[MOD] Triangle Trade 2016-10-05

Triangle Trade

When complete, this mod will be a fairly large overhaul of Colonization. Right now I've only made a few changes, but I would like people to experiment with what I've created and let me know what doesn't work, what needs tweaking and rebalancing, and any ideas they might have for the future.

Current new features:

• Selling Ships - You can now sail ships to Europe and sell them. The sale price is based on the base price and the cost of the yields needed to build it.
• Loans - you can now take out loans from a "bank". Your debt increases each turn based on your interest rate. Debt negatively affects your game score, so you'll want to pay it off quickly and never let it accumulate. You can pay back a loan at any time in the same interface. Otherwise, the money will be taken out of your sale of goods and ships in Europe until you've paid off your debt.
• Coastal Trader - Coastal Traders are small, cheap ships. They only require a Dock, they can only carry goods, they can't explore and they can't sail to Europe. They're essentially floating Wagon Trains.
• Imperial Fleet - Your country's imperial fleet is now present on the map from the start of the game. The more colonies you have, the bigger the fleet and the more powerful the ships.
• Closed Ports - The king now has the power to shut down your ports when you anger him. Closed ports cannot load or unload goods to ships but they can load and unload units. Goods can still be moved by Wagon Train.

Changes:

• Wagon Trains are a little cheaper.
• Goods are now grouped in popups by their classification for easy searching for the one you want.
• Instead of boycotting your goods when you refuse a tax increase, the king will instead close the port in which the goods Party takes place. The port will be closed until the War of Independence during which no goods will be able to be unloaded and unloaded by ship.

Planned changes:

• Africa Screen (In Progress) - In addition to sailing to Europe, your ships will also be able to sail to Africa. The Africa screen is more limited than the Europe screen. In Africa, you can sell goods, but the only "good" available for purchase are Slave Units. Africa is in demand for finished goods: Horses, Muskets, Rum, Cigars and Tools. They have little or no use for colonial raw materials.
• Slave Units (In Progress) - Slave units consume -1 Food. In other words, a city that could only support 2 regular units will be able to support 3 Slaves. Slaves can also be traded in the Diplomacy Screen. The downside, however, is that they have a small chance of escaping and either joining a Native village or founding their own settlement.
• Plantation System - Cash crops such as Cotton, Tobacco and Sugar are being removed from the map. The only way to grow these crops will be by building Plantation improvements that give these yields. This will allow the player to concentrate particular yields in particular cities so they don't have to have raw materials trickling in from several sources spread across the map to a processing or distribution center. Furs, Ore and Lumber will be left untouched.
• Unit Trading - Some units can be traded in the Diplomacy Screen. These include Slaves, Cannon, Wagon Trains and Ships.
• Smuggling - The imperial fleet will be prowling the sea looking for scofflaws who ignore trading laws. Two civics choices banning foreign-bought goods and Slaves will be enforced if they are adopted by the King. Transports carrying these have a chance of being caught and the cargo impounded. Other than that, goods purchased from foreign colonies will be subject to an import tax that the player will have to pay upon entering one of their ports or the player can try to bribe a customs official. If this fails, the cargo will be impounded.
• Maroons - There will be a new civilization for escaped slaves called the Maroons. Their leader is Zumbi. Escaping slaves that have no Native village to flee to will found new settlements on the fringe of your colonies. They will be hostile and will harrass your colonies until you crush them.