Is trade the same between your cities as between yours and those of other factions?

[Nerouin]

In MTW, you could only get trade income through trade w/other factions.. this was slightly absurd, as unless your government controlled all aspects of the economy- socialism, in a sense- then you would be getting your money off of TAXES, hence the income for trade between your cities would be most of what you were getting the income from!

Is it similar to MTW in RTW, or does trade between your cities net the same income as trade between your cities and the cities of other factions?

It seems the trade fleet paths generally lead to from one of your cities to another of yours!

[Tamur]

Yes, it seems like, at least early in the game, your port trade lines go between your own cities. So for RTW is different -- your cities trade between each other and generate income for your faction based on volume.

Traders in your settlements will choose the highest-payback routes for their goods, whether that's one of your cities or the cities of another faction. It is in a sense meaningless to your traders where they're selling, so long as they can sell for the best price.

As for how trade "income" actually is considered income, ??? good question. You can raise the tax rate, but I've never taken the time to notice if that tax increase affects trade as well as "tax" income?

I'm sure there's someone who has the answer around here...

[andrewt]

Distance affects trade income so that accounts for the fact that your cities are more likely to trade with other cities you control. That's why it's very valuable to control the islands right now.