If you can use a trader's bed, should you also be able to use a trader's cooking pot?

[Broccoli Clock]

First off, I don't think you should be allowed to sleep in a trader's bed, maybe if he had two but who would stand by all night while some random turns up and takes over their bed? That said, I understand that it's a strat that has saved many a seraph, mine included, so I get why people wouldn't want to lose that. 

However, while playing 1.22, I entered one of the new trader compounds which had fireplace with a pot on it. If we can use the bed, why not the cooking pot as well? I had the ingredients and the firewood, while the tooltip suggested the pot could be interacted with.

Just to be clear, I am mindful of turning traders into something they aren't. Info and loot should be their sole purpose, but I thought I'd ask the question anyway.

 

[ifoz]

Traders are inconsistent in terms of the beds - some use the regular bed types (hay and linen) that the player can sleep on, while some use clutter bed types (short aged bed variants) that cannot be interacted with due to not being actual beds.
I think Saraty might have once said that traders are planned to get their own bed type at some point in the future, so I wonder if things might change then.

[Broccoli Clock]

13 minutes ago, ifoz said:

Traders are inconsistent in terms of the beds - some use the regular bed types (hay and linen) that the player can sleep on, while some use clutter bed types (short aged bed variants) that cannot be interacted with due to not being actual beds.
I think Saraty might have once said that traders are planned to get their own bed type at some point in the future, so I wonder if things might change then.

I'd understand them allowing you to sleep at their compound if you had built up a (trading?) relationship with them, but it seems surprisingly tolerant that they allow you their only bed, without complaint, after you just walked in the door.

As I say, the trader beds have saved my bacon several times, so I'm loathe to remove that ability completely but if they plan to make it so you can't sleep there, only hide during the night, then I'd be fine with it.

It seems like every spawn now has a random trader nearby, I am guessing this is for easy onboarding with them giving you that lore dump, so it 'would be a shame' to see people 'exploit' that.

[LadyWYT]

I agree that we shouldn't be able to just use the traders' beds, though I would also say that barring the player from using the firepit and cookpot is probably a good idea as well. It's a little goofy, yes, but at the same time...I don't think I would be very happy if a stranger walked into my house and started using my stuff without permission.

5 hours ago, ifoz said:

I think Saraty might have once said that traders are planned to get their own bed type at some point in the future, so I wonder if things might change then.

If they do, I wouldn't mind seeing a basic hay bed or something inside some of the trader compounds as a rough guest bed. The traders probably don't get that many guests, but I could see them having a place for one to sleep, just in case.

[WiggleStick]

It would make sense if they took something in trade, even if it was berries or a stone tool, they are traders after all.

[Broccoli Clock]

40 minutes ago, LadyWYT said:

I agree that we shouldn't be able to just use the traders' beds, though I would also say that barring the player from using the firepit and cookpot is probably a good idea as well. It's a little goofy, yes, but at the same time...I don't think I would be very happy if a stranger walked into my house and started using my stuff without permission.

If they do, I wouldn't mind seeing a basic hay bed or something inside some of the trader compounds as a rough guest bed. The traders probably don't get that many guests, but I could see them having a place for one to sleep, just in case.

Yeah, maybe a guest bed that's less quality, would make sense now the traders are in their own structures now. 

31 minutes ago, WiggleStick said:

It would make sense if they took something in trade, even if it was berries or a stone tool, they are traders after all.

I like the idea that you gain reputation with traders, after all it fits in with the lore of a new person arriving, but equally I'm not sure if I want rep to exist as I feel people would game it.

[LadyWYT]

18 minutes ago, Broccoli Clock said:

I like the idea that you gain reputation with traders, after all it fits in with the lore of a new person arriving, but equally I'm not sure if I want rep to exist as I feel people would game it.

I wouldn't mind seeing some sort of reputation system, as that can lead to some more interesting NPCs, though I would still expect the default personality to be mostly friendly. If the player decides to complete certain side quests, and chooses appropriate dialogue options, then the NPC in question could have better deals, or perhaps special quests or dialogue. If the player decides to be a jerk and pick rude dialogue options, NPCs could develop colder attitudes, even going so far as to refuse to interact with the player if the player has a proven record of assaulting/killing NPCs, meaning the player will need to bribe NPCs for business or find some way to restore their reputation. I think in that case, there's enough of a safety net for players to hit/kill an NPC once to see what happens without ruining their game, while still providing serious consequences if the player decides they want to be an absolute menace.

Would people game it? Probably, though I'm not sure that there's really a way to stop players from min-maxing or otherwise gaming systems. I think for storytelling purposes, most players would probably enjoy a system that allows the denizens of the world to respond somewhat to their choices, even if it's only for roleplaying and cosmetic rewards. Players could also choose to ignore roleplaying and always pick the options that yield the best rewards, but this kind of play tends to be balanced by the fact that picking the same options all the time gets pretty boring after a while.