First off: yes I searched the forums. Repeatedly. And I asked some knowledgeable people in IRC if it had already been suggested. So if this is a repeat post I'm sorry but I tried.
My suggestion/request/wish is that ingots of various metals can be used just like the raw ore of it's type.
For example, if a person has to combine x amount of Iron/Copper/Silver/Tin with x amount of some other material to make something, it should not matter if that material is raw ore or finished ingots. I can see five direct benefits to this method.
Benefit #1: It increases the amount of available raw materials for use in the crafting system, thereby lowering the price of them to something manageable.
Benefit #2: Persons attempting to learn metallurgy below level 5 no longer have to dump or sell to an NPC their entire load of ore once they melt it. They can sell their product to other more advanced players who have a need for it.
Benefit #3: It would help reduce in game inflation. Money that is coming out of the more wealthy players pockets is NOT adding to an already inflated economy.
Benefit #4: It increases player interaction. Why go mine and process the Iron yourself (the only profitable way to make something right now) if you can buy it off someone who doesn't need it.
Benefit #5: This would actually make Iron ingots and Stock useful, whereas from what I have seen all they do is clutter the inventory.
I am not entirely clear on how the crafting system works, but since the code for this to work with say Raw Iron or Raw Tin is already in place, how much work would it be to add Iron Ingots or Tin Ingots to the list of things that can be combined to make the same product? I figured that this suggestion would be a workable one, because it isn't a big change, and it has some pretty far reaching effects.
On a side note, people paying 16000 tria for the raw steel to make an average slash short sword is obscene. Even if it does have really high quality. This would help alleviate that.
I think this method would be more realistic. I don't see many steel mills buying their Iron right after it is dug out of the ground. From what I have seen on the discovery channel the stuff is processed and purified first by a smelting company. Then it is purchased by the steel mills.
My opinion is that the crafted items should be able to be manufactured for around the same price as NPC's sell them for, maybe slightly more, or else the market will go for the lowest bidder (the NPC's). Crafting for Crafting's sake, while entertaining, has problems keeping people in beer, waybread, and training money if no one wants to buy what they sell. Even if there is a surplus of melted ore that the makers cannot convert, it would still be convertible to ingots by someone more skilled.
Thanks for listening and I eagerly await your feedback.
Goldir
