Crypto Kingdom - 1991 Retro Virtual World(City)

[sphericon]

After discussions between myself and HE The Prince of North Face, a corporation has been formed in partnership. We are utilizing the old iluvbitcoins corporation-a shell corp for running a defunct mining business.  After sitting idle for years, we have decided to repurpose it and rename it:


The New Reconstruction



The purpose of this corporation will be to purchase and sell land within borough 5 (and later other boroughs) to ensure that a fair price is obtained for both buyer and seller. It will help provide "liquidity" in the property market and keep market prices stable.  It will also ensure that members in the corporation are not fighting a price undercutting war, and will keep prices from fluctuating wildly due to seller/buyer pressure outside the normal market. The New Reconstruction currently has 70q of land allocated to it, and it will be available for purchase shortly.

Internally we have been discussing either an IPO or a share sale. These options may be explored further once the company has a little more history behind it.

[rpietila]

Rouen-RWWC windows auction closed. The final price settled at 120,000 m, indicating that the owners of unwindowed buildings are willing to wait for the RWWC domestic capacity to gear up, or do not see that a 33-50% temporary reduction in payouts is such a big deal as the original scare figure of "up to 100%".

[Karl Hungus]

Prince of OZ would like to claim back 200M donated to the University.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=819073.msg10658640#msg10658640

[rpietila]

HE Dr. Paul Choo, Ph.D, The Prince of Soul, AOD-Col, RT-3

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


Greetings,

Despite my involvement in the Kingdom since 1418, and the fact that I am the person who has seen the largest number of other players in the real life, and participated in the (1st) Satoshi Roundtable - among the newer entrants there time and again circulates a rumor that I don't even exist.

The rumor is false: I very much do, and converse intensely with my friend, HM the King, about what is the right course of action for the Game, and for our commercial success as well. The King has instructed me to buy gold when it was undervalued, and huge areas of land, when that was. Having a sound financial base, which I do, due to my successful endeavors in foreign lands, and my advanced age, enable me to take a long-term stand in current matters.

The loss of the University (Main Building) in its youth, as it had barely started to produce fruit, was a terrible loss of morale for many. I am fully in favor of the King's new, decentralized plan, believing that it will more quickly, more fairly, more steadfastly and more robustly increase the Culture&Science production in the Kingdom, which we need to increase our living conditions and compete with foreign lands in the new century that is ahead of us. I can draw the parallels with the decentralized Army, which I strongly believe is a winning concept compared to the one where the forces would be in one hands only, no matter how noble our King is, he is now mortal as well as the rest of us, and the successor situation is not at all clear. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In the same line of thought - I welcome the increased role of the Church in new player accommodation etc., while hoping that the organisation could be made transparent and decentralized. I offer my token pledge of 100 gold to the Church.

I own land in Culture&Science, the Borough 3 which I support to be renamed University, once a few colleges have started operations there. I am willing to offer this land at reduced prices for the new colleges. The 3-NW already has the Soul Park, which fulfills the criteria of the area being suitable for the King's hopes of the University being sprinkled with green. I will also establish the University Institute of Eastern Cultures there once the reconstruction situation allows.

In addition, I have decided to not claim back the 1,500,000,000 m donated to the old University. It was a donation, and it was spent according to the wishes, and the University was one of the 3 "my" buildings that received heavy damage in the earthquake. I was the person who suffered the most, by far, but hold the understanding that natural forces cannot be affected, human life is not secure, and the rich are in that position so that they could help their inferiors in the times of suffering, while letting them alone to grow their fortunes when no such help is needed.

In addition, I have, rather ironically, minted a PAULUS PRINCEPS SEOUL // DONATOR UNIVERSITATIS gold coin, in the same year that the building pictured in this large and beautiful 25 CKG coin was completely destroyed. Watching the coin - gold is eternal - sealed my determination that not a penny from the donations would pass back to me. Rather,

I pledge 100*CH1600Y gold coins to be sold to collectors and supporters of the University at a price of 2 million each (p.o.) to help to make the claims whole. If not all the coins are sold in this manner, I will redeem the remainder and pay the 2 million each myself to the University. If the claims can be made whole, it is up to the administration how to use the funds.

Which brings us to the administration. The King explained his dream of the new University to me and persuaded me to take the position of Chancellor, after HE The Marquess resigned and reaffirmed his non-willingness to continue even after the King's hint. As for the qualifications, he pointed out my position as Professor IRL and very wide connections to all walks of life. After some hesitation, I decided to accept, and promised that I can allocate the time to fulfill the duties in V.4 (against his promise that he will continue to take care of my finances as he has done so far). We both feel that the only person more suitable for taking the helm as Chancellor at this point is HH The Duke of New Liberty, but he has not been able to be contacted lately. If he is interested and can spare the time for the role that requires good interpersonal skills, we are both happy to pass it on to him.

