Banks! I need a loan!

[jeffepp]

Have you ever had it happen? You get into an encounter with a pirate, or some such, and after you limp to the nearest port, you find that, after repairs, you don't have creds enough for fuel, let alone a cargo. You can't take a contract, because they are all for places about 30 l.y. away, and are bounty killer ones anyway, and you don't have torps or guns back yet. You have no choice but to abandon the game and start another.

But, what if there were loans available? Some kind of bank that would give you enough to get you going again.

If you look at one of the major sources for inspiration in this game, the universe of the Dune saga, the Guild Bank is a major player in almost everything.

To keep things in with the current mechanics of the game, a captain could sell shares, by percent, in his ship. As it stands, this is basically how the officers are payed. You would enter the bank screen, and sell, or buy back, a stake just like you would cargo, or have wounds healed.

There could even be faction banks, as well. Or, it could be that you can only get a loan from your own faction. Or, one that you have a positive reputation with. And, there are always the spice hall loan sharks...

[slayernz]

I'd love to have the ability to get a loan - at some ridiculous rate of interest (eg 50% year on year).
Maximum amount borrowable will be based on a formula something like
Min ((Base + (turns x multiplier) , max_loan), where

So if Base = $5000
multiplier = $30
max_loan = $30,000

You'd have:

Turn	Loan
1	5030
100	8000
200	11000
300	14000
400	17000
500	20000
600	23000
700	26000
800	29000
900	30000
1000	30000

[blackgauntlet]

Or, like Uncharted Waters 2 (using Ali the Trader), borrow at 1,000% interest rate. ;D

[Cory Trese]

The Central Database -- and by proxy -- the Central Exchange already play a central roll in every single moment of the Star Traders game. Captains, as owners of ships are legally forbidden from borrowing money.

Only Gravs -- those who own or are legally bound to surface land -- can borrow from the Central Exchange.

Your character is a Captain and he made a choice -- an irrevocable choice -- to leave behind his Faction's world and register as a Captain with the Central Database as a Ship's Master.

If you think about how the real details of Star Traders would play out in a novel like Dune I think you would find that the Central Database, and it's agents, would play a major role. Where in Star Traders can you find a moment that isn't steeped in Credits, Reputation or Rank -- the 3 pillars of the Central Database.

[blackgauntlet]

I can name several.

1) Reaching 0 in health after failed exploration.
2) Getting 0 in hull after collision with a Space Hulk.
3) Having 0 WF in deep space.

;D

[taatuu25]

Fighting with independents-- -_-

[rabidbite]

Dec 9, 2011 11:31:25 GMT -5 taatuu25 said:

Fighting with independents-- -_-

I am a faithful member of K.I.L.L.S.

Kill
Independent
Large
Loot
Ships

[blackgauntlet]

Nice to see you! I am from FOAM!

F***
Over
Anything that
Moves

[taatuu25]

Dec 20, 2011 21:19:04 GMT -5 blackgauntlet said:

Nice to see you! I am from FOAM!

F***
Over
Anything that
Moves

good luck trying to survive from all the parasites you have after F***ing an alien..

[blackgauntlet]

FOAM fears nothing! Everything fears FOAM! That include parasites! We will "F" that as well! Because it moves!

[slayernz]

Ah true ... and by having the qualifier about only "F"ing moving things ... it saves you having to worry about what to do after the target is dead.

Then again ... you might want to define "moves" because some dead aliens twitch for about three days, even with their heads cut off.

[blackgauntlet]

Then the "F"ing shall go on for 72 hours! Non-stop! We have refined, distilled and upgraded Cialis into an elixir in the far future for good reasons!

[shallowthought]

Dec 8, 2011 1:31:09 GMT -5 Cory Trese said:

Only Gravs -- those who own or are legally bound to surface land -- can borrow from the Central Exchange.

How about this: sell shares in your ship to various landlubbers for a percentage of the profit. Pretty sure privateers used to do this back in the day, and it would basically be the same (in terms of code) as having extra officers on board who do nothing. At a later date you could buy back the shares. Not entirely convinced myself that you really need to borrow money though, unless you have a really bad start to the game, and at that point it's probably easier to just start again.

[blackgauntlet]

That's the "Investment" idea which we talked about couple of months ago here which Cory said that he might implement in ST2.

Edit: Here's the link startradersrpg.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=wish&thread=1168&page=1

[shallowthought]

Sort of, but in reverse. That's more for when you have too much money and want to buy into other captains, rather than sell shares in your own ship. Still, as I said, not entirely sure it's needed.