How does the 'verses money work? by blackbeanie

We never really got a solid explanation in the show. Why not? Because it'd be gorramn boring. But the Serenity RPG covers it. Basically Credits are a Core thing and work pretty much like money today. It's mostly just accounting with some paper currency floating about to pay for minor things like moche lattes and un-licenced companions. Platinum is a Border/Rim thing and actually illegal for transactions in the core. Credits are easilly traceable while Platinum is fairly anonymous. A rough conversion (based on dialog from Ariel) is 1 Credit to 2.5 Platinum. The RPG suggests that 1 credit is about equal to $25 US.

It's not strictly speaking canon but it rings true enough to me.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

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Monday, August 28, 2006 7:01 PM

BLACKBEANIE

Thanks all.

[We never really got a solid explanation in the show. Why not? Because it'd be gorramn boring.]

LOL

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Monday, August 28, 2006 7:02 PM

MELONCOV

Quote:
I have never even seen the stuff.

You proably actually have; it is fairly common in jewelry. However, it is indistinguisable from silver with a casual view, though it is more durable.

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 4:50 AM

DONCOAT

Well, it's like this. People in the 'verse who have money can exchange it for various things of value, such as foodstuffs and spaceship fuel. Similarly, folks who have things of value can exchange them for money.

Couldn't resist.

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I'm pointin' right at it!

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 4:59 AM

CYBERSNARK

How does the 'verse's money work?

Not nearly as well as Mal wishes it did.

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 5:06 AM

MAL4PREZ

Hey DaveShayne - good info, thanks! This is something I've been wondering about myself, for fic stuff.

You've provided RPG facts before (my grav drive question - remember?) and I'm just wondering who created the RPG 'verse. Show writers, or the players, or what?

I know nothing about RPG, btw, in case it's not obvious.

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 5:11 AM

CRUITHNE3753

Obviously, Alliance Express ain't too popular in the Outer Worlds.

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 6:19 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by mal4prez:
Hey DaveShayne - good info, thanks! This is something I've been wondering about myself, for fic stuff.

You've provided RPG facts before (my grav drive question - remember?) and I'm just wondering who created the RPG 'verse. Show writers, or the players, or what?

It's produced by Margaret Weis Productions (Margaret is also credited with wrting the fiction pieces in the book) the primary author and design credit goes to Jamie Chambers. There isn't any crossover between show/movie talent and the RPG staff that I can see but they did have access to production materials and Universal did have to aprove the books contents. The information in the book never really contradicts anything we know from either the movie or the series though there are a number of areas where in the absence of canon they made it up as they went. So it's not official official but it does closely track the 'Verse as we know it.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 6:34 AM

MAL4PREZ

So - Universal wanted an RPG and hired these folks? Or these folks wrote it and contacted Universal for permission before they could publish?

Not really sure why I'm curious. Just am!

-M

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 6:50 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by mal4prez:
So - Universal wanted an RPG and hired these folks? Or these folks wrote it and contacted Universal for permission before they could publish?

Not really sure why I'm curious. Just am!

I'm not privy to the details of the business dealings between MWP and Universal but my understanding is that the RPG companies are usually the ones who begin the process. There really isn't a lot of money to be made out of RPGs so the suits at the studios rarely give it much thought. Which leaves the fans in the RPG community to get the ball rolling on these kinds of liscence deals.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 7:28 AM

it folds

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 10:25 AM

CALIFORNIAKAYLEE

Quote:
So it's not official official but it does closely track the 'Verse as we know it.

I find it kind of odd to say that an officially licensed product isn't "official official". What's the standard for official then? It has to be written by Joss? Doesn't that severely limit the amount of official continuation of the 'Verse that we could get? If an official, licensed video game came out, would that also not be "official official"?

