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[lolitsjack]

If there is a guide for this stuff somewhere, plz point me to it because I have looked and couldn't fine it.

I am very confused about the "in-faction" imports and how much they supply each other. I have tried to figure it out by deleting and rebuilding mining and refining, but my results are very inconclusive.

How the F does the importing for industry work? Please let me know if it is one of the below examples, as I can't figure it out.

1. 1 for 1 perfect supply and demand.
Colony A mines 5 basic Ore.
Colony B mines 7 basic Ore.
Colony C (Or A, or B) has a refinery that needs 8 Ore.
4 Ore gets sold as surplus.

2. Highest output cloned.
Colony A mines 10 basic ore.
Colony A refines 9 ore into metals.
Colony B mines 4 ore. (making this a useless industry that does nothing).
Colony B refines 7 ore into metals.
Colony C refines 10 ore into metals.
Colony D refines 11 ore into metals, 1 ore deficit import from other factions.

3. What else is there I am so confused?

I have seen a single Farm industry supply my other 10 colonies, what? Here is my farm planet:


Farm planets says it is making 9, consuming 4, and exporting 9..... WHAT? Is this Highest output cloned?

Here is one of my MANY other planets:


It needs 6, all being imported from one faction. Please help me understand what the F is going on with this system.

[CrashToDesktop]

If a colony produces say, 6 units of Food, they can fully support any number of other colonies that require 6 Food or less. That also covers exporting to any number of other colonies, including ones you don't own. I believe idea behind supply & demand is the amount produced is logarithmic, meaning each level is 10x more than the last, so anything that requires fewer materials would make a negligible dent in the overall export amount.

Someone with more in-depth knowledge of how the economy works can fill in the nitty-gritty details, though this blog post should fill in some details.

[SafariJohn]

If you built a comm relay so you could see global market info it might make a bit more sense.

Extra production always equals more money, so long as the upkeep does not exceed the extra income.

[lolitsjack]

If you built a comm relay so you could see global market info it might make a bit more sense.

Extra production always equals more money, so long as the upkeep does not exceed the extra income.

That makes 0 sense to me as to answering my question. (The systems those colonies are in both have com relays, that is very unrelated to what I am asking, I am not even asking about what factions are making and the market share, and import cost, yet).

What CrashToDesktop said would make sense about logarithmic production, but that clearly does not show in the colony profits. If it is logarithmic amount of goods for 'one symbol each' BUT 'one symbol = 1 profit, not log profit' then in terms of actual gameplay mechanics, it would at the same as highest output cloned.

[lolitsjack]

If a colony produces say, 6 units of Food, they can fully support any number of other colonies that require 6 Food or less. That also covers exporting to any number of other colonies, including ones you don't own. I believe idea behind supply & demand is the amount produced is logarithmic, meaning each level is 10x more than the last, so anything that requires fewer materials would make a negligible dent in the overall export amount.

Someone with more in-depth knowledge of how the economy works can fill in the nitty-gritty details, though this blog post should fill in some details.

Would that mean in this example is correct:

2. Highest output cloned. Logarithmic expansion per symbol of goods.
Colony A mines 10 basic ore.
Colony A refines 9 ore into metals.
Colony B mines 4 ore. (making this a useless industry that does nothing as exponent 10 is extremely high over exponent 4).
Colony B refines 7 ore into metals.
Colony C refines 10 ore into metals. (maybe this wont work as it takes log 10 of goods taking them all? but would work with any other smaller number?)
Colony D refines 11 ore into metals, 1 ore deficit import from other factions.

[BigBrainEnergy]

Lorewise it's logarithmic but in terms of payout it's linear for balance reasons.

[lolitsjack]

Wow. I don't like. DELETING THE INDUSTRY gives more money, because the upkeep is removed, and the provided goods from a higher production planet supply my whole empire, because exponents per symbol of goods, but linear profit per symbol in exports.




Please let me know if there is something I am missing.

[Histidine]

(Some of) the key points are:

• A colony will always sell all X units of its output in any given commodity, assuming enough accessibility (regardless of its own local demand for the same commodity, you can't cannibalize your own exports).
• A colony will always receive all X units of its demand for any given commodity, assuming enough accessibility and no disruptions, and there is someone supplying at least X units to the sector market.
• If you have two different industries producing the same commodity on the same colony, only the higher one is counted.
• One colony supplying X units can meet the needs of all colonies demanding X units, the buyers don't compete with each other or anything.

Disregard the 'logarithmic' part, that's just a cover story for why you can't stack two colonies supplying X units into a total supply of 2X.

Would that mean in this example is correct:

2. Highest output cloned. Logarithmic expansion per symbol of goods.
Colony A mines 10 basic ore.
Colony A refines 9 ore into metals.
Colony B mines 4 ore. (making this a useless industry that does nothing as exponent 10 is extremely high over exponent 4).
Colony B refines 7 ore into metals.
Colony C refines 10 ore into metals. (maybe this wont work as it takes log 10 of goods taking them all? but would work with any other smaller number?)
Colony D refines 11 ore into metals, 1 ore deficit import from other factions.

