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DonathinFrye · 01-26-2007, 12:27 PM

Here is an age-old problem for MUD design. First, ask yourself this; How bad is your inflation? If inflation has gotten to the point where money no longer means anything - where quest items(if you have these) no longer mean anything - where useful tools have no value... then a wipe may not be a bad idea if you want to completely redesign your economy.

Not a player-file wipe. Not only a gold wipe. I'd suggest wiping every single quest item, anything that must be bought. Then, simultaneously (which means design the new system completely, before the wipe), introduce the new system...

And set everyone equally, with enough money that they can re-buy needed items. Let the players know that this was done because hoarding and inflation had caused the game's economy to stagnate and become meaningless. To do this, you absolutely have to remove any sort of "bought item", and do it without warning to the players (otherwise, they will find things to hoard in an effort to "get rich quick" after the wipe). If the old, rich players are so petty that they cannot abide a change that is better for the MUD as a whole, then let them quit.

More than likely, they'll be back once they cool down and realize that there's more to a game than hoarding worthless gold and equipment.

As far as how to design your new system itself? Tough question. Design it carefully. Do not allow your staff to pass out rewards of things that are buyable. Do not allow your staff to pass out money rewards. Rewards, in my opinion, should be unique. This makes the reward more special, and helps to keep inflation down. Then, consider a world where monsters/etc do not drop gold. And that items that they drop easily are not able to be sold to mob shops. Encourage an open-market and auction system. Create an auction system on your forums (not just within the game itself). Put a cap on howmuch money one character can hold. Punish multi-playing severely. If the open-market system shows signs of inflation, consider creating some sort of staff-run rp-gang, that occaisonally breaks into local banks. Create a thief guild. Tweak things as you go, but try to stay on top of inflation. It is very much about not showing favor to individual players, and to not fearing taking strong measures to counter the inflation problems that almost all online games experience. It IS do-able. It just requires work.

Sorry for the long-winded post. Haven't had caffeine yet today, and my thoughts are usually far more coherent when I have. Hope this helps.

01-26-2007, 12:27 PM	#8
DonathinFrye Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Name: Donathin Frye Location: Columbus, OH Home MUD: Optional Realities Home MUD: Atonement RPI Home MUD: Project Redshift Posts: 510	Here is an age-old problem for MUD design. First, ask yourself this; How bad is your inflation? If inflation has gotten to the point where money no longer means anything - where quest items(if you have these) no longer mean anything - where useful tools have no value... then a wipe may not be a bad idea if you want to completely redesign your economy. Not a player-file wipe. Not only a gold wipe. I'd suggest wiping every single quest item, anything that must be bought. Then, simultaneously (which means design the new system completely, before the wipe), introduce the new system... And set everyone equally, with enough money that they can re-buy needed items. Let the players know that this was done because hoarding and inflation had caused the game's economy to stagnate and become meaningless. To do this, you absolutely have to remove any sort of "bought item", and do it without warning to the players (otherwise, they will find things to hoard in an effort to "get rich quick" after the wipe). If the old, rich players are so petty that they cannot abide a change that is better for the MUD as a whole, then let them quit. More than likely, they'll be back once they cool down and realize that there's more to a game than hoarding worthless gold and equipment. As far as how to design your new system itself? Tough question. Design it carefully. Do not allow your staff to pass out rewards of things that are buyable. Do not allow your staff to pass out money rewards. Rewards, in my opinion, should be unique. This makes the reward more special, and helps to keep inflation down. Then, consider a world where monsters/etc do not drop gold. And that items that they drop easily are not able to be sold to mob shops. Encourage an open-market and auction system. Create an auction system on your forums (not just within the game itself). Put a cap on howmuch money one character can hold. Punish multi-playing severely. If the open-market system shows signs of inflation, consider creating some sort of staff-run rp-gang, that occaisonally breaks into local banks. Create a thief guild. Tweak things as you go, but try to stay on top of inflation. It is very much about not showing favor to individual players, and to not fearing taking strong measures to counter the inflation problems that almost all online games experience. It IS do-able. It just requires work. Sorry for the long-winded post. Haven't had caffeine yet today, and my thoughts are usually far more coherent when I have. Hope this helps.