(This is a suggestion in a bug report's clothing.)
At present, each individual bolt is priced at 1¤. Seems reasonable. However, steel has a value of 30. A single low-quality steel bolt is thus worth 30¤ -- 25 steel bolts are thus worth an unbelievable 750¤!
I propose that all ITEM_AMMO (or perhaps even all items) have a special flag which indicates the standard "lot": [LOTSIZE:20]
Under the default game, this is a score (20). Thus, the value of any stack of bolts or arrows is equal to:
(quantity) * (value) * (material) * (quality) / (lotsize)
For instance, a stack of 25 mundane steel bolts will be worth {25 * 1 * 30 * 1.0 / 20 = 37.5} 38¤.
This is a simple enough change that it could probably be applied to all of the ITEM_ classes, with the Prepare for the Journey screen modified to consider all of the items of the same type as a single stack.
Along the lines of the Prepare for the Journey screen, it would have to display (somehow) the actual lot size of the items being purchased when adding a [n]ew item. I suggest "(value)¤/(lotsize)" -- e.g., "30¤/20". I also suggest replacing all of the " P" on the [n]ew item screen with "¤", so it's more obvious that commodities are listed by actual value; there's no need to distinguish points and monetary value since they're directly equivalent when purchasing equipment, though obviously they're not directly equivalent when purchasing skills.
[ October 31, 2007: Message edited by: JT ]