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I would really like to not just "free" captured raider, especially since now you can't be non-hostile with their faction.
That and Slave trader come to rarely...

I don't think so. In my precedent post I used a 1000 light-year radius because it kept many system around reasonable travel time.
If you wanted to see a difference in the distance between star you would need to stretch over way longer distance, in the order of 5000ly.
It's funny but it remember me a famous question from 'Foundation' (Asimov novel)

Speaking of misunderstanding, I would hope it to be clear that we shouldn't be talking anywhere of "accidentally" meeting a inhabited planet.
At any point we would be to assume that trader/cargo/transport ship voluntarily pass by inhabited planets rather than a straight line (and again, many sf trick can be used to justify that)

Answer to SSS :

Well, there's got to be a sort of tech-tree
There's got to be a distinction between a bow, a 20th century powder gun and a Glitterworld Plasma gun.
And here's got to be better source of money unlocked as your settlement survive.

Well, even a medieval Trebuchet works better (= more accurate) than the mortars in Rimworld

I bet it would also be faster to reload.

who say sandman say sandcastle.

I've checked a little, don't seem to have been put before.

Myself I am not interested by fog of war outside of revealing underground zone.
Such game mechanic is suited for strategy combat game, something Rimworld isn't. You start with 3 colonist, not 3 combats groups of commandos.

Not all features are good for any game. Imagine what it would be if you had to cook your food in a typical fast FPS shooter.
And it isn't less realist in anyway, I consider my omnivision as Rimworld abstracting my colonist checking around without me micro-managing them..

Of course, if Tynan said he wanted to I believe he would know his stuff, but given the reason he took back the last one I don't him do so.

Already planned and done for next update
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_rCdGYp3nbSUXFG4Ky96RZW1cJGt9g_6ANZZPOHyNsg/pub

Aisde, I also would like a sort of dresser to switch into combat clothe with one direct order.

[The likelihood of anything in this fictional universe is subject to interpretation, pseudoscience and any logic one can find to support it.If you insist on saying your interpretation is the only one likely, there's not point in this discussion.]

[Text hidden for brevity, answered all at once for clarity]

There's no misunderstanding, I took for granted we were talking about what Traders event are or could be to discuss the whole subject all around. Making no judgment of value over the tropes/cliche that can be used to justify traders as they are, or alternative.

However, your arguments that "colonization attempt is more likely to" implied that it was more logical, since being more logical lead to 'harder' SF I put in perspective that using a more realistic logic/science it would not be likely (neither interstellar trading).... then that keeping the same soft-SF context, traders passing by rimworld, or planet in the process of being re-colonized can be seen as just as likely as each other.

The likelihood of anything in this fictional universe is subject to interpretation, pseudoscience and any logic one can find to support it.
If you insist on saying your interpretation is the only one likely, there's not point in this discussion.

My point being that it is absurd to insist trader must be private venture between a Colony and a to-be-colonized planet when the actual situation is no less unlikely but give more interesting backstory.
I infer that the question is less "it is more likely ?", and more "how can it fit the lore better ?" so as to not lessen Rimworld's potential by imposing a personal point of view to everyone.

On the "traveling in the middle of nowhere" :
I took for granted we had already established a valid idea "the rimworld is known and trader prefer to stop by for check-up anyway", I don't get what 'missing a planet's coordinate you are going for' have to do with anything.
Same vein, many SF tropes can also justify "the abandoned planet" tropes as well as "stranded shipwreck survivor".

But apparently not.
You are assuming a lot without considering alternative.

Btw, the (botched) 'colonization effort' count as a "shipwreck survivor" plot. All you need is a 'magnet' to justify manned spaceship to pass by, And we've discussed some already.
ex :
- If a spaceship drive is only reliable 10years, stopping by inhabitable stars 10y-of-travel make the difference between a 99% chance of surviving the travel and 50% risk of dying stranded in space because the spaceship drive failed.
- You could say that a ship that stop every 10ly can move at 0.8C, while a ship that only stop every 20ly wouldn't be safe over 0.5C.
Making the first one able to cross 20ly in 16y while the other would take 40y.
- Same with energy shield SCIENCE! Take the new shield that allow melee fighter, it would be good against space particle doesn't it ? Well, have such gigantic SCIENCE shield need to recharge every 5/10ly (again directly linked to speed)

Next : On the colonization subject and to answer your biased-question over likeliness, I insist you read the very interesting ProjectRho website which give us tool to justify what we want to achieve.

