Crypto Kingdom - 1991 Retro Virtual World(City)

[rpietila]

Building in the future



Building originally consisted of stone, labor and imports (luxuries and windows). Rules (eg. 15-20 m height limit) dictated what kind of construction was possible.

Now it is not much different, but windows are no longer imports, at least our own RWWC tries to meet the demand with domestic production. Rules have been eased and high building made more expensive to construct.

In V.4: Reconstruction, the windows need to be sourced, they are not available freely. Building labor is unlimited still, but may experience fluctuations in price, which has already been the case. Luxuries are eroding by time, and the condition of the whole building also erodes, making periodic luxury and repair updates needed. Luxury will remain a way to get backdated Items, which was already tested with AIC.

In V.5: Economy, the building project labor is no longer a lump sum, but NPC labor points in the same way as any other labor. The smallholders have their buildings designed from architects, and order them from the building companies. A large building effort takes several days, as one day is one month, inadequate to build a church.

In the future, with advances in technology, and especially in our gaming software, buildings will be more itemized. Doors, windows, wood parts, details in gardens and interior elements can be customized. The Items management is in place to allow this without choking the game, and Skills&Businesses make the generation of Unique Items fun and realistic (otherwise it would be money talks -only, which is boring, and the reason why currently items are created in a backward way).

The following things are expected to happen:

Building height remains controlled, making very stately buildings possible but expensive, often unstable, and uneconomical. This will definitely not hinder the future builders any more than the past ones, as big buildings just are better than small ones, and cost is anyway not the concern (a large building will cost $500+ making it not the business of the unbelievers).

When health is implemented, the crowded areas will be regarded as unhealthy. It's not easy to point now, where these areas might form, as the current formulas do not allocate poor and rich people separately, family members are not counted, etc. Also the population density just isn't so high yet with large areas outside and in between boroughs unbuilt.

Traffic will become a concern as well, as has been hinted, but this also lacks the formulas that are collected from the online version data.

Not in any near future, the precision of the buildings will move to 0.5m, making thinner interior walls possible, with many other applications as well.

Wood roof structures have for historical reasons not been used except in connection with gilding, but they will make the variety of roofs possible.

Wood ceilings are mainly not used because we cannot construct freestanding walls of any appreciable height. Therefore the ceilings need to be of stone as well to solidify the structure. In the future, upper floor or smaller building ceilings can be of wood, saving space and costs, but adding propensity of fire, which is about non-existent with our current building style.

The lack of ironworking skills and the high price of imported iron (we don't have a single paved road leading anywhere from our town) have resulted in buildings that have few protruding parts, as supporting them is tricky. This will be eased in time.

In the near term, the price of stone will go up, but better quarrying technologies should bring it down in the future. Currently a cubic-metre block of stone costs 24k + 40k in labor. One sqm of windows costs 120k + 40k in labor. It is also possible that there will be different types of stone itemized, with big blocks, especially columns, graded to really bear the burden that currently is deemed impossible (you just cannot build a pillar 15:1 height:diameter ratio from random stones).

Facades will soon become an additional optional cost item, buyable in the time of construction, and bringing the Beautiful-bonus.

It's already OK to not make stone railings in roof terraces (wood instead), but the style persists.

Variable terrain height and terraforming, cellars, etc is coming.

Please add your wishes to the list - the lead time for implementation is months, so better be early that your character won't die in waiting! 

[rpietila]

NPC in V.4


Just sent the final NPC properties to the devs. Some highlights:

- Type Worker (OTH; N1) will be used in a variety of roles.
- ASS-3 promote all the way to MGR-3, also some other jump-promotions.
- Promotion in general is really slow, this is the result of the NPC lifespan - they start work at 15 and if they get promoted long enough, may live up to 65. This is 600 realdays, and the promotion range needs to be realistic. Not every waitress ever becomes a BUT-9 for instance. As long as the ages of NPC are not modeled, the promotion is based on IF(rnd()<small_value) script instead. So no much planning, except statistically such as in armies with a large number of soldiers. The good news is that the promotion roll is daily. The initial promotion (eg. MGR-1 => MGR-2) happens mostly quickly but after that only the best make it.

