See link for more information.

Third halving is done, so only 1:8 of the original number of tickets remains! Cartloads of BEER was distributed as we now enter to the phase with no prizes until Foie Gras at 2,000 tickets left! It will take until the next year to decimate the number of tickets, and very good opportunities might be available in the aftermarket in front of items that specially interest you, or even collectively.

Prizes Awarded

47,671 * CAN given!
23,707 * BEER given!

Prizes Remaining

23,707 tickets (RAF-1) remaining; halving every day

- - -
2,000 * FOIE
1,000 * JAD (1 kilo of unworked Jade, special gift from Ming merchants)
500 * W1603A (pre-Plague wine, the historical Spring Wine)
200 * MIN-5 (Most Elaborate Ming China Plate 16cm)
100 * CS1625E (special edition 5 CKS only 100 minted)
50 * CLXII (since there are no restaurants qualified to participate in the auction, it will be raffled instead)
25 * WOS-E1 (Green Suit, gift of HH The Mayor)
20 * MIR (Venetian Mirror 1 sqm, gift of HH The Duke of New Liberty)
15 <- when this number of tickets is reached, the subsequent SPOILs are 25% only to increase excitement!
- - -
10 * Baronet of CK (lowest numbers available starting from highest ranking winner, incl promotion to L12 if applicable)
1 * Third Prize: 1-SE-V76 Korean Restaurant (1518) (to the 3rd last ticket; gift of Prince of Soul)
1 * Second Prize: TRC4-19 Most Elab 4-Horse Carriage (to the 2nd last ticket; gift of M of White Cross)
1 * Grand Prize: Any Real Estate up to the value of 500,000,000 m (in the whole game, you pick, King pays   )

Total Value of Prizes: 3,700,000,000 m !
(Nominal value of ticket: 156,100 m)

It is possible to give prizes to the auction. Unique prizes will be listed as 4th, 5th etc. prizes, and will always be awarded. Fungible prizes you need to give the maximum amount to the King, and they will be dividended when the number of tickets reaches or goes below the amount, the King doing what he wishes with the difference.
JAD is a new creation, the rest of the items are King's donations unless indicated.
King is very happy if you wish to donate something to the 225ary Raffle! After all, how else would King know who the upcoming nobles in the Kingdom are... this information is needed for the Celebrations for sure!

Commoner path to glory - First steps

We are now encouraging new players to play for the fun of it, and this is probably the first time The new players we have can be roughly classified as follows:

- Commoners (non-depositors or depositors of small amounts)
- Power Players (playing characters with higher balances)
- Foreign-Owned-Corporations (investment accounts with 50 XMR frontload)

All these can be started now, the first two start in an equal way by registering, and FOC requires admin who will open the account for you. In practice saddambitcoin is the right contact because he can issue the payment id for the initial deposit.

Corporations are dull, they stay at level L0 forever, don't require health etc.

...so we are here talking about player characters!

1. Level promotions happen on year_change, which is a large set of activities on December (Sunday). Instant promotions are possible but rare.

2. A PC starts on level L2 Stranger, and gains the following starting capital:
1*WOS-G Peasant Brown Suit
500*CAN Herbs
Currently the value of these is about 1.5 mil.

2.B There is a special evaluation round every day, with a PC who has updated his character name and title, receiving:
2.0 mil (special gift, limited time only)

3. He has a high probability to advance to L3 Beginner on the first occasion. It only needs some proof of play. L3 grants the following:
1*THS1 (Silver ring, special gift, limited time only)
1*DIS mead-making equipment
Currently the value of these is about 1.5 mil.
It also enables annual salary of 0.7 mil, which starts right away, prepaid for the following year.

4. To get to L4 Novice, typically about 2 years are required. In this time, the suit must be updated to match the profession and enough experience must be gathered. L4 grants the following:
1*CT1600C (3 CKG gold coin, special gift, limited time only)
Currently the value of these is about 3 mil.
It also enables annual salary of 1.05 mil.

5. To get to L5 Expert, it may happen in 2 years but also take much longer. House and proper clothes are required, both of which are expensive. Many other items and playstyle are evaluated as well, decent handling of health challenge, etc. Also physical age is a factor and may delay promotion for very young players. L5 only directly grants a pay raise to 1.4 mil but there might be special gifts as in previous cases.

6. Promotion to L6 Master happens after a considerably longer time, about 10 years in previous level is common (with a mandatory minimum age of 25). Mastery requires fulfilling of personal goals and a household of many things, means of transportation etc. A pay raise to 1.75 mil is in effect but the majority of income typically comes from other sources as the requirements of health and lifestyle cannot be met with salary alone.

7. Other levels are available. The ways a commoner can leave the basic path above are as follows (the departure, except to the cart, happens predominantly after Master is reached):

- Death. Abandoned characters die naturally in a few years.
- Noble Promotion to L11 Knight - For special valor.
- Noble Promotion to L12 Baronet - By gaining (read: purchasing) a BT-x item.
- Noble Promotion to L13 Baron - Characters who gain Masters early are screened for Baron promotion at about 40 years of age, although it is possible other time as well.
- Promotion to L7 Wizard - Usually happens to Masters if they reach advanced age and play actively.
- Promotion to L8 Doctor - For academics, can be gained in any age.

New Permanent IC Conversion Table


WINES

The French Wines are international renown (and the Germanians are the runner-up). When wines comes to initial market, they are cheap, but Town will add 10,000 m tax at some point afterwards to the then-existing stock. This can only be done once, so every further conversion after the taxation will be tax-free. Conversion prices in the aftermarket go up. Currently available are the following post-plague wines (pre-plague cannot be had any more). All are taxed so no further costs will be added:

W1611  1/IC  (note: W1611)
W1612  3/IC  (note: W1612)
W1614  3/IC  (note: W1614)
W1616  4/IC  (note: W1616)
W1620  6/IC  (note: W1620)


SILVER

The basic premise of silver conversion is "you get fixed grams per IC". This has been as large as 32 grams in the very ancient times and now is 2 grams. When we are talking about imported items (wholly paid with IC), the price of silver has risen to be so large as to overshadow the manufacturing cost. So it is possible to simplify the things and use the following formulae for determining the IC price of silver items, whatever kind (assuming silver is the main raw material):

TS16x Silver Coins = no premium   (note: TS162)  <- note that since the coin is 12 CKS, the IC must be divisible by 6!!
Elaborate items = 1 IC/instance + 5%
Most Elaborate items = 2 IC/instance + 10%
Very Elaborate items = 4 IC/instance + 20%


SWORDS

See previous post.

