Hello everyone and welcome to another Stellaris development diary. Today we're going to continue talking about the 2.2 'Le Guin' update, on the topic of the Galactic Market. As said before, we're not yet ready to reveal anything about when Le Guin is coming out, only that it's a long time away and we have many more topics to cover before then. Also as said before, screenshots will contain placeholder art and interfaces and non-final numbers.

The Market
The Market is a new interface accessible from your topbar, where you can buy and sell resources. Resources are bought and sold for Energy Credits, with their prices dependent on a variety of factors such as whether the Galactic Market is founded, supply and demand, and possibly also from various events. On top of the actual price of the resource, there is also a Market Fee which has to be paid for any sale or purchase, equal to 30% of the purchase value. This Market Fee is there so that it will not be possible to make money by purchasing and then immediately re-selling resources at a higher price. Resources can be purchased either in bulk, or by setting up a monthly trade, where you for example specify that you want to sell 20 food and buy 10 minerals per month, and can set a minimum sale/maximum purchase price, if you want to ensure that major fluctuations in price do not disrupt your empire's economy too much.

Internal vs Galactic Market
At the start of the game, empires only have access to the Internal Market, which represents trading with actors inside your empire such as corporations and local governments, or in the case of Gestalt Consciousness empires, resource reprocessing. The prices on the Internal Market are set to always be higher than those on the Galactic Market, so relying too heavily on trading will be disadvantageous in the first few decades of the game. Some empires, such as Devouring Swarms, may only ever have access to the Internal Market (this is something we're still testing and balancing) and so might get better prices there. Once the game has progressed to the point where at least one empire knows about at least 50% of the other empires in the galaxy, the Galactic Market will eventually be founded. One empire that meets the criteria is picked as Market Founder, and their capital system becomes the Market Capital, spawning a special station and map marker to denote it. From then on, any empire (barring possible restrictions for Devouring Swarms and the like) that knows of the Market Capital system has access to the Galactic Market and is able to trade on it. The controller of the Market Capital get a reduction in their Market Fee and increased trade value for their trade routes (more on that in a later DD).

Prices on the Galactic Market are always lower than those on the internal market, though the actual prices will fluctuate based on supply and demand - every time Minerals are sold on the market, prices will drop, and conversely, every time they are bought prices will increase. The purchases and sales you make on the Galactic Market do not just affect your own prices but also those of other empires, so that it is possible to for example massively drive up Food prices by purchasing a huge amount of food, damaging the economy of any empire that is reliant on importing it. It isn't actually possible for a resource to 'run out' on the Market, so you will always be able to purchase critically needed resources, though the cost of doing so may be extremely prohibitive. However, some resources (such as Dark Matter and other rare strategic resources) will not be available until they are actually accessible to empires on the market in large enough quantities, and are not available on the Internal Market at all. The aim of the Galactic Market is to make it so that it is actually a viable strategy to specialize your economy, importing resources that are difficulty for your empire to produce and exporting resources that you can produce easily in large quantities.

Trader Enclaves
Since the Market has much of the same functionality as the Trader Enclaves from Leviathans, we're also changing said Enclaves for those with the Leviathans Story Pack. Instead of trading food, energy and minerals, Trader Enclaves will sell rare resources (Rare Crystals, Volatile Motes and Exotic Gases) in the form of monthly trade deals offered at advantageous prices. Each Trader Enclave will offer only one of these resources. Additionally, once you reach 50+ opinion, Trader Enclaves will sell special Governor-type leaders with unique, trade and commerce related traits. Finally, if you control the home system of a Trader Enclave AND have 50+ opinion with them, you will be able to build a special Starbase building in that system which lowers your Market Fee, allowing for cheaper trading on the Galactic Market.

Finally, just a note to say that we're ignoring the Slave Market tab of the Market screenshots on purpose - this is something that will be covered in a later DD.

That's all for today! Next week we're continuing to talk about the Le Guin update, on the topic of Sectors and Factions.

 

[Ridixo]

Instead of trading food, energy and minerals, Trader Enclaves will sell rare resources (Rare Crystals, Volatile Motes and Exotic Gases) in the form of monthly trade deals offered at advantageous prices. Each Trader Enclave will offer only one of these resources. Additionally, once you reach 50+ opinion, Trader Enclaves will sell special Governor-type leaders with unique, trade and commerce related traits.

Wait, then what will happen with the Muutagan Crystals, the Xuragel, the Blorg Dakimakuras? Trade Enclaves Will sell this resources, right?

 

[kenken244]

do the local markets have price fluctuations based on supply and demand too?

 

[maddic]

If there is going to be trade now, is it not also time to replace or rename energy as a means of payment? Fleets could also be maintained with a currency....
I find it strange to pay all goods like minerals with megawatts.

