I have been looking to do testing for this very thing. It's been hard to find the time with all the other things going on in game, but I am confident you did a much better job than I could have done. This is impressive.
I have questions that might make for an interesting followup study. What effect (if any) does buying *from* a station have on it's controller? Now that we know what effect selling *to* a station has on it's controller, the next question is how influence is affected (if at all) by buying from a station, and the obvious variables like for profit or loss.
A group I am working with is working on a way to craft trade routes with a BGS slant, so knowing all of this will help us refine our process (i.e. focus on profit as opposed to tonneage, variety as opposed to merely the most profitable commodity, etc.).
All in all, I am very impressed, and thank you for sharing your results.
I have questions that might make for an interesting followup study. What effect (if any) does buying *from* a station have on it's controller? Now that we know what effect selling *to* a station has on it's controller, the next question is how influence is affected (if at all) by buying from a station, and the obvious variables like for profit or loss.
A group I am working with is working on a way to craft trade routes with a BGS slant, so knowing all of this will help us refine our process (i.e. focus on profit as opposed to tonneage, variety as opposed to merely the most profitable commodity, etc.).
All in all, I am very impressed, and thank you for sharing your results.