Hi, I am having a problem understanding trade can someone give me some pointers?

777Shawn777 wrote:
Hi, I am having a problem understanding trade can someone give me some pointers?

I have now noticed that my home system has 3 trade routes, I am at peace with two contacted races and have increased my trade routes by one using a system improvement. Is there a page that shows the routes and bonus production? Why don't my settled systems show any trade routes? Thank you Shawn...

Only your home system starts with open trade routes. In any other system you need to build the enhancements that give you routes. They're in the Diplomatic tree (the left/west tree in the research screen).



No page shows the routes, however, that I know of. All we really have is the box in the system view that says what systems you are trading with. Next to the names of those systems, you'll see the amount of Science and Dust you are getting per turn from trade with them.

Corporate heroes can specialize heavily on trade routes, with (I think) 5 abilities giving +% trade bonus on system (total can go over 200%) and 3 abilities giving a total of 4 additional routes on system. System improvements can also give bonuses like that.



Basically, a trade route can be opened to another system if that system is controlled by a different empire, with whom you're at peace or better. The base income of a route is some dust (5?) and some more science (10?). This gets modified in some unfathomable ways by applicable faction traits, system improvements and hero abilities. Late game you can get routes giving you 50-100 dust and 150-200 science each, IF you still have someone at peace with.



Right now, people don't take interest in trade routes since it's considered weak. It relies on being at peace with another empire, and AIs are known to break peace sooner or later. Using trade routes is unreliable and potentially frustrating when your ally turns against you, turning into dead weight your 2 fully improved, 7 routes each, systems with corporate heroes. I'm not surprised the trade mechanics are unknown.

Please take a look in the Strategy Guides subforum at the various threads describing trade and taxation.

Sorry davea, there doesn't seem to be any description of the trade mechanics in that sub-forum, nor anywhere in this forum. All that's said is how tax rates and +% dust affect income, and trade is barely mentioned. Even the wiki don't mention it except in improvement and ability descriptions. I'll work on a post for trade in the upcoming hour...



Edit : There, done.

I consider the OP's request fulfilled, thread closed.