after the Last decade of battlecruiser drama, i have a slight distaste for, and prejudice against people named Derek. Game developers in perticular. sorry.
I guess I will have to think of him as Mr. DiBenedetto. While this looks to be a very nice game, I have to take this opportunity to plug X2.
it sounds like this will have random trade / economic fluctuations. not real economy. in X2, whenever Egosoft publishes the thing, there will be real economies. factories will need resources and materials from resource extraction facilities (to put it in se4 terms). if you blow up a resource factory (or build one) the supply to factories changes, effecting the economy. building factories provides goods to outlets, and creates a demand for resources.
wars create demand for items. trade routes passing through enemy teritory (closest source for mineral X that is demanded by factory Y is on the otherside of empire Z's space) will cause empires to come into conflict. you can build factories or resource facilities, or destroy them, or intercept convoys to change the flow of goods and effect the economy.
Or you can make money mercinarying or pirating. or follow the story line. Its Elite, and then some. This looks like it will truely rock.
www.egosoft.com
if X2 is all it purports to be, I dont think I will ever play a game with random number supply and demand, again.