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                   JOURNAL FOR WEDNESDAY 7TH FEBRUARY, 2024
______________________________________________________________________________

SUBJECT: Do we need a complex currency system?
   DATE: Wed  7 Feb 20:10:24 GMT 2024

I’ve been accused, again, of making things too complex — and at the same time
not complex enough! Yes, we are talking about currency in WolfMUD again.

I thought if I made the currency configurable and flexible both camps would be
happy. Now it seems nobody is. As a result I have scrapped the fancy currency
model I was working on and started over :(

What does WolfMUD need in a currency?

One very good point was raised. If you have 10,000+ gold do you really care if
something costs a few coppers? Those few coppers could easily be 1 gold for
the actual difference it makes.

This realisation made me think that WolfMUD and its players might be better
served with a bare minimum currency, one with only a single denomination. You
can call it simply ‘coin’, ‘credit’,  ‘gold piece’, ‘token’ or whatever you
want — but that’s it!

Thinking along these lines, defining a currency becomes simple. A currency is
defined somewhat like normal items. A few example records for a currency.wrj,
pick only one:


    %%
             Ref: CURRENCY
        Singular: a gold piece
          Plural: gold pieces
    Abbreviation: gp
         Aliases: MONEY GOLD +GOLD:PIECE +GOLD:PIECES

    The gold piece is a standard unit for transactions.
    %%
             Ref: CURRENCY
        Singular: a coin
          Plural: coins
    Abbreviation: c
         Aliases: MONEY COIN COINS

    The coin is a standard unit for transactions.
    %%
             Ref: CURRENCY
        Singular: an oenta
          Plural: oens
    Abbreviation: œ
         Aliases: MONEY OENTA OENS

    The oenta, pronounced o'enta, is a standard unit for transactions. Multiple
    oenta are called oens, pronounced o'ens.
    %%


You can change the definition all you want, but that’s all you get :|

The singular/plural versions are for use in text. The singular version is used
“as is”: You get a gold piece, You drop a coin. The plural version always has
the quantity prefixed: You get 100 gold pieces, You examine 10 coins.

The abbreviation is for use in tables, like price lists:


                 Gold Pieces      Coins           Oens
                 -----------      ----------      ----------
                 belt    1gp      belt    1c      belt    1œ
                 cap     2gp      cap     2c      cap     2œ
                 tunic  10gp      tunic  10c      tunic  10œ


If you want a plain list with no abbreviation shown — simply don’t specify an
abbreviation.

Simplifying the currency should speed up implementing the code. Currency can
be revisited later on if people change their minds…

--
Diddymus


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