The most cost efficient form of trade income

How I stopped worrying and learned to love trade

I have been reading a number of cost benifit analysis of establishing a trade route verses the income it generates. I was pondering this when it hit me! There is a guaranteed way to make income from the trade technologies with no capital investment other than research costs (or trading cost).

Sell it to all of the other Civs!

Some of you will immediately dismiss this as an exploit, but it actually works out quite well. First you get cash or other valuable assets in return for the technologies, which with lots of opponents and minors can add up to several thousand BCs.

A tidy sum in and of itself, but beyond this, eventually, they will start establishing trade routes with you. This brings you a steady weekly income with no cost to you!

Later on in the game you can even convert old ships who have outlived their usefullness into trade ships with little cost (I always have a few extra survey ships floating around.)

Scincerely,

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Hi, if you see this post first, scintor, then read my reply to your other post. I used to play without trade routes, but after using them, I found that they are definitely needed to keep pace with other races economies most of the time. Cost-benefit analysis? Whoever is the author of these cost-benefit analysis papers must be pretty dense (sorry if I offend anyone) because trade routes produce HUGE amounts of income compared to the cost. The only thing broken about the trade routes is that they start out with the message "this route will average out to x credits per turn". This statement is so not true. The route starts at this low figure per turn, but then increases dramatically all the way to the end of the route (which will have the credits per turn into the hundreds). EXAMPLE: 9 bc per turn start, 335 turn route, 378 bc per turn ending. The freighter will generate almost 75000 bc during the duration of the route. How much does a freighter cost? Cost-benefit analysis? Are you kidding me? If I were you I would write to the cost-benefit analyzers and tell them to go back to math school.

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Hi!

335 turn route

Do you realize most games are over before the minifreighter returns to its home planet? Also, in 6 and a half game years there are many events that will simply cancel the trade route: Pirates, Peace keepers, assasination, "war has expanded", ... Income from trade is simply to risky money to rely on it building an extensive network of trade-supporting starbases, and lose all the investment due to a random event.

Unaugmented trade in my games usually brings from 1000BC to 2000BC. Importance of this amount entirely depends on my economy: if I run an empire of 100 planets, it's negligible. If I have just 5 planets, it's a game-winning tool.

There's also another nerf to the trade: when your treasury increases over 10,000BC, the trade revenue of all routes is halved. Like the game isn't enough MM-intense.

Now I look at a trade just as a diplomatic tool with some small financial bonus, and I really stopped worrying.

BR, Iztok

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Yeah, my experience is that Trade routes are quite profitable. This is further magnified with the game event that multiplies trade income, which happens probably one out of three games for me-maybe more.

I almost always research straight to trade and then trade it away early game to other races. It is a valuable tech and they will give quite a bit to get it. With the Arceans, I can get valuable technology. With the Terrans and their diplomatic bonuses, I've actually received star systems for it. The income from the AI's incoming freighters will sometimes exceed the income my own freighters are generating.

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If your style of play is to pursue non-military victory, trade routes can last the entire game and generate a phenomenal amount of income, not to mention improving relations with your trade partners making it easier to avoid war. If you are usually at war, your trade ships will be blasted unless you have built Galactic Privateer. Even then, you lose the routes with anyone you are at war with. I can understand if those aiming for a conquest victory have little use for trade routes, they're unlikely to survive long enough to become profitable. The revenue nerfs are a minor problem once you know they exist - simply spend the money instead of letting it accumulate in your treasury. Upgrade or buy some ships, trade cash for techs or planets, buy some planetary improvements. It's easy to spend money in this game though it does add to the micromanagement.

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