Re: Olympia - Free Market Economy

From: Edwin Huang <eh1s+@andrew.cmu.edu>

Date: Sun, 21 Jun 1992 21:23:54 +0000

RE: Trade.

Trade is my largest source of money right now after I had diversified and
stop having all my units become entertainers.  But I agree that there should
be some restrictions in having trade the way it is.  I don't like the idea of
free market economies where you go out and haggle all day, however.  I also
dislike the idea of all merchants being PCs or NPCs that you can go rob
kill etc...

Why?
Well first of all, it sorta makes the trader guild  and skill useless.
It's one
thing to find that because of a high trade skill, NPC-merchant had to
settle for a low price, but it's quite another to tell a PC, well yes,
you asked
for this much but you only get that much cause he has a 8 skill in trade and
you don't.

Also, PCs hardly ever trade in my experience. It's stupid to believe that they
are responisble for all the trade that goes on in Olympia.  Free markets lend
themselves to free market manipulation.  Ever play a game of Supremacy?
Let's say that this is not the model I want to follow when I play Olympia.

I do,however, would like trade to stop being a 0-time turn. The way it
works is
Dr. Pain enters an area. The next round, I go to the market and sell my horses
load up all my men with longswords, platemail and shields. Declare myself
co-operative. Organise my stack.  Create more units to help defend me.
All in the space of non-time.

Tony Wayland rushes into the market of Drassa and turns into the stall
labeled "Swords R Us". He slams a purse of gold on the table.and looks
at the merchant square in the eye.

"I want 10 long swords, that bow, 16 crossbows, a suit of plate mail, 35 metal
shields, um.. hm.. gimme a warhorse and a package of camel lights and
this month's issue of the Olympian times." You will give me this price.

Tony Wayland rushes back to the ofices of StarLight Courier.

"Bob, you take the sword and the shield. Here . I want you to have the
crossbows,
Bill, yeah. Hmm.. stack under Smiley he has the best military leadership. What?
Prenola wants to stack under us. well okay, lets declare co-operative...
let's stack
all ready, now let's attack!"

To buy and sell, implies that I am haggling with the merchant for the
best price
my trade skill will allow me.  I should not be able to buy 100 horses,
sell this
pipeweed, give the horses to my trade unit and then study whatever it is I'm
studying in the space of the same time it would take me to just study."

This is my biggest gripe about trade. I had to make it implicit in my idle
command to study for 1 day just because all I was doing  were 0 time
commands which basically would allow no time to pass until I put that
study order in.

I think set and wait and declare should be still 0-time but I have many
reservations about this applying to buy and sell.

-Tony Wayland [572]

References

Re: Olympia - Free Market Economy
morrow@romulus.rutgers.edu (John Morrow)
Wed, 17 Jun 1992 21:52:14 +0000
Re: Olympia - Free Market Economy
rsocia@renaissance.cray.com (Rick Socia)
Wed, 17 Jun 1992 23:43:16 +0000
Re: Olympia - Free Market Economy
morrow@romulus.rutgers.edu (John Morrow)
Fri, 19 Jun 1992 23:43:39 +0000
Re: Olympia - Free Market Economy
srt@aero.org (Scott "TCB" Turner)
Sat, 20 Jun 1992 21:31:41 +0000
Re: Olympia - Free Market Economy
morrow@romulus.rutgers.edu (John Morrow)
Sun, 21 Jun 1992 17:46:47 +0000