 

[Zarpaulus]

If there is going to be trade now, is it not also time to replace or rename energy as a means of payment? Fleets could also be maintained with a currency....
I find it strange to pay all goods like minerals with megawatts.

It is currency, energy credits.

What commodity do you expect a trans-stellar empire to back their money with? Gold?

 

[Zarpaulus]

I'm wondering if this galactic market will allow some sort of "economic victory" where the rest of the galaxy becomes dependent on your trade.

 

[Gork9]

....Once the game has progressed to the point where at least one empire knows about at least 50% of the other empires in the galaxy, the Galactic Market will eventually be founded. One empire that meets the criteria is picked as Market Founder, and their capital system becomes the Market Capital, spawning a special station and map marker to denote it.....

This might make it harder to implement, but shouldn't there be a local market also? Just trading with multiple neighboring empires for example, before discovering 50% of empires? So you have local nodes and then galactic nodes of trade....

 

[Dinges]

Can the market owner change at any given time? First to 50% of known empires is great, but if theyre a xenophobe (for example) and a trade-heavy xenophile empire shows up, can they contest market ownership?

I may be jumping the gun here a bit, since none of us here have all the information we need, but I feel like this is essential if you're going to have a single centralized market. To give a huge benefit basically at random unless you cheese it, doesn't seem like a very good decision. Now, it may be so that only the controller of the system will get that benefit, but if you are a strong xenophile pacifist trading empire on the other side of the galaxy, you have absolutely no way to take control of such a valuable asset, even if the current controller is a militarist fanatic xenophobe who hates everyone.

Personally, I would (probably) like it even better if there was not (just) a centralized market but also some incentive to trade heavily with your federation members and vassals etc. I believe federations in particular could benefit from having their own market with a discount, to make sure federations are a bit more useful.

 

[Tufy]

Two words: trade embargo. Can we have them?

 

[maddic]

It is currency, energy credits.

What commodity do you expect a trans-stellar empire to back their money with? Gold?

How should i imagine energy credits? Like a coinlike battery or what?
Some kind of currency for interplanetary trading could well exist, like Stellarcoins or just credits e.g.

 

[Wenla]

Sounds good. New, interesting play styles ahead...

 

[Mauer]

It would be interesting to be able to set up opposing galactic markets, or maybe inter-empire markets for those in a federation and its associates.

 

[Zarpaulus]

How should i imagine energy credits? Like a coinlike battery or what?
Some kind of currency for interplanetary trading could well exist, like Stellarcoins or just credits e.g.

I would guess banknotes redeemable at your local power station for so much electricity.

Or it's purely digital.

 

[James Fire]

The controller of the Market Capital get a reduction in their Market Fee and increased trade value for their trade routes (more on that in a later DD).

In addition to this, would it be possible to mod in the owner getting a cut of each trade, out of the market fee?

 

[methegrate]

Will diplomacy influence prices on the galactic market as well? That is will my prices differ if I run a peace-loving federation builder who's popular with everyone vs. a murderous despot who everybody hates? (My instinct would be that this could be a good way for peaceful empires to get rich, given that warlike empires can do so by taking new territory.)

 

[dostillevi]

I've really enjoyed the Le Guinn changes up until now, but I have serious misgivings about the galactic market. It feels devised as a severe abstraction of a "market" and feels like it was constructed by someone whose only knowledge of markets comes from playing video games. I'd much prefer a more involved and intricate system, something like being able to set up local markets through economic treatise with neighboring empires, so that economy focused empires can start trading earlier and use their clout to build relationships with neighbors. Later on, empires could become members of more than one trading bloc, with the possibility of trading resources between blocs by buying low and selling high. Among other things, this model makes for a much more dynamic galaxy where trade relations are a significant factor in empire relations, and wars that could be won or lost based on a trading blocs ability to supply resources. It also generates new diplomatic channels, such as a war where one member of one trading bloc is at war and other members of the bloc could supply resources for the war without actually being involved in it.. perhaps to the detriment of their political standing with the opposing faction.

Despite my personal wishes, the galactic market as outlined still appears to have major problems:

1. The map size and number of civilizations will drastically affect how soon 50% of empires have been identified. Also empires regularly fracture and new civilizations achieve interplanetary flight, changing the number of empires in existence constantly. This feels like a completely arbitrary measurement that has no actual bearing on economies, and one which could be met on smaller maps by fracturing a neighboring empire through war, rather than by exploring and finding other civilizations.
2. It doesn't make any sense that I can't "trade" with my neighbors until the galactic market is established.
3. The arbitrary nature of the trading capital location, combined with it's benefits to the controlling empire, seems nonsensical.
4. On a large map or a map with many civilizations, I may not have the fortune of finding the empire with the trading capital until the late game. It seems absurd that my neighboring civ could be trading across the galaxy while I'm cut off, just because of the arbitrary placement of an arbitrary trade capital. My empire's actions shouldn't be dependent on the actions or existence of another empire I've never met.