Personally, I draw the line of "official" between what is given the legal license to create something with the Firefly/Serenity Intellectual Property, and that which hasn't been officially, legally licensed. The Serenity RPG is official IMO. Done the Impossible is not. Both are useful and entertaining in their own ways, but if Universal (or Fox, for that matter) wants to give us tabletop RPGs, trading card games, video games, animated TV shows, or whatever, I'm more than happy to accept those as both official and canon. I don't need Joss's fingerprints on something for it to be official -- just as I don't need him to write or direct an episode to consider it "official".

Sorry, just struck me as odd that info from an official source wouldn't be considered official...

~CK

You can't take the sky from me...

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 11:18 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by CaliforniaKaylee:
I don't need Joss's fingerprints on something for it to be official

Where as I tend to. Joss' involvement with the ancillary products is minimal so there is no guarantee that any given line or passage of text acurately reflects his artistic vision. So if some bit of information is only in the novelization or the RPG I am unlikely to give it the same status as things revealed in Firefly, Serenity, The Serenity OVC, or Serenity Those Left Behind or whatever information might become available in a sequel, additional comics, or a resurected series.

That having been said there really are only a few areas where the RPG creators went far beyond the information available in series or movie and most of those extrapolations feel right to me. I just don't think of them as necesarilly the truth.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 11:31 AM

CYBERSNARK

Let's not get into a Star Wars-ish canon/official debate.

To whit: the published Star Wars fiction in "official," but only Lucas' own stuff is "canon," so he can disregard the novels however he sees fit. This is a problem because (A) most of the "official" stuff ends up being better than the canon, and (B) Lucas doesn't work or play well with others, so he'll piss on the EU without even considering what others might've contributed.

I doubt this will be a problem in the Firefly 'verse, because Joss does play well with others (if he didn't, he would have stayed in film and not worked in television, and he'd likely be more famous than he is [this is what he gets for giving other people credit instead of hogging it all

]). I'm not saying he'll hold himself to the same rules as everyone else, but I expect he has someone keeping track of the larger 'verse issues and who isn't afraid to advise him, as long as it's not a major plot point or anything.

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 12:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cybersnark:
I doubt this will be a problem in the Firefly 'verse, because Joss does play well with others (if he didn't, he would have stayed in film and not worked in television, and he'd likely be more famous than he is [this is what he gets for giving other people credit instead of hogging it all ]). I'm not saying he'll hold himself to the same rules as everyone else, but I expect he has someone keeping track of the larger 'verse issues and who isn't afraid to advise him, as long as it's not a major plot point or anything.

well unfortunately I know that the Buffy novels (official licensed by Fox) were never run by Joss, he never read any of them, and they ended up being contradicted in the show...
things like how Spike was sired and what happened to his Mother....
but of course as fans we could over-look the contractions (Spike told a false tale to the writers of the novel)

but I'm afraid we run the risk of similar problems with the novels in Firefly, they may be fun to read, but they may also be contradicted at some future point by Joss' own comic books, or back story told in movie sequels (because I still assume we will eventually get them)

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 12:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cybersnark:
Let's not get into a Star Wars-ish canon/official debate.

The debate should probably be had at some point however or there will be no real basis for answering questions like "How does the 'verse's money work?" Personally I will continue to mark anything I cite that's not from the series, comic, or movie as not necesarilly official and let others decide how much credence to give it.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 12:39 PM

CALIFORNIAKAYLEE

I guess I just find that slightly depressing, is all. I'm a big gamer, and I would really like to see an official video game made based on the 'Verse. I don't expect that Joss would drop his other projects to lead the development of a video game (or that he'd even want to get *that* involved with game development). But as long as Joss said he was happy with the game, and the game was an officially licensed product, I'd be happy.

Anyhow, I guess it's just a difference of opinion. I know people who absolutely detest "Heart of Gold", and don't consider it canon since it wasn't written or directed by Joss (written by Brett Matthews and directed by Thomas J. Wright). And I'm sure you aren't the only one who differentiates between canon and official licensed spin-offs. For me, official is official, and Joss saying publicly that he likes it is icing on the cake.

