I have noticed traders returning to greyspace.

NPC hunting is now also more profitable, since NPCs do it when traders don't.

Good job Guild Software!

So NPC traders carry the lucrative goods from nation space to Odia? Sweet! I gave up on bagging voys filled with water or ore. Now if only killing a voy escort would yield heavy and light xp...

Yes, then every Tom, Dick and Harry would be a pirate.

Excellent. There are some pretty damned lucrative routes that I made. But, I'll keep improving that.

This is purely out of curiosity, Inc, but are the NPC trading convoys dispatched at random or is the decision (algorithm) to create one (launch one) dependent on the economical status of the local universe at that time ie. determined by supply and demand?

I don't totally remember, Michael would know, but I think it's tied to the demand (there are invisible NPC missions posted based on item demand). However, the NPC traders do not currently impact demand with their deliveries.. NPC convoys do not tank routes. They will, but that's another level of tweaking we haven't undertaken yet.

ER... arent the npcs suppose to bring the verse back into balance IE hauling surplus from overstocked areas to understocked areas?

If we did that, at present, there would be no lucrative trade routes. The NPCs are there, for the moment, as window dressing and potential gameplay content. In the event of a fully dynamic economy, they will react to supply and demand once they cross high specific thresholds, to keep given demand from going too far out of whack (and, at that point, blockading could become worthwhile). But we don't have that as of yet.

The key is to have lucrative routes out there, while using the NPCs to basically fill in the gaps during off-peak times when there are less players, etc.

For the moment, none of this is particularly relevant to our immediate concerns, like driving more trade into grayspace. We're looking for player trade here, not just NPC convoys. It is easier to re-tune a system (say, the galactic economy) with a minimum number of variables. Once we get things closer to how we want them (and roughly record them, like an average price point or demand level for certain items in a given region of space), it'll be easier to start having NPCs influence things, while also adjusting various parameters to account for them and keep the economic system balanced.

I interviewed some traders today, asking how the new grey routes influenced their trading. They all responded, I don't trade in grey, its lucrative in nation space with no risk. I asked how much profit per cu would be required to attract them. A figure of 5,000 credits per cu for a Sedina D14 to Odia M14 route was roundly approved as a starting point. My suggestion is to try it. Set the buying price for Sedina Chocolates at Odia M14 to 15,000. Set the buying price for Corvus Holodisks at Sedina D14 5,000 higher. Then, if you have a way, record the kills at the Sedina/Odia WH. Be sure also to list the new prices in a news post.

Tue 10:42PM incarnate
I don't totally remember, Michael would know, but I think it's tied to the demand (there are invisible NPC missions posted based on item demand). However, the NPC traders do not currently impact demand with their deliveries.. NPC convoys do not tank routes.

They do when I get a hold of them. Muahahahahahahaah

I'd make the route a little longer - Sedina-Bractus, perhaps, but I'm all for a very high-profit short trade route in grey.

I think the pirate/trader/anti-pirate conflict is the best thing going in VO, and I'd love to see it become more active. These routes should NOT be taken my NPCs; the idea is to make it very profitable to pirate players.

The trade routes from Itan/Sol II to Odia/Bractus/Sedina should have their profit drastically increased to get more traders to travel the long distance instead of doing shorter trade routes in nation space.

Kind of like the old nanite trade route from Sector 18 to the nation sectors.