The core of this argument is that -unlike what you seem to assume- being a colony don't make you able to re-colonize anywhere soon if at all nor a necessity, and traders* (assuming they even make sense) can be anywhere if you get the right magnet.

What we know of Rimworld is that it put us in the year 5500.
In a radius of 1000ly we have like 1milions stars, if you want trading 50ly to exist at all (an aberration but let's drop that) you need to have 90% of them with at least one planet you can terraform.
Supposing the Homeworld started seeding by the year 2500, it give us 3000 years to 1) travel 2) terraform&colonize planet 3) prosper, decline or glitter.
At 90% of C a ship can reach 1000ly and still dispose of 1800year to do stuff... look a lot but not really.
# First Phase : Nothing say all ships departed from day 1, nothing say they aimed for close star first, nothing say they are homogeneously spread or started with the same technology.
# Second Phase : Terraforming can take hundreds of years, population need to grow before colonizing again, there can be war, dark age, mechanoid, psychotic boomrat event...
# Third phase : The planet might not prosper (who know the success rate ?), most might all die from plague, squirrels and many things (no trader for them), they might have lacked technology, they also won't get the ability to colonize in just a few generations, if they started with barely the minimum colonist/DNA-stock 2500 year is not much to grow above say 5 millions (And who know the workforce needed to send new colony ?), what if the population don't want to send colony ship ?
# Bonus : What if 'terraformer fleet/mechanoid' after finishing a job went to another stars ? We can find yourself with more inhabitable planet with no population than colony.

So yeah, Rimworld can be a damn entire category of planet if it want.

*On Traders :
A market need only 2 places that have offer&demand, meaning that hypothetically you can have trader between 2 barely developed planets/star system as long as it make sense for the trader.
You can also reconfigure  the 'traffic' to act like traders (my cargo ship example). What good is there to trade with underdeveloped world ? Mostly "scam them good".

So, to answer your biased-question...

Do you honestly think it's more likely that our colonists shipwrecked on this rare exactly identical x/y/z coordinate direction in-between terraformed system on the way from one terraformed system to a further terraformed system, after the civilization of this in-between system wiped itself out somehow, but before someone else re-colonized it? (Can I mention again how rare such a system would be in the first place?)

... I have my own question :
Do you honestly think in an universe with terraformed/colonized/abandoned/destroyed/glitter world, reactionless-drive, interstellar spaceship built by survivor, interstellar STL traders, mechanoid, psychic...
Do you honestly think it matter ?
I could ask you the same absurdly worded question about new colony and trader.
We are discussing a fictional world made of soft-SF concept that break fundamental law of physics, play the odds, and require to suspend our disbelief over the idea that colonization is about terraforming planet and living like Pioneers.

the edit of doom ! (nothing changed up there)
I only rediscovered now the Rimworld Universe Quick Primer.
It does change a number of thing in how I would have done my maths.
For all Tynan insist on not homogenizing planet by technological level he's kind of contradicting himself by declaring rich planet on the inside of the galactic core and the poor one on the outside.
Not that it would be possible to travel from the galactic core to the outside in less than 10 000 years
I'm thinking Tynan miscalculated the scale big time.
Guess, I'll have to speak of headcanon now...

At that point I think we all know it is all because "the game is just in alpha", but Alpha were supposed to be near unplayable, It's Early-access game that make them playable plus "reduced expectation" debuff.

YET, still good for each person to point out what exactly bother them. Me for example want more non-combat event and diplomacy, other want to fight other faction on equal footing.

And pointing out that event duration like Solar-flare didn't change is a pretty interesting remark. Those should vary.

I absolutely DO NOT WANT fog of war. Not that I believe it is possible anyway Rimworld isn't a tactical combat game and wouldn't gain from trying to be a bad one.

"Colony Leader" is also a big no. It bring nothing in term of gameplay while depriving the player from the ability to roleplay any form of hierarchy.
My counter proposal on this is always the same :
- Allow to edit the "Colonist" text field into whatever we want (be it paper-Leader or tyrannic-Anarchist)
- Have the game tales system keep this in memory.

