Reselling renamed items to scam other players

Great questions! The key here above all else is that you are not attempting to resell an item that was named after another item of greater value in such a way as to try and scam players out of their money.

I think the scenario we laid out is quite clear. Renaming an item for your own personal use doesn't obviously matter here. Take care in how you sell it though.

In the meantime, and as we've also mentioned, we are taking steps to make it more clear on recognizing these items of value.

If anyone has any concerns at all with their items, please do send us a message! Just ask, we are happy to clarify a sensitive case.

 

I agree that steps should be taken to prevent scamming.

If you really want the kind of RP immersion where scams are OK and the game relies on trust, you have to go all in with a full loot PvP perma death. Because using half of the game's safety mechanisms to cheat the other half is an exploit.

 

What if I sold a bag that says "air guitar inside"?

 

agreed. Lets take off the kiddie mittens port.

 

Hi @Berek

My guild mate may have ran into the same situation as Kaydrah. I have PM you for more details.

Thank you,

 

Just a question. If something is put up on a vendor for sale and it is a scam, aren't their logs that can be checked to see who put the item up for sale? It seems to me that would be the likely suspect, not the crafter.

 

good point

 

Yes, please.
I rather would like to see smart solutions for exploits in the spirit of ultima implemented in the game. A ban may be justified but it is never a good solution for substituting a missing or not well enough thought game mechanic.

 

Clearly this is an exploit used to scam players, something I personally would never touch.

However, the situation reminds me of a time in Ultima Online history, shortly after UOR was introduced, where players were able to make faction sigil hued neon purple clothing.

The response from UO staff was to ban players, for possession of the items. ''No Exceptions'' hehe

It's very similar to this I think. Someone bought purple items from a vendor, and later was banned for possession..

Anyways, just my two cents, but I chalked that up to UO staff being inexperienced. It always looks better when staff takes responsibility for their part in the poor design of the mechanic and simply fix it, rather than ban and therefore lose playerbase. Or at least save the bans for after an in-game announcement that can't be missed and must be accepted by all, while still having actual proof of some sort that the player in question is guilty.

Exploit is vague and not well understood by most, but renaming bags is pretty easy by contrast. *edit* therefore perhaps the solution in this case would be to only temp-ban (14-31 days or until r34) those who were scamming using add-ons or pledge items, solely because they were likely the only items with any value.

 

I thought this also deserved another post.

I had just realized that I haven't even read the rules page for this game yet lol. Then I went to check the website for one, and can't seem to find one?

Although I clearly remember reading somewhere that exploiting is illegal and would result in a ban. Can't remember how I came across that information though, but I think it was in the game, wasn't it?

Anyways, there really needs to be a rules page linked from the main website if there isn't. It's a great way to retain population, by not having to ban as many people because they at least have a chance to grasp a well written statement about what is considered an exploit there and the definition of an exploit.

 

It's a scam, it may suggest a guitar that improves air magic!

While the anti scam policy of Portalarium is great, ultimately we the players need to be smarter and don't fall on such things.

I suggest, as a complement of bans and the like, Portalarium hold some educative event about scams. A FAQ, a sub-forum, a video... why, a free seminar! Maybe that's too much, just showing the point.

 

Is there a way to know what items in game can be renamed? Like a list of the items perhaps? Is it all items? This is the first I've heard of renaming game items. .It sounds like a bad idea to begin with, allowing players to rename items. I can't think of a single good reason for it. How can I ever know if an item I'm buying is legitimate now that I know players can rename items as they wish?

 

This has been addressed by Portalarium by changing the color of the text RED if it was changed from the original. Also, the Reward items in bag have a GREEN bag icon now to differentiate them from small bags which are brown.

I think they are pretty good fixes IMHO.

 

Pets (including vendors and whistles), Containers (including chests and bags) and Books (all the blank stuff).
IIRC.

Naming your books is the clearest good reason.
Naming your pets is a very strong wish from owners.
Naming your containers to indicate what is in it saves the sanity of any serious decorator.

On top of @monkeysmack 's advice above about the color change, you should always 'hover' above the object, the pop-up will show the object's real original object name.

 

So you are warning/suspending/banning players based solely on reports and not data? (Otherwise they wouldn't have to tell reporters to name the seller not the crafter, if they had checked themselves that isn't a possible mistake).

That is a huge mistake in a game with PvP/Guild rivalries.
Then you really need to put in something about false reporting.

If you don't already have it, you should make a tool so you can see all of a player's listed objects for sale. Then it will become readily apparent if you are falsely warning/suspending/banning a crafter selling ordinary goods or if it is someone taking advantage of the renaming system.
Same thing through checking the player's bank, looking through the "Sale of Item ..." should easily tell you the difference.

 

Or simply disallow renamed items to be sold unless they have the proper name.

 

Ahhh good, I thought for a minute that we couldnt just wait at the zoning in spot in a PVP area and just assault players there... glad this was only about naming stuff...
Gotta love that we still can grief newbies with no punishment...

 

So... what you are really saying is that the game is profoundly bad game design? Are you dissing the makers here?

 

Yes. That is my vendor in Spite. I was making small bags and using them on my avatar to help organise my inventory. I 'discovered' the possibility of naming containers is v.v.useful in organising stuff. I spotted somewhere on the forums players asking for key-rings in game and I thought the small bag option was a good alternative.

I renamed some bags and put them on my vendor hoping that the idea would appeal to players who may not have got to the point of renaming their own bags, and get me extra sales. There is still surprisingly little 'footfall' in Spite

Am I now to be perma-banned without notice?

I will remove these items ASAP if necessary.

- as used in my inventory......


- as on my vendor.....

 

Just a suggestion,people can rename items after they buy it, I would not risk it just to improve sales. What if someone complains and says "I thought there would be Potions and Scrolls inside"? It might seem far fetched to many, but it's just going to possibly create a issue.

There is a possibility that someone who doesn't understand feels they got burned. Would I think this? No, I would not. Other players, who's to say?