99 Oranges, a Discussion of Booze in eRepublic

Day 457, 18:51 • Published in Japan Japan • by Geno Garon

Just tonight, I was talking in the Japan Forums chatbox with Akki and a few other chaps whose names I cannot pronounce (Koka, I'm looking at you), and somehow we got to the topic of introducing alcohol as a consumable item in eRepublik. I immediately signed up to develop a thesis-in-progress, and here I shall publish the results of this preliminary incursion into imbibing libations. Approaching this topic with a discrete amount of excitement, I have decided not to turn this into a hard-and-fast facts sheet, but more of an evolving idea, so the first page will represent the current state of the idea, and subsequent ideas can be posted here by myself and others, which may cause an update in the news post. Long story short, this news post should be the current version. HERE WE GO!

An inclusion of alcohol into eRepublik would be a fantastic way to revitalize the random aspect of the game, as well as get a flooded market to expunge a large amount of excess material. Here are some possibilities, as well as their possible effects.

Subject One: the Grain Alcohol

Seeing as how grain is ALREADY part of eRepublik, introducing grain-based alcohol into the game would allow for immediate production of alcohol at Q1 level, and the insane profits from the new market would no doubt propel several factories with funding to higher levels. INTERESTING SIDE-FACT: Ethanol can be produced as an industrial by-product of petroleum (oil) refining, so perhaps an oil or tickets company could randomly produce Q0 ethanol... don't know WHERE I could be going with this...

Anyway, based on research of grain-made alcohols, this is the proposed method of production, exportation, consumption, and effects:

Production and Exportation
Grain is produced by grain company, bought by Booze factory, and converted into alcohols of different qualities, dependent on the quality of the factory. Different regions can also have their grain alcohols named different things (Beer would likely be the default, with other options being things such as whiskey and vodka), but these would be merely cosmetic changes.

Marketing alcohol would be the same as marketing any other item on the marketplace, and could be taxed independently by the importing nation as well. A possible game mechanic could have a specific nation vote by Congress to ban production or importation of alcohol, in which case black market "rum-runners" could make quite a bit of money ferrying their illicit goods across borders.

Consumption and Effects
Alcohol is known first and foremost for its depressive, impairing effects on the human psyche. It is also known to bring out in consumers feelings and actions they would not normally take. At the least, imbibing alcohol is known for its ability to bring out the consumer's last meal. As such is the case, here is my assessment as to the effects of consumption, and over-consumption. Since higher-quality beers often contain the same amount of alcohol, the negative effects should remain relatively the same, although it may be possible to drink one or two more per day as opposed to cheaper quality beers. I'm still researching this, so others are free to contribute as they see fit. Bonuses stack to allow for different quality drinks to be consumed, "X" values are random numbers between 2 and 4. If "drunkenness" meets or exceeds 100%, player is "drunk" and unable to perform any more actions that day. Bonus percents over 100% automatically yield the bonus point, AND have the ability to give a second, bonuses of 200% automatically yield 2 bonus points. Bonuses do not carry over between days.

Q1 Beer:
First Beer: -1 Wellness, +%10 of +1*str level attack bonus for 1 attack, +%10 of +.01 strength during training, +X0% to "drunkenness"
Second Beer: -1 Wellness, +%10 of +1*str level attack bonus for 1 attack, +%10 of +.01 strength during training, +X0% to "drunkenness"
Third Beer: -1 Wellness, +%10 of +1*str level attack bonus for 1 attack, +%10 of +.01 strength during training, +X0% to "drunkenness"
Fourth Beer: -1 Wellness, +%10 of +1*str level attack bonus for 1 attack, +%10 of +.01 strength during training, +X0% to "drunkenness"
Fifth Beer: Doesn't matter, player is automatically drunk by fifth beer.

Q2 Beer:
First Beer: -1 Wellness, +%20 of +1*str level attack bonus for 1 attack, +%20 of +.01 strength during training, +X0% to "drunkenness"
Second Beer: -1 Wellness, +%20 of +1*str level attack bonus for 1 attack, +%20 of +.01 strength during training, +X0% to "drunkenness"
etc.

Q3 Beer:
First Beer: -1 Wellness, +%30 of +1*str level attack bonus for 1 attack, +%30 of +.01 strength during training, +X0% to "drunkenness"
etc.

Q4 Beer:
First Beer: -1 Wellness, +%40 of +1*str level attack bonus for 1 attack, +%40 of +.01 strength during training, +X0% to "drunkenness"

Q5 Beer:
First Beer: -1 Wellness, +%50 of +1*str level attack bonus for 1 attack, +%50 of +.01 strength during training, +X0% to "drunkenness"

As can be see, Q5 beers can yield, if 4 are consumed consecutively without maxing out the "drunkenness" percent, an automatic 2*strength level bonus damage, and +.02 strength at the cost of 4 Wellness, plus the cost of any beers bought. However, the more beers consumed, the more likely a player is to become "drunk", and not be able to take advantage of the bonuses so far accrued. It is completely safe to consume 2 beers, and if these are Q5, the player automatically gains (1*str lvl) bonus damage and +.01 strength for the cost of 2 Wellness and the cost of the beers.

To answer a question brought up by Akki, to the tune of "please be more specific on penalties and calculations, I answered as such:

Here's the idea, the strength bonus is already a percentile-based probability modifier, where if a player has an 80% chance at getting (1 times his Strength level, let's say 10, so 1*10=+10 damage), if he gets the 80%, he does the extra damage, if not, he drank the beers for no bonus, only to cost him Wellness and money.

Also, since the "drunk" X number can be anything from 2 to 4, and the player may or may not be able to see his "drunk" level, a player can attempt to drink his third or fourth beer, and end up getting too drunk to do ANYTHING, which means, not only have they lost 3 or 4 Wellness for the day, but also do not get ANY strength bonuses, and cannot participate in any wars. Also, LEWIS FORBID this player drink before work, as if he/she becomes drunk, they will not be able to attend work either.

Since higher quality beers usually contain the same amount of alcohol, the drunkenness factor does not increase, so it is universally better to drink higher quality booze, if you can afford it, but no doubt alcohol will be expensive, as most players will want the benefits, especially in wartime.

That's all I've got so far. Be sure to comment with your ideas, and vote this article up!

~ Geno Garon, With Too Many Titles to Pick Just One

~ PLAYER IDEAS ~

Manchurian Candidate: At a certain level of drunkenness, the player should have a Q1 gift or food given to a random player with the message "yuo know, ilove you man, srsly"

Jaccep: If a player gets "drunk", have the game add a few "*hic*"s to their shouts and private messages, just for fun.

Josh: If the player gets too drunk he shouldn't be able to find the keyhole for his house anymore and shouldn't get the wellness bonus the next day. Or he forgets where he parked his car and cannot move for a certain time. Maybe he has some anger issues and has to pay fines to the state (1-5 of the currency) or he has the worst hangover and doesn't wanna drink more alcohol for the next week.

Vincent Garibaldi: What about hangovers? Maybe decreased productivity at work? People get fired for showing up drunk, etc.