Coin Presses

[Solfius]

Description / comments:

02/01/03 Created by Rich Wigmore

Source: Rob Maule [shadowspirit12@hotmail.com] (Email)

I think that there should be a coin press or something like that in the game. That way we could exchange money made from iron or whatever. Maybe a logo or something could be engraved on the coin. Something that could not be reproduced except by the treasury.


02/01/03 Move to Programming Department by Suggestions Gatekeeper (Rich Wigmore)

I know this type of thing has been suggested before, but never (to my knowledge) from THIS angle. I kinda like the idea of the Personalized Coin Press.

[Rob Maule]

For some reason, I like this idea. But now that I look back on it, maybe we wouldn't need the coins to be perfectly unique. Just whatever the project initiator wrote down. Say, 5 bucks or 100 bucks. If someone else had a press, they could make counterfeit money. It would be up to the government to shut that press down. As it is, money in real life is created and controlled by the government. If I scan a twenty dollar bill and print out copies, they're gonna come after me.

And who says that only metal can be coins. It's only the case nowadays because metals are harder to find than other resources. In Cantr, it could be possible to make coins out of metals, wood, even stone. And if you don't need the money anymore, they could still be used as a resource. Say the government toppled. Now all your coins are useless. Just use those wooden nickels in your dung-fork project!

Now while this idea may sound good, you have to think about whether money is already possible in Cantr already. And it is. But it's a system with a catch. Money can be created by anyone. But there is a way to tell if the money you carry is real or not. In that way, the current system works. In another, it fails somewhat. If you wanted to give someone 100 dollars now, you'd be doing 100 transactions. Using my idea, coins would become a resource of sorts and you could give them to someone like you give away wood. All at once. And no one would know exactly how much you paid for something either. Much like no one standing around my town would know whether I paid 1 or 2 dollars for a hotdog.

[swymir]

Maybe have the coins personalized from the Id of the press. For expample give the press an ID # like a mailbox that way people know that only money printed from certain presses is ligit. Every coin minted from that press would carry the same ID #.

[Rob Maule]

A good idea. But can't people in real life mint their own coins, as long as they had the expensive equipment to do so? Adding the possiblity to make forgeries gives a more balanced feel to the game, in my opinion. Much like documents right now. My character could draw up a contract and sign your name to it. The only thing that's stopping him is that everyone would know that the signing by your character nevre took place. It would up to the authorities to decide if it was legit. That's why I think coins should be under the same scrutiny. Nothing is perfect, so I don't believe that code should be programmed in to make it that way. Still a good idea, not bashing.

[ephiroll]

A coin press is something that I tried to push sometime ago, and the idea has been discussed several times. I think that one of the biggest objections to it involved the number of objects in a chars inventory, 100 coins=100 objects, but couldn't they be "stacked" like grams of resources? After all, 100g of a resources doesn't put 100 objects into your inventory.

[Cosmo Harrigan]

The implementation of a coin press is already in the queue of programming projects.

[Rob Maule]

A coin press is something that I tried to push sometime ago, and the idea has been discussed several times. I think that one of the biggest objections to it involved the number of objects in a chars inventory, 100 coins=100 objects, but couldn't they be "stacked" like grams of resources? After all, 100g of a resources doesn't put 100 objects into your inventory.

My thoughts exactly. Jerry, you're so smart.

[Solfius]

Yeah, I knew it was already on the cards, but bringing it to the fore doesn't hurt.

Coins would definately have to be stackable.

Non-metal coins would only be able to work with the press if you can press them like you can with metal: wood would splinter and stone crack if you put them in a coin press suitable to make metal coins.

I think both personalised and non-personal presses should be introduced

[Rob Maule]

Well, no one said Cantr had to mimic real life physics. Things could be changed for gaming purposes. Maybe in Cantr, you could press stone and wood. For that matter, even food. Only it would rot if you dropped some. And if food ever starts rotting in your inventory, you'd have to keep them cold or cook them to slow the process.

And you wouldn't need to have personalised and non-personal presses. You'd just have the option to inscribe something or leave it blank. It could either be 'a 25 cent coin' or 'a coin.'

[Solfius]

but it might take more materials to make a personalised press than a non perosnlaised one. I always expected the personalised one to need more metal for the press, and maybe be larger

[Rob Maule]

I wouldn't think that a personalized press would be that much more involved. Trying to think of an example... It would be like stepping in mud with dress shoes versus tennis shoes. The first print would be flat. The second would be of the same shape, but with the designs of the tread imprinted. By pressing coins, you're still stamping them into a coin shape. By adding a little design to the press, personalized coins come out.

[Solfius]

then different tools: It's not too hard to make a machine that squahes metal into shape, but some kind of special tool will be needed for the engraving on a personalised one. The question is: what one?

[Báng]

A specialised knife? A chisel? It would have to be something very small so that it would be able to work on the small surface of a coin. But I suppose we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves so there is plenty of time to think.

[Rob Maule]

Well the way coins are made today are by pressing the designs into the metal. They don't ingrave the designs. But there's nothing wrong with that being the case in Cantr. Maybe a chisel could be made and put into the press for personalized coins.

[Solfius]

I meant for engraving the design into the pressing block, not onto the face of the coin itself. Perhaps it could be possible to handmake personalised coins like that? For special awards or something?