Since we all know that once the Donkey Crew makes their billions of dollars selling this game they'll all just disappear to live a life of debauchery, we need a way to keep revenue coming in so they'll keep working on the game. We don't want it to stagnate and rot like Strat. The usual way is a monthly subscription or selling 'skins' or other bonuses. But I have a clever idea... I think.
Since the dawn of MMORPGs there has been a black market in virtual goods, and some companies decided that rather than fight it, they'd get a piece of the action. And that inspired me.
I suggest people can buy wine with cash. It will have a set cash value in a limited supply, enough to cover operating costs. So if it costs $100.00 a month to run Epic, 20 casks of wine will be put on the market at $10.00 each. Each of these casks will hold 10 bottles of wine, which you sell for silver at whatever the market will bear. Each time a player drinks a bottle of wine, their account is credited $.50 (while chadz pockets the other $.50).
This could lead to alcoholism in some cash hungry players, which isn't too bad a thing. Taxes will be collected off the sales, so the local gentry get silver, plus tavern keepers get their cut, and the wine merchants have a lot of silver to go for the greater good of the faction.
Each area of the map will have a wine region to prevent from some rich greedy guts from monopolizing, and their will be limits on how many casks you can buy at one time, and there will be a queue to buy it.
And wine should have an effect. If you drink too much in too short of time, your controls go wonky (like you're lagging), your screen gets blurry, and you have 'auto punch' whenever you get near someone. Plus there will be a recovery time we'll call a hangover where your stats, including work stats, goes down. An alcoholic will be less competitive than a sober one, just so the game doesn't get overrun by 3rd world players. Still, this would fill up the less desirable jobs that might be required.
There are other benefits besides getting chadz filthy rich. Wine can be given to soldiers as a morale booster, or to individuals as a reward. Wine will be the #1 stolen or attempted stolen item, much like real life so there's a little more drama for ya. And most importantly, it will keep silver in circulation. Inflation and deflation are a problem in most video games when players make money then quit, leaving it just sitting there. Now they will be inspired to spend it all before going back to playing CS:GO 24/7.
This is a case of guys with more money subsidizing those without. Buying wine casks will make you money, but only if the money is there. People will still be able to make lots of money without having to pay cash. Drunkenness will be obvious, so if you see your King is spending all his tax revenue on booze maybe you better depose him- basically anyone with political power better be sober. And you will only be able to drink so much in a certain amount of time without passing so people won't be able to quickly convert millions of silver into cash overnight. Plus silver prices are determined by supply and demand, and supply can run out.
So this was my clever little idea; now tell me how awesome you think it is.