The Space Economy is an immersive, realistic simulation of all financial management aspects of being a Ship Captain. It implements the following systems to make the economy of the Settled Systems feel alive and engaging.

Contact/Feedback

If you encounter any issues, please let me know. You may join the Spacefarer Discord at https://discord.gg/YQHjkGd89x or via the QR code. I can also be reached in the official BGS Discord as S1nderion.

Ship Costs

It now costs money to keep your ship running - and it adds up quickly! Spaceports and Local Administration charge their own fees, taxes, and outright bribes to visiting pilots. These must be carefully balanced to stay afloat as a Space Captain.

Luckily, you have some tools at your disposal, like the Ship's Ledger - which lets you view cost breakdowns. You can also sign a Charter with one of the Settled System's Factions to offset travel costs.

Ship's Ledger

A new Terminal is available which can be used to check Recent or Upcoming Costs, view immersive tutorials or system explanations, and more. It can be crafted on your ship at any time, but costs some Credits. This Ledger features a customized 3d model and an immersive Screensaver, for the Ship Variant. A 'remote-access' variant can be made at any Outpost once Commerce Rank 2 is attained.

Make sure to check your Ledger regularly to stay apprised of your financial situation!

Immersive Rebalance

A variety of the game's costs and rewards have been adjusted for immersion and reactivity. This rebalance has intentionally been kept lightweight to avoid hyperinflation or excessive grind. The goal is instead to reward strategy and careful planning throughout the course of the game.

Please note: The Ship Purchasing menu can only display 6 digits. Class C Ships in The Space Economy may be over 1 Million Credits!

• Crafted, organic, and uncommon+ resources are all more valuable - making crafting, mining, hunting, and farming worthwhile careers.
• Some specific changes are made, like: Helium-3 being a bit more expensive, or Caelumite being relatively less valuable to merchants.
• Ship part values have been carefully adjusted using a custom six-factor rarity system.
• Ships are generally much more expensive - although Class A vessels remain affordable both to operate and to purchase!
• Quest Rewards are partially unleveled - making side quests far more useful and worth your time, especially in the early game.
• Increasing your Negotiations Skill lets you sometimes get more Credits from side quests!
• Quest-related gifts, bribes, and payments have been thoughtfully adjusted to provide a more immersive RPG-style experience.
• Mission board rewards scale heavily on amount when possible, so careers like Space Trucking can be lucrative.
• Of course, you need a big ship to make a lot of money Trucking, and big ships cost a lot of money to run...

All changes are thoughtfully considered following this general philosophy.

Smarter Bartering

Your Buy and Sell values with the game's merchants can vary strongly according to your Background or Traits, Quest Progress, Skills, and more. Some merchants, like the Trade Authority, have a lot more Credits but also generally pay less for goods.

Shopping around for the best prices is recommended to get the most out of selling Loot or spending Credits.

Charters

You can acquire a Charter by joining (almost) any of the game's major factions. These Charters will be paid against any costs in valid Ports of Call.

• Constellation pays all Costs for the Frontier.
• The Vanguard pays a small budget anywhere in the Settled Systems.
• The Rangers pay a bit more, but only in the Freestar Collective.
• You may also benefit from the Jemison Grant until you join a Faction.

These arrangements can help freelancers get started and save up for bigger, more capable ships.

Outpost Registration

Establishing an Outpost in a Settled System is subject to a small fee. There is some adjustment for costs based on Faction, Desirability, and Location. Belonging to the Faction which controls the System may offer a significant discount.

If a System is not Settled, there are no restrictions on placing outposts.

Management Systems

Your ship no longer just runs itself! You must balance a variety of costs to stay afloat as you progress. Most functions relating to the Management System are available through the Ship's Ledger.

There are numerous subsystems to manage. A brief overview is as follows:

Operational Costs

Your ships now have an array of costs associated with their management. Crew Wages, Dry-Dock fees for inactive vessels, Recurring Premiums on insurance, and more may appear. These can be viewed in the Ledger, alongside a countdown until they must be paid. Please note that all costs are paid automatically on the day they are due.

