A way to save the market/economy.

Yeah, another one of these, let's go. I'll try to be brief.

The trade market will crash.

Why?

There are so many players. Items and wolves will quickly lose value because of competition. One person puts out a salve for 40 SC. Next person puts the same thing out for 35 SC so that theirs gets bought first.

This will continue until the item hits Raccoon value. 5 SC per. That blows.

But that's the key.

The market NEEDS players to have the ability to sell almost ANYTHING to NPCs.

For FAIR returns.

Without limit.

If I can sell a swan feather to the raccoon for a good 12 SC, that's 2 SC per use, why would I need to try and sell it to another player for lower?

Because anyone can sell that to an NPC, the market will not go below that value.

Right now, my swan feather goes to the raccoon for less than 1 SC per use. That's not worth it. Other things, backgrounds, decor, it cost too much, and I need amusement so I can't just sell it all. I know that this is to encourage trading between users, and it does encourage that, but it also encourages people to go as low as they can to compete with one thousand other people trying to sell the same thing.

We need a bottom limit set by NPCs, and this bottom limit needs to be DECENT. A sort of 'meh' value that is still worth avoiding the hassle of trying to sell the thing instead. This will be a sink for common items and boring, T1, no marking, 200 stat wolves. The TC market will actually be worthwhile, a trading of items and wolves that are actually sought after.

So, we need the raccoon (or a new NPC group) to have the daily limit removed. We need the selling price of items to go by a set value or SC per use (2 or 3 SC per use for food/amusement, 50-100 SC per recipe (they're hard to come by), maybe 2SC per herb but 1 may be fine). The harder something is to come by, the more we should be able to sell it for to the raccoon, towards a certain top limit. Rarer, more sought-after items will continue to pour into the TC for much higher trading prices. Once they become more common, the price will fall, but never below NPC value.

We need this. We need it for wolves too. We need to be able to rid ourselves of every wolf to some benefit.

For example, chasing a newborn puppy grants you 1-5 SC. Chasing a 6 month adolescent gives you 30 SC (this number can be affected by hunger/mood). Chasing an adolescent with training (whenever added), could give you more depending on exactly how much training. Chasing an adult, level 1, gives you 50 SC. Chasing an adult, level 10, gives you 200 SC. With NBWs in mind, maybe this can be affected by time in pack instead of age. 24 days in pack, level 1 = 50 SC

There. Now no adult, level 1 wolf will go on the TC for less than 50 SC.

People can buy wolves, train them, and chase them for a benefit. (We could say that this is the wolf's personal fortune, things they've collected over their lifespan/work, and you take it when you've chased them.)

Ignore the SC values I've input please, the devs will have to find that balance, focus on the concept.

I don't see how the market will survive without an NPC sink. (the SC cap will probably have to be (re)moved, too)

People who play more will get more things. They can sell those things to NPCs for profit. Playtime = profit. Rarer items/wolves = even more profit. Right now, playtime barely gives profit, if any. The only market that's alive right now is the Albino/Melanism and T3 market, and even that is rapidly dying to competition and undercutting.

I genuinely don't know how else to fix the market. Maybe events and minigames will help, but I think this idea is a solid safeguard.

This gets suggested a lot, is definitely needed, and in the latest development update it was hinted that a pup sink will be added soon - "a certain maternal bear" from a beary popular suggestion thread where Herbert's mate could take in all the unwanted pups ;)

So have patience, this is still a new game after all, the devs have heard us, are aware of the issue, and planning to do something about it.

I know the bear is coming, but that’s only half my concern, and plus, the bear is specified to be only looking for ‘certain qualities’? Which makes me think they’ll only take certain puppies every day, maybe even only one a day, and that’s not enough. That’s a band-aid on a decapitated head. I’m afraid it’ll be so specific it’ll do nothing to help.

I think to brand this thread as being "the only way" to solve the issue is counterproductive. It shuts down other discussion completely, which contradicts your goal of having this be talked about :/

I agree fully with the raccoon sales, the prices need to be higher period. I also think having a pupsink NPC that looks for specific traits is a tiny band aid on a huge problem. But i don't think your particular wolf solution will pan out as planned either, because of something not mentioned:

A lot of garbage wolves are thrown onto the TC because of sentimental value. Players who get attached to wolves that have nothing of value to anyone else will throw their wolves out to the TC in hopes of someone giving it a good home. So many "free to a good home" ads fill the TC and sales chat, and is clearly a huge contributor to the issue. A SC reward sounds good on paper but the truth is that sentimental players would rather give a wolf away for free so it has a good life, than chase it for a monetary reward.

Further discussion is needed, something like a pup adopting npc, or something else associated with good karma. Imo both a SC option and a good karma option are needed, what do you think?

You know what, fair about the title, I'll change it a little bit to sound less pretentious haha.

And yeah, I know about sentimental players, though I figure these sales will either; go ignored, actually be bought and used, or more likely; bought and chased by another player for monetary gain, which will discourage people from trying to sell for sentimental value (the game just isn't friendly for that) which, yeah, is sad - I'm disappointed when my pups get chased too, but the only way to ensure your wolves live is to keep them yourself.

I wish the game just didn't erase a chased wolf, that you could still access them through your wolf's lineage. It would help a little with that.

Oh true about buying to chase them, that didn't cross my mind at all. The SC option makes much more sense then. It is sad but like you said, the only way to guarantee a wolf's safety is to keep it yourself, or have it "adopted" by an npc.

I agree with keeping the wolf in lineage too, for sentimentality but especially when it comes to stats. When I'm looking at pups trying to figure out how many stats each parent had to create their number, having a chased parent makes that calculation impossible x.x