[Discussion] Vehicle Construction/Purchase Costs

[HF]

Hi everyone.
While working on the vehicle spec profiling for the upcoming vehicles/mecha section for RMDL, it crossed my mind that we never really learn about how much things such as vehicles cost to build and/or purchase.
While we are given clear costs on money-related exchanges such as weapon upgrades and items purchased from stores in all the games, we never really know how much of a cost difference there is when compared to, let's say, small vehicles such as Drache and its variants. I have a feeling that this has been brought up before, but I thought it would be interesting to bring this subject for discussion along with my own views on it:

---

Not counting supplementary material (should it exist), the only vehicle's construction costs we ever know about is the Gesellschaft, which cost approximately 1 million zenny as according to Teisel's loan from Loath as mentioned the main story.
We also know that this 1 million zenny also included the purchasing of equipment and tools needed to complete construction quicker. it is also plausible to assume that little to no labor costs are involved, at least with the possible exception of consumables (curry rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?) as this is a family project. Considering that The Bonnes had surplus funds to invest into other operations after the money was spent, I believe it is safe to assume that the 1,000,000z has been set aside exclusively for the construction of the Gesellschaft.

So what about small vehicles like the Drache and typical cars found throughout the game? If going with real-world relative figures, it is highly improbable that they would cost upward to an average of 100,000z given how the Gesellschaft values up to 1 million.
Because of this, I believe that vehicle/transportation culture on Terra allows vehicles such as cars and small airships to be purchased/built at very cheap prices.

As for actual figures for comparison, I have come up with a few wild estimates for discussion (assuming no markup involved, sold/built as brand-new):

• Drache (Attack Type, Bonnes Model): 18,000z
  Cheap as mass-produced, and likely refitted with Bonne designs from cheaper retail models (as Drache variants used by other factions exist).
  
  
• Blumebear (Bonnes-use): 35,000z (average)
  More expensive as a large well-armed and armored ground vehicle driven by the elite Servbots (according to supplementary material) with ground speeds of upward to 255km/h.
  
  
• Patrol Car (KTOX Police): 6,000z
  Inexpensive vehicle for transportation fitted for police use. Likely sturdier than typical cars of the same build but not designed for combat situations.
  
  

Please share your thoughts and ideas on this! Thanks!

---

As an extra topic of discussion related to costs, let's use something something from MML1 such as Rock's machinegun Machine Buster special weapon which costs upward to 57,200z for a full upgrade in-game.
Assuming all the money invested went into its upgrading (i.e. Roll was not taking a huge cut for herself), it would seem disproportionate that around 17 of these Machine Buster weapons would equal the cost of what is effectively a fully-armed aerial fortress capable of housing many small attack crafts, ground vehicles, living accommodations for around 44 crew members, and all the consumables and/or spare parts needed. However, one factor I believe needs further consideration is that this isn't just a machinegun mounted onto a suit of armor, but a weapon tailored specifically for Rock's use (i.e. something which can't exist conventionally).

Keeping this in mind, weapon development for Rock would most likely have involved ordering of custom parts, research, experimentation, fine-tuning, and whatever Roll needs to get the job done properly.

[Bowen Aero]

This is a topic I can get behind. If you're setting up costs for vehicles, you'd have to take into consideration that Zenny, much like most fictional currencies from games of Japanese origin, is derived from Yen. With this in mind, prices for the larger vehicles such as Marlwolf and Theodore Bruno would easily rise to the higher hundred-thousands. Something that I imagine might worry the Bonnes later in the story. As for Roll's development costs, they seem to be accurate with those factors. A certain rich-kid mechanic also goes through the same processes, and would quickly go out of business without taking advantage of his allowance.

[Rockman Striker]

I'm not in a position to estimate exchange rates for fictional currency because of my country's currency devaluation, it's dropping so fast I don't know how many pesos equals a dollar anymore.

I believe that if you want to estimate vehicle prices you must take in consideration the actual value of Zenny, for example, in MoTB you can sell car tires on a really low price, I don't remember how much right now but I think is something lower than 20z

If you get to figure out how much the Gustaf costs you can set an estimate for other mechs such as Denisse's.

