Trade

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Colonies can trade with other factions by using caravans and orbital trade ships via a comms console. Tradeable commodities include slaves/prisoners, furniture, gear, resources, food, drugs, and works of art.

The trade interface shows what commodities are available to trade, the colony's stock, the trader's stock, and the prices to buy and sell.

BUY QUANTITY SELL
ALL ONE positive = buy
negative = sell
ONE ALL
<< < may type # here > >>
  • Trade is influenced by your trader's ability to speak and hear. Damage to any such parts will ruin trade prices.
  • Prices listed in green are cheap (does not appear with base-game traders), while prices listed in red are expensive.
  • Items that the foreign trader has no interest in are shown grayed out at the bottom of the list; other traders may want them instead.
  • Animals that have been downed are not listed for trade.
  • All traders carry a limited amount of silver, so they may not be able to buy everything you wish to sell. You can still give them things over this value but everything they receive will be for free, as they cannot afford to pay. In this instance it is likely better to not sell the items or to take the excess in useful or resalable items rather than get nothing in return.
  • Selling a prisoner is profitable, but has a negative impact on the happiness of all colonists (excludes psychopaths).


Game progression

Early game

Caravans consist of one or more faction members often with pack animals and/or tamed animals in tow. Players can either form their own caravan or wait for others to visit their own colony. To trade with a foreign passing caravan, direct a colonist (preferably with high social skill and thus Trade Price Improvement) to speak with the caravan member who has a yellow question mark above the head. Stored items will be eligible to sell and appear in the trade window. Purchased items will be dropped in the location where the trader was standing and will need to be hauled.

Sometimes, foreign caravan members may fight each other and accidentally drop items from their gear inventory.

Later game

After researching the Microelectronics project, a comms console and an orbital trade beacon can be built, which allow:

  • Satellite calls to request caravans to allied factions at a cost of 15 goodwill (or 700/1100 silver prior to 1.0). You can only call for a caravan from a given friendly faction once every four days.
  • Interaction with orbital trade ships which will stay around for a limited time. A blue notification will appear at the right of your screen to announce the trade ship and its type. After it's gone, a simple notice at the top of the screen will note when the same vessel leaves comms range and can no longer be traded with. Each trade ship varies in type, which determines its inventory.

To trade, order a colonist to interact with the comms console. Only items located within range of an orbital trade beacon can be traded. Purchases will be sent via drop pods to a beacon's open-air tiles, drop pods will phase through constructed roofs otherwise. If all beacon tiles are covered, drop pods will land at the nearest eligible tile. Colonists using the comms console use the same Trade Price Improvement stat as when making trades in person. Prisoners can be sold directly from their cell even if not in range of a beacon and tamed animals can be sold from anywhere on the map. The trade value of a prisoner or animal is based on their capabilities, injuries and skills.

Trade prices

Trade prices are based on the market value. In general the selling price is significantly lower than the buying price. This is however dependent on several modifiers that can be seen in the tooltip when hovering over an item's price in the trading dialog.

First of all goods from the colony are sold at 60% market value, and bought at 140% market value. These are further affected by the both the storyteller's economic and difficulty settings.

Some traders will charge 2x the price for the certain good, in addition to the multiplier on buying. Selling remains at normal price.

Trade Price Improvement

This multiplier is affected by the stats of the chosen colonist. This is listed on the tooltip as "Your negotiator bonus: -x%". Additionally factions offer a 2% discount when trading at a base.

Sell Price Multiplier

The selling prices of the following item types are affected by this multiplier. Note that this doesn't affect the buying price.

Type Factor
Furniture x0.7
Sculptures x1.1
Weapons x0.2

The multipliers make it more difficult to farm raids for profit, because weapons dropped by dead enemies are not valuable in trade. It also means that crafting weapons in your colony only makes sense for personal use, and not for selling. The game encourages creating art for sale, as it is more profitable than all other items.

Types of traders

By technological level

  • Neolithic traders are tribal in nature and will be limited to selling neolithic level items.
  • Outlander traders come from other faction settlements and are not restricted to a specific technology level of items.

By physical presence

  • Faction settlements that engage in trading. They buy/sell everything within their technology level, have the most extensive stocks and offer a 2% discount.
  • Land convoys have a physical presence on the map. They will leave the area if the temperature is deemed too dangerous for them to continue trading. They and come in to types:
    • Visitors are small groups that carry all of their goods on their person. They may or may not have items for trade; even if they do, they often have few items and little silver to trade with.
    • Trade caravans are large groups that carry their goods on pack muffalo or dromedaries, depending on climate. They have a moderate amount of items and silver to buy trade with.
  • Orbital traders have no physical presence. They have large amounts of items and silver to trade with, and have the same trader types as outlanders. While the game does not specify where orbital traders hail from, the technologically advanced nature of items that they carry generally indicates that they are from urbworlds or glitterworlds.
Visitors but not traders, no character with (?) sign overhead.