As for the Town Hall, it has been difficult to reach the other stockholders. With careful examination of the state of the current structures, of the company finances, taking into account the wishes to widen the New Liberty Street, but also that the Town Hall is a Cultured Building and for a reason, I propose the following:

- The Town Hall will be restored.
- We aim to not raise new funds via a stock offering, because many owners would experience dilution, and the commercial valuation of the Town Hall is hard to determine - an offering would lead to the increase in my ownership for sure, and while I do have the interest in increasing it, this means would be perceived unfair by some at least.
- To raise the money for repairs, an offering of the immensely historical TH1454 bronze coins will be made, in addition other non-essential property will be sold, and of course we hope that the ongoing activities will be profitable as well.
- Taking a short-term loan from the Hypothecary Bank is also possible if it cannot reasonably be avoided.

As for the Portal, I have deemed the loss of 2,500 sqm of prime commercial, restaurant, office and apartment space to be an instance of extremely bad luck. Nevertheless, since The Prince of OZ has built a multipurpose property just the opposite, the reconstruction of the Portal is not of immediate importance, and the site will be cleared. The remaining structures, the corner bar and the Department Store, are left standing and operational.

The calamities, misfortunes, and losses are meted out to us humans to enable us to better understand life and feel and appreciate the good times more deeply. With pleasure I hear of the plans of large new constructions in 5-N, the zeal in the Fellowship of the Round Table, even the schemings of the Church to make the gameplay interesting for people with lesser means. My feeling is that we are just about to begin this game, and consequently hinted the King that my financial involvement in it will continue in the following months.

[GreekBitcoin]

Master Haridimous would like to claim back his yearly donations to the University....

[NewLiberty]

Concerning University

Duke of New Liberty makes no claim against past donations.
Further in regards to the missive from HE Dr. Paul Choo, Ph.D, The Prince of Soul, AOD-Col, RT-3 as conveyed by HRM:

HE Dr. Paul Choo, Ph.D, The Prince of Soul, AOD-Col, RT-3

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


Greetings,

...

Which brings us to the administration. The King explained his dream of the new University to me and persuaded me to take the position of Chancellor, after HE The Marquess resigned and reaffirmed his non-willingness to continue even after the King's hint. As for the qualifications, he pointed out my position as Professor IRL and very wide connections to all walks of life. After some hesitation, I decided to accept, and promised that I can allocate the time to fulfill the duties in V.4 (against his promise that he will continue to take care of my finances as he has done so far). We both feel that the only person more suitable for taking the helm as Chancellor at this point is HH The Duke of New Liberty, but he has not been able to be contacted lately. If he is interested and can spare the time for the role that requires good interpersonal skills, we are both happy to pass it on to him.

It is with humility and a sense of solemn duty that I accept the position of Chancellor of the University.  
It is a great honor to follow in the path chartered by His Excellence Chancellor-Emeritus Smooth in establishing this great institution of learning.


As a first action, I would hereby appoint HE Dr. Choo, the Prince of Soul as the High Rector of the University, so that rules and structure be maintained under his most august and learned authority.  
Further to this also convey the tenured positions of Endowed University Professor and Dean of the University Institute of Eastern Cultures in recognition of HE Dr. Choo's knowledge, expertise, and capabilities in this specialty.

For those among us who are seeking to open a college of their specialty in the area for a unified structure of interdisciplinary studies there are many roles to be filled, and many specialties.  Knowledge applied, creates business.

The structure of roles based on the prominence of your school is as follows:

Code:

Distinguished and/or Endowed Professor and/or University Professor 
Professor 
Associate Professor
Assistant Professor
Clinical Professor, 
Professor of Practice, 
Research Professor, 
Research Associate, 
Lecturer, 
Instructor 
Adjunct Professor (part-time or remote affiliated faculty).

We also expect visiting lecturers and foreign experts to visit the more prominent schools imparting their hard won secrets, talents and knowledge.  
For example, we recently hosted a foreign scholar the notable and wise Simon Steven, who brought secrets from far to the West:
 


He graced us with a display and demonstration of his wind powered carriages, which the local limners were able to capture in a depiction:



This innovation, though it be not at all of practical uses, was of great interest to all that attended the lectures.

And so it is with much optimism that we look forward to the many profitable discoveries our scholars will bring us in the coming years.

[rpietila]

Glimpses of the Character management and Levels system in the V.4: Reconstruction

The Levels system stays basically as it is.

