[MUD-Dev] Nation of shopkeepers

[Chris Gray]

[Not following up specifically]

In the real world, the population is continually increasing. That is the
basic thing that allows people to continually get richer and earn more
money. The market for a typical product is growing, the supply is growing,
and the demand is growing.

Modelling continual growth on a MUD is possible, but problematical.
Computer resource limits likely prevent true continual growth. It might
be possible to fake it out, however, by creating virtual communities,
perhaps virtual individuals, etc. They would buy things from shopkeepers,
provide exports/imports from the non-virtual communities, etc. Of course,
some player is going to want to follow stuff leaving town to find out
where it is going...

This reminds me a bit of model railroads, which, when they are large, have
a similar problem - they want to simulate the scheduling of a real
railroad, but there isn't anywhere near enough space to do that in. So,
they have "hidden yards", which are often physically hidden underneath
the scenery, which can serve as any number of towns which produce and
consume goods which need shipping. Cars which are delivering a load to
one of the virtual towns get delivered to the hidden yard, where they sit
for an appropriate length of time, before re-appearing containing a load
destined for one of the real towns or industries. Another approach is to
simply invent artificial loads which are continually going from one real
town/industry to another.

Can we do that in MUDs? E.g. if we have a shopkeeper who is a baker and
consumes flour, sugar, etc. and produces bread, pastries, etc., can his
outgoing loads of bread turn into raw supplies that a shopkeeper in
another town needs (say cured leather for a leatherworker)? It looks real
fake if someone actually follows the goods from one to another, but
outside of that it would look O.K. Delays in shipping, losses due to
theft, etc. would affect both shopkeepers, but that would be fine.

--
Chris Gray   cg at ami-cg.GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA