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Jenred · 02-21-2004, 09:50 PM

Supply and demand, the basis of economics is easily facilitated in MUDs. But first you have a couple of questions, what creates demand? what creates supply?

The first is easy, whats in demand (in most ROM, stat/number driven muds) is what makes you better. A sword of damage +100 is going to be more demanded then a sword of damage +10. And similarly a breastplate of intelligence +100 is going to be more in demand then a breastplate of intelligence +10.

Now what creates supply? This depends sometimes what MUD your playing. If its player-craft based... i.e. everything in the game is predominantly player made then its a bit harder. But for most Muds I've seen the best items are loaded on mobs, or sold in shops. Meaning that supply is created by the code through certain situations.

Moving on, a decreased supply will increase demand. An increase demand will obviously decrease supply.

But in the aforementioned scenario there is hiccup. What happens when supply is limitless? The normal rules of economics don't really apply when the conditions are changed. If the 'Super Sword of Fire +1' will always load atop the easily ascended mountain, the demand may be both high and easily filled. And soon everyone has a super sword of fire +1.

Did you see what happened there? An unlimited supply actually reduces demand in the long-run, when everyone has one. What worth is an item that everyone has? If everyone had ming vases would they be worth anything at a New York auctionhouse? Probably not.

But lets say that the sword of fire +1 was guarded on this mountain by the Massive Drake of Slaying. Suddenly the playing field changes. They may NOT be so easy to come by, and supply becomes limited to those that can get them and they may or may not wish to sell them, driving up the price, and creating an economy based on value as determined by cost to acquire.

Value based on cost to acquire drives up the price, as the item's value as perceived by the person getting it, must be higher then the value of their time and energy exerted. If the cost to acquire was 5 minutes and pill of haste, then a few minutes healing after, the value of the item will be less, as more and more people would be able to get it.

So from this model you have a scale of naturally progressing items. Easy to obtain items are often made weak, making the value less as determined by the stats of the item. With the scale rising until you get to the 'best' items in the game. Which are probably the hardest to obtain, obviously most demanded, and subsequently the most expensive.

To create demand the items must be good, and useful. No one will pay buko bucks for a hat that looks pretty but doesn't do anything for them in some respect. But that can also vary on what usefulness means to the person. A collector might want it, or any of a number of people, but Im gojng on generally preceived majorities.

Now a nifty thing, used in the mud Feudal Realms, is a 'maxload' feature. The rarest items are added a maxload flag, with a defined number of 'loads' before it reaches maximum. This said, its now possible to make the super ring of invisability load only 10 times on the demon of darkness before he stops wearing it. Making the item that much more valuable as its quantities are now limited. (See above about what creates supply).

So supply is now exhaustable in an extreme sense, as opposed to forever loading. So now a new factor is added to value, and value affects demand, and demand falls upon the best usually.

Now used in the MUD ArmageddonMUD is a neat economy feature played in through the effective seperation and databasing of cities. One city may pay more for something and less for other things, while at the same time selling things for less and selling things for more. City A may buy gold for 100 dollars per chunk, while City B will pay 200. At the same time City B sells gold jewelry for 150 dollars a piece, while City A will sell for 175.

You get the point. Taxes through item type are a great way to stimulate market environments. For example if you have a city in your game that mass produces weapons, obviously their shopkeepers will pay less. While a city on the frontier might be in desperate need of weapons.

02-21-2004, 09:50 PM	#7
Jenred Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 55	Supply and demand, the basis of economics is easily facilitated in MUDs. But first you have a couple of questions, what creates demand? what creates supply? The first is easy, whats in demand (in most ROM, stat/number driven muds) is what makes you better. A sword of damage +100 is going to be more demanded then a sword of damage +10. And similarly a breastplate of intelligence +100 is going to be more in demand then a breastplate of intelligence +10. Now what creates supply? This depends sometimes what MUD your playing. If its player-craft based... i.e. everything in the game is predominantly player made then its a bit harder. But for most Muds I've seen the best items are loaded on mobs, or sold in shops. Meaning that supply is created by the code through certain situations. Moving on, a decreased supply will increase demand. An increase demand will obviously decrease supply. But in the aforementioned scenario there is hiccup. What happens when supply is limitless? The normal rules of economics don't really apply when the conditions are changed. If the 'Super Sword of Fire +1' will always load atop the easily ascended mountain, the demand may be both high and easily filled. And soon everyone has a super sword of fire +1. Did you see what happened there? An unlimited supply actually reduces demand in the long-run, when everyone has one. What worth is an item that everyone has? If everyone had ming vases would they be worth anything at a New York auctionhouse? Probably not. But lets say that the sword of fire +1 was guarded on this mountain by the Massive Drake of Slaying. Suddenly the playing field changes. They may NOT be so easy to come by, and supply becomes limited to those that can get them and they may or may not wish to sell them, driving up the price, and creating an economy based on value as determined by cost to acquire. Value based on cost to acquire drives up the price, as the item's value as perceived by the person getting it, must be higher then the value of their time and energy exerted. If the cost to acquire was 5 minutes and pill of haste, then a few minutes healing after, the value of the item will be less, as more and more people would be able to get it. So from this model you have a scale of naturally progressing items. Easy to obtain items are often made weak, making the value less as determined by the stats of the item. With the scale rising until you get to the 'best' items in the game. Which are probably the hardest to obtain, obviously most demanded, and subsequently the most expensive. To create demand the items must be good, and useful. No one will pay buko bucks for a hat that looks pretty but doesn't do anything for them in some respect. But that can also vary on what usefulness means to the person. A collector might want it, or any of a number of people, but Im gojng on generally preceived majorities. Now a nifty thing, used in the mud Feudal Realms, is a 'maxload' feature. The rarest items are added a maxload flag, with a defined number of 'loads' before it reaches maximum. This said, its now possible to make the super ring of invisability load only 10 times on the demon of darkness before he stops wearing it. Making the item that much more valuable as its quantities are now limited. (See above about what creates supply). So supply is now exhaustable in an extreme sense, as opposed to forever loading. So now a new factor is added to value, and value affects demand, and demand falls upon the best usually. Now used in the MUD ArmageddonMUD is a neat economy feature played in through the effective seperation and databasing of cities. One city may pay more for something and less for other things, while at the same time selling things for less and selling things for more. City A may buy gold for 100 dollars per chunk, while City B will pay 200. At the same time City B sells gold jewelry for 150 dollars a piece, while City A will sell for 175. You get the point. Taxes through item type are a great way to stimulate market environments. For example if you have a city in your game that mass produces weapons, obviously their shopkeepers will pay less. While a city on the frontier might be in desperate need of weapons.