<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: MUD Economy --> <!--X-From-R13: Eunja Vnycraal <znynpunvNvanzr.pbz> --> <!--X-Date: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 22:26:20 +0000 --> <!--X-Message-Id: Pine.SUN.3.96.980107172437.4973B-100000@sun38 --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, MUD Economy</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:malachai#iname,com"> </head> <body background="/backgrounds/paperback.gif" bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" vlink="#006000"> <font size="+4" color="#804040"> <strong><em>MUD-Dev<br>mailing list archive</em></strong> </font> <br> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] <br clear=all><hr> <!--X-Body-Begin--> <!--X-User-Header--> <!--X-User-Header-End--> <!--X-TopPNI--> Date: [ <a href="msg00089.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00093.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00104.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00118.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00090">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00090">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00090">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>MUD Economy</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#null,net">mud-dev#null,net</A></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: MUD Economy</LI> <LI><em>From</em>: Shawn Halpenny <<A HREF="mailto:malachai#iname,com">malachai#iname,com</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 17:26:05 -0500 (EST)</LI> <LI><em>Reply-To</em>: Shawn Halpenny <<A HREF="mailto:malachai#iname,com">malachai#iname,com</A>></LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> I have been pondering the startup and sustenance of a MUD economy, some thoughts follow about moving toward a complete trade economy where no money is present, nor required. All vendors could start out quite stupid (i.e. not having any idea whatsoever about what an object is worth): e.g. trading 1 kg of steel for 1 kg of flour. Then, as the local demand for steel rises, the vendor would learn that he was initially trading steel for _way_ too little and then raise his "price"). Now that price is what needs to be determined. It's easy to say "You can have that sword if you give me three good milk cows", but where does the frame of reference for the comparison come from? What makes the sword worth three cows? Perhaps vendors should keep track of what people have come in and asked for but the vendor didn't have. He doesn't even need to have any idea that it exists, just that someone asked for it. This requires that characters be able to walk into a store and ask for an item the shopkeeper doesn't have. Then the shopkeeper can wait until someone trades him that desired item, or find another method of obtaining some (trade caravans come to mind, amongst other avenues of obtaining goods). Given that, the above sword _could_ be worth three cows because ten minutes before, someone came in and wanted some cows that the vendor didn't have. The question of what determines that the vendor _would_ trade like that still remains. This entire economy would be trade-based. User-created objects would probably have to be untradeable to NPC vendors since the vendor would have no way of gauging the object's utility (it would be too easy to create a completely useless object that the vendor had never heard of and thus get something for nothing). Of course, if there was no demand for that bogus object, the shopkeeper would have no reason to trade for it. However, a user could then determine what objects the shopkeeper would trade for (i.e. someone had previously come in and tried to trade for something the vendor didn't have) and then go create an empty shell of that object and trade it in, again getting something for nothing. Another argument can be made, though, that eventually the shopkeeper will realize that no one wants to buy this (junk) widget that Bubba traded for that jewelled sword, so perhaps he will lie to the next trading customer about what it does? Although possibilities abound within that, a huge set of junk objects could be created whose sole purpose is to get something essentially for free (not to mention turning every shopkeeper into a liar). I'm not sure that this would enhance game play. I suppose this view could be summed up like this: shopkeepers do not really sell items to characters. They act solely as distribution points and what they distribute depends on what they are asked for, what they have, and what they can get. After all, what would money mean to a NPC shopkeeper? Certainly, he could just accumulate it like everyone else and retire wealthy but is that interesting from any point of view other than simulation? It seems that money wouldn't be required at all. So, to start the economy from nothing: 1. Give shopkeepers no knowledge about any objects. 