Economy

**Economy** describes the simulation of production and trade in Evochron Legacy.

## Summary

All stations in Evochron Legacy produce, buy and sell goods based on their economic role when a production module is present. The overall health of a region is determined by the total amount of station modules (of production and storage) and trade interactions. In both single and multiplayer the game can be set to simulate slow moving changes in economic activity or attacks on stations outside of a pilot's influence. Most of the economic activity will likely fall to official pilots, however. Each planet has a personal specialization and will prefer to produce goods aligned with the planets type. Moons will default to their mother planetoids economy and can't have bases build on, only near them.

Since patch 2.0308 higher availability bias is given to commodities in markets with lower global baseline values. Which means an area of cheap metal will offer you more metal to buy.

## Mechanics

### General Rules

Each region has its own base demand and supply which will slowly shift away from the initial equilibrium if the dynamic economy is active and at least one station or colony is present. If none exists, a region will never change its base prices and % modifiers.

This base price is 100% +/-20% in the beginning. This base price is then later multiplied depending on the economic level of a region and trade activity (or lack there of), allowing to stack a price bonus of 20% to ridiculous heights far over 280%. As such it can be wise to specialize a region of the galaxy towards the one good that is currently supported by the most planets and cheap when produced based on the regions margins. The other side of the coin is to feed into the demand to potentially attain a station bonus plus a major demand bonus for ridiculous profits from another region. Demand can be actively reduced for a region or increased based on trade activity until it recovers a while later. Selling a lot of metal will likely drop the metal price for a while.

Servers with low activity in a region might experience insane price increases due to lack of supply from NPCs up to 400%+. However, only the standard Evochron systems and their corresponding regions are simulated. All others are player influence only. This can be changed in the game files through mods as explained by SFSW here:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/398170/discussions/0/3273564019246018520/

The production of a station in dark space or otherwise is always linked to the CLOSEST planet. With no systems above or beyond the galactic plate where a system is already present, this allows to stack stations above and below in the y-axis sectors to increase a star systems production for the planet desired even if that planet is the only one in existence and surrounded. Outer planets of a system may be harder to reach but own sometimes thousands of sectors they can do business in and expand making them easier exploitable on the neutral y-axis.

While a station can work in dark space as a central consumer to shift a region's demand by easy access and supply, for cheap production resources and price reduction location is key and key are planets. Local planetary rings and asteroid fields won't further lower the price for water and resources in the region. They only act as resource sources for pilots.

#### Anomalies

Sol, Lost Rucker, Wolf, Vonari and North-Sierra (Sierra II) are immune to the economic simulation. Short of warfare and build-up, their economy is static even if the option is set to simulate. This is due to their existence outside of the internal economic quadrant.

In theory so does Andromeda, but you are not allowed to build there (no civilian would migrate there willingly).

This allows to pacify those systems - if need be for Vonari and North-Sierra - and then to build stations up to 100 economy. The license income after that is safe, unless some PvP activity ruins the system.

### Types

The type of an industry determines the guaranteed margins on prices. General economies err on the side of neutral prices while agricultural stations will offer food cheap.

It is important to note that stations carry roughly 1/3 of economic aligned goods per production cycle, while planets carry 1/2 their inventory in local economic goods. This ensures that visiting planets with a lot of production modules yields the greatest guaranteed supply while space stations might randomly carry alternative resources more often, including metal for jump casting. In return rare and very cheap higher industrial goods are less likely on planets, but with really high margins if they are offered due to the huge array of lower prices on planets.

For those interested in higher industrial goods, the station to carry those is the general station, contrary to what people might expect. The technology station is focused on high-tech equipment to outfit your ships.

Gas planets show a local economy - in their one sector - but do not actually adhere to it. Any local station will follow the nearest planet.

* A = Agriculture
	+ Cheap: Food 10%
	+ Production: 100% Food
	+ Technology Rate: 1/5
* B = Biological
	+ Cheap: Medical Supplies 25%
	+ Production: 50% Biological Samples / Medical Supplies
	+ Technology Rate: 1/10
* E = Energy
	+ Cheap: Anti-Matter Cells 50% / Biological Materials 50% / Fusion Cells 50% / Hydrogen Cells 50% / Oxygen 50% / Solar Cells 20% / Water 50%
	+ Production: 25% Antimatter Cells / Fusion Cells / Hydrogen Cells / Solar Cells
	+ Technology Rate: 1/10
	+ Despite the base price being less only here, energy economies don't actively produce biosamples, oxygen or water.
* G = General
	+ All prices 100%
	+ Production: Industrial technology goods (batteries, lenses etc.)
* I = Industrial
	+ Cheap: Machines 50%
	+ Expensive: Metal 250%
	+ Production: 100% Machines
	+ Technology Rate: 1/10
* T = Technology
	+ Cheap: Electronics 10%
	+ Expensive: Armor 150% / Diamonds 200% / Gold 150% / Platinum 150% / Silver 150%
	+ Production: 20% Electronics / 40% Gold & Silver (in poor economies, if rich it will default to more high-tech goods)
	+ Technology Rate: 1/10
	+ The price of gold and silver is quite high, yet this industry does actually produce it reliably. Best to buy in space and ferry down to planet to earn profit as planets pay even more.

