Looking for pointers/hints/tips.

[paulc]

I've kitted out my little MKIII and I'm saving for a military laser. A few things have popped up, and I haven't found the answers on the Wikki or here... yet.

1. Legal status. How is it determined? How long or for what conditions does it remain on your record. Is it per system or per area?

2. Fines. For a while I was getting fined nearly constantly when docking. Probably been fined over 4000c. What causes them, smugling?

3. Is it generally better to trade between pairs of rich worlds, poor worlds, or between conplimenting extremes. I keep finding myself in systems where nothing is cheap.

4. Golden runs. Like Ross154(Animal Skins)<->Barnards Star(Robots) or Luxury goods to Van Mannans Star.

5. Does the distance you go away from Lave have any effect on trading prices etc.

6. On some of the cargo runs the tonnage is huge, yet there don't appear to be ships that can carry 400t.

Sorry for so many Qs. Lovin' it so far.

Paul

[Arexack_Heretic]

1. Legal status depricates when you behave like a pirate while Galcop forces are in scanner range.

2. Behaving like a pirate when police are about, generally causes this.
Smuggling only incurs a legal penalty when exporting.

3. rich industrial ->poor agriculture is generally good
Think about what a system will produce/need.

4. there are many good runs.

5. not that I know of.

6. Those runs are only for the big freighter boys. your puny 35t won't cut it.

[themacman]

to continue further on six, you can buy ships (you may already have noticed) with bigger loads, for example my Python Class Cruiser (I like to keep my avatar as the ship I currently own, so you can see what one looks like) can now hold some of those contracts, (I can hold 160t (bought it with a large cargo bay which made it bigger) but there is a ship that can hold every contract you've seen (and maybe even two) because it has a 700t hold. Don't worry to much about the contracts right now you'll need a bigger ship before you can even consider.

[paulc]

I figure my spell of getting fined and apparently being attacked by the cops was due to having my missiles armed when approaching stations. Doh.

I've been roaming around the galaxy looking for different runs, best I can find are Furs, Nacotics and Computer runs. With 35T and an average profit of about 1500c I need to do another 25-30 runs to get myself a Phython. I suppose there is little way to make more than that? Narcotics are claimed to have an average price of over 100c, but 100c is about the most expensive I've come across. Though I have found one or two systems that infrequently seem to have 20 or 30t at less than 10c. These paired with a 100c world are the golden runs I seek Alas they are rare and don't seem to last more than a run or two before drying up.

Regarding what a system needs, asides the obvious, that agricultural will make food, textiles, furs etc. and an industrial one machinery, computers, narcotics etc. When the inverse on needs, I can't figure out how the wealth of a world alters pricing. Except maybe that rich agrocultural worlds seem to have everything at a boring average price and are fairly usless for trading.

I found a few rock hermits where I made more profit than selling to the station, and was able to reload with cheap stuff and take it to the station, but they are nearly hard to find again.

I've got myself up to Average, and am battled seasoned enough to know the thargiods = run away. Cops... in open space are fairly easily killed, but not the station cops. Friendly frieghters with escorts are fairly easily dealt with (for fun even if you don't have cargo bay room for their cargo), but groups of pirates pretending to be traders are a formidable foe. Much running away, then coming back to pick one off, then run away, etc.

Paul

[Ramirez]

Narcotics and computers are definitely the goods to go for. Cheap narcotics do show up quite frequently, it's just that you may need to move around a bit tp find them. Here are some notes I did on trading strategy:

Starting out, you won’t have enough money to fill your holds with the real winning commodities like furs and computers. With less than 100c in the bank you’ll need to maximise your profit percentages rather than aim for large cash payouts. Trading in cheap but profitable goods like food and radioactives is a good way to start, before moving onto alloys, machinery and liquors and wines.

Once you have sufficient money to be able to fill your holds with any one commodity, it’s time to focus on absolute profit. Food bought at 2c per ton can easily be sold off for a 300% margin at 8c per ton, but that only amounts to 6c absolute profit; for a 35t trip this amounts to a profit of only 210c. Furs can be bought at 50c and sold for 90c; while only providing a margin of 80%, it’s a 40c per ton profit, amounting to 1240c for a full load. Although you need to make a greater investment in order to reap these rewards, there is no real increase in risk: so long as you’re in a stable system and you’re dealing in legal goods, there’s no more danger of your ship being attacked whether you’re carrying food or computers. The satisfaction of making a 300% profit will be outweighed by the fact that one more trip just might be enough to get you a docking computer.

As revenues increase you may be temped to trade in illegal commodities. Generally speaking, the only profitable commodities of this type are narcotics. Firearms can be sold off to rich agricultural states but typically with less profit than computers; conversely slaves may be sold to industrial states but with far less profit than furs. Narcotics usually have a profit margin similar to that of computers and so are not usually worth your time, however prices fluctuate wildly and if you happen to be in the right place at the right time you can make massive gains. If you ever see narcotics on the market for less than around 30c, buy them up. It may be that there has been a slump in the local market, making it difficult to make a significant profit at nearby systems, but if you hold on to them and shop around you should find an agricultural system with prices around the 90c mark.

