So right now (as others have noted) the Market just makes the game more boring and removes opportunities for interaction between empires. Alongside this, Enclaves, while kind of nice, don't offer a lot of interaction possibilities either: they just sort of sit there and sell stuff to the player - not the AI empires, just the player - at fixed prices. Both of these seem like huge missed opportunities for dynamic, emergent storytelling.
My proposed solution is this: Auctions. Instead of buying and selling to and from the void at the Market, empires could auction off bundles of goods to one another. You would pick a resource and an amount, set a minimum price, and let rip, with everyone able to see who's bidding what for what. Likewise, Enclaves could auction their services to the highest bidder. These systems would provide another avenue for interaction and competition between empires, making the connections between your actions and other empires' more transparent, make Enclaves feel more Babylon 5-ey, and turn the Market from a negative to a positive for the game. Even better, various characterful twists could be placed on the system to link it to others and enable more dynamic stories to emerge - for example, winning an auction in which a Rival was the second-highest bidder could grant an Influence bonus, enlivening the relationship as well as adding another interesting strategic option.
My proposed solution is this: Auctions. Instead of buying and selling to and from the void at the Market, empires could auction off bundles of goods to one another. You would pick a resource and an amount, set a minimum price, and let rip, with everyone able to see who's bidding what for what. Likewise, Enclaves could auction their services to the highest bidder. These systems would provide another avenue for interaction and competition between empires, making the connections between your actions and other empires' more transparent, make Enclaves feel more Babylon 5-ey, and turn the Market from a negative to a positive for the game. Even better, various characterful twists could be placed on the system to link it to others and enable more dynamic stories to emerge - for example, winning an auction in which a Rival was the second-highest bidder could grant an Influence bonus, enlivening the relationship as well as adding another interesting strategic option.
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