 

[nstgc]

Not sure I'm thrilled about a random empire getting a discount.

Maybe they have to work for it? For example, when a certain criterion is met, everyone gets a special project. First to complete it gets the prize. If there is a tie, than its the one who has the most "extra" (like if it had 200 to to and one empire could have added 500 and another 300, the first would get it). As another tie breaker (just in case) its whom ever is producing the most energy. In the off chance that there is STILL a tie, than its random, defaulting to the player empire.

 

[Kipsta]

How should i imagine energy credits? Like a coinlike battery or what?
Some kind of currency for interplanetary trading could well exist, like Stellarcoins or just credits e.g.

Like Bitcoin.

 

[Judge_Holden]

If war breaks out, can fleet block the trade routes so that the enemy country doesn't get access to the GM?

The idea of trade routes or, more broadly, an inter-galactic logistics operation is something the game is sorely lacking as the current system is way too simplistic. Resources currently are synthesised directly from planets to the top panel of the UI and are then magically transported around the galaxy in an instant, which fails to acknowledge the vast enterprise of transporting goods from one side of the galaxy to the other with the array of pitfalls that a trade convoy would no doubt encounter. @Wiz states that one of the goals of 2.2 is to allow planets to specialise in the production of certain resources but surely there should be a degree of risk for the player to have to mitigate if a planet is not self-sufficient in other resources and needs to rely on imports i.e. the risk of pirates plundering a trade convoy, the planet being under blockade, the system providing food is at the other side of the galaxy.
Basically, to represent the difficulty of transporting goods and resources between planets through controlled or uncontrolled space, there should be some penalty to the amount of goods that arrive based on a variety of variables such as the distance between systems, the level of space infrastructure, the extent of space piracy (which could be changed to a behind the hud mechanic tied in with the changes to planetary crime rather than the current clunky and tedious system of having tangible pirate fleets randomly spawn once in a while). This penalty can then be mitigated through player intervention by, for instance developing logistics technology, constructing a trade network with starbases, dedicating a portion of fleet power to police the trade routes.
It would also be great if trade routes were actually visible (perhaps being represented by civilian craft moving along space highways between systems) as, apart from the odd science ship floating around, space feels kinda empty. This could add an extra dimension to warfare as rather than simly blockading planets, fleets could interfere with the trade network.

 

[Momino]

The next step should be creation of taxation system like in V2, and pops having their one budget and building structures by themselves, like in MEIOU.

 

[Gork9]

I've really enjoyed the Le Guinn changes up until now, but I have serious misgivings about the galactic market. It feels devised as a severe abstraction of a "market" and feels like it was constructed by someone whose only knowledge of markets comes from playing video games. I'd much prefer a more involved and intricate system, something like being able to set up local markets through economic treatise with neighboring empires, so that economy focused empires can start trading earlier and use their clout to build relationships with neighbors. Later on, empires could become members of more than one trading bloc, with the possibility of trading resources between blocs by buying low and selling high. Among other things, this model makes for a much more dynamic galaxy where trade relations are a significant factor in empire relations, and wars that could be won or lost based on a trading blocs ability to supply resources. It also generates new diplomatic channels, such as a war where one member of one trading bloc is at war and other members of the bloc could supply resources for the war without actually being involved in it.. perhaps to the detriment of their political standing with the opposing faction.

Despite my personal wishes, the galactic market as outlined still appears to have major problems:

1. The map size and number of civilizations will drastically affect how soon 50% of empires have been identified. Also empires regularly fracture and new civilizations achieve interplanetary flight, changing the number of empires in existence constantly. This feels like a completely arbitrary measurement that has no actual bearing on economies, and one which could be met on smaller maps by fracturing a neighboring empire through war, rather than by exploring and finding other civilizations.
2. It doesn't make any sense that I can't "trade" with my neighbors until the galactic market is established.
3. The arbitrary nature of the trading capital location, combined with it's benefits to the controlling empire, seems nonsensical.
4. On a large map or a map with many civilizations, I may not have the fortune of finding the empire with the trading capital until the late game. It seems absurd that my neighboring civ could be trading across the galaxy while I'm cut off, just because of the arbitrary placement of an arbitrary trade capital. My empire's actions shouldn't be dependent on the actions or existence of another empire I've never met.

They can have a system similar to EU4, with multiple centres of trade. So you can be the local CoT, or discover local CoT, and you can start trading right away.