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At the moment I'm hand-directing all my freighters remotely with the Best Buy/Best Sell locate commands. As my fleet grows, this is getting tiresome. I'm assuming the Commodity Logistics Software packages make your ships perform trade runs automatically. I'm looking for an explanation of how to use CLS.

I already did a brief forum search and didn't see anything that looked helpful. Can I get some help?

If you installed the bonus pack, then you'll find a manual with explanations of the different scripts in the documents folder of your TC main directory. Or you could have a look at the current topics of the BP scripts. They're all linked in the stickied index topic in the X-Universe forum [INDEX] Overview - X3TC Bonus Package 4.1.01.
Note, that as a replacement for the best buy and sell commands the Commercial Agent would be the better choice.

If they're working for a station, then Commercial Agent is better.

If they're not, then this is what you do:

Have them dock at an Argon Equipment Dock and buy the CLS2 software. (Mk.2) Make sure they've got Navigation Command Mk.1

Now, under the command console, Trade>Start external commodity Logistics.

Scroll down to Waypoints, and then select Add Station. It will now open the universe map. Select the sector, and then the station. It will ask buy/sell/refuel. (If it's one of your own stations, it'll have load/unload, but they won't do anything for NPC stations.)

Tell it which, (refuel is only valid at stations selling energy, or later ships, and refuels the CLS ship according to the settings under Jumpdrive, not the waypoint the command is issued at.) then select the product to buy/sell. Now it'll ask for a price. Minimum is the lowest it can go, when the bar is full, maximum is the opposite. Average is dead in the middle. Or you can select a price if you know the prices by heart.

Now it'll ask how much you want the ship to buy. If it's buying more than one material before it sells, you'll want to use manual input UPTO. That means it won't buy more than that limit. Otherwise it'll simply buy in increments of the number you give.

If it's only one thing, tell it maximum, which is maximum-jump fuel, that it will actually load.

Repeat this for other buy, and then the sell waypoints, and hit Start Commodity Logistics.

Of course if you want purely automated trading with no further interaction, find a Teladi Equipment Dock, or dock at Terracorp, and buy them a Trade Mk3 software, which includes Sector Trader, that will automatically find trades in a sector with no further input from you.

Or, alternatively (since you weren't entirely clear), if the freighters aren't selling your own produced goods from your own factories you have an easier option.

Trade Command Mk3. install it, and from the command console, choose Trade... Start sector trader. Check on them periodically, and once they hit level 8 you have the option of converting them to Universe Traders.

*edit*. That's what I get for not reading the entire post above mine. He explained it already.

Take a look at http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=296017

At level six, you can also turn those sector traders into local traders. Re-enable the sector trader command, and it'll ask for a jump range, and then it will engage in trade within that area.

Every one of my ships is equipped with every software package available, except the Trading Command Mk3 (have been hesitant to buy due to the price). I think that's what I'll do for my biggest freighter, a Caiman Super Freighter XL. For the others, I've got a couple factories I can use with the CLS.

Okay, I've got several factories now, and at least two freighters serve each factory as commercial agents. Unfortunately I've run into a problem.

I recently bought, repaired, and equipped a used Mercury Super Freighter (naming it the Northwestern, after a crabbing ship on Deadliest Catch) and assigned it to a brand-new lasertower factory. However, despite it having all the software packages required for commercial agent (at least according to the documentation), the "Start Commercial Agent" command is grayed out on the Northwestern's trade command menu. A Mercury Tanker serving the same station does not have this problem, and is performing its duties normally. What gives?[/i]

EDIT: Okay, now I'm even more confused. I checked back with the Northwestern, and now it DOES have Start Commercial Agent. Could it be that the ship didn't have it before because it wasn't in-system with the factory? (That doesn't make sense; I know for a fact that I've started the script when both my player ship and the commanded ship were not only not in the same system as the factory, but not in the same system as each other.)

Explanation, please?

A) Make sure the Northwestern is docked.

B) Make sure that it's homebased to the station. CAG requires one.

To clarify, I can only activate commercial agent while a ship is docked?

Which means that if it already has say, a CLS pilot, you can then start CAG in space, but only then. (Or if you're using a pilot via one of his other scripts.)

"To clarify, I can only activate commercial agent while a ship is docked?"

True, the command will highlight once you dock the ship to the ships "primary selected Station"

Start a cls to much trouble? dock that ship, start it as a CAG, I think after the ship goes up one rank level, then recommand that ship to a CLS 1 or 2 and recommand any limits you want for it. This saves time trying to configure a green none level CLS.

Also note after you command which trade you want them to perform double check that you set jump YES and Fuel amount, If you dont AFTER you set the command jumps it will take awhile befor it does higher in rank. This helps it jump after the first trade instead of treking across seectors in pirate territory.

mangar wrote:"To clarify, I can only activate commercial agent while a ship is docked?"

True, the command will highlight once you dock the ship to the ships "primary selected Station"

Start a cls to much trouble? dock that ship, start it as a CAG, I think after the ship goes up one rank level, then recommand that ship to a CLS 1 or 2 and recommand any limits you want for it. This saves time trying to configure a green none level CLS.

Also note after you command which trade you want them to perform double check that you set jump YES and Fuel amount, If you dont AFTER you set the command jumps it will take awhile befor it does higher in rank. This helps it jump after the first trade instead of treking across seectors in pirate territory.

You don't need to go through that trouble. Just dock the TS at the Trading Station in Heron Nebula, start CLS2, and if the pilot is not of high rank, fire him, and rinse repeat. I believe the ship can jump at "Cargo Messenger"

Very early in the game, I normally assign a few CLSx trainers using 2nd hand M5/M4, and have them buy EC at 13 and sell at average price. They will level up in no time.