Meguca Micro Empire Quest (PMMM)

[Elder Haman]

Again, just copied what Haman had. I assumed he wasn't sure how many he wanted, and listed both prices. I just selected the high-quantity run.

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Exactly. I just went to a publisher's website, input my requirements into the price calculator, and then asked for a price quote for 100 copies, and a price quote for 1000 copies.

One thing to note is that Nagoya will probably get their hands on a copy rather quickly. I wonder what they'll think of it...

Ah, cool. Can do that during the trade this month.

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I suppose that's not a bad deal...

It's mostly a placeholder for a large chunk of cash being spent. More debate is needed on which option is actually selected.

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Yeah, we need to discuss this more.

Option 2 is right out I think. We just can't hope to get it completed in time for Serena to arrive this month.

That leave the Getaway House and the Aikya House.

@inverted_helix Are we buying the Aikya house now? Does that change the pricing?

Assuming that we are still just renting from the government, who expect that we are going to fix it up for them, and then they don't compensate us. So the $30,000 would be a sunk cost we don't get back, and then a $400 burn rate on top of that (rent plus satellite).

Compared to a $10,000 burn rate for the getaway house, with no outlay of cost.

Now, let's assume that the village is still our eventual long term plan. How long will we have to support the other option till we can switch over to the abandoned village?

I figure it will take a minimum of three months just to do the work of upgrading the village to habitable. After that it becomes a question of how long it will be till we have the (minimum) $50,000 available to spend on the village.

If the village is ready in 3 months:

Getaway costs: $30,000; Aikya costs: $31,200

4 months:

Getaway costs: $40,000; Aikya costs: $31,600

So basically if we have enough cash to start on it right away, the Getaway cost is slightly cheaper.

That looks at it entirely from a finance point of view, and does not consider other risks for the Aikya house.

 

[inverted_helix]

New whiteboard, because this is going to be a nightmarish month for planning. Sorry @inverted_helix

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And I still need to finish up bits of the previous, lol.

@inverted_helix - Would Serena have any cube costs this month? She indicated she'd be able to hunt what she needed before she left, but I'm not sure if that means she's set for a full month ahead of time.

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You should count her as needing half, since you're expecting her to arrive mid month right? With travel arrangement time and travel time.

Regarding the technology research, @inverted_helix is the follow up research meant to be actually enchanting technology to work better by working out a mental gestalt that includes the whole object, rather than the object as a collection of parts?

So, for example, if you can consider the full operation of a slingshot, how and why it works, rather than the simple operation of its parts, then if you enchant it with that understanding you can actually make the slingshot more accurate, rather than just naively making the wood malleable and the rubber more stretchy.

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Well I've written 3 different answers to this, but the answer is you'll need to research in that direction. You're kind of running out of low hanging fruit, and just in time considering you're heading towards a much larger resource pool.

@inverted_helix Are we buying the Aikya house now? Does that change the pricing?

Assuming that we are still just renting from the government, who expect that we are going to fix it up for them, and then they don't compensate us. So the $30,000 would be a sunk cost we don't get back, and then a $400 burn rate on top of that (rent plus satellite).

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I'm kind of wobbly on it. I'm inclined to the rental and sunk cost model because it's more balanced from a game sense. But I'm not sure if whether Eyes is right about that not being realistic. I think that it's probably a reasonable thing in Japan, but I'm not sure.

If the village is ready in 3 months:

Getaway costs: $30,000; Aikya costs: $31,200

4 months:

Getaway costs: $40,000; Aikya costs: $31,600

So basically if we have enough cash to start on it right away, the Getaway cost is slightly cheaper.

That looks at it entirely from a finance point of view, and does not consider other risks for the Aikya house.

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Then again when I look at this metric, maybe from a balance perspective you should be buying the Akiya outright. I didn't consider from a balance perspective you guys saying "let's do both".