[HF]

Oct 6, 2015 0:17:16 GMT -5 Bowen Aero said:

This is a topic I can get behind. If you're setting up costs for vehicles, you'd have to take into consideration that Zenny, much like most fictional currencies from games of Japanese origin, is derived from Yen.

Thanks for your feedback!

Good point about how price averages for small goods is close to the monetary exchange in Japan.
Just to show my working a little more:

When it comes to vehicles, a decent non-luxury car in Japan costs around 2-3 million yen in modern times.
Using this figure as an example, we can probably scale said car's price down to around 1 million yen based on Halcyon Days-era technology and general quality of life (probably placed a little below modern average).

Back to using the known benchmark (Gesellschaft: 1,000,000z), this would put the price of a real car to the equivalent of an aerial fortress.
Assuming no labor costs are involved, I could only conclude that vehicular travel is so much of a necessity in this story, the vehicle and mechanical culture was practically formed around Terra's geographical layout, resulting in a common-place perception that basic vehicles of all types (even heavier-than-air flying vehicles) should be made cheap and affordable (thus the initial conclusions made that airships like the Drache cost only around 18,000z as the technology is crude and simple relative to Terra's culture).

With this in mind, prices for the larger vehicles such as Marlwolf and Theodore Bruno would easily rise to the higher hundred-thousands.
Something that I imagine might worry the Bonnes later in the story.

Good point. I can definitely imagine this to be the case, at least when it comes to construction costs since they're not likely based on any retail model that can just be 'bought'.
Especially in Bruno's case: I already imagine its OPERATING COSTS to be within the hundred-thousands, let along what it costs to build it. I guess the Bonnes really were desperate at that time.

As for Roll's development costs, they seem to be accurate with those factors.
A certain rich-kid mechanic also goes through the same processes, and would quickly go out of business without taking advantage of his allowance.

If there's anything else I would justify Roll's expensive upgrading/development requirements, it would probably be her insistence on factors like safety and reliability that results in much greater yet justified costs, just like the ideal engineer.
Or alternately at worst, she has OCD.

Oct 6, 2015 11:00:17 GMT -5 Rockman Striker said:

I believe that if you want to estimate vehicle prices you must take in consideration the actual value of Zenny, for example, in MoTB you can sell car tires on a really low price, I don't remember how much right now but I think is something lower than 20z

Wait, really? This bit of info definitely helps! Thanks!
(And again I should seriously start playing MoTB at some point)

If you get to figure out how much the Gustaf costs you can set an estimate for other mechs such as Denisse's.

I suppose so...
If relatively speaking, I'm guessing the Gustaff will be cheaper because it's probably constructed with 100% child robot labor.

On the other hand... it's not like the Gustaff will make an appearance in RMDL...

[Kyle]

HF: I now want to see a comic of Teisel intervening a food fight between two Servbots because the Bonne family's GPP (Gross Piracy Product) has sunken into the red.

Hammy Teisel: "You still owe me some currrrrrry riiiiice!"

---

I'm almost certainly sure that MML's Zenny is the financial equivalent of Dragon Ball Z's power levels. Starts off all innocent, tame and easy to keep track of when comparing it to everything you see in its universe. But once you get into it... things get hairy. 

According to MoTB, a shipping container of apples is appraised at, what, 25k Zenny-ish per crate? The Gesellschaft is worth less than or even equal to Wal-Mart's bi-weekly fruit shipment!

[Bowen Aero]

These figures are outrageous. Who was in charge of setting prices in this era, anyways? I mean, how much was 1M Zenny in 1999? Enough to make Tron flip out, that's for sure.

[satoh]

A car tire sells for less than 20z, but you frequently find well more than that in the garbage.
Zenny, or perhaps the concept of 'worth' in general on Terra, does not translate to Earth's currency and values.

This is true of most video game economies.
You could consider it a sort of meritocratic trade system... things are worth more, based on how useful they are...

