such a feature.

 

If it *can* be coded into the game, that would even be better.

[LabRat]

And yet another one with index plans.

 

Count my bots out of it.

 

Check in the bots forum for duplicates on this, where you can peruse at your leisure my views on the subject.

[jamincollins]

This has been suggested several times and is even being attempted by some. Any mass listing service done by a bot is bound to fail. Main reason is that many bots provide player specific pricing. That is prices on items are different depending on who the bot is talking to.

[neildog]

This has been suggested several times and is even being attempted by some. Any mass listing service done by a bot is bound to fail. Main reason is that many bots provide player specific pricing. That is prices on items are different depending on who the bot is talking to.

 

I wouldn't even want prices if this was done. It's more of a search function just to see what Bot has the item you are after. It's then up to you to pm that bot to enquire about the item/price. It would just be useful when your looking for that hard to find item and you have 30+ bots to check

[Usl]

The bot Rraisa provides exactly the service you have in mind.

 

It is true that pricing is often different for different players, but that is not the point -- once I know which bot has something I need, I will ask that bot for the price. The boring part is having to peruse dozens of bot to find the "right" one.

 

Rraisa has been in testing for two months now, and will become public very soon at this point. You might want to keep an eye on an announcement. Notice also that only bots that have chosen to participate are indexed anyway -- LabRat's bots, for example, are not accessed at all, as per his request.

 

Ciao,

-Usl

[ttlanhil]

many people have suggested this, and though some of us have pointed out the problems (just how far into a bot-oriented marketplace do people want to go? no more player-to-player interaction? if that's what you want, you shouldn't be on an MMORPG... play a single-player RPG and have IRC going)

 

and just how many bots is it you have to ask to see what they have, really? no-where near the full list of trade bots, for most people (and vakana has a list of what bots do trading, if that's what you want). I know I have many bots on #ignore, and so do others... I work hard to make vakana friendly and usable without being spammy or annoying, which isn't easy (or possible, to suit all tastes), but a lot of bot ads annoy me with the text or frequency

 

so if I want to check some bots, there's not that many I'll check... and really, if you use bots much, you know what sort of items each carries anyway

 

and maybe it's a cheap shot, but I could point out the crossover between people not following rules by searching before posting, and proposing ideas like this that have long-term bad effects (ie: I want it now. even if it's bad later)