Royalty and Landed Nobility (- followed by the titular domain, and the actual domain; actual domains will vary based on the submissive efforts of the Royal CryptoArmy lead by these Nobles starting from V.5)

L15 (HM) King/Queen - kingship - Kingdom
L14 (HH) Grand Duke/Grand Duchess/Grand Prince/Grand Princess/(HRH) Royal Prince/Royal Princess - (several) - Grand Duchy/etc.
L13 (HH) Duke/Duchess - dukedom - Duchy/-ies
L12 (HE) Prince/Princess - principality - Duchy/Counties
L11 Marquess/Marchioness - marquessate - County/-ies
L10 Earl/Countess - earldom - County

Junior Nobility

L9 Baron/Baroness
L8 Knight/Dame/Jungherr/Jungfrau

Commoners

L7 Wizard/Doctor
L6 Master
L5 Expert
L4 Novice
L3 Beginner

Newbies

L2 Stranger
L1 Visitor

Promotions

All Ancients keep their ranks. New players will start from L1 Visitor, with new EXP points directing their rise up to L3. EXP is based on active playing time regardless how the time is spent for now.

The rise to L4 and L5 requires some economic activity, and happens very quickly if the player is participating in any subgames, and slowly if he only spends time in Trollbox. There is a list of conditions that are automatically evaluated and these promotions happen without human intervention.

The promotion to L6 is manual and done by Town clerks, according to objective criteria, similar to the ones used automatically in L4/L5.

Higher promotions remain the domain of the King, and similar qualifications are used as before.

Age plays a part in the promotions. The minimum age to start the play as Visitor is 15, but people of higher age are encouraged to play so, because that will lead to faster promotions. The downside is that it means less years remaining. As a guideline, 20 years of age should equal promotion to L4, 30 years to L5, 40 years to L6, and 50 years to L7. Not all reach the higher levels though, partly for the reason that the living conditions in the Kingdom have swiftly deteriorated and 40 years is already a mature and 50 an admirable age.

Privileged Entry

To continue the good practices of the Ancient Era, it is possible to start the game at a higher level with the qualifications and determination. The following options are available:

Foreign Noble Introduced to the King with a Pledge of Allegiance

Upon a stamp tax of 150,000,000 m, the new entrant (of 21 years minimum) is ratified of his L9 Baron status achieved in other realms, and he gets a private tutoring with some of the existing Nobles and a private introduction chat with the King, and may start the game with these valuable connections.

Foreign Master Presentation of Credentials

Upon a stamp tax of 50,000,000 m, the new entrant (25 years minimum) may present the proofs of his Mastery to some of our Nobles, and start the game at rank L6 Master.

Scion Introduction to the Nobility

Extant Earls and higher may Introduce their offspring to the game, which grants them the lowest Noble title L8 Jungherr. A 50,000,000 m accreditation fee is charged. Minimum age of Introduction is 14 years, and the characters will be given Barony earliest in the age of 21 years, unless the father dies and the King deems that the titles and/or domains should pass to the minor. (All other possessions may be bequathed by will.)

Privileged Entry Based on Real World Credentials

While serious players are encouraged to be ratified in their Baron status as described above, in exceptional circumstances a non-anonymous player may get a L6-L10 entry based on his past merits elsewhere. Lesser (or higher) ranks will not be given based on past merits. The exact guidelines for the procedure will be drawn, and it will involve a token fee, which is designed to be paid by the introducer (this is mainly designed to bring in the friends of existing players).

Other things good to know

Level L3 is renamed, because the previous name (Freeman) was not factual. Being a peasant you are subservient to the feudal lords, and the feudal lords are subject to the King. By coming to the CryptoTown and settling there, you are still not a freeman. The Town is not a freetown, since it is the capital of the Crypto Kingdom, and the King reigns in the Town (albeit with limitations based on the agreements with the Town Council) as well as in the surrounding Old Duchy. "Beginner" is used instead, to conform with the successive levels.

Baron L9 is not a particularly difficult rank to achieve. But achieving it quickly is difficult. There is the standard path of commoner promotions, which you can grind through faster in WoW, but still it does take its time. This time is well spent though in learning the mechanics of the game, so advisable for those who want to experience all the facets, and not pay extensively to do it. It is intended that reaching Baron before you die is possible without ever investing a dime. How - that requires playing

For those who see the beauty of our economic engine and want to experience it to the full, the Foreign Noble option is for you. Your character is given decades to fulfill what you desire, and has the opportunity to get promoted to the higher levels, which - again - does take time, and that time can in only a limited fashion be shortened with money. It is more probable to reach - say - Marquess by investing heavily, vs. not investing, but it will take its time nevertheless.

The administration of the vast possessions both in countryside (soon) and in the CryptoTown, can potentially take much time, and certainly requires much skill. A wealth of wealth managers are available for different tasks, possibly subordinate Commanders for the Army units as well. The game offers easy ways to profit of the success (buying gold), rather easy ways (owning rental space), laborious ways (Resta, Peddler) and ways that require great skill and connections (Quarry, Building Company, developing whole chapelries of land), as well as ways that allow you to profit from your time (Architecting - the royal commissions for 5-N total development reach almost 2,000 XMR, the money I would rather give to anyone else, provided that he can do the job as well as I can - practice makes perfect).

