Trade classification

Within each UWP is a remarks section, used to record various information that might be of interest. Its main use, however, is to record Trade classification codes for the use of merchants and other traders. Not all world descriptions have trade classifications and/or remarks, some have many of each. The trade classification data is only as good as the source. Prospective merchants should be aware that trade classification data may change or be incorrect.

Trade Classifications

Trade Classifications are used in determining the purchase/sale price of goods. The area in the UWP for the trade classifications (which are usually abbreviated to two letters) is also used for additional remarks. Trade classifications are divided into seven categories

Planetary

Asteroid Belt (As): A ring of many small worldlets, not capable of retaining an atmosphere or water. Asteroid Belt goods market well to Industrial, Non-agricultural, Vacuum Worlds, and Asteroid Belts. Asteroid Belts are good markets for Agricultural, Industrial, Non-agricultural, and Vacuum Worlds.
Desert World (De): Desert worlds have no free-standing water. Desert World goods sell well to Desert and Nonagricultural Worlds. They are good markets for Agricultural, Desert, Industrial, Nonagricultural, and Rich Worlds.
Fluid Oceans (Fl): A fluid world has oceans of a liquid other than water, e.g., ammonia or methane. Non-water oceans may be sources of raw materials, and the World's products sell well on Industrial and Fluid Worlds. Worlds with fluid oceans are good markets for Fluid and Industrial Worlds.
Garden World (Ga): A world hospitable to most sophonts, which does not require protective equipment.
Hellworld (He): A world inhospitable to most sophonts.
Ice-Capped (Ic): A world with little or no atmosphere with all of its water frozen. Goods from Ice-capped Worlds sell well on Industrial Worlds; the worlds are poor markets.
Ocean World (Oc): Ocean worlds are covered with very deep oceans and less that 1% land above sea level.
Vacuum World (Va): Single worlds with no atmosphere. Vacuum Worlds are markets for goods from Asteroid Belts, and Industrial, Nonagricultural and Vacuum Worlds. They are good sources of cargoes for Asteroid Belts, Industrial Worlds, and Vacuum Worlds.
Water World (Wa): Water worlds have 90% or more of their surface coved in an ocean of H₂O. Water Worlds are good markets for Industrial and Water Worlds They are good sources of cargoes for Industrial, Rich, and Water Worlds.

Population

Barren World (Ba): A Barren world has no population, government, or law level. Goods from Barren Worlds are raw materials mined or gathered by a ship crew. They are poor sources of cargoes and resources and cannot be markets.
Die Back (Di): The die back world was once settled and developed, but the inhabitants have either died off or left leaving behind the remnants of their civilization.
High Population (Hi): A world with a billion or more in population. High Population World goods, because of the economy of scale for production, sell well on High Population, Low Population, and Rich Worlds. High Population Worlds are good markets for Agricultural, Industrial, High Population, and Rich Worlds.
Low Population (Lo): A world with a population less than 10,000. Low Population World cargoes sell well to Industrial and Rich Worlds. Low Population Worlds are rarely self-supporting; they are excellent markets for High Population and Agricultural Worlds.
Nonindustrial (Ni): Nonindustrial worlds have not developed a large manufacturing capability and must import much of their finished goods. Nonindustrial Worlds are markets for goods from Industrial Worlds. They are sources of goods for Industrial Worlds; their goods sell poorly on Nonindustrial Worlds.
Pre-high (Ph): A world with over a hundred million people, but not yet at a billion.

Economic

Agricultural (Ag): Devoted to agricultural products. Agricultural goods market well to Desert, Fluid Seas, Poor, Water Worlds, and Industrial Worlds. Agricultural Worlds are good markets for Industrial Worlds, Agricultural Worlds, Barren Worlds (for new plant and animal strains), and Rich Worlds.
Industrial (In): Industrial worlds have large production and manufacturing bases. Industrial goods sell well on most worlds, and Industrial Worlds are good markets for most goods.
Non-agricultural (Na): Non-agricultural worlds are not able to produce quality foodstuffs and must import them. Non-agricultural Worlds are good sources for Asteroid Belts, and Nonagricultural, Desert, and Vacuum Worlds.
Pre-agricultrual (Pa): A world suited to being an agricultural world but lacking the population to exploit it.
Pre-Industrial (Pi): A world working toward being an Industrial worlds but lacking the population.
Poor (Po): Poor worlds have low-grade living conditions. They are usually undeveloped, and may have marginal environments. Poor Worlds are markets for Industrial Worlds. They are not good sources of cargoes.
Pre-rich (Pr): A world suited to becoming a Rich world, but lacking the population to become Rich.
Rich (Ri): Rich worlds have high-grade living conditions. They usually have good climates and non-harmful environments. As such, they are much sought after. Rich Worlds are good markets for Asteroid Belts, and Agricultural, High Population, Industrial, Low Population, Rich, and Water Worlds. They are good sources of cargoes for Agricultural, Desert, Industrial, High Population, Rich, and Non-agricultural Worlds.

Climate

Cold World (Co): A world with a climate at the lower end of survivability.
Frozen (Fr): A world with a climate beyond the lower end of survivability.
Hot World (Ho): A world with a climate at the upper end of survivability.
Tropic (Tr): A world with a warmer than average climate but is also considered habitable.
Tundra (Tu): A world with a colder than average climate but is also considered habitable.
Twilight Zone (Tz): The world is tide locked to the primary, giving a hot pole, a cold pole and a twilight zone between.

Secondary Trade

Secondary trade codes apply to worlds in the system that are not the mainworld.

Farming (Fa): A world devoted to agriculture.
Mining (Mi): A world located in an Industrial system being exploited for mineral resources.
Military Rule (Mr): A world under overall control of the local military (regardless of government type).
Prison Camp (Px): A prison for criminals or other exiles.
Reserve (Re): A world with restricted access, either to protect the indigenous life forms, to protect available resources, or other reasons.

Political

Subsector Capital (Cp): The capital of the local region, usually a subsector in size.
Sector Capital (Cs): The capital of a group of hundreds of star systems, typically a sector in size.
Imperial Capital (Cx): The overall capital of an interstellar government.
Colony (Cy): The world is a colony of another, larger and more important world nearby.
Penal Colony (Pe): A colony devoted to housing prisoners.
Reserve (Re): A world with restricted access, either to protect the indigenous life forms, to protect available resources, or other reasons.

Special

Data Repository (Ab): The world has a centralized collection for information and data.
Ancients Site (An): A high-tech remnant of the now-vanished Ancients.
Dangerous (Da): A world with an environment, laws, customs, life forms, or other conditions make it dangerous to visitors.
Forbidden (Fo): A world with an environment, laws, customs, life forms, or other conditions make it extremely dangerous to visitors and everyone is forbidden to travel there.
Puzzle (Pz): A world with an environment, laws, customs, life forms, or other conditions that are not well understood and might be a danger to visitor.
Research Station (Rs): An experimental research facility.
Satellite (Sa): The main world is a satellite of either a gas giant or another world.
X-Boat Station (Xb): An Imperial facility for rapid message transmission.