This is not a ‘finished product’, it’s just an idea you can take/do whatever with to bring into your own thing or improve upon it. It’s a system that could and should work, dependent on how it’s implemented.
As such try not to approach reading it in a literal sense that this is the only way it can be … even if the text reads that way. I’m using colour as the example, but it could be forged items, or it could be used to organise anything. I mean, I’m probably going to use some version of it on something, soon. One could name it the ‘off-compass method’ …
Intro / Basics
Soooo … Here’s the seedling of the idea:
Have a mall where the shops are split by colour or forge type.
Essentially, it’s what it says in the title. Ronseal.
Each shop in the mall will be split over different geographical height levels and potentially different places, plus the forged items will be a microcosm of the same thing in one zone.
Background and Inspiration
I’ve recently been building an Ovis Shaft (
) which is designed to make a pretty compact (but expandable) solution to the whole Colour Storage thing that everyone does. But it’s also so that there’s an Ovis elevator in TUTORIAL city as an example.
To keep things simple, one could rename those zones North, East, South, and West.
Anyway, essentially ...... click for more boring nonsense
… a central shaft that goes down 8 levels, to four directions on each level (I think I got the maths right). Providing distinct areas for each broader colour category (cherry, green, mustard, etc) then the shades within.
I was seeing someone else talk about their version of the whole huge storage thing, and it prompted my brain to say that the system that I’m thinking of could benefit others. Or maybe not … but whatever, if it’s out there, then it’s usable / malleable, by others.
Away from that, though … I’d also always wondered why large shop owners don’t just run different beacons for their separate colours, or separate main forge traits.
Like, surely if you split the beacons and renamed them to AOE, Multi-Shot, or That Sinking Feeling … or Green, Azure, Cerulean, and Black/White/Grey … then folks would be able to more easily zero in on a hammer or block that they need.
Colour Mall
The Colour Mall is just that writ large. Point of fact, it can expand out as far as it needs to go. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Colour is the focus, here, as forged items can have a sector on one level with a similar system in place if needs be. Or it can just be a large colour based mall, or a smaller forged based mall … or hell, you can use it for any way of organising the stalls.
Concept
Essentially the process for the shopper (for example) who wants Vivid Azure Sedimentary Brick should be:
- Visit Colour Mall
- Look at the Knowledge Base, to see who’s selling Sedimentary Brick
- If it’s on world, head to the beacons in the zones that (potentially) sell said brick.
Let’s pretend there is a Shop called “MMM’s Bricks” in the mall.
| Broad Colour | Shop Name | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Azure | N-MMM’s Bricks | 1 |
| Green | W-MMM’s Bricks | 2 |
The shopper that wants those Vivid Azure Sedi Bricks knows that they need to go to level 1 of the North sector for any potential shops that will have them. If N-MMM’s Bricks is listed for the bricks then there’s a chance they’ll have them.
If the ‘Colour Mall’ system is used the possibility that you might be wasting your time on a particular world is reduced (not eliminated) by a degree. Where as, currently if you want a particular colour of something you either; go to speciality merchants, or chance any of the beacons that you find in a mall/world or on BUTT.
Plus, apart from that, it’s a way of organising a mall that incorporates a (kinda) compass infrastructure, and mirrors the sorting method that many folks use in their home storage … colour based.
Going Deeper
Obviously this isn’t just a layout and some good will. It needs some kind of ‘system’ behind it. Going deeper doesn’t just refer to ‘more information’, it’s literal, too.
It’s not a perfect system, so there’ll need to be some development of it before it’s usable … but I think some of what I cover below could help with that.
Scalability?
I’m sure that there’s a way in which this could scale somewhat, to then be done for the various sub-colours of each broader spectrum hit.
Right now, though, that eludes me.
Also, I speak about one possibility in the ideas about how it could be used to operate a planet wide mall, but that introduces portal costs at some level. Still, it might be a more acceptable way to operate it and have more people ‘buy in’ to it.
Zones and Levels
The only real requirement would be that all beacons would be required to have Zone information in their beacon name.
Each level is split into 4 zones (NESW) with a different broad colours on it, below is an example of how that could be done on the first two levels.
| Zone | Level 1 Broad Colour | Level 2 Broad Colour | |
|---|---|---|---|
| N | Azure | Cherry | |
| E | Berry | Cobalt | |
| S | Blue | Fuscia | |
| W | Cerulean | Green |
etc …
There’s a multitude of ways you can reach the levels, I’ve simply demonstrated one, portal-less method that could work in a single plot central pavilion, or a larger, multiple plot one. But there’s so many ways you can handle the core navigation.
Personal Preferences/Recommendations
- All that said, though might be wise to build a ‘Welcome Mat’ for each zone.
- This could house portals, information, or more.
- Who knows how big a mall could get with shops possibly being much further away.
Shop / Beacon Names
The beacon names would have to include the zone information, and that’s about it.
However, broadly speaking, the (sorta)compass layout along with the beacons themselves should sort of make it obvious how/where to go.
Personal Preferences/Recommendations
- I personally believe that the NSEW prefix is the easiest method, but ymmv.
- I’d suggest no actual shop names, and just use user names, but that’s me. There’s might be more benefits to that, I forget.
