The problem is mining was essently betatested on the server.
Let me illustrate with text
Devs:
" Oh, lets put ore in Penn...... and the ONLY place that ALL OF HUMANITY has capable of refining it in New Tokyo"
Hogosha/AFA indies: (this is aimed at the ones whose RP was crap)
" OLOLOLOL LETS SIT RIGHT BY NEW TOKYO AND PIE RAT PEOPLE, THEN SELL IT OURSELVES TOO! "
LOLminers
" LOL LETS PIERAT OTHER MINERS WHILE WE MINE "
Devs:
" OMG EVERYONE DOING THAT SAME ROUTE!!!! OH NOES !!!! LETS BALEETE! "
Then rise and repeat with gold in dublin, execpt they just nerfed rather than remove.
Want to fix mining ? Want to fix trade ?
Balance it further.
4 houses plus the hispanians. (ok theres gallia too, but gallia is kinda...... dead. Noone goes there in numbers. Its boring)
To start, commodities.
take all the comodities, and decide several things
1- wheres it made at
2- wheres it needed at
3- what materials go into making it.
Now, first of all... the common goods...
They're made at more than one place. They're needed at more than one place. They're needed everywere. Thats why they're common.
Stuff like food rats and what not. Places with bio domes and farmable surface land have the best buy prices. Isolated or crowded places have the best sell price.
Establist single house routes for these commodities. Single SYSTEM routes even.
From there you go to the more expenseve items, ore's included, and have routes going from house to house.
You have each house have their own single house buy/sell routes for these items (engine components, for example) but houses produce their specality items for much cheaper. This creats the house to house trade routes. And they'll make sense to boot!
Next, OC and 'sairs.
You have routes to run them supplies.
Were the supplies go should depend on what it is.
You then smuggle goods back, or take them halfway to an intermediary base.
For mining... you have ore fields of every type everywere.
You have every house capable of refining the ore's.
You just have some houses better at it than others.
All this is done, and trading becomes more dynamic.
Pie Rats will be everywere, not just camping a few easy to hit profitable routes.
Trades will be forced to think a little..... ok, quite a few wont and will just cry. But we'll just point and laugh.