[MUD-Dev] DGN: MMOG Game Economies

[rayzam]

"William Leader" <leader at k2wrpg.org> wrote:

> Lets assume that Cash rewards are static (they might be a random
> range but that just makes the example hard). Lets also assume that
> the target price index is 1 (because this makes the example easy.)
> Now lets say that your typical cash reward is $10. but you notice
> that the price index is up to 1.1 this is bad. so to curb the
> inflation before giving a reward we multiply it by the target
> index divided by the actual index. 10 x 1 / 1.1 = 9 (rounded to
> whole number). So the index goes up players get less cash this
> counters inflation. You can also use this for calculating the
> price merchants pay for items too. Now if the index is down, then
> 10 * 1 / 0.9 = 11 (again rounded). Players have more money and
> this combats deflation.

That's true if and only if the spigot and the drain is equal across
all levels. Which generally is not true. You get to the highest
level and a lot of the drains go away.  So what happens then? My
feeling is that inflation goes up, the price index forces the cash
rewards to drop. This means that you're penalizing the lower level
players the most. What used to give them $10 may now give them $1,
but the drains: training costs, etc, are still high.

In most games, the majority of the player-held Cash reserve is in
the highest level players.

> What I find very compelling about this solution is that A) its
> permanent. No need to add new sinks with new expansion packs so
> its less long term work for the developer. B) its completely
> transparent to the players allowing them to complain to the
> developers about how some other class race combo has more buffs,
> rather than complain about why rocks are so expensive.

No, it would lead to needing even more new sinks, because if you
don't curb the cash at the higher levels, inflation will drive the
lower level players right out of the game. Or else you get into
government subsidies ;)

    m
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