Coupons were a dumb idea

[Commander359]

Does anybody else think this? In previous stalker games we were led to believe that most stalkers entered the zone with the goal of recovering artifacts to smuggle OUT of the zone for profit. Yet now we are told freedom came up with this "new" currency and everyone just goes along with it?

I dont know, it feel to me like the devs kind of forgot the whole reasons stalkers come to the zone. I get that you have the nutballs like scar that worship the zone, and those few who come to the zone for ulterior reasons like the player character, but this new currency system makes no sense and severely detracts from the lore perspective of why so many people come to the zone. Coupons would have no value outside the zone, so why anyone would trade with them when rubles already existed and could be traded both inside AND outside the zone is beyond me. Heck, if its an anti-Russia thing then just replace the ruble with the hryvnia, at least then it would still make sense.

[Commander359]

Originally posted by ⓀⒾⓦⒾ‰:

when i fly over to Australia i have to use this weird looking monopoly money to buy things i need when i am there
without it i run out of supplies pretty fast
it is completely useless anywhere else

Yes, but the difference is you dont go to Australia with the goal of smuggling powerful science-defying artifacts of power to sell back to your original country. If you did, then why would you settle for a currency that can only be used there when your whole goal in the first place was to get rich OUTSIDE of that country?

Besides, Australia, like most countries, tends to have a currency exchange system. So far, I have seen no evidence of such a thing in the stalker universe.

[SHOKKERZ91]

The coupons are based on Karbovanets, which where a official currency in the past in ukraine, the last time beeing from 1992-1996. So coupons is not just pulled out of thin air.

[Commander359]

Originally posted by SHOKKERZ91:

The coupons are based on Karbovanets, which where a official currency in the past in ukraine, the last time beeing from 1992-1996. So coupons is not just pulled out of thin air.

Ah, I see. But that still doesn't answer the question of why the stalkers are so chill with using coupons instead of currencies they can use when they leave the zone. I mean, if coupons can be traded for currencies usable outside the zone, then it would make perfect sense. However, I have not seen anyone in game mention this can be done, and therefore it makes it hard to understand why so many stalkers come to the zone now that there is no money to be made.

[devil_505]

Interesting that they changed artifacts lore. In earlier games (and the books) it was smuggling the artifacts out of the zone for selling them to rich people, now they decay and die as soon as they leave the zone. The artifact Skiff found in his wrecked home was one of a kind because it survived outside the zone.

[Costarring]

Nope, I don't.
When you can't use offical currency, you barter or make your own currency.
And the faction or trader with the most power dictates what the currency is.

FWIW No one "on the mainland" is going to accept contaminated money.

[Sparhawk122]

Originally posted by ⓀⒾⓦⒾ‰:

when i fly over to Australia i have to use this weird looking monopoly money to buy things i need when i am there
without it i run out of supplies pretty fast
it is completely useless anywhere else

I don't think you can convert coupons the same way though.

[Commander359]

Originally posted by Costarring:

Nope, I don't.
When you can't use offical currency, you barter or make your own currency.
And the faction or trader with the most power dictates what the currency is.

FWIW No one "on the mainland" is going to accept contaminated money.

Right, so now we have a hole in the lore on why exactly the stalkers are even in the exclusion zone in the first place. In the past it was to make money smuggling out artifacts and technology recovered from the zone. Now that that is gone, it really does beg the question of why stalkers are even bothering. Yea, I get that some of them are just there to experience the zone, but it makes no sense to have that be the only reason.

I mean, even if we just had some NPC's talk about smuggling items out of the zone and using coupons to extort stalkers into doing the dirty work for a fake FIAT currency, at least then it would be explained. As it is, it seems like their new story is that the stalkers that are here are devided between sightseers, scientists, and mercenaries and that's it.

This also makes it really hard for me to feel sympathy for the stalkers over the ward at times. I mean, yea the ward are pompous jerks hoping to leash the zone into another government pet project, but at least they are doing something with it. In previous games I would have sided with the stalkers because I knew they relied on the zone for their livelyhoods and would smuggle artifacts out into the greater world to be used by more people. Now though, its really feels like their just tourists hanging around for the lulz rather than desperate people doing a dangerous job to make ends meat.

[Othobrithol]

Originally posted by Costarring:

Nope, I don't.
When you can't use offical currency, you barter or make your own currency.
And the faction or trader with the most power dictates what the currency is.

This. Everyone uses coupons because you can use those coupons at the best market.
If your intention is to stay in the zone, that is liquid wealth. And most of the veterans of zone want to be there.

