Question: trade routes, possible to mod?

[ColdSteel]

One of the comments I've seen here about Starfury is that the gameplay doesn't have a whole lot of depth.

I was thinking that more depth and an interesting alternative mode of play could be added if "trade route" functionality could be modded into the game.

All of those who remember with a certain fondness (as I do) games like Starflight2 and Elite know what I'm talking about. The ability to buy trade goods low on one world and sell them high at worlds in other systems. Finding the places where you can buy low and sell high and creating your trade routes accordingly is part of the fun.

Looking over the text files some, it seems that a lot of this just might be possible to do. You can add custom tabs to the spaceport screen and call it what you want to: "trade goods" for example. The game already has trade goods that are byproducts of the merchant jobs you can take but you get paid for delivering them and you don't buy and sell them yourself (though you CAN sell them). In other words, you're just the FedEx guy. I'd like to go into business for myself.

The mod would require (at least):

- A "Trade Goods" tab in one of the spaceports in every system.

- A standard set of trade goods, some of which would be unique or specific to alien races.

- Some very high priced artifacts (to add spice and interest).

- Illegal trade goods (high price, high risk).

- A different set of prices for trade goods in each system. Variability in the prices as time passes would be nice, too.

My question is to the Starfury beta modders who already have some good experience in modding the game: Do you think any of the above is possible? In general terms how would you go about it (which text files to mod).

I don't want "Interstellar Trader" per se, but I think it would add a lot of fun to the game.

Anyone else interested in a mod like this?

-ColdSteel