ART

ART-items are in levels K7-K10 only and thus cost a minimum 100 IC + possible backdating.


NEW: Copper

With New Liberty convoy going to the west, it did not take long for merchants coming from the trails with their deal: a new KMT is a handy way to own pure copper. One 10 kg plate is even stamped to be worth 5 grams of silver, yet they are offering them at a discount, with price of 2*IC only:

KMT  2*IC  (note: KMT)


Note on Wines

All wines have again matured 2 years, so their tastes and healthinesses have been updated.

A sorry thing happened to the much-loved W1600 wine: although it reached peak in 1606, it had brought continued satisfaction to drinkers up to this year. Now the age of the wine finally turned against the drinker with also some potentially very hazardous fungi found in some bottles. The whole vintage was deemed unsuitable for consumption and item:healthiness set to zero. As soon as technicalities allow, it will be removed from WINE and put to GIO item type for collectors. It was the first wine in the Kingdom (with W1600M still maturing).


Note on B-22

This year will continue with the previous formula. From now on, it has become clear that there are Scientific hurdles to overcome before the Borough can be opened. So in 1623 and all future years until otherwise mentioned, the share conversion table will be as follows:

50*SCI => 1*S-B22
150*SCI => 2*S-B22
300*SCI => 3*S-B22
500*SCI => 4*S-B22
750*SCI => 5*S-B22

Five shares per year per character is the maximum.

New Vegetables have come to town!

For a limited time (a few days from the first new crop, usually on the first half of July) the new VEG enjoy a health bonus while still being VEG (item healthiness edited temporarily). It is up to the players to figure this to their consumption patterns. More VEG will arrive (hopefully) in great quantities in the coming days.

Martti is now living in a separate blog, and he already took advantage of the situation. As of this writing, 1628*VEG still exist.

New opportunities for players to make their own food have appeared:

S-VE1 is a share in common garden. Only one per PC.
DIS is a mead-making equipment. One will be donated upon L3, Town has some for sale. Max 5, commoners only.
PIG generates meat for christmas. Max 4, commoners only.

See link for more information.

Second halving is completed, and first prizes, almost 50 kilos of CAN, have been dividended to the remaining ticket owners!

Prizes Awarded

47,671 * CAN given!

Prizes Remaining

47,671 tickets (RAF-1) remaining; halving every day

25,000 * BEER (amount increased in the true spirit of celebration!!)
- - -
2,000 * FOIE
1,000 * JAD (1 kilo of unworked Jade, special gift from Ming merchants)
500 * W1603A (pre-Plague wine, the historical Spring Wine)
200 * MIN-5 (Most Elaborate Ming China Plate 16cm)
100 * CS1625E (special edition 5 CKS only 100 minted)
50 * CLXII (since there are no restaurants qualified to participate in the auction, it will be raffled instead)
25 * WOS-E1 (Green Suit, gift of HH The Mayor)
20 * MIR (Venetian Mirror 1 sqm, gift of HH The Duke of New Liberty)
15 <- when this number of tickets is reached, the subsequent SPOILs are 25% only to increase excitement!
- - -
10 * Baronet of CK (lowest numbers available starting from highest ranking winner, incl promotion to L12 if applicable)
1 * Third Prize: 1-SE-V76 Korean Restaurant (1518) (to the 3rd last ticket; gift of Prince of Soul)
1 * Second Prize: TRC4-19 Most Elab 4-Horse Carriage (to the 2nd last ticket; gift of M of White Cross)
1 * Grand Prize: Any Real Estate up to the value of 500,000,000 m (in the whole game, you pick, King pays   )

Total Value of Prizes: 3,800,000,000 m !
(Nominal value of ticket: 79,700 m)

It is possible to give prizes to the auction. Unique prizes will be listed as 4th, 5th etc. prizes, and will always be awarded. Fungible prizes you need to give the maximum amount to the King, and they will be dividended when the number of tickets reaches or goes below the amount, the King doing what he wishes with the difference.
JAD is a new creation, the rest of the items are King's donations unless indicated.
King is very happy if you wish to donate something to the 225ary Raffle!

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll try to open up the philosophy which might serve in addressing the concerns as well.

1. Character creation works now and is expected to work continuously from now on. We still have a large portion of the backend administered manually so don't even want too many characters. The reputation of not being user-friendly, and reluctance to do marketing, are accomplishing this temporary objective neatly. We have 213 accounts now. Whenever we feel that we can handle more players, we put forward some marketing effort, and when we are overwhelmed with the existing ones, we don't do marketing and the bad reputation reduces the number of entrants.

2. We are currently in the mode of increasing playercount, this is why we have helps and perks and the system works, etc. But at the same time, we don't fantasize that the game would appeal to large audiences and have no problem with that many try it out and end up in "WTF".

3. The game does not seek sudden growth - we are happy to get to 1,000 players by June and 10,000 by end-2016. This is in stark contrast to low-entry games that can get millions of accounts in a month, yet die out before they reach even the age CK has now.

4. For the "insiders", the game has been going on since 2014-10-18 and their fortunes are continuously increasing. It is always possible to join this group, but it does require accepting not only the game but also its platform in its current and changing condition, and a few months of active play before you
A)learn to play
B)gain levels
C)gain social capital in the community, since a large part of the game requires that to function.

