Has there been any word on how the caravan arc will impact the dwarven economy portion of fortress mode? Will minting coin have relevance now?
I only ask because I had to wonder how merchants and travelers will pay for their rooms at The Inn of the Prancing Skinless Moose after update 4... If "dwarf mode inns" means what I think it means.
No, but something like this may come in Update 6. Though recall the major issue with the coins, is with how their stacked, a prevalent design issue with a lot of small items.
Yeah, it grinds fortresses to a halt. I only ever minted coins in my very first 40d fortress, and never bothered again. But the whole caravan arc begs the question of how exactly the economy is being handled. Barter is probably the most efficient method for between-site trade, but within-site (i.e., paying for an inn), it seems like it needs to be handled some other way.
Traders could at least abstract their payment to The Inn of the Prancing Skinless Moose in the trade screen. Say if you had an exceptional inn with quality food and a wide selection of intoxicants you would find your trade starting off with a certain trader profit to account for the "coin" they spent at your inn. Or maybe a legendary inn could at least give you more favorable trade rolls when offering the traders a less favorable deal.
Yes, unless there is actually going to be some corresponding economy overhaul within the caravan arc, some sort of abstraction is going to be taking place. The favorable trade rolls seems the most likely speculation in that case, corresponding with the quality of your inn, or whatever.
Edit: Likewise, travelers (i.e. adventurers) might be more willing to do quests for your Fortress
Is
that happening any time soon? I guess this is all part of my other (green) question about what exactly the implications of "fortress mode inns" are.