Now when you hand over that artifact to Barkeep, it is on its way out of the zone. They may swap it for supplies or guns to somebody that is going to sell it for currency (oddly, likely another crypto as well to avoid oversight, go figure).

Even if they are going to fade away, people want to study or use the artifacts. Have no doubt that out there somewhere is a hemophiliac billionaire that relies on the zone's harvest to cling to life like a lamprey eel. Probably has the artifacts ground up into a suppository with cloned rhino horn and stem cells. When someone wants out and has not prepared for it (eg Squint) they might need an artifact to cover the costs of getting out of the zone.

Freedom is likely dominating the export market, thus the well stocked market (even fresh baked bread!), thus stalkers being willing to trade their artifacts for credit. I'd even bet that (outside the scope of the game) they are the ones to talk to about converting coupons into other currencies/crypto. For a small reasonable fee, of course.

[Commander359]

Originally posted by Othobrithol:

Originally posted by Costarring:

Nope, I don't.
When you can't use offical currency, you barter or make your own currency.
And the faction or trader with the most power dictates what the currency is.

This. Everyone uses coupons because you can use those coupons at the best market.
If your intention is to stay in the zone, that is liquid wealth. And most of the veterans of zone want to be there.

Now when you hand over that artifact to Barkeep, it is on its way out of the zone. They may swap it for supplies or guns to somebody that is going to sell it for currency (oddly, likely another crypto as well to avoid oversight, go figure).

Even if they are going to fade away, people want to study or use the artifacts. Have no doubt that out there somewhere is a hemophiliac billionaire that relies on the zone's harvest to cling to life like a lamprey eel. Probably has the artifacts ground up into a suppository with cloned rhino horn and stem cells. When someone wants out and has not prepared for it (eg Squint) they might need an artifact to cover the costs of getting out of the zone.

Freedom is likely dominating the export market, thus the well stocked market (even fresh baked bread!), thus stalkers being willing to trade their artifacts for credit. I'd even bet that (outside the scope of the game) they are the ones to talk to about converting coupons into other currencies/crypto. For a small reasonable fee, of course.

See, now we're getting somewhere. Now all we need is some stalkers complaining about this in-game to give it to us as a lore explanation and boom: Suddenly the coupons make sense. Such a thing would go a long way in explaining the new stalker lore and helping us see more sympathy for the stalker faction and what they put up with. ESPECIALLY since that would show how freedom betrayed the stalkers for money and set up what is basically a fiat run debt-trap in the zone to profit off artifacts.

Stalkers come in, thinking they are going to make tons of money. They get stuck, having made considerable debt getting INTO the zone and now having no way out, so they trade in coupons to survive while hoping to find something to trade for passage out of the zone or at least to live comfortably with what they have. Now THAT is proper piece of lore that should be in the game.

[Othobrithol]

There are some hints about it in some of the notes, but yeah I'm hoping the first DLC adds a lot of world explanation. Veterans of the series get the context, newer players need some cutscenes or monologues.

[Commander359]

Originally posted by Othobrithol:

There are some hints about it in some of the notes, but yeah I'm hoping the first DLC adds a lot of world explanation. Veterans of the series get the context, newer players need some cutscenes or monologues.

Its not even about veterans verses new players, I have been around for all of the stalker games, and that why I am kind of annoyed at the lack of explanation for the coupons. Most stalker players that have been around since at least pripyet know how the artifact trade works, but there is almost no explanation as to how coupons caught on or why. They are a new feature, and one that is poorly explained. Having some in-game elements to explain would help this, even if its just a passing conversation with in-game NPC's.

[Tritol]

Because the "official" guys came in and they are paid in kupons and since they are now the main source of new gear, means if anyone else wants goodies, they need to trade in their currency.

Why do people need to overcomplicate everything.

[DarkFire]

I can see why the developers didn't want to use the rouble any more but why not simply go with the national Ukrainian currency the Hryvnia?

[Costarring]

Originally posted by Tritol:

Because the "official" guys came in and they are paid in kupons and since they are now the main source of new gear, means if anyone else wants goodies, they need to trade in their currency.

Why do people need to overcomplicate everything.

This!!!
People overcomplicate things too often!!!

[Commander359]

Originally posted by Costarring:

Originally posted by Tritol:

Because the "official" guys came in and they are paid in kupons and since they are now the main source of new gear, means if anyone else wants goodies, they need to trade in their currency.

Why do people need to overcomplicate everything.

This!!!
People overcomplicate things too often!!!

Except coupons were not the wards idea. According to commentary from in-game NPC's they were created by freedom and just caught on to the point everyone started using them with no real explanation as to why.