CATASTROPHE

Medievia's economy is based on true player interaction. What the players
on Medievia do affects the economy. This is a true supply-and-demand
closed economy that has been working very well since its creation with the
beginning of Medievia IV. Players have traded for billions of gold,
covered millions of miles as they have hauled covered wagons and mules
across the continent. The only initial problem with the Trading Module
was that it needed to be reset every once in a while. The gods began by
resetting the economy in places once a month. This turned out to be a
problem, as so many players could predict when and where they should have
covered wagons and other freight waiting before the economy even reset.

Catastrophes are the method of reseeding the economy. When a
catastrophe hits an area, it creates havoc in that local economy.

For example:

The game decides it is time to reseed a local economy somewhere in the game.
It uses some equations and randomness and decides on the area around
the City of Trellor. It then looks at that area and sees that say a flood
could happen there. The code then starts a flood catastrophe. The
area is in duress and it is now in need of just about everything, making
it a very profitable place to trade. The problem is that a flood is
underway and expanding quickly. All catastrophes will last roughly 12
real hours. The flood is visible on the map when you walk or fly because it is
all BLUE. A player will see the flood expand during the first 6 hours and
then recede. During this time it may flood out any number of zones and
areas.

The game will make catastrophes as needed. It will create however many are
needed to make sure that, on average, the whole economy is reset once a
month.

The game will update the MUDSlinger as needed. Type: "READ-CATASTROPHE" in
the MUDSlinger. This will list what catastrophes are happening, where,
when they started, what zones are affected and what zones may yet be
affected.

- Floods appear blue. Unless "BREATHE WATER" is cast upon the players
entering this area, those players will drown. Floods start small and grow
during the first 6 hours or so, then slowly recede.

- Fires appear RED and they will hurt each player quickly. Fires also
start small and grow. Fires do not recede like a flood. They are more like
an expanding splotch until they burn out, with the middle (the fire's origin)
going out first.

- Diseases are terrible. They start small and recede again like a flood. They
are deadly man-eating viruses that hurt you only when in the affected area.
They will kill any player quickly. Diseases appear White on the map.

- Asteroid Storms are yellow on the map. They start and remain the same
large size on the map. When an asteroid lands near you, you die instantly.
In some ways this may be the worst catastrophe.

Overall, Catastrophes will create many hardships for many players, even ones
who do not regularly trade. Many zones will be unusable during these
times.For traders, catastrophes are great. Profits will be much greater to
smart traders with good timing.

See Also: TRADING TRADESHOPS FREIGHT TRADEABLES MUDSLINGER