If specific talent is requested, it makes sense to buy from aftermarket. The formulas of the subgames are not much changed now, but they will be updated periodically to patch exploits. The highest levels N8 (silver NPC) and N9 (gold NPC) will probably continue to be worth their hefty pay and transfer price due to their usefulness in boosting almost any formula, and the fact that they generate CUL and SCI bonuses as follows (N8 provides 1 and N9 provides 2 points per day):

MGR, SPE, COL/LTC = Science
CHE, BUT, SPE = Culture

Yes, specialists provide both

Sadly N9 do not promote or provide other six sigma bonuses except the continuous boost in CUL/SCI.

NPC are mortal, and high-level NPC are more mortal than the low ones, because they are older. It is undecided if the mortality will be implemented in V.5 (together with PC mortality) or V.6 (together with the grand overhaul of PC/NPC skills and abilities). A rule of thumb when calculating the life expectancy could be that highest level has 10 years (120 days left) from the time when the clock starts ticking, and lowest levels about 20 years (240 days). But V.5 is likely not until at least 60 days from V.4, and V.6 further still.

[rpietila]

Building economics in V.4

Due to the softening XMR price, it was today locked that the NPC daily costs are unchanged.

How about the buildings? Windows are now 120,000 instead of 140,000, but the stone is going up and labor is unchanged (because it's NPC cost although paid as a lump sum). In total, it's likely that this will even out.

It is possible to build a 2 m high, lowrise, 0% lux place according to existing models (no architect fee) for 200,000 m/sqm. The THC Model1 is an example of this.

Luxuries cost 2,000 m/sqm/1%, so a nice 100% lux is +200,000 m/sqm and the lofty 200% is +400,000 m/sqm. Different parts of the project may have different lux so rental basement no need to be 200% anymore, resulting in savings.

Having some room height and windows and supports and more height and total height, the price tag is increased by 100,000-200,000 m/sqm.

And my architect fee is 24%.

=> Therefore, the price range for perfectly ordinary places is about 300-400k, below that is cost-conscious, but it is possible to spend closer to 1 million per sqm incl architect fee if the place is cool. Or 1.7 million as was the case in San Pietro. 35 m room height and 3 m walls add to the costs without adding the sqm 

How much are the running costs? Currently, guarding is 200 m/sqm/day in most cases.

Tax is not yet ratified, but it will likely be 100 m/sqm/day.

Luxury depreciation is 1%-point per week, and this is also directly proportional to sqm, therefore 286 m/day.

Structure depreciation is random, and one-time events are not included, but over the long haul it tends to exponential decay. It is possible to calculate the daily averaged cost for each building separately, but they vary widely due to the optimum time of making repairs, cost of labor per sqm, and the depreciating factor which is lower for solid designs and higher for risky ones. The range is about 100-500 m/day with 200 m/day an average. It typically takes 2 realyears before the building needs to be repaired, and in this long a time something else may be desired instead, in which case it ends up not even mattering that the building has deteriorated as it's demolished anyway.

So owning buildings will cost you directly 300 m/day and indirectly about 800 m/day, per sqm.

The land should hold its value or grow in tandem with other game assets, so theoretically it should not be taken into account at all.

The money tied up in the building, however, should. Some buildings become more valuable as they age, but most buildings don't. Therefore it's good to establish an interest rate that can be used in the calculations. When Bank still granted short term loans, this was about 0.40%/day.

Now we can calculate the total costs of "operating" a rental, let's say we have 1,000 sqm, which cost 300 million, in a 6 q lot, which cost 120 million:

- Direct costs 300,000 m/day = 0.10% of capital employed
- Indirect costs 450,000 m/day = 0.15% of capital employed
- Capital costs 1.2 mil/day = 0.40% of capital
----------------------------------------------------------------
Total costs 1.95 mil/day = 0.65%         * land is expected to appreciate at the rate of 0.40% so need not be taken into account

The special institutions formula gives an equal weight to space (desirability*sqm-formula) and NPCs (efficiency formula). Because the actual running costs of large buildings are remarkably cheap compared to seasoned NPC, rational actors might want to maximize the availability of space in the Special Institutions (including Household, Army (Army has only 1/3 weight for the space instead of 1/2)).

This gives an economic rationale for embarking on large construction projects in the University borough.

[sphericon]

What do you guys think about creating a forum just for CK? Is it worth the effort? Would people eventually go there? Is it a fool's errand?

[GreekBitcoin]

What do you guys think about creating a forum just for CK? Is it worth the effort? Would people eventually go there? Is it a fool's errand?

