Hey can some one give me trade empire Tips?

Lots of starbases with trade bonuses. Try to lay them out so that other empires can't trade through your sectors to each other, and keep your trade routes balanced between the other empires, or stick to empires you know you can trust (I've found the only way to achieve that level of trust is to have an alliance).

Originate all of your trade routes in a seriously beefed up system (preferably with two high-PQ planets with large populations, and maybe a few of the capitols), and if you've got more than one, use the one farthest from where you're sending the freighter.

I'm hardly an expert at this game, so take all of this with a grain of salt.

To be a master trader, you need to be at peace.
To remain at peace, you need (1) military power or (2) strong allies or (3) strong trade relationships.

My advice is buff your military first -- that makes you a less attractive target. Once everyone is at war with someone else, they should be slightly less eager to get involved in more wars.

Allies are likely to drag you into wars.

Since the number of trade routes is quite limited, you need to set priorities. Choose one or two civs to trade with and build trade-boosting starbases along the route(s). To discourage piracy, place ships along the route with Auto-Attack orders.

Takes this advice with a grain of salt -- I'm no master trader. Haven't the patience to follow my own advice.

My advice is that you should build the Aprohidic or something those big boxes that say trade good. Ths is because the more you have, the more the other civilizations will want to trade with you. Also research things that boost your trade -- Tade 10+ techs.

By following this I don't have to go to them but they come to me such that a frieghter comes once every two turns. So now I reel in 256 bc each month.

Hope this helps you

I think Windscion hits the nail on the head with his point about having a strong military. Even if you are a trading empire and don't intend to use your military strength, you still need to have it. The AI is clever enough to recognize easy pickings.

~SDC~

u need to have some military strength still, thats true, or they will just pick on you

don't trade with people that hate you, they may declare war on you, put ur starbases allong the trade routes and buff up the defense+trade ship bonuses

your main techs u want:
new ships
trade
diplo
espianoise (spelling?)

make sure to get plenty of epianoise on all of your enemies, as it can lead to war if you don't, and war is the main thing you need to avoid, try trading with powerful minor civs, or good major civs, evil ones can still backstab you more commonly

~SDC~

I can't seem to assemble coherent paragraphs tonight, so here's a list of things to consider when building a trade empire:

The best trade routes run between systems with high income. The best route is between two systems which BOTH have good income. The length of the trade route is far far FAR less important.

Planet quality, large population, and improvements which boost economy will all improve the planetary income.

Probably the most important planetary improvement early on is economic capital.

I almost always begin my trade routes at my economic capital.

You can create multiple trade routes between the same two systems.

Early on, minor civilizations have better economies since they don't expand much (which reduces population) and they spend lots of time building planetary improvements (give them trade and they will build an economic capital)

Minor civs are much less likely to go to war with you without provocation, which means your trade routes to them are often more stable.

Freighters are cheap. Establish your maximum number of trade routes as quickly as possible. An empty trade route is costing you money every turn, don't expect the distance bonus to make up for it.

Freighters are cheap. After you are at your maximum number of routes, continue to send out freighters to create better routes, and cancel an underperforming route when your freighter arrives at a destination which would create a better route.

Freighters are cheap. Continue to send out freighters to potential new markets, even if you won't immediately open a trade route. You will eventually research more trade routes, and you wil be in a position to use them immediately. Also, you will be in a better position to stabilize your income if one of your existing trade routes is interrupted by war.

Starbases can add modules to increase trade revenue.

Trade gives equal money to BOTH civilizations each turn. This makes aliens like you (you give them free money)




Downsides:

Trade gives equal money to BOTH civilizations each turn. Don't make the aliens too strong, you're trying to beat them, remember?

Cancelling a trade route will make an alien civilization like you less. Don't go overboard improving your routes.




Things I don't really know:

Starbases improve routes when your little freighter is in the sector. Some people think the same bonus is also applied to alien trade routes. I don't know.

Starbases improve routes when your little freighter is in the sector. I think that this is the only time that the bonus is applied. I've noticed, though, that if you destroy a starbase it takes several turns before the planets in the sector catch on and lose things like production bonus. So it may be that the income from trade routes lags a few turns behind what the freighter is experiencing. Some people think that if a trade route passes through the sector with starbase modules to increase trade, then the trade route ALWAYS gets the bonus no matter where the little freighter is. I don't know.

One more thing I don't know: whether total system income matters. I'm not sure if a system with five poor quality colonized planets in it is better to trade with than a system with only one high quality planet. It may consider the total system income, or it may consider the income from the best planet in the start/destination sectors or it may consider the income from only the FIRST planet in each sector. Keep your eyes open, I don't know.

I don't know about cancelling routes if you find a better one--I was under the impression that the time the trade route has been in existence is a major factor in the return on a route. So that's another thing to consider.

~SDC~

Pick one or two specific races to cultivate as friends. If they ask for help, give it. Send them lots of trade. Don't worry about building them up, since you're probably not going to try for a conquest win.

Build up your military and keep an eye on the military graph at all times.

Cultivate influence - the kind you vote with. Lots of issues will come up in the UP that you will *want to control*. It may take half the game to get there, but it's worth the end result.

If a trade Federation comes up, go for it. It means never having anyone tell you a trade route's been discontinued.

Be wary of alliances, for they *will* drag you to war. If your military strength is good enough and your diplomacy equally good, you can keep yourself from staying at war, but the senate will vote you back in every few turns. Eventually, the race in question will stop buying it. Better to avoid it altogether.

Don't be afraid to give a few gifts to everyone. If you can raise their attitude toward you, you can eventually ally (and win by alliance.

If you go for good, help wipe out evil, and vice versa. For trade, I'd advise good over evil, but either can work.

~SDC~

Even on Subnormal, the AI will mug you if your military is a pushover, so pay attention to that suggestion about buffing your military.