Alvador Trading Post

The Collective is pleased to announce the opening of the Alvador Trading Post! Currently the only trade bots on Darktide are a few that run at allegiance halls or the "no-drop" trade bots that recall the @marketplace and die a lot. This new trading post will utilize housing barriers to keep the bots safe so that they can trade even the best equipment on the server.

The Alvador trading post is a villa settlement where bots from various guilds will be able to establish a relatively safe point of presence to trade their goods. Once a trade bot has been approved by the Collective, it will be added to the housing guest list for one of the villas in the trading post. From inside the housing barrier, the bot will be able to safely trade items across the housing barrier. Visitors to the trading post can still be attacked by other visitors, but we will attempt to keep the bots safe so that players trust their best equipment to be traded by their bot.

Application

Our main objective in requiring you to apply is to keep the trading post safe for bots. To apply for a trade bot position, send email to borg@collectiveorder.net with the following information:

An email address that we can contact you (don't use an email address associated with your AC account for security purposes)
The name of your main character(s)
The name of your bot
Your guild(s)
Your guild's stance (i.e. rPK, Anti, Neutral)
Your guild's main allies and enemies (so we can try to locate you in a Villa with friends instead of enemies)
Your ACTrade account name (if you're going to be using ACTrade)

Once your email has been received, we will establish a time for you to meet us and answer a few questions.

Rules

Once you have been approved and have been added to the housing guest list, you must follow these rules or you will be automatically booted from the Villa and banned from running a bot in the future.

Your bot must never equip a weapon of any kind while inside the housing barrier
You may not attack anyone
You may not enter the villa dungeon
If you change your allegiance, you must contact the Borg to make sure you're still in the right villa
If you sell your account or give it to someone else, you must contact the Borg and let us know about the change

FAQ

Q: Why are you doing this?
A: To improve the automated, player-driven economy of Darktide.

Q: How do I apply to run a bot?
A: See the section "Application" above.

Q: What plugin should I use for trading at the Alvador Trading Post?
A: We recommend you use ACTrade (http://www.actradeonline.com). Players will be able to browse your inventory offline and then make their trip to the markplace a quick one. If you do use ACTrade, you should set your "location" to be "Alvador Trading Post".

Q: Can anyone run a bot regardless of their anti/pk/neutral stance?
A: Yes, as long as they abide by the trading post rules. There will be an approval process to reduce the possibility of rogue bots. We will attempt to group these factions together in different villas to minimize the chance of their attacking each other.

Q: There should be no safe places on Darktide at all! Why do you want to make some safehaven?
A: We haven't introduced any new safe places. These villas were already safe. We're merely using them to run the trading post. Visitors to the trading post won't be safe. Think of these bots as NPCs - but with better inventories! If you don't like it, don't go there.

Q: Where is the villa settlement? How do I get there?
A: The settlement is the "Alvador" settlement, located at 68.2N, 40.7E. The portal to the settlement is the Alvador Portal (32.9N,59.5E), near Arwic.

Q: Will I be able to come to the villa and trade with the bots in peace?
A: You will have to come to the trading post prepared to fight, though we expect that most of the time you will be able to trade in peace. You might want to bring some friends with you, or possibly come during off-hours.

Q: How will you prevent the trade bots from killing each other?
A: We have acquired many villas in the same settlement. We intend to establish different camps within the settlement. For example, there will be one villa exclusively for "antis", another for "pk" guilds, and so forth.

Q: What will you do when a trade bot goes rogue?
A: The rogue will be bounced from the trading post and will not be allowed back in.

Q: Why should we trust the Borg not to just kill us all?
A: We will not abuse this system. Our reputation means more to us than your loot. You will have to decide for yourself if we are worthy of your trust.

Q: How can I find out what stuff is available for trade?
A: If the bots are using ACTrade (the Borg bots will be), you can see which bots are online and what items they have for trade at the ACTrade "Darktide" page: http://www.actradeonline.com/serverstatus.php?server=Darktide