CAN'T GET GOLD FROM OTHER TOWN BANKERS

I can hammer out a much longer and more dreary scenario should you require it, but the idea was to make it realistic to the tune of how banking occurred at the time "credit" was first extended, not the ursury that happens today. The idea being to nod to needing to be consistent with the world story and still provide a reasonable level of convenience in supporting inter-regional trade.

 

H&R Britannia?

 

One thing I really like about this idea is that it would also make the introduction of player made gold easier to integrate with the NPC banks. Much like NPC Vendors could be undercut by players that sell or buy for lower prices than NPC's, so too could the player run banks attempt to distribute their own coins in this way.

I think this has some interesting potential.

 

Someone mentioned it earlier: +1 for ATM fees. It does not break the regional economy plan and still makes life a little better for players.

 

This is exactly how the "slippery" slope things happen and we end up teleporting all over the game with our limitless free storage accessible from anywhere.

 

Actually, this is a pretty good example of the slippery slope (perfectionist) fallacy.

 

Bank working this way has three important effects:

1) it's realistic. And I LOVE anything that is realistic. so a medieval simulator? why not + magic, ok.
2) it's balancing. Means anyone must work hard to travel, and gather money from trading. As in real life, anyway. So, in a medieval world? even more difficult.
But there is a reward: less competition, more money.
3) it's risky. risky business, it's cool. adds new opportunities.

 

I get that, and it makes sense. But anyone who has followed the history of MMORPGs closely can see quite plainly how minor changes like this ultimately led to the downfall of the open world.

Once you make a minor compromise for convenience, then you make more and more. It doesn't happen immediately, but it does happen.

 

Maybe if we can't carry it all over the world. Perhaps, create a banking interest that we get to hold gold in certain banks.
I would like to see a banking system to borrow gold, like have loans to get gold and pay it back within a certain time.
To teach people how to balance money in the Real World. If you are planning on making it more realistic.
I put gold in one bank and I don't remember why I stash the rest, loosing my hard earn gold.

 

Every Banker will show everything in your bank (local or not). It'll list the item and the items location next to it.
If its not highlighted white then its in another bank and it tells you where.

As for incorporating a more robust banking and economy system, I'm in! Its not a necessity but its more fun stuff, maybe not ep1, or even ep2 but someday...maybe.

 

Actually, this is inaccurate as well; not only have "convenience" services that mirror real world counterparts effective, they were the underpinnings of the microtrans and pledge-based development path (which has made games like this one POSSIBLE).

I believe it was LoTRO that first demonstrated for the US that adding convenience based services could counter a collapse that otherwise closes a game offering's doors. Indeed, the first quarter after implementation, they saw a 500% revenue increase directly from those items (i.e., strictly convenience or vanity/collectible based, etc).

Since this is the same general pattern SOTA is following with limited edition store items, etc, it stands to reason they could benefit as well from offering other conveniences around supporting ease in commerce.

If the current banker can tell me where a thing is IN ALL THE WORLD, they it stands to reason that they should be able to convey it to me for a nominal fee as part of their service offering. I mean, sheesh, we have MOONGATES.... you're going to tell me no enterprising business person has figured out yet that they could make a tidy living on using a small moongate to move a customer's items and money through the banking system? (Or a modified version that is in a dark room so it can always be active to same effect?)

(grin)

 

We also have mages that can transport you from one end of a inconvenient pass to the other side for a nominal fee. Nominal can be objective. This is one of the fees you would be avoiding by paying the banker and since he knows this, maybe he will tag on some additional fees to his services. Since he is providing you with a convenience. So it will be a nominally fee that you will be paying him - from his stand point.

 

It would make sense for banks to keep credit, and allow you to withdraw coins at any bank based on your available credit. Currency shouldn't be treated the same way as other items. Of course, certain forms of currency would probably need to be exchanged first.

At any rate, as for gold from sales... I think the vendor who sold your stuff should hold the gold on him, and you should have to pick it up from him. It should only go to the bank if the vendor was removed.

 

@Chris

Perfect set up for a "tweakable" gold sieve should Portalarium need one to maintain a handle on world economy, yes. I'm glad it was easy enough to pick up that you say it so quickly.

 

And of course, if it's expensive enough, most will not use it so the regional economy can be kept and only those who are wealthy could use the service. Yes, very good for the general public as well

 

I suppose that could happen, too... but my hope would be that it would more encourage inter-regional trade rather than be so cumbersome that trade never grows much beyond its region and people decide to only trade near home. Let's face it, in a game like Eve Online, you have a legitimate reason for regional economies because it's frakking MASSIVE and you can build striated economies and use them to slow down anything from content exhaustion to a balance in power that leads to stasis of depth enough to drive away players. But to have a regional economy without a corresponding check-and-balance world economy that you can also use as stop (or prop) an area, region, etc? That would be a real opportunity missed both for on the fly game management as well as incented time or gold sinks in drips, rivulets, or rivers. The ability to react in realtime to an exploit itself would save significant amounts of support and fraud time to find and fix.

It's not just about we the players; there are definite benefits to have more than one way to manage against content exhaustion and related game economics.

 

I'm not against the idea of banks "wiring" you the money across the world, since money is fungible. But there should be some fee (like 2%-5%) for the service of withdrawing money from another bank.

I'd also be happy if an unsold item on the public vendor was returned to the bank intact, and not "refunded". It's going to take up a bank slot anyhow, it just won't have a notation of why it ended up bank in your bank, unless they go out of the way to have the bank keep that information for non-gold items.