I'll call it a purchase because it makes sense that way as well. You can get some of those houses for a song. Though keep in mind it's intentionally picked for being far away from anything. So using it for much of anything will be a pain. It will probably end up a teleporter hangout.

 

[Aranfan]

@inverted_helix how long will it take to fix up option 2? And would Serena be willing to camp out in our nomad territory until it is ready?

Edit: We would of course be springing for high quality camping gear.

 

[TheEyes]

@inverted_helix it's very possible that I have a skewed view of the issue, since my rental is in California, and if I tried renting a place under those terms (read: unsafe living conditions) I'd have lawsuits descending on me practically before I finished listing the property. And if the government tried that? Wow, the sheer volume of negative press would be amazing, easily enough to get them to settle for a lot of money.

There are a lot of laws that protect residential renters in the US, and even stronger ones in California, but Japan could be very different in that regard.

 

[Elder Haman]

Then again when I look at this metric, maybe from a balance perspective you should be buying the Akiya outright. I didn't consider from a balance perspective you guys saying "let's do both".

I'll call it a purchase because it makes sense that way as well. You can get some of those houses for a song. Though keep in mind it's intentionally picked for being far away from anything. So using it for much of anything will be a pain. It will probably end up a teleporter hangout.

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Does this change the pricing?

Or is it now going to be $30,000 initial investment, and $300 mortgage?

I suppose buying isn't too bad. It could serve as a base for more extensive training that we can't fit in the gym at the church...

Or we could even just keep renting it at $300 a month it isn't that bad.

 

[Skelm]

I suppose buying isn't too bad. It could serve as a base for more extensive training that we can't fit in the gym at the church...

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Wouldn't it make more sense to train in the abandoned village and leave Serena in a reasonably sized house? There are only five people in her group verses potentially hundreds of trainees.

 

[Elder Haman]

Wouldn't it make more sense to train in the abandoned village and leave Serena in a reasonably sized house? There are only five people in her group verses potentially hundreds of trainees.

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The Aikya House is not fully isolated. I can accept it as a temporary solution, but not as a long term one. I'm certain if we leave Serena there long enough it will result in a bad effect on mundane humans. (I'd guess the GM would roll a hidden die each month to see if something happens).

 

[Skelm]

I'm coming around to the village as I think about it more.

The obvious problem with housing Serena in the Akiya house in the mean time is that the Akiya house itself needs renovations before it's livable and the cost being a similar amount suggests that we should expect it to take a similar amount of time.

 

[Elder Haman]

I'm coming around to the village as I think about it more.

The obvious problem with housing Serena in the Akiya house in the mean time is that the Akiya house itself needs renovations before it's livable and the cost being a similar amount suggests that we should expect it to take a similar amount of time.

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Our swag at the $30,000 price was 1.5 weeks. Which ought to be just enough time to get it done and have the paint dry before Serena moves in.

@inverted_helix Is that an acceptable assumption? Or is the Aikya house not possible to have ready in time for an arrival of Serena in 2 weeks?

 

[Aranfan]

I'm still waiting for how long it'll take for the renovation of Option 2, or at least a single house at $50k. If it's a short enough time for Serena to be able to move in when it gets there then it is clearly the best option.

 

[Skelm]

Our swag at the $30,000 price was 1.5 weeks. Which ought to be just enough time to get it done and have the paint dry before Serena moves in.

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Sure, but the house in the village costs $50,000 to renovate, so 2.5 weeks. I don't really see the point in buying a place that she'll only use for a week, it makes more sense to just delay her arrival by a few days.

 

[inverted_helix]

@inverted_helix how long will it take to fix up option 2? And would Serena be willing to camp out in our nomad territory until it is ready?

Edit: We would of course be springing for high quality camping gear.

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That's essentially how she's living now, but part of your offer was to give her a permanent home. So it while it would be accepted, it would be a negative.

