(Demo) Challenge - Portugal can into Indian Ocean Trade!

[Moridin997]

So, I've been playing the demo for several hours as Portugal and feel a bit frustrated. As many in this forum are aware, Portugal conquered several key ports in the Indian Ocean during the demo's timeframe (1492-1520) and use them to interfere in the spice trade, making huge profits. So I tried to do the same...

What I found:

1. Impossible (as far as I am aware) to steer the spice trade all the way back to Lisbon due to the lack of merchants.
2. Impossible (again, as far as I am aware) to core the cities that are needed due to small colonial range.
3. Very hard to get enough trade range (maybe NOT trade range, because I could place a merchant there...?) to place light ships in the Gulf of Aden, even though I had conquered Socotra (but not cored, see 2.). Since Exploration, Trade and Diplomatic tech require DIP Monarch Points, I found myself unable to properly develop all of those at the same time. Even Trade and Diplomatic tech (disregarding Exploration) are difficult to pursue simultaneously...

Conclusion: Attempting to enter the Indian Ocean trade feels like a chore. Not because of the difficulty, but because of the lack of merchants, trade range and colonial range.

Small fix proposal: Don't tie light ship patrols with trade range, tie them with provinces in the region (like merchants, if I remember correctly...).



CHALLENGE: Please, prove me wrong, and show me that, by 1.1.1520, you have successfully entered the Indian Ocean trade and managed to earn lots of money from it!!!

 

[Aquilegia]

See this thread.

 

[unmerged(416135)]

Sounds like someone has never heard of fleet basing rights :huh:


Yeah it does seem that trading has been nerfed, compared to Eu3. Colonizing Asia and Africa is still not a bad idea, though, as it's generally safer than colonizing the Americas.

 

[Heatth]

1.You can steer trade fine. You don't need merchants to steer trade, only a province. The only merchant needed is in the Gulf of Aden, I think, to make sure the trade goes in the right direction (not sure, but I think the default direction there is through Alexandria).

3.You can only place protect trade with a fleet where there are a merchant or an owned province. Maybe this was your problem?

Anyway, I see where you are coming from. I wonder if this is because you don't start with any national idea, even though the game starts 50 years from the earliest game start. By then, you ought to have some ideas already. This could help both with colonization trade range.

 

[Moridin997]

See this thread.

Ninja'd by a day

Sounds like someone has never heard of fleet basing rights :huh:


Yeah it does seem that trading has been nerfed, compared to Eu3. Colonizing Asia and Africa is still not a bad idea, though, as it's generally safer than colonizing the Americas.

While that would solve some issues, I tried to do it the historical way (and failed...).

1.You can steer trade fine. You don't need merchants to steer trade, only a province. The only merchant needed is in the Gulf of Aden, I think, to make sure the trade goes in the right direction (not sure, but I think the default direction there is through Alexandria).

3.You can only place protect trade with a fleet where there are a merchant or an owned province. Maybe this was your problem?

Anyway, I see where you are coming from. I wonder if this is because you don't start with any national idea, even though the game starts 50 years from the earliest game start. By then, you ought to have some ideas already. This could help both with colonization trade range.

I think I need the merchant AND owned and cored province or fleet-basing rights... If I add enough colonial range (from Exploration ideas) to core Sofala, for example, then maybe I could pull it off...