The convoy economy is kind of stupid

[Voksenlokker]

For starters, it completely inhibits playing playing tall since the size of your export/import economy is fixed to the level of your ports multiplied by your fairly limited tech options (which is made worse by the inevitable oil shortage).

This in turn means that landlocked nations absolutely cannot function as free traders, and neither can small nations. I think that this is quite unrealistic, since the early 20th century saw a lot of export/import-focused, relatively small economies (Denmark, Sweden, Belgium come to mind) and even a landlocked one (Switzerland). It inhibits what should be a valid playstyle. It also heavily nerfs the free trade policy, since you are really limited in that regard not by the bureaucracy costs that free trade tackles, but rather convoy shortage.

I think a solution is to either make convoys a tradable resource, or to make a trade route not require convoys if it passes through a nation through which you have a trade agreement, similar to the way customs unions work.

[kgkong]

While this area does need work, I think being able to establish market hubs would be nice. Take advantage of known trade routes such as The Silk Road. They've added the Suez and Panama Canal as optional features in-game but they're relatively meaningless in what they do provide.

I think turning those canals into market hubs and having a diplomatic interest in a region where a market hub exists should allow you to perhaps make a trade agreement to use hub, expand your market to other nations also involved with the hub, and provide an extra port or dock to utilize for convoy production.

[DinoMight]

yea exactly this

only way currently of gaining more convoys besides playing coastally wide
is to try to add countries that have convoys, into your customs union... which is very far from ideal

i think you nailed it perfectly

[Voksenlokker]

@Kinggorilla

Could work. Wouldn't solve the Switzerland problem. I never played the Swiss but my experience with other nations tells me they should be functionally impossible as a free trade nation.

[Voksenlokker]

Originally posted by DinoMight:

yea exactly this

only way currently of gaining more convoys besides playing coastally wide
is to try to add countries that have convoys, into your customs union... which is very far from ideal

i think you nailed it perfectly

Thank you. It's also absurd in that the best way for you to solve your shortage of convoys is to attack some undefended coastal nations on the other side of the planet. As if that wouldn't make the convoy shortage much worse.

[kgkong]

Originally posted by Voksenlokker:

Could work. Wouldn't solve the Switzerland problem. I never played the Swiss but my experience with other nations tells me they should be functionally impossible as a free trade nation.

It's challenging for damn sure. I've done free trade playthroughs as Rwanda. You are totally limited in your reach for market range being landlocked. But come mid-late game range, I had GB, America, France and Russia all around me (Russia and America never touched my borders) but I was able to trade with them until I finally conquered my through France to the Kenyan coast.

[morganjah]

They totally screwed up ignoring transportation in the Victorian Age. It should have been the basis of the economic engine. None of the economics work, or will ever work, without transportation.

[Waggy]

I see what they're trying to do, put a cost on trade so you don't trade without limit, using bureaucracy and convoys as limits. But I also see how countries like Netherlands could achieve massive trade at its trading peak in real life historically, yet a nation of similar size in game cannot because it wasn't designed with large port infrastructure in that province... Maybe a mod to remove port limit so it's like a government building?