Economy

The game keeps track of an **Economy** that fluctuates each and every Turn, but generally follows a certain trend that shifts slowly over time.

The way the game calculates the Economy is quite complex. It is a formula that is executed at the start of every Turn, using parameters derived from the state of the Economy in the previous turn. The calculation results in two values: The "Index" (a market trend) and the "Reading" (a percentage applied to prices throughout the game).

The current state of the Economy directly determines all Item prices in the game (with two minor exceptions).

A player's current Rent is not affected by the Economy, but the Rent offered for other Apartments is.

A player's current Wage is not affected by the Economy except in cases of Market Crashes causing a pay cut. The Wages for other Jobs on offer at the Employment Office do fluctuate with the Economy.

The price of Stocks also fluctuates, but it is not directly clamped to the Economy. Instead, each Stock can fluctuate up or down independently, around a certain baseline dictated by the Economy.

At the start of each Turn (except on the first 3 Weeks of the game), the Economy can experience either a Market Crash or an Economic Boom, which is announced with a Newspaper headline. This has a sudden impact on the Economy, and can also cause players to be fired from their Jobs or to get a Wage cut.

## Economic Index and Reading

At the start of each Turn, the game runs a formula that calculates both the current state of the **Economy** and where it is generally heading.

This formula is quite complex, and involves processing the same parameters multiple times, and applying multiple random factors to them.

The result of the formula are two important values:

* The **Index**: A number between -3 and +3 indicating the current general state of the Economy, as well as the direction in which it is heading. A higher Index pulls prices upwards, while also increasing the chance for another economic improvement at the start of the following turn.
* The **Reading**: A number between -30 and +90 (-90 and +90 in the Floppy Disk version) indicating the precise state of the Economy. This directly influences prices where applicable. The Economic Reading also determines whether a Market Crash or Economic Boom can occur at the start of the turn (though random chance also has a say).

Neither of these values is visible in-game, though the Reading can be determined by comparing an item's current purchase price to its Base Price.

In general a strong economy is likely to get stronger, while a weaker economy is likely to get weaker. However, a stronger economy is liable to Crash, while a weaker one is liable to Boom.

In the Floppy Disk version of the game, it was easy for the Economy to get out of hand and plunge into a never-ending slump (with extremely low prices and Wages). This was somewhat rectified in the CD-ROM version of the game, where the Economy is much more likely to recover.

For purposes of gameplay, only the **Reading** is important, as it is directly proportional to prices (except the Stock Market, which gets its own separate Reading for each Stock, influenced by the main Economic Index).

## Item Prices

The most pronounced effect of the **Economy** is on the purchase price of Items at stores. With very few exceptions, all Item prices are clamped to the current Market Reading.

Each item in the game has a Base Price, which is how much that item would cost if the Reading was exactly 0. However this is exceptionally rare; The Reading will most likely be somewhere above or below 0 at all times.

The actual price of an item is determined by the following formula:

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{\displaystyle Item \ Price = Base \ Price + {Base \ Price \times Reading \over 60}}

Given the possible values of the Reading (-30 to 90), this means that an item can cost anywhere between 50% and 250% of its Base Price.

The Lottery Tickets and Newspaper avoid this formula, having a fixed price that never changes. Additionally, the prices of items at the Pawn Shop never fluctuate once the item is put up for sale.

## University Enrollment

Enrolling for a course at Hi-Tech U has a Base Price of $50, and is directly affected by the Economy the same way that Item Prices are affected (see above).

## Wages

A player's Wage does not normally react to the Economy; It stays static so long as the player doesn't change Jobs (and doesn't ask for and receive a Raise).

However, a Market Crash event of moderate severity can randomly cause the player to receive a pay cut, reducing their Wage to 80% of their current Wage.

Wages offered at the Employment Office do change, the same as Item Prices (and using the same formula); A Job can be offered for anywhere between 50% and 250% of its Base Wage. If the player's current Job is being offered at a higher Wage than the player currently makes at that Job, they may select it again to ask for a Raise.

## Rent

The Rent for a player's Apartment does not change as long as the player keeps the same Apartment.

However when switching to a new Apartment, the new Rent is based on the type of Apartment and is affected by the Reading (see above). This new price is listed at the Rent Office next to the option to switch to a new Apartment.

Once the new Apartment is acquired, its Rent remains completely static until the player switches Apartments again (if at all).