No specific action is needed - except to have the Credits available for payment, of course.

Insurance and Registration

Registration costs have been moderately reduced. It is now possible to make a healthy profit selling captured ships. However, if you wish to pilot them for yourself, there are some new considerations. Your ship now must be Insured if you wish to make use of Spaceports.

If you are found to be traveling without Insurance, you will be fined heavily.

Fines and Sanctions

Unpaid Expenses or specific Violations may result in Trade Authority Sanctions. For instance, flying without a valid Pilot's License is a Criminally Sanctionable Offense! These can be viewed and paid via the Terminal, but will also be paid down automatically on a weekly basis.

If you are in Professional mode, Criminal Sanctions can cause an Impound scenario if they exceed a certain amount.

Capital Management Index

A complex analysis of your gameplay and financial situation is used to determine costs like Insurance. This is referred to as a Capital Management Index, and it is only updated when certain transactions are made. You can view your latest assigned Capital Management Index rating via the Ledger.

Make sure to manage your affairs carefully to enable lower costs and greater financial security as you play!

Towing and Retrieval

When you commandeer a new ship, you must now pay a fee to retrieve your former vessel. This amount varies based on the size of the ship and the risk associated with retrieving it (i.e. Level of the system it is in).

This system is designed to incentivize thoughtful Travel and Fleet Management.

Provisioning

You may choose to Provision from pre-approved Trade Authority Item Guidelines at any Spaceport. There is a small surcharge for Provisioned goods versus buying them directly - at first. However, as you gain skills and forge business relationships, you may find yourself with various discounts. Take advantage of these and the fine-tuned controls in the Ledger to stock up on all the essentials quickly and conveniently.

Fueling

The mod features a basic simulation of fuel consumption via Credit Costs when landing in Spaceports. Visiting Star-Stations will allow for less expensive Fueling than Spaceports.

This will make travel more expensive, and is recommended for in-depth simulation gameplay.

GalBank Business Accounts

As you gain resources and experiences, you may become eligible for a Business Account through GalBank! This will allow you to separate your personal and business finances, and all new Costs will only draw from your account balance. Additionally, you will gain special global discounts for all Costs as you increase your stored balance.

Compatibility

The Space Economy is generally compatible with most types of mods. It can be installed on a new game or ongoing save without issues. It is recommended to load as late as possible.

It is designed to work seamlessly with the following kinds of mods: Real Fuel - Automatically refuel at Spaceports if Fueling is enabled. TN's Out in the Blackness or Crew Eats Food - Provisioning lets you smartly stock up on food for your crew.

It may be used with general gameplay overhauls (Ascension, Jupiter Balance, Royal Galaxy, etc.) if it is loaded after them. It is not compatible with other Economy-specific overhauls, or with Cost of Spacing/Cost of Living - as equivalent features are included. If you are switching from COS or COL, simply uninstall them before installing The Space Economy.

Mods that alter the Commerce and Negotiations skills may change perk descriptions and overall balance slightly.

Configuration

The majority of configuration for Space Economy systems is done through the Ledger. However, the following Gameplay Options are available.

[PAUSE SYSTEMS] - If enabled, most systems will not run until unpaused. [COST ADJUSTMENTS] - In Simulation mode, costs begin and scale higher for more immersive management gameplay. [NOTIFICATIONS] - This setting will allow you to disable recurring notifications. [MANAGEMENT MODES] - If this is set to Professional, all 'safeguards' are disabled.

Please note: Professional mode is only recommended for experienced Captains, as it may cause you to lose ships from your fleet or become impounded in certain locations. However, it is designed to be fair - no costs are changed, only consequences for financial mismanagement.

Notes

Firstly, if you read all the way down here, Wow - Thank you! I think you will enjoy the mod, it has a lot of reading too.

The Space Economy is my final expression of a small idea I had when playing the game on release day, which has been in constant revision ever since. Thank you to everyone along the way who has shared ideas or given feedback. I hope this mod brings you joy.