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[rawr359]

I just did a bunch of item descriptions. I feel useful

[nenjin]

snip

I made some assumptions with that list. 1) The game is set in America. 2) We aren't doing a plantation simulation, which is what you need to produce enough poppies to make opium (or heroin.) Therefore I assume those things all have to be imported, which drives up the cost/risk/profit SIGNIFICANTLY. French Connection? Afghani Opium and Heroin producers? These are not nice people. So while the list may not be 100% accurate to real life, a drug's place on drug schedule should follow ever increasing levels of risk, reward and investment.

On LSD: It's kind of gone out of fashion, replaced by mushrooms which are cheaper and much easier to produce. It has a goofy place in the schedule because it takes a lot of science to make, but sells for very little. These things can be tweaked however.

Crack/Cocaine: The Obama Administration just recently equalized the penalties for both crack and cocaine. They're both considered equally bad by the government now. The difference in them is which groups they appeal to.

while meth and crack are both cheap gutter drugs for the dregs of society.

The funny part? Crack is a derivative of cocaine. You get a more potent product from reducing cocaine to crack, but you still need the seed. So it's not completely cheap to produce, but cheaper than straight coke.

Meth has a special place in American society. It's like the moonshine of the drug world. It is also the drug that is currently in the government's cross-hairs the most, because it can be produced domestically, requires less science than say, LSD, and there is a huge demand for it in the Midwest.

So basically crack, cocaine, heroin and meth are all in teh same bracket for criminality. They're in the same relative bracket for profit too, "lots." They differ in the amount of processing they require, and who your potential clientele would be. This is one place we could probably prune the list since only drug users would probably care about having their pet substance available, but since we wanted realism, I think we should have options. Make a few differences between each drug (Like, meth dealers are just more untrustworthy than others) so they stand out a little. But I believe in multiple paths to profit as a drug dealer.

processing often does yield greater than the in put as most drugs are cut with other stuff

This is true. But you do still need some significant seed money to start producing crack. And...

It sort of begs another level of simulation, doesn't it? If you choose to cut your stuff too much, people get pissed and come see you. I'm not sure how much total effort people want invested in drugs (since there are a lot of other crimes to cover) but from a game play perspective, I don't know if we need to get down to that level of detail.

Plus it might be unbalanced for game play, if someone can buy $1k worth of coke and turn it into super cut crack that sells for....$5k?

you can blast around that, the frangible material use for breach rounds is steel powder binded with wax. its basically sandblast times 100

Again, this so cool.

[Funk]

Plus it might be unbalanced for game play, if someone can buy $1k worth of coke and turn it into super cut crack that sells for....$5k?

well you will only see the $5k if you sell all the drugs your self,and that can be FUN.

[Jack A T]

We have got to figure out where this game is taking place.  Laws change based on location...

[Cthulhu]

Seriously?  I don't think we need to be that detailed.

[Strange guy]

I think it should initially be based on the US, since a lot of people here are familiar with it and it has gun laws that suit a crime game, but in the future you should be able to set different laws when the game generates towns, sort of like the realism/fantasy people were talking about earlier in the thread but IMO it's more important and probably easier to implement.

[rawr359]

Definitely too much future talk. First goal is to make a pseudo playable alpha, right? So let's focus on that.

[cappstv]

Seriously?  I don't think we need to be that detailed.

YES WE DO.
Not only will this game teach the kids now days that crime does indeed pay, it will teach them the laws of foreign countries!

[Soadreqm]

Right. Baby steps. First, a playable alpha, THEN a hydroponic farming simulator with individually modeled pest insects so you can grow drugs in a wardrobe.

[Puzzlemaker]

I think we do have a somewhat-playable alpha.  It just needs to be uploaded so others can mess with it.  *cough*

[rawr359]

We have a playable alpha that isn't released?

:O

[Puzzlemaker]

http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=64931.msg1526516#msg1526516

Just waitin' for it to be uploaded to SVN!

[nenjin]

I've been toying with the idea of what happens when you get caught.

I'd like to see something akin to LCS's trial system, but perhaps slightly more simplified.

But I'd also like to see Prison be an experience for the player, that plays out sort of like interrogations or car chases do in LCS.

Let's say you get sentenced. You've got your time to spend. Each year you get a choice:

I want to spend my time:
A) Working out (Enhances various combat or athletic skills and stats, increases chance for early release)
B) Learning in the prison library (Increases knowledge skills and/or stats, increases chance for early release)
C) Trying to make money hustling (Earns income while in prison)
D) Making contacts within the prison (Increases your standing in criminal society, decreases chance for early release)
E) Learning from other criminals (Increases some crime-related skills)
F) Keeping my head down and just serving my time. (Does nothing, increases chance for early release, possibly makes you a target.)
G) Trying to make a shank. (Takes a whole year of gathering materials. Gives you a large bonus in combat events for the duration. Reduces chance of early parole.)
H) Recover in the infirmary. (Regain HP over the course of the year. Does not make you safe from events.)
I) Trying to escape. (Factors in a TON of skills, your criminal rating, and you would get a bonus for every year you've already spent in prison, because you've done more thinking and recon. The game should end, I think, if you get caught, either because you die or they put you in max security for the rest of your life.)

During each year, how much your stats and skills increase is based on your current stats and skills.
Each year also can have a number of random events that occur, with the chance they do being relative to some of your stats and skills. Whether they happen at all, whether you win, lose or die, should be based off your stats. The higher your score, essentially, is the less criminals in or out of prison would fuck with you.

So it would be like...

You've got a three year sentence for burglary. What do you wish to do to pass the time in Year 1?

A) Work out.

You spend the year working out. You're getting buff.
There was a prison riot. You kept your head down, and only suffered minor injuries. (Lose some HP, gain some stealth skill)
You almost got into a fight with skinheads, but the guards intervened at the last moment. (Chance of attack from skinheads next year increases.)

You've served one year of a three year sentence. What do you wish to do to pass the time in Year 2?

E) Learn from other criminals.

After talking with some old timers, you learned a few new tricks. (Lockpicking increased.)
You got jumped by some inmates in the shower room. You fought the good fight, but there were too many of them. (Lose some HP. Unarmed combat skill increased. Criminal standing reduced.)
You got into a fight with a skinhead. You won, but your sentence was lengthened by one year. (Lose some HP. Gain some unarmed combat skill. Sentence increased.)

You've served 2 years of a 4 year sentence. What do you wish to do to pass the time in Year 3?

H) Recover in the infirmary.

You spend the year recovering from your injuries. (HP +)
Nothing eventful happened this year.

You've served 3 years of a 4 year sentence. What do you wish to do pass the time in Year 4?

B) Learn in the prison library.

You spend the year reading books in the prison library. You've become more educated. (Intelligence or knowledge skills increased.)
There was a prison riot. You manage to avoid trouble entirely. (Stealth skill increased.)
You land a job in the warden's office. You manage to sneak a couple bucks into your pocket. (+cash at release.)

You've served four years of a four year sentence. You're now a free man.

[Jack A T]

That would be awesome.

How about having "attempt to break out" be another option?  Unlikely to succeed, and usually leading to a longer sentence if you fail, but if you succeed, you get out early.

[nenjin]

I knew I was missing something totally obvious.