PuddingofEvil wrote:
I was away during that Mystery Island plot, and at first I assumed that Moongewl meant the original discovery of Mystery Island back in 2000. Given that plot inflation happened back then--the totems required to go to Mystery Island were insanely expensive for months--I'd assume that TNT knew by the time of the more recent MI plot that plots cause inflation.
Both plots were extremely expensive...though at least you could get the totems by signing up with sponsors for the first one, if I remember correctly (same thing with the Ice Caves and Faerieland, if I remember correctly). The items you could get at those places were quite commodities in their time...can you imagine, Tiki Tack items worth something?
In the MI Volcano plot, there were several items that if bought and brought to the right place, advanced the plot. They were released in moderation, but people hoarded/inflated the price pretty quickly and made a bundle. The next day, TNT turned off that part of the plot and the prices plummeted in short time, but those who didn't do it could still participate. There was quite a bit of complaining about having items required to complete a plot part rather short on hand and the prices being so high with no reward for that part (my memories from that year are a bit hazy as I had a rather rough college semester then.) I know there were plot prizes based on who figured out the solution first, etc, but I don't remember about the steps along the way. Needless to say, I didn't get a hold of any of the items, as I wasn't particularly rich at the time.