Screw Markets, I am the East-India Trading Company
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 10:52 am
or: how do markets work?
In my longest game so far (blocked by failed to find the given link ranges), I've started midgame to build a trader fleet and fared very well in the money department.
On a new game I wanted to start right away with my trading imperium, but got the message that I need more colonies or markets for full effect.
Aha! So there is a dynamic cap, or rather start of dimishing returns! But after founding a handfull of colonies, I never encountered the cap again.
I did not build any markets (my early game humans don't even have the tech for it ), but I have a nice income, an invasion fleet I can pull out from my behind at any time and I could build more factories/labs/mines than with markets.
So how is the trader fleet cap defined ?
Do markets get exceptionally better in later tech to warrant devoting colony slots to them ?
Are vast trader fleets part of the intended play ? Or should they be more a contributing factor, not the pillar of the economy?
As a thought: Cap the tradeships at the number of systems (not colonies) you have.
Gives you a need to actually build markets for further income.
If you have a trade treaty, the systems of the other race are added to the cap.
Giving you an incentive to make and keep the treatry, but it is a double edged sword.
Your systems are added also to the partner's tradeship cap, so it may not be an even trade.
(e.g. the partner may profit far more from it, but you just need the added systems to keep your finances in order.
Or you are dependant on formed treaties from your partners to keep you from the red numbers.
So partners may have some leverage against you. Similarities to real world politics are purley incidental )
In my longest game so far (blocked by failed to find the given link ranges), I've started midgame to build a trader fleet and fared very well in the money department.
On a new game I wanted to start right away with my trading imperium, but got the message that I need more colonies or markets for full effect.
Aha! So there is a dynamic cap, or rather start of dimishing returns! But after founding a handfull of colonies, I never encountered the cap again.
I did not build any markets (my early game humans don't even have the tech for it ), but I have a nice income, an invasion fleet I can pull out from my behind at any time and I could build more factories/labs/mines than with markets.
So how is the trader fleet cap defined ?
Do markets get exceptionally better in later tech to warrant devoting colony slots to them ?
Are vast trader fleets part of the intended play ? Or should they be more a contributing factor, not the pillar of the economy?
As a thought: Cap the tradeships at the number of systems (not colonies) you have.
Gives you a need to actually build markets for further income.
If you have a trade treaty, the systems of the other race are added to the cap.
Giving you an incentive to make and keep the treatry, but it is a double edged sword.
Your systems are added also to the partner's tradeship cap, so it may not be an even trade.
(e.g. the partner may profit far more from it, but you just need the added systems to keep your finances in order.
Or you are dependant on formed treaties from your partners to keep you from the red numbers.
So partners may have some leverage against you. Similarities to real world politics are purley incidental )