                            Concept : Trade ships

  Trade  ships  are  special ships, with a different function than most Empire
ships. They are in the game only if the TRADESHIPS option is enabled.

Trade ships simulate internal or external trade. In the real world,  countries
make  goods that they can make cheaply, ship them somewhere they're expensive,
and sell them, making a profit.

In the empire version, you make a trade ship, using lots of cm's, and  costing
$2500. You then sail it to a harbor somewhere and scuttle it. You then receive
money, with a varying rate of return.

The trade ship MUST be scuttled in a harbor that is at least 2%  efficient  to
make  money.  (In  other  sectors,  it sinks quietly, like most ships) You may
scuttle it in either a harbor you own, or the harbor of an ally.  Pirates  who
capture  a  trade  ship  may also gain money from it, just as if they were the
lawful owner (although the news knows the difference)

The return rate is based on the straight-line map  distance  from  the  harbor
where the trade ship was built to the harbor where it is scuttled.

                            Concept : Trade ships

You have to sail it at least 8 sectors to get any money at all. At less than 8
sectors, you get nothing, not even your $2500 back. Nothing, nada, zilch, zip,
nothing. Once you make a trade-ship, you're pretty much comitted to sailing it
at least 8 sectors...

Currently, the return rates are:

             Distance sailed          Return rate
             0-7            NO MONEY
             8-13           3.5% * distance
             14-24               5.5% * distance
             25+            7.5% * distance

For example, if you sail the ship 10 sectors from  the  harbor  where  it  was
built  and  scuttle  it in a harbor there, you would get 135% of the money you
paid for it, or $3375. If you sailed it 15 sectors to a  harbor  and  scuttled
it, you would get 183%, or $4562.

                            Concept : Trade ships

If  you scuttle a trade ship in the harbor you do not own, you get a 20% bonus
(applied after the value is multiplied by the return rate above), AND the per-
son  owning  the  harbor  gets 10% of the cash you make as a bonus (the amount
before the +20% bonus is applied) You still get the full amount, but he  makes
money as well.  (Peaceful trade enriches BOTH countries more than trading only
internally).  For the devious, no, being allied with yourself  does  mean  you
get +20% when scuttling in your own harbors.

For  example, using the #'s from above, if you sailed 15 sectors, and scuttled
in an allied harbor, you'd get $4562 * 1.2 = $5.5K, and your  ally  would  get
$4562/10 = $456.

CASH  GAINED  IS  ALSO MULTIPLIED BY THE EFFICIENCY OF THE TRADE SHIP.  So, if
you get shot down to 21%, don't expect to get the full amount...

If you capture a trade ship, you are free to scuttle it in any harbor you  can
get it into, receiving full cash calculated normally.

The cash return is multiplied by the efficiency of the ship, so less efficient
ships produce less money.

                            Concept : Trade ships

Captured trade ships may be scuttled as if they were yours (although you  will
get some bad publicity in the news) Payoff is still based on the distance from
the harbor where the trade ship was built, not the sector in which it was cap-
tured.

See also : ship-types, scuttle

