How to handle old/useless/etc equipment?

[Norfleet]

An item may be relevant for certain levels or for certain builds. If it goes out of its window of relevancy then it becomes irrelevant for a player. It's hard to image a system where every item is relevant for every player at any moment.

Well, if it's relevant to SOMEBODY, that's still useful. You could give it to a companion or another player. "Relevant for certain levels", just means "you made this to be trash". At least you could use it as an ingredient in making the next upgrade. That's what that one game I was playing with WhiteSquare does. They make a lot of things upgradeable to keep them relevant for way longer.

[Tadeusz]

At least you could use it as an ingredient in making the next upgrade. That's what that one game I was playing with WhiteSquare does. They make a lot of things upgradeable to keep them relevant for way longer.

Makes sense. Upgradeable items are cool, I wish more games had this.
I also remembered another system that allows to make items relevant - item slots. Dawn of Magic had a shovel as a weapon with not so good stats but it had a lot of slots so it was possible to make it an utility item by inserting in it runes that gave skill increases.

[Norfleet]

I also remembered another system that allows to make items relevant - item slots. Dawn of Magic had a shovel as a weapon with not so good stats but it had a lot of slots so it was possible to make it an utility item by inserting in it runes that gave skill increases.

Item Slots are an upgrade system, yes. Anything that takes the existing item and makes it better, either through consuming it to make a better item, or upgrading the stats or abilities of the existing item, qualifies as an upgrade system. The exact framing device isn't relevant. The result is the same: The old item remains relevant for more of the game.

[Norfleet]

I rather dislike the idea that most merchants are even interested in buying things let alone buying random junk.
Unless it's an excessively good deal, I guess.

Considering that the pay you 25-50% of nominal value and sell it at 100% or more, I don't see why they wouldn't. Keep in mind that the idea of a store where you ONLY buy things is a relatively recent thing. In medieval times, stores weren't even really a thing: You bought specific stuff directly from the producer's workshop, and random stuff was bought and sold by random street hawkers. Permanent shops were a rarity. Peddlers would absolutely buy random junk, that was pretty much what they did.

[stormvermin]

Dark Souls 1(and maybe some of the other souls games idk) had a system where you could upgrade any ol ****** wep, and as long as it belonged to the required category, you could turn it into a unique Boss weapon using a Boss Soul(eg. using some ****** scimitar you got from killing a skeleton to turn into Quelaag's Furysword). It's a fairly niche and limited way of using your trash weapons, but still

It was even better in Demon's where the elemental upgrade paths weren't as clear cut. 2 and 3 botched it though - boss weapon acquisition was relegated to boss soul exchange with a smith and elemental upgrades were a simple matter of slotting in an elemental gem. Boss weapons lost some of their gravitas.

edited because this is a particularly autistic interest of mine:
Someone made this chart showing how Demon's Souls upgrades work

► Show Spoiler

26724432522_3a1ff98b16_o.png

Looking at it laid out like that, I can understand why it was dumbed down in the subsequent titles.

[J1M]

I rather dislike the idea that most merchants are even interested in buying things let alone buying random junk.
Unless it's an excessively good deal, I guess.

Considering that the pay you 25-50% of nominal value and sell it at 100% or more, I don't see why they wouldn't. Keep in mind that the idea of a store where you ONLY buy things is a relatively recent thing. In medieval times, stores weren't even really a thing: You bought specific stuff directly from the producer's workshop, and random stuff was bought and sold by random street hawkers. Permanent shops were a rarity. Peddlers would absolutely buy random junk, that was pretty much what they did.

When someone is flooding the market with +1 swords and they each cost more than the yearly income of the average person in a village, the shopkeeper is not going to pay 25% of face value for something he can't sell.

[Norfleet]

When someone is flooding the market with +1 swords and they each cost more than the yearly income of the average person in a village, the shopkeeper is not going to pay 25% of face value for something he can't sell.

Apparently he CAN sell them. Where do you think people keep getting the +1 swords you're dumping?

Consider the cycle: He buys a ****** +1 sword off you at 25%. He sells it to some bad guy at 100%, like the typical vendor. You kill the dude and sell the sword back. He sells it to another guy. You kill him...

Well, guess who's making the big bucks while not having to do ANY dangerous adventuring? Haven't you noticed how your +1 swords all look suspiciously similar? Almost as if it's the same few swords?

[J1M]

When someone is flooding the market with +1 swords and they each cost more than the yearly income of the average person in a village, the shopkeeper is not going to pay 25% of face value for something he can't sell.

Apparently he CAN sell them. Where do you think people keep getting the +1 swords you're dumping?

Consider the cycle: He buys a ****** +1 sword off you at 25%. He sells it to some bad guy at 100%, like the typical vendor. You kill the dude and sell the sword back. He sells it to another guy. You kill him...

Well, guess who's making the big bucks while not having to do ANY dangerous adventuring? Haven't you noticed how your +1 swords all look suspiciously similar? Almost as if it's the same few swords?

Said thugs can't afford said swords. If they could, they would have no desire to do petty crime. Game economies are player-centric, not market-based.

[Norfleet]

Said thugs can't afford said swords.

Then explain why they all seem to have them? After all, you're killing them and taking them off their corpses. They're getting them from SOMEWHERE.

[J1M]

Said thugs can't afford said swords.

Then explain why they all seem to have them? After all, you're killing them and taking them off their corpses. They're getting them from SOMEWHERE.

From the game designer.

The real-world equivalent of this would be your door dash driver buying a Porsche to deliver pizza for minimum wage.

[Norfleet]

From the game designer.

The real-world equivalent of this would be your door dash driver buying a Porsche to deliver pizza for minimum wage.

I've actually seen that happen before. Apparently this is how dudes meet chicks, they take their Porsche and deliver Door Dash for that purpose.