What do people think of the idea of different forms of currency? Much the same thing as my previous post about Language, I think, but Ill post it any way.

I'd really like to make various forms of currency, to help stress the change when one changes the state that they are in, to make each nation seems more different, and to make the choice to move to a different nation a big one.

I was thinking it could possibly be done by simply making the player 'buy' a different object at a certain cost, and that object would be the coinage of another nation, but then how could I get you to use that object when purchasing instead of the other money? Any idea's about how to do this, or another way of accomplishing the same thing?

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He stood, paralysed as the beauty of the pattern unfolded under pressure, the hectic chaos forming designs more intricate then the smallest smile.

Or just doing away with currency altogether. A Silent Fall does not have any shops or any other need for currency in that manner; I felt a game where you play a martial arts expert doesn't require the endless upgrading of armor and weaponry present in so many RPGs. As for spells, items, etc, well those are found or won through your deeds, not just by going around and killing things.

I do however like the idea of splitting a game's money into different currencies.

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People who claim the sky is falling obviously aren't aware the earth is falling, too.

Yes, the Secret of Evermore effect is quite nice and I am sure it is desirable by some people. As to how one would go about doing this, I don't know.

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Was it the Chad?
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Make sure you visit the Coldstone Hotline Server run by GlueBubble. The IP is:
65.4.86.190

Well, you could set up all of your shops as trading posts and trade using different currencies, making the currency of other nations worth zip in different countries...

-cybergnu

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"The Gnuey Boy"

I meant how would you actually set out the events to do that in coldstone? But since nobody can answer that without violating the beta tester silence, I don't know why I asked it anyways =).

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Was it the Chad?
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Make sure you visit the Coldstone Hotline Server run by GlueBubble. The IP is:
65.4.86.190

Quote

Originally posted by DarkBlade:
**I meant how would you actually set out the events to do that in coldstone? But since nobody can answer that without violating the beta tester silence, I don't know why I asked it anyways =).

**

Dee and/or Andrew would give permission on some minor things, or else this entire board would just be usefull only for innacurate and potentialy harmful rumors, I'm sure they have both recieved many emails asking permission to answer questions.

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Placeholder Signature

In Everquest there were several different types of coins that were used worldwide..
Copper
Silver
Gold
Platinum

10 copper coins equalled a silver, 10 silver equalled a gold, and so on. You could exchange coins at banks for easier carrying. For instance, I have a thousand copper coins, and they are pretty heavy. In fact, my High Elf Paladin can barely carry em. So I stop by the bank and upgrade my coins, easier to trade with other players and easier to carry.
I hope we can make gold be deposited somewhere, or at least make it weigh something.

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"Oh....Talia is it? What a....a pleasant surprise. I did not expect---"
"Neither did your guards--- judging by the look of shock pasted on their lifeless faces"

Hmmm, that is pretty cool. But what I was thinking over was more a certain type of coin that was only accepted in one place, and another only accepted in another place, so that (just like in ancient times, and modern for that matter) when you go to a different state, you would have to go to a money changer, to convert your coinage. Of course they would skim a little of the top, and that, and just the trouble of changing currency would make the idea to go over to a different state a big thing, to just 'Hmm, i'm bored, I know, i'll check out what's going down in state X.

The reason for this is because I want the player to understand the signifigance of moving to a different state, there would be hassals with citizenship, family ties and rivalries, new currency, possibly different langauge, and many other difficulties. I think this would make it more of an adventure, if simply changing the state you are in is such a big thing, i believe the player would respect it more, and enjoy it more when it does happen.
Anyone think of any other ways I could make players respect the change?

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"For Example: Sunny days make me happy, rainy days make me sad." "But you can have fun on a rainy day too." "Your truth can be changed simply by how you accept it." "That is how fragile truth is for a human being."

This currency idea kicks a$$...
I'm not so into this Coldstone thing, but I'm really looking forward to it. Could anyone mail me some information, more than the info found on the Cpldstone page?

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Is EV Nova out yet? No? Then I'll go back to sleep...

Quote

Originally posted by Mashish:
**But what I was thinking over was more a certain type of coin that was only accepted in one place,
**

In "classical times" (Ptolemaic through Roman Empire anyway) Egypt operated on just such a closed economy. You had to check in at the official money changer and swap your denarii, or owls or whatever for Egyptian funds (silver tetradrachm based since Ptolemy I) and then spend 'em or swap em again on the way out. Highly profitable for Egypt, a constant annoyance for merchants.

The other classical civ. biggie was the tax Jews paid at the temple in Jerusalem. Had to be paid in the Shekel of Tyre, which was known for the quality of it's silver (Those priests were nobody's fools). Hence the famous money changers in the temple precinct.

There is quite a bit of primary source material available for those interested in historical accuracy. Exchange rates, reports of dishonest money changers, and so forth. For the truely obsessive, one could even explore the laws governing the bronze-silver exchange rate which could vary depending on the value of the thing being bought or sold. (The fish sellers of Rome were evidently a problem in this regard.)

