Economy balance discussion

[Overfiend]

Well then let me rephrase my response, "Expecting ME to pay real money to get fake money is DEFINITELY not going to work".  
And while there are some they are willing to do that, i'm sure i'm not the only one NOT willing to pay real money for fake money.  It's fine by me if that's an option for those that want it.  However other alternatives should be available within the game's economy that allows the game economy to work on it's own....

[Avax69]

Well there are other alternatives, no-one is telling you or forcing you buy in-game money with real life money......the issue is the other methods suck and are very time consuming, but there are other methods other than buying in-game money, so ultimately you can't complain there's an option for those that want it right away and the option for those that don't mind "working" to get it

On a side note I wouldn't mind "working" for it if there were more fun ways such as idk more multiplayer ways of being able to make money, just so it's not you by yourself there earning cash all the time

[JohnSins]

A multiplayer poker and blackjack mini game in the casino would be a fun way to earn money, but no one ever suggests it... instead our next update is going to cost us a lot money...

[Zephyr]

Site/Threads do not work well as post on 22 June is not engaged again until 6 July.

Willy_for_Boobies said, “let others work for you and take their money”. That only works if they can earn money easily: that’s why auctions are no longer good and why competitive casino games are not going to work.

Before, you only had to pay for premium in real money: there was a lot of in game money. Now there is less, or rather people are not spending it. Now with less in game money Devs are making it available for real money and making it more necessary by charging for new position.

Would I pay $5 for $5000? Yes, if I needed to, although I am not happy if that is how the game seems to be going. To earn $5k in mini-game is going to take 3 hours at best: does anyone work for $1.66 per hour? Why buying Premium for $100k in game money does not stack up – unless you have a lot of in game money already.

[Avax69]

So not wanting to post this on the thread for in-game selling since it's pretty irrelevant to that thread, but we'll I've been wondering what with all the in-game code selling, auctions, and people that sell themselves here.........are we ever gonna get the in-game economy to a point where it's well....better? I mean as it currently is it's a pain in the ass to make money, with the best and probably quickest way of making money being the rodeo kinda broken and unfair at times, it's hard to make money to buy new outfits, buy an apartment, etc etc. Idk just wondering if we'll ever see a tweak or re-work of some of the current mini games in the game, or with the introduction of new mini games we'll finally have better, more enjoyable, and just faster/semi-easier ways of making in-game money? Because well with what I consider to be probably the easiest and best way to make money being the rodeo the max money you can make from that per hour is 3k per hour if my math is correct, not sure the exact amounts on the glory hole and shooting gallery since those are too troublesome for me lol, but I mean 3k per hour is honestly pretty crap if you think about it, so again with that all having been said and stated will we ever get slightly higher payouts to where we at least can bump that semi-consistent number of 3k up to at least 5k-10k per hour(probably not 10k since that's too much) if not at least like a double payout for premium users, and yes I know this is unfair but it'd make it a little more enticing for non premium players to buy premium that way, and this way premium players can at least not have to grind out as much or sell themselves just to stay afloat and be able to enjoy buying some things (outfits) every now and then as well. Don't like to be the person that complains but people gotta realize this ain't working since the people with money are now either people who abused the alt character thing back when that was still around, or now in-game code sellers, though those are slightly more justified........but only just since they charge an arm and a leg for their codes, which I can only imagine are bought by either premium players or ex-premium players, seldomly ever by non premium users, sorry but I had to get that in there since I'm sure most agree the prices in-game are rather ludicrous, but I won't delve into that since they did buy it with irl money and are free/reserve the right to sell it however they see fit. Anyways just wanted to say this and see how many people are thinking the same thing and to see if there's a potential solution we can all agree upon

[Vrook]

I must say, that, in my opinion, the easiest and most fair solution in this case, would be the lowering of in-game prices, by cutting the prices with like, let's say, a mere 25% of their original. So, in this case, the prices won't be as high as they are at this moment and still would require a bit of work to be able to buy something, but still letting the player enough time to enjoy the game.

Or, if lowering the prices is not a viable option, at least rework the mini-games, as you said, Ava, to boost the winnings with at least a 50% increase. In this case, a player won't be required to spend a mere 20% of the time he spends in game, farming mini-games for money.

And to clarify it for you, Ava, in Glory hole, with luck and let's say, flawless run, you can net a 300$ on average, for like 10-15 minutes of gameplay, this, if nothing comes up in real life. So, you can score like, 1500$ in like 1 hour of Glory Hole.

The Casino may be a viable income source, if, the system will be reworked or new games will be implemented.

As for the idea that you mentioned, about a separate money outcome for prems and non-prems, well, this sounds like a difficult idea to implement. As it would need a separate scripting for mini-games, or even new mini-games to be implemented, so it could differentiate the non-premium player for the premium one.

