Economy and Industry

## How trading works

### Space economics

Most space trading games are based on romantic notions of long-ago wilderness economics. You buy some stuff when you find it cheap, haul it around to various places, and sell it when you can get a good price. Today, nobody drives up to a Wal-Mart distribution center and says, "Hey, I've got a truckload of new TVs. What'll you give me for them?" That would just get them a long chat with the authorities regarding the provenance of said cargo. If that technique doesn't work now, would it really work in the distant future?

*Space Commander: War and Trade* takes place in a time when the entire Solar System has a mature economy. Although end users still have wants and needs, most of the commerce is business-to-business. Automated transports (which are hiding from the eyes of pirates and you) ply regular runs between producers and consumers of various industrial supplies and products, providing most of the transport of goods. If a business experiences a temporary shortage on something they need, they can place an order with Motus to fill that need.

The door-to-door peddler simply isn't a vital part of the economic community. Still, a trader might occasionally arrive at a station at a time when the station is overstocked on something or could use a few units of something the trader has in stock.

### Basic pricing

Pricing in *Space Commander: War and Trade* is based on a simple supply-and-demand system. For any commodity used or produced at a station, 10 units is the desired stock level. If there are more than 10 units in stock, the station has an excess supply and a reduced price will be offered to encourage you to buy some. If there are fewer than 10 units in stock, the station has an unmet demand and an increased price will be offered.

The desired stock level isn't adjusted for multiple Demands or Productions, like 3x. That can be a bit frustrating when a station says they demand a lot of something but then won't pay decent prices for more than a few units. That's only a problem for Demands, where you're selling products to the station. High production still means you can buy larger quantities at the lowest prices, which is what you'd expect.

The profit margins are identical for all tradeable commodities. If the station has 25 or more units in stock, the price offered will be 30% less than the 10-unit price. If the station has no stock or just one unit, the price offered will be 30% more than the 10-unit price. In-between prices will be offered for in-between stock levels. Thus, the maximum possible profit for simple trading is 85%.

Achieving that 85% profit level is almost impossible because the price is readjusted after the sale or purchase of *each* unit. Selling tends to be restricted to around five to eight units at a time, because the offered price quickly swings against you. It's possible to buy a larger number if the station has a huge stock to begin with, but remember you can't sell them all to a single buyer at a profit.

### Demand and production data

The "Demand" and "Production" information shown for a station on the star map is a summary of the industries at that station. Anything on the "Demand" list is a supply material that the station can't provide for itself, while anything on the "Production" list is an industrial product that the station doesn't need for its own use. These lists do *not* actually show what you will be able to profitably buy and sell at the station, but they're a strong indication. Stations with multiple demands (3x, 12x, etc.) will almost certainly have little of the demanded product in stock, while stations with multiple productions will almost certainly have a lot in stock.

Many items not on the Demand and Production lists also can be traded at all stations. For those items, quantities and profit margins are often limited and depend on whether or not the station has recently received one of its regularly scheduled shipments.

### Transport and Smuggle contracts

Motus frequently will offer Transport contracts, and the Syndicate occasionally will offer Smuggle contracts, which ask you to buy a certain amount of a certain commodity and deliver it to a particular station or ship. The sales prices offered by these contracts are much higher than you could normally achieve. Transport contracts can offer 70% more than the 10-unit price, while Smuggle contracts can offer double the 10-unit price (and those prices can go even higher with the Charisma skill). Furthermore, *all* units are sold at that high price, rather than having the price drop with each unit sold. The relative profitability of these contracts can't be overstated.

The wording of the contracts might make it seem like you need to deliver the full number of requested units, but you don't. The customer will happily take however many they get up to the contract limit. You do only get one delivery for each contract, though. You can't deliver seven units one time and five the next to make up a twelve-unit contract.

### Finding sellers and buyers

For buying purposes, you can expect discouragingly high pricing for anything that isn't on a station's Production list. That's pretty straightforward.

Selling can be a bit more complicated. When selling, commodities can be divided into three types.

General goods are those that are needed by both end users and industry. These include the basic life support needs of Oxygen, Water, Nutrition, and Nuclear fuel, plus the amenities of Electronics and Hardware. You might find buyers for those goods almost anywhere that isn't producing them, but you'll have better odds if the station advertises an industrial Demand for them.

Industrial materials are needed only by industry. These include the raw materials of Metal ores, Minerals, and Uranium, plus the refined materials of Metal Parts and Chemicals. Because these are needed *only* by stations that use them, don't expect to sell them at any station where they're not on the Demand list.

