-What are shops?

Shops, the name says it, are places where you can buy things that will make you better, this can be by buying units, godpowers, upgrades, buildings etc etc. Shops are found in many RPG's and Blood Games and allways give the game a nice touch.

-How do I make shops?

There are two different ways in which u can use a shop.

1) You can have 1 buying unit which stands in the shop and when he buys something, you lose recources :

In this example, an old man is the buying unit and he buys a hoplite for 100 gold

Trigger 1 - Active, Loop (use the loop when you want to be able to buy something more than once).

Condition :

Units in Area:
Center unit : cinematic block (you can use other things as center unit as well)
Area Size : 3 (you can use other ranges as well, but dont make it 20 or something)
Player : 1
Unit type : old man
Operator : =
Quantity : 1

Timer - 2 seconds (this way you buy something every 2 seconds when you stand near the center unit (cinematic block) and gives you time to get the old man out of the buying are when you have bought enough)

Player Recourse Count:
Player : 1
Recource type : gold
Operator : =>
quantity : 100
(This will make sure you can only buy something when u have 100 or more gold)

Effect:

Army Deploy:
army : Plyr1_arm1
Set Area : area where u want the hoplite to appear
Unit : Hoplite
Quantity : 1

Grant Recources:
Player : 1
Recourse type : gold
Quantity : -100
(This will substract 100 gold from your stockpile)

Send Spoofed Chat to Player: (optional)
Fake Player : 0
To Player : 1
Text : Hoplite bought for 100 gold

2) Another way of using shops is: Units will get spawned in the shop (for example, 1 unit for every 100 gold). You need a certain amount of Units to buy something. When you bought it, the units disappear:

In this example, you need 5 old man to give all your toxotes +50 hp. You get an old man for every 100 gold you gather.

Trigger 1 - Active, Loop (This trigger spawns the old men)

Condition:

Player Recource Count:
Player : 1
Recource type : gold
Operator : =>
Quantity : 100

Effect :

Army Deploy:
Army : Plyr1_arm1
Set Area : Area in the shop where you want the old man to appear
Unit : old man
Quantity : 1

Grant Recources:
Player : 1
Recourse Type : gold
Quantity : -100

Send Spoofed Chat to Player: (optional)
Fake Player : 0
To Player : 1
Text : You have received an old man

Trigger 2 - Active, Loop (this trigger buys the upgrade for 5 old men)

Condition:

Units in Area:
Center Unit : Cinematic Block
Area Size : 5
Player : 1
Unit type : old man
Operator : =
Quantity: 5

Effect:

Modify Protounit:
Player : 1
Protounit : toxotes
Type of modification : Hitpoints
Delta (quantity): 50

Damage Units in Area:
Center Unit : the same cinematic block that you used in the Units in Area condition
Area Size : 5
Player : 1
Unit Type : old man
Quantity : 5000 (more then the hp of the units you buy it with)
(This will make sure that the old men disappear when you bought the upgrade)

Send Spoofed Chat to Player: (optional)
Fake Player : 0
To Player : 1
Text: You receive +50 hitpoints for all your Toxotes

-What does my shop look like?

Basically, you can make you shop look like anything, but i will give you some advice how a basic shop looks. A shop is made out of little square area's which are lined up. I little bit like this:

|_|_|_|_|_|_|

This structure can be made by walls, or with cliff terrain, made with a small brush size. Behind each of those square area's you can make a gaia object which indicates what you buy. When you buy a soldier, place a gaia unit of the same soldier behind it. Make sure that you are ally of gaia (using the diplomacy effect), or else the ranged merchandise will attack you. For god powers and upgrades you can use a statue to represent it. Change the names of indicators so the people know what they are buying, and also add the price of the unit/godpower/upgrade. In the center of the square area, you put the cinematic block, which is the center unit for the shop-triggers. You can make the square areas look nicer, for example, by adding a carpet, flowers or a flag.

Of course there are other ways of making a shop, but this is the most basic way there is.