Overall, the easiest method to somehow balance the economy, is either lowering the in-game prices, or boosting the mini-games rewards.

All the best,

[Overfiend]

yes I'm glad this topic is being revisited because it's still a lingering issue.  having an apt has reduced the cost of renting a room, once the investment is made. but still I'm hesitant to by new items and pay sstrippers. Ive been really cheap in the game lately.
I like most of the ideas presented here. any of them could improve the economy. But I guess the question is "do the devs have this on their priority agenda list" if no how can we get their attention. Do we need a poll of suggested solutions with a large number of votes?
Personally, I haven't seen the devs change much of the old so I don't see them changing prices of old stuff. But I do think it would be great to have newer profitable mini-games.  I have also been an advocate of making a the bank a place to invest in game money for interest income.
we've had alot of polls in general but if I had to suggest one with a topic of what update should be nexth to improve the economy  some options I would include is
1. Male stripper pole/club (wild west empty cabaret)
2. decrease the cost of items/rooms/clothing
3. Increase payout of existing games
4. Add new profitable mini-games
5. add ability to invest money at the bank
6. add ability to earn salary with in game jobs
7. add a daily log in bonus
8. add new interactive markets for business features like the ability to sell recorded in game sex scenes or farming sex enhancement drugs to sell to in game NPC stores.
9. Add a new stock market for businesses within the game (courtesy of Lady Alexa)
10. expand real estate market in the game creating a legitimate way to sell apartments and/or backgrounds in game.  It could be at the art museum where users post their room designs with a price tag and whenever someone buys it the money gets transferred to your account automatically.

this list is just a starting point

[Alexa_Darkness]

STOCKS & SHARES

Every location on the Map (excluding Meadows Park) has a business.
So why not let everyone invest money on up to 3 businesses via the Bank.    We can invest as much as we wish, plus a transaction fee of $100.  The best performing business earn players money & the least performing loose players money.  
Also... a business on one server such as the Hats & Caps store on Beaver Bash would be classed as a separate business to the Hats & Caps store on Tight Lipped.  So the value would of the stock may be lower for the store on Tight Lipped, so there is a chance you could make more profit for lower priced stock.

[Vrook]

Interesting idea indeed.

But, given the fact that you mentioned the Bank as the middle ground for managing the stocks and such, it would mean that, this feat would be Premium only. Since the bank, beside the micro transaction options, is usable only by the premiums. So, that means, either the devs will make it free for all, either they could create a new NPC inside the bank, like some sort of a broker.

Also, this Stock Market could be quite random, some sort of how Madame Olivia's brothel works. Based on people that use it. So, if we look at this fact, how could it work after all?

The player's shares would grew or get low in value, based on the amount of goods and services sold by that particular shop?
It's a really interesting idea. Really wish to see how it could evolve.

With all due respect,

[Overfiend]

(08-14-2017, 09:07 PM)Lady_Alexa Wrote: STOCKS & SHARES

Every location on the Map (excluding Meadows Park) has a business.
So why not let everyone invest money on up to 3 businesses via the Bank.    We can invest as much as we wish, plus a transaction fee of $100.  The best performing business earn players money & the least performing loose players money.  
Also... a business on one server such as the Hats & Caps store on Beaver Bash would be classed as a separate business to the Hats & Caps store on Tight Lipped.  So the value would of the stock may be lower for the store on Tight Lipped, so there is a chance you could make more profit for lower priced stock.

I like it . Good thinking Lady Alexa! now that's a creative solution... hopefully a specific market isn't so small that a few particular users can influence it.  so I suggest that the markets selected as stocks have a high usage so it's not easily manipulated. in addition no investor should be allowed to own more than 20%of any particular stock to prevent large swings in price due to large trades. otherwise it would be a great addition to the game...
since the devs are not probably not finance majors by profession it may help to keep it simple. the broker at the bank can provide a daily stock price and the user can choose to buy sell or do nothing. The stock could pay no divided and only trade on price appreciation for simplicity. just Take the total daily income of the specific stock divided by the number of shares holders to get a price per share. the initial shares can start at 100 and raise as there are more buyers but never fall below 100 shares to prevent a market crash. then the price of the stock can fluctuate based on the daily income of the stock or the daily number of shares holders. if there is no new income then the stock could simply repeat yesterday s price until a min income benchmark is met. the stock price should only change by day not by minute to keep it simple & avoid wide volatility. you can only profit when you sell if you sell at more than you purchased. 

not to steal the thunder of the stocks which are a great idea . another idea would be for the bank to simply pay interest on money held in the bank or Certificate of Deposits purchased at the bank for a fixed rate & term. it would be low risk income for the investor & very simple to implement

but with all these great ideas how will the devs choose which to implement next