Leaders the time has come to discuss CURRENCY!

[Redemp]

[QUOTE=xyva424;49425]I have a sneaking hunch nails and screws will become our common currency and then less common but more useful items will become currency as well. So we might end up with 50~100 nails being worth 1~2 tarps and then some expensive suit of armor would cost so many tarps or its equivalence in nails or screws or other more or less common substitute. Then we will have traders working exchange rates to buy low and sell high while getting more and more for themselves so they can then purchase what ever goods or services they're after. A world bank moderates exchange rates to ensure prices stay fair however we don't need that as traders will create their own rates that may fluctuate based on supply and demand as well as trust and relations.[/QUOTE]

I agree with those who have stated nails etc will become the currency, and to those who state the currency will be different in other regions. I am completely against any Dev intervention in setting a global currency, this is the fun we get to have in game establishing. I also do not think any tribal get together, alliance or forum post will determine the currency. I will trade for what I need most, and offer what is most needed in return ... if those items become currency, so be it.

[randomt]

We have the makings of a nice complex barter system based currency, economic orientated players everywhere will rejoice! No need to settle on some arbitrary item of value, this way will be much more interesting!

[Funkadelik]

Hmmm. I was thinking about currencies. Barter trade is ineffecient because of the double-coincidence of need. However, tribes must be well established and put out enough goods to make their money valuable. And then we need a stock market system and business suits.

[Snickle1980]

Those that speak highly of a central banking system controlled by 1 tribe or 20 either [I]don't understand[/I] the long term consequences and how this works in the real world...or, [I]conversly [/I]know full and well what this would do to the power structure within the game and wish to see it rise to power.
whoever controls the currency and the value of goods within the game will hold a great deal of power and will make themselves wealthy by accepting actual goods for this "currency".

to trade, do business and along the way, advance yourself, you would have to go through this tribe or agency. this isnt something that happens over a short period of time, but once it's created and accepted, it does happen.

this tribe or group of tribes would also begin to grow larger day by day. it's good to be a member and have access to a huge stockpile of commodities while handing out buttons and bottle caps.

after a period of time, your tribe will either be with them and the benefits they offer, or you will be on the outside. and you will be outnumbered. as a matter of fact, if you try to break down the currency system set up, you'll be seen as a nuisance to those that work within the system.

thats just how it works. in real life, in other mmo's and it may be how it plays out here. it's actually more likely to happen than not and the dynamics of how it happens may be completely different than what we expect. the above is just one example of how a group of people can come to power over a period of time and it's going to be fun watchin how this plays out.

personaly, i think the xsyon community will absolutely create and support one large and powerful guild/tribe to avoid inconveniences or to be part of a power base. quite a few people will complain, but you always have the option of opting out of that system and living outside of that society.

in the meantime, lets see what gets coded in that may effect this. that would be the only wild-card in this equation.

[Andius]

I've gone really into detail on currency in a topic about the economy under the features section but I'll detail it out here as well, and soon I will be posting a suggestion.

As is, none of the items in game are fit for use as a regular currency in my opinion.

Dollars/coins/bottcaps/beer tabs may be intended to be this games version of currency but there is a reason people aren't accepting them here like they do in other games. Because they are worthless, and as they are constantly flowing onto the market from scavenging, inflation will really punish anyone who accepts these as currencies. You sell your saw for 50 dollars today. It will be worth 150 dollars down the road because the money already in the market will stay in the market, and more is constantly flowing in. However you are still stuck with 50 dollars instead of the saw now worth 150 dollars. Why would you accept a currency like that?

On the other hand items with real value, like nails, skrews, leather etc. will weigh a ton and take up a lot of stacks in your inventory.

What we need is a currency backed by something of real worth, that is easy to carry around and fits into one stack. What do I propose as a solution? We should petition for the creation of player made currencies. Now this may sound crazy at first. But this is exactly how the real economy works. Players can create their own currency if they wish to, and they can then do things that will give it value, or do things that will keep it about as useful as monopoly money. It could become a currency of real value when its controlled by someone who prints the money responsibly and may even back the money with a reserve of things like leather and nails, to avoid inflation, and that currency is then accepted as legal tender by major allied tribes and players.

Sure it might pan out so there are many different kinds of currency out their being used as opposed to one single currency like in most MMOs, but it would be very realistic and give this game a unique flavor never before seen in an MMO. EVERYTHING about this game would be fully controlled by players, even what kind of currencies are accepted and how valuable they are. Wouldn't that be something?

[Monfols]

I only pay in nature.

[blake378]

[QUOTE=Monfols;68827]I only pay in nature.[/QUOTE]

does this have some meaning? i like the barter system myself until something has real value to it.

[Dubanka]

currency cann only evolve once a trade system evolves, which involves some semblance of organization on the players part, and a level of scarceness of resources that forces players to either trade with one another, or war, to obtain that resource.

then it is up the players to decide if some sort of common currence evolves from that trade.

imo that will only happen if there is value to the item that supercedes all others...but doesn't actually do anything by itself. THis is where precious metals and jewels come in, that have 'stat mod' effects (to persons or gear) when applied to equipment or jewelry.

I don't think you'll see a rise of a substitutionary currency just because.

[Donar]

For currency to take place in a primitive world it needs to be backed up by something. Back in the day gold coins were in fact, gold, so they had some value. Dollars until relatively recently were backed by gold and silver.


We can't just "assign" a value, those coins and paper are as worthless now as paper and scrap metal; unless for example the devs introduce something like a pack mule to be sold by an NPC.

For example, if the pack mule were to be priced at $1000, we can derive value for other things having that pack mule as reference, for example, a nail might be worth 1/1000 of a pack mule, so the value would be $1. With the demand of money, and the short supply, the bills would become another commodity and have value themselves; but first we need some kind of comparison point to determine a currency.

Another way of establishing currency would be to have a tribe specialize in working as a bank, issuing money and having it backed up by small logs or another resource, therefore anyone that comes in contact with a dollar can go to that tribe and redeem it for X amount of logs, or 1/X amount of logs.

Then again, the dollars collected by the tribe would only serve as a RP element rather than to buy something to issue it as an IOU.

So...currency? Tricky situation. But I'm willing to work in establishing a bank of some sort with the knowledge of economics that I have; PM if you are really interested, no trolls please. If we are to really establish some kind of currency this early in the game it'll have to be in agreement with a lot of tribes and some kind of commitment will be expected.

Or we can just stick to Bartering, assigning value to things according to the need of each individual tribe.

Some tribes value nails more than others, others have a special need for wood. Bla bla bla, I could go on forever.

[QUOTE=xyva424;49425]I have a sneaking hunch nails and screws will become our common currency and then less common but more useful items will become currency as well. So we might end up with 50~100 nails being worth 1~2 tarps and then some expensive suit of armor would cost so many tarps or its equivalence in nails or screws or other more or less common substitute. Then we will have traders working exchange rates to buy low and sell high while getting more and more for themselves so they can then purchase what ever goods or services they're after. A world bank moderates exchange rates to ensure prices stay fair however we don't need that as traders will create their own rates that may fluctuate based on supply and demand as well as trust and relations.[/QUOTE]


Yeah, that's bartering.

"Exchange rates" are subjective and answer to supply and demand, bro.

[Dontaze_Mebro]

Destroy all the junkpiles and trees to give them value then we will talk dollars and tabs.