[FASA's The Federation] Planetary Trade Profile

[Captain Joy]

Does anybody know what the "Planetary Trade Profile" in FASFA's The Federation means? For example, the world Albireo is given a Planetary Trade Profile of CCDBECC/C (C).

[Anaraxes]

Google shows me a Yahoo Groups post with an explanation:
--
"The standard PTP listing consists of an eight-letter code (Terran standard alphabet), followed by a one-letter population rating. The first seven letters represent a relative value placed on the following types of trade goods: Foodstuffs & Agricultural Goods, Norma Minerals & Raw Materials, Radioactives & Special Minerals, Drugs & Refined Medicinal Agents, Low Technology Goods, Medium Technology Goods, High Technology Goods. The last item, Luxury Goods, is rated on a different scale and is separated from the others by a slash (/). At the end, the population rating is enclosed in parentheses.

The first seven items listed in the PTP code are rated on a scale from A (lowest) to H (highest), with D as an arbitrary center point representing a normal level od demand. The D level is based on the trade record of Terra, so the home planet of Humans has ratings of D in all seven positions, buy definition. Each level below D indicates a reduction od demand of about 1/4 normal and each level above indicates an increase in demand by like amount. Thus, a planet rated B in one commodity has a demand level of about half a planet with a D rating. A planet with a rating of H has a basic demand level of about twice that of a planet with a D rating.

The demand level for a commodity will indicate a relative price one can expect for goods of that type. For example, a planet with an H rating in foodstuffs and agricultural products generally will buy and sell those products at about twice the price of a planet with a D rating.

The major factor that affects a planet's rating is what its major exports and imports have been in the past...

Luxury Items Code
The luxury items category is coded a bit differently than the others, because the demand for luxury items fluctuates much more widely than other categories. There are only four ratings here, from A to D. An A rating indicates a world whose consumption of luxury items is high, while a D rating indicates a low consumption of such items. The C rating is considered as normal, though this normal rating is completely arbitrary and is not based on the consumption statistics of Terra, as are other ratings. (Terra, as a highly urbanized world with a strong economy whose inhabitants have much leisure time, carries an A rating.) A planet rated B has about 1.5 times the normal demand for luxuries of a C-rated world, with a planet rated A showing twice that demand. A planet rated D consumes half the amount of luxury goods as a world rated C...

Population Code
The final code indicates the population rating of the planet. What good would it be to carry a large cargo of foodstuffs to an industrial colony if that colony were too sparsely populated to absorb the load into their local economy? ...
A population rating of A corresponds to a densely populated, heavily urbanized world such as Terra or Tellar. A rating of B would represent an advanced, well populated world where the population is not as concentrated in urban areas, such as Vulcan. A population rating of C represents worlds where population is controlled and evenly distributed, or where advanced urbanization has not taken place, such as Cait or Edo. A rating of D designates a world such as Axanar, where inhospitable conditions hold sway over much of the surface.

A rating of E is applied to a world where the population is spread over only a small part of the world, as on a developing colony, or is spread extremely thinly, as on the resort world of Liebschen, where the only permanent population is scattered in over 300 small resort settlements scattered about the planet. The population rating of X is reserved for worlds where there is only a relatively thinly population, such as worlds containing a single new colony settlement, a military base, or a scientific station."
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https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/...ns/topics/3545

[Captain Joy]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/...ns/topics/3545

from that link: "Straight from "Spacelanes", pg 42:". Is "Spacelanes" the name of it a FASA book? I'm not familiar with it.

And thanks for digging up that information for me, Anaraxes. I did a(n obviously pathetic) Google search, but managed to miss that.

[adm]

I'd have to find my old books, but it's either explained in the basic rules, or in Trader Captains and Merchant Princes.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by Captain Joy

Is "Spacelanes" the name of it a FASA book? I'm not familiar with it.

Apparently it used to be bundled with "Trader Captains and Merchant Princes". See Wayne's Books list of FASA ST books (about halfway down the page). Also, Amazon has an entry for it. (Best Seller Number 10,576,520...)

IIRC, I only have (or had) the basic set, the (first) Klingon book, and the Starship Construction Manual. So these are all new to me, too.

And thanks for digging up that information for me

No problem. I like practicing my Research/TL8 skill. It's easier to use other people's questions than think of my own :)

[adm]

I haven't to my books yet, but you appear to have what you need. Good luck.

[ULFGARD]

If no one else finds it before I do, I'll answer. I've got it somewhere -- I remember it being one of my favorite supplements together with the Triangle.

[Captain Joy]

Originally Posted by adm

I haven't to my books yet, but you appear to have what you need. Good luck.

Yes, my original question has been answered, but I am curious about that Spacelines supplement. I have the Trader Captains supplement; it does not explain the Planetary Trade Profile.

[RogerBW]

Originally Posted by Captain Joy

Yes, my original question has been answered, but I am curious about that Spacelines supplement. I have the Trader Captains supplement; it does not explain the Planetary Trade Profile.

As far as I've been able to piece together from fading memory and web searches:

• the first edition of TC&MP may have been a single volume binding the player book and the GM book together.
• certainly by the second edition they were two separate books: the player book was Spacelanes magazine (not Spacelines), and the GM book was TC&MP.

So a book labelled TC&MP might be just half of the full product. Here's a contents page of the second edition GM book, from eBay: http://galleryplus.ebayimg.com/ws/we..._1/500x500.jpg

[adm]

Found my stuff. The numbers from the original question are in the Game Master booklet from the boxed set, and were adequately described described above.

1E Trader Captains and Merchant Princes was ~50 pages, 2E was over 200 pages. Spacelanes was the player book, and is presented as a magazine from the Star Trek universe, and is an odd blend of ads, fake ads, random articles describing a merchants life, and a bit of gear.