Post by irvingco on Jul 3, 2024 16:31:10 GMT
Documented Purpose - a Note from Irving Co.
Attached is the full doc with the details of each industry organized as best as I could should you wish to know more about mechanics. I tried to keep most specific numbers out of it, as I think Patrik and his team have more and better information on how to balance that than I do.
I have played this game for over a year now and it has the best economic dynamics of any game I have ever played. In my playing, I have recognized a few concepts in the real world that are missing in this game. The opportunity to lose, a lack of flexible liquidity, a service based industry with no inputs, a business that exists solely to improve the success of other businesses, a business that has a constantly evolving demand landscape with revolving patent locks, and an opportunity for semi-passive income through delayed revenue. I want to add my own touch to this game to allow it to be fully fleshed out by addressing every one of these holes, and make it a robust experience for players and keep the workload as low as possible for developers to implement. For this reason, I will attempt to limit both new products added and tradeable products in the exchange, and increase utilization of what I believe to be under-appreciated industries.
I will be discussing and presenting some specifics, but mostly concepts as I believe that Patrik and his team would be best utilized in balancing the input amounts, prices, and more. Each industry I propose will be unique, as the 2 main oppositions I have seen Patrik give are a desire to keep exchange complexity down and a feeling of not wanting to just reskin an existent mechanic, both of which I understand. These ideas below honor that, and I hope you enjoy the read!
Special Thanks to Sir Flamealot for his real estate idea, which inspired some of my additions and mechanics. Also TreeCo, who has inspired some of my maritime mechanics (WIP)
Pharmaceuticals
Attached is the full doc with the details of each industry organized as best as I could should you wish to know more about mechanics. I tried to keep most specific numbers out of it, as I think Patrik and his team have more and better information on how to balance that than I do.
I have played this game for over a year now and it has the best economic dynamics of any game I have ever played. In my playing, I have recognized a few concepts in the real world that are missing in this game. The opportunity to lose, a lack of flexible liquidity, a service based industry with no inputs, a business that exists solely to improve the success of other businesses, a business that has a constantly evolving demand landscape with revolving patent locks, and an opportunity for semi-passive income through delayed revenue. I want to add my own touch to this game to allow it to be fully fleshed out by addressing every one of these holes, and make it a robust experience for players and keep the workload as low as possible for developers to implement. For this reason, I will attempt to limit both new products added and tradeable products in the exchange, and increase utilization of what I believe to be under-appreciated industries.
I will be discussing and presenting some specifics, but mostly concepts as I believe that Patrik and his team would be best utilized in balancing the input amounts, prices, and more. Each industry I propose will be unique, as the 2 main oppositions I have seen Patrik give are a desire to keep exchange complexity down and a feeling of not wanting to just reskin an existent mechanic, both of which I understand. These ideas below honor that, and I hope you enjoy the read!
Special Thanks to Sir Flamealot for his real estate idea, which inspired some of my additions and mechanics. Also TreeCo, who has inspired some of my maritime mechanics (WIP)
New Additions Summaries
What are the dynamics watered down?
Private Credit
Player to player lending with more flexibility and less rate restrictions
Positives
- Tremendous additional liquidity in markets
- Venture capital-like gain opportunities for both lenders and borrowers
- Compliments the new retail changes very well
- Gives players other options than loading up on inventory to avoid taxes
Negatives
- Potentially hurts current bond market
- Potential for loss due to different collateral as well as unsecured option
- Could be predatory if not properly level-locked
Solutions I believe fix the negatives
- I do not see the potential to lose real money as a negative, I think that is good and balanced by high gain opportunity
Due to buildings not being the collateral, I do not see the current bond market going away.
- A simple level lock, say at 15, would help greatly in limiting predatory lending to new players.
Advertising
The first player to player business with no inputs or outputs, a service business
Positives
- A service based business would be easy to implement and not complicate the exchange at all, adding no new inputs or outputs
- No new retail system is needed, and money is not injected into the economy but pulled out of it
- An opportunity to give retailers a competitive edge vs their competition and add highly requested but complicated businesses in a light way like sports and music.
- Relatively simple mechanics to master and strongly favoring building good, long lasting relationships between players.
Negatives
- Being a service based business with new dynamics, some players may struggle to profit at first if they do not make good relationships with retailers
Solutions I believe fix the negatives
- Through the raise system, the risk of finding very overpowered sponsorships is low as they become less profitable over time, and the renewal systems lets you ditch bad deals quickly and easily.
- Cost to run an agency is low, and there is no inventory overhead. This can offset a tough start.
Pharmaceuticals
A revolving race to the finish, with huge gain potential but high early cash outlay.
Positives
- The first industry to introduce another patent system that is revolving and ever changing
- Special events can hugely shake up the industry
- There are limited new products and most are not tradeable between players, which encourages vertical rather than horizontal integration.
- No new retail buildings, a system similar but unique from GOs
- A degree of chance luck that can impact your profit wildly
Negatives
- Highly cash intensive, not a starter-friendly option
- No retail option
- Potential for loss
- Complicated in strategy, potentially requiring more game time and planning
Solutions I believe fix the negatives
- I do not see any of these as real negatives. Medical development is very expensive in real life and highly risky, with a good bit of luck thrown in. This is not the first business to be added that is not starter friendly (AS and Resto) and a lack of retail is highly engaging in this case.
Real Estate
Adding investment property, semi-passive income, liquidity restrictions, and a bipartisan economy of direct competition
Positives
- Taylor made for vertical setups from production to retail, allowing completely closed systems
- Competition that would make a closed ecosystem company advantageous
- Semi-passive income that is back loaded for time investment (realistic to actual real estate investing)
- Apartments being an offset of housing demand, vs a compliment
- Occupancy being rent based is simple to implement but complicated to play
Negatives
- Apartments are another place capital can go that isn’t to other players
- The mortgage industry could be seen as overpowered
Solutions I believe fix the negatives
- Apartments are very expensive and allow for a semi-passive income stream, and do not come without risks. They allow for businesses to pad their income in recessions and keep capital flowing long term. They are also a balancing force on mortgages
- Mortgage trails last as long as the house is owned, or a max of 1 year. Once the house is sold, the trail goes away. The pricing pressure on housing keeps margins low on the sale of homes, so the profit is stretched for time. Because the time investment to good numbers is so high, so too should be the profit. It takes 10 weeks for the first mortgages to pay back principle and interest and enter trail. That is a long time in this game.