I think it would be a more legitimate question to ask why a cargo ship (or ships with hangars) require as much fuel when fully loaded as when empty. This goes for it's speed as well. The same with missile space, fuel etc.. It works for tugs.
I agree, perhaps if the civilian cargo ships became bigger instead of more numerous, there would be extra calculation power over to simulate such things?
Agreed. Though, as you mention, it's more stuff to keep track of. I do like the idea of having civilian cargo ships tend towards larger sizes. That might help existing game speed issues, too.
Some related observations:
a) If shipping is profitable, more private companies will be founded and more private ships will be built.
b) The
Too many civilian ships thread talks about an issue where civilian shipping basically explodes and becomes so prolific that it dramatically slows down the game. It seems not everyone experiences this, but it's more than one or two isolated cases.
c) Commercial Ships owned by private companies do not require fuel.
d) Ships designed with a commercial engine are much more fuel efficient, using only 10% of the fuel of a military engine of the same power.
e) Each freighter run costs 5 wealth for a same system contract and 10 wealth for an interstellar contract.
Suggestions:
Why not create a financial incentive for private companies to launch larger and larger ships as long as the routes are profitable enough to justify it? Possible solutions:
1) Have privately-owned civilian ships use a
small amount of fuel and force them to deduct this cost from their profit margin. With larger ships able to haul more stuff for each round trip on the same amount of fuel (or less), they'd be more profitable. (Maybe make larger ships slightly faster, too?) If running out of Sorium becomes a concern, that might be fixed by increasing available amounts.
2) Profit maximization can be calculated as a function of revenue, minus costs, over time. Revenue is currently a fixed rate of 5 or 10 wealth per contract. With larger ships able to handle larger contracts in a single trip, vs making multiple trips, they take less time to complete the contract. Larger ships being able to handle more contracts in a give time span should have them considered more profitable. (Though, larger ships cost more to produce. So the ship should have to pay for itself before it is considered profitable and justification to produce more.)
3) Instead of a fixed rate, one
could have the price of a contract vary somewhat according to the size to make larger contracts generate more revenue. (Perhaps, say, 2 to 8 for same system contracts and 9 to 15 for interstellar contracts?)
4)
Alternatively, just program a preference for private companies to launch larger ships vs. smaller ones the more time passes and the more profit they gain.
Also, do civilian ships have a lifespan (in years) after which a company must retired (scrap) them? If not, something like that might eventually reduce the number of smaller ships companies will initially produce.
