An extremely silly question, buut...

[Lupusman]

Actually, I am french-canadian. Thanks for pointing that out.

I was still holding the preconception that the TF would be nuetral, and that it should not be attacked by anyone. I only put that comment in if someone did decide to attack the TF, there are simple reprocussions.
But at the same time, if there are two TF's, one might finance a war against the other. For example if the victory of a TF is to get a monopoly, ie, no other TF's.

Neither is it in the interest of a regular empire to let only one TF monopolize, because the price of minerals would go much higher.

I'm sure a strange balance would eventually achieve itself in a game of this sort.

[ June 07, 2002, 01:59: Message edited by: Lupusman ]

[Gryphin]

Lupusman,
Correct, that is why I proffered the Idea.
My sweetheart and I a playing a Hot Seat game. she is Role Playing one race as a Trade Federation. As we run into things, I will post them here, (or start a new thread).

[dmm]

Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:
Hmmm.... if tech were saleable then some people would not bother to research at all but would just buy their technologies.

Being on the 'cutting edge' woulf be very difficult because you'd have to research for yourself, keeping ahead of the 'public' tech level and preserving what you had accomplished.

I suspect most people won't like that style of game.

Sounds like reality to me! But I hear what you are saying. You'd have to arrange it so that selling tech would get you a lot of minerals and buying tech would cost you a lot of organics. In a scarce-minerals game, it would often be worth it. Otherwise, you'd have great tech, but not enough minerals to build ships that had it. So what good would it do you?
And of course only the first person to sell a tech would get paid for it. So there's an element of "chicken" to it. Who blinks first? ("Surely everyone has level one shields by now ... I could make a bundle ... I need those minerals ... If I don't sell the tech, someone else will, and I'll get nothing.")
As things currently stand, a player who starts without any good mineral planets nearby will lose automatically (against other human players).

[Gryphin]

These are the "Rules" my SweetHeart and I are playing by. I see the points about people not liking it. I think it would have to be a "Gentlmans Agreement" not to abuse things.

Trade Federation? Ideas for SE
I. The TF would setup:
a. Racial Makeup:
b. Ancient Race = Would give knowledge of the Quadrant. This could be sold on a System by system bases or ….
c. Traders = Gives ?
d. Political Savvy – As many points as possible = Would Increase Revenue from Trade
e. Intell? = Depending on the game it may Be allowed to steel data only or could be paid off not to. This would be a game by game rule

II. Purpose:
a. To trade / sell Resources, Technology, Intel, Ships etc to / with other races.
b. To store Resources at a fair, “”Storage Charge”
c. To be “Gifted” ships that have run out of resources. This may require an additional “Covering Cost” to be paid in Resources or Technology or.. To cover the expense of Retrieving or destroying the ship in question. This ship could also be Traded or Sold to another race “As Is” or after repair.

III. Rules:
a. May not initiate war
b. Can cancel treaties with other races for any reason
c. Can refuse to deal with races
d. Can refuse any Trade
e. Can apply a ”Storage Charge” up to 2 percent per month. (Just a random number pulled out of thin air) Ideas Anyone? On what the “fair ”Storage Charge” would be?
f. Would be allowed to colonize and develop any planet that had Ruins on it.
g. It could not claim the system. FT could Sell the planet if it chose to.
h. An agreement to return the existing population to the FT or pay for their “Consulting services” on a planet.
i. Restrictions to this may be: Planets in question could not contain: Mining, Intel, or…. Ideas Anyone?
IV. FT could act as a “Broker”, (for a charge of course), in trades between two untrusting races.
a. It would be gifted the items in question and only pass them on if it was correct.

More ideas anyone?