Last we don't need to add that sort of complexity to medicine, this would only clutter us with object and micromanagement. We can easily imagine that medicine box contain a wide range of product or that medecine from the far future allow one box to be used for everything.

The rest I have no opinion on.

Thank you monk of the fish people.

Adding 'Religion' aspect (without hijacking the gameplay) can surely be done through existing mechanic, then amplified as wanted through equally simple addition (as in : I would expect it to be barely noticeable 'added idol' line in Tynan's changelog).

To my understanding 'trait' already allow the situational mood buff/debuff.
The 'fun mechanism' will allow Colonist self-generated activity.
Structure can already generate beauty and 'fuse' with the room they are in.
Faction/Event can already detect and target 'idols'.

And who know what could happen if Tynan ever add a 'trait injection' mechanism ?
You can call me an Atheist/Agnostic, yet I would totally replay a game of Rimworld to make a Large Idol in a beautiful temple and convert everyone into bloodthirsty* devout of the Void God.
*animal blood, their religion recommend meat**.
**meat from non-sentient person like non-believer.

I will resist the urge to get on another debate about Emergent Gameplay with Vagabond. I will resist the urge to get on another debate about Emergent Gameplay with Vagabond. I will resist the urge to get on another debate about Emergent Gameplay with Vagabond. I will resist the urge to get on another debate about Emergent Gameplay with Vagabond. I will resist the urge to get on another debate about Emergent Gameplay with Vagabond. I will resist the urge to get on another debate about Emergent Gameplay with Vagabond.hope Tynan and other will correct his terminology and abuse of the world Emergentthat isn't equal to AI as well as the need to knew the stuff well for it to give a good result.

Though, I'd love to ask Tynan how he'd use the term 'Emergent Gameplay' as the definition I was most familiar with warped toward something global or hype-generator.

** head explode **

This would be making Religion a hunger. A constant, nagging, driving force that will forever need feeding, just like sleep and, well... hunger. I neither need nor want another "need" that I must attend to in the daily life of my colonists amid building, harvesting, cooking and defending. Having to constantly worry about my colonist's spiritual needs is just another redundant mechanic piled on top of several already in place.
[...]

I do not see how what I said resemble your dramatizing interpretation.
Rimworld-speaking what I described is not "hunger", it doesn't need to be filled up regularly or you die. The debuff I mentioned isn't necessary outside of event and could on the opposite be a 'buff'.
All I described was as 'trait' working like any other do (cold skinned, psychically sensitive...etc) to add more depth to colonists characterization.
Plus other way it could link with thing we expect anyway like diplomacy with other faction. Just like we would expect cultist in such an environment.

In my eyes you might as well be arguing against the very idea of 'trait' and 'mood', two core elements of Rimworld.

To give a reference I consider my suggestion way simpler than kingtyris' one above.

Edit : After reflexion maybe you misunderstood when I said "Praying is considered a *fun-like activity" which fit the "hunger-like" description, I meant it only in that the religious colonist would consider praying as something that bring them *joy *fun and gain said thing, BUT also happen to negate a debuff (if we really want to not portray religion as something positive which I'm ok with)

(edit : minor correction, small add)

...let's start the Text Generator...
I wrote some of this with a 'sleep deprived' debuff

First, you need to explain why the pioneer idea is softer than the shipwrecked idea. I'm not going to just accept that unless I understand the reasoning behind it.

I already addressed the "California Gold Rush" scenario above. It's very, very improbable that there are other inhabitable systems in between point A and point B, meaning that there shouldn't be anyone passing by close enough to trade in the first place.

Let's say the myth of the self-made Pioneer isn't realistically transposable|/url] into space.
I think this website [url=http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/stellarcolony.php]AtomicRocket will cover more than I could (next page cover trading).

An Hard-sf logic for example can point out that we don't need a planet to live. If we can build comfy enough space-colony we can keep living in them better or even stay in orbit. Technology is assumed to ward-off any uncomforted/problems and all the resources found on planet can be found more easily accessible outside a gravity well.
If terraforming a planet (in person, or robot) would require to have the technology to do without first, it make terraforming unnecessary and wasteful.

