Oolite Bulletins

Well, I got a PCC, with a moderately ferrous behind, and 140tc of space in the holds. I can make 3-5,000 credits an hour on milk runs (depending on how many and how valuable the pirates are at the low tech feudal at one end..)
Is there a better way to make money fast without editting my save game?
The old milk runs are dragging a bit, but until I can get offered the mission for the naval energy unit, my ass isn't iron enough to go crazy...

Try taking some contract hauls, on your F8-F8 screen.

Some oxp's offer some crazyily high bounties/rewards, I made alot off Random hits and galactic Navy

Wyvern's got the best tip. Take a few F8-F8 haulage contracts, and make your deliveries on time. When you've build up a reliable reputation the deals get a lot sweeter!

The Black Monks give away 20,000 credits for practically nothing....

Chrisfs wrote:

The Black Monks give away 20,000 credits for practically nothing....

Be careful though, they don't like late repayments!!

Disembodied wrote:

Wyvern's got the best tip. Take a few F8-F8 haulage contracts, and make your deliveries on time. When you've build up a reliable reputation the deals get a lot sweeter!

Hm, how many trips does it take for them to become effective ?
I did deliver one contract so far (just a test), and offered ones are still - well it's like the fuel costs more than the profit is.

Anyways, transporting passengers (long disctance) made me earn some good money, and the good deals appear pretty soon.
I look out for them in the very corners of the galaxy, so looong routes (ATM for me up to 20K per passenger) can be offered at all.

snork wrote:

Hm, how many trips does it take for them to become effective ?

Oh, a half-dozen or thereabouts ... maybe seven or eight, tops. Definitely worth it, though – and you'll find you get get overlapping contracts, and no doubt overlapping passenger missions, too.

You could try downloading Commander McLane's reputation.oxp. This should give you a better idea of how far you have to go to reach the top in this business.

edited for typo

Disembodied wrote:

Oh, a half-dozen or thereabouts ... maybe seven or eight, tops. Definitely worth it, though – and you'll find you get get overlapping contracts, and no doubt overlapping passenger missions, too.

Thank you.

I decided to (for now) stay with the Cobra3, as the Python is so awfully slow. But when I can afford a Boa2-CC, I will keep this in mind.

ps - I am currently transporting 5 passengers, all with very easy time limits. They are supposed to pay ~80K when brought to their planets, plus a yet unknown bonus maybe for early delivery.

You could also download the Dredgers OXP which will allow you to salvage ships which have been abandoned by their Commanders during combat. You rack up a few salvage missiles to capture the vessles, and then cash in on the salvage value (e.g. Approx. 3500 for a Python, 2500 for a Cobby Mk.3, as well as the cargo they may be carrying).

You do need decent combat skills to make money this way, as pirates often hang around between you and the Dredger, so you have to fuel inject yourself towards them and take them out before they start attacking your captured vessel. If you have difficulty doing this then you may also want to install Hired Guns OXP which will enable you to hire some pilots to accompany you [EDIT: Although they will target the salvaged vessel, so you need to boost ahead of them, fire the salvage missile and then find the pirates quickly]. This will eat into your profits: but if it is the difference between salvaging a vessel, and not...

After you have cashed in on your captured ships, you can then dock with the Dredger yourself and fill your cargo hold with alloys at a ridiculously low value, and make a mint off them somewhere else.

P.S. If you intend to capture a ship that has escorts DO NOT attack the escorts. Fight the cargo ship until the pilot ejects (ship will no longer display a legal status for the pilot) and then the escort fighters will now protect 'your' new ship if it comes under attack form any pirates on way to the Dredger.

EDIT: To include more specific info on using Hired Guns.

Poro wrote:

If you intend to capture a ship that has escorts DO NOT attack the escorts. Fight the cargo ship until the pilot ejects (ship will no longer display a legal status for the pilot) and then the escort fighters will now protect 'your' new ship if it comes under attack form any pirates on way to the Dredger.

Sounds like a bug. Why would escorts protect a ship you are stealing?

I know, I remember being grateful for that bug the first time I captured a ship and wasn't prepared for the pirate attack. Maybe some penny-pinching Commanders have resorted to AI controlled escorts?

On the Pi-42 con station in Atrebibi I've noticed that they have some severe shortages with very hungry and very naked people. Indeed, food and textiles are trading at the same price as luxuries!


A question of my own: I've seen a few people now extol the virtues of the high-end cargo hauling contract business but how does the passenger ferrying market compare? Is it similar or is there just not as much money in moving passengers as for moving cargo?

ThyroidBugz wrote:

On the Pi-42 con station in Atrebibi I've noticed that they have some severe shortages with very hungry and very naked people. Indeed, food and textiles are trading at the same price as luxuries!

Could that be a bug?

ThyroidBugz wrote:

A question of my own: I've seen a few people now extol the virtues of the high-end cargo hauling contract business but how does the passenger ferrying market compare? Is it similar or is there just not as much money in moving passengers as for moving cargo?

The problem with the cargo runs is that most decent ones you need a very large ship. I fly a Python Class Cruiser, but even with its 150t capacity i can only do a third of all contracts on cargo.

Passenger contracts on the other hand, can be done with just about any ship from a Cobra mk1 upwards. I normally run with 3 cabins, but they aren't always full of passengers, but if you take the long haul contracts you can make good profits.