[crossfire] Tweaking alchemy

[Anton Oussik]

On 05/12/05, Mark Wedel <mwedel at sonic.net> wrote:
>
>   As far as alchemy is concerned, an easy first pass would be to extend the
> general store (maybe rename it grocery store or something) to include raw food
> items, eg, wheat, milk, hunks of meat, etc.  That still requires graphics, but
> but doesn't a whole set of farms, etc, where one can go and gather this.

Yes, in the short run this is a much better idea. However, a long term
goal of a self-supporting economy based on inter-player interaction
(where government-owned shops do not exist except to maybe provide
some very basic food and weapons at time of war/famine/natural
disaster) is IMO desirable. Then a community of about 200 players
would be completely self-sufficient

>   The real question, I suppose, is whether there is a large number of players
> that actually want to play farmers.

Only if food is scarce enough for people to buy it, and people need to
eat to survive. Currently many dungeons have a lot of food in them,
there is the golden unicorn horn, and other sources of infinite food
like summoning.

Since low level characters need food as much as high level characters,
but have far less means to afford it I am not sure how low level
characters can survive other than by begging until they can afford to
pay for food.

Therefore as a skill farming is probably doomed to failure unless it
is made very easy (generic ever-lasting self-reproducing cows, that
can be milked every few minutes, etc.), in which case it would be more
of a means of survival than a source of profit.

So, you can farm your food yourself at any level, but if you are too
lazy you can pay others to farm your food.