Most succesful closed-loop complex?

[dragondream]

What is the most profitable closed-loop complex I can make with a comfortable 300-400M credits? I've got sufficient money for a closed loop complex and I wanted to find out which is the best one I should invest in.

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And please don't say Spacefuel, I already tried that in Elena's fortune and I kept getting unwanted attention from the Argon and Boron military M7's.

I would prefer the suggestions to be complex's for legal goods as I have a really high rep with the Argon, Paranid and Boron...

Is there also a Complex Calculator for X3TC like there was for Reunion? I would like to calculate which factories I need for a closed-loop complex depending on the type of the product I want to make.

Thanks for your help in advance.

[longinus0000]

That's because Spacefuel is illegal in all Commonwealth Sectors. Build your Spacefuel in Pirate or Unknown sectors.

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I use Xadrian's calculator and have 25L Spacefuel in Gunne's Crusade as a closed complex.

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=239659

[Technojerk36]

I'm not sure about the most profitable closed-loop complex as the biggest complex I've built is a Cattle Ranch - Cahoona Bakery, but for the complex calculator try this:

http://home.wolfsburg.de/kprohrbeck/x3tcocc.html

[dragondream]

That's because Spacefuel is illegal in all Commonwealth Sectors. Build your Spacefuel in Pirate or Unknown sectors.

That's why I have a problem with the Spacefuel complex... Build it in Argon or any other Race sector, say bye bye to your complex. Build it in a Pirate Sector, bye bye complex and traders. So what I'm trying to find out is which of the tech complexes for example are the most profitable...

[Kapakio]

That's because Spacefuel is illegal in all Commonwealth Sectors. Build your Spacefuel in Pirate or Unknown sectors.

That's why I have a problem with the Spacefuel complex... Build it in Argon or any other Race sector, say bye bye to your complex. Build it in a Pirate Sector, bye bye complex and traders. So what I'm trying to find out is which of the tech complexes for example are the most profitable...

You can also build them in Terran sectors. There's nothing illegal there and they are the most secured sectors in the game.

[em3e3]

You can also build them in Terran sectors. There's nothing illegal there and they are the most secured sectors in the game.

And Yaki, Goner sectors. Plenty of options. Otherwise, I hear 1MJ shields go like crazy - never tried them myself.

And there's a newer version of the complex calculator:

http://altanetworks.com/x3/x3tcocc.html

[LordForrester]

Just Drop a patrol in the Pirate sector with it. Should protect it just fine.

[mash319]

In my game 1mj shields sell very well. I also make a lot of profit selling wasps and silkworms to EQ Docks with a fast M3 on a manual trade run set to run indefinetly.

I tend to add the food factories to the complex but source my Ecells for elsewhere. Just set price to +1 average and NPC's bring em to me.

Hope this helps.

[Esgaro]

You are in right mind to want to forget space fuel and space weed. You will make more profit producing a product which requires ore anyway. I suggest 1 MJ shields as well. Their return is really shockingly good.

[LordForrester]

Yes the 1MJ shields work well.

[1muvwndr]

Chips. You'll never build enough chips. 300 factories running at full capacity won't satisfy the demand.

[mash319]

In my game 1mj shields sell very well. I also make a lot of profit selling wasps and silkworms to EQ Docks with a fast M3 on a manual trade run set to run indefinetly.

I tend to add the food factories to the complex but source my Ecells for elsewhere. Just set price to +1 average and NPC's bring em to me.

Hope this helps.

[mrbadger]

Otherwise, I hear 1MJ shields go like crazy - never tried them myself.

This is true. I use them as my standard 'starting station' normally, and usually build three or four large 1mj sheild producing complexes.
At just below average price they sell like stink to npc traders. If you sell them with your own traders you can make even more.

Also, and this is very handy, you can use M5 ships to sell them.

I'd never choose spaceweed/fuel over 1mj sheilds, mostly because unlike the illegal options you can put them anywhere you want.

Chips. You'll never build enough chips. 300 factories running at full capacity won't satisfy the demand.

Also very true, I learned this in my first TC game.

[Technojerk36]

Chips. You'll never build enough chips. 300 factories running at full capacity won't satisfy the demand.

Yeah microchips sell really well even if they are at max price. Easy credits.

[Esgaro]

A microchip complex isn't a bad idea for the hub quest, but when talking about profit, their return on their investment is pretty damn low, mainly due to the large expense of the chip factories (even Boron ones). 1 MJ shields will give you a significantly better return on your investment.

It takes a 29 million credit open loop chip complex to match the kind of profit you would see from an 11 million credit open loop 1 MJ shield complex.

The cost of closing the loop on either of these complexes will be pretty much the same, as they both take roughly the same number of energy cells. Use the saved cash on the 1 MJ shield complex to make a second one, if you still have cash. You'll come out ahead.

[dragondream]

Wow I am gone 5 min and I come back and see tons of replies ... Thanks for the help guys. Just wanted a change from the usual SpaceFuel/Weed complexes suggestions. I definitely think I will try the 1MJ shield complex or the microchip complex like you started off with in the Reunion demo. Thanks again for the help everyone .

[mrbadger]

A microchip complex isn't a bad idea for the hub quest, but when talking about profit, their return on their investment is pretty damn low, mainly due to the large expense of the chip factories (even Boron ones). 1 MJ shields will give you a significantly better return on your investment.

This is why I don't start with them, the set up cost is indeed quite high. Mind you, once you have enough money to afford that they are ok.

[jlehtone]

In my game 1mj shields sell very well. I also make a lot of profit selling wasps and silkworms to EQ Docks with a fast M3 on a manual trade run set to run indefinetly.

"Sell well" and "sell manually".

There are three categories for selling:
1. Stuff the NPC come for and buy eagerly.
2. Stuff that has plenty of consumers that you can deliver to.
3. The infinite sinks at Equipment Docks.

One could say thay (3) is simply a special case of (2), but some so consider (3) an "exploit". Like we would care. And (2) is probably the "worst" of the three, yet still quite a market.


There are three categories on type of products as well:
1. Foods (like Spacefuel). All it takes is Energy.
2. Silicon-based High Tech (like Chips). They do need Silicon in addition to Energy.
3. Ore-based High Tech (Shields, Guns, Missiles). X3TC Calculators say that Missiles are the "most profit per unit" in this category ... if they get sold.

Of these, the (2) requires clearly more Silicon than the others. And Silicon is a hard limit on Closed Loops. So that cannot be "best" in some scale.


But thriving for "most successful" is futile. You either build or you don't. If you build, you either like the result, or you don't. Then you can either try to do better, or forget the whole idea. But lets assume that the first loop manages to be "most successful". What next? Everything after that must by definition "fail". Fun?

[dragondream]

So which "safe" sector (preferably Argon sector) has enough high yield Silicon and Ore asteroids where I can set up my complex?

[mrbadger]

So which "safe" sector (preferably Argon sector) has enough high yield Silicon and Ore asteroids where I can set up my complex?

Antigone Memorial has some very high yeild asteroids, making it good for almost any kind of complex. Ore belt is good for really massive complexes, but very crowded, and your framerate will tank.