Tradesmen (and women) are entities that appear in the game from time to time and invite people to buy custom items from them.
Tradesmen are always in-character entities, although some should be taken more seriously than others. For instance, a visit from the Marzore clan tradeship usually involves some heavy roleplaying, while a visit with Icy the Snowfish is nothing more than the annual Star Conquest Christmas party.
Tradesmen also vary in which items they allow you to request. Some will make only clothing. Some will let you make a general request, but the specific item you get is not up to you. Most importantly, not all tradesmen will create items with custom programming.
There are a few additional guidelines to tradesmen items that you should be aware of.
- Items should not provide you with a great advantage within the game. For instance, you cannot request a hatch cracker that works on landed ships.
- You should refrain from requesting items that would be useful to the game as a whole. For instance, if flightbags did not exist, it would be quite selfish to suggest such a useful item for yourself and no one else. Items like this are better submitted as a suggestion for the game (and are more likely to be created if you do).
- Remember that a host running a tradesman event is making 20-30 items all in one go. This is time-consuming and exhausting no matter what the items are. A simpler request is much more likely to be granted.
- You SHOULD request an item that fits with your character. Choose something that goes with his or her hobbies, history, or interests.
- Items that allow you to enter arbitrary text into the game (kits that create custom objects and the like) will only be given to players who are careful with their spelling and typing, as these objects become part of the game's overall presentation.
- Food dispensers are popular items, but they easily become too encompassing. Please keep your dispenser requests to one type of food or one type of cooking method.
- To summarize, when choosing an item to request, look to roleplaying, not to mechanical advantages. Get an item that makes your character more interesting to play, not one that gives you points faster. Items that do not fit these guidelines will almost certainly be refused.