- I’d also say that if you’re using a portal based method within this, then portal signage must directly match beacon names.
Multiple Beacons Same Shop
If a MMM’s Brick also wishes to sell Cold Berry Sedimentary and Deep Fuscia Igneous brick at MMM’s Brick, then I would need a 3 beacon shop.
However if I wanted to add Hot Cherry Meta brick to that, then it’s still a 3 beacon shop, since the one made to sell my Azure bricks, can extend down to level 2.
Personal Preferences/Recommendations
- I personally believe that it would be good form to name each additionally beaconed shop the same (bar the zone) as the other(s). This would keep a vague sense of order about things.
Further Ideas / Problems
These are all hidden, since I wouldn’t want anyone to think they were insistent suggestions … I’m just thinking aloud here about ways which would enhance the ‘system’ and make it work even more.
Level Info In Beacon Names
Level Info In Beacon Names
Obviously I would prefer to have N1-MMM’s Bricks (and N2, etc) however I can’t layer beacons.
This could be resolved by expanding the area that each shop is based on, but then that starts to make each zone huge!
Signage & Navigation
Signage & Navigation
The issue of working out where to go should be made as simple as possible in my mind, but that’s not always easy.
If you go with signage stating at which level the various broad colours are at you might blind people with science, and too much text is too much work.
If you go with some base colour blocks in the floor / wall leading to a particular broad colour area, then you risk being too obtuse with how it works. However, you will be catering to those that don’t speak your language, as they can scrape the block, and follow the number.
Guild Owned Shops
Guild Owned Shops
Also, my brain sees no reason this shouldn’t work … but (assuming that the mall is run by its own guild) why not have the beacons all owned by the guild/owners of the mall?
Obviously the shop owner has full perms in given locations, but this way they would never need to fuel their own shop. Nor would they have that extra nag in their head about another beacon somewhere.
Even more obviously, this would probably mean that the mall owner would at the very least need to have either Gleam Club, or the mall be on a sovreign.
Drawbacks to Guild Owned Shops
There’s drawbacks to this, of course … some of which have been rather helpfully pointed out by a couple of the neerdowells of Boundless about how something like this would work.
Socially
I can see the socially conscious reason to not do this.
Folks generally like to own their stuff, I get that. I mean, it’s the main reason that this is an ‘idea’ and not in the main spec. However I do really think it’s a valid way to run the mall, as long as the shop owner has full perms they can collect the coin from their endeavours. Which technically they can.
Footfall
My ‘esteemed’ colleagues also pointed out that the shop owner would get no direct footfall bonuses. If you’re someone that gets a lot out of this, then you’d absolutely miss out on that.
I do wonder, though, if there’s not solutions to this.
- Semi-Socialist Capitalism?
- Faction Based Ownership?
So, with #1 … if one of a few main guilds owned all the shops, then those that owned shops could benefit from regular pay-outs from the guild, equally, to all shop owners in the mall.
A semi-socialist capitalism? 
On #2 … if it were faction based, then surely any footfall would come to the faction, and therefore you’d be able to benefit from it. No?
No Notifications
The owner would not get notifications when a stall runs out of stock, or possibly much more.
A contact mailbox would definitely be a needed thing for anyone running a shop, methinks.
I can’t think of an obvious solution here, short of finding some kind of API trickery. Although I do wonder if there’s a guild based solution to it. Perhaps the Guild Faction approach mentioned in the Footfall section could help here?
Can notifications slide to faction owners? Would that be an easier API/MOD trick? I dunno.
Portal Based - Planet Wide
Portal Based - Planet Wide
Technically, one could rabbit hole this further, and instead of having it all in one place, just make it planet wide with portals, instead.
You would still need to have a beacon for each shop, so that they would show up on the Knowledge Base, however once you do, you could either:
- Make a portal hub in the pictured configuration, with portals in each area that lead to all the shops, wherever they may be on the planet.
- Even allow portals off-world, however they’d still need to keep a single for-sale item ‘on world’, for the knowledgebase.
Obviously both introduce portal upkeep costs, which is brain ache. That said, if it’s all on the same planet then those are potentially limited, at least.
The main thing is it removes a need to worry about the main mall’s expansion and/or any genuine locals (or griefers) that may hamper that.
#1 would mean that shops could still be built however, and wherever, anyone wishes to build them, with full autonomy. Naming schemes would really then be down to:
If you want a portal here, you need to name your beacon by the mall rules.
(which will likely irk some egos)
It removes the possibility for ‘free’ fuel for the beacon, though, as the mall owner (guild or no) are not going to traipse around the globe to top them up. That said, if it’s on a sovereign, then the mall owner could still do that wherever you choose on world.
#2 might actually give way to an even bigger way to operate the whole thing, which is have guild owned shop stalls with the item at insane prices that show as the most expensive copy. But next to the stall/beacon is a portal to the actual place. However, again, there’s a potential (if not thought through logically enough) that this could drastically ramp up portal costs.
Anyway, yeah, if you have a use for this, or want to expand on the premis … fill your boots!
I’ve spent waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much time typing about it. 
Oh, and I’m ignoring the thread, as I don’t need to read ‘this is trash’ messages for something that is just a suggestion for your brain to mull over. 
However, if it helps you do a thing, I’m glad it did. 