Finished goods are needed only by end users. These include Space suits, Medicines, Weapons, and Ship parts. You might find buyers for those goods almost anywhere that isn't producing them, but they'll never appear on any station's Demand list. Because there's no industrial demand, most stations will already have quite a few units on hand. If that's the case, they'll offer an unattractively low price for your goods that will go even lower with each unit you sell them, so profitability tends to be poor. Be wary about buying too many of these items except as needed to fulfill a Transport or Smuggle contract.

### Trade route structure

A trade route might involve hauling goods in the following order (some steps may be skipped). This list isn't intended to show all possibilities.

1. Uranium to uranium refinery
2. Nuclear fuel to extraction site
3. Raw materials to refining or farming facilities
4. Refined materials (nutrients, metal parts, and chemicals) to a factory station
5. Electronics from one factory station to another
6. Hardware from one factory station to another

Of course, the destination in each step should be advertising a Demand for the goods you're carrying.

### A few suggested trade routes

For the beginner with only a few credits available, Mars offers a simple two-stop trade route that requires very little fuel usage and can turn a small profit in both directions.

There are some three-stop and four-stop trade routes in the inner planets. They're mainly of interest if you want to stay close to Earth for a while. The distances involved will incur some fuel costs, though.

Jupiter is the land of opportunity. It's easy to figure out some three-stop (or more) routes that will be fairly lucrative with very low fuel costs, although those routes will never produce the returns you can get with a Transport or Smuggle contract. Remember to only buy goods you can sell on your route.

When you're tired of the same old routes in Jupiter, there's a nice four-stop route between Saturn and the Belt. The trips to and from the Belt do use some fuel, but by the time you're ready to consider doing this route, the fuel costs shouldn't bother you much.

### Reputation and Spread

You have a reputation with each of the factions, and that reputation translates into a number called *spread.* The spread is simply a price markup on whatever you buy from that faction's stations. At the beginning of the game, your reputation with every faction is just 1 and the spread is 20%, so (for example) they'll charge you 60 credits for an item they'd pay you 50 credits for. Each five reputation points you gain with a faction will reduce that faction's spread by one percentage point. There is also a Bargaining skill that can reduce the spread at all factions by as much as four percentage points.

Because the spread only applies to buying, not to selling, the Best Trading Deal notices in your inbox don't need to concern themselves with the spread at the recommended destination.

Reputation also affects the prices offered by Motus for Transport contracts and by the Syndicate for Smuggle contracts. This affects the selling price, not the purchase price, and it's different from the spread. Increasing your Bargaining skill won't help for those contracts. Increasing your reputation with Motus or the Syndicate is the only way to reduce that effect. There's a separate Charisma skill that can improve all contract rewards by up to 20%, including Transport and Smuggle contracts. Of course, you'll also have to deal with the spread wherever you choose to buy the product that's requested by the contract.

Improving your reputation depends on the faction. For Delta and Motus, you can improve your reputation by completing their contracts and by trading at their bases. For the Syndicate, the only way to improve your reputation is by completing their contracts. For the other factions, the only way to improve your reputation is by trading at their bases.

## The commodities

### Life support

Life support, produced on ground bases, except that Nutrients can also be produced on space stations
 Water
 Nuclear Fuel
 Nutrients

Everybody needs the life support commodities, even if they don't advertise them as Demands. If they aren't producing one of these commodities, they're probably buying. Most of a station's needs are met by their regular deliveries, so the number of units they need at any given time can be small. These commodities are mostly found on the inner planets.

### Raw materials

Raw materials, produced on ground bases and sold to ground bases
 Minerals
 Uranium

The raw materials are needed by refineries at ground bases. *Nobody else wants them.* If you don't see the product on the Demand list for a station, you can't sell it there. Most mines are located in the asteroid belt or at Mars and Jupiter.

### Refined materials

Refined materials, produced on ground bases and sold to space stations
 Chemicals

The refined materials are needed by space station factories. *Nobody else wants them.* If you don't see the material on the Demand list for a station, you can't sell it there. Most refineries are located in the asteroid belt and at Mars and Jupiter.

### General factory products

General factory products, produced on space stations
 Hardware

The general factory products can be sold for direct use or for incorporation into further factory products. They can be sold anywhere, although quantities will probably be limited unless the product is advertised as a Demand or is specifically requested by a Transport or Smuggle contract. Most production is in the outer planets of Jupiter and Saturn.

### Finished goods

Finished goods, produced on space stations
 Medicines
 Weapons
 Ship Parts

The finished goods never appear as a Demand. They can be sold anywhere, although profitable quantities will probably be quite limited unless specifically requested by a Transport or Smuggle contract. Most production is in the outer planets, although Mercury is a key producer of medicines.