Economy Poll

[Mythryndel]

I can't think of anything that requires zero coding changes at the moment. The biggest thing that I think would help is either a npc merchant character that buys and sells items (ie. any character that buys items, should keep an inventory of those items and offer for sale the items they purchased) OR a consignment merchant that allows players to set prices for items and they get paid when their items get purchased regardless of if they are online or not at the time.

I think that this is a long-term fix for a stable economy though, not short term.

[Xillix Queen of Fools]

myth I got that the first time you said it

[steuben]

i've going to violate the no coding changes rules. but we should make the mine "radioactive" or poisonous or something like that. so standing there and mining you take damage and/or have your stats gradually reduce. natually they we come back up in time. that'll solve the problem of money in the system. and generate a sink into the system as well moneies for potions and such. and when potion crafting hits full swing run up player econ as well. and raise the dev team a minor notch on the "evil" scale as well.

[Prolix]

Join the army, get your equipment and training free for performing required tasks. Perform extra and/or more difficult tasks to get promoted. Get promoted and get better equipment and higher training. Have a crafting unit, a mage unit, an entertainment corps, a logistics unit --  a place for every skill or trade to be learned and used in the army, all free. Triple the costs for training outside the army, all the competent trainers are in the army and reduce the prices paid for anything sold to an npc by 2/3. Allow players to retire from the army and create their own prices for those who refuse to join.

[Nikodemus]

Just listen to yourself steuben ;P
If the mines are radioactive, then the digged ore is and so everything made of it ;P If not, you are taking realism away and with it a bit of rp.

Prolix. ;o

[Xillix Queen of Fools]

btw prolix I think if a group of guilds composed a similar system (like i dunno, the DE) making money would be pretty easy for everyone.

DE folks, I like your organization a lot, but for the name

[Candy]

i've going to violate the no coding changes rules. but we should make the mine "radioactive" or poisonous or something like that. so standing there and mining you take damage and/or have your stats gradually reduce. natually they we come back up in time. that'll solve the problem of money in the system. and generate a sink into the system as well moneies for potions and such. and when potion crafting hits full swing run up player econ as well. and raise the dev team a minor notch on the "evil" scale as well.

Precious metals are already "poisonous" to the Ynnwn in a way, but I've yet to meet another Ynnwn that plays that out (though I'm sure there are some; Monala's circle of friends is pretty small right now, and the only other Ynnwn she knows hasn't been online in ages).

[Taniquetil]

@Prolix:

Why should in-game things be based on real-world prices?

I just wanted to add that, will edit this post or post again when i have more time.

[Prolix]

That would require coding changes to enable players doing the training, Xil, but then again, so, ultimately would my suggestion.  It would take a lot of work for you settings people to set up the army the way I suggested but it would be well within what the settings already suggest. Most ordinary folk (npcs) would take their years training with the army and then go on about their lives. Others would go further to get advanced skills and some would never leave. Some would undoubtedly get kicked out when their true colors became known.

Personally I would not mind joining an npc army under these conditions but I really do not want to join a player led guild. I like the certainty that comes from the game mechanics  even if they annoy me. I can rail and foam and nobody need get hurt, with a guild I become subject to someone else's quirks and if mine clashes with theirs things can get rather unpleasant. If I need stress from other people there are plenty near by I do not need to find it on the internet.

[Waoknie]

I have never understood those who compare PS w/ RL head to head.
Platinum, gold, coal, iron, tin, etc.. for this time, I'll consider all the same to make it practical. If they are abundant or not in RL, if they have or should have this or that use is irrelevant for this thread. So, that aside, I'll continue..

'Balancing economy'... WTH? who came up with that?.. I will understand the need for balance when I see a real economic system.. the way it works inPS is not comparable with RL. There exists an economic flow but not a system.. therefore, it's not possible to 'balance' it. The tria just flows, changes hands but on the ends of the chain, there is an infinite supply and a huge toilet or whatever you call what swallows it all.

