Difference between revisions of "Commodity Prices"
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This page tries to collect what we want, and where we want to go with the next version of economy system in pioneer. An ideal case would be to have a dynamical economy. Perhaps a smaller version of the [https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/engineering/13128-The-Star-Citizen-Economy Star citizen economy] or similar. | This page tries to collect what we want, and where we want to go with the next version of economy system in pioneer. An ideal case would be to have a dynamical economy. Perhaps a smaller version of the [https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/engineering/13128-The-Star-Citizen-Economy Star citizen economy] or similar. | ||
| − | Other sources of interest might be: [https://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/53038/interstellar-economic-simulation Interstellar gamedev - Economic Simulation] | + | Other sources of interest might be: |
| + | * https://github.com/larsiusprime/bazaarBot | ||
| + | * [https://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/53038/interstellar-economic-simulation Interstellar gamedev - Economic Simulation] | ||
| + | * http://www.rocketpunk-observatory.com/startrade.htm | ||
| + | * http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/traveller/fartrader/ | ||
| + | * https://fermatslibrary.com/s/the-theory-of-interstellar-trade | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Agent based computational economy == | ||
| + | At a first glance, there seems to be a lot of high level research on ACE, perhaps this is something we could use? | ||
| + | |||
| + | * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent-based_computational_economics | ||
| + | * https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F3-540-45548-5_24 | ||
== What affects a market, and how? == | == What affects a market, and how? == | ||
| Line 7: | Line 19: | ||
This section aims at basically brainstorming all ideas for how markets and their commodities should be affected for the future new market system in pioneer. The prices will fluctuate in time with prices going down if a good becomes abundant, and becoming expensive if in demand. This will be modeled through a set of coupled ordinary differential equations (if there isn't some cheaper way to do it?). | This section aims at basically brainstorming all ideas for how markets and their commodities should be affected for the future new market system in pioneer. The prices will fluctuate in time with prices going down if a good becomes abundant, and becoming expensive if in demand. This will be modeled through a set of coupled ordinary differential equations (if there isn't some cheaper way to do it?). | ||
| − | + | *Every planet / station? produces and consumes goods, proportional to population, and other factors, like listed here below. | |
| − | |||
| − | * Every planet / station? produces and consumes goods, proportional to population, and other factors, like listed here below. | ||
| − | * Production and consumption rates depend on what kind of planet/station, population size, what other goods are available, etc. E.g if there is a shortage of grain, then price of grapes and other food goes up. | + | *Production and consumption rates depend on what kind of planet/station, population size, what other goods are available, etc. E.g if there is a shortage of grain, then price of grapes and other food goes up. |
| − | * Price is relative to the amount offered for sale | + | *Price is relative to the amount offered for sale |
| − | * This price drives AI/NPC to trade, taking goods from where it is cheap (abundant) to where it is in need. -> model through stochastic differential equations? | + | *This price drives AI/NPC to trade, taking goods from where it is cheap (abundant) to where it is in need. -> model through stochastic differential equations? |
| − | * Goods are consumed when producing other stuff? | + | *Goods are consumed when producing other stuff? |
| − | * Is production seasonal? The trade between northern and southern hemisphere (if axis tilted), seems to not at all be worth it, and break space travel. | + | *Is production seasonal? The trade between northern and southern hemisphere (if axis tilted), seems to not at all be worth it, and break space travel. |
| − | * Government? Will communist government lead to flat prices, due to planned economy? Or will they fluctuate more due to not being in sync with true demand? what effect will the different systems have? | + | *Government? Will communist government lead to flat prices, due to planned economy? Or will they fluctuate more due to not being in sync with true demand? what effect will the different systems have? |
| − | ** Democracy | + | **Democracy |
| − | ** Corporate | + | **Corporate |
| − | ** dictatorship | + | **dictatorship |
| − | ** anarchy | + | **anarchy |
