[Mod Idea] Completing the production/distribution chain - faction trade deals using Neon's kiosks

[RayZorJ3lade]

I've been digging through the currently-available mods as I feel like the manufacturing/trading economy is missing a vital final step, an automated method to distribute and sell the output of your settlements, hawking vast quantites of resources to the various small traders and then waiting for them to restock their limited creadits is a game mechanic that doesn't feel "finished".

I think a better solution would be to set up a distribution arrangement with the various trade authorities, and then once you have a deal in place you using the Intersystem Cargo Links on Neon as an end point for an automated distribution chain, selling specific resources/products at pre-agreed prices.

That way your outpost supply chain will will keep ticking ove in the background and you will see a regular infllux of credits/xp being generated in the background at regular intervals.

With 4 kiosks on Neon you could potentially strike up deals with up to four different factions and then distribute different products to each. Theres even potential to buil in a basic pricing economy with fluctuating prices and factions competing for your business...

Edited October 14, 2023 by RayZorJ3lade

[DeckardKain]

I plan on fleshing out the trade system, but I need the creation kit.
And I want to take it a bit further and make use of the underused social skills.
What do you think about using your persuasion skills to strike bargains? Or even using your negotiations to bribe the authorities?
I have no plans for full automatic trade links; however, as I want to enable the "space-trucker" playstyle with bulk buy/sell mechanics, and as I am mainly a level designer I also have some plans on player homes/outposts that give trade bonuses, ownable trade ports in short,

[RayZorJ3lade]

Absolutely - trade deals should be struck by any and all means available/possible. Each faction's core requiremts will be defined by their general aspirations (/engineering components/construction supplies/rare elemnts/weapons components) - and by playing off the factions against each other you could negotiate a better price by selling the item they want to their competitors. As more of the resources are delivered the overall amount in circulation increases the demand//price will shift accordingly - thus forming a basic economy. Conversely as resource type availablilty decreses (simulating the faction using up their purchased resources) the demand will increase - opening all sorts of possibilities for shady backroom dealings and even bidding wars.

I'm still not convinced that you should be forced to handlie the tfinal delivery personally though, after al you dont see the CEO of FedEx driving the trucks. :) The inter-link system to Neon is a nice easy way to get things started for the mod as the systems are already in place for it, but there's no reason why this couldnt be extended to have crew members with suitable skills take on the role using one of the other ships in your fleet. This opens up a number of interesting possibilites including larger cargo shipments and the possibilty to deliver to other locations beyond Neon, which brings into play things like rthe isk of attack, and even the production and shipping of contrabnd items with a risk/reward system in place.

[DeckardKain]

I will see what I come up with. One thing I've learned from modding Skyrim/Fallout is that having heavy background scripts running is not a good thing and can be very taxing on the system. I've already noticed problems with the cargo links creating lag, so I might prefer scripting triggers with some more manual inputs instead of background scripts.