5. CK philosophy is quite decentralized, including
A)"Town" does not own the game, rather the players own the "Town"
B) All open-source
C) Social contract how to form the "state-of-the-world" from the open-source data in open-source platform.

6. The blog, as everything else, is user content - the user just happens to be me in this case. Most users have not aimed at terrific graphics in their guides and helps. I am not against someone creating them, though.

7. The dilemma with writing tutorials etc is that the expertise level (experience) of the writer needs to be very high for the result to be good, and even then, the game evolves so rapidly that perhaps 25% gets rewritten each month. The way to jump in is... jump in. And we know that it's not for everybody at this point. But it is for just the kind of people who like it, and whom we like to be in,

8. Welcome to CK! The game is easier to start (both technically, and socially, and intellectually) than ever before. And it is free! And for some time still, Martti acts as a good guide how to make a non-depositing character gain levels, gold and fame

9. If you want to start a FOC, it is now possible, we just got a new admin feature. Contact BCT: saddambitcoin for a deposit and he will credit it to your FOC (less the 50 XMR one-time fee). The account cannot in any event expire before 350 years of dormancy and it does not have maintenance.

Production and consumption of consumables

This is a very important update but I put it here instead of the main thread since the beauty of it is mainly of design nature 


After some experimenting, we will have a competitive system in all consumable markets. What are the consumables?

Food:
VEG, MEAT, FOIE, CAV

Drinks:
MEAD, BEER, Wines, Spirits

Wisdom:
CAN, MUS, imported products

All will have similar production shares as FOIE has S-FOI currently.

The main players in the markets will soon be:

- HungryMob, which produces some VEG and MEAD (they are NPC who are simulated to act as junior commoners) and consumes quite a bit of many things with 600 mil budget to feed and clad 600 NPCs.

- Farmers who replace Town as the main producer of VEG, MEAT, MEAD and CAN (the account is still owned & operated by Town)

- OldDuchy from where the farmers mainly come from, is an established administrative entity in the position to levy taxes in kind, and consequently "produces" VEG, MEAT, CAN and MUS (and would produce FOIE as well but it is already accounted for in King's personal S-FOI quota)

- Other counties will see their production growing a lot if preparations continue and dependent on policies chosen. MEAT, FOIE, CAN and MUS will be produced. It is uneconomical to transport vegetables over long distances with no roads, and they also spoil easily.

- Nobles will continue to have their historical S-FOI shares but they will dilute in value when counties are awarded their shares.

- Breweries continue to produce and sell BEER.

- Commoners will have access to S-MEAD (equipment producing 100*MEAD) and can also acquire a share of common gardens producing VEG.

Therefore, all the different locally-produced consumables will have markets consisting of many profit-driven actors, just as we already have very well-functioning Wine markets.

In total, 8 different times-of-year have been specified when actions happen in the markets. Main actions are as follows:
- Beginning of year: many things spoil. Even BEER and prepared meats will start to spoil 5%.
- In March (tuesday): VEG spoils more, but many things come to market after being dried over winter.
- Summer: VEG spoils completely, and after a short period of no VEG at all, the new produce starts to come. In the beginning days (hours), these new VEG are specially healthy. This will reset to the usual value soon. VEG is coming in many batches over the summer and the quantity (price) is dependent on how much the Earth gives, which in turn is not knowable beforehand.
- Slaughtertime is before Christmas and new FOIE and MEAT come to market.

Admin (GM) will create all the new production and dividend them immediately. The market players take care of listing and pricing.

Important Gamemaster update setting the guidelines for the decades to follow
The Royal CryptoArmy Organizes

The departure of The Duke of New Liberty Company towards the setting sun moved the King deeply. Not many know that the initial organisation of the Army in 1466 coincided with the King's 100th birthday (this was not publicized as monarchs only publicly care about their reign, not birthdays) but the King himself remembers it. In 1566, a medal was minted to celebrate the Army Centenary (King's 200 years) and in 1616, the King reluctantly minted one to celebrate his 250th birthday, perhaps the last such occasion.

With this intertwining of the fortunes of the King and those of the Army in mind, the King has gifted some of these medals to the adventurous commanders of the army companies and owners of the Battle Aquilae, and will continue to do it as a special personal honor.

The initial hassle in the King's own troops is over and they are now ready for all duties. The strength is adequate already, but as promotions increase the number of competent COs, and more CAPT's and NCOs get promoted, the manpower will be able to be increased further. In addition, the Cannon, the rushed scientific advance of last year, will increase the battle value markedly. 8*CANN is produced annually, and 4 of them will be sold in open market and King will redeem the other 4 at the same (total) price.

At present, the value of the troops under the OldDuchy command, is ~500 BV. The maximum single unit is (upon special arrangement) ~300 BV. The normal order-of-battle consists of a Cannon Company tasked to defend the Citadel and 4 Infantry companies in different sizes and battle values, which may be deployed to assist the troops of the peers upon need. The joint-CO of these armies is a COL, and a LTC is in charge of the Cannon Company. In addition, The elite Royal Palace Guard remains in King's personal command and is quartered in the basement of the Royal Palace, as they have done since the unit was formed in 1446, the year when the Royal Palace Gilded Roof of 6640 CKG was installed and the Palace was thus completed.

Thucydides is about to complete his Epic History about the most BV under the Commanders soon after the others make their arrangements and record them in the GameDB/ARMY.

Meanwhile, the promised promotion round of the Commanders (the PC "owning" army troops) is postponed. The practical difficulty of some being in the field and not enough information on the regular size of the troops has prevented it. This will be done approx in 1624, somewhat after the next NPC kill&promote round. The new rules are as follows:

Each Unit with a stable strength of 300 BV is given the name of Brigade, and the commander promoted to Brigadier (AOD-Brig; new rank).

Each Unit with a stable strength of 150 BV is given the name of Regiment, and the commander promoted to Colonel (AOD-Col).