| − | * Only trade with closest neighbors. Could be done like so: expand a sphere out from the system until with radius r_min, and if found inhabited systems are below some value (10?) keep expanding sphere until r_max. This generates a list of closest neighbors for all systems. | + | *Only trade with closest neighbors. Could be done like so: expand a sphere out from the system until with radius r_min, and if found inhabited systems are below some value (10?) keep expanding sphere until r_max. This generates a list of closest neighbors for all systems. |
| − | * On the star map, one can see which systems a market is trading with? Why would this be useful? It would be all within some distance. | + | *On the star map, one can see which systems a market is trading with? Why would this be useful? It would be all within some distance. |
| − | * In the market (if player subscribes?) we show for the selected commodity its price over the past months? Zoom in/ out from 1 to 3 months? Show system index average, "galaxy index" (based on nearby systems or all systems in the game?). | + | *In the market (if player subscribes?) we show for the selected commodity its price over the past months? Zoom in/ out from 1 to 3 months? Show system index average, "galaxy index" (based on nearby systems or all systems in the game?). |
| − | * How will the dynamics from the market lead to ships with those actual items coming in? Somehow c++ engine must tell TradeShip.lua how many shipped units of each item is being sold / bought / shipped? | + | *How will the dynamics from the market lead to ships with those actual items coming in? Somehow c++ engine must tell TradeShip.lua how many shipped units of each item is being sold / bought / shipped? |
| − | * If I kill off trade ships carrying something, then I should be able to create a shortage of some goods. Mission: Drive up price of grain: attack all grain carrying ships? | + | *If I kill off trade ships carrying something, then I should be able to create a shortage of some goods. Mission: Drive up price of grain: attack all grain carrying ships? |
| − | * Will a system like Mu Herculis, with very far between jump point and station, have much higher prices for everything, making the long transit worth while | + | *Will a system like Mu Herculis, with very far between jump point and station, have much higher prices for everything, making the long transit worth while |
| − | * Faction specific: Distance to faction home world? Trading over faction borders? | + | *Faction specific: Distance to faction home world? Trading over faction borders? |
| − | * Tech level? | + | *Tech level? |
| + | | ||
| − | == General == | + | == General == |
Many goods are traded, ranging from simple H2O (water), all the way up to farming equipment. In order to keep exchanges simple, a standard unit is used for trading; the metric ton. There are a total of 31 commodities used on the standard stock market, encompassing all major aspects of life. | Many goods are traded, ranging from simple H2O (water), all the way up to farming equipment. In order to keep exchanges simple, a standard unit is used for trading; the metric ton. There are a total of 31 commodities used on the standard stock market, encompassing all major aspects of life. | ||
| + | | ||
| − | + | | |
== Goods Descriptions == | == Goods Descriptions == | ||
| Line 58: | Line 70: | ||
''Average Price: 1 Credit'' | ''Average Price: 1 Credit'' | ||
| − | Used as fuel for hyperdrives and propellant for starships, | + | Used as fuel for hyperdrives and propellant for starships, hydrogen is an extremely important element. Fortunately it is also the most common element in the universe, although storing it isn't trivial. It is usually among the cheapest commodities on the stock market. Starports are well supplied at any given time. |
| − | '''Liquid | + | '''Liquid oxygen''' |
''Average Price: 1.5 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 1.5 Credits'' | ||
| − | Liquid | + | Liquid oxygen has many purposes, most commonly in medical and industrial applications and sometimes also used in waste treatment. It is very affordable, as oxygen is easy to obtain from water. |
'''Water''' | '''Water''' | ||
| Line 70: | Line 82: | ||
''Average Price: 1.2 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 1.2 Credits'' | ||
| − | + | Essential for life as we know it, an often overlooked commodity, water is needed wherever humanity roams. As such, the vast majority of off-world colonies import water from comets or planets like Earth. Water is used on a massive scale for hydrogen and oxygen production. | |
| − | '''Carbon | + | '''Carbon ore''' |
''Average Price: 5 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 5 Credits'' | ||
| − | Carbon is | + | Carbon is one of the most diverse elements we know of. Used in almost everything from plastics to alloys and sometimes even power production, carbon is an inexpensive, but important commodity. As such, almost all industrial settlements import carbon ore. |
| − | '''Metal | + | '''Metal ore''' |
''Average Price: 3 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 3 Credits'' | ||
| − | Many colonies mine | + | Many colonies mine metal ores for export, to be refined and used in industrial manufacturing. Used in everything from small toys to spaceships, metal in all its forms is essential to modern civilization. |
