Talk:Development:Economy

Here's my idea for a successful economic model.

Variables set when a base is generated:

Base trade rates: The base modifier rate for each product at a given type of base. Normal values are coded into the engine. When a base is generated, they are adjusted randomly by a small amount (to account for local variations) then set.

Population: Population affects the production rate and the rate at which player actions affect the planetary economy. Each base type has a minimum and maximum population coded into it, then the population is set when the base is generated. The population is higher if the base is close to the capital planet of the faction it belongs to. Population could be affected by wars, system takeovers, etc.

Economy: Economy in this largest scale is considered too large for the player to change, so it is permanently set. It is a variable that varies from 1.2 to .8 and adjusts the buy/sell prices for all goods on the planet. Bases near the capital planet for a faction are more likely to be inflated, bases on the frontier are more likely to be deflated. Factions that should have poor economies (factions disconnected from main societies such as ISO, pirates, forsaken, etc. as well as uplifted races) should tend to generate deflated bases. Also planets that would tend to have depleted economies (arid and ice) should as well.

Secondary variables:

Surplus/Depletion rates: Each base type has a certain rate of depletion or creation for each trade good programmed into the engine. This rate is modified by the population; greater populations create/deplete goods faster.

Trade accessibility: For each product that is created/depleted, the distance or number of jumps to a system that demands/supplies the given good is calculated. Long distances result in higher prices for demanded goods (scarcity) and lower prices for supplied goods (surplus buildup.) They also increase the rate at which demand or supply builds up. This can't be hard-coded since bases that demand goods, etc. could be destroyed. I recommend a base rate of 1 when a supplier and demander are in the same system, and + 0.05 for each jump required to find a system with the needed supply/demand.

Player-affected variables:

Supply/Demand: A base can have either positive or negative supplies of a product.

Negative supplies are not seen, but are used internally to determine price and demand (a product with a negative availability will actually show up as having a small number available to purchase.) A base with a depletion rate in any given product will build up a demand up to some maximum number. This maximum represents the rate at which other traders fulfill the trade demands. Products with negative supply have their price increased.

Positive supplies show up as a surplus. Bases with a creation rate generate a trade good up to some maximum surplus. The bigger the surplus, the lower the price will be.

Price:

The price of any trade good is determined like this:

Product price x base trade rate x economic modifier x supply/demand rate = final price

So, for example, say we are buying 1 unit wheat from a bio_diverse planet. For this simple example, we will say that wheat has a base rate of 100 credits, the base trade rate of wheat on a bio_diverse planet is 90%, the planet has a inflated economy at 110%, and the player is buying wheat when the planet has built up to the maximum surplus amount (giving it a 25% price reduction). For this example, we'll assume the supplier and demander are in the same system so the accessibility modifiers are at 1. Thus the cost is:

100 x .9 x 1.1 x 1 x .75 = 74 credits

However, this rate will go up for every unit of wheat you buy until you hit the bottom of the surplus, at which point it will cost:

100 x .9 x 1.1 x 1 = 99 credits

The best way I can think of to implement this kind of per-unit price increase is to buy goods via a slider, with the average unit cost displayed for the given value listed.

Now, say we are selling goods at a mining station. The wheat base rate is the same at 100 credits, the base trade of wheat on a mining station is 115%, the base has a deflated economy at 85%, and the player is selling wheat when the planet has a moderate but not overwhelming demand (giving him a 15% price increase at the start.) Thus the sell rate is:

100 x 1.15 x .85 x 1 x 1.15 = 112

And this will go down to the following as the planet approaches 0 demand:

100 x 1.15 x .85 x 1 = 98

The player can continue selling until the planet has a surplus, but in this case the rate will get worse as a negative price modifier gets applied. You cannot sell goods to a planet that has a maximum surplus.

Now, the profit on this particular trade wasn't great, but the player would have done better if they'd tried to sell products from a deflated economy onto a base with an inflated economy, and if they'd traded on bases that weren't in the same system. The player would be unable to profit much from these two bases until they built up supplies and demand again.

It's a complex system, but most of this would be transparent to the player, and I think it would do a good job of simulating a real economy while encouraging exploration to find good trade routes.

Lex Spoon suggests some modifications:

Keeping the structure of every base's economy the same seems reasonable. Even if the player could influence it, it would take many years to happen.

However, it is nice to let the players influence the prices of goods on planets, especially on smaller bases. This is not only more fun, but it is realistic: just imagine a a humongous mule shows up, large enough to contain the whole population of the base, and then tries to sell off some good. This will most definitely change the prices.

The "NPC's" idea is good. The model can assume that there are a bunch of less-ambitious traders out there who are also arbitraging away the opportunities for big profits. These guys should mostly be less ambitious, though, and in particular will really avoid routes that are more dangerous.

Both of the above mechanisms would cause the prices to shift so that money-making loopholes tend to close over time. If you run a trade route a thousand times, eventually the prices at each end will close off. So you will have to switch it up a little bit.

On the whole, this approach would give an economy that automatically closes any loopholes, and where the feel of the game is that the player is one of the bravest people in the universe. It also means that you have to do less overt design, because a lot of aspects will be self balancing.

How does it sound to others?