Private sector running out of cash...

[TheSAguy]

Thanks Tcby,
I guess what really starting to frustrate me is that this is not clear. Why does it not show up on the Empire summary screen.
If it's fuel, upgrades, buying fuel or whatever it ends up being, I would like to see that expense listed vs. not having a clue and having and ruining the game for me.

[Tcby]

...which is totally reasonable. For what it's worth, whatever the cause ends up being it will probably be very obscure. Your problem is certainly not common... I can't remember ever seeing it before.

It'll take me a while to get started because I have to redownload and install DWE (I use a version that I have modified quite a bit). But expect to hear back in about 30 minutes.

[Tcby]

Ok, first guess: at the start of your game you assign a mercenary smuggling mission for all resources (giving a bonus of 100 credits on top of the asking price) per the advisor's suggestion. You renew this whenever you get a message saying it has expired? I can't remember how long the missions run for, but I see you have run this mission three times so far.

The current contract alone has cost 166000 credits. I'm guessing this is where your losses are coming from. I'll now end the contract and see what happens to your cash on hand. Brb in 5 minutes.

[Tcby]

Ok, I'm going with smuggling missions. They wouldn't have been quite so expensive if one of the pirates hadn't found a super luxury. You have almost 6000 loros fruit (base price 100 credits, + the 100 credit bonus) from these smuggling missions. Also note that 10 pirate factions accepted your offer.

Putting up a mission to give a large credit bonus for all resources (in effect, making common steel as valuable as loros fruit) for multiple years, with no limit to the amount of stuff the pirates will give you, can be...expensive [:'(].

The advisor suggests this mission at the start of the game because you are low on a number of resources. By the ninth year with a single colony, you definitely do not need to be running this mission.

A year into the game and your cash on hand continues to increase as expected.

Screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/wy7wroD.jpg

[Aeson]

I just ran a test game, and it appears that the bonus payments on smuggling missions come out of the private sector's pockets, rather than the state's pockets. So yes, Tcby's guess that the smuggling mission you assigned that has cost you 166,000 credits is likely a large part of why your private sector is doing as poorly as it is. I didn't run my test game long enough to see if the private sector would keep paying the bonus even when it went into debt, but I see no reason why it wouldn't; I've never seen the game cancel or prevent the assignment of smuggling missions due to lack of funds.

Edit: and Tcby got back before I did. Still, it's independent confirmation if you care for that.

[Tcby]

Oh yes, good catch Aeson. I should have explicitly stated that smuggling missions cost your private sector. Just like any normal resource transaction, they are the ones who buy/sell the raw materials.

[Aeson]

Yeah, I brought it up because I had kind of assumed that it was the state that paid the bonus because it's the state that assigned the mission. That, however, was not the case; watching the number for the bonus payment climb while having no apparent effect on the state cash reserve and also watching the private sector's cash reserve fall by numbers suspiciously similar to the bonus payment amounts convinced me that the private sector was paying the bonus I was offering.

[Tcby]

Yeah, it's a detail that should really be mentioned. It makes sense, but it isn't what I originally thought either. Looks like I'll put that on my list of things I'd like to add to the galactopedia, one day [:)]

[TheSAguy]

OMG!! Thanks Tcby and Aeson!
Those darn smugglers...

Well I'm glad that's solved, it was really driving me nuts.
That should really be a line item in the budget or they should not be able to buy if they don't have the funds!

Thanks again!!

[Tcby]

I agree!

[feelotraveller]

Loros fruit [X(] smuggling missions [8|] ah that would explain it. [;)]

[TheSAguy]

Just wanted to say thanks again, this did solve my issue,
Happily conquering the universe again!

[Keston]

ORIGINAL: feelotraveller

Loros fruit [X(] smuggling missions [8|] ah that would explain it. [;)]

Those stupid fruitheads will do anything for a fix.