Regional market
The Regional Market is one of the three main aspects of the in-game economy. The regional economy refers to the economy of a single node and its neighbors. While the majority of a Regional market is driven by the players, the market is also heavily influenced by environmental factors, such as available resources, and season.
Resource Driven
The Economy of a node is driven by the available resources in the surrounding wilds. A node’s economy might grow as the players exploit a large deposit of valuable resources, however as time passes the deposit will be depleted. And the players might move on to a different node, bolstering its economy. Additionally, if a node is wealthy in resources nearby mayors may seek trade agreements, allowing for the creation of resource caravans, and cementing the nodes as a permanent staple of the local economy.
The action of the players in the wilds surrounding a node affects that node’s economy. A node may develop because the players have discovered that a large deposit of a valuable resource is located nearby. As more players arrive in the node seeking the resources of the nearby wilds, players may choose to purchase market stalls in town, selling their wares to anyone interested.
Environmental Factors
The environment that a node is in is also a large factor in the economy of a node. The environment that the node finds itself in will determine what kinds of resources are available for the players to harvest. However, some of these resources’ availability will change as the region changes seasons. The seasons will also affect caravans, such as slowing them down or making it more difficult for players to incoming threats.
Player Created Markets
The player’s actions in both the town and the surrounding wilds heavily influence the economy of the node. As players extract resources they may choose to sell these items to NPC vendors for gold, or they may choose to use these items to improve the quality of a node, or they may also choose to convert the resources into items of value that they can then sell at the stall they have set up in town. The Mayor’s actions also affect the economy of a node, if the mayor overtaxes a town players may choose to conduct their business in a different node, or if the mayor chooses to build some buildings over others they may limit what the players may be able to craft in town.