An ambitious change, probably needing some number crunching and balancing, so before getting into the meat of the subject at hand, one disclaimer: the system is a tentative concept with numbers probably needing to be looked into.
So, trade and production. Likely the two largest source of income as you play and expand, making taxes a distant third, while you might have tariffs thrown in there for colonizers. One is boring as the local good is merely a tax multiplier of sort on your production development, the other is unrealistic and heavily skewed toward Europe. Both have a small effect on being the largest trader and largest producer, respectively a small Country modifier or a 10% production increase. both can be generally obtained in only one easy way: blob more.
See the problems there?
So let's consider how to solve each of these in a coherent way, modifying not one, but two systems at once so they play nicely together.
Warning: Incoming wall of text!
I - Production
Production is simple, really. You gain 0.2 trade good size per Production dev, multiply by the trade goods value, and that is, basically, what you gain. In itself, it isn't a problem and works decently well, but on second thought... would you say that a Cloth province doesn't have a single farm? That Gorz's mines means you can't have cow herding in the mountains? That spices makes the fishes flee?
1.25 added an interesting, but ultimately a flawed concept with having two trade goods in a province. One, they limited it to coal, and two, it replaces the previous one. Meanwhile, it could very well have been transformed into a completely different system altogether with a primary and a secondary goods, the latter having, say, half the production value. Separating these, you would have a natural goods, from Fishes to Grain to Wool, and one crafted goods, with Paper, Glass or even Chinaware falling in that category. The distinction is going to be important, but for now, you can now produce two goods, with maybe a threshold (say, Development total 10) to have the secondary one opened, and another higher up (Total of 20) to have those goods reversed, as the arable lands are taken over by the cities and instead, the industry is thriving.
So now, you have a more varied production. What good does it makes you? Well, for starter, what used to be the Trading in bonus is changed. Selling more grains doesn't make you have a larger army, having these in your land does, after all. So those bonus are now when you own enough of a good to fill your needs. As a ballparked value, having 0.01 goods needed per development to reach that bonus should be required, meaning that a 1/1/1 province only requires 0.03 goods, and produces already 0.20 of one. Of course you might have guessed by now, the problem lies in the fact you need to produce a larger variety of goods to have more bonus, and if you focus on a single one, you get some overproduction. That's a good thing, especially for the most valuable goods, for you now have a stock to sell! Also if you ever not produce enough? You only get part of the bonus, which are now not on or off. If filling your Cocoa needs gives 5% Manpower recovery, having half of that need still offers 2.5% recovery speed. Not a lot, but something at least.
II - Trading goods
So for the sake of our example, you are a HRE province of low importance, say, 4/4/2. You produce 0.8 of your natural goods (here Grain), 0.4 of your crafted goods (Cloth) and have a need of 0.1 of each goods. So your 0.7 Grains and 0.3 Cloths are for sale for other countries. Those are pooled in the trade node with the production of other countries. Extremely simple case, another 4/4/2 in the trade node, and you are, like, the only two provinces in the world. They produce Fishes and Paper, so no overlap there. Since they have 0.0 Grain and ultimately wants 0.1, they will seek in the trade nodes they have a merchant in who is selling. Lucky you, you're the sole purveyor, so whay will happen is that they will buy your grain, up to the 0.1 needed, and the money will go from their treasury to your own. You are making money! Of course, you are going to spend it buying fishes, so ultimately it will balance out...
Let's complicate things a bit. There is now a massive Grain demand in your trade node, and people are looking for 1.0 of it! You definitively are not producing enough for everyone, but how do you spread those? This is where Trade power comes in. More trade power means priority to buy what you are missing, and in the process, denying it to your opponents. What it allows is making it harder to other countries to compete, and so lowers the bonus gained from how much their needs are covered. If for some goods it is not that important, lowering the Diplomatic tech cost reduction or the Manpower recovery of a rival can be what leads to a larger pull on them in the long run.
So now, Trade seems to be a zero sum game, meaning that you do not earn from it, and even can have a negative balance, which is bound to upset your Burghers in the process. How do you gain money? With toll fees and transport, which come with a rework of the trade network.
