Matrix Games Forums

This is a screenshot from my current game that I started after the Shakturi DLC released for Distant Worlds 2. Playing as a Human Empire, nomad start that finally settled seen in blue to the far galactic west. The light blue to the galactic northeast is another Human Empire, the Disanteom Empire specifically, that I have a free trade agreement with. I've selected a mining station in their home system that has a nice polymer resource, and I was wondering why all my civilian freighters aren't buying any polymer with our free trade agreement. The reason I bring this up is because my current polymer stockpiles are at 17. Yes, it is that bad at the current moment.
I was under the impression that the section of the diplomacy menu that outlines "This faction can supply our resource shortages" lists resources that freighters will buy if it cannot be produced domestically, is this incorrect? As it stands I have 21 total freighters, 17 of which are simply idling at the homeworld. The private sector cash reserves are also at $449,000, if that information is relevant.
Getting polymer from mining ships is unfeasible at the moment, since everything in a practical range around the homeworld is already settled and claimed. There is the possibility of sabotaging a polymer mining base of an unfriendly faction. But even if that was successful, I still wouldn't have enough to then build a mining base in its place.
I have been considering retiring portions of the military fleets, but as a last resort, obviously. I've read on other posts that it is possible to halt the production of civilian ships by flagging all designs as obsolete, so they don't consume precious resources that would be recycled from the military vessels.
The only other source to be found is from the southeastern Empire in purple, in the Kryellea system. But I recently just finished a war they declared on me so they aren't too agreeable on anything. I'm sure its something on my end I'm missing, so some clarification would be appreciated, and let me know if this save is bricked or not.
Thanks in advance!

That save looks like it might be bricked if you can't take something by force soon. 7 systems being the extent of your territory is really small. And you're playing Human and don't have polymer in your home system... unlucky.

Regarding the trade not happening, prime guess: Not in fuel range (50%) of freighters. Yours or theirs.

Other guesses:
Automation wants to reserve a large amount for something, not leaving anything for resource purchase. State funds buy resources- civilian funds have nothing to do with resources, aside from luxuries increasing development at colonies. Might be the case even if you have automation disabled.

There was a trade arranged, but something happened to the freighter(s). Freighters that are spooked by threats and extremely timid retreat settings may result in failed deliveries.

Well it's not so much that my home system didn't start with polymer as I was trying out the refugee start with 18 auto-generated empires added, so there wasn't much real-estate to pick from. Though that said, I just also up and forgot to look for polymer when settling, so that certainly didn't help.

Since I last posted though, I did take a Mortalen polymer mining station by force, which required retiring and recycling a few military ships to get enough polymer to make refit the remaining fleet with assault pods. The Mortalen station was successfully captured and although it took a while, the freighters eventually go their bearing straight and got some polymer shipped to the homeworld. Unfortunately for me, the old Mortalen mining base is in Gizurean territory, so I'll have to see how that goes.

Anyways, the freighters moving to the newly acquired base makes me think it definitely wasn't the fuel range of the freighters being an issue, mine specifically, unsure about the other empire's freighters. You can't see the newly captured station on the image I posted, it's even further to the galactic east than the other human Empire's capital.

I didn't think about automated resource reserves being an issue, or that it was actually state funds and not civilian that purchase resources in trades, I'll have to remember that for the future.

Even though polymer is secured now, I'll check to see if there are any hostile entities in the other systems to see if that could have been what spooked my freighters. I'd really like it if they'd start trading with the immediate neighbors for a while, since the only other backup source of polymer I've managed to secure in the meantime is in a system with three different nebulas overlapping it. And nebulas being nebulas, the pathfinding for anything entering and leaving is absolutely horrendous.

Thanks for the advice!