@inverted_helix it's very possible that I have a skewed view of the issue, since my rental is in California, and if I tried renting a place under those terms (read: unsafe living conditions) I'd have lawsuits descending on me practically before I finished listing the property. And if the government tried that? Wow, the sheer volume of negative press would be amazing, easily enough to get them to settle for a lot of money.

There are a lot of laws that protect residential renters in the US, and even stronger ones in California, but Japan could be very different in that regard.

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Yeah the United States tends to be a very regulated environment compared to a lot of places.

I'm coming around to the village as I think about it more.

The obvious problem with housing Serena in the Akiya house in the mean time is that the Akiya house itself needs renovations before it's livable and the cost being a similar amount suggests that we should expect it to take a similar amount of time.

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Something to keep in mind is the renovation cost on the village is per house, not the village as a whole. It's a wreck.

Our swag at the $30,000 price was 1.5 weeks. Which ought to be just enough time to get it done and have the paint dry before Serena moves in.

@inverted_helix Is that an acceptable assumption? Or is the Aikya house not possible to have ready in time for an arrival of Serena in 2 weeks?

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It's fine.

 

[Skelm]

Something to keep in mind is the renovation cost on the village is per house, not the village as a whole. It's a wreck.

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Sure, but we only need one house and the ongoing costs are lower than any of the other options.

 

[Elder Haman]

Something to keep in mind is the renovation cost on the village is per house, not the village as a whole. It's a wreck.

It's fine.

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Which means they will have a scenic abandoned Japanese mountain village to explore!

But that raises a couple questions:

1: What is the quality of the $50,000 house in the village compared to the Aiyka house? I mean, are they the same number of bedrooms? Are there enough bedrooms for each girl to get her own? (Six). Do they both have more than one bathroom? Are they comparable sized common rooms and kitchens?

2: What is the quality of the Aikya house compared to our houses in Mitakihara? Similar type comparisons.

3: Can the $50,000 renovation of the house in the village be completed in 2.5 weeks? Or will it take more time?

 

[Aranfan]

That's essentially how she's living now, but part of your offer was to give her a permanent home. So it while it would be accepted, it would be a negative.

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Okay. But how long would renovating a house in the village take? Could it be ready when she arrives?

 

[TheEyes]

1: What is the quality of the $50,000 house in the village compared to the Aiyka house? I mean, are they the same number of bedrooms? Are there enough bedrooms for each girl to get her own? (Six). Do they both have more than one bathroom? Are they comparable sized common rooms and kitchens?

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Five, actually: Serena, plus four. I guess we won't find out until next month if any of them have useful wish magic?

 

[Kinematics]

Which means they will have a scenic abandoned Japanese mountain village to explore!

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It's quaint! And rustic!

Truthfully, a fully renovated village would be fantastic, but at $50k per house, it's a bit like buying Kyouko's church again (but without the loan). I'd be fine with picking it up and doing the renovation, but only because I'm a sucker for a beautiful, quaint village. I'd be more inclined to put that as a post-church project, though, because it will need a lot of work and money poured into it. (Would also need some solid justification for it beyond "Surround Serena with prettiness".)

While we could get Serena one house that was livable, if the rest of the place is a wreck, that's a pretty notable negative on the relations chart.

 

[Skelm]

Would also need some solid justification for it beyond "Surround Serena with prettiness".

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You don't want to surround our Glorious Leader with pretty things? What will the other cults think of us?

While we could get Serena one house that was livable, if the rest of the place is a wreck, that's a pretty notable negative on the relations chart.

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Yeah, that's why I originally leaned towards the getaway house. I could see that being worth $10,000 a month, we could afford that once we've expanded our courier business into Tokyo and it's a similar price up to that point.

 

[TheEyes]

It's quaint! And rustic!

Truthfully, a fully renovated village would be fantastic, but at $50k per house, it's a bit like buying Kyouko's church again (but without the loan). I'd be fine with picking it up and doing the renovation, but only because I'm a sucker for a beautiful, quaint village. I'd be more inclined to put that as a post-church project, though, because it will need a lot of work and money poured into it. (Would also need some solid justification for it beyond "Surround Serena with prettiness".)

While we could get Serena one house that was livable, if the rest of the place is a wreck, that's a pretty notable negative on the relations chart.

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Hm. Maybe we should pay to just bulldoze the rest of the village, other than the one house that we renovate? How many other houses are in this village @inverted_helix?

As a general note, bulldozing a house costs around $8,000-15,000 (call it $15,000 in this case because it's remote and so getting trucks and heavy equipment will cost more), but you can recoup between half and the full value of that with the stuff salvaged from inside, especially if there's any good antiques (including antique wood in the walls; people can pay a lot of money for that stuff!)

 

[inverted_helix]

Sure, but we only need one house and the ongoing costs are lower than any of the other options.

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Eh, the village costs are just harder to realize.

1: What is the quality of the $50,000 house in the village compared to the Aiyka house? I mean, are they the same number of bedrooms? Are there enough bedrooms for each girl to get her own? (Six). Do they both have more than one bathroom? Are they comparable sized common rooms and kitchens?

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Similar quality and size, more severe damage.

Hmm making me get a lot finer grained detail than I'd like. Looking at average house statistics for Japan is rather hard, I suspect most of the statistics aren't translated. Probably looking at something in the neighborhood of 3 bed, 2 bath (though technically speaking bathrooms are divided into a couple different sections in Japanese houses because there's an actual room for the bath and the toilet is a different room).

2: What is the quality of the Aikya house compared to our houses in Mitakihara? Similar type comparisons.

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Similar quality but a bit smaller. It's pretty much expected that people are around 2 (or 3 when you're closer to cap) to a bedroom though in your current arrangements.

3: Can the $50,000 renovation of the house in the village be completed in 2.5 weeks? Or will it take more time?

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Okay. But how long would renovating a house in the village take? Could it be ready when she arrives?

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I'm reconsidering that you can do the renovations that fast in the first place. I mean yeah theoretically 10k a week in labor costs, but getting work crews out to some place instantly isn't that common... So I guess that in account I won't let you use the village house the turn you pay for it.

It's quaint! And rustic!

Truthfully, a fully renovated village would be fantastic, but at $50k per house, it's a bit like buying Kyouko's church again. I'd be fine with picking it up and doing the renovation, but only because I'm a sucker for a beautiful, quaint village. I'd be more inclined to put that as a post-church project, though, because it will need a lot of work and money poured into it. (Would also need some solid justification for it beyond "Surround Serena with prettiness".)

While we could get Serena one house that was livable, if the rest of the place is a wreck, that's a pretty notable negative on the relations chart.

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You've hit on one of the problems with buying a ruined village.

Hm. Maybe we should pay to just bulldoze the rest of the village, other than the one house that we renovate? How many other houses are in this village @inverted_helix?

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We'll say a dozen. And yes this is just a totally random number conjured from thin air.

 

[TheEyes]

I'm reconsidering that you can do the renovations that fast in the first place. I mean yeah theoretically 10k a week in labor costs, but getting work crews out to some place instantly isn't that common... So I guess that in account I won't let you use the village house the turn you pay for it.

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There's also the fact that, as refurb costs increase, you start to run into things that can't be done in parallel. For example, you can't exactly paint the walls when you're ripping out drywall to get at the electrical. $30,000 is low enough that you're mostly looking at paint, mold removal, flooring, roof repair, appliances, cabinetry and minor plumbing/electrical work, but $50k is when you start ripping out walls, and that's not something you can do at the same time you're repairing the roof, painting, or doing the floors.

 

[Kinematics]

Minor note, @Elder Haman - It's Akiya, not Aikya or Aiyka.

More thoughts...

