Town Council decisions

Order of development: Two major game modules are coming in February-March:
- Building
- Skills.

Several important other things will be fixed when these core mechanics are ready, during spring and summer.

There are no new core mechanics planned until autumn, and Items will be one to be implemented then. Also the Countryside, to function in a planned way, requires much new players, and to get them, we need to have Skills, and then some time.

Building is almost specified, and will be ready in 2 weeks.

Town consists of 25 boroughs, of which 12 are opened (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,11,22,23). In these boroughs, the land may be:
- Farmed (as a whole chapelry)
- Quarried (as a whole chapelry)
- Zones to lots (as a whole chapelry)

Each individial lot may be Stone Building, Wood Building, or Other use (such as empty lot, street, park etc).

(Not all chapelries are eligible for all uses, nor all lots.)

Stone and Wood buildings produce M, CUL, IC and SCI. (Factories don't produce these, but are required for other things to be produced.)

The construction of a stone building requires STO1, WIRS, BLD (building labor, which the S-BLD will be divided into as well) and M (luxuries).

Wood buildings are a different module for starting commoners. They can build them with their own effort and a little money. Only one "wood lot" per character produces any benefit.

Lot view will be redesigned to show the building, and pic can be uploaded. All payouts etc will be visible.

The 12 opened boroughs contain 108 chapelries. Each of these must be designated for some purpose for the time 1628-1640. There will be no zoning or changing purpose during this time. (This is to save everybody's energy for the massive real estate boom that will start at the same time with the opening of Building module.) During this time, lots can be built into, bought and sold. Not eg. resized. Already built-up areas will be checked that their zoning is current.

The building formulas should be ready in 2 days, after which it is possible to give a complete info package for all landowners (here) that allows them to make the decisions that admins will implement in the period before the "freeze until 1640".

Tidings from other countries, 1627

Ferdinand II, by the grace of God elected Holy Roman Emperor, forever August, King in Germany, King of Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Rama, Serbia, Galicia, Lodomeria, Cumania, Bulgaria, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, Brabant, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Margrave of Moravia, Duke of Luxemburg, of the Higher and Lower Silesia, of Württemberg and Teck, Prince of Swabia, Count of Habsburg, Tyrol, Kyburg and Goritia, Marquess of the Holy Roman Empire, Burgovia, the Higher and Lower Lusace, Lord of the Marquisate of Slavonia, of Port Naon and Salines, etc. etc., has sent us an emissary:

Others (Louhi, Gustaf Adolf, Rossiyans, Polonian dukes) have not sent anything. The messenger from Duke of New Liberty says that Gustaf Adolf has Urban Planning and would out of pity be willing to give 50% towards what is left, so that we could start building sooner. [If we want to be subject to pity, the remaining number of S-B22 to be converted would be cut in half, with no other offect to anything except that more lots would be sold for money in the end of the conversion period and everyone who has S-B22 now, would be better off due to less dilution. King cannot be bothered, so if the Corporation of B-22 wants it, they can effect this starting after this year conversion.]

There is nothing to be heard from HSH The Prince of Soul who left for Korea 4 years ago and was last seen in Moscow.

HH The Duke of North Face troops in Ironlock have returned to CryptoTown. They said they were interred while refreshing themselves in the Free City of Danzig. The Free City rules say no organized militaries in the area. There are many stories to tell but in the end they were released completely unharmed and instead of hostility, we are regarded as subjects of ridicule in the city.

HH The Duke of New Liberty is garrisoning large forces in Riga and in the (much reduced) New Liberty Duchy. The locals see that Crypto Kingdom is a good protector of the town from the Swedes (who sacked it in 1617) and the Polonians (who did not manage to save it). If the diplomatic situation continues favorable, Riga might join Crypto Kingdom and assume its historical role as the provincial capital. [New Liberty seat would have an existing centre, boosting the centrality of new buildings, but requiring the existing buildings to be bought from their current owners (Foreign Powers = Town)]

BEER, MEAD, MUS, CAN distributed!


Note to NPCC's:

* I gave you DIS, and they cannot be sold, but the mead they produce (and have produced) can be sold if you deem expedient.

* To increase the MUS in circulation and allow competitive selling, I also gave you 100*MUS each. While NPC may consume MUS, it is mainly intended that you sell them (or at least the majority). The value of them (counted at 150k each, while market is much higher), is deducted from your future allowances.

* The initial stock of suits has also been given. You can experiment with the formula that converts them to points. The formula is made such that you should probably buy more, and not sell (especially after the spoil when it comes).