| − | '''Metal | + | '''Metal alloys''' |
''Average Price: 8 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 8 Credits'' | ||
| − | After metal ore is extracted, it is processed and ends up as various alloys. An alloy is an amalgamation of metals, rather than a single pure element, | + | After metal ore is extracted and refined, it is processed and ends up as various alloys. An alloy is an amalgamation of metals, rather than a single pure element, combined in exact proportions to gain specific desirable traits. Therefore, most consumer metals are alloys. |
| − | '''Precious | + | '''Precious metals''' |
''Average Price: 180 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 180 Credits'' | ||
| − | Precious metals are, generally, less reactive, | + | Precious metals are, generally, less reactive, more difficult to mine, and more scarce, resulting in a considerable economic value. This often includes gold, silver, platinum, and rare earths. Certain elements such as gold and silicon, or rare earths, are crucial for the construction of computers and other electronics. |
'''Plastics''' | '''Plastics''' | ||
| Line 102: | Line 114: | ||
Synthetical and semi-synthetical materials used in everything from everyday items to spaceship construction. They are relatively easy to use in manufacture, versatile and cheap to make, thus an important part of our civilization. | Synthetical and semi-synthetical materials used in everything from everyday items to spaceship construction. They are relatively easy to use in manufacture, versatile and cheap to make, thus an important part of our civilization. | ||
| − | '''Fruits and | + | '''Fruits and vegetables''' |
''Average Price: 12 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 12 Credits'' | ||
| Line 108: | Line 120: | ||
While there are lots of synthetic alternatives, real fruits and vegetables are still an important part of our cuisine and nutrition. Grown on agricultural worlds or as part of the life support of habitats, and exported to systems in which growing plants is not feasible. | While there are lots of synthetic alternatives, real fruits and vegetables are still an important part of our cuisine and nutrition. Grown on agricultural worlds or as part of the life support of habitats, and exported to systems in which growing plants is not feasible. | ||
| − | '''Animal | + | '''Animal meat''' |
''Average Price: 18 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 18 Credits'' | ||
| − | A major point of controversy, meat is the flesh of animals. With synthetic | + | A major point of controversy, meat is the flesh of animals. With synthetic protein readily available, most people believe that animals should not be killed. While meats are illegal in most core systems, live animals and their meat is an important part of the lives of people on more traditional worlds. |
| − | '''Live | + | '''Live animals''' |
''Average Price: 32 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 32 Credits'' | ||
| − | Partly due to humanistic, economic and ecological reasons, animal rearing and trade is strictly regulated, or even illegal in many core systems. Going outward, livestock becomes a more important part of the livelihood of the people, both as a source of nutrition and a beast of burden. Exotic zoos and | + | Partly due to humanistic, economic and ecological reasons, animal rearing and trade is strictly regulated, or even illegal in many core systems. Going outward, livestock becomes a more important part of the livelihood of the people, both as a source of nutrition and a beast of burden. Exotic zoos and wildlife reserves contribute to the trade of animals around the galaxy, usually under strict state regulations, to combat illegal hunting grounds. |
'''Liquor''' | '''Liquor''' | ||
| Line 136: | Line 148: | ||
''Average Price: 232 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 232 Credits'' | ||
| − | As machines have replaced slaves as the engine | + | As machines have replaced slaves as the engine that powers civilization, slavery is now almost universally seen as immoral, and transgression against a ban draws the strictest punishment. However, despite the best efforts of humanitarians, slavery is still prevalent, even in developed worlds. |
'''Textiles''' | '''Textiles''' | ||
| Line 156: | Line 168: | ||
Derived from natural sources, or synthesized artificially, medicines are needed everywhere humans go. From curing the common cold to combat the adverse effects of prolonged space travel, medicines are essential to the prosperity of an interstellar humanity. Carefully watched by customs agents, as it is not uncommon to disguise narcotics as medical drugs. | Derived from natural sources, or synthesized artificially, medicines are needed everywhere humans go. From curing the common cold to combat the adverse effects of prolonged space travel, medicines are essential to the prosperity of an interstellar humanity. Carefully watched by customs agents, as it is not uncommon to disguise narcotics as medical drugs. | ||
| − | '''Consumer | + | '''Consumer goods''' |
''Average Price: 140 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 140 Credits'' | ||