Colony B's 4 ore production is still useful, as all 4 ore gets sold on the market for revenue.

Colony C will refine 10 the ore you have no problem. (And if you had Colony C1, C2, etc. each refining 10 ore, they'd all still work).
Colony D will either import 11 ore if it has at least 110% accessibility and there's a foreign colony with that much supply, or else have a deficit of 1.


For the two screenshots you posted: The main issue here is that the Variable Manufactory already produces 7 units of drugs, so having the Light Industry around didn't increase drug revenue. Drugs are the only really profitable thing that Light Industry makes*, so without it you may as well get some other industry. The alternative is to give the VM a different production chip so it makes some other commodity.

*this is annoying

[Brainwright]

The way profit doesn't grow in pace with production make sense, as making more product drives down price.

Now, to answer your question :

Look at the global market info by clicking the economy markers on the right side of the colony management screen.

This information can show you just how much money your production is worth, and what other people will typically pay for it.

The important part here, though, is market share and global market value.  Some markets are huge, like domestic goods.  Every place needs them, and every settlement can produce domestic goods, so it's really competitive.  There isn't much money there to be had, and the biggest producers will push the price down.  It's all about efficiency there.

Now look at food.  Look at the global market value.  It's huge, eh?  You know why?  Because habitable planets are comparatively rare.  It is one of the highest demand items in the game, and the producers are few.

Now look at drugs.  Its global market value is good, but not as high as you might think given the profits of smuggling.  Why?  Because everyone makes some drugs, and even though everyone wants it, the total demand is pretty small.  Mining increases the demand for drugs, but those markets are small anyhow.  Again, if you want to grab more of that market share, you need to be one of the top producers at maximum efficiency.

So what's the best way to make money?  Three habitable worlds with adequate farmland or better.  You will be rolling in credits right away.  Almost everything else is a race to the very top of the market.  You'd have to start raiding planets to disrupt their industries in order to make a decent buck.

I suggest you check to see how much market share your production grabs and ask yourself if it's really worth it compared to the upkeep cost.  Many industries are only profitable in a size 6 colony, so you would only build them earlier if you have a production deal or if you're trying to make something else cheaper, like building a refinery to supply heavy industry.  Or building light industry to supply your far-flung colonies with domestic and luxury goods, reducing your costs.

Colonies that have just one industry can actually be pretty profitable.

[gG_pilot]

Commodity market is confusing.
Cloning  cargo mechanic is probably most  weirdest thing in this game.

[Serenitis]

If it helps, think of the numbers next to resources as a level of capability rather than a discrete amount.

[gG_pilot]

If it helps, think of the numbers next to resources as a level of capability rather than a discrete amount.

Lets have a bakery in a  City.
1st bakery has capacity 5
2nd bakery has capacity 8

State has 2  hungry cityes,  all aree buing at bakery 2nd so it get income 10.
State has 20  hungry cityes,  all aree buing at bakery 2nd so it get income 10.
State has 200  hungry cityes,  all aree buing at bakery 2nd so it get income 10.
State has 2000  hungry cityes,  all aree buing at bakery 2nd so it get income 10.

Very interesting moment is, bakery  always buy wheat for 8 breads. I guess a Jesus works there.

[smithney]

I am amazed nobody answered OP's first question :^

Yes, one mining can supply 20 colonies

As to why that is has already been explained numerous times :D Anyway to add my two cents, as long as you have secured a supply chain among your different colonies (enough tics of commodity+enough sustainable accessibility), you only really need one producer of each commodity. Chronic shortages usually result from a market losing accessibility, which means in terms of supply chains, extra production is only good as an automatic band-aid before you deal with the damn pirates. Overall it's good just for making credits. Acute shortages, i.e. your trade fleet getting ganked, can't be prevented afaik, but you can solve them manually by going shopping, or, more often, just waiting them out.

[lolitsjack]

Ok I think I understand. Then in terms of accessibility, it might be good to still do the whole production chain on the every planet? Mining -> Refining -> Heavy Industry.

This would then allow a planet to be fully focused (using its accessibility) on exporting Heavy Armaments, Ship Hulls, and Heavy Machinery?

Does importing use accessibility? Or is it only exporting?

[Brainwright]

Ok I think I understand. Then in terms of accessibility, it might be good to still do the whole production chain on the every planet? Mining -> Refining -> Heavy Industry.

This would then allow a planet to be fully focused (using its accessibility) on exporting Heavy Armaments, Ship Hulls, and Heavy Machinery?

Does importing use accessibility? Or is it only exporting?

Thing is, you're still not doing the whole production chain on one planet.  Your planet has other needs (food, domestic goods, drugs, and organs) than just what an industry needs.  So production will still fall off now and again due to trade interference.

There is no ideal set up free of compromise.  The best bet is to get one habitable planet up to size 6 and build from there.

Import and export both use accessibility.  There is a big bonus for in-faction trades, but normally one unit of production can be traded for every 10% of accessibility.  Higher accessibility grants you more market share, which means more profits.