Stephar
The High Priest
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Posted - 2007.10.10 09:18:00 -
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Edited by: Stephar on 10/10/2007 09:20:47
Here's something to consider when discussing trade hubs:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=454910
I'll quote the top 20 for convenience:
 Quote:
1 Tokyo Japan 1191
2 New York USA 1133
3 Los Angeles USA 639
4 Chicago USA 460
5 Paris France 460
6 London UK 452
7 Osaka/Kobe Japan 341
8 Mexico City Mexico 315
9 Philadelphia USA 312
10 Washington DC USA 299
11 Boston USA 290
12 Dallas/Fort Worth USA 268
13 Buenos Aires Argentina 245
14 Hong Kong China 244
15 San Francisco/Oakland USA 242
16 Atlanta USA 236
17 Houston USA 235
18 Miami USA 231
19 Sao Paulo Brazil 225
20 Seoul South Korea 218
You can see that there are two main "trade hubs" in the real world: Tokyo and New York. Why 2 instead of 1? Because they are on opposite sides of the world and divided by the Pacific Ocean. You could have the same effect in EVE if you divided empire into two sectors, with low security in the middle... that would give EVE two very nice trade hubs.
Now if you are to look at a single region, say, the USA... they would look kinda like this:
1) New York = Jita
2) Los Angeles = Rens
3) Chicago = Oursulaert
4) Philadelphia = Amarr
5) Washington D.C. = Tash-Murkon Prime
Jita, like NYC, is the main hub. It's got the stock exchange, all the big buildings, and sits right on top of the ocean across from Europe.
Compared to the other sub-hubs, Rens is located pretty far from Jita... just like Los Angeles. This distance makes it easier for the Rens market to develop as doesn't face as much direct competition with Jita. You also have some other nearby trading hubs in San Francisco & San Diego, similar to what you'll find in Minmatar space.
Oursulaert is the main Gallente hub, sort of how Chicago is the main midwestern hub.
Amarr is sort of close to Jita, and hence, somewhat overshadowed by Jita's market. Plus, Amarr is also a couple of jumps from another sub-hub with Tash-Murkon Prime. You sort of see the same thing with the major cities close to NYC (Philly & DC).
Of course, this is just a rough comparison... but hubs are an unavoidable consequence of trade. The only reason that multiple hubs exist is because of distance and accessibility. EVE will always be dominated by a single hub unless you increase the distance between hubs (increase travel time) or make the hub less accessible (increase lag). And as I said earlier, you could also throw down the equivalent of the pacific ocean by dividing empire with a sea of low security, and watch hubs pop up and thrive in each oasis of high security.
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