Item Rarity Discussion
Why we have rarity and where it can be improved

At a high level, rarity scales with the # of players (and to a lesser extent the # of NPCs) in the game. Thus, if the game grows, rarity auto adjusts.

We set rarity on a scale of super rare to very common. If something goes over rarity, we stop automatically stocking it and it may not be available for requisitions and other semi-automated ways of requesting items.

We also have a concept of demand. At 1.0 you have normal demand, at 2.0 you have double the # of items available that its rarity would normally allow, at 3.0 it's triple, etc.

Rarity can also impact the price of an item. If there are more items than expected, the value of the item will go down, if there are fewer than expected, the value will go up. Supply and demand.

Here is an example of a small canvas, which due to rarity being 1.0 does not see a price adjustment:

 generic small canvas aka small blank canvas
 Count:       334 (max of 377)
 Demand:      5.0 (1.0 is normal demand, 2.0 grants twice as many things)
 Rarity:      very common (1.0)
 Base Value:  2,500c
 Rarity Adjusted Worth: 2,500c

So, there are situations where we don't have an item configured correctly, and that may result in an artificial shortage of a common item. We added 'Demand' to rarity to address just this, but that is a newer addition and not every item that might have a problem has been updated.

It sounds like most of the issues people have raised have been around one of two things:

1. People hoarding items and thus leaving less for everyone else to fill basic needs

2. Common items that are too hard to find, possibly due to rarity restrictions.

Let's address some of that here.

HOARDING

We have automated reports on the admin side that notify us if people have a too big hoard, and we will reach out and tell them to get rid of some of their stuff. We also prune items from the market when there are more than 5 of them in the market, helping reduce bloat. When we have MOO Cleanup days we also audit a lot of items and identify if items have gathered in a specific area (such as the room where things go when you recycle chute them) or the HOJ evidence lockup, and clear it out.

In general, people should avoid hoarding a ton of a single item that they have no intention of using anytime soon.

COMMON ITEMS THAT ARE HARD TO FIND

This is a straightforward problem for us to solve! Usually, we address these when people bring them to our attention. Not every item is actually incorrectly setup, but we will review them when we are told something is too rare.

If there are common items that people feel like are falling into this category and need to be reviewed, please respond to this thread with the name of the item or the item class and I'll take a look.

CONCLUSION

If I've missed some of the concerns please respond here with them and I'll do my best to address them in a response. Hopefully this will help us solve for the most common ones!

Sindome borrows some philosophy from EVE as far as the idea that you only equip what you can afford to lose, but then it's also like playing EVE in w-space with no guaranteed access to replacement stuff. If players were confident they would have reliable access to critical gear at retail I suspect there would be a lot fewer dead Xo3 sets in closets for rainy days that never come.

I think the game seriously needs to consider practical changes and positive reinforcements to encourage risk-taking rather than continuing on the path of demanding players interact with extremely high-stakes conflict without a lick of risk aversion. Beating people with sticks until they choose to kill themselves is not going to work and has not worked for the past 5+ years. Certain gear needs to be more accessible, and in some places, it needs to be cheaper.

I don't think more reliable income or automated income sources would necessarily help, because you can double everyone's paychecks and everything would still take months to afford. I think the answer is slashing rarity and slashing prices.

When everyone is holding onto things and also not dying because they don't engage as much as especially endgame combatants used to there's just no way for a secondhand market to exist for certain items. What inevitably happens is that those who were willing to go out and take those risks stop doing so because they see that the best way to play the game is to just make sure they keep what they have by any means necessary.

The lack of conflict leads to a lack of gear redistribution and conflict stagnates when both (or all) sides involved decide to play it safe. I'm not getting into the reason for any of this being the case, just speaking on what my perception of the situation is.

A balancing approach of empowering those who are willing to engage would allow for more sustained conflict because the ones with the motivation and reason to hit hard targets will always be the ones on the offense, whereas those who already have it all tend to sit back with what they've got.

Less perceived untouchables and more blood in the streets always leads to stimulation of the game's economy.

Neither type of briefcase is over rarity, or even close to it, and both are on sale at stores in the game right now. So, there is no issue there.

I adjusted the game demand on the other items mentioned in an above post. See the updates thread for info on that.

If Slither doesn't bump the rarity on those items, please consider asking if you always need a backup if your PC isn't at great risk to lose the first pair. And for coolers, maybe look at some other storage forms we've put in the game over the last 3ish years.

Our moo cleanup day is March 1st, we're going to be cleaning a lot. We'll also reach out to people who are holding on to more stuff than is a rainy day fund type deal.

Thanks so much for any personal cleaning up you guys do!

Please don't go and hoard. Thanks!

Fuel cans

By RatchetEffect at Feb 24, 2025 12:59 PM

Definitely fuel cans. Canteens might need review? I seem to remember someone complaining about how they couldn't find one.

Steel footlockers.

Dune buggies I am looking at you

(Edited by Bubbles at 3:30 pm on 3/19/2025)

I'm not sure if these actually exist as armor or not. I saw them one time in one room for a brief second and did not investigate to see if they were just tailored props left to rot in an abandoned room or not.

However if these do exist as a form of armor, they should probably be checked to make sure they're being stocked on shelves. They would make a nice logical addition to the "construction" tier of armor.

We need more Tagillas.

Both are a cheap item that likely circulate a ton in damaged state, which stops new stock from spawning.