| Line 166: | Line 178: | ||
''Average Price: 80 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 80 Credits'' | ||
| − | From over a thousand years ago, with the Abacus, PDP-11, and Motorola 68k chip, down to our modern HAL 9001 and Multivac line, computers marked the dawn of | + | From over a thousand years ago, with the Abacus, PDP-11, and Motorola 68k chip, down to our modern HAL 9001 and Multivac line, computers marked the dawn of the information age. Equally essential for entering hyperspace as for sharing videos of cute quibbles over the UniNet. |
'''Rubbish''' | '''Rubbish''' | ||
| Line 172: | Line 184: | ||
''Average Price: -0.1 Credits'' | ''Average Price: -0.1 Credits'' | ||
| − | The byproduct of civilization, consisting of industrial waste, household garbage, and worn down equipment. Most waste | + | The byproduct of civilization, consisting of industrial waste, household garbage, and worn down equipment. Most waste is reprocessed, recycled or sent to starports for transport off-world. Dumping garbage in inhabited systems is almost always illegal. Starports usually charge a fee for waste disposal, but will also pay you to take it away. |
| − | '''Radioactive | + | '''Radioactive waste''' |
''Average Price: -3.5 Credits'' | ''Average Price: -3.5 Credits'' | ||
| − | Created by nuclear reactors, and military hyperdrives, nuclear | + | Created by nuclear reactors, and military hyperdrives, nuclear waste is the hardest and most dangerous commodity to transport and dispose of. For this reason, most starports will pay to get rid of excess stockpile. Dumping nuclear waste is a severe offence. |
'''Narcotics''' | '''Narcotics''' | ||
| Line 186: | Line 198: | ||
Natural or synthetic substances that alter the state of mind and body. Although the use of narcotics, both for recreational and medical purposes, is as old as humanity itself, shipping and trading is commonly outlawed. | Natural or synthetic substances that alter the state of mind and body. Although the use of narcotics, both for recreational and medical purposes, is as old as humanity itself, shipping and trading is commonly outlawed. | ||
| − | '''Nerve | + | '''Nerve gas''' |
''Average Price: 265 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 265 Credits'' | ||
| Line 192: | Line 204: | ||
It is generally accepted to be a weapon of mass destruction, shunned even by the military in most systems, and thus illegal in most systems. | It is generally accepted to be a weapon of mass destruction, shunned even by the military in most systems, and thus illegal in most systems. | ||
| − | '''Military | + | '''Military fuel''' |
''Average Price: 60 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 60 Credits'' | ||
| − | Used as fuel | + | Used as fuel in the more advanced military drives. These drives produce nuclear waste during operation, which must be disposed of. Because of this, some governments have banned the use of military drives and their fuel. Due to its synthetic nature, military fuel is more expensive and less common than hydrogen, and can not be found occurring naturally. |
'''Robots''' | '''Robots''' | ||
| Line 202: | Line 214: | ||
''Average Price: 63 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 63 Credits'' | ||
| − | Robots are often imported into industrial and mining systems, due to their ability to easily perform tasks that would be too difficult, tedious, or unsafe for human workers. They can also serve as politicians. | + | Robots are often imported into industrial and mining systems, due to their ability to easily perform tasks that would be too difficult, tedious, or unsafe for human workers. They can also serve as politicians and lawyers. |
| − | '''Hand | + | '''Hand weapons''' |
''Average Price: 124 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 124 Credits'' | ||
| Line 210: | Line 222: | ||
Providing insurance beyond the long arm of the law, hand weapons are essential for space traders in far-out systems. However, many governments see them as a threat to their own control over their population and strictly control their trade and possession. | Providing insurance beyond the long arm of the law, hand weapons are essential for space traders in far-out systems. However, many governments see them as a threat to their own control over their population and strictly control their trade and possession. | ||
| − | '''Air | + | '''Air processors''' |
''Average Price: 20 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 20 Credits'' | ||
| − | Clean air is only taken for granted when already abundant. The technique behind air purification is rumoured to come from alien | + | Clean air is only taken for granted when already abundant. The technique behind air purification is rumoured to come from alien artifacts found on Mars. Many companies produce various types of air processors, capable of turning even the most hostile atmospheres into a workable environment, and governments do not tolerate monopoly on air production. |
| − | '''Farm | + | '''Farm machinery''' |
''Average Price: 11 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 11 Credits'' | ||