Each Unit with a stable strength of 100 BV is called Heavy Company, and the commander promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (AOD-LTC).

Each Unit with a stable strength of 50 BV is called Company, and the commander promoted to Major (AOD-Maj).

Each Unit with 15 BV or more is called a Detachment. (It may be styled Company if total manpower is 30 or more.)

Each Unit with less than 15 BV is called a Squad.

AOD historically does not have a lower rank than Capt for PC. All peers with troops in their command will be promoted Capt at least. A new rank AOD-Lt will be introduced to be the starting rank for career officer PC later. All existing ranks will remain regardless of current troops: if there are no troops in command, the PC officer is "in reserve". Overpromotion is possible for valor in combat.

The markets remain open for arrangements of troops. There is still about 8-11 realdays left until the next kill&promote round with 3x effect in both kills and promotions.


Exhortations For County Fiefholders and General Preparation

TVA Duchy included (which is very crucial and gets PRE and the perks, but not another town as it already has one), 11 Counties have been opened, and of 2 (North Face and Plath), there is semi-reliable information. Many counties remain unopened, so since it is now May (Wednesday), it is a good time to make the deployments and participate in the County race. The PRE generation is not linear, therefore even a small expeditionary force is able to generate the PRE required for the information package in 2-3 years, bringing home valuables, and saving the money that would be spent otherwise in a later all-in approach. (Especially) If you give special orders to the troops, a thread post is valuable to account for them, see examples above.

The NPC Officers have horses (H1 for LT, H2 for CAPT etc.) currently included in them. The NCOs (MSG, SGT, CPL) and the PTE are not trained to fight on horseback. The CANN are drawn by oxcarts (included) as are the provisions (not implemented). The experiences from the Duchy of North Face, however, point to the usefulness of sending horses with the forces. They increase the mobility of small detachments greatly and make information come back sooner. If the PC go with the force in person, a high-quality horse can save lives! Carriages increase comfort and need to be accompanied with the required number of horses as well. If valuables are sent, they may be used as gifts to leaders met in peaceful negotiations. (Gold and moneretos will never be given away automatically though.)

Horses will have a promotion round with the NPC round, and all horses are eligible for promotions. The Fluffy Pony Horse Company will have special quick promotions and also the availability of new H1 horses. Their capacity is to hold only 50 horses though but with the new rules they are sure to be able to get rid of the valuable ones. They can also increase the capacity to 100 horses with an additional annual cost of 10 mil and a requirement to build a new Stables when building becomes possible. Horses will start to have upkeep of 0.5 mil each regardless of level, starting from 1624. More uses for them is planned as well so ditching them might not be wise even for town-dwellers.

Horses can be looted from the countryside using threat of military force. Unless this is pre-authorized, it will only happen in dire needs.

Our spy network has brought reports that the foreign powers have noticed both the mobilization of our army, the scientific advance of cannon making and the speedy commencement of production, and the troops sent to lands that have historically belonged to us but have nevertheless not had permanent settlements nor troops loyal to HM The King. It is therefore expected that as our troops march forward, they might not only meet the peasants as previously expected, but also envoys and even regulars of foreign powers. It is important to lay down the basics:

King/Kingdom usually denotes a sovereign lord (Foreign Power). Since the foreign relations are to be handled in sovereign level, it is advisable to conduct well towards Kings before negotiating with HM The King, who only wants Crypto Kingdom to exert influence on all its historical possessions, and not embark on costly ventures with established powers, especially as our own military is still in the buildup stage.

Dux or any titles similar to our senior nobles, may refer to approximately anything. They may or may not be subservient to Kings, and this - as well as the degree of their loyalty - is a thing to find out. Their factual power becomes apparent when you try it, or gather intelligence. (PRE will be used towards this end automatically, though you will be able to set other priorities as well.)

Tribal Chiefs should be loyal to HM The King, if they are not, they may need to be subdued in the various ways possible, depending on your playstyle.

Whether the lands have larger settlements or dispersed peasantry, will be told in the GM reports, as well as other useful info.

The starting of this Subgame has made the d20 appear. It is not entirely impossible, given the state of tension in the continent, which our own preparations have been rumored to increase, that sudden events occur that affect the whole Kingdom and the dwellers of CryptoTown. To protect the lives of everyone, including the hungryMob and the peasants in the immediate vicinity, it is important to have enough non-perishable food and drinks, should the unexpected happen.

During our open borders with everyone in the last decades, the state of our defences is woefully apparent: Only the boroughs 1 & 2 are perimeter-walled (well 7 is as well but there are no buildings nor people to protect). These two have rather many stone buildings to be used as cannon- and command posts. The Citadel has finally some military value with the cannons, and the central keep is the house for the crown jewels. It is still severely lacking in many aspects with outer walls thick but not high enough, no proper towers, and central keep cannot suffer extended cannonfire. If the courtyard is used for people shelter, winter will be tragic even if food were not a concern.

ADD: Food production updates, so the nonexistence of VEG (and everything else that happens on the market) is completely planned. As long as you know that, no need to read this link explaining all in detail.

See link for more information.

First halving is completed! Despite the fact that ticket is twice as valuable now, in the spirit of 225 years of Kingdom, The King will drop more of his tickets for sale at this cheap price (22,500 m) but only today. Be ready with your bids!

