Dynamic economy

[Coin]

Before y'all get mad at the amount of coding this would take, please bear in mind that my coding skills are non-existant.

Preamble
One of the original game concepts was a dynamic economy: if a player had docked before you and sold 5000 units of commodity, the market price would drop for a while. This novel idea was omitted due to technical difficulties.

Objective
My idea is that a players faction reputation influences commodity prices in the same way that it influences the guns and equipment you can buy:
Selling:
If a player is barely neutral, he suffers a 5% lower price, pure neutral players have no multiplier, almost friendly 5% higher, and very friendly 10% higher.
Buying:
the reverse maths is applied.
barely neutral pay 5% more, pure neutral pay regular price, almost friendly 5% less and very friendly 10% less.

Result
1. This would create a new class of RP-player - Merchants - who buy items from traders and give better prices than they would receive from the faction commodity dealer.
2.Furthermore, the faction economy would act as a trade tariff on imports and exports between the houses, providing more income for the merchant players.
3. I managed to reach a neutral rep with everyone (apart from faction guards and xenos) in SP, so i was able to enter systems without NPC molestation. However, to get the order of my back i had to kill bounty hunters, but when i sold my xeno pilots to Deshima station, I received the regular price. Had i suffered from this reputation penalty, then a new player could have acted as an intermediary. The level 30 cap on piracy is good, but building up the cash for a percheron can take a while.
This faction-based economy would mean that new players are actively sought out and protected by larger traders to act as customs agents.

Conclusion
As I said above, i can code a little better than a dyslexic snail, but not by much. This may not be possible, and i post it here to see what ideas it ferments.

Coin

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A Day in the Life of an NPC | Coin | The Journal of Caius Oakley | Build Your Dream Boat

[RmJ]

Hmm where have you been all my life?

Yes..a Dynamic economy...something I have only be lobbing for hmm...ever since I got here. Though not so open and bold as this. And it will not only start one RP player but alot.

The technical difficulties can be over come. There are ways to make it work. It would be like a Ship docking and storing the information there.

Edit: there is already some mods that have them

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[Unseelie]

I think Monkey Universe uses a autoupdate system....

I would love to see it happen, would love to volunteer my (unskilled) help. Unfortunately, I seriously doubt it will. Going to go pout in a corner for a while. Hell, I'll volunteer my help anyway. Always willing to help.

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[RmJ]

I will do some research for it. Since the mod I am building will have the same thing.

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[beander2]

This is the kind of issue we've been trying to think through in Gateway, but - due to the limitations of the game/mod - putting it in terms of RP relations between characters.

Since the coding probably wouldn't happen, how might we develop some form of this to operate between players, say with a clearinghouse vessel of sorts (I've considered such a ship for Gateway, to then operate between us and our corporate allies)?

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Sir Alisdair Buchanan, KBE ~ Gateway)Trafalgar

[Tortured_Soul]

Number One: There is, or more accurately was, a modification that enabled this kind of functionality in MP Freelancer, namely the DynEcon mod. Although getting hold of the DynEcon mod is about as easy as repairing a china doll, while the hammer is still being forcably applied to it's face.

Point Bee: Run a search of the forums, you'll find that this topic has come up before, I should know, as far as I remeber I petitioned for it.

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Initial Biography ; Running Story

[bluntpencil2001]

I did make a suggestion for faking it... but noone seemed to care.:(

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[Jonathan_Archer_nx01]

Besides my lost account ID:(, there's nothing I want more than a dynamic economy. It would completely change the way we play freelancer today, make trading much more fun (competition among traders on the same route) and it could possibly bring a new feature to the game - trading with information, mostly among players but NPCs in the bar could also provide the latest tips on trade routes for let's say "some millions" - Yeah, very valuable information.

[Paladorin]

Yes. I remember petitioning for this also...

I suggested that using a FTP app alongside of FL Disc would allow for ini file downloads once per day or week or whatever with random fluxtuations in prices...etc.

I also stated if the freq of changes was a problem then the system admin or FL Hook could simulate market events that were partially random...

Example: A new system notification is posted every couple of hours indicating the Event.

"Diamond shortage in Rheinland Space causes havok" or some such thing.
The ini file values for diamonds in Rheinland skyrockets as a result. And lasts until the next event occurs...etc...

Although not truely dynamic it would add variability to the game and sometimes people who are lucky to get info quickly would make killings...

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On a separate note: I also think the same approach should be used for Equipment and weapons on major bases.

The Supernova on Gammu and other such weapons could be absent from station stock for a period.
Making some items harder to come by.
This could be decided on the rareness and demand of each item... and the factions mfg time in building the unit...
I also think this would be great for Ships ...

So you could have equipment and Ship shortages...at intervals similar to the events logic above...

What do think?

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Name: Melkor
Rank: OPG Scourge's Mate
Fav Ship: Bomber

[OPG]Melkor - GB
[OPG]MelkorII - Praetorian Bomber
[OPG]Melkor-Store - Pirate Transport
Tukor - Titan
Paladorin - Ind. Trader

[Nikolaus]

I have seen dynamic economy in a somewhat similar game, called H[a]rdwar, and yes, as a concept it works rather fine.

I really don't know how it could be implemented into Freelancer, however, it would a nice thing to see. Even tho, by implementing this thing, it woud make life harder for most traders.
I do not object to an increase in difficulty. au contraire

Dynamic economy in H[a]rdwar was a nice thing, and never stopped to amaze us. Even tho market crashing was not implemented, nor scripted as an event, it did happen on its own. Also, after turning Kings into Beggars, And Bums into Emperors, the market recovered on its own. Just like real life. And it was a truly amazing thing to behold.