Coin press

[Appleide]

Well, You don't need a coin press, I'd be fine with keys thank you, and I am going to build a bank

[RyceLandeer]

Go for it

[Camino]

A month goes by and the same topics are still being mauled over.

[The Industriallist]

with html notes I think you could make a note almost impossible to copy and I think notes are a lot more reasonable.

Even without the copy button, if you view the source you can symply copy and paste that, can't you?

I think most modern cantr banks don't use notes, since they are insecure. Of course, that makes them basically useless...

[Psycho Pixie]

uh, forgive me if i missed something, i didnt read the whole 4 pages....

Cantr is on a very successful barter system right now. why would we screw it up with coinage? once coinage and money comes into play we would have to deal with inflation and all that other stuff.

yuck.

PsPi

[kroner]

well, first of all, i'd say the barter system in cantr is in many ways completely unsuccessful and hindering, but regaurdless of your opinion on that, using coinage always makes trade easier.

situation: you have food, i have coal. you want coal. i don't want food, i want leather. there is no trade.
new situation: you have food, i have coal. you want coal. i don't want food, i want leather. you sell your food for money, buy the coal from me and i use the money to buy some leather from someone else.

see? not so complicated.

[Solfius]

we would have to deal with inflation and all that other stuff.

Not if you don't want to. There's absolutely no reason to mimic real life economics. Why not start from basics with a system of your own? If you don't like inflation then don't have it. Economics is one of those things that aren't particularly tangible, so it doesn't matter.

[Anthony Roberts]

Speaking of the economy and inflation...

One of my characters was about to start a form of stock market, with stocks in all the companies at that location, which is quite a few. I think he may eventually start that idea, but there are so many flaws in it.

One: Whatever resources as used would need to all have an equal face value for trade. As in, 1000 limestone would be the same value as 400 potatoes, or so. Of course, people make a system like this already with trade. But with money, it would be easier, having to trade in only one type of resource, and let the people themselves trade what they will for money.

Two: It would be impossible to tell how much a business had actually earned or loss. Of course, this is true in real life as well, but there are accountants and balance sheets and all that jazz to show figures. Cantr business don't dwelve into such things.

Three: The stock market would be unbalanced. Based on what the figures of profit or loss were, how would one determine how to increase or lower the value of the stock?

Four: The owners of the business would need to be awake to state their profit on the day of share value fluctuation. If they wern't, then how would it be known if to increase or decrease the share value?

As you can see, it's obvious a stock market would be BAD to put into the game. What am I getting at, anyway? The point that fluctuation and inflation don't need to be with the Cantr economy, so real life economy doesn't need to be copied at all, I agree. The people should invent their own economy, as to why Cantr is a "Society Simulation".

[The Industriallist]

*Twitches in agony*

First of all, inflation 'and stuff' are not things you have to model, they are things that naturally happen, sometimes at least. If you had money, inflation either would or would not occur, regardless of what you wanted OOC. It is a result of economics, not an inherent fact.
The government did not invent inflation.

Stock markets, at least originally, were actually markets. No one decides what the price ought to be. The price is whatever people are willing to pay.

Economics is not a game where you make up rules and everyone has to follow them. It is a set of theories to (try to) explain what actually happens in the world. What the laws of economics turn out to be in Cantr is beyond the power of the PD, programming department, or resources to decide directly.

Even the hand of Jos can't change the nature of what players want to do.

[Psycho Pixie]

Stock markets, at least originally, were actually markets. No one decides what the price ought to be. The price is whatever people are willing to pay.

Even the hand of Jos can't change the nature of what players want to do.

My point exactly..... lets take steel and iron for instance.

right now on the barter system, people will give more for those items, the standard is a days work for a days work. I have seen people trade rediculous amounts for steel and iron... above and beyond what it costs in days to make the metals.

imagine what would happen if people could charge whatever amount of money they wanted for steel????? the whole system of this game would be upset.

but thats just my humble crazy opinion...

PsPi

[The Industriallist]

Um, don't people with steel charge whatever they want now? You can only buy goods at the price they are offered at, whatever the system is.

[Appleide]

Does anybody in the game actually know how to get steel? Don't tell me though, a yes or no would do fine

[Solfius]

I think loads of people do

Unfortunately my school no longer runs a A level economics course (economics and business studies always reminds me of Cantr) so I'm at a disadvantage talking about economic theory, but I'm interested now, how does inflation work?

Inflation being a rise in prices across an economy, what triggers that?

[The Hunter]

Inflation is not something you choose to have or not. You can steer it, yes, but it's a psychological thing really. It happens, wether you want it or not.

Inflation isn't a rise in prices, per say, it's a drop in value of the used currency, causing prices to rise. It happens because money becomes more common and widespread.
The first big inflation that we know of happened in Spain in the 1600's. The gold fleets came in every year, "flooding" Spain with gold, therefore the gold prices dropped rapidly and thus the value of the gold coins. The huge goldshipments were almost a curse instead of a blessing.

Same thing happens ingame. When steel is rare, prices offered for it are going through the roof, when steel poduction rises, the prices drop steadily. 'T is a supply and demand thing.

[Solfius]

but, if we create and artificial currency, not linked to a commodity, but to something like time, then the value wouldn't fluctuate like that would it?

Creating more currency would be the only way to cause inflation, yet if noone thinks that by increasing the amount in circulation it devalues existing currency then prices would be the same as the percieved value wouldn't change