Shame about the contracts

[magnate]

Hi all,

One of the additions (to the original Elite) that I really liked is the passenger and cargo contracts. I finally got myself a ship big enough to try them - thanks to all the helpful replies in the ship depreciation thread.

I have to say, I'm disappointed so far. At the moment I have a choice of three cargo contracts:

103LY (21 jumps) for 400cr profit
72LY (14 jumps) for 700cr profit (but they're firearms ...)
48LY (10 jumps) for 2500cr profit

... even the best of those compares very poorly with a single run of computers - even half full I make 2000cr profit in a single jump.

So, is there a trick to getting decent profit from cargo contracts? Should I look at particular types of system? Do I need a particular type of ship, or a particular combat rating? At the moment I'll just keep my eyes open while doing my normal trading runs, but grateful for any tips.

I've looked at passenger contracts but they look even less lucrative in terms of cash per unit time, so I've not been tempted so far.

Cheers,

CC
P.S. Maybe it'll pass but these contracts have made me miss the variety of hyperjump ranges with FE2/FFE's different engine types. It was nice having that extra factor in choosing my ship.

[Moonlight Fox]

I'm pretty sure you'll only get offered poor contracts to start with.
The more you complete successfully, the better your reputation and then you'll start to see more lucrative contracts being offered to you.

[Disembodied]

Passenger contracts aren't worth the trouble. The cargo contracts do get better, though -- as long as you keep making the deliveries on time!

[Eric Walch]

So, is there a trick to getting decent profit from cargo contracts? Should I look at particular types of system? Do I need a particular type of ship, or a particular combat rating? At the moment I'll just keep my eyes open while doing my normal trading runs, but grateful for any tips.

As far as I witnessed it, you don't get better prises that when you would buy the stuff by hand and deliver them without a contract. Only advantage is that you can get larger amounts of one item than is for sale normally. For this to be profitable you probably need an anaconda to deliver real big loads.

However, when you build yourself a good reputation, also the 1 kg and 1 grs items are offered as contract in large quantities. For these contracts no large ship is needed. With a cargo-room of 10 tons you can deliver 10 000 kg of gold. From here on things get interesting. But be persistent as it takes at least 7 successful deliveries before you get those contracts. And reputation decays in time. Not fast, but it does.

You could install UPS-Courier. Those parcel and document deliveries also build up your cargo reputation.

And watch travel time. Two or three small jumps take considerably less time than one big one. (Game time of cause, not playing time)

[Eric Walch]

Just to add to the above:

A few weeks ago I got an offer to deliver gemstones to a system 2 jumps away. I gained 15000 Cr from this contract. Yesterday I got an offer to deliver over 3000 kg of gold to a system, just two jump away from a system I was already heading for. They promised I will earn 64000 Cr on this contract. At the moment I hardly dear to leave a station. When pirates know the value of my current cargo.....

On this I also witnessed that 3000 kg indeed takes an additional 3 tons of cargo space. I always wondered if kg and grs were counted for cargo space calculations.

So never say that the normal cargo contracts don't pay off. It is probably the fastest way for a novice pilot to earn his money to buy a decent ship.

[Amen Brick]

Hmmm, wonders if contracts could easily be converted to 'thefts'... with target destinations 'fences'.

[Stromboli]

To be quite frank, contracts don't seem worth the trouble for a new Jameson, as the many jump (19+!) contracts that are actually worth the trouble can take exorbitant amounts of time. With the time it takes me to go from a Witchspace beacon to dock safely, doing it 19 times is just not in my interest.

Perhaps they could start out shorter, and worth more? Otherwise, no noobies are going to consider the option.

[ClymAngus]

doing it 19 times is just not in my interest.

You put your whole ship in, you take your whole ship out, in, out, in, out, you fly it all about. You fill her up with cargo and turn around, that's what it's all about.

Ohhhh! Maybe fry a pirate.
Ohhhh! Maybe find a hermit.
Ohhhh! Maybe mine some alloy.

drop bomb, fuel scoop Ra Ra Ra!

[Captain Hesperus]

To be quite frank, contracts don't seem worth the trouble for a new Jameson, as the many jump (19+!) contracts that are actually worth the trouble can take exorbitant amounts of time. With the time it takes me to go from a Witchspace beacon to dock safely, doing it 19 times is just not in my interest.

Perhaps they could start out shorter, and worth more? Otherwise, no noobies are going to consider the option.

A couple of things, the missions do get shorter and pay better, but you have to build up a reputation as a reliable carrier. No-one in their right (or indeed left) mind is going to pay top Credit to some nobody Muddyboots Jameson to transport his 100kg of Gold to the neighbouring system, I'd prefer to ship with the well-known and respected trader in the Python next door.