III - Trade network
So now comes the time to place your merchants. In the old system, you would have a problem if you were coming from a feeding node, like, say, Tibet or Khmer seeing no trade coming their way. This changes with the idea that there are no more arrows, as now every Trade capital is the end node of their own country. Placing a merchant allows to trade with countries in the given node, and always transfert goods toward your country. To create a trade route, you simply place merchants and connect them, as long as each is at a Trade range distance to each other. This allows to skip nodes altogether, yet makes it that you need ports on the way if going by sea. Sending a Trade fleet protect trade now makes the ships travel between the closest sea trade nodes between both your capital and your merchants, so said fleets are assigned to a given merchant, not a trade node. This means that if Netherland sends a merchant in Malacca, the Light ships will travel between the North sea to the Strait of Malacca, without needing a fleet in each node in between. This also means, it is time to pay attention to attrition and have supply ports on the way, either allies, fleet basing right granting countries or even your own ports to settle in. Merchants republics with their trade league have a sort of advantage there as this means all their small allies have the ability to extend the trade range and naval projection.
Pirates gonna pirate, and now they focus on stealing Goods from fleets crossing along the nodes where the trade fleets are passing in their way, meaning that some nodes are bound to become pirate haven. Carribeans will net all the goods from North America, Grain Coast will cut a big share of what's crossing around Africa, Malacca and Ceylon will intercept most early Europe / Asian trade routes (to promote the use of fleets, trade range is doubled by sea). But pirates are not alone there: warring countries are also a problem, with armies pillaging around! If your trade transits by an area where countries are being sieged and devastated, you will also lose some goods in the process, paying for more than you asked for. Such is life...
Oh wait, I forgot to speak about those benefits, right? Well, turns out, goods transiting along your trade nodes where you have provincial trade power gives you a percentage of all transiting trade. On that front, it changes the use of the Trade steering bonus, where now it represent how much of your trade power helps transporting goods around (and how much of a benefit you get from it). This means that countries with poor trade goods can still make money by serving as a transit point, up to a point...
IV - Protectorates returns, changes in trade companies, and other considerations
So here we are, with a need to get goods back at home, and all those money grabbing countries on the way prevents you to make a profit. This is where new diplomatic actions are required to help with the situation.
Protectorates are like Vassals that got the short end of the stick. Their production and trade tends to go toward their overlord in priority so it is a losing deal for them, in appearance. They do, however, have some fringe benefits, like being protected by their overlord in case of defensive war, and they gain half the naval and caravan power of their overlord's fleet when trading in the same trade node as them (usually their end node), as their tends to divert trade for themselves, and the protectorate gets the scraps. There is also a fringe but pesky benefit that they gain double the transport fees and goods purchases from trade routes and merchants owned by the overlord's rival, with this added cost taken on said rival's trade balance. Basically, a protectorate serves as a way to promote your trade against your opponents. Protectorates also have liberty desire, like a colony, and can keep their own diplomacy. Be wary of a rival supporting the independance of your trade piñata to help them declare war on you.
Trade deals are two ways, and a more sane way to make profit for both countries. A trade deal makes it so each country only take half the transport fee, but their ports are considered allies, pirates doesn't attack your friend's ship, and each country gains 5% of the trade power of the other country in nodes they have a merchant, representing the fact that you use your partner's trade network to buy goods in their trade network. This allows you to indirectly gain access to some goods you can't spare a merchant for that way, for instance. It also builds trust, the same as a military alliance. All members of a trade league are considered having a trade deal for free. Combining with their added production, this should allow them to obtain way better Goods bonus and makes them slightly better for their size.
Trade companies always gives a merchant... in their own node only. No need to have a high value in Trade power, but you can't use it to divert trade from another node. Also they can be turned into their own subject, in the form of a Protectorate, be it by choice... or by force. A trade conflict CB could allow this option to grant independance to a Trade company, turning into its own country, allowing the formation of Indonesia, Borneo and Philippines as free countries. It can be beneficial still as it gives you a semi loyal defensive force far from home, but you lose the free merchant effect...
Rivals are sharing the same trait as protectorate as trade value drainer. Of course they don't want you to take their goods! If a merchant is in a node with goods from a rival, he will buy goods from them only if there's no other choices. Trade embargo will further increase that price (see it a smuggling fee) depending on embargo efficiency.