This is why garbage can't be sold, but it can be turned into weapons that could sell for more than a fortress.
And please note that this actually WORKs in practice, because one such weapon is all you need to take down a fortress of similar construction cost...
Compare: Shining Laser, Gesellschaft.
Which one is more powerful? More useful in that sense...
Logically, if you try to be such, you would imagine the Gessellschaft, a flying armored fortress is the more powerful one... but logic is wrong. The shining laser can easily knock it out of the sky in a few seconds, even with poor aim.

It doesn't make much sense realistically, because its a game abstraction... but so is Zenny.
It's also important to note that Gold City on Ryship Island, has quite a few heavily armored vehicles, which they're led to believe are in fact quite sturdy... and they'd be right. The complicating factor is that the Bonnes are FREAKING SUPERMEN compared to 99% of the other carbons on the planet.
What they build is made of Extract of Win (unfiltered).

They seem weak from a gameplay standpoint if you have the skills, but consider that for each time we defeat them, they could easily do the same to everyone around them.

What does all this have to do with money?
The Bonnes stretch every zenny to its physical limit, and then stretch it a bit more.
...
except
...

That doesn't actually work either, if you factor in the cost of housing.
MML1 gives you the unique opportunity to actually foot the bill for rebuilding an entire city, AND for buying medical machinery (which if you don't know, is actually a lot more expensive than it looks, in reality.)
Now, you can rebuild the city for a fair sum... but well below the amount of money one would actually assume.
I don't recall the actual figure, (when I say rebuilt, I mean: let Tron demolish every building in town, and kick the one she missed until it literally explodes... Yeah I've done it, why do you ask?) but it seems like a single house should cost about a third of what you end up paying to rebuild the whole city.

So we round back again to the merit argument... except now we have to modify it for a heavy weight on physical destructive capability... Feldynaut blew up a whole town with very little effort, yet Rock can take that much damage and stand up again. This must mean that the cost of the town is actually as cheap as it seems, since its so easily demolished. Feldynaut therefor must be worth more than the town, roughly...

Marlwolf more than that...
Draches, probably cost around what a house does, each, since it takes similar effort to destroy them.

It goes on and on this way... but in the end, some numbers just don't make sense, and never will. Like finding 100 zenny in the trash wherever you go, and 80z being enough for a full set of tires. (which are relatively expensive in the real world.)

[Bowen Aero]

So, bottom line is that it'll be extremely difficult to calculate these costs due to the sheer fluctuation in value, correct?

[HF]

Oct 23, 2015 22:32:23 GMT -5 satoh said:

Zenny, or perhaps the concept of 'worth' in general on Terra, does not translate to Earth's currency and values.
This is true of most video game economies.
You could consider it a sort of meritocratic trade system... things are worth more, based on how useful they are...

Thanks for your huge amount of insight, satoh!

Like you said, I guess even if there is a currency of value it would not be in the same way we perceive them anyway.
It is possible that there are no 'set costs' defined across commercially-traded goods like the Suggested Retail Prices (SRP) or franchise-set values we are probably more familiar with.
Alternately, it is also possible that common goods with a set selling price with no gameplay relevance are not even listed, with perishables such as energy cartridges being exceptions.

This is why garbage can't be sold, but it can be turned into weapons that could sell for more than a fortress.
And please note that this actually WORKs in practice, because one such weapon is all you need to take down a fortress of similar construction cost...
Compare: Shining Laser, Gesellschaft.
Which one is more powerful? More useful in that sense...

"One man's junk is another man's treasure" definitely comes to mind for this.

One way I like to think of expenses when it comes to Rock's weapons development (especially for more abstract weapons like the Shining Laser) is that Roll uses a huge chunk of costs for experimentation and testing. Using the two examples you have given, we have development of something that was already done before in principle (construction of large aircraft) being compared to the development of a weapon that Roll literally (re)discovered (and we can safely assume that "officially" doesn't even exist in this era).

Logically, if you try to be such, you would imagine the Gessellschaft, a flying armored fortress is the more powerful one... but logic is wrong. The shining laser can easily knock it out of the sky in a few seconds, even with poor aim.
It doesn't make much sense realistically, because its a game abstraction... but so is Zenny.

Gameplay-wise, that makes perfect sense.
Though just to go deeper another level, I think we should factor in the 'purpose' of the two as well just for added context:

The Gesellschaft's main purpose is a multipurpose fortress with its strength coming from sheer numbers of its vehicles, giving it more options in combat and most importantly, the ability to operate (in this context, attack) multiple areas and directions at the same time. While it does well in defeating large quantities of enemy ships or taking over a city, an individual (or group of them) with sufficient strength would have the small size and large firepower advantage as the Gesellschaft as a whole isn't meant for handling such a threat. Of course, there's also the factor that it's Rock that the Bonnes have to deal with, and he's definitely no pushover.

The Shining Laser is as you mentioned, an extremely powerful weapon that reduces vehicles to scrap in seconds. However its purpose is exactly that: a directional weapon meant for destroying targets, making it the ideal weapon for taking down large targets like the Gesellschaft.

Using a realistic (but much smaller-scale) comparison: an individual with an anti-armor rifle will have size and cover as an advantage, allowing them to take the first shot against a much more expensive helicopter by taking out a critical point.

So rather than just using "cost" alone to determine the 'usefulness', I think they should be treated as individual cases as one is meant to destroy the other by design (i.e. a mismatch).
If given a choice to pick one or the other when it comes to spending a million Zenny, on the other hand...

the
Bonnes are FREAKING SUPERMEN compared to 99% of the other carbons on
the planet.
What they build is made of Extract of Win (unfiltered).

I would like to think that this is why they have a German motif in their theme-naming (and what I picked up and built upon).

They seem weak from a gameplay standpoint if you have the skills, but consider that for each time we defeat them, they could easily do the same to everyone around them.

I think it makes sense: While the Bonnes seem weak, that is only when compared to you as the player in MML1 and MML2 (and for good reason too).
Against everyone else they are capable and efficient combatants.

What does all this have to do with money?
The Bonnes stretch every zenny to its physical limit, and then stretch it a bit more.
...
except
...

That doesn't actually work either, if you factor in the cost of housing.

I guess it's true: Child (Servbot) Labor goes a long way in cost saving.

MML1 gives you the unique opportunity to actually foot the bill for rebuilding an entire city, AND for buying medical machinery (which if you don't know, is actually a lot more expensive than it looks, in reality.)
Now, you can rebuild the city for a fair sum... but well below the amount of money one would actually assume.
I don't recall the actual figure, (when I say rebuilt, I mean: let Tron demolish every building in town, and kick the one she missed until it literally explodes... Yeah I've done it, why do you ask?) but it seems like a single house should cost about a third of what you end up paying to rebuild the whole city.

Gameplay mechanics and guilt-tripping aside, if I had to make any sense of this:
It's possible that Rock isn't funding ALL of the repairs alone, but just contributing the last needed amount to get the projects started.

So we round back again to the merit argument... except now we have to modify it for a heavy weight on physical destructive capability... Feldynaut blew up a whole town with very little effort, yet Rock can take that much damage and stand up again. This must mean that the cost of the town is actually as cheap as it seems, since its so easily demolished. Feldynaut therefor must be worth more than the town, roughly...

Marlwolf more than that...
Draches, probably cost around what a house does, each, since it takes similar effort to destroy them.

Could be, though I'm not so sure if the values of something is based on durability/destructive capabilities alone.

It goes on and on this way... but in the end, some numbers just don't make sense, and never will. Like finding 100 zenny in the trash wherever you go, and 80z being enough for a full set of tires. (which are relatively expensive in the real world.)

You're right. That's why the only way I can make sense of the price discrepancy between different things is that the culture of the era dictates these prices (in this case, vehicles and large-size construction is greatly reduced in monetary value compared to the real world).


Though this is what makes it fun (at least for me); diving into the idea of a similar world but with a far more abstract perception of values and cultures and making it all make sense much like many topics we have raised and discussed in Legends General.

Oct 24, 2015 1:28:23 GMT -5 Bowen Aero said:

So, bottom line is that it'll be extremely difficult to calculate these costs due to the sheer fluctuation in value, correct?

On that topic, here's an excerpt from the glossary about Zenny and its values (yet to be released):

...this monetary system is not without its drawbacks and limitations; placed values on goods and services does not mean the person making the trade will not increase or decrease the actual amount accepted for trade (i.e. added charges or discounts), or exploit the system by altering base prices due to demand. Additionally, deflectors are a perishable resource, meaning that sudden shortages may cause values to become highly volatile...

Of course, such a system is simplified in the games, though something similar can be experienced when you go Light/Dark in MML2 (where prices go down/up respectively).

[satoh]

I'm glad to see that my back and forth rambling on the subject was actually understood. The points you touched on were basically what I was driving at. I also like to imagine that the world of Terra isn't simply a place that doesn't make sense, but rather it is a place with a fundamentally different system of values... both monetary and moral.

Like how no one seems entirely perturbed by replacing body parts with weapons if it makes their job easier. It doesn't illicit any kind of apparent shock or notice from anyone... It almost seems like prosthetics are so common, possibly even desirable, that no one really cares.

Similarly it could be that the economies of MML aren't actually that complicated, but rather, we're only seeing a tiny portion of them. After all, we only ever meet with one or two shop owners in each game--of course the prices seem weird, we're dealing with people trying to make money for themselves, not take a commission from a large corporate conglomerate that strictly regulates the price of products.

Research and development of apparatus is indeed a large time-and-money-consuming expense; though, its difficult to imagine how long Roll really works on things. Consider that when they arrive on Kattelox, Barrel goes to speak with Amelia, while Rock fights off some pirates. I'm sure Barrel would have sent a few messages if he was actually spending days speaking with his old friend, without leaving... So it simply must be a matter of hours... Yet Roll manages to fix a car and invent some stuff in that time... One of which she doesn't even charge for. This just means either we're wrong about how much development really happens or...

It's a game and doesn't really obey the laws of finite time.
It is these things which ever compound the mystery of how much truth there is in what we're experiencing.

However, if we consider that Rock is the primary provider for the group, and we never actually see him buying any groceries, we could assume Barrel or Roll takes care of that... most likely Barrel, as Roll is usually spotting (or if you prefer a more comical interpretation, sitting on the bed daydreaming with the occasional token comment to make it seem like she's paying attention).

So if Barrel makes no money, Rock and Roll are both working, where then does the money come from?
Item development.
Rock buys upgrades, and Barrel in turn buys life supplies with the same money.
Sure you could assume this would break down if Rock simply stopped buying upgrades...
But face it, you've been him, you know that isn't an option. Moreover, he (probably) needs to eat too, so of course he forks over the dough. If he wasn't willing to use it, he wouldn't be trying to get it in the first place.

Why the complexity? Why do Rocks buy rock-busters from Rolls who then gets Barrels to buy foods? Because only Rock really understands what he needs, when he needs it. Priority One is letting Rock buy the supplies he needs to get ever more zenny... like canteens and body armor, which Roll doesn't have. When he's done with that, he buys weapon upgrades, some of which probably does pay for parts of course, but most probably goes into surplus, to pay for vital supplies.

This is actually a real emergent economy that exists. It often spontaneously appears in multiplayer game economies, but also, less well known, among street people. (That is, homeless people who are not impoverished)
Mark gets... we'll call them 'goods' from Jim, which he then sells at a markup, half of which he keeps, and half he gives back to Jim, his "employer". The profits he keeps, (sometimes easily hundreds of dollars), he spends on food and... usually some sort of consumable vice or another...
Its not the point though, the point is, A takes care of A, then B, then C. Just like the Caskett model of expense.

and...I've run out of ramble for now.

[HF]

First, I am a terrible person for not responding to this. So really sorry for that, satoh .
Secondly, DISCUSSION!

Oct 24, 2015 19:02:52 GMT -5 satoh said:

I'm glad to see that my back and forth rambling on the subject was actually understood. The points you touched on were basically what I was driving at. I also like to imagine that the world of Terra isn't simply a place that doesn't make sense, but rather it is a place with a fundamentally different system of values... both monetary and moral.

Like how no one seems entirely perturbed by replacing body parts with weapons if it makes their job easier. It doesn't illicit any kind of apparent shock or notice from anyone... It almost seems like prosthetics are so common, possibly even desirable, that no one really cares.

Exactly. I'm very interested in making sense of this world. There are small bits here and there that make sense when compared to real-life equivalents, but what I find fascinating is how the world of Terra has such a different perception of economic values; all which probably stems from a supply and demand system which differs vastly from ours.

Moral values too, as you mentioned are a big thing.
Unlike the modern world, progression in the world of Terra feels more pragmatic, stemming more from necessity and practicality rather than morality and pure commercialism (which even when brought up, is treated more tongue and cheek rather a realistic ambition).

Similarly it could be that the economies of MML aren't actually that complicated, but rather, we're only seeing a tiny portion of them. After all, we only ever meet with one or two shop owners in each game--of course the prices seem weird, we're dealing with people trying to make money for themselves, not take a commission from a large corporate conglomerate that strictly regulates the price of products.

I agree that this is most likely the case.
If anything regulation is made, it would be the local governments of each town/region by setting prices on goods and services as appropriate for the local community.
As for imports/exports, I believe  Republic Credits  plain Zenny won't do, and something more 'real' is exchanged instead (such as energy, technology, information, etc).

Research and development of apparatus is indeed a large time-and-money-consuming expense; though, its difficult to imagine how long Roll really works on things. Consider that when they arrive on Kattelox, Barrel goes to speak with Amelia, while Rock fights off some pirates. I'm sure Barrel would have sent a few messages if he was actually spending days speaking with his old friend, without leaving... So it simply must be a matter of hours... Yet Roll manages to fix a car and invent some stuff in that time... One of which she doesn't even charge for. This just means either we're wrong about how much development really happens or...

To be fair, she doesn't charge for it only probably because she has everything she needs to get it working.
RMDL (and pretty much my headcanon) says that spare parts are provided by the Junk Store Man.

It's a game and doesn't really obey the laws of finite time.
It is these things which ever compound the mystery of how much truth there is in what we're experiencing.

If it were a game made these days (at least on mobile), waiting hours or even days to get something developed or upgraded seems plausible.
As an example, similar R&D and upgrade game mechanics are used by MGS:PW and MGSV:TPP...

Alternately, Rock just sits in the living room playing video games while Roll works on it.
I'm guessing he's into Contra.

However, if we consider that Rock is the primary provider for the group, and we never actually see him buying any groceries, we could assume Barrel or Roll takes care of that... most likely Barrel, as Roll is usually spotting

For one, we can safely assume that they don't home-grow their groceries. (Otherwise WHERE DID THOSE EGGS COME FROM?)

Yeah. I'd just assume they take turns doing daily tasks like laundry and garbage as well.
Except Data, who should be exempt from cooking. At all.

(or if you prefer a more comical interpretation, sitting on the bed daydreaming with the occasional token comment to make it seem like she's paying attention).

Roll will make a terrible master.

So if Barrel makes no money, Rock and Roll are both working, where then does the money come from?
Item development.
Rock buys upgrades, and Barrel in turn buys life supplies with the same money.
Sure you could assume this would break down if Rock simply stopped buying upgrades...
But face it, you've been him, you know that isn't an option. Moreover, he (probably) needs to eat too, so of course he forks over the dough. If he wasn't willing to use it, he wouldn't be trying to get it in the first place.

Game-wise, probably.
Realistically, I just assume the spoils are all shared like a common pool of resources, which all of them have access to freely unless it's for seriously major expenses (which is then discussed among themselves before going for it).
If we're going by traditional Japanese families, the most senior family member (or wife, or nearest equivalent) is responsible for managing finances. Knowing how much Japanese culture slipped into the Legends series, this all makes sense for the wrong reasons.