Now in our context we are baseline human going toward a destination that is already inhabitable in ship paid for, no one ask how the planet was terraformed, by whom, where is the infrastructure and the organization, how it got there 50ly away from home and how it disappeared.
You just have colonist with magical tool and apparently perfect knowledge of various technology.

In short, our starting setting is quite soft to begin with (including how spaceship use reaction-less drive). It was made to allow many idea, as much the shipwreck than the pioneer.

This would be a lucrative "middle-of-nowhere" in the above post's example. For normal expansion, I concede that there might not be as many traders as there currently are in Rimworld, but it still makes more sense/is more likely than a trader happening to pass through a system on the way to another system, unless they need fuel and the pass-through system is inhabited. This wouldn't be the case with a Rim system.

First, from what I read you seem to supposing humanity will alway keep expanding its 'frontier'. But the reason it was done/possible on Earth aren't the same in space. Possibility can be divided in numerous case including Rimworld "abandoned planet".

Sorry if I repeat myself but that's where we shape the universe to fit the plot you want.

If I took a Hard-SF logic there would be no point for interstellar trader if you can bring schematic and start producing everything here in less time and effort than if would take to bring the goods from 10ly away. Especially since in hard-sf the spaceship is more costly to operate than what you would gain from trading.

But if we really want to make it fit... you can imagine the context of 'The Songs of Distant Earth' by Arthur C. Clarke. In this story human sent slow-seed-ship century before the very very hard way, then managed to built a reaction-less thruster that made possible heavy-cryogenic-ship moving at the speed of light.
But the ship travel so fast that particle it meet destroy the shield in front of it. And so they must stop in between star to rebuild the shield (out of ice) regularly.
They don't "need" the ice to be from the planet (there's asteroid), but they can.
(the whole story reference Native on island and Colonial passing by).

Back on Rimworld, as said we can imagine that trader-or-transport pass by star system they know to have inhabitable planet, to refuel/check. To answer why would they trade with you ? Because they know you are in need........... and can sell at way higher price. (we pretend here it is worth it)

I have no problem with this. It would solve a lot of questions posed without needing to answer them.

Indeed.

This is a decent possibility. Stopping at an inhabitable planet, even if it is in the middle of nowhere, would make sense for maintenance purposes if you can do so. However, if you need to travel significantly out of your way to do so (as would be usual in space), even this wouldn't be common.

'Significantly' is the key word, space is vast and it depend on the ratio of inhabited/other star systems, how much in a hurry you are. By the time you arrive a whole generation of human being might have disappeared, technology and politic will have changed...
That's part of why trade or even cargo between star system without FTL is considered unlikely/impossible in hard-SF (which itself avoid FTL).

This too is fair: We need reasons for further colonization in the first place, but, again, this is even harsher on the colonies that are further away than a theoretical "in between" world. Why would they colonize that region rather than this one? (See my above post for possible explanations.)

Also, it is possible that a large number of colonists were sent, but only a few survived after the crash, merging the shipwreck and pioneer concepts (like in my above post).

As said we need reason. Then a leitmotiv (will it improve the life of the one traveling/paying for?).
Because good planet could be as well 10ly apart than 50ly the 'colonist' are basically abandoning everyone and everything they knew.
You are describing it like an expanding frontier (which could be justified) but if you must travel years anyway with a terraforming-fleet, you might focus more on "best planet/system" rather than "closest system" first.

Remember that the lore mention planet colonized long long before then abandoned/deserted or stagnating. An 'In-between world' (even inhabited) might not be closer or more interesting to an Industrial/Glitterworld than other "outside" candidate.

In result it could give
<Glitterworld>-10ly-<candidate>---30ly---<rimworld>---50ly---<Industrialworld>---10ly---<candidate>

You might also want to consider why the planet was abandoned in the first place. Maybe you don't want to live with Mechanoid and Boomrat as neighbor (or exterminate the native again). Maybe the plasteel of the planet isn't worth recycling and the system have already been exploited* by the precedent civilization, maybe a nearby star is about to blow-up...

*just a note : this is for argumentation, myself I consider that one solar system contain more than enough resources for millennium before it get impossible to predict what the civilization will look like.

To be clear, are you aiming for soft sci-fi or hard sci-fi? I can't tell for certain.

