Walking traders

[Sion]

Instead (or in addition to) the comms console (late game trading) there could be walking traders (early game trading) that visits your base (yes, I have played Dwarf Fortress), the Launch pad could serve as the trading area that the traders try to path find to and you trade as usual but selects the trading person instead of the comms console (this probably means "tiny amount of code to rewrite").

Some neat effects of this:
* Maybe it can be used in multiplayer?
** Like select one or more colonist and send them on a trading mission and they walk out of the screen, and eventually return.
* The trader AI need to haul the goods that they want to sell and buy, so they cant bring much.
* The traders could possibly use some sort of vehicle to increase hauling capacity.
* You can see how the traders look.
* The traders don't have to be human...
* The slave trader can have the slaves follow the trader in a chain or something, for added realism (with a chance to escape?).
* To receive slave traders a prison needs to be built in the trading area?
* The traders can be killed by raiders (penalty for this?).

[Monkfish]

Nice ideas. I'm reminded of the caravan merchants in Fallout, which used two-headed pack Brahmin to haul their wares about. I also like the idea of slave traders appearing with their slaves in tow. Perhaps they could have bodyguards and you'd have the option of attacking them, either to steal the slaves (negative standings impact to all factions involved, but free slaves right?), or you could release them (positive standing with the slave's faction, which may result in them helping you out of a sticky spot later, and a negative impact with the slavers, meaning they'd be pissed with you and may attack).

[Cala13er]

I have a similar incident in my mod. And you communicate to him through a modifed comms console.

However his trading is currently incomplete and will not be in the first release of my industrial rim mod for alpha 3.