Cheers,

-bc

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Heya JustBill, great to see another interested in antiquity
Yeah, Athens did something like what you discribe in egypt, for a while at the height of their power. They declared that only athenian coinage may be used throught Athens and her subject states, which meant a big boost to the already thriving Athenian economy.

One of my favorite examples of trading (that I just have to mention) is from Babylon. Since they wrote on clay tablets, and drew up all their contracts and trade deals on clay tablets, they had a problem with people getting the original and rubbing water over part of it to rub out what was there, and then right in a new number, say changing "So-and-so owes me three sheep", to "So-and-so owes me five sheep.", and since it was on the contract, it would be legally binding. So they started to make a larger hollow tablet, and slip the original in there, and copy it out onto the front of the outer one, so that if a question arose, they could smash the outer, and consult the original. Archeologist did this to some completely intact ones, and found that the outside was indeed different from the original in alot of cases </useless story>

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"For Example: Sunny days make me happy, rainy days make me sad." "But you can have fun on a rainy day too." "Your truth can be changed simply by how you accept it." "That is how fragile truth is for a human being."

actually, in a previous post on the Skill Systems thread, I found another possible use for multiple currencies. If you plan on developing a skill system based on awarding skill points per level, which can be used to "buy" new skill at a trainer, etc. then you might want another type of currency that could be stored with your player's data to record your current number of skill points, just like gold or credits or XP. That would involve carrying more than one type of "currency" with you, which I'm not sure you can do in Coldstone. If any of the beta testers are allowed to say that much (or anybody else), I'd be very interested in finding out.

if it's not possible to store various types of data with your player (like the skill points thing), it would make a lot of things either impossible, or needlessly difficult to implement in CS. once again, this is just aimless pondering. But I like your ideas about the nation-switching...

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Jedi

HA HA I know how and I'm not a tester so I never agreed not to tell!!!

It's simple! It's plain logic that certain shops will be able to carry certain goods, and only buy and sell certain things. That was something the old coldstone, and almost any RPG could do.

So, the answer? Simple. Have coins treated as items, to be exchanged for purchased items, but shops in this area don't take this item (coin of another area) so you can't buy things with it.

Using diffrent forms of currency will be a major part of my upcoming RPG, and I allready know how with common sense, as opposed to asking a tester. Coldstone won't just be a list of presets, remember, you can make your own entire interface. Not just choose from a list of preset ones. You don't even have to use the standard way of buying and selling. Anyone who has read the FAQ would know that.

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Madman 2000 tip of the day. (more tips) (stop showing tips)

Quote

Originally posted by Madman:
**HA HA I know how and I'm not a tester so I never agreed not to tell!!!

It's simple! It's plain logic that certain shops will be able to carry certain goods, and only buy and sell certain things. That was something the old coldstone, and almost any RPG could do.

So, the answer? Simple. Have coins treated as items, to be exchanged for purchased items, but shops in this area don't take this item (coin of another area) so you can't buy things with it.

Using diffrent forms of currency will be a major part of my upcoming RPG, and I allready know how with common sense, as opposed to asking a tester. Coldstone won't just be a list of presets, remember, you can make your own entire interface. Not just choose from a list of preset ones. You don't even have to use the standard way of buying and selling. Anyone who has read the FAQ would know that.
**

Madman, please. 'Common sense' does not lead one down the road of understanding but most often erects erroneous barriers to understanding. 'Common sense' denies, nay, forbids the two pillars of modern physics: relativity and quantum theory.

As you said, you are not a beta tester so you should refrain from making such strong assertions as to the contents of Coldstone. At best you've guessed right... At worst you are totally misleading folks.

Please, this is a gentle reminder to rein in your exuberance

Skip

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...it wasn't me...

Quote

Originally posted by Madman:
**Coldstone won't just be a list of presets, remember, you can make your own entire interface. Not just choose from a list of preset ones. You don't even have to use the standard way of buying and selling. Anyone who has read the FAQ would know that.

**

yes, I do remeber that Coldstone is "fully editable," and that it is a far cry from a campain editor for a pre-made game or something of that ilk. And yes, I have read the FAQ, however, it does not specify that you can store extra data such as the type that I have in mind (unless of course all forms of currency/data will be stored as a type of item, in which case this question is mute).

the FAQ was actually a little vague on that area... But you are right. It is common sense that something as trivial as that could be done with a program as powerful as CS, but I just haven't seen it anywhere in writing, so I'm still a little curious. However, if you are in fact "in the know," then that's good enough for me. I'm sure all my little fears will be alieviated when CS is released in finalized form.

thanks for the info

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Jedi

It's not even that complex. The "old" coldstone could do such a thing, and it's so easy. So many RPGs have done this. Not involving the use of different forms of currency, but using coins or other forms of money as items, that would be traded for other items, if the shop deals with that spesific item. The deciding factor that determines this is whether or not different shops could deal in different items. And that's not going to be a major barrier. Even the oldest of RPG shops have been able to deal in different items.

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Madman 2000 tip of the day. (more tips) (stop showing tips)