Prize Schedule
95,668 tickets (RAF-1) remaining; halving every day

50,000 * CAN
20,000 * BEER
- - -
2,000 * FOIE
1,000 * JAD (1 kilo of unworked Jade, special gift from Ming merchants)
500 * W1603A (pre-Plague wine, the historical Spring Wine)
200 * MIN-5 (Most Elaborate Ming China Plate 16cm)
100 * CS1625E (special edition 5 CKS only 100 minted)
50 * CLXII (since there are no restaurants qualified to participate in the auction, it will be raffled instead)
25 * WOS-E1 (Green Suit, gift of HH The Mayor)
20 * MIR (Venetian Mirror 1 sqm, gift of HH The Duke of New Liberty)
15 <- when this number of tickets is reached, the subsequent SPOILs are 25% only to increase excitement!
- - -
10 * Baronet of CK (lowest numbers available starting from highest ranking winner, incl promotion to L12 if applicable)
1 * Third Prize: 1-SE-V76 Korean Restaurant (1518) (to the 3rd last ticket; gift of Prince of Soul)
1 * Second Prize: TRC4-19 Most Elab 4-Horse Carriage (to the 2nd last ticket; gift of M of White Cross)
1 * Grand Prize: Any Real Estate up to the value of 500,000,000 m (in the whole game, you pick, King pays   )

Total Value of Prizes: 4,000,000,000 m !
(Nominal value of ticket: 41,800 m)

It is possible to give prizes to the auction. Unique prizes (please give only items of considerable value) will be listed as 4th, 5th etc. Prizes and will always be awarded. Fungible prizes you need to give the maximum amount to the King, and they will be dividended when the number of tickets reaches or goes below the amount, the King doing what he wishes with the difference.
JAD is a new creation, the rest of the items are King's donations unless indicated.
King is very happy if you wish to donate something to the 225ary Raffle!

It's an old accusation, I actually heard about it somewhat recently. Just imagine how much I(=we) earn to operate 2 legendary accounts with 10,000 posts...   

Thanks for asking. In these agile projects you never know what will happen next (even as the project manager as I am  )

We ended up opening a new PC registration with starting gifts that fully allow playing without deposit as well. Of course the main modules playable are health and marketplace, and the first is mainly eating your money, and the latter is of course more fun the more you have 

There is even a blog-format tutorial about it. I'd exhort everyone who is interested in CK to read this one, it is planned to be a one-page daily read, bringing the concepts of CK to the reader as the main character, Martti, 15 yo country boy, encounters them.

A PC cannot be converted to a FOC, but the same result happens if you found a FOC and the PC wills all his belongings to it and dies.

For all those who even have a little interest in the game, I'd ask you to read the blog and start playing as a PC. Depositing is possible and you get many freebies. Waiting for FOC when we might be willing to open it, and then paying 50 XMR for the privilege (which you can anyway do regardless of having a PC now or not) just does not cut it imo.

The actual math can be expressed like this (even though it is a simplification but helps to point out your main error):

- If someone has a 2.5% chance of getting any random block, it means he gets 1440*2.5%= 36 blocks per day on average.
- Regardless who had the previous block (even himself), he has 2.5% chance of getting the next one.
- Therefore, he has 36*2.5% ~100% chance to get two in a row in each day.
- Getting three in a row is indeed more difficult and should happen on average a few times per year.
- I am not in the mood to calculate the statistically significant 2-, 3- etc sigma events (improbable events), I'd say 5 in a row is significant, 4 is not.

(It seems that some people are not that far off thinking "smooth = me", because we do seem to think same way .. )

The Duchy of New Liberty * Liberation Force

Excluding brief periods in time (1418-1450 when the Prince-Bishop was, and 1525-1570 when the Duke of OZ was), HH The Duke of New Liberty has been the premier peer in the Kingdom. His vision of the land of New Liberty has shone clear during the darkest night. So it may sound tragic that as Liberation finally is at hand, his marshals need to send the forces as his personal affairs deny participation.

The marshals have done everything they could, mobilized the Most Ancient Duke of New Liberty Company (1466) and equipped it with the most valiant men and the still-hot-from-the-cast Cannon. The Company is a magnificent sight in the banners and full uniform. It is rumored that the 50-strong unit can produce 175 BV. Left home is the Ancient New Liberty Company who drill and do guards duty around the Ducal Palace (practically meaning they can shake hands with the Royal Palace guard parading in the vicinity).

50*OTH and very large managerial resources have been allocated to the task of "paving the way". Until now, no one else except the Duke of New Liberty has been able to decode the meaning behind sending stone "but no more than 1 million units" translating to 10,000 tons, with workers and managers to somewhere, and at the same time even meat being too difficult to bring back. The Duke in his wisdom, saw that the stone is for reinforcing the road connections around CryptoTown but decided to play along nevertheless. "The Art of War has much to say concerning supply lines and it is most cost-effective to make them operational near us, where we can do it - let us suffer where it can not be done.

3,000*SCI have been sent as well. The actuaries have estimated that because this stake is higher than anything the others have allocated, it should produce more PRE as well. The orders are to gather as much intelligence as possible about political and economic conditions, avoid battle until it is clear no claimants to the land exist, and take every opportunity to find and bring home natural and manmade valuables in return for a lavish SCI spend.

The troops march to the West.

The Duke of New Liberty donates 20*MIR (Venetian Mirrors 1 sqm) to the 225 Jubilee Raffle and laments that he has needed to actually sell some of his ticket allocation to keep the finances in balance after the massive preparation costs.

The Adventures of Martti  -  day 1  -   March 1622

Read me in Blogger and tell if the platform works OK so I'll move there!


Martti arrives to CryptoTown from the countryside near town. He has been to the town many times as a kid, but now he is 15, and the time has come for him to seek fame and mammon. Martti has set a few goals for his life:
- Become a billionaire (wealth 1,000,000,000 m) in his lifetime;
- Become an Earl (L14) in his lifetime;
- Never accept unrighteous gain or unfair privilege;
- Not log in to play more than once per day, except one extra time per week, bots and scripts allowed;
- Never deposit nor withdraw money, and pass all his belongings to the successor.

Martti exists to let the Gamemaster play as a commoner and feel first-hand the pitfalls in the gameplay. He hopes to be able to post short updates here or in the coming ingame media (or a blog if someone wishes to lend a hand).

Martti was able to register in the game using this link. The "email" asked is not mandatory, but it is currently the only way to recover password. There is no way to recover it unless email is provided, so since Martti has nothing to hide, he gave the email. (Later, anonymous recovery will be provided.)

