Trading Explained - Feedback welcome

[admin]

We received several questions on how trading works. Here is the brief explanation needed to avoid conspiracy theories. 

 

This high profit trading is not a mistake. OW is risky and you can lose everything. One successful run should set you up for a while, one robbery should not discourage you from trying again. Game should not waste player time by forcing him to do 100 runs. 1 run is as risky as 3. This is a final view on trading. 

Making profit

• Source - Supply
  • Resources are brought for trading to county capitals (mostly based on their historical origin)
• Demand - Consumption
  • Resources are consumed in county capitals
• Weak demand - 
  • Resources can be also sold in any non-consuming port but at a lower price
• The further is the consumption port from the source of the resource - the higher the profit (can reach high multiples)
  • 1 multi day long trip using wind boosts can make more money than several short trips

Supply

• Types of supply
  • There are cheaper trading resources and there are very expensive trading resources. 
  • Every county capital has a variety of resources from cheap to expensive
• Cheaper resources
  • are brought in great quantities consistently
• Expensive resources (Madagascar jewels)
  • are brought to Caribbean from time to time
    • If expensive resources are not there - trading IS NOT NERFED - they just were not brought yet (they are rare and expensive for a reason).
      • Just buy other goods or find another less competitive county capital to exploit (hint: or hit other traders getting all the goods for free).
      • Visit other ports on the way to load up on expensive goods, selling cheaper ones if the sale is profitable.
• You can no longer place contracts on trading goods (One of the best community proposals that was implemented)
  • This allows you to buy the goods if you are in the port right after their delivery by NPCs

NPC Traders

• You can get expensive resources by hitting NPC traders or Player traders too. 
• NPC traders no longer carry very cheap overloaded heavy goods and are mostly dedicated to trading goods. You might hit those jewels near the very distant port and make half a million in 5 mins.

This will be enough to get you started.

Community Request: well constructed trading guide (video or paper), if we like it it will be posted across all game channels for fame and glory.

[SirAlatriste]

Okey thanks you mate. Honor you.

Edited December 1, 2019 by SirAlatriste

[erelkivtuadrater]

looks good and makes sense

[Malcolm3]

@adminThanks for such explanation. Trading is alive now and more profitable than delivery missions.

Still there are some questions that can be clarified:

1. In main Patch notes you state the following:

Quote

Trading NPCs sometimes carry expensive loads (especially if you hit them on the end of the trading run with expensive goods)

So is there real NPC trading routes between ports (from producing ones to consuming ones) just as I suggested once, or NPC traders actually sail from port with random goods to some point in the open sea as it was before?

2. Is there any consumption rate, when selling price in consuming port dropping because of market overflow (as it was in the end of 2018), or we can simply sell any amount?

3. Is where any connection between selling Local Goods in county capitals and production in said capitals as it was planned in early 2019?

4. Did the time of goods arrival in port, producing them, fixed or randomized? I noticed that it is possible just wait for the right time and buy valuable goods first in the beginning of each hour.

5. Also there are some very profitable and almost riskless trade routes - FX almost everything Belize produces is consumed by Salamanca and vice versa, and there are around 15-20 min sailing between these ports under cover of islands and shoals. And I think there are also such places on the map.

P.S. BTW, did you use some of my suggestions here?

 

[Angus MacDuff]

50 minutes ago, admin said:

ou can no longer place contracts on trading goods

This is huge, thank you.  Have you considered changing the weights of some of the goods?

[Guest]

This is a step in the right direction, thankyou.

[Macjimm]

32 minutes ago, Malcolm3 said:

1. So is there real NPC trading routes between ports (from producing ones to consuming ones) just as I suggested once, or NPC traders actually sail from port with random goods to some point in the open sea as it was before?

2. Is there any consumption rate, when selling price in consuming port dropping because of market overflow (as it was in the end of 2018), or we can simply sell any amount?

3. Is where any connection between selling Local Goods in county capitals and production in said capitals as it was planned in early 2019?

Very good questions.

It would create opportunity for blockades and naval warefare if NPCs and players transported the resources and local goods NEEDED in ports.  It would provide an incentive to protect (and attack) NPC trade shipping.    If an increase in delivery of local goods increased the amount of shop goods, that are produced in ports, players would be encouraged to protect the ships trading with ports.

Not allowing contracts for shop goods will increase the number of ships sailing in OW.  We are encouraged to sail from port to port looking for valuable shop goods at a good price.  Having them available on a random unpredictable frequency encourages players to keep checking the ports = more sailing.

The trading seems to have been improved greatly.  I think this will result in an increase in prices for other stuff, resources, upgrades, books etc.  

It is helpful that the Econ Delivery missions were not removed.  They provide a method for players with no Reals to get started in trading.  Thanks for not acting on the rants to kill the Cargo and Passenger deliveries.

Edited December 1, 2019 by Macjimm

[admin]

2 hours ago, Angus MacDuff said:

This is huge, thank you.  Have you considered changing the weights of some of the goods?

weights are important to control the amount of goods 1 player can take out of the port. Consider it weights of Loads. A load of ____ weight is 100 tons.

[z4ys]

3 hours ago, admin said:

Community Request: well constructed trading guide (video or paper), if we like it it will be posted across all game channels for fame and glory.