~CK

You can't take the sky from me...

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 12:54 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by traveler:
(Snip)
On Earth platinum is very rare, so is very expensive, even against gold. I have never even seen the stuff.
Traveler

Now you have ;)

The Bar on the right is .999 silver (10 Ounces), the "Round" on the left is platinum (also 10 ounces).

Right now 10 ounces of silver is worth about $122 (That fluctuates GREATLY every day). The 10 Ounces of Platinum on the left is worth about $12,300 (That also fluctuates GREATLY each day).

Platinum has a "more silvery than Silver" look.. what you picture in your mind as "Silver" is closer to what platinum looks like... Silver Tarnishes rather fast when exposed to air so it doesn't always look as Shiny as you'd think...

Now I gotta go re-vacuum pack that Silver bar and re-open the safe ;)

http://www.kitco.com/market/
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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 1:21 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by CaliforniaKaylee:
I guess I just find that slightly depressing, is all. I'm a big gamer, and I would really like to see an official video game made based on the 'Verse.

I don't see how things being canon/not canon would affect the possibility of a game being produced? I would only say that if a Serenifly game was made but had little to no Joss input I would tend to not call it canon. Wouldn't mean that it wasn't a good game or anything just not something to be used to prove points in discusion.

Quote:
I know people who absolutely detest "Heart of Gold", and don't consider it canon since it wasn't written or directed by Joss (written by Brett Matthews and directed by Thomas J. Wright).

By that very odd argument Bushwacked is not canon. Nor is Shindig, Safe, Jaynestown, Out of Gas, Ariel, War Stories, or Trash.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 1:34 PM

CALIFORNIAKAYLEE

Quote:
I don't see how things being canon/not canon would affect the possibility of a game being produced?

It strikes me that if Universal (and/or Fox) gets it in their head that the only thing fans will accept are projects in which Joss had a direct role, that could severely limit what they greenlight. Chances are they aren't even paying close enough attention to the fan base to notice one way or another, but I for one would hate it if an exec was sitting somewhere going "Hm, yeah, we could make a game [or novel or cartoon or whatever] based on this Firefly thing. But hm, the fans only seem interested if Joss is involved, and Joss is off making Wonder Woman, so I guess we'll have to shelve the idea."

In threads about bringing the show back or getting a sequel to Serenity, people often point out that Joss is busy with other projects, so nothing is going to happen for a few years at least. If it were a spin-off project not led by Joss, we could get more 'Verse sooner. I guess I'm just saying that I would hate for us to lose our shot at something, anything in the Firefly 'Verse, even if it means a project that Joss isn't directly involved with. That said, I do understand why people other than me would want Joss involved in whatever comes next.

Quote:
By that very odd argument Bushwacked is not canon. Nor is Shindig, Safe, Jaynestown, Out of Gas, Ariel, War Stories, or Trash.

Hehe, I didn't say it was my argument! Honestly, I think they just dislike Heart of Gold and use that argument to justify why its ok to pretend it never happened. My point was just, to each their own. Everyone has their own opinion of what is or isn't canon.

~CK

You can't take the sky from me...

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 1:42 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by blackbeanie:
Simon was going on about platnums or something, and there's bits and credits...Can anyone explain?

I've wondered about that also... I read somewhere that the serenity Cargo bay could hold as much as 10 transfer trucks (Or maybe that was the total size of the ship, I don't remember, this "Not Smoking" makes my head fuzzy ;)

Anyway, I have friends that Own Transfer trucks, and I know it costs them a LOT to operate.. so I have often wondered how "Firefly" makes money carrying small cargoes.. it'd have to be VERY valuable, since about the only time I've seen the cargo bay "Full" was when they were transporting cattle, and that would be some EXPENSIVE cattle if it was their only cargo.

