ok heres the situation.
i have 10 freighters all doing a 756 turn route.
this is decent income.
now i thought about adding trade oriented starbases along the route. i opted to put put a whole bunch of them at the very end of the route so that they would have the greatest effect when the route was worth the most.
the only problem i see is that a base costs 13bc/turn but only adds benefits for 10turns when freighter is in sector going to the alien planet(and when trade route is worth the most) and another 10 turns going back to the origin planet.
here are the numbers as i see them
13bc/turn for 756 turn = 9828bc for a whole trade route cycle
for 10 turns the base reaps a return where the value of the trade route goes up by 114bc/turn x 10 turns = 1140
for another 10 turns the freighters on its way home and im not sure how much income i get from that portion of the trip but even if it was the same as the other 10 turns im still seeing a 7000bc/ route loss
are my numbers correct?
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Honestly, I no longer build trade starbases. I tend to add a trade module to starbases doing other things, but I never build a SB primarily for trade.
          
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still not that great. but come on even in your situation your probably gonna come out even monetarily. thats gotta be wrong. you get a couple of bc for a couple of turns but you spend tons of turns wasting money on maintenance.
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well, I used to trade across the entire map and load up on trade starbases on my end. This is a bad idea because income fluctuations make me crazy. I started trading with a minor 1 or 2 squares away in a straight line. I have even gifted planets for this purpose. Line the route with two or three trade starbases in each sector for steady, predictable income with little hassle.
   
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David,
I'm not sure if understand the aboe calculations correctly, but...
Trade income for each route varies depending on which turn of the 756 the freighter has reached (this can be seen by checking the trade tab on the domestic screen).
As i understand how this works the income rises towards the end (should be highest on the 756th turn). This would be when it reaches its starting point again.
Therefore if you place those trade SB's just before it reaches the system it started out from you would benefit greatly from it (of course only on the turns in which the freighters passes thru this sector).
This is easier to manage if you use the strategy Max described.
[Message Edited]
 
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well max as far as your strategy goes i would rather do what i did. i was trading from a really good planet that was in the lowest right corner of the map all the way to the upper left corner of the map on a 24x24. it was a 756 turn route wich was bringing in quite a lot of money.
your idea was good about stabilizing the money from trade by having a small route with bases along the entire lenght but it doesnt take care of the fact that the bases dont pay for themselves as far as i can tell.
a base costs 13bc per month and when the freighter is in the same sector you make some of the money back but overall you lose money.
my calculations above are just an exagerated version of those numbers because of the values involved in that humongous route....and i dont think anyone would argue that a long route isnt best when it comes to trade.
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You may want to look at Theoden's argument again.
Adding trade modules to existing SBs is probably the way to go.
This ensures that you get extra income when trade vessels pass through, but at the same time keeps upkeep down.
Your argument does not consider the downstream, as income increases from the age of the route, which alters the calculations.
As a side note, it is very likely that your game will end before your ships ever make a second pass through the sector with the trade SBs because of the length. Maxtipherous' setup ensures that the freighter will pass through the SBs area multiple times before the game ends, thus increasing the benefit of the SBs significantly.
I hope that helps a bit.
[Message Edited]
   
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david,
when the planets are near each other there are tiny freighters in the sectors containing starbases all the time, so there really isn't any time when the starbases are not paying for themselves. you can click on the tiny trader and see how much it is making each month, and judge from that the benefits of the starbases.
The advantages of this system (which I didn't invent) are:
1) the trade income starts sooner and increases more or less predictably.
2) the minor is easily defended and not likely to be taken over by your worst enemy, thereby crashing your economy.
3) trade income can be increased indefinitely if that becomes a priority.
4) you don't need a backup stack of freighters parked at an alternate trade partnet (less management)
I will do a test, set up a short trade route and get it running with 2 or 3 starbases ber sector, record the figures, kill the starbases and play a few turns, record the figures, and report back
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start with 8 trade routes to a minor 2 sectors away.
says estimate is 7BC per month
(stats say trade bonus is 50%, economics 176%)
trade route screen reports all routes worth 29BC
Each little trader says 29BC
Total trade revenue reported as 544BC
Saved Game
killed all trade routes
Total trade revenue reported as 312bc
(I assume 312 is trade from other races to me)
312+(8*29)=544
Loaded Game
Build 3 trade center starbases in each of three sectors.
Maintenance 90BC
Trade route screen and little traders show value as 70bc
total trade revenue reported as 872bc
312+(8*70)=872
so 90bc maintenance gives 328 increase in revenue
for 238 profit, or 264% ROI
I have easily achieved 3000bc using this method, wich is more or less my max sending traders across the map, with much less effort.
One added benefit -- much better if you are playing an ostrich strategy. AI's don't hate you until they meet you.
Cheers!
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so economy bonuses stack somehow with trade bonuses because you went to your stat page and quoted your economy bonus as 176%
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what does that mean when you say the estimate is 7bc per month and why is that different from the trade screen saying each route is worth 29bc
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OOOHHHHH....no wonder my numbers were showing a loss. i was doing it with only one freighters income.
the base costs 10000 for the full trade route cycle
each freighter gains 2000 income while in its zone of influence both going and coming.
but i have 10 freighters doing that so each base causes 20000 in trade income and 10000 net profit over the trade cycle(756 turns)
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i don't know if economy bonuses stack, or if it does, exactly how it does. When you start a trade route it gives you an estimate, which is usually dramatically lower than what you actually get.
And I knew you weren't counting all the little traders passing each starbase twice, but I wanted to run the numbers anyway hehe
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Hmm...I wonder if the increase in SB maintenance undermined the idea of putting speed bonuses in sectors that have no trade bonuses. I imagine the "slingshots" don't pay off anymore, but I'm too lazy to test.
 
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calculations wouldn't really be necessary. Take a save game you are winning and build several stacks of freightes and constructors, and park them at strategic points. Save.
Run the various scenarios against each other, checking the tiny freighters when they are both in and out of sectors with starbases. Wouldn't take too long.
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| Run the various scenarios against each other, checking the tiny freighters when they are both in and out of sectors with starbases. Wouldn't take too long. |
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Repeat: "I'm too lazy to test." Also, remember my alternate name... -- Admiral Glacier 
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David,
have a look in the "Trade terror star - a vagabonding cash cow?" and give it a try.
   
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