| Line 222: | Line 234: | ||
Although rare, it is still possible to catch the occasional farmer with an ox-driven plow. But in almost any place where there is agriculture, machines are used in the cultivation of the land, be it the hydroponics of an underground habitat or the endless fields of a garden world. | Although rare, it is still possible to catch the occasional farmer with an ox-driven plow. But in almost any place where there is agriculture, machines are used in the cultivation of the land, be it the hydroponics of an underground habitat or the endless fields of a garden world. | ||
| − | '''Mining | + | '''Mining machinery''' |
''Average Price: 12 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 12 Credits'' | ||
| Line 228: | Line 240: | ||
The traditionally back breaking work of mining is alleviated by the use of machines that help miners in locating and retrieving various ores, and transporting them to the closest processing facilities. | The traditionally back breaking work of mining is alleviated by the use of machines that help miners in locating and retrieving various ores, and transporting them to the closest processing facilities. | ||
| − | '''Battle | + | '''Battle weapons''' |
''Average Price: 220 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 220 Credits'' | ||
| Line 234: | Line 246: | ||
Heavy military-grade weapons, like armoured hover tanks, and surface-to-space missiles. Trading in them is usually a governmental monopoly. On the black market, however, these can often fetch a hefty sum of money. | Heavy military-grade weapons, like armoured hover tanks, and surface-to-space missiles. Trading in them is usually a governmental monopoly. On the black market, however, these can often fetch a hefty sum of money. | ||
| − | '''Industrial | + | '''Industrial machinery''' |
''Average Price: 13 Credits'' | ''Average Price: 13 Credits'' | ||
| − | Needed for assembly lines, refineries, | + | Needed for assembly lines, refineries, smelters, and production of machinery that will in turn produce other goods. High competence is needed to produce these advanced machines. |
[[Category:Ideas]] | [[Category:Ideas]] | ||
Latest revision as of 12:24, 13 April 2021
This page tries to collect what we want, and where we want to go with the next version of economy system in pioneer. An ideal case would be to have a dynamical economy. Perhaps a smaller version of the Star citizen economy or similar.
Other sources of interest might be:
- https://github.com/larsiusprime/bazaarBot
- Interstellar gamedev - Economic Simulation
- http://www.rocketpunk-observatory.com/startrade.htm
- http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/traveller/fartrader/
- https://fermatslibrary.com/s/the-theory-of-interstellar-trade
Contents
Agent based computational economy
At a first glance, there seems to be a lot of high level research on ACE, perhaps this is something we could use?
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent-based_computational_economics
- https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F3-540-45548-5_24
What affects a market, and how?
This section aims at basically brainstorming all ideas for how markets and their commodities should be affected for the future new market system in pioneer. The prices will fluctuate in time with prices going down if a good becomes abundant, and becoming expensive if in demand. This will be modeled through a set of coupled ordinary differential equations (if there isn't some cheaper way to do it?).
- Every planet / station? produces and consumes goods, proportional to population, and other factors, like listed here below.
- Production and consumption rates depend on what kind of planet/station, population size, what other goods are available, etc. E.g if there is a shortage of grain, then price of grapes and other food goes up.
- Price is relative to the amount offered for sale
- This price drives AI/NPC to trade, taking goods from where it is cheap (abundant) to where it is in need. -> model through stochastic differential equations?
- Goods are consumed when producing other stuff?
- Is production seasonal? The trade between northern and southern hemisphere (if axis tilted), seems to not at all be worth it, and break space travel.
- Government? Will communist government lead to flat prices, due to planned economy? Or will they fluctuate more due to not being in sync with true demand? what effect will the different systems have?
- Democracy
- Corporate
- dictatorship
- anarchy
- Only trade with closest neighbors. Could be done like so: expand a sphere out from the system until with radius r_min, and if found inhabited systems are below some value (10?) keep expanding sphere until r_max. This generates a list of closest neighbors for all systems.
- On the star map, one can see which systems a market is trading with? Why would this be useful? It would be all within some distance.
- In the market (if player subscribes?) we show for the selected commodity its price over the past months? Zoom in/ out from 1 to 3 months? Show system index average, "galaxy index" (based on nearby systems or all systems in the game?).