By inventory

Note that different merchants tend to only accept items of the general category that they offer - so don't expect to trade your wooden sculptures for firearms, nor your piles of smokeleaf for televisions, nor your valuable muffalo herd for slaves.
Bulk goods trader
Bulk goods traders deal in food and basic materials, such as steel, wood, components, gold, textiles, as well as clothing, furniture and domestic animals.
Combat supplier
Combat suppliers deal in modern weapons, modern armor, mortar shells, and medicine.
Exotic goods trader
Exotic goods traders deal in rare and valuable items such as artifacts, televisions, telescopes, apparel, bionic body parts, advanced components, skilltrainers, some furniture, plasteel, gold, uranium, glitterworld medicine, and "psychic" weapons, among others. They may also carry animals of the wilder variety, or those not native to the local biome.
Farming merchant
As the name implies, farming merchants offer domestic animals and food, both various meats and vegetables.
Mining goods merchant
This merchant offers raw metals and slag and stone chunks - that's it.
Shaman merchant
The tribal variant of the exotic goods trader, the shaman merchant deals in lower tech versions of the same, including smokeleaf. He also may offer high-tech medicines and "psychic" weapons.
Slaver
Slavers deal in slaves/prisoners, weapons, body parts, medicine, and drugs. The chance of traders carrying prisoners should go down as colony population goes up.
(The outlander variant of this trader was previously called a "pirate merchant" and they are still referred to as such in both discussion and the game code. Note that despite the name, outlander factions, not pirate factions, send "pirate merchants".)
War merchant
The tribal version of the Combat Supplier, this merchant offers simple melee weapons and neolithic ranged weapons, and tribal-level (non-complex clothing) apparel of all sorts.

Trader inventories

Faction base

Faction bases have an extensive inventory and deal with most things. They take 30 days to restock. The remaining time can be checked in "Show what will buy".

Outlander base

Name Price Min Stock Max Stock
Silver N/A 800 3000
Component x1 20 70
Steel x1 300 600
Wood x1 200 400
Plasteel x1 -50 200
Cloth x1 100 300
Gold x1 -50 200
Neutroamine x1 50 200
Chemfuel x1 300 500
Chocolate x1 -30 70
Beer x1 -40 100
Medicine x1 25 50
Telescope x1 0 1

Groups of items:

Group Price Variety Min Stock Max Stock Items
Mortar shells x1 1 - 2 kinds 20 each 40 each All mortar shells except antigrain warhead
Textiles x1 1 - 2 kinds 400 Silver 800 Silver All Textiles
Resources x1 2 - 4 kinds 400 Silver 800 Silver All resources except silver
Raw food x1 2 - 4 kinds 400 Silver 800 Silver All except fertilized eggs
Meals x1 1 - 2 kinds 12 each 50 each All meals
Furniture x1 3 - 4 kinds 1 each 2 each All furniture
Animals x1 2 - 4 kinds 3 each 8 each Most animals
Clothing x1 10 - 16 kinds 1 each 1 each All clothing
Drugs x1 3 - 4 kinds 750 Silver 1500 Silver All drugs
Ranged weapons x1 3 - 6 kinds 1 each 1 each All ranged weapons
Melee weapons x1 3 - 4 kinds 1 each 2 each All melee weapons
Armor x1 2 - 4 kinds 1 each 1 each All armor
Body parts/ Implants x1 2 - 4 kinds 1 each 1 each All body parts or implants
Exotic items x1 1 - 4 kinds 1 each 2 each Rare items
Artifacts x1 1 - 4 kinds 1 each 1 each All artifacts
Apparel x1 3 - 6 kinds 1 each 10 each All apparel
Art x1 5 - 10 kinds 1 each 1 each Sculptures
Televisions x1 1 - 2 kinds 1 each 2 each Tube television, Flatscreen television, Megascreen television
Slaves x1 -1 - 2 1 each 1 each -

Neolithic base

Name Price Min Stock Max Stock
Silver N/A 800 3000
Component x2 3 10
Steel x1 200 300
Wood x1 500 600
Cloth x1 200 300
Gold x1 -40 120
Pemmican x1 500 1000
Herbal medicine x1 15 30

Groups of items:

Group Price Variety Min Stock Max Stock Items
Textiles x1 1 - 2 kinds 300 Silver 700 Silver All Textiles
Resources x1 3 kinds 200 Silver 600 Silver All resources except silver
Raw food x1 3 - 5 kinds 300 Silver 800 Silver All except fertilized eggs
Clothing x1 4 - 12 kinds 1 each 1 each Neolithic clothing
Animals x1 2 - 4 kinds 1 each 5 each Wildness below 70%
Animals x1 1 - 2 kinds 1 each 4 each Powerful animals
Drugs x1 1 - 2 kinds 400 Silver 1000 Silver Beer, smokeleaf joint, psychite tea
Ranged weapons x1 2 - 4 kinds 1 each 1 each Neolithic ranged
Melee weapons x1 2 - 4 kinds 1 each 2 each Neolithic melee
Slaves x1 -1 - 2 1 each 1 each ---
Artifacts x1 0 - 3 kinds 1 each 1 each All artifacts

Caravan

Trade caravans have a moderate amount of items to buy and silver to trade with.

Outlander bulk goods trader caravan

Name Price Min Stock Max Stock
Silver N/A 750 1200
Component x1 30 40
Advanced component x1 -10 2
Steel x1 250 400
Cloth x1 240 400
Chemfuel x1 240 400
Neutroamine x1 70 160
Beer x1 -100 100
Chocolate x1 10 40

Groups of items:

Group Price Variety Min Stock Max Stock Items
Raw food x1 3 kinds 150 Silver 600 Silver All except fertilized eggs
Textiles x1 ? ? ? All Textiles
Food x1 ? ? ? Chocolate, Kibble, Pemmican
Drugs x1 ? ? ? All drugs
Clothing x1 10 kinds 1 each 1 each All clothing
Furniture x1 3 kinds 1 each 1 each All furniture
Animals x1 1 kind 3 each 4 each Farm and pet animals with wildness below 70%.

Outlander combat supplier caravan

Name Price Min Stock Max Stock
Silver N/A 750 1200
Medicine x1 10 20
Techprint x1 1 1

Groups of items:

Group Price Variety Min Stock Max Stock Items
Ranged weapons x1 ? kinds 5 each 5 each All ranged weapons
Melee weapons x1 6 kinds 1 each 1 each All melee weapons
Mortar shells x1 1 - 2 kinds 3 each 15 each All mortar shells except antigrain warhead
Armor x1 ? kinds 5 each 5 each All clothing

Orbital

Orbital traders usually come with large stocks corresponding to their trader type.

Bulk goods trader

Name Price Min Stock Max Stock
Silver N/A 2000 4000
Component x1 15 30
Steel x1 500 800
Wood x1 500 800
Plasteel x1 100 400
Cloth x1 200 600
Medicine x2 20 30
Gold x1 50 200
Neutroamine x1 100 200
Chemfuel x1 200 600
Chocolate x1 -70 100
Beer x1 -70 100

Groups of items:

Group Price Variety Min Stock Max Stock Items
Textiles x1 1 - 2 kinds 2200 Silver 4000 Silver All Textiles
Resources x1 2 - 4 kinds 800 Silver 1500 Silver All resources except silver
Raw food x1 2 - 4 kinds 800 Silver 1500 Silver All except fertilized eggs
Meals x1 1 - 2 kinds 15 each 30 each All meals
Furniture x1 0 - 3 kinds 1 each 2 each All furniture
Clothing x1 10 - 20 kinds 1 each 1 each All clothing
Drugs x1 2 - 4 kinds 1000 Silver 2000 Silver All drugs
Animals x1 2 - 4 kinds 10 each 20 each Animals with wildness below 70%

Commonality: 2


Combat supplier

Name Price Min Stock Max Stock
Silver N/A 2000 4000
Component x2 5 10
Medicine x1 30 50

Groups of items:

Group Price Variety Min Stock Max Stock Items
Mortar shells x1 1 - 2 kinds 20 each 40 each All mortar shells except antigrain warhead
Ranged weapons x1 5 - 6 kinds 1 each 1 each All ranged weapons
Melee weapons x1 5 - 6 kinds 2 each 3 each All melee weapons
Armor x1 8 - 10 kinds 1 each 1 each All armor

Commonality: 1


Exotic goods trader

Name Price Min Stock Max Stock
Silver N/A 2000 4000
Component x2 5 30
Gold x1 200 400
Plasteel x1 100 400
Glitterworld medicine x1 5 30
Neutroamine x1 100 500
Telescope x1 1 1

Groups of items:

Group Price Variety Min Stock Max Stock Items
Drugs x1 3 - 4 kinds 2000 Silver 3000 Silver All drugs
Exotic items x1 3 - 5 kinds 1 each 2 each Rare items
Body parts/ Implants x1 3 - 5 kinds 1 each 1 each All body parts or implants
Artifacts x1 2 - 4 kinds 1 each 1 each All artifacts
Art x1 4 - 8 kinds 1 each 1 each Sculptures
Televisions x1 1 - 3 kinds 1 each 1 each Tube television, Flatscreen television, Megascreen television
Furniture x1 1 - 4 kinds 1 each 2 each All furniture
Animals x1 1 - 2 kinds 2 each 3 each Animals with wildness above 60%

Commonality: 1


Pirate merchant

Name Price Min Stock Max Stock
Silver N/A 2000 4000
Component x2 5 10
Beer x1 -300 300
Medicine x2 5 15
Neutroamine x2 100 400
Chemfuel x2 50 200

Groups of items:

Group Price Variety Min Stock Max Stock Items
Slaves x1 2 - 3 1 each 1 each ---
Ranged weapons x1 -1 - 2 kinds 1 each 1 each All ranged weapons
Armor x1 -2 - 2 kinds 1 each 1 each All armor
Body parts/ Implants x1 -4 - 5 kinds 1 each 1 each All body parts or implants
Artifacts x1 -5 - 1 kinds 1 each 1 each All artifacts
Drugs x1 3 - 6 kinds 2000 Silver 3000 Silver All drugs

Commonality: 1

Visitor

Outlander visitor

Name Price Min Stock Max Stock
Silver N/A 50 250
Component x1 -2 5
Packaged survival meal x1 3 6
Medicine x1 1 6
Cloth x1 ? ?
Chocolate x1 ? ?

Groups of items:

Group Price Variety Min Stock Max Stock Items
Drugs x1 -1 - 1 kinds 100 Silver 300 Silver All drugs
Techprint x1 0.5 chance 1 1 -
Ranged weapons x1 0 - 1 kinds 1 each 1 each All ranged weapons
Clothing x1 0 - 1 kinds 1 each 1 each All clothing

Neolithic visitor

Name Price Min Stock Max Stock
Silver N/A 50 250
Pemmican x1 40 80
herbal medicine x1 1 4
Cloth x1 ? ?
Chocolate x1 ? ?

Groups of items:

Group Price Variety Min Stock Max Stock Items
Drugs x1 -1 - 1 kinds 200 Silver 400 Silver Beer, smokeleaf joint, psychite tea
Techprint x1 0.5 chance 1 1 Techprint
Ranged weapons x1 0 - 1 kinds 1 each 1 each Neolithic ranged
Melee weapons x1 0 - 1 kinds 1 each 1 each Neolithic melee
Clothing x1 0 - 1 kinds 1 each 1 each All clothing

Trader behavior

Trade caravans that come to your colony usually pick a random spot outdoors where they will simply wander around and wait for your colonists to send a negotiator for trade. This spot may be in a ridiculous place, such as the middle of a river. When hungry visitors may use the colony's tables and chairs for dining.

Leaving the map

A trade caravan will usually leave as soon as the merchant pawn becomes tired (the first notch on their sleep need), though they can still be traded with while walking towards the edge of the map. If the merchant has a different sleep need than other members of the caravan for some reason, caravan members may end up sleeping on the floor when exhausted.

Sometimes, foreigners will leave your map before you have the chance to interact with them. They may start social fights amongst themselves, fight rival factions, or get attacked by wild animals. The caravan may also leave the map on their own if the temperature becomes too high or too low for them or their animals, similar to raiders. Foreigners who get downed can be rescued, either by their own members or by yourself for a goodwill bonus. Any items dropped can be unforbidden without damaging relations, however stripping clothes from anyone unconscious causes a loss of goodwill.

Notes

  • You cannot buy back prisoners you just sold as a way to insta-recruit anyone (exploit prevention).
  • You can trade your expensive items (weapons, sculptures) for other desirable items if the trade ship doesn't have enough silver to complete the transaction. Of course, the amount of silver you can gain is lower, but it is usually better to have a lot of cheap items than an expensive one in your store. Sometimes you have items so expensive that no trader can buy them.
  • When selling pack animals, they will bring any items that they are carrying along with them.

Version history

  • 0.0.245 - Traders are now rarer but carry more goods.
  • 0.7.581 - New trade system and interface. Traders carry and buy any item, including prosthetics, neurotrainers, organs, slaves, weapons, apparel, commodities.
  • 0.11.877 - Slave trader changed to pirate merchant, can still show up to buy slaves even when your population is high (though they may not carry any). A11B Fixed pirate merchants only bringing slaves when population is high. Reworked how slave prices are calculated so they take injuries, capacities, and skills into account better.
  • 0.13.1135 - Ground-traveling trade caravans from other factions added.
  • 1.1.2563 - Fixed bug that would cause traders to restock daily.