And mercantilism? It increases the trading bonus you can claim by having a higher production than required but applies a negative modifier to your Trade power. You buy less, so need to produce more to compensate, but you get more out of it, and limit the possibility of a negative trade balance. Highly productive countries will want more mercantilism overall.
The case of coal giving a Good produced bonus by end game, the spreading of manufactories helping more countries to satisfy their demands and mercantilism leading to higher country wide bonus as these same demand increases, and the desire to diversify the type of goods you want in your network should be a good dynamic to promote a better trade game and the wars surrounding these. It is now useful to take a small, productive country, asking for trade power, so you can get those added goods in your network to consolidate your country.
V - Possibilities that might be out of the overhaul scope / too complex
Modifiers to demanded goods. Logically, Muslims will want only half the Wine and Hinduists, half the cattle than other countries. Similarly, events increasing the demands for some goods, but giving a monetary benefits for it should help focusing some countries toward a given trade goods. Tea demand in Great Britain doubling the advisor cost reduction while requiring 50% more for 50 years could save some serious money if you focus on it, and serves as an equivalent to a procedural mission.
Merchants sent to buy goods with get the owner's institutions spreading, albeit slowly, in the area where trade occurs. We are talking about a low 0.02 montly increase, but with a small overhaul to institutions (namely, need 25% globally to embrace, but takes the amount of all provinces modified by autonomy, instead of amount of provinces at 100% only, so no need to build Rome in one day) could make it somewhat better.
Trade UI allowing for spending Diplo points to boost the production of a given good by 10% for 10 years. This way, if you realy, REALLY need that Tropical wood to spend less Military points in increasing your development, you can. Or simply make more money...
Naval supplies could see their need increase with the amount of ships and Copper, by the amount of cannons you have in your army. Maybe even limits their capacities if you do not have enough to cover your need. If your artillery suffers -10% combat ability because you only have half your Copper needs covered, you will feel it! Suddenly, controlling metal producing provinces becomes much more profitable!
Global trade good family modifiers. If you control enough of each food category, for instance, you could have a bonus to Manpower or less Attrition, as a varied diet and ample reserves allows to avoid illness. Gems, Gold, Glassware and Chinaware would give an added prestige bonus when together, and so on.
So, trade and production. Likely the two largest source of income as you play and expand, making taxes a distant third, while you might have tariffs thrown in there for colonizers. One is boring as the local good is merely a tax multiplier of sort on your production development, the other is unrealistic and heavily skewed toward Europe. Both have a small effect on being the largest trader and largest producer, respectively a small Country modifier or a 10% production increase. both can be generally obtained in only one easy way: blob more.
See the problems there?
So let's consider how to solve each of these in a coherent way, modifying not one, but two systems at once so they play nicely together.
Warning: Incoming wall of text!
I - Production
Production is simple, really. You gain 0.2 trade good size per Production dev, multiply by the trade goods value, and that is, basically, what you gain. In itself, it isn't a problem and works decently well, but on second thought... would you say that a Cloth province doesn't have a single farm? That Gorz's mines means you can't have cow herding in the mountains? That spices makes the fishes flee?
1.25 added an interesting, but ultimately a flawed concept with having two trade goods in a province. One, they limited it to coal, and two, it replaces the previous one. Meanwhile, it could very well have been transformed into a completely different system altogether with a primary and a secondary goods, the latter having, say, half the production value. Separating these, you would have a natural goods, from Fishes to Grain to Wool, and one crafted goods, with Paper, Glass or even Chinaware falling in that category. The distinction is going to be important, but for now, you can now produce two goods, with maybe a threshold (say, Development total 10) to have the secondary one opened, and another higher up (Total of 20) to have those goods reversed, as the arable lands are taken over by the cities and instead, the industry is thriving.
So now, you have a more varied production. What good does it makes you? Well, for starter, what used to be the Trading in bonus is changed. Selling more grains doesn't make you have a larger army, having these in your land does, after all. So those bonus are now when you own enough of a good to fill your needs. As a ballparked value, having 0.01 goods needed per development to reach that bonus should be required, meaning that a 1/1/1 province only requires 0.03 goods, and produces already 0.20 of one. Of course you might have guessed by now, the problem lies in the fact you need to produce a larger variety of goods to have more bonus, and if you focus on a single one, you get some overproduction. That's a good thing, especially for the most valuable goods, for you now have a stock to sell! Also if you ever not produce enough? You only get part of the bonus, which are now not on or off. If filling your Cocoa needs gives 5% Manpower recovery, having half of that need still offers 2.5% recovery speed. Not a lot, but something at least.
