Subset Games Forum

I think FTL is perfect as is, even if it never gets another update, but here's a potentially fun trading idea. Unlike some other trading ideas I've seen this doesn't change the format of FTL at all, it remains a roguelike game with a fixed ending. This would only add a new kind of room and strategic consideration. Maybe this would work best just as a mod, I'm sure people will have different opinions.

The Vault
The vault would be a new room type meant for holding valuable trade goods. Some ships could come with a vault, others would have to get one installed. Vaults would not use power, and without cargo it would behave just like an empty room.

You would be able to buy trade goods in stores, which would add a number of durability bars to your vault. The number of bars would vary depending on the cost and fragility of the cargo. Unlike other rooms damage to cargo cannot be fixed, and if the last bar is destroyed the cargo is lost (although the vault remains for next time).

Assuming it's still intact, you could sell off the cargo at any store. However here's where cargo becomes a gamble. The price you get for selling the cargo increases the further you are from where you bought it. If you sell cargo in the same sector where you bought it, you'll incur a steep loss. If you sell it in the next sector, maybe you'll break even. If you can sell it the sector after that, you might make a 50% profit. Then a 100% profit. And so on. The longer you hold onto it the more profit you can make. And the amount of profit would also vary depending on the size of the gamble, with costlier and/or more fragile goods earning more than cheap and durable ones.

So essentially cargo is a gamble. You're investing scrap in hopes of a future profit, rather than using it right now to upgrade your ship or pay for repairs. If you can deliver the cargo safely you might end up more powerful in the long run. If the cargo is destroyed you'll lose everything you spent.

It also presents some new interesting tactical choices. Do you spend more time fleeing battles, hoping that the profit your cargo earns you counteracts the loss in victory loot? Could that make it worth it to focus on upgrading your engines for quicker escapes, or will that leave your other systems too weak for the boss? When your ship catches fire mid-battle do you send a crewman to put out the flames in your shield room or your vault?

The vault might require more calculated choices when selecting which sector to jump to. Perhaps one kind of cargo can command a higher price from slugs, so it makes sense to plot a course that takes you through a slug nebula. And do you aim for the nearby slug nebula to sell off the cargo quickly, or aim for the distant one to try and earn more of a profit? Maybe another kind of cargo is illegal in Zoltan space, cannot be sold in those sectors, and has a chance of giving you harder enemies there.

And of course, specific kinds of cargo can open up additional blue options and enable quests. For example, maybe a colony needs the terraforming equipment you're carrying. Do you give away your cargo and hope the reward you get from the colonists is worth more than the scrap you invested? Maybe a mantis pirate will let you leave in peace, but only if you surrender the platinum in your vault. What do you decide?

I think a augment called cargo hold would work better that just opened up a but load of blue options. possibly make multiple cargo holds increase the amount of scrap/rewards you get from the blue option.

I like this idea. It needs a lot more brainstorming of ideas and some polishing, but it has a lot of potential.

GoldenShadowGS wrote:I like this idea. It needs a lot more brainstorming of ideas and some polishing, but it has a lot of potential.

Thanks. Yeah, if anyone has any improvements please suggest them!

Ideally, keeping with the complexity and variety of weapons/drones/augmentations, there would be many different kinds of cargo. All with different levels of risk and reward, and some with unusual quirks. So there could be a limitless amount of brainstorming for a wide variety of cargo types.

An example of a trading good:

Zoltan Energy Crystals
Used to power Zoltan colonies, but use of these crystals is viewed as sacrilege by religious factions among the Rock.

Purchasing cost: 80 scrap
Durability: 6 bars
Special: Can be sold for 20% more in Zoltan sectors, but 50% less in Rock sectors.

So usually the special quality would just give you an incentive to navigate through one area of space, and not through another area.

But it some could have additional benefits or disadvantages like this:

Rakis Spice
This rare spice is highly valued for its flavor, and is falsely believed by slugs to enhance their psychic abilities.

Purchasing cost: 60 scrap
Durability: 5 bars
Special: Can be sold for 20% more in slug space, but attracts tougher ships from slug pirates.

Such a great idea! Maybe make the crystals release radiation that attracts the fleet towards you, maybe even add an event where you encounter a border patrol that needs to search your cargo, make sure your not carrying anything illegal.... idk just thinking out loud

jmanV wrote:Such a great idea! Maybe make the crystals release radiation that attracts the fleet towards you, maybe even add an event where you encounter a border patrol that needs to search your cargo, make sure your not carrying anything illegal.... idk just thinking out loud

Yeah, different kinds of cargo can open up all kinds of additional blue options while also carrying unique risks.

Downsides could include might draw the rebel fleet faster, add a chance of dangerous random encounters, interfere with other systems, anything's possible. In a sense cargo can act a bit like a perk/flaw system. Put up with this disadvantage and get this eventual reward. Of course there would be lots of duller cargo too, for people less inclined to take additional risks beyond just buying cargo in the first place. You'd be able to see the upside and downside before deciding which cargo to buy, and whether to buy one at all.

Hidden compartment augment. Gives you a blue option at inspection checkpoints.

GoldenShadowGS wrote:Hidden compartment augment. Gives you a blue option at inspection checkpoints.

I suppose it could also work within the augment system. Unlike normal augments they'd either have no effect or give you a penalty instead of an advantage, and you'd take them only in order to make a profit.

I kind of like the idea of cargo being an actual room though, so you have to worry about enemy attacks blowing your profit up.

In Privateer 2 you flew a fighter, but you could hire a transport ship to accompany you with wares you've bought. (ofc the cargo room add-on idea is way better)
The price was dependent on node. Eg some worlds were agricultural and sold food cheaply. You could sell food to non-agricultural worlds for profit.

FTL reminds me Privateer 2 a lot.