I can see them using "Platinum" as payment since the payoffs would have to be HUGE to keep the ship operating, and tossing a small bag of Coinage over as "Payment" would almost certainly have to be Platinum (Assuming it's valued the same as on Earth, and taking into account many hundreds of years of increasing value... There's a finite amount of Platinum, so it's value increases as more people are born that want it).

Of course using Gold OR Platinum, the bags would be MUCH heavier (Platinum is only slightly less heavy than Gold).. so either they are doing the usual "a man can easily lift a 100 pound gold bar in the movies" routine, or Mal is pretty Damned strong ;)

Sorry, Economics fascinates me, and Even if it's by accident, the FF series seems to have taken all that into "account" (pun intended).

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 2:09 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by CaliforniaKaylee:
Quote:
I don't see how things being canon/not canon would affect the possibility of a game being produced?
It strikes me that if Universal (and/or Fox) gets it in their head that the only thing fans will accept are projects in which Joss had a direct role, that could severely limit what they greenlight.

Depends on the project. For things like games, novels, and the like there is no fan expectation of Joss involvement - hey Lucas doesn't program the Jedi Knight games or write the EU novels - and consequently it doesn't matter if we would call it canon or not the marketability of the game/book would be about the same. But a new TV series or movie without Joss would run the risk of not being Serenifly at all which I hope everybody involved bears in mind.

Quote:
Everyone has their own opinion of what is or isn't canon.

This is true.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 3:12 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by embers:
it folds

What is that from (If I may ask)? I assume it's a game or something?

It looks a LOT like Chinese or Korean Money.. I deal with Clients around the world, and frequently they pay in "Cash", if it's a small job I usually don't bother to get it converted, since I travel a lot and may end up spending it there anyway ;)

I have found that in many places, the "paper money" is like our Change here in the USA, and the "Coins" are larger denominations (Like our "Bills").. which makes a certain amount of sense, you don't want your "larger denominations" wearing out so quickly, whereas the "easily printable" stuff is fast and cheap to knock out as "Change", AND it's MUCH harder to counterfeit a "Coin" than it is paper money.

So I guess it makes sense that they'd make it look "Oriental" since the two cultures have merged in the 'verse of FireFly ;)
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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 3:19 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bad2verse:

What is that from (If I may ask)? I assume it's a game or something?

this is prop money made specifically for the movie
they gave it away during a convention while the movie was being made as a promotional item,
and you'll see pictures of it in the book
Serenity: the Visual Companion

and it does fold....

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 3:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by embers:
Quote:
Originally posted by bad2verse:

What is that from (If I may ask)? I assume it's a game or something?

this is prop money made specifically for the movie
they gave it away during a convention while the movie was being made as a promotional item,
and you'll see pictures of it in the book
Serenity: the Visual Companion

and it does fold....

That is just TOO cool... Great, now I gotta hit e-bay and find out who is selling there's ;)
Thanks!

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 4:20 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by embers:
Quote:
Originally posted by bad2verse:

What is that from (If I may ask)? I assume it's a game or something?

this is prop money made specifically for the movie
they gave it away during a convention while the movie was being made as a promotional item,
and you'll see pictures of it in the book
Serenity: the Visual Companion

and it does fold....

WOW.. On E-bay it's selling for 90-115 bux.. framed and "Authenticated". It's The prop money from "The Bank Heist"... Hang on to it, Embers, it's got value! That's 170-200+ bux in your hands there... a few more years and it may be worth face value ;)

Thanks again.

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 4:25 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bad2verse:

WOW.. On E-bay it's selling for 90-115 bux.. framed and "Authenticated". It's The prop money from "The Bank Heist"... Hang on to it, Embers, it's got value! That's 170-200+ bux in your hands there... a few more years and it may be worth face value ;)

unfortunately those aren't MY hands....
but those of another lucky Browncoat.

I wonder how the people selling on eBay 'authenticated' theirs?