II - Trading goods
So for the sake of our example, you are a HRE province of low importance, say, 4/4/2. You produce 0.8 of your natural goods (here Grain), 0.4 of your crafted goods (Cloth) and have a need of 0.1 of each goods. So your 0.7 Grains and 0.3 Cloths are for sale for other countries. Those are pooled in the trade node with the production of other countries. Extremely simple case, another 4/4/2 in the trade node, and you are, like, the only two provinces in the world. They produce Fishes and Paper, so no overlap there. Since they have 0.0 Grain and ultimately wants 0.1, they will seek in the trade nodes they have a merchant in who is selling. Lucky you, you're the sole purveyor, so whay will happen is that they will buy your grain, up to the 0.1 needed, and the money will go from their treasury to your own. You are making money! Of course, you are going to spend it buying fishes, so ultimately it will balance out...
Let's complicate things a bit. There is now a massive Grain demand in your trade node, and people are looking for 1.0 of it! You definitively are not producing enough for everyone, but how do you spread those? This is where Trade power comes in. More trade power means priority to buy what you are missing, and in the process, denying it to your opponents. What it allows is making it harder to other countries to compete, and so lowers the bonus gained from how much their needs are covered. If for some goods it is not that important, lowering the Diplomatic tech cost reduction or the Manpower recovery of a rival can be what leads to a larger pull on them in the long run.
So now, Trade seems to be a zero sum game, meaning that you do not earn from it, and even can have a negative balance, which is bound to upset your Burghers in the process. How do you gain money? With toll fees and transport, which come with a rework of the trade network.
III - Trade network
So now comes the time to place your merchants. In the old system, you would have a problem if you were coming from a feeding node, like, say, Tibet or Khmer seeing no trade coming their way. This changes with the idea that there are no more arrows, as now every Trade capital is the end node of their own country. Placing a merchant allows to trade with countries in the given node, and always transfert goods toward your country. To create a trade route, you simply place merchants and connect them, as long as each is at a Trade range distance to each other. This allows to skip nodes altogether, yet makes it that you need ports on the way if going by sea. Sending a Trade fleet protect trade now makes the ships travel between the closest sea trade nodes between both your capital and your merchants, so said fleets are assigned to a given merchant, not a trade node. This means that if Netherland sends a merchant in Malacca, the Light ships will travel between the North sea to the Strait of Malacca, without needing a fleet in each node in between. This also means, it is time to pay attention to attrition and have supply ports on the way, either allies, fleet basing right granting countries or even your own ports to settle in. Merchants republics with their trade league have a sort of advantage there as this means all their small allies have the ability to extend the trade range and naval projection.
Pirates gonna pirate, and now they focus on stealing Goods from fleets crossing along the nodes where the trade fleets are passing in their way, meaning that some nodes are bound to become pirate haven. Carribeans will net all the goods from North America, Grain Coast will cut a big share of what's crossing around Africa, Malacca and Ceylon will intercept most early Europe / Asian trade routes (to promote the use of fleets, trade range is doubled by sea). But pirates are not alone there: warring countries are also a problem, with armies pillaging around! If your trade transits by an area where countries are being sieged and devastated, you will also lose some goods in the process, paying for more than you asked for. Such is life...
Oh wait, I forgot to speak about those benefits, right? Well, turns out, goods transiting along your trade nodes where you have provincial trade power gives you a percentage of all transiting trade. On that front, it changes the use of the Trade steering bonus, where now it represent how much of your trade power helps transporting goods around (and how much of a benefit you get from it). This means that countries with poor trade goods can still make money by serving as a transit point, up to a point...
IV - Protectorates returns, changes in trade companies, and other considerations
So here we are, with a need to get goods back at home, and all those money grabbing countries on the way prevents you to make a profit. This is where new diplomatic actions are required to help with the situation.
