Trade, import ?.. Supply

[Full Melvin]

I get that civilian trade happens and you can't do anything about it, unless you go to war, or change your top level trade policy/law.. Not sure I really like that, but I think I can get use to it..

What I'm struggling with is the import of needed supply..

I think I get where the devs were going with the x factories for x materials.. In past grand strats i've played trading could be an eyeball roller.. This factory making tosters, that one making candle sticks.. Now I need to find someone with oil that wants toasters, candle sticks, and likes me enough to do buisness.. These trade deals, once made, would be ongoing untill you or something stopped them.. X amount of this a month for X amount of that.. Cool, but tedious.. The dev's seemed to have wanted to cut out the BS of what the civ factories are making since really its all about the factory being tied up is'nt it?? Ok so its going to cost you 1 factory being tied up to get 8 of whatever you need.. Makes sence.. What I don't get is when you ask for it you get it right away???? It seems to take no time to get to you, it's just there, abracadabra bam there ya go..

OK, weird.. This is an RTS, but this happens blamo, no wate time .. So what's the point of the factory being tied up then if the movement of the trade goods happens in a billionth of a second??

Is manual trading a one time deal, or is it ongoing until stopped.. Seems to be one time deal.. If it is, well now its just as frustrating as finding out who needs what for what.. You will have to do these one time deals over and over again continuously do deal with your supply deficits.. Is that last statement true? I have to ask..

Maybe I'm not seeing/knowing something that will make sence of this..

Anyone?

[runifoc]

Trade deals exist until canceled. You choose who you will import from, but you only affect your exports through your trade policies.

The amount you import is affected by your influence with the trading partner whenever that influence falls below 100. The amount imported is also affected by enemy commerce raiding and how many convoys you have available.

Choose short distance trades whenever possible since they will use fewer convoys and it will be easier for you to protect your convoys with patrols.

Keep track of how many imports are actually coming in. You may want to cancel deals where your partner is not sending the amount you requested or if enemy commerce raiders are too effective.

[Full Melvin]

Originally posted by runifoc:

Trade deals exist until canceled. You choose who you will import from, but you only affect your exports through your trade policies.

The amount you import is affected by your influence with the trading partner whenever that influence falls below 100. The amount imported is also affected by enemy commerce raiding and how many convoys you have available.

Choose short distance trades whenever possible since they will use fewer convoys and it will be easier for you to protect your convoys with patrols.

Keep track of how many imports are actually coming in. You may want to cancel deals where your partner is not sending the amount you requested or if enemy commerce raiders are too effective.

Ok, but still I don't get why the 1st delivery is instant.. The goods show up the second you click go.. The other thing I can't seem to find, since you've confirmed that the deal is ongoing, is the ETA of the next shipment.. Or maybe a better way to put it is this.. How do I find out the frequency of the deliveries from their source?.. What or where do I click/hover to find this out?

Cheers and thanks for the responce..

[Rooter]

Dont think you can.
As long as they can supply and you can take receipt the delivery is constant.

[Full Melvin]

Originally posted by Rooter:

Dont think you can.
As long as they can supply and you can take receipt the delivery is constant.

Hmmmm, strange.. Just seems to easy.. Build to your hearts content.. No material? No matter.. Click, bazinga, problem solved forever for the cost of a civilian factory or 2.. Lots of those and lots of room for more so who cares? Very weird trade mechanic..

[runifoc]

Originally posted by Biskwik:

Ok, but still I don't get why the 1st delivery is instant.. The goods show up the second you click go.. The other thing I can't seem to find, since you've confirmed that the deal is ongoing, is the ETA of the next shipment.. Or maybe a better way to put it is this.. How do I find out the frequency of the deliveries from their source?.. What or where do I click/hover to find this out?

Cheers and thanks for the responce..

The game uses a just-in-time (JIT) supply system. You receive the imports when they are needed according to your build schedules. For example, let's say you are building a ship that requires 12 oil and will complete in 6 months. If you just import 8 oil, you are meeting 2/3 of your requirement; so, the build time becomes 9 months (3/2 of the original build time).

In actuality, you are receiving the oil JIT according to your build schedule. If you cancel the contract before the build is completed then the build time is adjusted to reflect this. Again, using the above example, if you cancel the deal after 3 months, you will have only received 4 units of oil. This also explains why you don't get your convoy ships or civilian factories back until the contract is canceled.

There is no stockpiling of imported materials. Any excess to your current build schedule is lost. Using the above example, if you contracted for 16 units of oil, you will receive just what you need as the build progresses using a total of 12 oil and the remaining 4 units are lost.

[Full Melvin]

Originally posted by runifoc:

Originally posted by Biskwik:

Ok, but still I don't get why the 1st delivery is instant.. The goods show up the second you click go.. The other thing I can't seem to find, since you've confirmed that the deal is ongoing, is the ETA of the next shipment.. Or maybe a better way to put it is this.. How do I find out the frequency of the deliveries from their source?.. What or where do I click/hover to find this out?

Cheers and thanks for the responce..

The game uses a just-in-time (JIT) supply system. You receive the imports when they are needed according to your build schedules. For example, let's say you are building a ship that requires 12 oil and will complete in 6 months. If you just import 8 oil, you are meeting 2/3 of your requirement; so, the build time becomes 9 months (3/2 of the original build time).

In actuality, you are receiving the oil JIT according to your build schedule. If you cancel the contract before the build is completed then the build time is adjusted to reflect this. Again, using the above example, if you cancel the deal after 3 months, you will have only received 4 units of oil. This also explains why you don't get your convoy ships or civilian factories back until the contract is canceled.

There is no stockpiling of imported materials. Any excess to your current build schedule is lost. Using the above example, if you contracted for 16 units of oil, you will receive just what you need as the build progresses using a total of 12 oil and the remaining 4 units are lost.

Ahhh, Now that clears my head..
Cheers and thanks for clearing that up for me..
It was Toyota who came up with the JIT delivery system in thier factories.. Now all of us are cursed by it's fragile efficiency..