VoidExpanse: Trading system

Added on 17 July 2014 by Lurler.

Hey everyone! Here is another preview for the next big update! And this time I would like to discuss the trading system.

The trading was one of the very important features still missing from the game, so we wanted to implement it as soon as possible. And this update finally inroduces proper trading implementation. This was especially important feature before the game goes on Steam Greenlight as it is a big part of fun gameplay.

Anyway, here is an example of what you can expect to see in the game in terms of trading now (there are some new items too).

As you can see VoidExpanse now features different goods that can be traded between different station (all goods are marked in gray). But that's not all. Let me give you a quick list of main changes to the trading system.

  • The equipment selection is now different for each station. If you are interested in buying weapons it would be a good idea to visit a military station, while if you need some high-tech stuff the science station is your best bet.
  • Each station has different goods available in its stock for trading. You won't find the same goods on all stations. Especially if the station doesn't produce something there is a higher chance that there won't be any of it available at all, unless there is a group of merchancs supplying the station.
  • The prices of goods will heavily depend on the supply and demand scheme as well as the number of items available in stock.
  • Supply and demand will change over time and a trade route that was once profitable may be no longer relevant.
  • Oversaturation of the market is possible. If a group of merchans start delivering loads of the same item to the station the price will eventually drop to floor bottom making it no longer profitable.

That's more or less the general idea of how the trading will work, but that is definitely just the simplest overview of the system and internally it is much more complex and has definitely more to it making the trading an interesting and viable profession in the world of VoidExpanse.

Even if trading isn't your thing you will still find different items for your ship available at different times and different stations fun. So, if you are hunting for a particularly powerful item it will now take some effort to get it :)