Talk:Courier/@comment-24557935-20140308235257/@comment-96.238.184.38-20140309021129

I have indeed read through both comprehensively.

My concern is that in both locations there are two distinct ideologies being discussed simultaneously. On the one hand we have the simple mechanics of 'good goes from origin to destination' and on the other hand we have the highly complex and distinct system of 'players create post offices for item travel, contracts, collateral, etc.'. There is no agreement on what is actually desired from the system, whether it should be core identity or a diversion/full-time occupation. In addition, a lot of the more complex mechanics in place can be drastically simplified and still retain identical or similar gameplay implications.

For example: What's the deal with Receipts and the Postal Hub?

"After accepting a Courier Contract from a Courier Board the Courier travels to the Origin and opens the Mailbox to retrieve the Goods. If the Courier is playing on a server where the core ruleset is PvE or Casual PvP, the Goods will be represented by a single Sealed Package item. If the Courier is playing on a server where the core ruleset is Hardcore PvP, the Goodsthemselves will be present in the Mailbox. The Courier places the Goods from the Origin Mailbox into their inventory and then travels to the Destination and places the Goods' within the Mailbox there. If the Courier places all of the Goods into the Destination Mailbox before the Expiration time the Courier achieves a Successful Delivery. A UI element pops up displaying a summary of the Successful Delivery including the amount of time it took to deliver the Goods and how this impacts the Courier's Carry Cred (rating). The UI element also allows the Courier to give the Customer a discount of any amount before the Reward is paid to the Courier."'

This system works just fine without a Postal Hub, since a Courier Board is a player-created prop. The idea of needing a Postal Hub to create a Receipt is an unnecessary complication.

"A Receipt is an item that a player recieves when they purchase something on the Market."

Why is it required for a player to buy an item, receive a Receipt, use it with a Postal Hub, receive a Courier Contract, and place it on the Courier Board? It is infinitely more simple for the player to receive a Courier Contract when they purchase something on the Market then place that Courier Contract on a Courier Board.

What does the Postal Hub accomplish that a simple combination of Mailbox and Courier Board can't, assuming purchases result in a player receiving a Courier Contract?