* Just a recoup: NPCC accounts are freely allowed to own and speculate on the following items:
- VEG, MEAT, FOIE
- MEAD, BEER
- CAN, MUS
- Wines and spirits that are allowed to be consumed (some high end products do not belong to the list!)
- Clothes and suits, except unique suits, blue, black and purple suits.

Acquiring other items is forbidden. Only suits have a utility value in the end, and that is massive!


The final utility function and the sheet for marking down the consumes is FINAL (Game DB /NPCC). If you have any questions about consumes based on the tentative (earlier) formulas, I will answer them! And of course otherwise as well, this is a massive development in the game economy!!

For XMR price to reach $X, it will have to reach every price <$X at least once during the ascent. Let's enjoy the ride and if someone has too many, distribute them to the ones who don't.

I am happy to be the king in the game. If someone else has more moneros, it is not a problem for me. They are so cheap that it is a wonder if someone doesn't have. (all I know have 20, 50, 100k or more so I'm not sticking out).

If you want a real challenge, try to get more CKG than I do. 

And there are many whales, same as there are many peers, but a marquess is not a prince, but trumps an earl.

The NPCC accounts start

From the start of 1627 (now!) the new NPCC accounts start (NPCC1...NPCC7). Sir Mooo of Stonehaven is giving them to the applicants.

Since this first period for them is 3 years only, they will be seeded with suits (with the year end balances counting 1x and closing balance counting 10x to account for the remaining value of "suit stock") and the money will be same for all the accounts (50 mil each January, 25 mil each month, always near the beginning of "day" (first half of month)).

The utility function is still somewhat in progress. I can tell what the baseline is, however, since the absolute values dont matter, just the relative utility (since the managers get CKG prizes based on how they perform relative to each other).

* Food is the most important. Each food consumption less than the maximum 8, means a progressive penalty, so you should seek to consume 7-8 batches of food. One meat is paramount, because the richer NPC (some of them earn up to 7 mil/year) eat meat. Superveg has a bonus, but it does not mean it is more than meat. If there is excess money, substituting veg for meat is a bonus, same if you accidentally or purposefully skip a month's veg (because you can anyway eat max 7 veg batches per month, and less if you skip them).

* Beer/Mead quota does not need to be fulfilled, it has declining marginal utility and needs to be balanced with wines and spirits who also do. (This is the part still needing some brainwork from me but try to be "realistic" as I also do ). Also remember that mead is hardly any better than nothing, so overpaying is not smart. Since you get some DIS, even selling mead is allowed and advisable if the price nears that of beer.

* Each wine listed gives 1 point per a 100 units consume batch, but only once per wine per year. Each spirit is 1 point per 25 units, same rule. These are prudent to do all at one time (since they don't spoil, you can nibble during the year and optimize the consumes in the end).

* Monthly luxuries have such high maximums that there's no need to concentrate on them yet, I'll finish the formula before it becomes needed.

* Suits give you a score that is the sum of each line, and rounded in the end. Each line except the "all clothed?" has declining marginal utility. The suits formula is final, so you can start optimising the allocation between them and other things, even if the other things formulas are not final yet.

Good luck for the quest!

100% correct except the "not so active in Monero" part. Just list the people who are more active and you see that either I am actually pretty active, or Monero is very active  

If you convert S-B23A now during my sleep, please consume the amount. The changelog timestamp will verify that you got it first and that the amount was current!

Game Progress Announcement

Due to the just unbelievable amount of design work put in the new modules, the following is announced:

- All stone is now one item, STO1, (soon) usable in CryptoTown.
- NPC dividends and taxes are executed.
- The new NPCC accounts are starting in 5 hours, still time to grab yours!
- Commoner salaries and new commoner benefits are the highest priority.
- If you now start a commoner account, you should get the starting Health, Wisdom, CAN and clothes. Try it!
- PC deaths will be announced after the year closes.

- Lot dividends and taxes will be merged with the next year.
- PRE and all that stuff will also be merged. There are many new features in PRE generation, countryside buildings, new towns, etc that were not finished yet, but will be.
- Quarry and Building can open earliest the starting week and in any case do not take much longer anyway. There might be restriction for total building volume per year for realism, so it might make sense to buy S-BLD, which will take the priority.
- Buildings may be possible for backdating, but only for holders of S-BLD.
- Farm opens now as announced. 6 farms have already been started, with the market taking 15 more without issues.

