Howdy,

So this week I just about finished trading and traders (for now at least), so let's take quick look at how the process goes.

And it starts, with a lighthouse.

The lighthouse is a new building that our hero can construct - it costs just stone and wood, so it should be possible to get it pretty early in the game.

Once a lighthouse has been built, then every day, there is a chance that a trader will appear.

The trade graphics are generated procedurally, with the appearance being entirely random, and the boat containing a hint as to what the primary goods that are traded are.

Each trader has up to favoured goods, primary and secondary. This will determine which goods they will have for sale, which goods are better priced (primary goods are slightly cheaper than secondary), and which goods they will buy at a premium price.

So if a boat turns up and it very clearly has weapons - then maybe you could consider selling your old mace and getting something bigger or sharper.

This particular trader sells raw materials, and armour.

So yeah, that's about it for this week. Next week I'll work on serialising the traders, as well as determining how much money and goods they come with. After that, it's the combat system rewrite. Again.

Til then