# $contacts is the total # of visible contacts, $quant is the number of objects asked for.

• Coal = 1
• Bauxite = 2
• Sand = 2
• Pig iron = 2
• Uranium ore = 7
• Food = 8
• Alum = 8
• Steel = 8
• Glass = 8
• Diamond 12
• Enriched uranium 13
• Aid = 26
• Diamond drill = 48
• ICBM = 46

baseval($desire) is the base value of what you want. If you want ALU it is 8. So everything here will actaully be double the base value. $quant is simply the number of objects you are requesting 2*8*1 = 16.

This is your tech level. What this means is that the higher your tech level, the more you will pay.

This makes it cheaper the more contacts that you can see. If you have five contacts that you can see then anything you try to buy will cost you 8 units more.

Add those three elements up and that is the base value of stuff you have to pay to get what you requested. There are a few exceptions like having anarchy and certain horsemen.

Let's say I can see twenty people on the board, I have 12 tech levels and I want 2 ALU. This is how much I will have to pay.

So I would have to pay 46 units. Then Ramul goes through my stuff to see if I can afford it. 1 ICBM or 6 Steel. A little pricey, but fair.

Or how about 1 coal!

What one coal will cost me 2 ALU and 3 BXT? What a rip off!

Ramul will always round up a decimal figure to the next highest integer. For example, a player with 4 contacts and tech level 12 trading for 1 ICBM:

This player would have to pay 113 coal or an equivalent value, not 112 as conventional rounding would suggest.

I hope that helps!

I've created a google spreadsheet that lets you run some numbers and figure out the deal. Give it a try and let me know how it works.

Ramulgorithm Spreadsheet