MMO Economy? Any tutorials/guides on balanced economies?

[Verahta]

Anyone have any tips, or can provide a link to a good tutorial or guide on how to create a balanced game economy for an MMO? What about a stock market functionality? Would be cool if player factions/corporations could issue shares and be bought/sold on the games stock market.

I'm trying to learn how one would design a deep but balanced game economy and I'm finding it hard to know where to start.

Thank you for any advice at all you can provide.

[Elleri]

I've been a visitor to these forums for quite awhile, and now I've finally decided to register.

I did some of my own research awhile back on this topic and found this: http://eternal-lands.blogspot.com/2008/ ... onomy.html

Hope it helps a bit.

[vitinho444]

Wow very cool thanks a lot

[hallsofvallhalla]

Nice link,

This is why I wish mmorpgmaker would have given me their database. There were years of conversation over these kinds of topics on there.

Anyways this is a HUGE topic and is so important. I respect any game dev who does his homework first when it comes to these topics. I have seen many MMORPGS die out of the gate because of unbalance and a terrible economy. I wish I could give you advice but sadly I cannot not. The few MMORPGS I have released were either player economy based and I have to start really slow and just figure it out as it went or were so small in size that demand kept things in balance. For instance with Forsaken Sanctum the 3d version I was basically a one man development team so there were few things to purchase or find so players just traded amongst themselves like candy in a sugerless town.

[Xaos]

Habbo hotel. If you've ever played that game, it has ideal economy. Users can trade items. There is a 'catalogue' (or NPCs for other games) where you can buy items for coins(which cost real money) and the items have a value based on the price in the catalogue (or the npcs).

[vitinho444]

Habbo hotel. If you've ever played that game, it has ideal economy. Users can trade items. There is a 'catalogue' (or NPCs for other games) where you can buy items for coins(which cost real money) and the items have a value based on the price in the catalogue (or the npcs).

I played and i disagree with you.. Where's the economy on buying Coins and buying items and trading them? Unless you are talking about having those Habbo Club sofas and trading them for lots of cheap items there's no real economy behind it.

[Xaos]

Habbo hotel. If you've ever played that game, it has ideal economy. Users can trade items. There is a 'catalogue' (or NPCs for other games) where you can buy items for coins(which cost real money) and the items have a value based on the price in the catalogue (or the npcs).

I played and i disagree with you.. Where's the economy on buying Coins and buying items and trading them? Unless you are talking about having those Habbo Club sofas and trading them for lots of cheap items there's no real economy behind it.

I don't understand how that isn't economy.

You have a currency (coins). They are valuable. You buy things with them. Or you can trade items at their set coin value or usefulness.

[Verahta]

I may as well contribute to my own thread and throw down this link I found last night. It is a decent article explaining some things that worked and didnt work for some of the biggest MMO economies:

http://skycandy.org/2011/04/inflation-t ... h-of-mmos/

[vitinho444]

Habbo hotel. If you've ever played that game, it has ideal economy. Users can trade items. There is a 'catalogue' (or NPCs for other games) where you can buy items for coins(which cost real money) and the items have a value based on the price in the catalogue (or the npcs).

I played and i disagree with you.. Where's the economy on buying Coins and buying items and trading them? Unless you are talking about having those Habbo Club sofas and trading them for lots of cheap items there's no real economy behind it.

I don't understand how that isn't economy.

You have a currency (coins). They are valuable. You buy things with them. Or you can trade items at their set coin value or usefulness.

Well i don't see it as a good economy.. A good economy (for me) it's a system that everything has it's value and can be compared to other things. Example: A raw chicken is worth 10, a cooked chicken is worth 20, but with an alive chicken maybe you can buy 2 raw chickens because the alive one can give you feathers and meat. Do you understand? Maybe I'm too cocky, but i think that's a good economy. Imagine the roman time when they traded different objects and they knew some valued more than others. But buying coins and buying items that may not really value more than others.. Just my opinion, and i respect yours ofc.

[Xaos]

I played and i disagree with you.. Where's the economy on buying Coins and buying items and trading them? Unless you are talking about having those Habbo Club sofas and trading them for lots of cheap items there's no real economy behind it.

I don't understand how that isn't economy.

You have a currency (coins). They are valuable. You buy things with them. Or you can trade items at their set coin value or usefulness.

Well i don't see it as a good economy.. A good economy (for me) it's a system that everything has it's value and can be compared to other things. Example: A raw chicken is worth 10, a cooked chicken is worth 20, but with an alive chicken maybe you can buy 2 raw chickens because the alive one can give you feathers and meat. Do you understand? Maybe I'm too cocky, but i think that's a good economy. Imagine the roman time when they traded different objects and they knew some valued more than others. But buying coins and buying items that may not really value more than others.. Just my opinion, and i respect yours ofc.

Yeah, but in habbo, there is that. IE a chair is worth 3 coins, so if you're trying to sell it, you're trying to sell it for 2 coins. And if you have something thats worth 10 coins, you can trade for 5 of the chairs.