Confused about trade

from GalCiv2 Forums
I'm confused about trading routes.

The value of the trade route is proportional to the length of the route, as well as the population of both the destination and home planet of the trade ship. -snip-. The income returned each turn by the route is proportional to the distance of the trade ship from the home planet.


I understand the first part - the longer the trade route, the more it's worth.

I don't understand the second part. If the freighter is further away from home, the route is worth more? So, it pays more to have a slow freighter that takes forever to get anywhere than to have a fast freighter that gets there and back in less time?
trade
11,487 views 12 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Once your trade route is established, all traders move at one square per turn regardless of the speed of the freighter you made the route with, and the income you get that turn that is based on the current distance from the homeworld.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
However, I have read in these forums that short routes can become insanely profitable by using overlapping economic starbases.
Galactic Civilizations IV
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
However, I have read in these forums that short routes can become insanely profitable by using overlapping economic starbases.


True, but why not overlap a long trade route?
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Thanks
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Because of the cost of multiple starbases, in both up front bc fees and production spent. A route that's only 10-20 parsecs long can easily have four or five starbases acting on the freighter every single turn. You can overlap a longer route, but if it's several sectors long the cost to build the dozens of needed starbases will outweigh the long term benefit.

I buld trade starbases in areas where there is heavy freighter traffic (at least one every turn coming to or going from one of my planets), in starbases that are there for production boosts that happen to have trade routes pass through, and along short routes that can get a high percentage of turns in the starbase influence.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
So are you saying that the bonus to trading on an economic starbase only applies when a freighter is within that starbases area of influence?

What about the other economical bonuses to production etc... I take it the same applies there as well.

(Just clarifying as I dont think some people might realise this)
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Well, there are TWO reasons you might want "short" trade routes.

1) Close Borders implies they don't like you much. Trade means they do (I've averted wars via trade)
2) Many economic starbases can make it very, very, very profitable

In my current game, I expanded like mad and ended up colonizing the same star system as a neighboring empire. Trade has, so far, averted complete war. Oh, there's been a couple of minor skirmishes, but nothing that a few hundred BC bribe won't solve. Its expensive, but business is business.
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
So are you saying that the bonus to trading on an economic starbase only applies when a freighter is within that starbases area of influence?


Yes.

What about the other economical bonuses to production etc... I take it the same applies there as well.


Only the colonies within the range of the starbase get the production bonus. But this bonus applies every turn.

Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Is the Starbase trade bonus per trade route per turn?
i.e. 5 routes in sphere of influence with a +30 trade bonus would = 150bc/turn

Are trade routes that do not belong to your civ included?
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I'm a bit confused. Ignoring the production benefit of having the starbases overlapping on colonies, wouldn't 3 starbases completely covering a 24 square trade route bring in more money than 3 overlapping bases covering a 8 square route?

If I have a base trade of 10 at the start and a 20% bonus, am I earning (for my overlapping 3 starbases):
10*1.2+10*1.2+10*1.2=36 or is it 10*1.2*1.2*1.2*3 = 51.84?
Reply #12 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
One more thing I'm confused about. When I send a freighter to another world, who benefits? Me, them, or both of us?

I chose most of the evil ethical choices to get the bonuses, because I was tired of getting whomped early on. I didn't research the ethics tree, but apparently you're evil, good or neutral despite not "officially" picking one. The United Planets decided that evil governments should be limited to 3 routes and it devastated my economy.

So I embargoed the three governments that voted "yes" in revenge and started demanding money from them every week to make up for what I lost. I'm just not sure which of us is hurt more when I embargo them.