It would be easier for people to keep up with everything that goes on in comparison to IRC. Or at least to keep up with whatever they deem important...In any case if more people join a forum is a must.

[sphericon]

What do you guys think about creating a forum just for CK? Is it worth the effort? Would people eventually go there? Is it a fool's errand?

It would be easier for people to keep up with everything that goes on in comparison to IRC. Or at least to keep up with whatever they deem important...In any case if more people join a forum is a must.

That's what I was thinking. A single thread isn't going to work once we get 200, 500, 1000 players...

[sphericon]

If it pleases His Majesty, I would like to introduce the final version of The Gilded Goose. I have rendered out the blueprint and done a video flyaround/through of the model.  This is not in-game footage, but simply an artist's rendition of how it would look if it were built in a 3d world. The video uses Minecraft to help maintain the blocky style of the game. This will hopefully give some visually-minded people an idea of the game and its buildings, and how they are very much real. It (the game) is very well thought out, and this blueprint is actually built to architectural specifications that are set as game parameters (each 1x1 pillar can only support 50 blocks of stone, arch length requires certain support, dome needs to have its weight supported, etc).

Here's the video:



And here's the blueprint it was based upon.

[iluvbitcoins]

how's the online version coming up?

[saddambitcoin]

Nice work on the 3D Gilded Goose, noms.

iluvbitcoins, I think HM The King is on vacation right now. I hope it comes soon! I saw a screenshot a few weeks ago and it looked very nice.

[sphericon]

iluvbitcoins, I think HM The King is on vacation right now. I hope it comes soon! I saw a screenshot a few weeks ago and it looked very nice.

I just got word from HM The King on IRC. He said this:

<rpietila> can u pls post to the thread that I haven't yet found functioning wifi but intend to communicate during my working holiday
<rpietila> I'll go grab a cocktail, book and cigar

[sphericon]

Nice work on the 3D Gilded Goose, noms.

Thanks. I'm pretty excited to see it "IRL!"  Tempted to do more modeling today. I'm home ill today... :/

[rpietila]

iluvbitcoins, I think HM The King is on vacation right now. I hope it comes soon! I saw a screenshot a few weeks ago and it looked very nice.

I just got word from HM The King on IRC. He said this:

<rpietila> can u pls post to the thread that I haven't yet found functioning wifi but intend to communicate during my working holiday
<rpietila> I'll go grab a cocktail, book and cigar

It's indeed sad when you don't have Internet...
 

[rdnkjdi]

Did I miss the web version (skimmed the OP) was thinking it was going to be browser based 2d game months ago.  Has it been decided to keep it paper / google docs / forum based version of 2nd life?

[smooth]

Did I miss the web version (skimmed the OP) was thinking it was going to be browser based 2d game months ago.  Has it been decided to keep it paper / google docs / forum based version of 2nd life?

The web version is still in progress. I think there have been some statements about which elements of the gameplay are to be moved to the web version in each iteration, but I don't know the details.

[iluvbitcoins]

Why is no one buying gold while the monero price is low

[djjacket]

Why is no one buying gold while the monero price is low

Are you selling?   

Actually a couple of players bought some gold today.

[iluvbitcoins]

Nah, I'm just expecting the price to rise, but it's standing on 400 000m

[sphericon]

Updated info about CK seen on IRC (edited for content) - posted on Sun, 3 May

<Roopatra> sXpher, do you have something to share to all of us?
<sXpher> I can tell you that a crazy amount of work has been done, all 90% subgames have been complete backend and front end, management tools are all complete, user management for admins as well as editing tools
<sXpher> I don't want to overstep though, updates need to come through fluffypony
<sXpher> Just waiting for HM to come online so I can go through some of his formulas for buildings, and we'll finish off that logic this week
<sphericon> That is great news
<sphericon> Does that mean it is getting close to finished?
<sXpher> Yes indeed
<sphericon> Awesome!
<sXpher> We'll first give testing access to HM, and then I'm sure he'll have a couple of you guys test it
<sXpher> And we'll iron out bugs you come across as we go along

[iluvbitcoins]

Nice, can't wait to see this online

[sphericon]

From today:

13:17 <sphericon> oh mr fluffypony! is there any CK news?
13:17 <•fluffypony> yes! I will post an update when I have reliable internet
13:24 <sphericon> oooh ooooh


*waits with baited breath*