- How will the dynamics from the market lead to ships with those actual items coming in? Somehow c++ engine must tell TradeShip.lua how many shipped units of each item is being sold / bought / shipped?
- If I kill off trade ships carrying something, then I should be able to create a shortage of some goods. Mission: Drive up price of grain: attack all grain carrying ships?
- Will a system like Mu Herculis, with very far between jump point and station, have much higher prices for everything, making the long transit worth while
- Faction specific: Distance to faction home world? Trading over faction borders?
- Tech level?
General
Many goods are traded, ranging from simple H2O (water), all the way up to farming equipment. In order to keep exchanges simple, a standard unit is used for trading; the metric ton. There are a total of 31 commodities used on the standard stock market, encompassing all major aspects of life.
Goods Descriptions
Hydrogen
Average Price: 1 Credit
Used as fuel for hyperdrives and propellant for starships, hydrogen is an extremely important element. Fortunately it is also the most common element in the universe, although storing it isn't trivial. It is usually among the cheapest commodities on the stock market. Starports are well supplied at any given time.
Liquid oxygen
Average Price: 1.5 Credits
Liquid oxygen has many purposes, most commonly in medical and industrial applications and sometimes also used in waste treatment. It is very affordable, as oxygen is easy to obtain from water.
Water
Average Price: 1.2 Credits
Essential for life as we know it, an often overlooked commodity, water is needed wherever humanity roams. As such, the vast majority of off-world colonies import water from comets or planets like Earth. Water is used on a massive scale for hydrogen and oxygen production.
Carbon ore
Average Price: 5 Credits
Carbon is one of the most diverse elements we know of. Used in almost everything from plastics to alloys and sometimes even power production, carbon is an inexpensive, but important commodity. As such, almost all industrial settlements import carbon ore.
Metal ore
Average Price: 3 Credits
Many colonies mine metal ores for export, to be refined and used in industrial manufacturing. Used in everything from small toys to spaceships, metal in all its forms is essential to modern civilization.
Metal alloys
Average Price: 8 Credits
After metal ore is extracted and refined, it is processed and ends up as various alloys. An alloy is an amalgamation of metals, rather than a single pure element, combined in exact proportions to gain specific desirable traits. Therefore, most consumer metals are alloys.
Precious metals
Average Price: 180 Credits
Precious metals are, generally, less reactive, more difficult to mine, and more scarce, resulting in a considerable economic value. This often includes gold, silver, platinum, and rare earths. Certain elements such as gold and silicon, or rare earths, are crucial for the construction of computers and other electronics.
Plastics
Average Price: 12 Credits
Synthetical and semi-synthetical materials used in everything from everyday items to spaceship construction. They are relatively easy to use in manufacture, versatile and cheap to make, thus an important part of our civilization.
Fruits and vegetables
Average Price: 12 Credits
While there are lots of synthetic alternatives, real fruits and vegetables are still an important part of our cuisine and nutrition. Grown on agricultural worlds or as part of the life support of habitats, and exported to systems in which growing plants is not feasible.
Animal meat
Average Price: 18 Credits
A major point of controversy, meat is the flesh of animals. With synthetic protein readily available, most people believe that animals should not be killed. While meats are illegal in most core systems, live animals and their meat is an important part of the lives of people on more traditional worlds.
Live animals
Average Price: 32 Credits
Partly due to humanistic, economic and ecological reasons, animal rearing and trade is strictly regulated, or even illegal in many core systems. Going outward, livestock becomes a more important part of the livelihood of the people, both as a source of nutrition and a beast of burden. Exotic zoos and wildlife reserves contribute to the trade of animals around the galaxy, usually under strict state regulations, to combat illegal hunting grounds.
Liquor
Average Price: 8 Credits
Most outposts have a local brew that outsiders find hard to stomach. Alcohol can be banned in some systems as it is deemed to cloud the mind. Regardless of the law, a shot of scotch is almost always available on the black market, for a price.
Grain
Average Price: 10 Credits
The backbone of many peoples' diets. It is used in farming, to feed animals, and as a supplement to synthetic foods. Grain is also used in many other foods, such as oatmeal and baked goods. Most star faring cultures grow and consume at least some grains, that have been adopted to the climate of their habitat.
