They added the AH originally because seller spam became so spammy it was a problem. This is the measure.
If you mean the bazaar they have explained many times in the past why they cant. It has to do with how prices are stored in copper in the back end and they can't exceed 2 billion copper due to 32bit limits.
As Waring said, and this has been said repeatedly, until we have a 64-bit client the current limit on Bazaar prices simply cannot be raised. Even were the client 64 bit I'm not entirely sure prices should be allowed to go higher, maybe a cap is a good thing.
Waring is right that money in EQ is stored as copper in a 32-bit integer which has a limit a little over 2.1 billion for signed values. However, it is certainly possible to use a 64-bit integer in a 32-bit program. You don't need a 64-bit client for that. The issue is more that changing it and making sure it doesn't break anything would take a long time, and the benefit is relatively small. Some may even argue that having a ceiling helps keep inflation in check, at least somewhat.
2 million is just fine. Increasing it would bring inflation from the players that bot their way to hundreds of millions of plat. Is that what we really want?
Players have a hard enough time reading the 200000 err 20000000000 amount now, can you imagine if it had more zeros??? Although I think a slot for krono would be cool so you don't have to do it via trade option in /buyer
Came here to say this; there is another consideration.. 64bit math in a 32bit app is slower. This won't REALLY cause a problem like it would in say combat as those calculations just wouldn't be done too often but its something to consider too. They could make it an unsigned int32, giving us a 4mil cap. They could also re-base the marketplace off plat giving us a 2bil cap. They do have options, I think their inaction on this is as much your last point as anything.. they don't want to because it helps keep prices down.
Pretty sure they are already using 64-bit in math related to NPC HP so it is being used elsewhere in the game. As for your suggestion of changing it to a unsigned 32-bit in I don't see how that would be any less work than changing it to a 64-bit int. Even if it is a little less work they would still need to change it to a 64-bit int later on making more work for themselves. The idea changing it to use plat on the backend also likely requires a lot of work to change and not impact all merchants in the game. It will also have an impact on all server economies by setting the minimum price at 1 plat when early on in the bazaar on a TLP items will sell for under 1 plat.
I don't know if devs peddled this out previously but it's nonsense. It's like me telling my wife I cant restain my deck until i buy the new power washer I've been looking at. Yeah it'd be a lot easier if i didnt have to go rent one or just go without, but the power washing isn't even the hardest part about it. Neither is 64bit math on a 32bit client. https://reverseengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/8454/64-bit-integers-on-32-bit-machines
My nonserious solution: divide all prices and player money by 10,000. Anything less expensive than 1 copper becomes 1 copper. What could go wrong??? https://www.dailynk.com/english/north-korea-replaces-currency/
The next expansion is luclin 2.0 from what i hear so maybe there is something in store for baz only time will tell. Andarriel
I remember it a bit differently. He said it was possible but at this time they arent going to because it isnt worth the time it would take - leaving open the option that it may be done in the future. And that post said nothing about 64 bit. And tbh its still not worth doing since it is not disruptive, just inconvenient.
there are quests that require the use of lessor coin formats. It would take quite a bit to change all those quests and I am sure they would keep popping up on TLP servers and result in someone screaming that it is holding up life because they no longer have the copper or silver needed for the quest.
If it was easy to do why did they created Nobles? I thought that was the answer at the time for the limits. It sounds like more work to me than going the 64 bit conversion route.