Forced trade route order toggle (Small)

[William one eye]

Suggesting we add the option of toggle on toggel of.
For trade route port priority.

Toggle on
Forced travel to ports in order as assigned and listed on trade routes.

Toggle off
Fleets travel to next closest port on trade route first.

[DezNutz]

+1 Forced Routes.

[Grimrock Litless]

+ 1

[William one eye]

Bump

This would be even more useful now

[Hawk]

I'm not sure I understand this, so if a trade fleet would travel to the closest port first, wouldn't it just travel between two ports then? Unless it kept track of the ports it had been to, in which case it wouldn't be very different from just manually setting the routes right?

[Most Lee Harmless]

Not always... the third port may be closer to the second port than the first one is... but thats being pedantic : this idea fails in many ways : you cant trade between ports with the same goods no matter how close relatively. Profit lies in the buy/sell difference between ports not in their proximity. Why set up a trade route then switch it off and hope a random order will be better? Just do it right once and job done, surely?

[DezNutz]

Not always... the third port may be closer to the second port than the first one is... but thats being pedantic : this idea fails in many ways : you cant trade between ports with the same goods no matter how close relatively. Profit lies in the buy/sell difference between ports not in their proximity. Why set up a trade route then switch it off and hope a random order will be better? Just do it right once and job done, surely?

The same goods issue only fails because the game fills the cargo at the current port and then continues to the nearest port on the trade route. The inherent problem with that is that if the port the fleet is in isn't part of the trade route, it shouldn't be buying anything from that port in the first place.

A trade route has a very specific set of instructions. At Port A do this, travel to port B do this, etc. If I'm at Port X that isn't part of those instructions, I shouldn't be doing anything at that port other then unloading and leaving.

Now I understand that a fleet could change routes and have cargo already in its holds. There are some basic options to alleviate that. Sell to the market at it's current port, and if it can't, then it takes that cargo to the closest port. In the long run, that won't matter as CJ has already stipulated that eventually every port will be able to produce each resource once all resource production is moved to player production. So the issue with the same resource will go away.

One of the main reasons for this suggestion is warehouse transfers, particularly for party card routes. Although this feature could be used for other purposes including new features down the road.

An example of the issue and why the suggestion is beneficial:

If I have 2 fleets at Port A.
I create 2 routes where one goes to Port B then to Port C, and othergoes to Port C then to Port B.

In the current setup, I would need to send the fleets to the opposite ports first then activate their Trade Routes, otherwise both fleets will goto the same port first.

[Most Lee Harmless]

Just seems a very convoluted way to avoid setting up a trade route properly in the first place. Gawds know how it will function when the prposed increase in destinations gets implemented...

[DezNutz]

This has nothing to do with "setting up routes correctly". If you want your fleet to take a particular route from the start, you have to pre-position it. I shouldn't have to do that. I should set my route and it follow it as I set it up. I set Port A and Port B, the fleets should go to Port A then Port B. It's that simple. No setting up routes "correctly".


The game sees no difference between these two routes. And while technically they are the same, they are not. There are other factors that matter beyond which port is closer.

Port 1 : Aiora
Port 2 : Tortuga

AND

Port 1 : Tortuga
Port 2 : Aiora

[Most Lee Harmless]

I'm confused: the prposal was to have a toggle to choose two different route formats : 1/ Route as listed (1>2>3>4>1) or 2/ Route via shortest distance to one of the destinations of 1, 2, 3 or 4.

My query was why construct a route comprising 1, 2, 3 & 4 and then place them in such a way as to make your preferred route via shortest distance? Its illogically convoluted. Just set the route in your preferred order in the first place.

There is an issue with the game choosing its own starting point when you set the fleets routes in one port but wish it to trade between 2 or more different ports. Then the only way to make sure they start at your required port is to manually send them there before setting the route in motion. Part of this issue can occur when an existing route is edited as the fleet is still considered to be at the port position it had reached before editing : 1, 2, 3 or 4 and will use that position as it start point for the next leg. For new fleets I'll agree it can be idiosyncratic at times but you dont know which way its going to bounce until you throw it so the amount of calculating required to achieve the aim gets tedious.
Surely whats required is not a toggle but a code tweak to ensure any new or edited route commences at Port 1 then goes to Port 2 and so on. Thats not the same thing as proposed but is a lot simpler to do, understand and work to.