Rich Agriculturals do indeed seem rather useless from a trading point of view. They remind me of organic farms in that they can afford to sell their goods at elevated prices and aren't bothered about losing out to the lower end of the market. At the same time, they seem less prepared to pay over the odds for industrial goods. Conversley, Poor Agriculturals need all the money they can get, so will happily let their exports go at below-average prices, while they will pay handsomely for thinks like computers, luxuries and machinery.

Piracy is always an option as a way to make some quick cash, but it's probably best to wait until your ship is kitted out a bit more before going down that route.

[ramon]

You could install the hOopy casino OXP. Take gems to the one at Leesti and sell for 80cr (you can normally buy gems for 15cr!)

[CWolf]

Has that been fixed to work properly on the PC 'doze port yet?

[ramon]

I don't think so. The problem isn't with the casino itself. On the PC version the gambling is predictable and you can always win. I've keep it installed on my PC because I like the idea of a casino and I don't gamble anyway

Also, selling gems is a great way of making money quick. Some casinos only buy for 50cr though.

[Jinx999]

1) Given the investment in mining laser and scoop, I don't think the profit on mining is worth the tedium. I do have a mining laser, but don't use it much.

2) The bounty in bounty hunting is actually fairly small. It's worth it for increasing your combat rating and pirates often have choice loot, though.

3) I don't engage in piracy. I think it's immoral.

4) From experience and poking around here and other elite sites, the best trade is between a poor agricultural world and a rich industrial. I run computers one way and furs (followed by liquor, then radioactives to fill my cargo hold) the other. If your limiting factor is money rather than cargo space, food can be very profitable.

5) Running two bit transport contracts for a while improves your reputation and gives you the chance to carry gold and the like. This can be VERY profitable.

6) I don't bother carrying contraband. The hastle isn't worth the marginal and unreliable increase in profit. You get hastled even if you're carrying then under contact.

Smuggling (and apparantly piracy with witnesses) is a good way to become an offender. Shooting cops is a good way to become a fugitive.

[paulc]

Yea, but who cares if you can murder them all! WooHAHAHAHA!

I've gone dark side already, I started running back and forward between 2 world, one industrial and one arigcultural. I sold at the best price bought nothing, just killed and scooped. Better profit, though dangerous. About 4000-5000c a run.

If the systems are close, you have plenty of whoooosh fuel and with an analogue joystick, there is little you can't fight off, or run away from.

I have an infestation, and I've tried to kill the (Trumbles) but taking it right into the flashing red near a star didn't get them

Paul

[ArkanoiD]

1) Given the investment in mining laser and scoop, I don't think the profit on mining is worth the tedium. I do have a mining laser, but don't use it much.

2) The bounty in bounty hunting is actually fairly small. It's worth it for increasing your combat rating and pirates often have choice loot, though.

There are some *enormous* bounties. If you are lucky enough to encounter a fugitive Ixian Batllecruiser.. or just a pirate Python Cruiser loaded with platinum

[/quote]

[lucabu]

I have an infestation, and I've tried to kill the (Trumbles) but taking it right into the flashing red near a star didn't get them

I had it too, a few time ago. I had to wait until temperature bar started flashing, and I heard the warning sound. That killed them.

Luca.

[ArkanoiD]

Yea, but who cares if you can murder them all! WooHAHAHAHA!

I've gone dark side already, I started running back and forward between 2 world, one industrial and one arigcultural. I sold at the best price bought nothing, just killed and scooped. Better profit, though dangerous. About 4000-5000c a run.

If the systems are close, you have plenty of whoooosh fuel and with an analogue joystick, there is little you can't fight off, or run away from.

I have an infestation, and I've tried to kill the (Trumbles) but taking it right into the flashing red near a star didn't get them

Paul

Well, used to be pirate, but big transport contracts make more profit. Up to 10Kcr per withjump and it is fast and almost safe. Now i do it on my FdL NG and i can afford a Morrigan when it will be available.

[CWolf]

There are some *enormous* bounties. If you are lucky enough to encounter a fugitive Ixian Batllecruiser.. or just a pirate Python Cruiser loaded with platinum

Had some fun with one of them. I was in my Cobra II-X, saw it hyperspace, dived in after it and ripped into it before it's escort could respond. Took a while with beam laser instead of millitary but handy having the beam as meant I could defend against the escorts when they did start up, instead of running too hot. Best thing, I think I actually damaged it quite a bit when I accidentally caught the ECM luckily (or was it the will of the Force?) at the exact moment he launched a missile.

The only problem I have with those super bricks is that the engines look cold even when travelling. I tend to use the engine status as a guide to how crippled they are.