Larger fleets = more trade?

**Roark** · 06-15-2005, 04:39

I couldn't help but notice the massive fleets that some of you guys maintain in your campaigns.

Does this equate to more trade (as more goods are being transported)?

**Papewaio** · 06-15-2005, 05:11

Longer chain of port to port equals more trade income and larger expensive in maintaining the fleet.

Although you can diminish the cost for the fleet by holding ports along the chain.

**Papewaio** · 06-15-2005, 05:13

BTW I have seen Roark as the name of a Dwarf... Roark by Name, Roark by Nature.

**Roark** · 06-15-2005, 06:04

What I mean is this:

Say you have ports and merchants in both Province A and Province B, which are adjacent to each other via a sea region. If you had a fleet of 8 ships in that sea region, would that produce more trade than if you had 2 ships in that sea region?

**Papewaio** · 06-15-2005, 06:22

No, it is the distance not number of ships.

Your fleet represents the number of ships you have defending your merchant fleet not the number of merchants.

**littlebktruck** · 06-15-2005, 06:25

Originally Posted by Roark

What I mean is this:

Say you have ports and merchants in both Province A and Province B, which are adjacent to each other via a sea region. If you had a fleet of 8 ships in that sea region, would that produce more trade than if you had 2 ships in that sea region?

No. Trade is based on the value of the good traded and the number of friendly ports connected by uninterrupted shipping lanes that don't have that good natively.

As for the fleet sizes, I would say that they have large fleets in the seas for two reasons:

1) To discourage the AI from attacking and interrupting their trade routes; and

2) To be able to easily get rid of any opposing fleets whenever war is declared.

**Roark** · 06-15-2005, 07:36

Originally Posted by littlebktruck

As for the fleet sizes, I would say that they have large fleets in the seas for two reasons:

1) To discourage the AI from attacking and interrupting their trade routes; and

2) To be able to easily get rid of any opposing fleets whenever war is declared.

I can see that these are sensible reasons.

I guess I've been a little bit scrooge-like about the support costs for large fleets in my own campaigns.

I'm just trying to figure out how these guys have such mindbuggeringly enormous incomes... (20,000 per year etc)

Peace with many factions seems to be a good thing for trade. Peace or neutrality...

**littlebktruck** · 06-16-2005, 04:55

As a rule I like to have enough ships so that I can comfortably take out the largest stack another faction has in the region. If they have 1, I want 2; if they have 2, I want 3 or 4, if they have 3, I want 5; Just a reasonable amount more, probably 1 1/2 times the size the opposing fleet or so is nice.