Martti goes to MyCharacter, and does not even see his name except in the small box in the left. It is time to Edit character (small link in the upper centre). Since Martti being a countryboy does not have a surname, and there are no other Martti's in town, he is content with that as a Full name. He does not see any promotions, so the Title will also simply be "Martti". Clicking "back" from the browser a few times, he comes back to the MyCharacter, and sees "Martti" displayed in 5 different places. That'll do.

The info box on the left shows:
Born: 1607
Start year: 1622
Age now: 15
Character ID: 210
Level: 2 Stranger


Success Tracker
wealth: 0 / 1,000,000,000
level: 2 / 14

HE The Prince of Soul has promised to give 2,000,000 m to each new character who register and update their Full Name and Title as Martti did above (this is a sort of captcha). The gift will be administered manually, and Martti hopes to start his next day with having more money than he ever did. HM The King has given 225*RAF-1 tickets worth about 4,500,000 m to all the characters up to id=208, and from id=209, this Prince of Soul starting gift takes effect. Every new character will also bring their WOS-G (Peasant Brown Clothes) with them, and that is added to the Items after some delay as well.

Martti wants to make clear the unrighteous gain or unfair privilege oath. At present, it means he can accept all gifts, donations and incomes that result from his status as a character, and have nothing to do with his person. All things that are given to all similar characters are accepted. Personal gifts, however, can not be accepted in excess of the value of 1,000,000 m per giver, at present at least. Martti is wary of strings attached and if necessary, too large gifts will be returned. (Don't do it.)

Martti tightens his belt for both lack of warm food, and because of the spring cold, and seeks the nearest peasant shelter, finding one and starting dreaming about the future.

Countryside and County Rules #3

It is somewhat hard for me to withhold this information for an extended time, but it is scheduled to be come into public piecemeal. So the ambiguity in all things regarding countryside is because it is planned to be so, and all words in the posts have meaning, though it might be deceptive as well. At least you have plenty of time.

A Peerage is created often in history, but more are still being created.

A County is opened when 1 PRE points are gained in the county.

The Seat is inaugurated (town founded) when 100 PRE points are gained.

PRE points may be lost gradually if a county is in abandon for some time. As long as any PRE points are gained annually, there is no spoil of existing PRE points.

There are reasons to go fast and reasons to play slow, as always, and no need to explain. It will be told somewhat in advance if the opportunity to Open counties will be suspended.

PRE points will be gained by the following:
- Administrative capacity (MGR+ASS)
- Army pacifying factor
- STOx (based on automatic consume, which in turn is based on how much you send)
- SCI (likewise)
- Other things (several are mentioned, also good finances, thread posts, anything may have an effect)

Counties will produce goods. This production can be of two types:

1. Loot. These are one-time bonuses resulting from various actions and meeting milestones etc.

2. Dividend. These are based on hard work in arranging the farming, manufacturing, trade etc. Usually are based on immovable dividend shares such as S-FOI.

Counties will have Quests as part of the Opening process. Some of them we have already seen a little bit. The usual storytelling is that when summer comes (~Wednesday), the new orders are issued and troops go on their way. Nearer the winter (Sat-Sun), the GM gives the results.

Foreign Powers and other things may be encountered. Their power, objectives and actions, results of encounters, etc. are rolled on a d20 on a need-to-know basis (giving the GM as little information as possible). Example as follows:


Note that intention roll (which I now know, but you don't) had the range of results from 1="Destroy CryptoTown, kill the King and Loot all Valuables" to 20="Seek a legitimate heir to North Face to whom give all the Lands and Powers and Treasures". This was needed to know, before correctly interpreting the activity roll results, which cause things to happen. Currently 17/20 result from this roll caused nothing at all to happen. Normally I would not have told that yet (or at all), just kept you in suspense. Also the power roll was not needed to be rolled yet, so nobody, including the Gamemaster, really knows what range of power and in what domain (carnal, mystical) Louhi possesses, or what she even is!

Encounters are sometimes handled without player intervention, sometimes approximate real time session is organized if the encounter is important and/or the player-controlled character is personally present. (Risk of death.)

So that you don't see battles as fields of slaughter for 100s of millions worth of NPC's (sorry to be so blunt), a good battle can also be seen as a training opportunity and many promotions can be had, also in the officer ranks given our lack of COL/LTC.

Raffle prizes updated (see previous post):

- Wine upgraded to W1603A. A councillor inquired whether there was a contradiction in King's words that stated both W1608 and "pre-Plague wine". Since King's words do not have contradictions except at a great personal cost to himself, the wine has been upgraded to the most healthy Spring Wine instead, that being not only the best in the game, but also the only pre-plague wine obtainable in such quantity.

- The kind donation of Korean Restaurant by the Prince of Soul added to be the 3rd prize (unique). We will officially reply to his letter in due course.

- Rules changed to better allow unique prizes: raffle will start in Wednesday instead of Thursday, and will continue as halvings until 16 or less tickets are reached (used to be 6). After this, the spoil will be at 25%. All unique prizes will be awarded by dice if more than one ticket expires simultaneously. The raffle immediately ends when 1 ticket is left (was not explicit).

- We will have the 22500@22500 offering listed until the first halving, after which we will concentrate on grabbing as much JAD as possible. Once that is gone and hopefully much of it in our royal treasuries, we intend to let go of the remaining tickets, because it is not that much fun to win your own prizes, hope you understand

Embassy Tower Owner's Suite 4-6 Floor, Central Square, Old Town, this 23th/I, A.D. 1622

HE Dr. Paul Choo, Ph.D, TMA, Most August, Blessed and Cultured Prince of Soul, High Rector of TMA University, 4th/I & 17th/I Bt of CK, AOD-Col, OD-K, RT-K, etc(x2)


HM TMA, Most Cultured and Blessed King, Lead Designer of The Game, Founder of TMA CryptoTown, Professor of Economics, AOK-GM, etc(x3);

HRH Archduke Zechariah, The Prince Royal of Crypto Kingdom, TMA Marquess of Tavastia, etc(x2)

HH TMA Blessed Heroic Mayor, SirJacket the Duke of North Face, TA Viscount of Forte Spagnolo, etc(x2);

The righteous, courageous and adventurous players of the Countryside subgame;

The peers of Crypto Kingdom and officeholders in the administration, industries and services in TMA CryptoTown;

Everyone with an interest in the University, Culture, Science and War, the shareholders of the Most Ancient and Worshipful Corporation of the Town Hall, and for the success of the Kingdom;


Greetings.