The L7 Wizard/Doctor is a honorary level for commoners that reach very high skills in V.6 Skills and Businesses. Most commoners do not reach the level for the reason that they are promoted Barons much before. Currently most careers are business, not artesan, and therefore success is financial, and Baron is the way to go. In the future, more Wizards(handicraft etc.)/Doctors(learning) will be promoted.

In addition to being Jungherr, the L8 is also Knight. It can be used as a starting level for high-ranking people (recently used for the remaining Monero Core Team members). It also follows if a commoner is Knighted in any of the Orders, or becomes a CO of an Army unit. (Army creation is not freely available though, King as the General determines the suitability of the candidates and the need for a new Company).

L14 will soon be used. It has a variety of titles, some of them being Royal, others not. While it is likely that I live for another realyear easily (being only 34 in physical age, and a realyear adds 30 gameyears, and having access to best foods and conditions), there are things such as battles that may abruptly shorten life. The line of succession will be formed from the holders of L14, to ensure the continuity. I feel the game still has a lot of aspects I can contribute as a King, as well as the lead designer (the development, and the admin part being the ones I don't especially enjoy needing to be involved in), but once my capabilities are deemed deficient, the new King will start ruling. Don't worry - I don't see this happening in a year at least, and in case you want to be the next King, you should know what it takes and play accordingly.

The idea in the Rulebook that promotion to L5, L6 and L9 entails a tax is scrapped. The Town finances show that we are able to raise all the money we need without resorting to such lame ways of raising it. Excessive taxation does not serve a real purpose, because the closed system the game is, just means that Town will redistribute the proceeds to the gold holders. Even though I own half of the gold with an obvious financial incentive to tax, I am magnificent enough to forgo the temptation if no other need is present than lining my pockets. The gratitude to all the Ancients, without which we would not have a game, should hopefully prevent that. If not, I am open to criticism regarding factual issues in the Town Council

[smooth]

Question about the University.

I see that The Prince of Soul and The Duke of New Liberty have declined to reclaim their University donations.

I'm curious as to the purpose of those assets within the new structure of the University as a federation of private colleges. My decision to reclaim my donations was based on the apparent lack of any useful purpose. However, I may reconsider if I my interpretation was in error.

Perhaps the new Chancellor or another would like to explain the new role of University character assets.

[NewLiberty]

Question about the University.

I see that The Prince of Soul and The Duke of New Liberty have declined to reclaim their University donations.

I'm curious as to the purpose of those assets within the new structure of the University as a federation of private colleges. My decision to reclaim my donations was based on the apparent lack of any useful purpose. However, I may reconsider if I my interpretation was in error.

Perhaps the new Chancellor or another would like to explain the new role of University character assets.

Chancellor Emeritus Smooth, as ever is both appropriately curious and on point with this line of inquiry.

In this age of reconstruction, as well as in the coming ages, it is expected that the value of people will continue the trend upwards, and the vesting of skills and knowledge in the people of the Crypto Kingdom remains the mission of the University.

Once the claims periods have ceased, what remains will be put towards this mission in toto.  

There are many diverse centers of knowledge and excellence that are already worthy of recognition.  Military sciences, Medical sciences, Health and Human services, Economics, Physics, Chemistry, Textiles, Music and the Arts all immediately come to mind.

From these existing centers of expertise, as well as new ones, there will be spawned the training of skills so that the goods produced by the denizens of the Crypto Kingdom may rival what is now only imported from elsewhere.  This takes innovation, advancement and research, as well as practical studies.

In practical terms this may provide the mechanism for some promotions from the beginner levels up to the level of mastery in a craft, as well as the training of the necessary NPCs as may be needed to expand the businesses within the city.

[rpietila]

We congratulate the Chancellor, Duke of New Liberty, and the new High Rector, Prince of Soul, for their nominations and wish them years to fulfill their visions concerning the University.

The deadline for reclaiming the donations has ended, therefore we hope that the new administration, with all the help they might request and receive from Chancellor Emeritus Cryptoluna, would promptly proceed with the division of assets.

If such a thing as the new Main Building is wished and finances allow, both we and Soul are eager to offer our best lands in Br.3 for the purpose. The Palace of Culture and Science will host many institutions, but is not easy to be split in ownership. The central tower could be transferred to the University if they so wish, however. Our hope in view of the recent events is that the University would not aspire towards the heavens though.

The Prince of Soul reminds all of the possibility of acquiring CH1600Y gold coins at 2 mil p.o., to support the reconstruction. Only 100 are offered and all proceeds go to the University. The coin is large and pictures the University Main Building surrounded with words DONATOR UNIVERSITATIS (benefactor of the university).