Then again, the only solid food we've ever seen Rock actually consume is cooked chicken from a fridge he raided.
But sensibly, he probably needs to eat a lot given his sheer amount of physical activity, even for his small size.

Why the complexity? Why do Rocks buy rock-busters from Rolls who then gets Barrels to buy foods? Because only Rock really understands what he needs, when he needs it. Priority One is letting Rock buy the supplies he needs to get ever more zenny... like canteens and body armor, which Roll doesn't have. When he's done with that, he buys weapon upgrades, some of which probably does pay for parts of course, but most probably goes into surplus, to pay for vital supplies.

For simplicity's sake, I'd rather think that all money you see earned in-game is post-sharing in the family resource pool.
What do you guys think?

This is actually a real emergent economy that exists. It often spontaneously appears in multiplayer game economies, but also, less well known, among street people. (That is, homeless people who are not impoverished)
Mark gets... we'll call them 'goods' from Jim, which he then sells at a markup, half of which he keeps, and half he gives back to Jim, his "employer". The profits he keeps, (sometimes easily hundreds of dollars), he spends on food and... usually some sort of consumable vice or another...
Its not the point though, the point is, A takes care of A, then B, then C. Just like the Caskett model of expense.

In other words, the money system is pretty much necessary to make a community sustain itself and grow.

and...I've run out of ramble for now.

Well, thank you as always for your insight!
It's fun to see a small topic like this expand into a full blown-out discussion.


Back onto the topic of how vehicle costs are so much lower compared to real-life values; again I would think of it as an established norm and abundance which makes this viable especially considering how much more simplistic vehicles are compared to real-world equivalents due to pragmatism and less emphasis on luxury.

[satoh]

There's an aspect I didn't consider when I wrote that.

What is cars and such only cost a small amount simply due to being relatively simple technology compared to... well just about everything else. If you consider the kind of technology people have ready access to in DASH, namely reaver parts, building a refrigerator, (something that uses a lot of complex gas exchanges to pull heat out of one place and put it somewhere else, and then allow that gas to cool off before repeating the whole process) is comparatively harder than building a car (a box with wheels that turn on their own).

A refrigerator has a lot of things that would have to be built from small parts or rarer reaver parts to work, because it relies on mechanics reavers don't usually employ to work.
A car however... only needs to roll around. Reavers, almost all of them, have some kind of motorized joint in them.

Many reavers even have levitation engines of some kind or another, meaning even airships are based on fairly recognizable technology.

[HF]

Apr 9, 2016 1:07:27 GMT -5 satoh said:

There's an aspect I didn't consider when I wrote that.

What is cars and such only cost a small amount simply due to being relatively simple technology compared to... well just about everything else. If you consider the kind of technology people have ready access to in DASH, namely reaver parts, building a refrigerator, (something that uses a lot of complex gas exchanges to pull heat out of one place and put it somewhere else, and then allow that gas to cool off before repeating the whole process) is comparatively harder than building a car (a box with wheels that turn on their own).

A refrigerator has a lot of things that would have to be built from small parts or rarer reaver parts to work, because it relies on mechanics reavers don't usually employ to work.
A car however... only needs to roll around. Reavers, almost all of them, have some kind of motorized joint in them.

Many reavers even have levitation engines of some kind or another, meaning even airships are based on fairly recognizable technology.

Those are really good points there.

I think it's also plausible to think that a lot of the more 'advanced' technology are just thrown together from rediscovered parts, or at least manufactured as exact duplicates despite the obvious 'black box' (i.e. We built it, we have no idea why it works, but it just does so we're going with that). Kind of a scavenger world, which fits in perfectly with people going around looking for all sorts of scraps to rebuild into other things (pretty much the game mechanics in this case).

As for costs (again, probably repeated for emphasis), I think it's just how through years of culture growth and familiarity that it just became the norm for cheap vehicles in the same sense that magic and heavier-than-air flight in FFXII is the cultural norm.