Bank closes the deposits, etc

All deposits have been redeemed at full value and no new ones will be issued for now. They were not popular (274 mil was outstanding), and the rate for CON is 0.5% so DEP would need to pay less, making them even less popular. Also we try to get the existing money lent out at the nice rates now offered for B.22 and B.23 buyers.

The Bank has 8.5 bil in assets, mostly of liquid nature. It only has one outstanding loan of inconsequential value.

The Bank burned itself badly in real estate in 1520-1550 depression (right after Bank was established), and already had plans to expand in the B.3, but sold out at a loss. Now a new property is sought in B.22-San Pietro area where the middle class lives and will live.

After more pressing developments in the game, the Mortgage will be made an enforced feature, and also annual payback of loans will be (re-)established. The current offering still uses bullet loans.

There are currently no financing needs, but Bank is exploring the rates that would be offered for CON1. Also bullet bonds expiring at the same time as the loans (all the same year) are not out of question, as they were used with success in the 1500s. For the investors they would provide better rates than CON and principal protection: CON may also decrease in value, even though it has never happened.

Bank offers mortgages

The Hypothecary Bank in CryptoTown is offering mortgages on the land on B.23!

Terms:
- Mortgage amount: "share midprice upon the end of conversion" * "actual number of shares paid (number in red square)" * 50%.
- Term: 33 years (1627-1660).
- Payback: by the end of 1660 in one installment.
- Guarantee: Mortgage - Lot cannot be transferred without paying back the loan, except by permission by Bank. (Note: heirs)
- Interest rate 1.2% APR.
- Handling fee: 3 mil.
- Early payback: 5 mil handling fee + the early payer is credited the remaining years at CON midrate.


Example:

Lord Syksy, Earl of Petrichor, etc., has bought Boulevard 25-29 for 375 shares. If the share midprice remains 800,000 m, he is entitled to a mortgage of 375*0.8*50% = 150 mil.

The amount payable is thus (153 mil)*1.012^33 = 226.8 mil in 1660. The actual interest rate with all costs is 1.26%.

Please notify of the interest latest in 24 hours. These will be handled as one batch, and no late applications will be handled, sorry, for administrative reasons. The 3 mil is a really cheap handling fee and 1.2% is an incredible interest rate.

FYI: if you had bought CON in 1605 when it came to market at 8.8 mil, and sold now to the bid at 19.0 mil, the IRR (APR) would have been 4.55%, so mortgages are a good way to add leverage with modest risk.

So now you don't


Borough 23 Dutch Auction

The shares are split to 1:18 -> S-B23A is the new share!!

After hours of discussions, the B.23 has now 7 chapelries that are sold whole, and include reservations for roads etc that the buyer must follow when zoning. Farming (or quarring, or both in sequence) is possible.

Only 2 chapelries, 23-W (facing 1-E) and 23-C, are zoned as lots, all with address and access to Boulevard. The lot_id's will be the Boulevard address numbers. Numbers are per 10 m of roadside, so one lot will have several addresses (and spare lot_ids).

Conversion prices are in shares, and shares are consumed upon conversion, eg the following buys you Boulevard 14-24:
CONSUME S-B23A 1280 [14-24]
Ping me immediately as you do this, so that I can remove the lot from sale (mark it red).

Dutch auction has started and will run 24 hours with price dropping continuously by 24% from the starting price during the period. Upon the close of the auction, the properties will be taken from sale and retained by the company (or sold to a holding company, or farmed, etc, as per the decision of the general meeting (remaining shareholders).

Perhaps it's that the community does not care about $1's value in XMR. It's like your house. The main reason for owning is not RE speculation, it is security. As long as that's provided, there is little need to check the price.

CONSUME S-BLD 4 [farm chap_id]

You need to have the land yourself (someway or another):

- Town has whole farm-worthy chapelries for sale at 1,000 mil.

-  In Borough 9, a chapelry has a carry cost of 9.45 mil per year, which nicely leverages the expected farm income of 10 mil.

- Chapelry owners might be willing to lease the operations only with a profit sharing principle.

- Or apply for the availabe CEO positions in others' companies.

Land may be kept in farming condition until wished, or rules change. In any event, farming does not constitute an offer of free land to anyone now or in the future. The "Well tended vegetable garden" is 1/100 of a Farm and even that costs money to acquire.

Zechariah bids 80mil.

Labor prices updated last time before new ones come, so buy your NPC now to make use of them!