[rpietila]

The Chapelry 5-N is quickly zooming to be the foremost chapelry of all town. Princes North Face and OZ have commissioned the following joint development including:
- A large hotel
- 2 restaurants
- A large office building
- North Face "household" offices
- 3 townhouses 200 sqm each with terraces and gardens
- 400 sqm public park
- a yard for carriages


From Esplanade


From South

(Not all doors are in place but you get the idea).

Other developments in the Chapelry include a 5-story department store with 3,000 sqm commercial area, the Round Table House already shown on the thread, and the Gilded Goose restaurant rumored to have a 100 sqm window reaching 25 m high, aiming to serve the Knights and guests of the Round Table opposite side of the street.

[sphericon]

The Gilded Goose

After years of preparation, it is my honor to introduce to you The Gilded Goose. Inspired by the age-old tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, this 5 star combination wine & caviar bar and fine-dining establishment will be sure to tickle your senses while making you feel that you have indeed found the golden egg!

The Gilded Goose is a 30 meter tall structure consisting of two floors of 15 meters each. The first floor consists of an exquisite wine and caviar bar called The Golden Egg. It imports only the finest caviar and wine from around the world. We have recently procured the Almas caviar, which is sure to excite your taste buds!



We have also hired the finest scientists and chefs in the land, and the result has been amazing. Now, for a limited time, we can offer the the newest of our signature caviar: The Gilded Albino. For only the most discriminating connoisseurs, this fine caviar  is made from rare albino fish eggs and laced with 22 carat gold. This one-of-a-kind caviar is only available for consumption at the Gilded Goose.





If fine dining is more your style, take a step up the opulent staircases to the Golden Goose, a restaurant catering to the most discerning of tastes. Upon stepping into the room, your breath will be taken away by one of the highest levels of luxury that has been seen in a CK restaurant (300%).  In an elegant room set in light and gold, all the hands on the clocks are stopped on 12 as a reminder that inside this Palace of Pleasure, time is of no consequence.  The restaurant staff are known for their impeccable manners, high style of service, always being at their clients’ disposal, and their sincerity.  The wine cellar,  filled with 50000 bottles, is a wine aficionados' dream.  Come, lose yourself in a dining experience you won't soon forget!

[rpietila]

Wow - the last time a Restaurant was purpose-built in town was 86 years ago. El Bulli is still the best restaurant with public access, and has been in the TOP-5 all its history.

El Bulli cost of construction, including land, was IIRC about 400-500 million, the Gilded Goose clearly looks like a billion-project, fitting for the prominent location in the corner of the Great Hall in the Round Table House, the Great Hall/Tower Suite in the NF New Hotel, and the New Department Store. None of these buildings are yet constructed, but if the Old Town did not have the 100+ year headstart, they would easily outcompete the ones there in stature.

I exhort the restaurant owner to have a look at the seasoned staff of El Bulli and embark on purchasing a similar set. Restaurants are one of the most skill-intensive businesses, or the most, when talking about the high end, with the best possible CHEF and BUTler being essential.

It is possible to buy/sell staff in /SERV, just not hire or fire anyone, or establish new businesses or delete old ones. Hiring of low level staff becomes possible again in V.4.

[rpietila]

The Tower Suite is btw. the highest hotel room in existence (once built). It is 12 m high in the middle and about 80 sqm in floor area, facing south/west, with private access to the very large roof terrace with views all around. The Ducal Suite in the 3rd floor of the Grand Hotel is much larger and 40 m long with several beds and baths, but only 4 m high.

[rpietila]

The usage of SCI points in V.4, and the plans for Town expansion



This is how our town looks like (scale = 4,050 * 2,700 m ~ 11 sq.km). The current nominal population is only about 2,000, but it will go up drastically after the new players join in, and the Quarry & Building company workforce are again counted as population. Also as per the custom, only working-age men are counted, and the peasants living in the middle boroughs are not, so per modern standards, we are already living in a town of about 10,000 people.

To encourage diversity, the Boroughs we have, have been encouraged to take varying directions in development:

(1) Old Town is the historical homestead of the King and the Nobles, restaurant life, and the tourism, and still accounts for 45% of the building area. It has lately been plagued by high land values, hindering the new construction, though.

(2) New City has a fully-built monumental centre and the new Triple Towers development increasing commerce and population, with also many parks. A curiosity is the lack of paved road between it and the Old Town, because the land in between is rough. The site of New City was chosen to be the first new borough mainly because its excellent quarry properties in 1520. The King has a site chosen for Summer Palace but the plans have been delayed.

