About This File
GalBank+
(& Lovers Utility Library)
Disclaimer: the CK has only been out for a short time and thus everyone is still trying to figure out how to do things and package mods properly. I've given it my best shot. There is a small library (only containing some time-keeping functions and a small workaround for removing the player's home ship) which is a full master, and the actual mod which is a "small" master. No idea if this will work. Please let me know. Fyi: the reason why I made that separate library is because I'm working on a different mod that needed the exact same functions, so I figured I might as well try to be smart and not have code duplication.
I. Concept & Introduction
GalBank+ is a mod that aims to flesh out the financial side of the game. GalBank is a very present entity, but has barely any interactions apart from some debt collector quests. However, you should note that this mod is not the "invest your money and make money" kind of bank mod, quite the opposite. While there are some upsides to using GalBank+, it mostly makes your game harder. It's a money sink and made a little in the spirit of something akin to SexLab Survival (or other "license"-type mods). Of course, a lot of the consequences and such aren't really there, but I figured why not make a proof-of-concept and get the heavy lifting done, so that I have an easier time integrating it with the fun kind of mods later.
II. Requirements & Installation
- Lovers Utility Library (LUL) (packaged with mod - load before GB+)
Use your mod manager or unpack directly. Nothing special. You do not need to start a new game, but I recommend it. I also think this mod makes more sense with a Survival mod added to your game. Please be aware that this is very early stuff - and so you should not put this mod on your main savegame and then do a bunch of progression. I'm not guaranteeing anything here...
III. Features & Mechanics
-ATMs & Managers: You can speak to a GalBank manager in New Atlantis or Akila City to discuss your account. The ATMs around Starfield are now interactable. Ignore the "crime" symbol, I decided to go the non-intrusive route for now and just replace the activation entry. Bring your GalCard.
-Bank Account: GalBank+ adds a fully functional bank account to Starfield. It offers multiple tiers (Basic, Pink, Green, Gold, Platinum) with different rates, fees, upsides and downsides. The credits you see in your inventory are, going forward, treated as CredSticks - so basically futuristic, but physical currency. Money in your bank account is purely digital - and subject to a lot of regulations. One of the most important things will be that if you lose to enemies and they rob you, they won't be able to steal your banked money, only what you carry on you. That doesn't matter for now, but will come in handy (I assume).
-Digital Purchases: When interacting with Vendors, you have access to a certain amount of additional Credits from your bank account. This is based on your account tier and daily allowance. When you purchase things, it will always use your physical currency first. You must have your GalCard with you!
- Sales Tax: When you sell goods to Vendors in any of the major controlled areas, the controlling faction will levy a sales tax. The sales tax is based off the actual monetary value of the transaction, so if you e.g. sell goods worth 2000 but also buy goods worth 1500, it will only apply the sales tax to the 500 differene.
- Spaceport Fees: When you land at a Spaceport controlled by one of the major factions, they will charge you fees per hour you occupy the pad. You can pay your bill with the Spaceport Services person. If you forget to pay your bill, they will send you an invoice after you launch - but charge an extra 15% remote transaction fee!
- Ship Mortgage: you can talk to the GalBank representative and ask for a mortgage to either buy or modify your ship. If they agree, you will be handed a credit slate. If you open the Ship Services sale/modify window with this slate in your inventory, you'll have the extra credits available. After you purchase or modify a ship, the mod checks if you used any of the additional money (it uses your physical creds first) and if yes, it adds the respective loan to your account and the ship as collateral.
- Loans: there's a full loan system including collateral (spaceships) that get seized if you default - currently only used by the ship mortgage system.
IV. Additional Information
You always start with a GalBank Basic account. If you start this on a new game, it will add a 75k load with 0% interest to your account after you complete the prologue quest. Later on, you will simply start without ship - but that requires a lot more fun mods that allow you to actually earn some meaningful credits in New Atlantis and get from place to place without a ship - so for now Constellation still gives you the ship, but they make you pay it off with a very generous 0% loan. If you default on this loan, the ship still gets seized, though. You can get stranded. If you do, get fucked. Smile.
This is basically a proof-of-concept kind of mod. Don't expect it to be everything you ever wanted in a finance overhaul - it's just a step and will be more interesting once there is more interesting content. The idea is to develop it into a license kind of money sink framework and lead into "fun" events - once they are available.
V. Compatibility & Permissions
This mod should be compatible with virtually anything else. I don't think I actually edited any entries, just used aliases to do my work.
Let me know if it doesn't play nice with something.
Do not reupload anything anywhere. If you want source code for GB+ and are a contributor here on LoversLab, send me a PM. I'll gladly share it.
This is my first Starfield mod so this might not work at all. I'd be grateful if you could tell me if it works.
Also, please keep in mind that this mod is designed to play into more interesting scenarios -that don't exist yet- and I will update it later, I just felt like putting something together to test the workflow and get something going for SF. Please report any exploits - there's probably a ton of loopholes and such.
Oh, and the balancing might be off, so give feedback for that too, please.