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 4:39 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by embers:
Quote:
Originally posted by bad2verse:

WOW.. On E-bay it's selling for 90-115 bux.. framed and "Authenticated". It's The prop money from "The Bank Heist"... Hang on to it, Embers, it's got value! That's 170-200+ bux in your hands there... a few more years and it may be worth face value ;)

unfortunately those aren't MY hands....
but those of another lucky Browncoat.

I wonder how the people selling on eBay 'authenticated' theirs?

It's from a company called "The prop Store" in London.. very reputable, I've dealt with them before..

They handle selling off movie props from just about ANY movie you can think of.. EXCEPT Lord Of The Rings.. They Destroyed ALL of their props so there wouldn't be any "Fakes on E-bay".

I was looking at buying a Sword that was being offered as "Aragorn's sword from the movie", and the "The Prop Store" people e-mailed me with that tidbit, cause he was trying to say he had it authenticated from "The Prop Store"... ANNNNk, he didn't... I had a Sword Maker make me an exact replica (working) for about a quarter of the price the faker was trying to get for his..

I later found out that they are sold online for about 50 bux (Cheapo imitations).. Ebay pulled his Listing after that.

But if "The Prop Store" sells it, it's the real deal, they go great lengths to get the props DIRECTLY from the Movie Companies.. they often have contracts for the items they want before the movie is even finished.

http://cgi.ebay.com/SERENITY-Bank-Heist-Money-Display-ORIGINAL-PROP_W0
QQitemZ140009802936QQihZ004QQcategoryZ60360QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I usually only deal with The Prop Store for authentic movie stuff, there are a LOT of fakers and counterfeiters out there. My "Conan Sword" Came from the Prop store (And as I said in another post, you almost have to be "Ah-nold" to lift the dang heavy thing ;)

(The top Sword is an Original from "Conan" and the bottom is a replica I had made of Aragorn's sword from LOTR)
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Wednesday, August 30, 2006 12:44 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by CaliforniaKaylee:
(Snip)
Anyhow, I guess it's just a difference of opinion. I know people who absolutely detest "Heart of Gold", and don't consider it canon since it wasn't written or directed by Joss (written by Brett Matthews and directed by Thomas J. Wright). And I'm sure you aren't the only one who differentiates between canon and official licensed spin-offs. For me, official is official, and Joss saying publicly that he likes it is icing on the cake.

~CK

Oh No.. I hope some king doesn't get it in his head to stick us all in a room with just bread and water until we hash out what's "Cannon" and What isn't

Hey, It worked for King James ;)

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Wednesday, August 30, 2006 1:04 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bad2verse:
Oh No.. I hope some king doesn't get it in his head to stick us all in a room with just bread and water until we hash out what's "Cannon" and What isn't

Wouldn't work. We're browncoats we'd fight our way out. BTW it's canon. Cannons are what clowns get shot out of at the circus.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

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Wednesday, August 30, 2006 1:15 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by daveshayne:
Quote:
Originally posted by bad2verse:
Oh No.. I hope some king doesn't get it in his head to stick us all in a room with just bread and water until we hash out what's "Cannon" and What isn't

Wouldn't work. We're browncoats we'd fight our way out. BTW it's canon. Cannons are what clowns get shot out of at the circus.
David

Nah, yer right, wouldn't work with us...

BUT.. when does a cannon stop being a cannon and become a rifle? Or a Howitser? Some call my little Kahr .40 Caliber a "Hand Cannon"... Maybe we should decide that too while we're decidin ;)

Give us a day, and we could work out ALL of the world's problems.. if they'd only LISTEN to US ;)

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Wednesday, August 30, 2006 1:41 PM

CITIZEN

This might help:
http://www.fireflywiki.org/Firefly/FireflyMoney

More insane ramblings by the people who brought you beeeer milkshakes!
No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.

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Wednesday, August 30, 2006 3:00 PM