Discussion: Headsup - Item Category changes Staff Topic

As mentioned previously on this forum, we're undertaking some work right now to better organize the "categories" we assign different items to in the Encyclopedia/Inventory/Auctions etc.

I wanted to give the developer community a bit of a headsup on these changes before we make them, so you know what to expect.

In short, one week from now, on Friday December 7th, we will be:

  * Changing some category identifiers, and adding some new ones
  * Changing the categories that some items are filed under.
  * Merging the slightly different categories used in inventory vs. auctions, so that everything is consistent.

While I can't provide you with a full list of all the changes that will happen, the new list of categories will be:

advanced_resource
alchemy
bag
basic_resource
bureaucracy
collectible
crops_herbs_seeds_beans
drink
element
emblems_icons
food
gassesbubbles
herdkeepingsupplies
key
machineparts_products
spice
tinctures_potions
tool
toys

Most of these should be self-explanatory. "basic_resource" will be items that you can get directly from the world (cherries, allspice, sparkly etc) while "advanced_resource" will be items which are made from other resources, and can themselves be used for other things (so, ingots, barnacle talc etc)

There will probably be other changes in future to the categories as we continue to expand the world, but we will try our best not to be too haphazard about them.

If you have any questions about these changes, please chime in here.
Thank you for the heads-up! I was a little surprised to wake up and see some of these implemented on 1 December.
"Friday December 7th"

Umm...I guess you mean the 9th? Or perhaps Wednesday..

This is where I wish app store reviews didn't take so long...
Oh, cheers guys...
Apparently you are making more unannounced changes? Herbalism_supplies and croppery_gardening_supplies now exist.
Would it be possible to make an API that just returns Auction Categories?
I'd certainly like a method that returns a user-friendly version of the category name (e.g. (tinctures_potions -> 'Tinctures and Potions'), rather than to keep having to update my hard-wired lookup table each time they change.