(3) Culture & Science was opened in 1540 to allow more quarrying, and also because the Old Town had expanded to that direction. The Boulevard was immediately lengthened starting from Culture Square in the OT, all the way to the (then planned) Palace of Culture & Science. This borough is now designated to the University (and may be renamed such), with the major landowners pledging to give privileged prices for those willing to establish Colleges there. At times, it has been more developed than New City, but lately as Triple Towers were built and Portal collapsed, C&S is behind.

(4) Free Land (Swamp) was opened in 1580 to experiment with free land. The site is not quarriable and not very suitable for living but as it is close to the OT, it needs to be claimed. Problems there are with the ground that requires extensive pedestals to keep buildings from sinking, and common sense tells that the health issues there might be linked to the environment. Nevertheless, for people with lesser means, building a 5 million house on free land is significantly more lucrative than paying 20-50 million for the land first.

(5) San Pietro was opened in 1580 but did not enjoy any success at first. Only when the namesake was built there and the area became known during the Earthquake aftermath, it started to incite interest. As a surprise move (everything that we don't propose nor even think is a surprise), the Round Table selected 5-N to be the site for the Clubhouse. Now there are the plans almost ready to build a monumental centre in 5-N and a tightly packed urban area in 5-C around the San Pietro as well. Most other chapelries are not yet quarried and need be, because so much stone is needed for the construction, which is affordable to be produced onsite.

(6) Neither the north side of (2) nor the west of (4) are developed, so there is no great hurry to open this borough except for quarrying purposes. No details about the geology exist.

(7) Versailles was sold to the King decades ago for the purposes that he would build a Chateau there. The area is a natural park, and as such will not be quarried. The stone requirements are immense, though. The estimates for finished building have ranged from 50-100 billion. The area as its totality is also a haw, with royal and diplomatic immunity. Embassies and the palaces of the Court members will be built there as well. It is unlikely that any serious construction can even start in the nearest real-months.

( 8 ) This area is a likely candidate to be opened as soon as Quarry works again.

(9) This is a most likely area to be opened, because it is situated in the corner of (3) and (5), and can support them with stone, and later provide a place for more affordable houses etc.

(10-21) The current rule is that the Town must make available land in unlimited quantities for quarrying and development, so that there always are chapelries for sale for 1,000 million. At present, this rule is not followed because we have needed to constrain the scope of activities available in V.4. As the Quarry opens, it is possible that speculation or actual growth leads to the opening of these boroughs, in which case the direction of expansion depends on the direction of existing developments, geology and other factors.

(22-23) Previously I have said that middle boroughs cannot be opened before there are scientific advances. With closer examination, as the map reveals, it is not a significant difference in population density if some of them are opened. Historically, it has taken a long time to achieve a density that would bring problems. The (currently) slight traffic issues in the Old Town are not related to domestic population but the visitors that must all come to a small area with their carriages, because everything is located there!

Therefore, with some general advances that New Liberty has already hinted about, opening the (22) and later (23) would be possible. The (22) is hilly land, with only the Esplanade in the centre levelled. The (23) is flat and peasants use it for growing vegetables for the consumption in the town. With about 6,300 SCI points, we could start from opening of (22), and our proposal is as follows:

Land is sold per quadrat, and all the quadrats not already belonging to the King's Esplanade (1,260 total) are for sale. Everyone who has SCI points can spend 5 SCI to redeem a quadrat. When all quadrats have been redeemed, the advance is completed and the Borough is annexed to the Town and the landowners can start building there. All the roads etc. are the responsibility of the landowners (building roads of varying width is not an issue in V.4 as the current /OV with its 10x10 grid does not even exist there visually - although the ownership is still limited to the said grid).

Since in the beginning we have 3,000+ SCI points and it's obvious that the land facing the Esplanade is dramatically more valuable than that which is not, we first arrange an auction for the "first taker rights" where the ones who pay the most extra (m) can choose how to spend their SCI first (price per q). The proceeds are divided between the King and the Town, as it is with all land sales.

This is just a proposal: before implementation, one thing that needs to be done is to map the contours. Then the quarry issue - if quarrying is disabled, we fear that a serious dearth of affordable stone hits us soon. Also 5 SCI might be too little.

Furthermore, we would like to see the situation where at the time of completion of this project, there would be more pressing ways to spend the SCI so that it becomes the game of tragedy of the commons (who will spend the final SCI needed, on land that is not going to be useful in the near future) or a glorious triumph of cooperation. The same idea is behind the suggestion to let the roads be built by the owners.

[sphericon]

I exhort the restaurant owner to have a look at the seasoned staff of El Bulli and embark on purchasing a similar set. Restaurants are one of the most skill-intensive businesses, or the most, when talking about the high end, with the best possible CHEF and BUTler being essential.

It is possible to buy/sell staff in /SERV, just not hire or fire anyone, or establish new businesses or delete old ones. Hiring of low level staff becomes possible again in V.4.