Neither one or the other. I'm just trying to put thing in perspective.
Personally I have a soft spot for Hard-SF, but I know it tend to do bad thing to our dream (you don't want to know what it do to them)
Rimworld wouldn't survive long if analyzed realistically, and remaking its multiple facet 'harder' would be counter-productive.
But soft sci-fi isn't inferior, it is good for storytelling as long as its tropes aren't too cheesy or predictable, and this have nothing to do with realism.
All you need is preserve suspension of disbelief.

Assuming the planet isn't marbled or toxic, I see no reason for it to not become re-inhabited, especially by factions seeking power in a sector. Controlling trade routes is a big deal, and is more readily possible if you have an inhabited in-between system since people might want to stop there for maintenance, supplies, etc. (as you said)- this is most likely when the system itself is transformed into a good trading destination, giving people greater incentive to divert further off their point A to point B path than there would be otherwise.

I can poke hole in that one with noth a soft or hard sci-fi approach.
- you need the resources to colonize a planet, you must be stronger than a government.
- it will take years to start controlling the system and build a population that support your ambition (and claim for legitimacy)
- with STL comm it can take 10y-50y to receive outdated information, you'll be alone on this.
- if you are (seen as) a threat (by other planet), you will be dealt with like one by other.
- trader might just change route, the inhabited planet was good but was not necessary space is also 3D and way too vast to control as border (if hard science at least).
- but now realistically, those "trade route" couldn't be compared to maritime trade routes... if they even exist.
As said trading itself is soft-sf.

Anyway, you are clearly thinking in term of "expanding frontier", but there is no frontier in space. In Hard-SF the best way to pass by a system "unseen" is to move close to the speed of light making it impossible to match velocity if they even see you in time.

btw : you just reminded me a short story I can link you to about how a trader beat a pirate-planet who keep capturing his qualified-worker (the goods exchanged here). It went like this :
The trader could afford to have 1 ship on 10 be an expensive trap for the pirate. Himself he could absorb the over-cost but the pirate couldn't because he had no supply of qualified-pirate. (no infinite raider!)

Also, when I'm talking about the improbably breaking disbelief, that doesn't include the premise usually. Fiction is generally assumed to be "like reality unless noted". If something isn't like reality, it needs to set that up for us. What is set in a reality-like context will be criticized: Using my Superman example, human interaction is a reality-based situation, which is why when they don't act normal (recognizing that Clark's and Superman's voices are the same, that their faces are the same) it's considered "suspension breaking". On the other hand, flying is completely fantastical and part of the premise- consuming the story comes with the condition that we accept its breaks from reality where it notes it, so criticizing Superman for being "unrealistic" due to human flying being impossible is unfair and breaks the rules of willing suspension of disbelief.

Disbelief is entirely based upon people knowledges of reality or fictional tropes. Many people don't know for example that space isn't cold, that you cannot "fall from orbit" with a measly explosion or many else.
Furthermore suspension of disbelief can be invoked intentionally for the need of the story. Considering that, I don't see a need to argue over superiority of pioneer over shipwreck. The LOST IN SPACE tropes is pretty well known and accepted and the blurred lore of Rimworld allow a wide range of possibility.

Our problem here was to find if we can make the trader better. The caravan seem to work, I think we could even keep it a ship, just not an interstellar/planetary one

I don't see being able to manufacture middle-tech weapon (AK 47) as irreversibly game-breaking.

Firstly, right know the Research/tech-tree is limited so you can't put a big prerequisite to it. But gunpowder could require research, a choice over more utilitarian research.
Next, creating true middle-tech weapon would ask for metal (which can get very scarce) skills (so it is worth it) and time.
More, as your settlement/colony get bigger you will need to feel like you have grown up. That you can trade more, and so you need thing to sell that are available only late in the game
And finally, you will still dream of high-tech weapon that you cannot build.

Let's remember that for Guard to have a point you would need reasons to have them and myself I'm not interested at all by fog of war or stealth-event that require you to keep guard. I do not see Rimworld as this sort of game.

However...
Once you know enemy/neutral(supposing they can get hostile) are coming and you want a 'Drafted' that can still go eat/sleep, then maybe a toggle similar to the 'Draft' but allowing those could be interesting, but for now...