So I do not know how well-known this fact is, but we DO have a functional currency system, it is just inactive right now. Here I'm just gonna post a few ideas for ways to implement this system. Of course none of these are mutually exclusive or inclusive. Any one of these could be implemented or not implemented, separately from one another. Feel free to post any of your own, or tell me what is wrong with mine XD

First, you could be able to buy individual, fun commands for a set amount of <insert name of currency here>. Things like gun, flipheads, joker, rainbow, etc. could be bought. No Mod commands or building commands could be bought (these would be dependent on your rank, like it is now). Of course, it would have to be a high amount to prevent untrusted guests from griefing with those things. Possibly /zombie or /phoenix could also be bought? (I am not sure if this is even possible, just an idea)

Secondly, you could be able to buy plots of land or possibly even maps. We could create a separate map with plots of land (separated by streets/roads/rivers?), and with different sizes of plots. Large plots would cost more than medium plots which would cost more than small plots (derp). You would only be able to build inside that plot of land, and it would be exclusive only to you, but you could build whatever you want with no interference (other than Admins or possibly OPs). A separate map would cost LOTS of money, if it were to be implemented at all.

Third, you could buy certain blocks. You could buy X amounts of adminium, active_lava, active_water, etc. and once you ran out of that amount you would have to buy more. Of course it would have to be high cost to prevent griefing. OPs and Admins would still have unlimited amounts of course. (I am not sure if this is even possible, just an idea)

My last idea for today is to buy ranks. Builder and Advbuilder ranks could be bought, while OP rank would have to go through the normal process.


There is also an inherent flaw with the currency system which is the distribution of money. OPs or Admins could be granted unlimited money which they could hand out to "pay" for buildings that people made, but this is subjective to each OP and some may grant a lot of money to someone for a building that someone else would think sucks. This could cause a lot of conflict and/or favoritism. The amount of money you have could be based on how many blocks you have modified. This would be less subjective but more prone to abuse, as someone could repeatedly cuboid an area to quickly raise their block count. I really don't have any good ideas here, so feel free to add your own!

Some pretty good suggestions, however some of them have their flaws.

Firstly, the current command system is rank based, not user based. Unfortunatly, without recoding the command system, 'buying' commands isn't really viable. Plus, commands like /flipheads and /joker are op commands to either make fun of griefers (joker) or just a bit of fun (flipheads), giving them to others and they can be overused, or used to grief others.

Secondly, the land plot idea is a good one, users having a large community map, with plots of land for users to 'buy'. The only negative with this is that i don't think ops can moderate the area (build in user zones, admins can) or joint projects might be difficult to uphold. Testing would have to be done for this, but i think it's the best idea.

Thirdly, block buying can be abused to hell. Physics map with finite blocks like active_lava can be used to flood maps. It happened a lot (granted, some were by accident) in advbuilder, and builder. I purposefully changed the block permissions for these to stop accidents like that from happening. Buying Adminium is fun and all, but why would a regular person need it? Don't forget that Adminium cannot be broken by regular users, but can be by ops.

Lastly, buying ranks is something i'm not so keen on. Buying your way up the chain instead of earning is unfair for current builders+.

The giving out of money can be used by ops or admins. Admins for one have the /give and /take commands, which give x moneys and takes x moneys from the player. Ops can be given those commands, but that's up for discussion. Money will not be given out based on block counts, since the user can control it. Instead, a 'time spent in server' system would be used. For every 1-5 minutes, x amount of moneys will be given. That way the user can control it, but only by being active in the server. Of course, the timer can be halted when the user is away (the 10 minute timeout afk system), which can stop users from camping in the server, to rack up moneys.

Overall i think the 'dedicated island with plots of land' idea would be best, since we have control over it, not the user.

Well of course I was skeptical that some of those things would even work from a programming angle, such as buying individual commands. I understand why that wouldn't work at all. I also see why blocks like active_lava or active_water wouldn't be used, but I think that certain blocks like opsidian, adminium, or op_glass (and others) would actually be useful to people who would want to build in guest without their things getting griefed. Those could be abused certainly, but to a much lesser extent, and not at all if it were regulated with high price.

Now I really like the idea of money being award based on time spent in server. That way, more expensive blocks/plots of land would not be abused, as the people who stay longer are generally more trustworthy. It is certainly a much better system than leaving currency to the objective opinions of OPs, or the user-controlled block count. With that being said, IF the time-currency was used it would be very logical for that to be tied to buying ranks. It basically creates a seniority hierarchy, but should also be regulated by requiring good buildings at each level.

Don't forget, that if a rank of builder or advbuilder uses Adminium, or any of the op blocks, they would need an op to remove them. It's all fine and dandy if they want them placed, but when it comes to removing them, it's a bit more problematic. Realisticly, what are you going to build with Adminium, Opsidian and Op_Glass XD? Also if the end user becomes a * further down the line (like some of our older advbuilders, who are hereforth permabanned) they can be used to grief other builds, with no way of removing them until an op gets online. Plus it would require a complete rework of the blocks system.

The only downside to this is the potential of database corruption, which results in the loss of all 6,000 - 7,000 current members. Flatfile is a possibility, but writing to it every x minutes with a number of changes can be stressful for the server. The best way is to use the database, but it's just making it work correctly.

Should a small system be implimented to read the entire database and give all users 'moneys' depending on how long they've been in there? Or should it just start from scratch, and then write the amounts every time said person joins? Baring in mind that around 50-100 of the users are 'regulars' and have visited often. But then could be unfair for the odd few members who haven't rejoined in a while.

Ah well I guess that's true. Like I said, I have little to no experience with coding or anything of that sort. I guess you could build something out of obsidian then /replace it with opsidian, but who would want to do all that work for little gain? Nevermind about that then, the *small* problem of database corruption kinda throws it off.