I have realized that I need a quality chef for this business and I would like to obtain a CHEF-4 or CHEF-5.

*edit* I also need a high-ranking Butler.

Does anyone have a spare one, or would anyone like to trade for any of my other NPC's?  Available for trade:

1 x CHEF-2
1 x CHEF-1
1 x MGR-4
1 x COOK-2

[sphericon]

The usage of SCI points in V.4, and the plans for Town expansion
Land is sold per quadrat, and all the quadrats not already belonging to the King's Esplanade (1,260 total) are for sale. Everyone who has SCI points can spend 5 SCI to redeem a quadrat. When all quadrats have been redeemed, the advance is completed and the Borough is annexed to the Town and the landowners can start building there. All the roads etc. are the responsibility of the landowners (building roads of varying width is not an issue in V.4 as the current /OV with its 10x10 grid does not even exist there visually - although the ownership is still limited to the said grid).

Since in the beginning we have 3,000+ SCI points and it's obvious that the land facing the Esplanade is dramatically more valuable than that which is not, we first arrange an auction for the "first taker rights" where the ones who pay the most extra (m) can choose how to spend their SCI first (price per q). The proceeds are divided between the King and the Town, as it is with all land sales.

I have a proposal as well for how to deal with the land distribution. Perhaps there is a raffle for the q's of land. Each person who would like to enter into the raffle "buys" a ticket for 5 SCI. So, 20 SCI would net you 4 tickets. After a specified time limit, the raffle takes place. The tickets are drawn and the order is noted. Then, each ticket, in order, is redeemed for a q of land of that ticket owner's choosing. 

This means that the people with lots of SCI will be able to buy many tickets, and thus potentially get a better q location. However, that is all up to chance. It also gives the little guy a chance to get a quadrat of land with his 5 SCI as well.

For those who do not have SCI, there is a possible solution as well: perhaps one of the large holders would be willing to sell their SCI points off on a secondary market.

[rpietila]

The time element is an importart design consideration in the technology subgame. The others mainly function in the present, meaning very little forward thinking is required to participate. With technologies, the optimal interesting situation would be that there is an actual tradeoff going on with how much SCI to commit and where, and how much to keep in reserve to enable strategic commits to finish an advance, or participate in a new advance when it comes.

Therefore, there needs to be an implicit interest rate in SCI points - some rules that encourage spending them sooner rather than later. The IRR (internal interest rate) of various game activities is nominally 0.2%-0.8% daily, but practically even higher, even 1-2%. The Prince of Soul recently calculated that after all his donations, he was still making 1.2% daily during the time the game was active.

A beautiful way to achieve the time preference is the distribution of land in the order of SCI commitments. With the exception of the roadside, the land value does go down when going further, but it also does it so slowly that it is not necessary to act daily in FOMO.

The raffle would not embrace any of these mechanisms that make the game interesting, nor be realistic. It could well be used in allocating land to the poor for instance, but in connection of SCI points I don't see the advantages.

[rpietila]

More about Technology

The Crypto Kingdom is a rather large but sparsely populated land mass in conditions that resemble central or northern Europe. We know of great lands such as Rossiya, France and Polonia, and have trade with them. We have contact with faraway lands as well. Curiously enough, while the lands nearby are a source of much more visitors to us than we can afford to visit them, they have not expressed much interest to subdue us. The latest diplomatic incident with our neighbors was in the late 1400s.

This place is technologically backward and few people live here, and the peasants have grown increasingly hostile to taxation of any kind. They are protecting the core of the Kingdom (the Old Duchy and the CryptoTown in the middle) from the intruders with their attitude, but will also present an issue to our rule as we have the idea to enlarge our effective control to the whole area claimed as the Crypto Kingdom, and not claimed by any of the foreign powers.

The role of Technology (SCI) in our game is to bring about the advances that keep us in the historical schedule of technology progression, mending the gaps that the other nations already have, and who knows, in the future getting ahead of them in some fields. This will prevail for the realyears to come - at the new pace of time, we will reach the IRL time in 2028.

At the moment, our SCI production is about 100,000 SCI/realyear. Taking reasonable growth into account, it's likely that the 1600s will see the total of 1-10 million SCI produced.

Our challenge from design perspective is to create an interesting and incentivized system for spending SCI. The game has a strong collaborative element, and most advances should at least eventually become amalgamated to the body-of-knowledge and the game rules. The SCI advances are so large that they can only in a limited way to be used in competitive settings, because the competitors would need to be very large, ruling out almost everyone from the game, and the prizes should be so large as to giving advantages to some that the others would feel are unfair. So we need to design a system that allows the SCI points to be used in limited, temporary, proprietary advances, while also advancing the general good, and the latter needs to be incentivized as well.