Getaway - Expensive; beyond our means right now, and eats a huge chunk of our income going forward, even with the addition of the courier business. Gives Serena a great first impression, but it's a bit of a false front because we know already that we can't afford that long-term, and would be a notable loss of face if/when we had to move her out of there.

Akiya - Mundane average. Highly suggest we just spring for renting the other two nearby akiyas so that they won't draw prospective buyers. $30k renovation cost, but doable before she arrives. Total ongoing cost (including secondary rentals) is less than the cost of Mami's apartment. Is nice enough as an actual home, but won't be hugely impressive.

Village - Is a wreck. Even after refurbishing a place for them, staying in a crumbling wreck of a village is not going to give the best impression. Lowest current value, but highest potential value. A fully refurbished village is a huge time and money sink, but offers quite a bit (at least, if we can fix the aura problem). It's a secure enclave and training ground. Can probably house upwards of a hundred people, if we just need someplace to "keep people out of the way". A quaint, rustic village is wonderfully soothing, and probably a great place to let people recover from trauma. If we could build something like a hot springs there, we could have our own private tourist village.

Anyway, lots of things that could be done with it, but most don't mesh well with Serena staying there (unless, as noted, we work out some way to deal with the aura). It seems like it's best considered as a long-term project, not something to pick up for our immediate needs.


As such, I'm most strongly leaning towards the akiya purchase right now.

 

[Elder Haman]

It's quaint! And rustic!

Truthfully, a fully renovated village would be fantastic, but at $50k per house, it's a bit like buying Kyouko's church again (but without the loan). I'd be fine with picking it up and doing the renovation, but only because I'm a sucker for a beautiful, quaint village. I'd be more inclined to put that as a post-church project, though, because it will need a lot of work and money poured into it. (Would also need some solid justification for it beyond "Surround Serena with prettiness".)

While we could get Serena one house that was livable, if the rest of the place is a wreck, that's a pretty notable negative on the relations chart.

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Is it really a notable negative? I'd assume we'd pick one of the houses on the outskirts as our first house to renovate. Preferably on a hill or something, with the rest of the village obscured around the bend.

Like here:

https://softypapa.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/2013-01-22_1839.png

That's a pretty common layout for a Japanese village (even found a diagram just like this after googling "layout of Japanese mountain village")

Look at the house just above the green arrow, isolated from the rest of the village. If we renovated a house separate like that it shouldn't be that big a deal that half a mile down the road is an abandoned village.

 

[Kinematics]

Hm. Maybe we should pay to just bulldoze the rest of the village, other than the one house that we renovate?

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Just a note, and not sure on if it would apply in this case, but one consternating fact about the Japanese tax code is that it costs you more in taxes to have an empty lot than to have a crumbling wreck there. From one article:

A plot of land zoned for residential use that does not have a house on it is taxed at six times the rate of land that does have a house. According to the saikenchiku-fuka law, if the access road/path from the property to the nearest public road is two meters or less in width, any structure on the property cannot be rebuilt, the idea being that access roads must first be widened in order to make the neighborhood safer. But if the owner tears the house down and doesn't replace it with something new, his tax bill increases sixfold.

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So, based on that, people don't tear down old houses because it would cost them more money, and they can't replace them because of zoning codes that prevent rebuilding.

 

[Elder Haman]

Minor note, @Elder Haman - It's Akiya, not Aikya or Aiyka.

Akiya - Mundane average. Highly suggest we just spring for renting the other two nearby akiyas so that they won't draw prospective buyers. $30k renovation cost, but doable before she arrives. Total ongoing cost (including secondary rentals) is less than the cost of Mami's apartment. Is nice enough as an actual home, but won't be hugely impressive.

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Just following the gamer tradition of misspelling/mispronouncing every proper name the GM hands out.

@inverted_helix Never got an answer, can we just rent out the other nearby Akiya houses and not renovate them?

$300 x #?

$300 x 3 = $900 a month?