On Thu, Jul 14, 2016 at 06:10:19PM -0400, Christopher Sean Hilton wrote:
> I'm interested in knowing how people, who home grow their Traveller
> Universe, impose trade routes?

There's a system in GURPS Far Trader, though it's fairly simplistic
and has quite a few flaws.  I used it for a while before deciding that
the flaws outweighed the usefulness for its intended task.

However, it's not bad for generating trade *routes*.  I did generate
some trade routes using it and all pairs weighted path algorithms, and
they came out quite well.  They still needed tweaking on the local
scales, but the overall patterns looked pretty decent.

> I see it as mainly two variable system. Better starports promote [...]
> Shorter distances promote trade so two [...]

One of the biggest factors seems to be missing from this: system
population.  There will be much greater trade volume with, between,
and through high-pop systems than low-pop ones.  The causality runs in
both directions here: high-pop worlds will (other factors being equal)
have more people who want offworld goods, more people who can supply
them, and a greater capacity to support through trade.  Also, trade
routes and hubs attract people for economic reasons, so that such
systems are more likely to end up with higher population over longer
timescales.

- Tim