As for taking so long, why are you going to the station on the other 18 jumps? Do you have a desire to rub shoulders with other sentients? Are you a tourist? Or do you have issues with Space Madness?

Your best option when doing a long run is (if you have a fuel scoop, of course. But then why wouldn't you?) to head straight for the sun, Torus drive (J with a clear scanner), set next destination while you are going jump-speed, scoop and jump. Arrive next system, rinse and repeat. And remember, shorter jumps take you to the destination faster. It has something to do with the distance and the time dilation effects, don't ask me....

Captain Hesperus
"I have no issues with Space Madness. The voices in my head told me so..."

[JohnnyBoy]

Your best option when doing a long run is (if you have a fuel scoop, of course. But then why wouldn't you?) to head straight for the sun, Torus drive (J with a clear scanner), set next destination while you are going jump-speed, scoop and jump. Arrive next system, rinse and repeat. And remember, shorter jumps take you to the destination faster. It has something to do with the distance and the time dilation effects, don't ask me....

Another trick that speeds the journey is to replace all of your missiles with extra fuel pods. Arrive at a system, 'T' to prime the pod, 'M' to transfer its contents to your fuel tank, and suddenly your witchspace range has increased by an extra 3 clicks.

P.S. Clym Angus, I loved the song!

[Captain Hesperus]

Your best option when doing a long run is (if you have a fuel scoop, of course. But then why wouldn't you?) to head straight for the sun, Torus drive (J with a clear scanner), set next destination while you are going jump-speed, scoop and jump. Arrive next system, rinse and repeat. And remember, shorter jumps take you to the destination faster. It has something to do with the distance and the time dilation effects, don't ask me....

Another trick that speeds the journey is to replace all of your missiles with extra fuel pods. Arrive at a system, 'T' to prime the pod, 'M' to transfer its contents to your fuel tank, and suddenly your witchspace range has increased by an extra 3 clicks.

Yeah, but that certainly eats into the funds. Sun-skimming is free!

Captain Hesperus
....still seeking the 'cheap-ass' option....

[Stromboli]

Well, I'll try it then, and just hop from star to star.

[TGHC]

Personally I have not found cargo contracts very profitable, I know you have to build a reputation, so I really tried, I took on dozens and dozens one after the other, and was still being payed a pittance so I gave up on them.

[caracal]

Personally I have not found cargo contracts very profitable, I know you have to build a reputation, so I really tried, I took on dozens and dozens one after the other, and was still being payed a pittance so I gave up on them.

Once I read the comment about needing seven of them (preferably, but not necessarily, consecutive or overlapping) completed successfully, I tried it and wow, the paybacks really do go through the roof. Now, my trade-oriented commander doesn't even consider a contract whose payback is less than 10000Cr. Even so, he's busy all the time, often with two, three, or four simultaneous deliveries in his safe. (The high-paying contracts are all gold, platinum, and gem-stones; the other commodities are a losing game.) He does have to be careful to make sure the delivery route allows for completion on time, because the shippers get very cranky (and the offers stop showing up) if you miss one. Which means keeping an eye on the lead time (the "you must depart within X days") and only taking contracts that are (a) on the way to ones he's already taken, (b) are beyond his current farthest destination but still logically "on the route", or (c) have sufficient lead time to allow for a course deviation. A bit fiddly, but the payoffs are worth it. Another side-effect is that he now stops at essentially every system along the route, because you never know where a 75-100kCr contract is going to show up. Plus, as was pointed out earlier, that usually uses less game time (albeit more real-world wall-clock time.)

Which got me dreaming of a new OXP: Bonded Courier. That's how I've been thinking of the normal in-game contracts when the high-end shipments start showing up, that the pilot has gotten "bonded". That means he can now get rid of his big-bellied ship and buy something a bit more on the twinkle-toed side. But an OXP with actual an bonding process, with big-payout contracts that are correspondingly hard to meet, that'd be cool. I haven't progressed much beyond the name and the concept, but welcome comments.

[caracal]

As for taking so long, why are you going to the station on the other 18 jumps? Do you have a desire to rub shoulders with other sentients? Are you a tourist? Or do you have issues with Space Madness?

I do it because there might be a new juicy contract waiting in that system, either along my current route or sometimes even at one of my existing destination systems. Of course, this only makes sense if you have either a really big ship whose hold isn't yet full, or if you've advanced to the point where you're getting the gold/plat/gem contracts. Before that, you just have to trudge through the normal commodities contracts, usually one at a time, to get to the point where the Big Ones start appearing. During that period, then yes, stone-skipping through systems can make it less tedious.

That's the life of a courier--rubbing shoulders with a lot of sentients.