The in-game economy will be at the heart of everything in Vitare – and it’s important that this remains stable.
From the get go, we want to avoid everyone becoming billionaires and nothing in the game being valuable. Likewise, we also want to ensure the game is accessible so anyone can play and earn their way to building the lot of their dreams.
One of the levers we can pull is “sinks”. Not bathroom sinks – but ways to ensure money exits the Vitare in-game economy to prevent it inflating forever. One of these sinks will be… bills!
Whilst they’re certainly not exciting in real life, if you own a lot you will be expected to cover the ongoing costs. This will be based on:
- Land value
- Furniture value in property
- Lot size multiplier (larger lots cost more to run!)
- Lot category – some categories may get higher bills (e.g. Money making lots) vs categories that get lower bills (e.g. Residence)
As of right now and subject to change, bills run on a 7 in-game day basis. 1 in-game day is about 2 real hours. This is only based on when your cumulative lot time – so when your lot is online and being used. If your lot is offline, nothing will be contributing to your bills. We don’t want to penalise anyone for having a real life!
We are exploring simulating “consequences” for players who don’t pay up. This includes pausing rankings, money objects not paying out, freezing objects, and even repossession. You’ll never lose any objects you’ve purchased in this event, and is still something being determined. Again, this would only be based on in-game time.
You will be able to review your predicted bills so you can plan ahead – so you won’t be hit by anything unexpected! This will be done in the Lot Manager Panel – where you can also update your lot information etc.
We’re excited to see how this helps the Vitare economy and simulates a real estate market.
Lots more to come – and open to any thoughts and feedback. I am sure once we launch, we will find areas to refine once real players are experiencing it!