A freighter matter

I've tried and failed to create trade routes by gifting freighters myself.

~SDC~

Well, after all, that freighter is filled with your stuff, so of course they'll send it somewhere else.

C+: Is it possible that the Carinoids didn't have a trade route available? Was there another minor out there that they might be trading with? They may not have any trade route increasing techs, which would leave them only two.

I'm not at home, so I can't check this, but is there any place to check a minor's trade routes? I don't think so, but I honestly have never had to check before, so I've never looked.

Hi Theoden,

There was just me, two majors at war with the carnidoids. So no trade route at all for them...

C+

Well I can buy someone's freighter off them and start a trade route with them using their own cargo, so I don't see why they wouldn't.

~SDC~

It depends on how they've been coded. If the ai gives orders to freighters right after the freighters have been produced and not when they are idle, idle freighters will never receive any order.

oo

The fact is that it is very sad because it could be a very good (and realistic) way to support an alien civ.

C+

'Realistic' I doubt it. "I give you a freighter of my own goods so you can sell them to me and this produces an additional income for me" is not realistic. "I give you X bc/turn" is more realistic.
The whole giving freighters thing is not realistic at all. Still, given the game mechanisms, the ai should exploit this.

Hi LDC,

What you give them is not some goods, but the ship to transport it. The first thing that they wil have to do is to bring the ship back to their home and after use it to make some profit with you!
This is cheap and you don't have necessary some bc to give them and they dont use their production for that because they are at war, building only war ships.

C+

I will try something else: to give a minor a freighter that is allready trading, maybe it could work? That will be for monday, if anybody else can try before...

C+

I think the problem is that gifted ships always seem to want to return to a friendly planet after the gift.

~SDC~

...just like a faithful dog.

wow. cant believe i didnt think of this.

i've gotten freighters in trades and used them to start trade routes with the ai that gave em to me, but i never though of giving my own freighters away so that THEY would od the same to me.

gonna try it. hope it works for me.

Let me know if you have some results... dont have much time to play for the moment

C+

what other ways can you improve someone's economy without just paying them (as this doesnt actually create an income)

I am a little confused here. You can improve other economies just like you imporove your own. Tax income, trade income, and tribute.

So you can improve allies income by gifting starbases on resources like economy resources, which should improve their economy. You can increase trade up to limit of trade routes, and you gift them with money (over many months if you wish), or gift them with trade goods or tech (so they don't have to research it). Gift them with ships (so they don't have to build them) and bribe everyone to keep your buddy out of war. That's about all I can think of for now. Hope this helps answer your questions.

Rick