Spiral Knights - "Time left" in Auction house mechanic. Fix it.

"Time left" in Auction house mechanic. Fix it.

9 replies [Last post]

Wed, 05/18/2011 - 09:08

Coatl

Descriptions like "medium", "long" and "very long" are too vague. I could understand the logic behind incorporating ambiguity into weapon bars, but I don't see the logic behind it being incorporating into the auction house. Numbers would let people know exactly how much time they have to farm and raise enough funds to bid for an item. Only if you put any old mat into the auction house ( granted to take it right back out ) can you have an idea of how long bids last.

You will see four options.
1. Four hours.
2. Twelve hours
3. One day
4. Four days

And the best part is I would think OOO has a reason for incorporating such a mechanic into the AH. So there won't be any changes. So this thread is purposeless. So this doesn't belong in the suggestion section of SK.
Regardless, anyone else upset by the ambiguous time mechanic in AH?

Wed, 05/18/2011 - 13:55

Nilsson

Ambiguity of time left mechanic in the Auction House

This is also done in the game of WoW. I have seen it in more games and although I am not certain of their use of this mechanic I can think of a reason.

If one would see the exact time that is left on an auction, things that could happen on the site eBay could happen in the game too; people waiting until the last second to bid would win the auction just by bidding 1 crown more than the last person. Not only would this be considered unfair or 'lame' by some, it also leaves any excitement, anticipation or smart bidding out of bidding process on the auction house.

To answer your question; I am not upset by the mechanic.

Wed, 05/18/2011 - 16:14

Beginning

I agree, we just got it we

I agree, we just got it we shouldn't complain.

Wed, 05/18/2011 - 17:01

Utaba

Legacy Username

What drnilsson said.

drnilsson said it. The purpose of the ambiguous time measures are specifically to prevent bid sniping. Additionally, you can still use the time duration options they've included (4 hours, 12 hours, etc.) to give you a ballpark range of the time left on an auction.

I believe their decision to incorporate such a mechanism was 100% deliberate - and personally, I see nothing wrong with this system.

Wed, 05/18/2011 - 17:47

Daystar

Legacy Username

I'm fine with the vagueness

I'm fine with the vagueness of the system... my only comment is that it's a bit stupid to have a "Medium" and "Long" without having a "Short." Add that in for ones with 1 hour left or something and I'll be fine with it.

Wed, 05/18/2011 - 20:03

SirNiko

Legacy Username

Bid sniping could also be

Bid sniping could also be addressed by extending the auction duration by five minutes if a bid occurs within the last five minutes. Make this option toggle enabled so players can choose whether or not they like last-second bid sniping in their auctions.

The vagueness itself isn't good or bad. I could go either way for it.

Sat, 05/21/2011 - 04:25

Watermelon-Soda

sirniko, there would be no

sirniko, there would be no point in having a "no bid sniping" option as no one would use it. even if they did, that would just change the time of bid sniping because then bid snipers would bid at very last second before the period of time considered "last-second bidding"

Sat, 05/21/2011 - 09:50

Raul

Not if every bid raised the

Not if every bid raised the time of the auction by 5 min after it gets past a certain time like say less then 30 min.

Yah we dont need no stinking bid snipers.

Sat, 05/21/2011 - 12:09

Algol-Sixty

A couple of comments. First,

A couple of comments.

First, it appears to me that bidding does extend the auction... I was in a bid war over some cheap materials where the bid increment was 1cr. Several other items moved past the auction we were bidding on and closed before ours closed.

As far as things like "very long", I think it is stupid and counter-productive. People are going to figure out how long "medium" means and adjust their bidding strategy accordingly. Then, they will either publish that information in some place like the wiki, or keep it secret so that only knowledgeable people can understand the meaning. My gut feel is that OOO will help keep it semi-secret by deleting the information from the wiki when it eventually gets added.

There is a time and place where knowing the game mechanics is a fun puzzle, but the auction house isn't one of them.

Sat, 05/21/2011 - 12:11

Mohandar

I think it may already do

I think it may already do this. If you click "Search All" and sort by time, when you bid on something at the top of the Very Short list and search again, the item you bid on will still have Very Short, but it will be lower down on the list. It may also just be perception, but "Very Short" seems to be longer when there is a bidding war going on.