Enoki
SOC-14 1K
The system below rates worlds on their economic potential. This is different from their actual economic output or input. It is an indication of the world’s ability to import and export goods, and some indication of the strength of the local economy.
What it does not do is measure the world’s actual economic progress. This is dependent on not just the world itself, but the economic potential of its neighbors.
The system:
This is based on five factors off the UWP. As there is no single economic factor, these five substitute for it. They are:
Population. As population rises, the potential market rises with it. As this value is an exponential, it is represented in the formula below as an exponential too. Too few people, there is no market for goods. Lots of people equals a big potential market for goods.
Tech level. Until tech level rises to a minimum level where what is being produced locally has some potential export value, there is little economic value in the local economy. This rises substantially as it approaches the highest technology levels available.
Starport: A great starport provides more access. A poor or non-existent one adds little or no value to the economy.
Government and Law. These go hand in hand. No government or law is almost as bad as an oppressive government and heavy handed legal system.
The formula:
(Pop^2 + TL + SP + (( Gov + Law)/2)^2) / 30 = EV (economic value)
This is rounded to two decimal places.
Determining the values:
Pop (Population) is determined by taking the square of the UWP pop value.
Tech level (TL) uses the following table:
TL Value
0 1
1 1
2 1
3 1
4 1
5 1
6 3
7 6
8 9
9 12
A 24
B 36
C 48
D 60
E 72
F+ 84
The starport (SP) value is taken from the following table:
Port Value
A 64
B 24
C 8
D 2
E 0
X 0
Government values are on the following table:
Code Value
0 3
1 5
2 8
3 4
4 8
5 7
6 1
7 5
8 4
9 2
A 3
B 0
C 3
D 0
E 0
F 0
Law level values are on the following table.
Code Value
0 1
1 2
2 3
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
8 7
9 7
A 7
B 3
C 1
D 1
E+ 0
When these are run through the formula, the result will be between 0 and 10. A 0 or 1 is pretty much an economic basket case, while an 8 to 10 is an economic powerhouse. Worlds close to 5 have healthy economies.
You might wonder why the world’s physical conditions like atmosphere, size, or hydrographics were not considered. This is because they don’t impact the economic ability of that world in a significant way. A world will produce what it can produce with the resources available. The local population, government, law, technology, and starport determine the access to the resources in the system and their exploitation.
Cargo
The second place this can be used, is in determining general cargo available for small ships, of the sort players usually are using in a game. This system is ONLY for cargo. IT doesn’t cover speculative trade, or other items beyond basic cargo availability. The system for that is as follows:
If the system you are in and the system you are going to has an EV >= 5 there is sufficient cargo to fill to the ship’s capacity.
If the system you are in or are going to has an EV < 5 then the following formula is used:
(EV current system * (1 / (EV current system – EV system to go to))) * 2D6 = tons of cargo available.
Cargo available is always rounded up to the next ton.
Example: The system you are in has an EV of 5.23. The system you want to go to has an EV of 2.41. The formula filled out is:
(5.23 * (1/(5.23 -2.41))) * 2D6
Or
1.85 * 2D6
You roll a 7. That means you have 12.95, or 13 tons of cargo available.
If the above calculation results in a value <= 0 then, you may opt to use the following formula:
The above result + (EV current system) * 2D6 = tons of cargo available.
Example: The system you are in has an EV of 2.52. The system you are going to has an EV of 4.83. This gives:
(2.52 * (1/(2.52-4.83))) * 2D6
Or
-1.09 * 2D6
You roll a 4. That means there is negative 4.36 tons of cargo. So, you use the second formula:
2.52 * 2D6
You roll a 9 this time. This results in:
22.86 – 4.36 = 18.32 tons or 19 tons of cargo available.
This could still result in a negative cargo quantity depending on the rolls. If it is, there is no cargo available.
Within the Third Imperium, amber zones count half, red zones have no cargo. These are optional, per the referee, outside the Third Imperium.
What this system results in is that if you are going to low tech, backwater, worlds with a population of a few thousand, be prepared to find most of the time there is no cargo available regardless of where you’re going next.
If you want reliable cargo, you have to trade between the economically viable worlds in a subsector. You can also reliably expect some cargo going from an economic powerhouse to a backwater world, but probably won’t find much for the return trip.