I think either a system could be developed to give users money every time they log in, based on how long they remained online from their previous session, OR they could be awarded money in increments of 10 minutes or so. What do you think?

Just thought of this.

Maybe they could buy "pets" like blue_bird or phoenix? It would follow them around and stuff, and OPs can place them. Possibly fish to put in a tank or something. I guess it wouldn't work in guest, but still its an idea.

Actually no, there are already pets in the McLawl coding. I know blue_bird and betta_fish are some of them. It is just a matter of getting an OP to place the block in a map with physics on

Well frankly its just a colored physics block that flies/swims around you and just... hangs out I guess. Nothing special no you wouldn't need to install anything. It's not really anything cool really, just thought it would be a good idea to expand the "store" if you will.

I don't think the pets system will be implemented, for three reasons.

Firstly, after looking at the code, they're designed to follow the nearest person and kill them once they're within the same square grid. Without rewriting most of the code there's no easy way around that.

Secondly, they will only work in places that have physics, however the kill script works regardless.

And lastly, there's no possible way to make them cross regions (maps). If you teleport around, or are summoned/moved, it will not follow you anymore because you're 'out of range'.

Yeah it would be fun, however it's just not practical. I do still like the map with plots you can buy system.

Well actually blue_bird and betta_fish (and others like them) actually don't kill on contact. Killer_shark and killer_phoenix do however. I know there was a problem with travelling with TP or across maps, but I was thinking they could be coded to follow you like the /fly platform or the /gun aiming thingy. Oh well, its not really an important suggestion. I was just throwing it out there because I think of these things randomly :p btw, I have ideas for ranks that I'll post in that other thread later when I get the chance.

bouncing off of "buying ranks" money could be used as a rating system for builds; ie: the better the build the more money then once the user gets enough money they get a rank. Which for people that want the rank will want to build better to earn more money putting them up one more rank

_________________

Other than a statistical figure, money has no value in the server at all. That's what this discussion is about, and rereading the posts here my mind is still set on the "1 money per minute in the server" and using that to 'buy' plots of land in a new map.

I do like the idea of giving out bonus money for good builds, but then would come a bigger surge of "come look at my build, i think it's worth infinity billion money" and it turns out to be an empty cuboid with windows in it. So it's up to weather the operators are willing to stand for that.

Idea! 1 moneys for every 5 blocks placed by hand and 1 moneys for every 15 blocks cuboided.

ill put in my 2¢,
how about hosting gun tournaments or spleef matches, where the winner gets money.
You could use money on some very large map, perhaps one that looks like a landscape, and buy either by the block, or in set plot sizes. Sort of like a gated community. this map should also have a large underground cavern where plots cost less, sort of like a ghetto.

_________________
Estimated return date: Aug. 7th

I support the "Buying Plots of Land" idea.

Problem is everyone would need their moneys reset.

_________________

Since money for blocks wont work why not money for griefer catching. 50 money for successfully blowing the whistle on griefers. If the resulting whistle blow results in a bann, then they get paid.

_________________

We still have nothing to use the money on.

_________________

The semi-pointless commands such as /rainbow?

_________________

you seem to use that GIF for crafty alot

_________________

Well he does have a good reason

_________________

My 2 cents worth is here!
I like the buy plots idea, like Zion said, as well as the 1 money per min in game (or whatever the exact number would be).
I also like the idea of competition winnings. It would promote more community interactions, besides on our community build (which seems to have come nearly to a standstill). Of course, this means there would need to be an op+ or an admin present to validate all competitions, but thats not really that hard.
The idea of pets would be great, if not for the nightmare of coding and the resulting server strain if someone wrote the code.
The idea of buying fun commands would be pretty cool (things like /rainbow, /spheroid, maybe a new /poke) but Zion says that requires a complete overhaul of the current command system. I still like the idea.
About the suggestion of using money to rate builds: How hard would it be to implement a rating statistic as well, which anyone over....designer...or something, could award to a builder (amount of rating available to give limited by rank) that could add another requirement (or modify the "good builds" requirement) for ranking up?

_________________

A few good points made there Humus. I still think the 'x minutes online makes x moneys', because it promotes people to stick around with us. For promotion gain you may be allowed to 'purchase' upto 1,000 blocks to earn that promotion, however it'll cost you around 1,000-2,000 moneys for those blocks to be added, and they can only be added when you're close to your promotion (less than 1,000 blocks away from the next ranks requirements). Punishments can also be in a demotion, loss of blocks, and loss of moneys too.

The pets idea, like you said, would put too much strain on the server, and it would not be able to handle it. Consider the fact that any scripted 'animals' in the server will follow or target the nearest player, it's not exactly suited, and there's no real way of cleaning them, or producing them when the user joins or leaves. They will only work in physics 2+ maps, which currently no map supports, besides operator maps when they allow it.

For other users to rate and review others' builds will probably be left to Assistants or higher, since they're part server moderators (when they want to be). Designers don't really have that much power, and if we give them the little power to rate others' builds, it could go to their heads. We do still have a few architects that like to go wild with kick, and abuse any powers they were temporarly given (case in point, the user 'whynonames' and his gun abuse in guest).

TL;DR: I think all ideas are good, but the time online, and build rating (along with competitions) seem to be the best ideas.

bouncing off my suggestion that links with this in a way

money could be earned by games of spleef or if the building idea went along, they could post pictures of the build on the forum, that would bring more people to the forum and it would be a fairer way as the ops+ could decide unanimously how much its worth.

i dont really like the time for money idea as some people might make really bad builds but be on for ages, where as some could be on for short bits of time and make really good builds.

the bought ranks will be unfair theoretically and i strongly wouldnt like it if someone bought there way up to arch from just spending all their time on the server without earning it properly