Its the opposite but now even more valid. I am feeling encouraged to add more video content

 

Edited December 1, 2019 by z4ys

[Anne Wildcat]

Wednesday, I believe, I capped an AI trader snow.  It was so overloaded I could not move in the open world. Had to destroy everything.  I forgot what was in the snow but it was 13 of one type of thing and 12 of another but the snow could only carry 1 at most. Would it be possible to reduce the weight of some goods or make sure the AI traders are not overloaded?

[Anne Wildcat]

Or perhaps, in the shallow water make goods that are reduced weight. 

[BuckleUpBones]

Trading is now playable, you can actually see a profit on the horizon 😊

[Aquillas]

Thanks for the explanation. I spent some time yesterday to hunt traders. It worth, especially if the cargo is not only sold to the closest port, but transported where prices worh traveling.

[Nooop]

"

On 12/1/2019 at 5:12 PM, admin said:

You can no longer place contracts on trading goods

Why not? There is only 25 of the high value goods. The rest are the cheapo $500 ones. Do I have to keep checking in to see if there is 25 more. It will take a ling time to fill 3 Indiamen. Major trade nerf. Lucky I just switched to consumables for income, which seem to be experiencing inflation. 

[Nooop]

On 12/1/2019 at 6:24 PM, Macjimm said:

Thanks for not acting on the rants to kill the Cargo and Passenger deliveries

[Nooop]

On 12/1/2019 at 5:54 PM, Malcolm3 said:

So is there real NPC trading routes between ports (from producing ones to consuming ones)

I would make all NPC trading player controlled. No trader spawns. You can have your trade ships set to automatically go between ports.

[Papillon]

Thanks @admin.

[Thorka]

I like the explanation. Thanks

 

[Capitan Salazar]

On 12/1/2019 at 6:12 PM, admin said:

We received several questions on how trading works. Here is the brief explanation needed to avoid conspiracy theories. 

 

This high profit trading is not a mistake. OW is risky and you can lose everything. One successful run should set you up for a while, one robbery should not discourage you from trying again. Game should not waste player time by forcing him to do 100 runs. 1 run is as risky as 3. This is a final view on trading. 

Making profit

• Source - Supply
  • Resources are brought for trading to county capitals (mostly based on their historical origin)
• Demand - Consumption
  • Resources are consumed in county capitals
• Weak demand - 
  • Resources can be also sold in any non-consuming port but at a lower price
• The further is the consumption port from the source of the resource - the higher the profit (can reach high multiples)
  • 1 multi day long trip using wind boosts can make more money than several short trips

Supply

• Types of supply
  • There are cheaper trading resources and there are very expensive trading resources. 
  • Every county capital has a variety of resources from cheap to expensive
• Cheaper resources
  • are brought in great quantities consistently
• Expensive resources (Madagascar jewels)
  • are brought to Caribbean from time to time
    • If expensive resources are not there - trading IS NOT NERFED - they just were not brought yet (they are rare and expensive for a reason).
      • Just buy other goods or find another less competitive county capital to exploit (hint: or hit other traders getting all the goods for free).
      • Visit other ports on the way to load up on expensive goods, selling cheaper ones if the sale is profitable.
• You can no longer place contracts on trading goods (One of the best community proposals that was implemented)
  • This allows you to buy the goods if you are in the port right after their delivery by NPCs

NPC Traders

• You can get expensive resources by hitting NPC traders or Player traders too. 
• NPC traders no longer carry very cheap overloaded heavy goods and are mostly dedicated to trading goods. You might hit those jewels near the very distant port and make half a million in 5 mins.

This will be enough to get you started.

Community Request: well constructed trading guide (video or paper), if we like it it will be posted across all game channels for fame and glory.

Hats off to you, Sir!

I can now pay the bills despite there is somekind of trading goods's shortage in our ports.

 

[Quiet Assassin]

Great job! Thank you for restoring an important part of the game. 

The stores in many ports are starting to fill up again. Trading, hunting traders, fleet escorts for money, etc. will add depth to the game-play. 

Thanks for listening to the players

[JDMonster]

Are there any tweaks to the price of items planned in the future/and or have a dynamic price ranging?  It's a bit frustrating to go out of my way and sail for an hour to grab a resource that none of my nations ports produces only to learn that they sell for roughly the same price as a resource that multiple of my nations port produces.

 

Also, is there any plan to implement a system that actively takes reals OUT of circulation?  With money being easily made with trading, there will (probably) be a rapid inflation in prices across the server.  As it stands, there really isn't a way where players can invest their large sums of cash that result in money being taken out of the system (we can upgrade buildings and ports only oh so many times, and buying goods of other players doesn't remove money from circulation).  Perhaps have a system so that players can buy AI escorts for traders, or buy combat marks for reals (maybe 1 million reals for a single mark) from the AI.  That way there's a real sink that keeps it valuable and worth grinding for.

Edited December 10, 2019 by JDMonster

[Kubrat]

7 hours ago, JDMonster said:

It's a bit frustrating to go out of my way and sail for an hour to grab a resource that none of my nations ports produces only to learn that they sell for roughly the same price as a resource that multiple of my nations port produces.

 

Learn to use the trader tool

[Nooop]

You should be able to put contracts for everything.

[SnovaZdorowa]

*profitable* trading is a timesink now. imho

[Steele OooOoOOoOOOooooOOOO]

I still see people with prebuy orders on some HOT non trade goods,Are you sure this Non use is working?I just never see copper ingots or other at the resource ports..