Trade Question

from GalCiv2 Forums
Hi all,



I have a question regarding trade revenue. I understand that the trade route 'value' is determined by distance and value of the two trading planets. However I am uncertain as to why the revenue that I receive from trade routes seem to fluctuate wildly (not due to a global random event). I have seen a trade route between my homeworld and another planet vary from as much as 7BC to 47BC... and it goes up and down and up and down - needless to say, the sum effect of all the trade routes varying to such a degree tends to screw up my financial planning (i.e. I'll be gaining money this turn but losing money 5 turns down the road).



Ideas?
6,783 views 13 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Probably due to the freighter passing in and out of the radius of various Econ. Starbases with trade modules built.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Uhm, I'm fairly sure that the distance of the freighter (from it's planet of origin) at any given time determines the amount of income you get from it on that turn.
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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yah, it says when you start the route that the freighter will give more credits the further away it is and less the closer it is.... generally though your freighters will be staggered enough not to fluctuate your overall income too much one way or the other.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
All of the above. A new trade route isnt worth very much, it's part of the game design. As your frieghters move further along the trade route they make money as they go. Till they reach home base and unload all teh goodies and profits they've made. Then tehy start all over again. In GC1 they also gained value the longer a raoute had been up. Like say a freighter had made the same route 10 times, back and forth. And you started a new frieghter along the same route. The new one wouldn't be worth as much.

Also you may be seeing fluctation due to starbases.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The value is also a effect of the economic strength of the sending and receiving planets. But does this update as the planets grow after the routs are established?
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Hmmm ok. I'd probably prefer if it averaged out the BCs/turn then from trade routes instead of this fluctuating business - because if I tried to be a trade heavy civ (which is what I'm doing now) I don't really have a clear understanding of how much money I'm actually getting from trade without manually doing an average in my head.

I didn't notice for GC2 a 'maturing' effect of trade routes over time.

Also, based on the reasons posted above, does speed of the freighter play a part then? I guess the real question is whether BCs are generated by distance travelled (where speed makes a difference) or turns elapsed between home/away planets are reached (where speed is irrelevant).

The Trade Dominion thanks you.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Do you get tax revenue from anyone's traders passing through your econ starbase? And does the starbase need to be on the trade route or just have the route in its sphere of influence? And, finally, how does it determine value? I just assumed it was population and send my freighters from my largest planets to their largest planets.

Thanks. 3rd day playing. So many questions. Great game, lousy documentation...
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Speed does not matter. The trade ship will travel at 1 parsec per week regardless of what the original ship could travel at.

You lose money when the trade ship reaches the destination, because it has to start over. The route will also increase if the planets that it is between get better economies. (At least that was the way it was in GC1). The value was relative to both the distance and the economic power of the two planets.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Speed does not matter. The trade ship will travel at 1 parsec per week regardless of what the original ship could travel at.

You lose money when the trade ship reaches the destination, because it has to start over. The route will also increase if the planets that it is between get better economies. (At least that was the way it was in GC1). The value was relative to both the distance and the economic power of the two planets.
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Sorry for the double post. I only posted once... I really don't know what hapened.
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
How do you make the freighters trade from different planets? What I mean is, my manufacturing planet makes the freighter, but I want my high pop trade world with no star port to be the base of my trade route. I've tried to have the freighter orbit the trade planet for a week, but it still defaulted to my home world (where it was built). Does the trade world need a star port?
Reply #12 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
From what I can tell the planet that built the freighter "owns" it forever. If you want your high pop world to be the base of the trade route, it must build the freighter.
Reply #13 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
From what I can tell the planet that built the freighter "owns" it forever. If you want your high pop world to be the base of the trade route, it must build the freighter.


Ahhh. Yea, I kept flying my freighters around the galaxy, trying to get them fly out of somewhere else and they just kept on reverting to my capital.

Anyone know if this is just the way it is? bug? feature?