Slaves
Average Price: 232 Credits
As machines have replaced slaves as the engine that powers civilization, slavery is now almost universally seen as immoral, and transgression against a ban draws the strictest punishment. However, despite the best efforts of humanitarians, slavery is still prevalent, even in developed worlds.
Textiles
Average Price: 8.5 Credits
Textiles are simple fabric, woven from either synthetic, plant or animal derived yarn. Usually produced by robots in large factories, it is still possible to find the occasional weaver who makes their own textiles.
Fertilizer
Average Price: 4 Credits
Fertilizers are crucial for growing crops at an industrial scale, allowing mono-cultures, yielding higher dividends than possible using plain dirt. This often comes with at an ecological cost, not evident at the onset.
Medicines
Average Price: 22 Credits
Derived from natural sources, or synthesized artificially, medicines are needed everywhere humans go. From curing the common cold to combat the adverse effects of prolonged space travel, medicines are essential to the prosperity of an interstellar humanity. Carefully watched by customs agents, as it is not uncommon to disguise narcotics as medical drugs.
Consumer goods
Average Price: 140 Credits
The end products ready for the general consumer public, without need for further processing. Everything from toothbrushes, kitchen appliances to hover cars.
Computers
Average Price: 80 Credits
From over a thousand years ago, with the Abacus, PDP-11, and Motorola 68k chip, down to our modern HAL 9001 and Multivac line, computers marked the dawn of the information age. Equally essential for entering hyperspace as for sharing videos of cute quibbles over the UniNet.
Rubbish
Average Price: -0.1 Credits
The byproduct of civilization, consisting of industrial waste, household garbage, and worn down equipment. Most waste is reprocessed, recycled or sent to starports for transport off-world. Dumping garbage in inhabited systems is almost always illegal. Starports usually charge a fee for waste disposal, but will also pay you to take it away.
Radioactive waste
Average Price: -3.5 Credits
Created by nuclear reactors, and military hyperdrives, nuclear waste is the hardest and most dangerous commodity to transport and dispose of. For this reason, most starports will pay to get rid of excess stockpile. Dumping nuclear waste is a severe offence.
Narcotics
Average Price: 157 Credits
Natural or synthetic substances that alter the state of mind and body. Although the use of narcotics, both for recreational and medical purposes, is as old as humanity itself, shipping and trading is commonly outlawed.
Nerve gas
Average Price: 265 Credits
It is generally accepted to be a weapon of mass destruction, shunned even by the military in most systems, and thus illegal in most systems.
Military fuel
Average Price: 60 Credits
Used as fuel in the more advanced military drives. These drives produce nuclear waste during operation, which must be disposed of. Because of this, some governments have banned the use of military drives and their fuel. Due to its synthetic nature, military fuel is more expensive and less common than hydrogen, and can not be found occurring naturally.
Robots
Average Price: 63 Credits
Robots are often imported into industrial and mining systems, due to their ability to easily perform tasks that would be too difficult, tedious, or unsafe for human workers. They can also serve as politicians and lawyers.
Hand weapons
Average Price: 124 Credits
Providing insurance beyond the long arm of the law, hand weapons are essential for space traders in far-out systems. However, many governments see them as a threat to their own control over their population and strictly control their trade and possession.
Air processors
Average Price: 20 Credits
Clean air is only taken for granted when already abundant. The technique behind air purification is rumoured to come from alien artifacts found on Mars. Many companies produce various types of air processors, capable of turning even the most hostile atmospheres into a workable environment, and governments do not tolerate monopoly on air production.
Farm machinery
Average Price: 11 Credits
Although rare, it is still possible to catch the occasional farmer with an ox-driven plow. But in almost any place where there is agriculture, machines are used in the cultivation of the land, be it the hydroponics of an underground habitat or the endless fields of a garden world.
Mining machinery
Average Price: 12 Credits
The traditionally back breaking work of mining is alleviated by the use of machines that help miners in locating and retrieving various ores, and transporting them to the closest processing facilities.
Battle weapons
Average Price: 220 Credits
Heavy military-grade weapons, like armoured hover tanks, and surface-to-space missiles. Trading in them is usually a governmental monopoly. On the black market, however, these can often fetch a hefty sum of money.
Industrial machinery
Average Price: 13 Credits
Needed for assembly lines, refineries, smelters, and production of machinery that will in turn produce other goods. High competence is needed to produce these advanced machines.