2. Give shopkeepers a method for determining what one object is worth compared to another object and apply this equally to all objects. Also take into accout how much of an object is at hand, and how much of it has been asked for. 3. Have shopkeepers track how often an object is requested and adjust their trading practices accordingly Given that, is there a requirement for a planned initial distribution of objects to vendors to seed the economy somewhat? Each vendor would have to at least start with one item, or he'd have nothing to trade (and there's no incentive for a player to trade anything to the vendor if the vendor has nothing or just gives away his object for free). Is more than one item necessary for each vendor? The paths of future trade caravans can be started at this stage simply be putting all the flour in one vendor's shop and all the milk and eggs in another. As long as the object given to the vendor is somewhat desirable by at least one player, would things take off from there? Or could things just be dumped haphazardly on vendors and the result (a semi-functioning economy) be the same? Perhaps each would yield something sustainable and interesting. Thoughts welcome, of course. -- Shawn </PRE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <ul compact><li><strong>Follow-Ups</strong>: <ul> <li><strong><A NAME="00196" HREF="msg00196.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] MUD Economy</A></strong> <ul compact><li><em>From:</em> "Jon A. Lambert" <jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com></li></ul> <li><strong><A NAME="00157" HREF="msg00157.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] MUD Economy</A></strong> <ul compact><li><em>From:</em> JC Lawrence <claw#under,Eng.Sun.COM></li></ul> <li><strong><A NAME="00121" HREF="msg00121.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] MUD Economy</A></strong> <ul compact><li><em>From:</em> Adam Wiggins <nightfall#user1,inficad.com></li></ul> <li><strong><A NAME="00118" HREF="msg00118.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] MUD Economy</A></strong> <ul compact><li><em>From:</em> Ling <K.L.Lo-94#student,lboro.ac.uk></li></ul> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00089.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] Commercial value of RP</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00093.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Commercial value of RP</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00104.html">OT: Jobs available</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00118.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] MUD Economy</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00090"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00090"><STRONG>Thread</STRONG></A></LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> <!--X-BotPNI-End--> <!--X-User-Footer--> <!--X-User-Footer-End--> <ul><li>Thread context: <BLOCKQUOTE><UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00136" HREF="msg00136.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] OT: DCOM and RMI</A></strong>, Chris Gray <a href="mailto:cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA">cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA</a>, Fri 09 Jan 1998, 07:04 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00134" HREF="msg00134.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] MUD Economy</A></strong>, Brandon J. Rickman <a href="mailto:ashes#pc4,zennet.com">ashes#pc4,zennet.com</a>, Fri 09 Jan 1998, 06:59 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00111" HREF="msg00111.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Wild west (was Guilds & Politics)</A></strong>, Chris Gray <a href="mailto:cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA">cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA</a>, Thu 08 Jan 1998, 07:04 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00104" HREF="msg00104.html">OT: Jobs available</A></strong>, Koster, Raph <a href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</a>, Thu 08 Jan 1998, 01:53 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00090" HREF="msg00090.html">MUD Economy</A></strong>, Shawn Halpenny <a href="mailto:malachai#iname,com">malachai#iname,com</a>, Wed 07 Jan 1998, 22:26 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00118" HREF="msg00118.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] MUD Economy</A></strong>, Ling <a href="mailto:K.L.Lo-94#student,lboro.ac.uk">K.L.Lo-94#student,lboro.ac.uk</a>, Thu 08 Jan 1998, 16:49 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00146" HREF="msg00146.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] MUD Economy</A></strong>, Marian Griffith <a href="mailto:gryphon#iaehv,nl">gryphon#iaehv,nl</a>, Fri 09 Jan 1998, 18:19 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00151" HREF="msg00151.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] MUD Economy</A></strong>, Shawn Halpenny <a href="mailto:malachai#iname,com">malachai#iname,com</a>, Fri 09 Jan 1998, 21:33 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00148" HREF="msg00148.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] MUD Economy</A></strong>, Shawn Halpenny <a href="mailto:malachai#iname,com">malachai#iname,com</a>, Fri 09 Jan 1998, 19:07 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL></BLOCKQUOTE> </ul> <hr> <center> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] </center> <hr> </body> </html>