Trade System Rework Ideas

[InfiniteAmount]

As it stands currently, pretty much every resource in the game is used for crafting in some way, except some factional resources and historical artifacts. While this is great towards driving a player driven economy, it creates unhealthy competition between traders and crafters. A player with a Trader Snow can buy up an entire port's stock of a resource and move it to a crafting center for a unbelievable high markup price (up to 1000% increase with some resources), which in turn drive up ship prices for everyone and hurts a majority of players to the benefit of the handful of traders who got to the right port at the right time. I.e. price gouging.

 

This got me thinking about ways in which the trade system could be improved. Obviously, the first would be to remove the artificial inflation of trade ships' hold back to their normal levels (1/4 of current). This increase, as I understand it, was to offset the fact that the larger trade ships were not yet implemented in the game. The problem I see is that there are considerable more Trader Snows (and Trader Snows are much easier to acquire and crew) than there would be East Indiamen. Not every single trader would be using an East Indiaman, while currently you're hard pressed to find a trader that isn't running a TSnow. It would make current trading harder, but would reduce a single player's ability to upset the in-game economy.

 

The other issue, again as I see it, is that the current system creates that unhealthy competitive relationship between traders and crafters. Because crafters must spend more time in their outposts than traders, they are not able to compete with traders and are forced to buy materials at exorbitant prices from traders who have cornered the market on certain goods. There are many solutions to price gouging, such as increasing the production of materials, or making it harder to transport materials by reducing hold sizes. But the problem is larger just price gouging, the predatory market relationship still exists, only its magnitude is reduced.

Another option would be to introduce resources that are used for trading and not for crafting. "That sounds all find and good," you must be thinking, "but introducing an artificial trading economy destroys a player based economy." Here's what I have to say to that; these trading resources are only useful to be consumed at ports. But in order for a port to produce a crafting resource, the ports consumption requirements have to be met.

 

So Ports, in order to create crafting resources at maximum efficiency, must be kept well stocked with the trade resources that the port consumes. If a Port runs out of a resource it consumes, production rate of crafting resources slows. Without any incoming resources, production at the Port stops. So in order for a Port to produce resources, traders have to be moving more resources into the port, not just removing them.

 

In my head, I see trading resources being foodstuffs, like Grain, Ale, Meat, Rum; or manufactured goods, like Tools, Glass, Paper, Pottery/Ceramics, Lamp Oil or Gunpowder. Additionally, there could be luxury resources which would improve production above 100% efficiency. These would be the factional resources, Danish Beer, Indian Tea, Batavian Spices (which I think should be renamed Javanese Spices, considering the spices don't come from Batavia, but I digress), and other resources, like Coffee, Sugar, Linen and Pepper. Ports essentially are trade nodes that turn trading resources into crafting resources. Adding production building could also increase or decrease what a port consumes, as well as what a port produces. Adding more military structures, for example, would increase the amount of food a port requires, while building a plantation could reduce that amount.

With this type of system, it creates more variance for traders and more opportunities for making money, but also helps contribute to the player driven economy by requiring players to keep ports well stocked so that they can produce materials. A trader could not sit in a port buying up all of a single resource without putting some investment into having the port make those resources.

[Fellvred]

Really like the ideas. If there was enough profit from selling the goods to the ports I can see a lot of ppl choosing the roll, as well as making economic warfare/escort rolls viable

[Herrick]

I think there are some really good ideas here.

 

I haven't been playing the game very long but have become frustrated with my attempts at trading, which have been driven by my attempts to level up my crafting skills. I'm still learning the ropes (nautical term intended).

I've been traveling up and down the east coast of the US and have not seen the huge price fluctuations that you mention. However, I do not understand the mechanics that drive price change. Scarcity should raise prices and glut should depress them; it seems that the selling price of a resource rarely reaches the buying price, even when there is none to be had. That needs to be fixed.

Trading ships are just too big. The cutter has a capacity of 60, but the Trading Cutter a capacity of 1200? Now, carriages and guns are heavy - but not that much.

 

I really like the idea of introducing trading for items and resources that are not directly related to crafting. Ports are trade nodes, but could become cities too, with a population that needs to be fed, housed, protected, cared for (sickness - yellow fever, malaria, dysentery, etc., etc), and entertained.

So, as a port grows (as its hinterland becomes developed) there develops a need for business to sustain and nurture it.

 

This could lead to role in the game for developers/owners. From basic resources that are listed already, a need for foodstuffs as you suggest. The more types, the happier the population, the more efficient they are.

Basic housing, shops, taverns, houses of ill repute (perhaps not), coffee houses, arms dealers would be required even at the meanest ports. As a port grows into a city, more cultured housing would be required, raising the requirement for luxury items.

The idea of luxury goods being demanded is a good one. The trade in these would be quite profitable.

 

These are ideas that would have a profound effect on the game. Is it a direction that people want to go? I hope so, but it seems to be developing into a battle game, which shouldn't be surprising given it's name. I, for one, am more interested in the trading side of things.

[Sea Nettle]

Cheap input materials doesn't mean cheap ships. It just means rich shipwrights. Supply and demand.

[InfiniteAmount]

With the current ease of making ships in the game, cheaper, more abundant crafting materials will drive down the price of ships by increasing the volume of ships. As it currently stands, the investment to become a crafter is completely based on getting materials (and time, but that time is limited equally by the Labor Hours system). The cost of materials is a crafter's only recurring expense (unless they ship materials through the deliver system, but that's a pittance). The only other thing a crafter would require is maybe a warehouse space upgrade, but that's far from a necessity.
 

Saying "suppy and demand" is a non sequitur. It doesn't mean anything relevant to the discussion. In fact, it doesn't even seem that you read through my post, because the main point is advocating a trading system that provides another source of income for traders that isn't crafters.

[Francis Tabernac]

Trader ship capacities are insane, no question there. I really like the idea of being able to micro-manage town production by supplying luxury goods and foodstuffs. It'd give clans that are ostensibly "trader/economy clans" a much more viable reason for existing and could even mean they'd be contracted by crafters to supply their chosen ports in order to increase raw construction material production. The more I think about that kind of micro-managing mini-game the more I like it, and there're definitely players to whom the gameplay style would appeal.

 

I can definitely imagine it increasing the presence of escorted, player-run trader fleets, which would be great. It'd provide a new type of target for countries to aim at when they're hostile but not directly "at war" and also keep everyone on their toes. Sea Nettle's not entirely wrong about cheap materials meaning rich shipwrights more than cheap ships, but it'd have the latter effect as well and there's no reason that crafting shouldn't be an economically rewarding system. If more people are able to craft ships for less cost then, ideally, it'd mean that competition between crafters would still maintain relatively decent prices and I suspect there're too many crafters and too many markets to make collusion to drive up prices too-big a concern. The whole thing would increase traffic around free towns as well, where crafters could sell their goods to other faction as well as traders obtaining those luxury goods. Lots of potential here.