Some design considerations are:
- Science should involve strategy, so there should be some visibility to the technology tree, if/when the advances lead to others.
- It should be possible to research many kinds of things, not only preplanned ones. This increases interest by true scientists.
- Some major advances should have a known outcome, whereas minor ones could have a more vague knowledge where they might lead. It is also possible to use die to decide if a certain path leads to a breakthrough or not, to increase realism.
- SCI establishments should get bonus when researching things that they are made for, while preserving the fungibility of SCI points themselves, so that the points don't expire and it would be reasonable to strike a balance between committing points and keeping a reserve for quick needs.
- The usual tradeoff between preserving the first-mover/early adopter advantage, while giving enough incentives for newcomers to join.
- It is preferable that (at least some of) the individual advances also have a first-mover bonus, otherwise the time element in committing incrementally to the advances is lost and becomes more of a balance-of-terror type of thing with clans buying whole advances at once, which is not as fun and completely unrealistic.

About technology trees in games (scholarly article).

The function of tech trees was examined earlier in this article, but it remains to discuss in detail what technologies themselves do within the games. The effects of technologies are mostly metaphorical, representing what their usage on a large scale would do to the society that operates them. In general, technologies can a) lead to other technologies, b) boost the statistics of units and buildings, c) allow the production of new units and buildings and d) grant the player new abilities.

In this framework,
a) is of course present

b)-c) it is conceivable that building will be cheaper, more flexible, more comfortable and even more durable as advances such as wooden ceilings and roofs replace the unweildy and expensive stone ceilings. Also the graphics allow 0.5 m precision instead of 1 m currently, but this advance cannot be unlocked soon mainly because of the editor/architect/time limitations (it is 8 times more atomic units, with a result of much more time spent on design, which already is a major cost item - also the cost of different kinds of buildings needs to be kept at bay - a middle-class home must be purchasable at <$100 always, otherwise the game is sorely outpriced).

Units we have in the form of Businesses, and minor modifications can be made as part of existing formulas, for example Restaurants could have several advances leveling them up, or reducing costs. Small advances can grant a temporary natural monopoly due to the others not knowing the trade secret. CUL/SCI establishments can increase production, and of course IND has only been started because of the advances, and more are required for every industry we start, printing press comes to mind.

One more thing that the advances can help is affect what can be produced by the PC/NPC in V.6 Skills&Businesses. Medicide is a major issue now, as otherwise our living expectancy is in danger to collapse. The waters in the two springs don't taste what they should, and new sources need to be found. We don't really know even how to dig wells!

d) player "abilities" are somewhat difficult, because a "player" does not equal a character, and boosting a single character by a global technology advance is funny and impossible to balance. The clans have not yet formed in an appreciable extent, and the Countryside is only coming and not even soon. The emergence of new Kingdoms is even further, because lesser -doms subservient to the King must precede them. This is an important avenue to explore though and in the 1700s and onwards might be relevant.

[rpietila]

Since all new things in Civilization IV come from the tech tree, the system of effects was designed to give technologies a wide variety of functions. Technologies can allow new buildings, units, improvements, civics, religions, and actions. Furthermore they can reveal new resources, allow new diplomatic options, grand prizes to the first civilization that researched them and obsolete the effects of buildings. Lastly technologies can give quantifiable bonuses themselves, like engineering allowing units to move one extra tile per turn over roads. This system of effects allows the designers to chose more freely what effect they want to attribute to a technology, therefore allowing a more meaningful connection between technology and effect than in RoN. One limitation of this system is that each upgrade should be different, thus the Civ4 tech tree cannot include many technologies of the same kind.

(T1) 500 SCI
- application of an age-old technology first time in our kingdom (Mint)
- research with limited application (New foods)

(T2) 1,000 SCI
- industrial espionage to a known technology (Crown Windows)
- experimental research leading to a limited success (NF dyes and perishable clothes monopoly - will later be proven inadequate quality, they will have to develop other techs to maintain the lead )
- way to treat a single disease/illness
- unlocking of a minor game feature (Flowers)

(T3) 2,000 SCI
- a new industry, following foreign discoveries (Printing Press)
- minor advances in weaponry (mastery in a technique known to other countries)
- advances in Engineering/Construction (New building methods, one by one)

(T4) 5,000 SCI
- societal, administration, roadbuilding, economics advances (Limited opening of Countryside)
- major advances in weaponry (better equipment)
- spiritual studies (Reformation)

(T5) 10,000 SCI
- major advances in engineering/sanitation/city planning (Opening of a middle borough)
- major collection of knowledge from a previously unknown sector of life (Seafaring/Navy)
- a new industry, creating valuable export goods (mining of unknown minerals)

(T6) 20,000 SCI
(T7) 50,000 SCI
(T8) 100,000 SCI