Mount&Blade: Warband > Rigale [S]

[Idea] Economic Overhaul

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Ogrecorps:
It was strongly recommended that I present these ideas here like I did in the Floris Mod Pack, to you CromCrom, as you are considered similarly skilled, active, and interested in innovation. So here goes:

With respect to the historical accuracy of the game, it would be nice if trading and starting enterprises were more interesting sources of income. Because of fluctuating prices for pretty much everything but velvet the player who wants 'set and forget' enterprises is forced to go with that since keeping other options supplied and/or selling off their goods at the most profitable locations is incredibly time-consuming. Trading around the map is fun but for many goods it seems like the best buying price is too close to the best selling price when the unpredictable variances in said prices occur. I keep seeing most of the goods available for prices too similar to bother with leaving iron and salt as the two most reliable goods: they are produced cheaply and consistently in certain places and consumed hungrily elsewhere. It's gotten to the point that I don't look at other goods when I come into a town trading.

In essence, IMHO, the commercial side of Warband consists entirely of setting up dyeworks everywhere but Jelkala, and trading in just a few goods in the same places. I have wandered the forum extensively and brought together here a whole bunch of ideas I like for fixing this issue.

For ease of reading I have provided a digest version of the ideas detailed in the Assemblage below. Some of it won't really make sense without the details but this is just to give the broad strokes of each concept. The '--->' symbol means that the next idea is dependent in some form on the idea above it, basically that the first idea carries over into the next one. The abbreviation 'PC' means 'player character.' I point this out because I refer to the player and the player character separately on purpose. This is to show what efforts the player has to go through in-game to achieve what benefits for their character. Each idea in this digest is linked to a separate thread to discuss that one idea.

Concept  Player Gives  Player Gets Sir Smokey-inspired Town and Merchant Prosperity --->
Cities and merchants have a prosperity rating that can be affected by PC investments.  Investments in merchants  Better goods, more merchant money available, profit on caravans, more tax revenue, improved relation with city. Guild Masters as Merchant Banks --->
Guild masters act as banks, holding money until the PC or a companion comes to get it. Too much money for too long in a city with poor relations to PC causes some to be lost.  Risk of having funds skimmed, interest on loans  Realism, access to loans of increasing size Companion Caravans --->
Companions can be entrusted with caravans and given detailed instructions that include picking up coin from guild masters and making deliveries both to and from enterprises.  Goods, cash, time and effort spent studying prices and plotting a trade route, risks degrading city relations with too much success  Trade caravans that double as a personal courier service to deliver goods and coin Traveling Merchant's Ledger --->
A book that allows a player to track goods prices, transactions, trade routes, and all the events of a companion caravan's journey.  Money to book merchant, traveling to towns  Ability to track all financial matters involved in, is required to plot instructions for and dispatch companion caravans. Shifting Trade Patterns
The economic conditions vary slightly - just like the politics already do - from game to game. With the Traveling Merchant's Ledger finding the primary producers of a good will not be too difficult but without it this is probably a wasted idea.  Always knowing from game to game what is produce where.  Realism, replayability.  Buying/Selling Arms, Armor, and Horses
When a lord is raising troops demand for arms and armor goes up a little bit across all friendly cities but it's best to sell directly to him.  Money to merchants  Highly lucrative trade good when the correct (recently beaten) lord is found. Trading outside Calradia
PC may invest in royal trade expeditions to places unnamed for profit.  Invests in expedition  Cut of the profits and, barring the rare but unavoidable disaster, there are always profits. Merchant of War
Allows a player a wide range of tools to use wealth to manipulate and even destroy factions.  Countless large investments  The power to, through use of dastardly plots and a whole lot of money, crush the whole world in his/her palm. Ingolifs-Inspired Village Rework
Villages can be set the tasks of becoming richer or stronger or a combination of those two.  Numerous investments, some time and effort  Better recruits, more and better trade, more tax revenue. City Investments
Improve city prosperity and recruit quality.  Investments  More tax income, better city recruits, more soldiers during sieges.
In another thread is the Assemblage, the detailed collection of ideas that make up my personal vision for improving the economic system of M&B Warband. I have incorporated a number of other people's ideas and given them credit. Since it is MY PERSONAL VISION I will not be including ideas I do not like. If you have something new start a thread so it can be discussed properly, on its own, and post the link in a comment below, I'll take a look.

Nordous:
It's impressive, but I guess it makes more sense after acknowledging the full concept...

schmidy:
Wow...

Great layout.

Some fantastic idea's there and I really do hope that some of them get Rigale as there is so much more that can be done in the economical factors of Calradia.

Ogrecorps:

--- Quote from: Nordous on March 30, 2011, 02:23:23 PM ---It's impressive, but I guess it makes more sense after acknowledging the full concept...

--- End quote ---

--- Quote from: schmidy on March 30, 2011, 02:24:06 PM ---Wow...

Great layout.

Some fantastic idea's there and I really do hope that some of them get Rigale as there is so much more that can be done in the economical factors of Calradia.

--- End quote ---
Thank you, thank you. I learned the layout here after hitting "Help."

Cromcrom:

--- Quote ---as you are considered similarly skilled, active, and interested in innovation.
--- End quote ---
:shock: :D :lol: :oops:
And its very nice to meet you too  :mrgreen:
First of all, I want to thank you for sharing this beautifull post of ideas.
Then, thank you for linking to the forum tweaks.

Please forgive me for this hasty answer, as I didn't thoroughly read through all the links. BUt nonetheless, here are my basics thoughts:

Some features seem really within my skill and interest range:
Trading outside Calradia (although, what would be the point of earning a huge amount of money ? There must be a way to spend it. Actually, Merchant of war feature could be a good way...)
Guild Masters as Merchant Banks
Ingolifs-Inspired Village Rework
City Investments

So I would say, a V 0.x could very much be trade centered.

The other subjects are still beyond my coding skills and comprehension of inner game functionning. THIS is right now what prevents me to add deep game changes, like factions interactions and trade. This is not my specialty so far.

Then, there is ONE GOLDEN RULE about Rigale, and me in particular: PLEASE DON'T EXPECT ANYTHING.
I mod as a leisure, for my pleasure. So I sometimes can change my mind really fast, or find bugs, or abandon an idea, or go heads on on a new one (heirloom feature is the most recent and perfect example).
That of course doesn't prevent oyu from posting and sharing your ideas, but it does prevent me from having to do anything  :mrgreen:

To conclude, some of the features here seems pretty easy to do, and will probably make it into rigale in the mid term (within two or three versions). Others might make it, but in a much longer term...

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