I've been thinking (always a bad sign I know). I ran a bit of search and could not find this proposed yet. Although I'm sure this has been presented already...
Is it possible to have "traders" in systems only having the Jump holes? It would open up a whole new level for NPC usage. One way to have pseudo-routes is to make the ship convoys as patrols. No clear destination and as such not really like regular house traders, but would bring a lot of realism to those systems.
Also imagine Smuggler IDed (or OC IDed) cardi haulers out at the badlands.
I'll use Gamma and Corsairs to illustrate. Corsair affiliated traders would bring in food (and Corsair's enemies would have bit more immersive reason to be there in raiding them).
I know this is open to some sort of abuse by supposed allies to steal the NPCs cargo and take it to big profit destination. But I'd imagine someone caught doing this should expect pretty swift reprisals. One trick to minimize this would be to make the pirate traders haul only low value commodities like water, food etc.
As it is Disco currently lacks any kind of outlaw "traders" that are supposedly keeping the base going. It's mentioned in a lot of bar conversations that "we get our supplies from x" but there's no evidence of it.
Anyway, I haven't thought this really through. I'm just throwing an idea for the collective think-tank.
