Poor market import exploit

[atori]

Let's say, that market has difficulties with some product, like industry goods (IG). When I click IG import in resources window, it shows "poor" for market availability. I'm struggling with IG, have a lot of money, and ready to buy tons of IG.

No problem. Let's set up bulk purchase: put maximum price and request 10.000 goods. Next day I get 200 IG from the import. Next day around the same amount, and the same all the following days. What a grief. I can't fulfill a dream to build a couple of shining missile factories to make my neighbors happy.

From the despair I request 300.000 IG for the price of 2 billions, which is far above my modest budget. Next day I get 2000 IG. And the following day even 2500! What a generous poor market! Now my lovely neighbors are happy with building missile factories same as me. Rest of the world, who imports IG, is not less happy with even poorer IG market.

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Info for devs.

As I understand, engine calculates amount of goods, which will be imported for each country, depending on the requested amount of goods (bulk import + auto-import). The more bulk import + auto-import for a country, the more goods will be imported to the detriment of other countries. For example, we have 2 countries A and B, which import goods. One request 200. Another 400. Total requested import is 600. We also have some countries, which export goods. They export 300 totally. Requested import is above export. It means, that market availability is poor, and each country will get less, than requested. Then country A will get 300 * 200 / 600 = 100, country B 300 * 400 / 600 = 200.

But, if country A requests 300000, then it will get 300 * 300000 / 300400 = 299.6, and country B only 0.4.

I think such exploit is unfair for other countries, and it is very tempting to use it for the player. Market changes don't happen very quickly, so it is always possible to set up such bulk price, which won't hurt a budget, and will allow you to get that amount of import, which you want, handicapping other countries. Of course, this exploit only works, if market availability is poor.

I think engine should distribute goods depending on another logic, when import is less than export. One may think about GDP, but I don't think that it should depend on country's total GDP, because it will prevent small countries from importing. It would be fair to distribute goods more or less equally between countries. For example, it is possible to distribute import in 2 stages. First do the current engine formula, but only for auto-import requests. Then distribute rest of goods for bulk requests using the same formula. Maybe engine already behaves similar way.

[dax1]

I think engine should distribute goods depending on another logic, when import is less than export. One may think about GDP, but I don't think that it should depend on country's total GDP, because it will prevent small countries from importing. It would be fair to distribute goods more or less equally between countries. For example, it is possible to distribute import in 2 stages. First do the current engine formula, but only for auto-import requests. Then distribute rest of goods for bulk requests using the same formula. Maybe engine already behaves similar way.

I disagree

I think that the price is a very important factor.

in this situation A buy 200 for 8$
B buy 100 for 8$, but if B raise the prize to 9, B can buy other 200 from D

[mattpilot]

Should of probably built IG factories instead of Missile factories.... just sayin.

[atori]

dax1, I simply say, that we need to change current logic. I like your approach. Though it may be complicated for the engine, because right now price for unit in bulk purchase is a maximum price, which is acceptable for the player, but not that price, which player must pay every turn. I like idea, that every next unit is more expensive. So you can set up max price to high, and you will get more import, but for higher price. It will be more than average market import price, but less than max price you set up. Then, the more abundant the market, the closer price per unit to average import price. The poorer market, the closer price to max.

mattpilot, I agree. But it is possible, that production cost for IG in my country is higher than import cost, even if IG market is poor. It happens, if GDP/c is very high.

[mattpilot]

true, but if you keep demanding so many IG in bulk purchase, with demand unmet, market price should skyrocket

[Aragos]

Should of probably built IG factories instead of Missile factories.... just sayin.

Yep. Thought the same thing.

Always build up IG first, along with Power. The rest is easy.

[vahadar]

true, but if you keep demanding so many IG in bulk purchase, with demand unmet, market price should skyrocket

^this

Generally when a market becomes rare, one of the way to bypass this is to purchase directly through dilomatic trade.

I have noticed since SR2020 that some countries while having quite some stocks dont sell them on world market. In SR1936, generally it is USA, sometime UK or China (if they win in china mainland),so time to time i buy 50-70k directly from them, when they allow me too.

You will notice in those diplo trade that sometime, even if they have a stockpile of materials, they wont sell it, i guess AI is keeping for itself what it need to run the country and so on, so my bet is that those countries wont sell much on world market because of that, especially after a while when all world stocks are depleted little by little.

[Uglyr]

You will notice in those diplo trade that sometime, even if they have a stockpile of materials, they wont sell it, i guess AI is keeping for itself what it need to run the country and so on, so my bet is that those countries wont sell much on world market because of that, especially after a while when all world stocks are depleted little by little.

And my guess they don't sell IG just because production price is higher than world price. And production price rise step by step without reason.