Subtrade: Return to Irata description
The last game of the widely known in very narrow circles of a series of M. U. L. E., is associated with a series, apparently, only indirectly. Came through 10 years after the publication of the original M. U. L. E..
Title screen. Part of the background story from the intro. Pre-game customization of players and their perks.
The plot is very complicated and boils down to the fact that four factions (one of which you should play) is based on a fully water-covered planet Irata own underwater colony and begin the development of the economy.
Land grant. Pick the best slice of the pie. In the underwater trading center
The economy here more than the original. We grow fish produce pearls, ore and energy. Extraction is carried out by involving the workforce in the form of sea turtles. In addition to extraction, we may actively trade with our neighbours, at the same time trying to enrich themselves at their expense, going to all sorts of tricks in order to turn the pricing policy in "our side", and so on. After the end of the calendar period (year) are summed up: who made more money and became richer – and he won.
players buy and equip turtles to cultivate fields. Output per field for this round.
The reality is thousands of times more complicated than described above: the nuances here, just a lot.
The main discovered – establishing control over coral reefs. Why? Then that is on them, it turns out, inhabit the same turtles that we employ (formally, this "resource" can not produce, but this way we actually break this limit). To sell to rivals such turtles may be, but you can sell a special institution – the warehouse, which, in turn, sell the turtles to competitors on a very solid price, and this is the real way to weaken them: they have to buy, but still expensive, we don't have at all (we're a part of the leave, and the money from the warehouse will receive, but it is still linked with the price of other resources...). To reach such a way of "cheating" is very difficult, and there are certainly other options guaranteed superiority.
Another important point – the pricing system for resources. Here it is in no way independent, surprisingly, of the total stock of colonies, but only from the stock of a specific warehouse that you can use for their own purposes (e.g., to learn which warehouse those who have much, and bad times to buy from the big warehouse (cheaper there), not forgetting to monitor the dynamics of changes in their own and others the warehouses). Also note here the very high intelligence of the opponents and their acceptance often unexpected solutions: for example, they can easily refuse to trade with you in the last month of the year, when nearing the summing up (fear of fraud on your part and reduce their total income), and can and do, seeing your actions, something bad to stop for a while to trade.
It is only the "tip of the iceberg" – more precisely, the "peak" her. This game is not just difficult, it is difficult to fatigue. This is the clearest example of the fact that the game is not made for entertainment only. Because, alas, there is no fun in the game I personally have not noticed. Very hard to tell what target audience it is designed. Perhaps, not even professional economists, because the economy there's some, to put it mildly, strange. Most likely, those who have thoroughly and seriously stretch your own brain. But tellingly, even when it becomes clear some joy from this experience – just a sense of relief, nothing more. So not worth recommending to anyone, except that such "fans" of something very unusual.
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Source: Archive.org, Mobygames.com