The NPC round will be conducted in the following order:

- production from previous year (high-level TAI: this is even year!)
- salary for next year
- New NPC coming

- Next retire & promote round is in end of 1628 (about 2 years).

In-Town Farming starts!

Previously the town was such that support activities such as farming happened in the "middle boroughs" that were not shown. Now we are expanding to the middle boroughs, so we need to allocate space for farming, if we are to continue having fresh superveg!

Farm is a new way to make use of a chapelry which is not immediately needed for quarrying or building, or is unsuitable for them. A chapelry which has been quarried or zoned, cannot be used as a farm any more. A farm may be converted to a quarry or zoned for other uses.

A farm equals 100 S-VE1 production shares, which produce approx. 2,500 "superveg" and 7,500 "other veg". Superveg is the first crop of new produce in July, which is coveted because of a higher health effect and the fact that all veg from previous year has spoiled in May.

The NPCC accounts, which start next year, require 35,000*VEG each, and since 15,000 of this is after the spoil, we can count 50,000*VEG each, for the total of 350,000 VEG. Compared to this, the PC consumption is not big, perhaps 20,000 VEG since most of them need to eat stronger stuff.

The current nominal production of system account Farmers, and the 5 Manors, and the vegetable gardens is 162,000 VEG per year. Houston - we have a business opportunity here! If no farms are started, the Farmers account (town) will just get the excess shares and the money.

So about 19 in-town farms could be started even with the current number of mouths. As they are located in urban land (and also protected by the perimeter fortifications soon to be built), the ownership is fully protected and yield quite stable. The chapelries that are bright green in the /Map are available for farming right here. 25 such chapelries exist in opened Boroughs. (Opening a borough means that Town has bought it from the King - King cannot do anything with unopened boroughs.) The grass green chapelries with no quarry geology are likely to be farmable as well when their boroughs are opened.

Farming does not require B.23 to be completed, only zoning of the middle chapelries does, (and urban building is not open yet at all, though is coming closer at this speed of design effort..)

To make farming as easy as possible, it does not yet use the NPC nor other inputs. Instead they are reduced to an annual upkeep cost (similar to eg. Brewery), which goes to Labor. The VEG yield is given as a dividend directly based on a list of chapelries designated as Farms. This allows landowners to create a corporation and put the land there and give the access to a manager who would get an agreed-upon compensation. King is seeking to consolidate his available lands for this purpose and give the manager the title of Viscount of TVA Duchy (King does not have any suitable chapelries though, but this will increase the willingness to buy them). Also NewCorp (who has many) is seeking a similar arrangement.

The farms (at least for now) are equal in costs and production (which will change but not in a few years):
15 mil    Production value at book prices 3,000 for superveg, 1,000 for other VEG
- 5 mil   Upkeep
-----------------------------------
10 mil profit

An upfront investment of 4*S-BLD is required. This goes to wood farm structures that are demolished in the end of farming with 0 value.

Farms announced now will start producing superveg in July, 1627.

The Hypothecary Bank Loan Offer to the buyers of S-B22

The Hypothecary Bank in CryptoTown has served the house owners for over a century. The business model is simple - long term bullet loans are given against a mortgage guarantee (meaning a lot is marked such that you cannot sell it before paying back, and if you don't pay, Bank takes the lot).

Usually, 50% of the raw land buy price is accepted as guarantee. In case of B.22, the conversion from shares at a listed price makes it possible to offer the loans based on the share price (S-B22). Since the share is not consumed in the process, 40% of the share price can be used as guarantee.

Hypothecary Bank has been struggling with operational costs. This time we offer the deal to every new landowner in B-22 at the same terms and same parameters. This makes it possible to squeeze the loan administration cost to the minimum.

Every loan will have the same terms:
- 25 years
- mortgage to the lot
- loan amount: 40% of the conversion price * share price
- administration fee: 1 mil including awarding and regular payback of the loan
- interest rate 1.2%
- early repayment possible against 5 mil fee and the payment is discounted to the present using CON midrate.

For instance, if the share price of B-22 is 4 mil (new shares), loan amount would be 1.4 mil per share. A purchase of 9 squares (225 sqm) from the small lot area, would give a loan of 9 * 1.4 mil = 12.6 mil (this much you get). The payback amount would include the 1 mil + the interest for 25 years, as follows: (12.6 mil + 1 mil) * 1.012^25 = 18.325 mil. The effective interest rate is 1.51% (if the amount is bigger, tending to 1.2%).