I continue to follow the developments of the Kingdom with keen eye and converse with my friend, HM the King, annually about current matters in my possessions as well as with the Kingdom at large. My more of 200 years of being the resident in this town, and also the long travels to Rossiya and other countries, have afforded an unique long-term stand in the matters at hand.

With gladness, I have seen that no claims towards the University have been made so far. If the situation persists, when the building is enabled, we will see a great resurgence of Colleges springing up in the University Borough to take advantage of the 25% SCI bonus there. While I do not want to dwell extensively in the loss of the Main Building in 1-NW, the years have not weaned from me, the will to make the University great once again in stone, as well as in spirit.

As is known for the addressees, 3 buildings in the University blueprint were built in the 1500s. Of these, The Palace of Culture and Science (1559) was extensively renovated in the Reconstruction era, and The Hungus Complex (3-W, 1599) did not get much damage. My wish is before leaving this land and going to my Lord, to rededicate the University Main Building in one of these. Naturally I much prefer TA Palace of Culture and Science, because of its location in the heart of the University Borough in the zenith of 3-C, with "unobstructed view to the Citadel", and also because it actually predates the first University Main Building!

I know, Your Majesty, that the building in question is one of your remaining Crown Jewels, after the large donations to HRH The Prince Royal. Still I must plead - something I do not usually do - if you could consider selling the building to the University with all the Ancient valuables contained therein. This will make the things proper again and I can go in peace. For all the fresh donations to the University towards this endeavor, I will match 25% and challenge you, my friend, to do likewise! My contribution will be in the form of CH1600Y, rounded up.

Many considerations and, to be honest, some back-and-forthing, have associated the situation of my peerages, the Principality of Soul and County of Gangnam. After leaving these lands in 1418, I have been there only once again. The lands are cultured and rich, but so far away that land travel to reach them, for setting up an administration, is a folly. Our Kingdom has no mastery in seafaring, and I am also old, so for now I would like the following arrangements to be made, with mixed feelings:

- The Principality will not be started yet. When things settle down with the lands closer to us, an Expedition can be made to establish commerce relations, even better this will be if Seafaring is enabled meanwhile.
- If it pleases your Majesty, may my only son, Paul Jr (#135) be created the Earl of Gangnam. He is already 36.
- I have decommissioned the military troops. I am a man of peace, and of spirit. The objective of war is to gain peace. My involvement in the security of the Kingdom is hopefully over. Retaining the rank of Colonel-in-reserve, I am ready to die for the King if the duty calls!
- I will donate COA-6 - TMA Battle Aquila of Prince of Soul Company to Lord James Daniel. He is fit to continue the traditions.
- I will donate COA-20 - TA Battle Aquila of The Soul Fighters to Sir Crichton, the Earl of Plath. I have to admit this one was more difficult to find the worthy recipient. In the end, Plath seems more prepared than White Cross, and this will become of better use there. The condition of the gift is that the aquila may never be sold but only gifted.
- I gift 1,000 raffle tickets to The Marquess of White Cross. May they be successful.

As for the Town Hall, I have spent nearly a century in trying to gain a majority of the shares, but they seem very entrenched to the original shareholders. Sometimes a life is not enough to fulfil a vision (which is the reason it is good to have several!) and I am now willing to part with the 168/500 shares. The histories are too numerous to mention, and this Worshipful corporation (the only one in the game) can only be steered with utmost piety and reverence. This does not mean that it is a relic, however - the Town Hall Brewery is steaming on, providing satisfaction to the thirsty! If you believe you are the right person to gain prominence in the 1-C, and take the commanding ownership of this landmark, second in age to the Monero House only, please contact HM the King for negotiations.

As for the raffle, I also want to donate a prize. My Korean Restaurant (1518) in 1-SE-V76 is a historical building fitted with WIAL windows (ancient, and larger pane size than the contemporary WIRS). It resides in a developed tranquil neighborhood of The Village, next to the chapel and a a few minutes walk to the main old town squares. Last time checked, it produces 22*IC dividend. Operating a restaurant is also a thing of the young. [storytelling only, no ingame effect]

While I am still at decent health, and try to keep it there by all means possible, every day at this age feels a gift from God (which it should for the young as well, no man knows the length of his days!) Oh yes - about this Queen Louhi: she is quite real. My paper is about to end, I just want to warn you not to make the mistakes by acting haughtily as I did in not asking for blessings in before the Earthquake, costing me thousands of sqm of collapsed buildings. I believe God can grant the prayers of everyone without middlemen, but He also respects the powers and laws He has set in the spiritual echelons above us.

I beg to remain, Sirs, your most humble and obedient servant,

See link for more information. The 225,000 RAF-1 tickets were created to the owners of CUL and 225 were also directly given to every character rich and poor alike! (landed nobles were exempted because they have so much CUL). The ticket is freely tradable in every stage!

