Money money money

For what's not in 'Top Priority Game Design'. Post your ideas, visions, suggestions for the game, rules, modifications, etc.

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LienRag
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Money money money

#1 Post by LienRag »

On this old post I found this idea :
Diverse alien races would never use the same currency, so each race should have its own currency that could be converted when dealing with other races.

I know that money as resources has been rejected and so far I didn't mind, but this ? Each Species having a monetary policy that has to take into account the monetary policies of other Species, both in the same Empire and in others ? That's gold !

If someone is versed enough in economy so as to propose a good implementation of it, we should really put it into the game...

(actually I'm not sure that economic theory would prevent different Species to be subject to a common currency, so keeping different monetary systems or trying to unify them - partially or totally - could be a way of managing one's Empire and its inter-species relations)

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Oberlus
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Re: Money money money

#2 Post by Oberlus »

AFAIR, the main problem with currency is that some species won't use any form of currency, money, credits, anything. Think of George for example, George doesn't commerce with himself.
We have influence now.

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LienRag
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Re: Money money money

#3 Post by LienRag »

Non-monetary economic systems exist IRL and AFAIK they're a challenge only to obscurantist economic theories, they are taken into account by others.

Influence can be considered as an abstraction of the economy, that is true.
But the more we abstract, the less leeway we give to precise management (which is the objective when this management would be micromanagement), so it may be interesting to abstract a little less in this area, provided we have a good implementation of monetary politics available.

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Krikkitone
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Re: Money money money

#4 Post by Krikkitone »

I think “money” can be appropriately abstracted* with some type of Trade mechanism that acts as an additional source of Influence (Instead of only population/planet based influence production)

* ie still allowing some interesting control/decisions

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LienRag
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Re: Money money money

#5 Post by LienRag »

LienRag wrote: Sun Jul 11, 2021 3:42 pm Non-monetary economic systems exist IRL and AFAIK they're a challenge only to obscurantist economic theories, they are taken into account by others.

Influence can be considered as an abstraction of the economy, that is true.
But the more we abstract, the less leeway we give to precise management (which is the objective when this management would be micromanagement), so it may be interesting to abstract a little less in this area, provided we have a good implementation of monetary politics available.
Actually that may work with monetary policies I guess...
But I can't think of good ones.

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Geoff the Medio
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Re: Money money money

#6 Post by Geoff the Medio »

LienRag wrote: Tue Mar 15, 2022 9:06 pmActually that may work with monetary policies I guess...
But I can't think of good ones.
Capital Markets and Black Market already are policies. There could be Fiat Currency or Unified Currency policies, perhaps an Entitlements policy (ie. guaranteed income or other government-supplied support equivalent), and perhaps Gift Economy, and then something like Post-Scarcity as an economic system, though I don't really like that name for it...

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Grummel7
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Re: Money money money

#7 Post by Grummel7 »

Most 4X games include some kind of money, starting with Civ at least. Usually it allows to finish some production quickly. I always thought that the concept doesn't make sense. You cannot finish a half-built pyramid in one day, no matter how much money you spend. It reminds me on this IT joke: A project manager is a man who thinks that 9 women can give birth to a child in one month.

Money is surely used within the empire, but at the empire level it is hardly relevant. The imperial stockpile is a way that allows some production to be saved to speed up production when needed. Internally you can imagine that money has a role in it, but there is a limit how much you can spend simply because you cannot hire workers from the outside.

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Oberlus
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Re: Money money money

#8 Post by Oberlus »

+1 Grummel7

Also, some species could be utterly alien to the concepts of money or economic debt. I think money is nice away from FO.

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Re: Money money money

#9 Post by Ophiuchus »

Oberlus wrote: Wed Mar 16, 2022 7:21 pm +1 Grummel7

Also, some species could be utterly alien to the concepts of money or economic debt. I think money is nice away from FO.
+1 i also need to talk with George - how does he actually run the black market with himself?
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Krikkitone
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Re: Money money money

#10 Post by Krikkitone »

Money is really just a specific type of influence.

I see George’s Black Market as being like cheat day on a diet :)

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