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[MartialDoctor]

I'm a fairly new player, having played a couple of games now, and there is one aspect of the game that I feel really could be improved with a few small tweaks. This is, mainly, the trading economy. The economy of the game seems to be intended to be simple, which is fine. However, trading in this game is far too easy. When I first started, I went full in as a bounty hunter, which was rewarding, and very challenging. When I, later, started to do trading, I found the game far too easy.

The reason for this is simple: there are plenty of good trade deals around but very few AI traders who fulfill them. Hence, the player can very easily just run around fulfilling whatever trade he wants and making tons of money.

There should be many AI trader fleets fulfilling these orders as well and making money. This would make the game much more immersive, since, with all the money to be made, traders, smugglers and pirates should all be trying to get in on the game. It also would make trading more challenging as the player will really have to pay attention and be quick to get to the trade deals before the AI does.

Overall, it would be a really beneficial to add more AI traders to make a more immersive experience and to create more trade competition for the player.

[BaBosa]

There are other traders, that’s the in game explanation for why missions disappear and you see other trading fleets flying around. Maybe not as many as you’d expect but too be fair you’d almost never be able to intercept other fleets in space if you were being realistic.

[MartialDoctor]

There are other traders, that’s the in game explanation for why missions disappear and you see other trading fleets flying around. Maybe not as many as you’d expect but too be fair you’d almost never be able to intercept other fleets in space if you were being realistic.

You’re missing my point.

The point being that the AI is not fulfilling most of the colonies’ trade needs as is. This gives the player an easy and free reign to reap all the trade profits.

I’m assuming this is due to there being too few AI trader fleets as that is what it appears to me.

[SafariJohn]

There are zero NPC traders.

I agree there should be things that close trade opportunities like NPC traders and faction responses. Or at least abstractions that represent those things.

[BaBosa]

That’s weird, I’m not having that problem. Is your game modded much? Particularly faction mods?The only times I see shortages is when they make sense, pirate activity/intercepted trade fleets, unliked faction planets, no one having enough supply, stuff like that.

@SafariJohn do you mean there’s no named NPC traders or have you somehow missed the merchant fleets that fly around?

Edit: the effect of trade fleets is actually abstracted away from the trade fleets themselves, because properly simulating it is extremely difficult and so not worth it. A planet’s accessibility and any trade disruption conditions represents its trade activity.

[Thaago]

There are a couple of hot spots for profit - the pather worlds tend to have constant demands for heavy weapons/supplies for example, and pirate worlds can be similar.

IMO increasing the danger of those spots (drastically) would help "explain" why there aren't traders meeting the demand. This could be increased patrols, but also a dynamic response to a player trading there (IE the locals learn that a whale is coming yet again with 1 million in profits and all jump on).

[SafariJohn]

@SafariJohn do you mean there’s no named NPC traders or have you somehow missed the merchant fleets that fly around?

The only thing those fleets do is create shortages when they die.

[BaBosa]

They’re still trade fleets, it’s just that their impact is abstracted away from them. Are you suggesting that those fleets be made to actually do the trade needed for the economic system? Because as I mentioned, that’s incredibly difficult and not really worth it.