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  • #91
    Originally posted by Azazel
    Kidicious: market economies are naturally in an advantage in this game, since these games are about adventure, personal freedom
    I don't know about that, but people who play these games want to win or lose. No one cares about second place, and they certainly don't care about doing well just to do well. The point it to do better than the other players. But what I was talking about was a simulation that wasn't really a game, but an experiment in economics.
    I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
    - Justice Brett Kavanaugh

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    • #92
      Originally posted by Kidicious


      I don't know about that, but people who play these games want to win or lose. No one cares about second place, and they certainly don't care about doing well just to do well. The point it to do better than the other players. But what I was talking about was a simulation that wasn't really a game, but an experiment in economics.
      That's what I was talking about: this is no experiment. For that kind of experiment, you'll need volounteers, that would be sent to a distant island, or planet or something.
      urgh.NSFW

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      • #93
        what a dip****!!!!
        To us, it is the BEAST.

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        • #94
          Hmmmm, I wonder how the whole making money thing works... Do you have to be online to make money? Does being online cost you money. Does your character have to eat?

          And what exactly is stopping a group of people from banding together to rape and pillage? Or for that matter, building syndicates?

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          • #95
            Originally posted by Kidicious
            Notice that the libertarian economists have not created one of these virtual economies to compare communism to free market capitalism. They must be still trying to find a way to make it work for the free market.
            Uh, all of these virtual economies are libertarian - hell, they're anarchist, there's no "law" in the games besides no bug exploits (enforced by the people who run the game) and whatever in-game organizations establish themselves.

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            • #96
              Originally posted by Harry Tuttle
              Hmmmm, I wonder how the whole making money thing works... Do you have to be online to make money? Does being online cost you money. Does your character have to eat?

              And what exactly is stopping a group of people from banding together to rape and pillage? Or for that matter, building syndicates?
              Nothing at all. That's why it's INCREDIBLY high-risk.

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              • #97
                I can just see it if these ever DO involve significant amounts of money, though... see corporations invest in these games, wage virtual war over millions of dollars...

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                • #98
                  Hahahahaha. I like this guys take on it:



                  Is Project Entropia a Scam?

                  By Brian Carnell

                  Friday, September 8, 2000

                  Project Entropia is billed as an on-line persistent 3D game, but this excerpt from a recent press release really makes me skeptical:


                  MindArk said the second universe, Project Entropia, will be governed by an extensive set of rules familiar to on-line gamers and role game players which will govern actions and possibilities. The economy system of Project Entropia is unique and subject to patent application. The cash to be handled in Project Entropia is real and convertible to any major currency of the real world. As MindArk has solved the issue of handling money in the virtual world and to transfer money from the virtual to the real world, they are able to offer access to the new universe at no cost.

                  I am not saying it is a scam, but the above paragraph makes no sense. If they are really going online with a system that makes it trivial to transfer money from the virtual world to the real world, and they are going to launch worldwide as they have been promising, then they are going to get shut down almost immediately by laws designed to prevent money laundering.

                  Plus, leaving aside the money laundering issue for a second, even using computers to handle the detailed work, there are still real costs associated with processing and keeping track of monetary transfers, especially when you start getting into fluctuating currencies. How this adds up to making the service free makes no sense.

                  On the other hand, if they have really found a way to make it impossible for governments to enforce laws against money laundering, more power to them -- just tell me where to sign up. Somehow, though, I would bet they are either vastly overselling the capabilities of the system or the amount of money that can be transferred in and out of the virtual world is very limited or it is a scam of some sort.

                  Until they prove their system is superior, E-Bay and other online auction facilities are still the only way to go for all your money laundering needs (disclaimer: I do not make enough money to bother laundering it, but the Internet already makes money laundering far easier than it ever has been).

                  Taking its moniker seriously, I suspect the energy behind Project Entropia will quickly degrade and the ability of the game or virtual world to accomplish meaningful work will quickly disappear.

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                  • #99
                    Another neat article: http://www.waterthread.org/news/102400929976312.html

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                    • Originally posted by Azazel


                      That's what I was talking about: this is no experiment. For that kind of experiment, you'll need volounteers, that would be sent to a distant island, or planet or something.
                      That's what's good about the virtual environment. You don't have to send people to an isolated island or anything.
                      I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
                      - Justice Brett Kavanaugh

                      Comment


                      • Originally posted by Harry Tuttle
                        Another neat article: http://www.waterthread.org/news/102400929976312.html
                        Interesting. Reading that article it seems like nothing like this could become big without lots of govt regulation.
                        I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
                        - Justice Brett Kavanaugh

                        Comment


                        • Originally posted by Kidicious


                          Interesting. Reading that article it seems like nothing like this could become big without lots of govt regulation.
                          Well, for the informed investor, who wants to guard against risk, then yes, there would have to be an oversight board to make sure the game is not fixed in favor of the developers.

                          In truth, I think the only way to make any real money in the game is to become a middle man manufactuer, ie. - sell pre-made items to the players. By doing so your material costs will not be entirely based on whatever random number the game engine chooses. Unlike with mining, which it seems is hit or miss at best, you are guranteed to have a market for your raw materials allowing you to use the free market theory to barter for the lower cost. At the other end, you can charge whatever you wish, or the equilibrium price if you want to play the price/demand game.

                          So really, the only real way to make money, is to use the same philosophy that the developers use - sell something that you can control (at least partially).

                          As for your leeway in expression when making end products that area looks to be limited.

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by Harry Tuttle

                            And what exactly is stopping a group of people from banding together to rape and pillage? Or for that matter, building syndicates?
                            Probably the game mechanics.


                            There's no PvP in Entropia so far as I know, although I could be wrong.


                            As for how easy it is to make money.... well, I'm told it's hard as hell. (otherwise, how could it still be running?) I'm fairly certain that you don't have to pay to play, and I've never heard of any sort of in-game maintnance like needing to buy food, ect... outside of needing to make "investments" in certain equipment that is neccisary to be able to do anything worthwhile.

                            I think that the only people who would play this game with the intention of making a profit on it are prepared to play it for mind-numbingly long periods and do very repetitive farming, like their counter-parts who sell things on eBay from other games do.
                            Rethink Refuse Reduce Reuse

                            Do It Ourselves

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                            • Sounds like a good strategy HT, but maybe everyone will try to be a middle manufacturer and the miners will make all the profit.
                              I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
                              - Justice Brett Kavanaugh

                              Comment


                              • One strategy to get yourself started is to get a bunch of noobs and form a line. One person drags a monster into the line, and it gets stuck because the AI is dumb. Then you can sweat the monster without getting hit Other players buy sweat, so you can at least get started without having to put any money into the game.

                                I find this game oddly compelling, I dont know why. Some guy gave me an axe, and the most loot I got so far off of one monster was worth about 10 real pence. Im interested to see at least how balanced the game is
                                Safer worlds through superior firepower

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