Protectorates are like Vassals that got the short end of the stick. Their production and trade tends to go toward their overlord in priority so it is a losing deal for them, in appearance. They do, however, have some fringe benefits, like being protected by their overlord in case of defensive war, and they gain half the naval and caravan power of their overlord's fleet when trading in the same trade node as them (usually their end node), as their tends to divert trade for themselves, and the protectorate gets the scraps. There is also a fringe but pesky benefit that they gain double the transport fees and goods purchases from trade routes and merchants owned by the overlord's rival, with this added cost taken on said rival's trade balance. Basically, a protectorate serves as a way to promote your trade against your opponents. Protectorates also have liberty desire, like a colony, and can keep their own diplomacy. Be wary of a rival supporting the independance of your trade piñata to help them declare war on you.
Trade deals are two ways, and a more sane way to make profit for both countries. A trade deal makes it so each country only take half the transport fee, but their ports are considered allies, pirates doesn't attack your friend's ship, and each country gains 5% of the trade power of the other country in nodes they have a merchant, representing the fact that you use your partner's trade network to buy goods in their trade network. This allows you to indirectly gain access to some goods you can't spare a merchant for that way, for instance. It also builds trust, the same as a military alliance. All members of a trade league are considered having a trade deal for free. Combining with their added production, this should allow them to obtain way better Goods bonus and makes them slightly better for their size.
Trade companies always gives a merchant... in their own node only. No need to have a high value in Trade power, but you can't use it to divert trade from another node. Also they can be turned into their own subject, in the form of a Protectorate, be it by choice... or by force. A trade conflict CB could allow this option to grant independance to a Trade company, turning into its own country, allowing the formation of Indonesia, Borneo and Philippines as free countries. It can be beneficial still as it gives you a semi loyal defensive force far from home, but you lose the free merchant effect...
Rivals are sharing the same trait as protectorate as trade value drainer. Of course they don't want you to take their goods! If a merchant is in a node with goods from a rival, he will buy goods from them only if there's no other choices. Trade embargo will further increase that price (see it a smuggling fee) depending on embargo efficiency.
And mercantilism? It increases the trading bonus you can claim by having a higher production than required but applies a negative modifier to your Trade power. You buy less, so need to produce more to compensate, but you get more out of it, and limit the possibility of a negative trade balance. Highly productive countries will want more mercantilism overall.
The case of coal giving a Good produced bonus by end game, the spreading of manufactories helping more countries to satisfy their demands and mercantilism leading to higher country wide bonus as these same demand increases, and the desire to diversify the type of goods you want in your network should be a good dynamic to promote a better trade game and the wars surrounding these. It is now useful to take a small, productive country, asking for trade power, so you can get those added goods in your network to consolidate your country.
V - Possibilities that might be out of the overhaul scope / too complex
Modifiers to demanded goods. Logically, Muslims will want only half the Wine and Hinduists, half the cattle than other countries. Similarly, events increasing the demands for some goods, but giving a monetary benefits for it should help focusing some countries toward a given trade goods. Tea demand in Great Britain doubling the advisor cost reduction while requiring 50% more for 50 years could save some serious money if you focus on it, and serves as an equivalent to a procedural mission.
Merchants sent to buy goods with get the owner's institutions spreading, albeit slowly, in the area where trade occurs. We are talking about a low 0.02 montly increase, but with a small overhaul to institutions (namely, need 25% globally to embrace, but takes the amount of all provinces modified by autonomy, instead of amount of provinces at 100% only, so no need to build Rome in one day) could make it somewhat better.
Trade UI allowing for spending Diplo points to boost the production of a given good by 10% for 10 years. This way, if you realy, REALLY need that Tropical wood to spend less Military points in increasing your development, you can. Or simply make more money...
Naval supplies could see their need increase with the amount of ships and Copper, by the amount of cannons you have in your army. Maybe even limits their capacities if you do not have enough to cover your need. If your artillery suffers -10% combat ability because you only have half your Copper needs covered, you will feel it! Suddenly, controlling metal producing provinces becomes much more profitable!
Global trade good family modifiers. If you control enough of each food category, for instance, you could have a bonus to Manpower or less Attrition, as a varied diet and ample reserves allows to avoid illness. Gems, Gold, Glassware and Chinaware would give an added prestige bonus when together, and so on.
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