Improving trade system

Trading in Illyraid is hard atm. I often see that people offer things I need, but I often do not have what they ask for it. Often basic resources are asked for more sophisticated goods or vise versa. There are two draw back to this. In order to buy sophisticated goods I need loads of caravans to ship the basic resources they ask. If I want to have the sophisticated goods I'll have to save an gather what they ask. By the time I have what they ask the offer will be gone.

This slows down trading. I find trading to be a nice feature to this game that offer a chance to cooperate and communicate with other people. I would like to see more trading. If trading was more lucrative people could specialize more in producing a couple of basic resources or goods.

In ancient times they discovered trading in currency really makes trading easy. If we look at the situation in Illyraid atm. Gold is the intended currency. You pay armies and get tax in gold. Shifting tax influences basic resources and tax revenues in gold. This links the gold value to basic resources and makes gold value reasonably stable.

The main reason gold was a success in ancient times was that is was easy to ship. I think if Illyraids gold where more easy to ship. More people would ask gold for there resources and goods an the marked and use gold to get what they want.  Trading would bloom and people would focus more on trading. Which will cause people to interact more.

The specialization in producing resources or goods would increase which gives villages more of an identity which will cause people to become more unique and there for more proud of there villages. You get professions like  (elfish lumber camps, elfish bookstores, and dwarves breweries. ) and when quest can be offered be players to players. (Orcisch mercenaries and human scouts). This increases the overall fun in playing the game.

I've though up a couple of way to boost trade in gold.

1. When trading gold does not have to be shipped with caravans or it could be taken back by the  buying party with the caravans who bring the resources.  

2. A caravan who's trading can ship very large amount, if not unlimited gold in on shipment.

3. New players have quicker access to gold and can use gold to buy advanced goods sooner in the game.

I realize that implementing this would mean that player can not buy what they can not ship and that will hold back trading. This can be negated by restriting people only to offer stuff they have the tech to ship. (The selling party prepares the good to be shipped in a way anyone can traceport them.  

The above section was about boosting trade by improving currency. An other way to boost trade is making it possible for people to offer more things to sell. I often have stuff I want to sell, but I do not offer them because I’ll have to wait until someone buy’s it. In the mean time my caravan is stopped and can’t do other stuff which gives me profit often more quickly. Especially, when someone buy’s stuff from me from the other side of the map.

These problems are easily solved if the buyer send the caravans to the seller and drops the aked good at the sellers village and returns with the offert goods.

This way a couple of obstacles in trading are gone. One:  the buying party decides if it is worth the trip. Two:  less caravans are used in trade. Three if shipped gold is uncapped by number of caravans you’ll only need to send the number of carravans needed to get the resources.

I would how ever cap the number of trade offers players(villages) make to the market lvl. So, people do not make unless amount of trade offers and cloth up the trade system.

Oke,  that’s all I wanted to say for now, I hope you guy’s improve trade in Illyraid. I see much potential in the trading aspect of the game and I think it would be really fun if it would be more lucrative.