Prize Schedule
190,917 tickets (RAF-1) remaining; next halving Thursday

50,000 * CAN
20,000 * BEER
- - -
2,000 * FOIE
1,000 * JAD (1 kilo of unworked Jade, special gift from Ming merchants)
500 * W1603A (pre-Plague wine, the historical Spring Wine)
200 * MIN-5 (Most Elaborate Ming China Plate 16cm)
100 * CS1625E (special edition 5 CKS only 100 minted)
50 * CLXII (since there are no restaurants qualified to participate in the auction, it will be raffled instead)
25 * WOS-E1 (Green Suit, gift of HH The Mayor)
20 * MIR (Venetian Mirror 1 sqm, gift of HH The Duke of New Liberty)
- - -
10 * Baronet of CK (lowest numbers available starting from highest ranking winner incl promotion to L12)
1 * Third Prize: 1-SE-V76 Korean Restaurant (1518) (to the 3rd last ticket; gift of Prince of Soul)
1 * Second Prize: TRC4-19 Most Elab 4-Horse Carriage (to the 2nd last ticket; gift of M of White Cross)
1 * Grand Prize: Any Real Estate up to the value of 500,000,000 m (in the whole game, you pick, King pays   )

Total Value of Prizes: 4,000,000,000 m !
(Nominal value of ticket: 20,950 m)

It is possible to give prizes to the auction. Unique prizes (please give only items of considerable value) will be listed as 3rd, 4th etc. prizes and will always be awarded. Fungible prizes you need to give the maximum amount to the King, and they will be dividended when the number of tickets reaches or goes below the amount, the King doing what he wishes with the difference.
JAD is a new creation, the rest of the items are King's donations unless indicated.


King has listed 22,500 tickets for sale at 22,500 m (how else?   ) GRAB YOURS!


Note on Jade (JAD) and Amber (AMBNP)

Jade and Amber are precious materials with currently no "use". When times get better and society evolves, each 1 kg will be able to be made a large number of small items. No pieces are larger than 1 kg (in fact some are smaller but that is not of a concern here). No new Jade will come to the game, making this raffle a prime opportunity to grab your share. Amber can be gained in the Countryside since it is somewhat plentiful and universally appreciated there.

Pliny completes his Epic History:


- - - * * *  The Most Magnificent  * * * - - -


1.  44  HM TMA, Most Cultured and Blessed King rpietila I of Crypto Kingdom, The Duke of TVA Duchy, Lead Designer of The Game, Founder of TMA CryptoTown, Professor of Economics, CEO of RWWC and HB etc., AOK-GM, TMA AOD-Gen, MG-2 etc(x2)

2.  21   HE TMA, Most August, Blessed and Cultured Prince of Soul, High Rector of TMA University, 4th/I & 17th/I Bt of CK, AOD-Col, OD-K, RT-K, etc(x2)

3.  20   HSH TMA Blessed Heroic Cultured Duke of OZ, Patron of The Arts, 3rd/I Bt of CK, AOD-Col, OD-K, KH, RT-K, MG-4, RT-K, FBB, TB, CB, KFB, HB

4.  17  TMA Corporation of TMA Town of CryptoTown

5.  14  HE TMA Prince Riccardo "fluffypony" of Forte Spagnolo, 10th/I Bt of CK, AOK-S, RT-K, CORE-KC, AOD-Col, MG-3, HB   , KFB, CB, TB, FBB

6.  13  HH TMA Blessed Heroic Duke of North Face, TA Viscount of Forte Spagnolo, 2nd/I Bt of CK, Mayor, CEO of TMA Grand Hotel & FluffyPony Horse Corp, AOK-S, RT-K, AOD-LTC, OD-K, KH, GJB, FBB, TB, KFB, HB

7.  11  HRH Archduke Zechariah, The Prince Royal of Crypto Kingdom, TMA Marquess of Tavastia, CEO of TA NewCorp, OD-GM, RT-K, AOD-Capt, GJB, FBB, TB, CB, KFB, HB

8.  10  The Church

9.  8  The Blessed Marquess Noms of White Cross, TA Viscount of Marquessate of Armagnac, Councillor, CEO of NRC & GoldenHarp & Phaeton, AOK-S, OD-K, HB, KFB, CB, TB, MG-4

10.  7  HH TMA, Wise and Cultured Duke of New Liberty, 5th/I Bt of CK, Chancellor of TMA University, Premier of TMA Noble Palace, Colonel in TMA Royal CryptoArmy, AOK-K, MG-4, etc(x2)

10.  7  The Royal Corporation of King's Coinshop and Royal Mint  

12.  6  HH TMA Duke Saddam of Ramsey, 7th/I Bt of CK, CEO of Pawnshop, AOK-S, King’s Hero, RT-K, AOD-C, MG-4, KFB, CB, HB, TB

13.  5  HE TMA Princess Roopatra of Neverland, Adventurer, TA Viscountess of OZ, 9th/I Btss of CK, Councillor, CEO of RAQ & Unicorn Corp, AOK-C, MG-4, GJB, FBB, TB, KFB, HB

13.  5  TMA Corporation of the Grand Hotel

15.  4  The Marquess of Grass, 8th/I Bt of CK, TB, CB, HB, Architecture Contest Winner

16.  4  TA Marquess of Naoned


The magnificence comes at a cost. Per each Magnificence point (the value of 4...44 above next to the rank), the character must constantly keep in readiness 1 MGR point, to maintain the sprawling empire of all goodness. Managers (MGR-1...MGR-5) give 1-5 MGR-points according to their level. Also 1 ASS-point per manager needs to be present. ASS-1...ASS-3 give ASS-points according to their level. ASS-3 is automatically credited to 3 ASS-points OR 1 MGR-point according to the greatest need.

Ineffectiveness penalty, when evaluated, is 10 mil per missing point.

Others except the characters in the list, need not care for the maintenance. It is an old rule now reinstituted and specially tailored to make the rich pay a bit more.

It may feel that it does not make sense to keep MGR's if not forced to do so (above). It might still make sense, though, as the skill base needs to be kept kingdom-wide, and the fewer are the possessors of an important skill, the more valuable they will be when the skill is again needed. (The number of BUT has started increasing already, ART and CHEF are the most endangered ones atm.)

An old letter is being circulated in the palaces, taverns, and street corners. It is as if HE The Prince of Soul was preparing himself to speak again...