How is trade ship frequency determined?

[asanbr]

Over many games I've got the impression that there are random settings for each map/game which decides the frequency of different types of trade ships. In some games I always have a bulk trader available but never a pirate merchant, and vice versa.

I need to adapt my game to that and I think it makes the game more interesting. I'd like to know more about just how it works, does anyone know?

[Duban]

Over many games I've got the impression that there are random settings for each map/game which decides the frequency of different types of trade ships. In some games I always have a bulk trader available but never a pirate merchant, and vice versa.

I need to adapt my game to that and I think it makes the game more interesting. I'd like to know more about just how it works, does anyone know?

It's random. Humans are built for pattern recognition, and are prone to finding patterns that don't actually exist. Actually write down a log of trader activity, tell me what you think is wrong, and I'll show you a proper mathematical breakdown.