This system works. It is consistent anywhere you go. Using a spreadsheet makes it simple to use and track a ship’s cargo purchases and sales.
What it does not do is measure the world’s actual economic progress. This is dependent on not just the world itself, but the economic potential of its neighbors.
The system:
This is based on five factors off the UWP. As there is no single economic factor, these five substitute for it. They are:
Population. As population rises, the potential market rises with it. As this value is an exponential, it is represented in the formula below as an exponential too. Too few people, there is no market for goods. Lots of people equals a big potential market for goods.
Tech level. Until tech level rises to a minimum level where what is being produced locally has some potential export value, there is little economic value in the local economy. This rises substantially as it approaches the highest technology levels available.
Starport: A great starport provides more access. A poor or non-existent one adds little or no value to the economy.
Government and Law. These go hand in hand. No government or law is almost as bad as an oppressive government and heavy handed legal system.
The formula:
(Pop^2 + TL + SP + (( Gov + Law)/2)^2) / 30 = EV (economic value)
This is rounded to two decimal places.
Determining the values:
Pop (Population) is determined by taking the square of the UWP pop value.
Tech level (TL) uses the following table:
TL Value
0 1
1 1
2 1
3 1
4 1
5 1
6 3
7 6
8 9
9 12
A 24
B 36
C 48
D 60
E 72
F+ 84
The starport (SP) value is taken from the following table:
Port Value
A 64
B 24
C 8
D 2
E 0
X 0
Government values are on the following table:
Code Value
0 3
1 5
2 8
3 4
4 8
5 7
6 1
7 5
8 4
9 2
A 3
B 0
C 3
D 0
E 0
F 0
Law level values are on the following table.
Code Value
0 1
1 2
2 3
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
8 7
9 7
A 7
B 3
C 1
D 1
E+ 0
When these are run through the formula, the result will be between 0 and 10. A 0 or 1 is pretty much an economic basket case, while an 8 to 10 is an economic powerhouse. Worlds close to 5 have healthy economies.
You might wonder why the world’s physical conditions like atmosphere, size, or hydrographics were not considered. This is because they don’t impact the economic ability of that world in a significant way. A world will produce what it can produce with the resources available. The local population, government, law, technology, and starport determine the access to the resources in the system and their exploitation.
Cargo
The second place this can be used, is in determining general cargo available for small ships, of the sort players usually are using in a game. This system is ONLY for cargo. IT doesn’t cover speculative trade, or other items beyond basic cargo availability. The system for that is as follows:
If the system you are in and the system you are going to has an EV >= 5 there is sufficient cargo to fill to the ship’s capacity.
If the system you are in or are going to has an EV < 5 then the following formula is used:
(EV current system * (1 / (EV current system – EV system to go to))) * 2D6 = tons of cargo available.
Cargo available is always rounded up to the next ton.
Example: The system you are in has an EV of 5.23. The system you want to go to has an EV of 2.41. The formula filled out is:
(5.23 * (1/(5.23 -2.41))) * 2D6
Or
1.85 * 2D6
You roll a 7. That means you have 12.95, or 13 tons of cargo available.
If the above calculation results in a value <= 0 then, you may opt to use the following formula:
The above result + (EV current system) * 2D6 = tons of cargo available.
Example: The system you are in has an EV of 2.52. The system you are going to has an EV of 4.83. This gives:
(2.52 * (1/(2.52-4.83))) * 2D6
Or
-1.09 * 2D6
You roll a 4. That means there is negative 4.36 tons of cargo. So, you use the second formula:
2.52 * 2D6
You roll a 9 this time. This results in:
22.86 – 4.36 = 18.32 tons or 19 tons of cargo available.
This could still result in a negative cargo quantity depending on the rolls. If it is, there is no cargo available.
Within the Third Imperium, amber zones count half, red zones have no cargo. These are optional, per the referee, outside the Third Imperium.
What this system results in is that if you are going to low tech, backwater, worlds with a population of a few thousand, be prepared to find most of the time there is no cargo available regardless of where you’re going next.
If you want reliable cargo, you have to trade between the economically viable worlds in a subsector. You can also reliably expect some cargo going from an economic powerhouse to a backwater world, but probably won’t find much for the return trip.
This system works. It is consistent anywhere you go. Using a spreadsheet makes it simple to use and track a ship’s cargo purchases and sales.