I think that for everyone's sake we need to decide how many credits buys how much. I haven't actually put some numbers down myself, but everyone should have a say in this
I think that for everyone's sake we need to decide how many credits buys how much. I haven't actually put some numbers down myself, but everyone should have a say in this
From... http://www.theforce.net/swtc/units.html
Money in the Old Republic, Galactic Empire and New Republic takes the form of "galactic credits standard". This is a universal unit of currency. (For a few years after Palpatine's fall, though, there were competing New Republic and Imperial currencies.) In A New Hope, credits took the form of coins (as thrown from Han Solo to a bartender). The STAR WARS Monopoly CD-ROM states that although the galactic credit is standardised, local mints (presumably operating at a planetary or sector level) produce coins bearing regional symbols and labels. Roleplaying sources state that sophisticated electronic devices called credit chips are also used to record credit transactions. Credit chips are supposed to have nearly impregnable security and encryption. Credit notes akin to those used on Earth are not known.
Han Solo took his reward from the Yavin rebels in a form contained in heavy boxes of approximately the same dimensions as a shoe box. The total capacity of all these containers looked to be at least a ton. The material within the boxes was probably a commodity with a stable price; ordinary credit coinage or chips surely would not be so voluminous. The radio dramatisation suggests that the material was a precious metal. Solo and the rebels probably chose this form of transaction because actual credits could potentially be traced by Imperial Intelligence analysts.
There are very few canonical indicators of the value of the galactic credit. Ten thousand credits is considered to be excessively expensive as a fare from Tatooine (in the Outer Rim) to Alderaan (a Core world). A modestly priced transgalactic voyage along a fast hyperlane would take a few days and cost only a few thousand credits. A second-hand hyperspace-capable starship costs more (but not substantially more) than ten thousand credits. Luke Skywalker sold his worn-out landspeeder for approximately 2000 credits (the advance fee demanded by Han Solo for passage to Alderaan). Jabba the Hutt was known to pay 35000 credits bounty for live delivery of one of his wookiee debtors. Drinks at a Mos Eisley cantina cost several coins' worth, but the credit value of the individual coins is unknown.
There are numerous statements of credit value in official (but non-canon) sources. The roleplaying game has extensive tables of pricing. In novels, the training of a stormtrooper officer costs over half a million credits; ten million credits buys a wing of starfighters; C-3PO objectively values himself at 43000 credits, and his constituent parts as five thousand. A "decicred" coin, which is valued at a tenth of a credit, is flipped for gambling purposes [Rebel Dawn p.310].
There is zero nett inflation in the galactic economy. The credit retained roughly equal value over at least four millenia. Compare stated prices of goods and services stated in Tales of the Jedi Companion with prices for similar things in the films, unfilmed fiction and roleplaying material of the Palpatine Era. The absence of inflation for over 160 generations indicates extraordinary stability which deserves detailed examination. This fact is a key hint at the nature of the galactic economy. This should be discussed elsewhere.
*** (End Quote) ***
I agree that it should be settled out. I've got the SW book with the tables in it but I'm not sure if we're following those or not?
Its never really been discussed at length, at least not in the past few years.
If you could post the table, it would be great.
For arguments sake, let's say Han was charging Luke and Obiwan double the standard fare for two humans and two droids from Tatooine to Alderaan, then we could say that roughly, the standard price for such a trip would be 5000 credits. Let us equate a trip from an outer rim planet to a core world in the Star Wars universe as equal to a trip from, say, London to Sydney on our world. After all, space travel in Star Wars is as common as standard flights these days.
That said, between 1000-1500 sterling pounds is pretty standard for a flight, albeit return, from London to Sydney. And 2000-4000 would be fair for a second-hand, older model car, were you to buy one these days. And Luke recieves 2000 credits for his landspeeder.
Roughly, I would say that in relation to the British pound, the Star Wars galactic credit would converted on a ratio of 1:1 or 1:2 where one pound coin equals either one or two credits. And I would strongly advise this be how we apply it to our roleplaying universe because personally, I don't want to have to start bringing up the calculator everytime I mention credits in a post.
I say we keep it 1:1 with either the dollar or the pound (or even the euro for that matter) just for simplicity's sake, and make things cost what they would in real-life, just in credits. Lunch at a fast food restaurant, 5 credits, lunch at a T.T. Fiddlesticks family eatery, 10 credits, etc etc.
I agree with Gav, going with values similar to the Pound would be very sensible because everyone here should be familiar with it, and it does match well.