### Secondary Production

These are goods that can only spawn in a slot instead of the 35% or 50% guaranteed production chance or be produced by a pilot themself. It is unwise to rely on trade routes using these goods. All but armor and textiles can be "mined".

* Armor
* Metal
* Diamonds
* Platinum
* Textiles
* Oxygen
* Water

### Other Factors

Outside of the general type of economy, there further is a difference between planets, moons and space stations in prices regarding goods like oxygen etc. Planets can literally filter it out of the air if they own a proper atmosphere and always supply it cheap, moons and space stations can not. In return the gravity and other problems on planets increase their demand for reinforced construction materials, armor.

The effect of being a planet doesn't change regardless of the local situation or terrain. That doesn't mean the goods produced might not change, but the % cost change remains the same for all of them.

Note, these modifiers are multiplicative to the regional demand and supply %, while the economic modifiers are to the base price. This is an important difference, as a margin increase of 150% for armor hits differently if it already costs 200% in space, leading to 300% instead of 250%.

* Planet
	+ Anti-Matter Cells 75%
	+ Armor 150%
	+ Diamonds 75%
	+ Electronics 70%
	+ Food 80%
	+ Fusion Cells 75%
	+ Gold 125%
	+ Hydrogen Cells 75%
	+ Machine Parts 70%
	+ Medical Supplies 80%
	+ Metal 75%
	+ Oxygen 25%
	+ Platinum 75%
	+ Silver 140%
	+ Solar Cells 75%
	+ Textiles 70%
	+ Water 125%

## Trade Routes

Any route delivering a good of 25%+ profit and thus trade credit or reaches a station that would consume it counts as a trade route. Going to a neutral trade inside the same system or similar economy in a neighboring system does not count as a legitimate trade route, but those aiming at different economies in different systems that would not pay less, might. Local economic shifts based on the random changes can still lead to a route being less or unprofitable. These routes are only those most likely to yield results.

### Basic Trade Goods

* Anti-Matter Cells:
	+ 900 (100%)
	+ Guaranteed and Best: Energy colony -> Non-energy space station = +166%
* Armor Parts:
	+ 350 (100%)
	+ Best: Non-technology station -> Technology colony = +125%
* Biological Material:
	+ 800 (100%)
	+ Best: Energy station/colony -> Any non-energy = +100%
* Diamonds:
	+ 750 (100%)
	+ Best: Non-technology colony -> Technology station = +166%
* Electronics:
	+ 190 (100%)
	+ Guaranteed and Best: Technology colony -> Non-technology station = +1320%
* Food:
	+ 140 (100%)
	+ Guaranteed and Best: Agriculture colony -> Non-agriculture station = +1150%
* Fusion Cells:
	+ 800 (100%)
	+ Guaranteed and Best: Energy colony -> Non-energy space station = +166%
* Gold:
	+ 525 (100%)
	+ Guaranteed: Technology station -> Technology colony = +25%
	+ Best: Non-technology station -> Technology colony = +87.5%
* Hydrogen Cells:
	+ 400 (100%)
	+ Guaranteed and Best: Energy colony -> Non-energy space station = +166%
* Machine Parts:
	+ 300 (100%)
	+ Guaranteed and Best: Industrial colony -> Non-industrial stations = +166%
* Medication:
	+ 210 (100%)
	+ Guaranteed and Best: Biological colony -> Non-biological station = +400%
* Metal:
	+ 180 (100%)
	+ Best: Non-industrial colony -> Industrial station = +233%
* Oxygen:
	+ 100 (100%)
	+ Best: Energy colony -> Non-energy station = +700%
* Platinum:
	+ 700 (100%)
	+ Best: Non-technology colony -> Technology station = +100%
* Silver:
	+ 560 (100%)
	+ Guaranteed: Technology station -> Technology colony = +40%
	+ Best: Non-technology station -> Technology colony = +110%
* Solar Cells:
	+ 220 (100%)
	+ Guaranteed and Best: Energy colony -> Non-energy station +566%
* Textiles:
	+ 125 (100%)
	+ There is no trade route for textiles outside of regional % differences.
* Water:
	+ 280 (100%)
	+ Best: Energy station -> Non-energy colony = +150%

* Fuel: 40-50 (early game), but up to 80.

### Industrial Goods

The prices for industrial goods can fluctuate like any other from 10% to 275%. As such it is good to know the average price range and buy cheap when possible to store it for later production in the Engineering Lab. The prices might consider the base goods they are made of plus a profit margin. If so, selling goods in regions where base goods for them are expensive guarantees the best profit for the industrial goods.

* Battery Units: ~40-500
* Emitter Units: ~300-1000
* Focal Mirrors: ~1850-3000
* Lens Units: ~1850-3300
* Memory Units: ~500-2000
* Particle Accelerators: ~750-7000
* Radio Receiver: ~1000
* Radio Transmitter: ~450-1000
* Reflective Mirror: ~750-2850