Now, if what many call 'balance' means  similar economic benefits or comparable enhancements of assets regardless of the goods type, availability and the individual's strategy for acquiring them, well..  here is a wake up call: "No. The fact that you don't care about it does not convert PS in a comunist system" even if you desire it to.

I voted for 'increase...' and was astonished for it having 2 votes atm. I repeat: It has nothing to do with platinum.. whatever it is, the basic or most representative item of the economic flow must be increased or the expenses should be decreased. From any point of view, for any reason.. one needs tria for everything IG but RP. If RP was 'buyable' or if the other day's idea becomes real and one starts 'getting paid for RP', then the time spent on increasing wealth would be diminished and then, most would engage in those other things that you love about the game.

This is a contradiction which only reveals the true nature of many around: (word ommited for obvious reasons).
I want all to think about the word that most describes your feelings when considering embarking on the quest of the power leveler, the mage or the warrior.

Why instead of making it harder for this kind of characters won't you embrace him and let him have his round so he can come back to you with at least some conversation?
Some say that it's because then they will end up fully grown and get bored and leave the game. So?.. what do you think you're encouraging on the first place?

The list of virtually doable things IG is HUGE. I was hoping that cooks would be able to make a living (careful with this expression!) but then, the revenue is for the lack of a better word, hilarious. But then again, it's not only how much they pay you, it's also the spends of your way of living.

Maybe we could get some criteria revealed.. like for example, how much is it desired for a character to achieve during  a specific period of time.. mining, cooking, crafting.. doesn't matter. How much characters deserve for the time 'invested' is the number that really counts. We could learn from the reasons for such number and see if the decision is wisely oriented with the goal of increasing the IG experience, or if it's a simple biased choice for not allowing the other kind to be as easy and quickly happy as the best RolePlayer Master around.

[CrazyYlian]

More snorks!

The basic problem is the game isn't finished so there simply aren't enough things to make the economy robust, but that's a coding problem, so I won't continue...

Of ideas suggested so far, I have to agree with increase loot, move platinum mine away from town and reduce platinum availability somewhat, too (not a lot, but enough so that plat isn't the only attraction. I never see anyone at the gold mine anymore).  And I agree that prices and availability do not have to have any relationship to RL.  How do you know that platinum isn't common as dirt in a stalactite?

Removing NPC purchasers I think is bad, because not everyone plays during the 'peak' hours, so there isn't always a player market.  I'd hate to not be able to sell my items/ores, or to have to take a greatly reduced return simply because prime time for me is 4:00 am for everyone else.  That doesn't help the economy, it kills it for people on odd schedules.  Reducing the overall training prices slightly would be good. Reducing them a lot is only good for low levels, because once you get to a certain level pp are not a barrier at all anymore, and by that level tria should be more plentiful also.  Rather than reduce across the board, maybe stagger training prices so that it reflects more the level at which you train.

But the snorks are still the key.

[LigH]

Apropos mining: If a certain ore will help to create interesting products, platinum may not be the most valuable good anymore. I bet you already planned that, but if it would already work, it might have been discovered already (except you hid it by another "find both NPC and question" camouflage).

[Xillix Queen of Fools]

Come now you must have some other brilliant solutions, for as much strife as you raise over the issue, surely there is a wealth of solutions you can afford our meager dev imaginations?

13 more votes and I will do my best to put the smack down on the server.

[Taniquetil]

I see no problem with platinum ore. If grindminers want to waste days and days of their lives mining platinum on a video game that is meant for RP...let them waste away! As for the price of platinum, it will only be outrageously high when people stop buying it. Only when the demand for platinum goes down will the supply follow. On that note, there will always be demand for the "leet" ore - the ore that takes the most skill to use - as there is nothing else to move on to. So, no changes for me! Let the economy run it's course, see where it takes us.

[Mordraugion]

I have several suggestions, Move mines as far as possible from civilization, surround them with loads of nasties that cant be lured, make them run out rapidly and move to a new spot so they have to be located again (say once a week).