Remember though, certain goods in certain sectors of the galaxy are more valuable than others. I'm sure every freighter captain that makes a run to that miserable desert with twin suns brings a tank of water to sell. Spice on Coruscant/Imperial Center is going to be far more costly than spice on Nar Shadda.
So a TIE fighter should cost... as much as a BMW?
I have no idea what a TIE fighter would cost to make, but I'd be really interested in seeing that table.
TODAY it would cost like a billion dollars, 'cause its cutting edge technology to us.
But I would guess it would be comperable to a low-end fighter jet.
I doubt that much. Low end fighter jets are still in the million dollar range. Probably closer to an entry level luxury car, like a BWM 318, if thatOriginally posted by Bette Davis
TODAY it would cost like a billion dollars, 'cause its cutting edge technology to us.
But I would guess it would be comperable to a low-end fighter jet.
Actually the way I always looked at it, in a galactic society, a small freighter would be about the same value as a house. A smaller ship might be more like a trailer.Originally posted by Bette Davis
So a TIE fighter should cost... as much as a BMW?
A hyperspace capable starfighter would probably be just shy of a freighter. But TIEs probably would be more like Porsche's. More expensive than other small ships because of the military grade systems despite the short range.
I'll look up some prices when I get home.
oh ok
so like... $150,000?? (wild guess)
Yeah we're talking WWII cost perspective here. TIE fighters are closer to Japanese Zeroes than they are to F-15'sOriginally posted by Morgan Evanar
I doubt that much. Low end fighter jets are still in the million dollar range. Probably closer to an entry level luxury car, like a BWM 318, if that
I'd estimate an x-wing is about 2-3 times as expensive to produce as a standard TIE fighter. The TIE Interceptor is probably in the approximate price range as the x-wing or an A-wing. The B-wing would be more expensive and the Y-wing would be cheaper.
Probably not a bad guess.so like... $150,000?? (wild guess)
We know that a "wing of starfighters cost 10 million credits". We dont know what kind of wing and what kind of fighters though. A wing of starfighters complementing an ISD consists typically of 72 TIEs. A wing of starfighters complementing a Mon Calamari cruiser typically consists of 36 fighters, most of them probably X-wings and A-wings which got similar value.
10 000 000 : 72 = 138 888 credits for a TIE
10 000 000 : 36 = 277 777 credits for the x-wing
I would also suggest we use dollars as 1:1 measurement, because pounds may be slightly too high value looking at earlier examples (I would not want to pay 5 pounds for a fast food lunch, dollar on the other hand). Its also more likely Lucas had this kind of value in mind looking at the speeder/used car analogy. It was a rather rusty old speeder. A piece of junk really.
Trying to set an exchange rate between real life and Star Wars seems a tad artificial and unnecessary. I think it makes more sense to establish relative rates within the genre, if some conversion factor is deemed necessary.
If others think otherwise, then I'll shut up, but reading Yog's post just makes me think we're trying to solve a math problem bass-ackwards.
I highly doubt it would be used much in RP, but I like figuring stuff like this out. :mneh to you, Pierce!
Like, if a datapad cost two credits, and you hand delievered one to everyone in the major cities of Corellia, it would cost you a bazillion credits if you figure in manpower to do the handing out.
Math = almost cool then.
It would be nice if we had a good idea of how to value goods and services. I don't like making up BS if I don't have to.Originally posted by Pierce Tondry
Trying to set an exchange rate between real life and Star Wars seems a tad artificial and unnecessary. I think it makes more sense to establish relative rates within the genre, if some conversion factor is deemed necessary.
If others think otherwise, then I'll shut up, but reading Yog's post just makes me think we're trying to solve a math problem bass-ackwards.
Originally posted by Pierce Tondry
Trying to set an exchange rate between real life and Star Wars seems a tad artificial and unnecessary. I think it makes more sense to establish relative rates within the genre, if some conversion factor is deemed necessary.
If others think otherwise, then I'll shut up, but reading Yog's post just makes me think we're trying to solve a math problem bass-ackwards.
I tend to agree, though I've usually thought of a credit in terms of a 1:1 ratio w/ the American dollar. (Admittedly, that's a bit low--probably closer to the GBP. But, again, I think it's more important to establish relative costs within the fiction itself than to find anything more than just a loose relationship w/ RL currencies.)
Right. That's the goal of this thread. I want to know what a credit will buy in the SW universe.
I figure a datapad costs like two credits. Work your way up from there.
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