Now for the record, I never once said that hive minds should get an open and free market. Never once did I insinuate that a drone would pay taxes. What I said was that a system emulating the current trade system should be implemented to add to gestalt play. So every single person who responded with "hurr durr hives don't have merchants" thank you for adding nothing to this conversation.
I think I missed the nuance of the point you were trying to initially make because your stated idea *seems* to contradict itself (not saying it does, just that your language might be less self-evident to readers than it is to you, who already understand exactly what you're thinking about).
So, when you say: "a system emulating the current trade system should be implemented to add to gestalt play,"
That reads to me like a direct contradiction of the previous sentence, where you say that you're not advocating a market system w/ taxes.
Having read through your other posts, I can see now what you're getting at with your comments on supply lines and the idea of efficiency being modeled somehow through starbase/protection networks. I would offer you my thoughts on this idea, and some suggestions for the future (for whatever they're worth to you =).
I don't think the idea of a modeled supply/efficiency line would be a good addition to hive play, because supply/efficiency is not modeled for any other empire, and the addition of a new mechanic should be additive and rewarding. Hives are inherently more efficient than regular empires, so making them construct a network to avoid penalties doesn't make sense to me---because they're inherently more efficient. Making the network additive also doesn't make sense to me, for the same reason. Managing starbase networks is a challenge to wide-gamplay (which hives excel at), so *not* having to manage starbases with the kind of precision of regular empires is already a reward for hives, making their empires easier to manage and stronger. Requiring them to manage a network seems like it would be restrictive in order to add something that is not needed, and to me, doesn't make sense ( in so far as no other empires have modeled supply/efficiency systems---of course, realistically, efficiency would taper with the size/complexity of the distribution system). If Hive economic structure needs to be tweaked, I think there are already lots of systems that can model this. I guess if you think managing supply lines for hives would be fun, then I can see how adding some mechanic of that nature might be a plus. For me, *not* having to manage trade networks already feels freeing with hives, and feels like a nice change of pace compared to how vital trade gameplay is in regular empires.
Certainly, obtuse people are going to leave obtuse comments. No way around it, and it's frustrating.
There are, however, a lot of very smart people on these forums. When the majority of comments seem to be criticizing something you thought was self-evident in your post, there is a real chance that what you were trying to communicate wasn't stated as clearly as you supposed. Could be that everyone reading that post is dumb---could also be that your ideas are not clearly expressed in that post.
For example, looking at just one sentence, when you say "emulating the current trade system," I think that can reasonably be inferred to mean emulating a system of wealth generation via taxation of transactions between individuals---because that's what trade is. So, if what you actually meant was that you wanted a system that emulates the game-mechanics of star-base management (as used in general empire play for trade) but instead as a model of supply line efficiency amongst hive resource distribution networks .... well, that's a distinction that you talk around, but never explicitly state. So, while the comments (like my earlier one) that skewer you for advocating trade may seem "hurr durr" obvious to you, from another's perspective (mine for example) your initial post seemed oblivious to the fundamental nature of what trade is, obtusely written, and contradictory in its suggestions. It seemed to me, from your initial post, that you in fact did *not* understand why trading didn't make sense for a hive. Maybe I'm obtuse, or, maybe your language is obtuse, or maybe a bit of both.
I definitely make mistakes sometimes on forums in how I try to communicate my ideas. Sometimes I post before I've really thought things through, and sometimes I just don't understand the systems as well as I think I do. There's nothing wrong with being wrong sometimes, and sometimes other people will be wrong, and obtuse, and totally miss what you are saying.
But, sometimes, if people don't get what you're saying, it's because of the way you said it. If you say A, and everyone criticizes B, consider that maybe to the people reading your words, you are effectively saying B, even if that was not your intent.
cheers, and good luck with your hives XD
