How well do you know your Markets

[johnnywas]

I wonder whether people who play the X series

a) load up on goods in the vague hope that you may be able to shift them

b) make do with a passable knowledge of stock prices but rely on memory

c) keep a copy of the X3 supply and demand chart beside your console

or

d) have scribbled notes on every likely opportunity


I go through every phase - sometimes I rely on sector traders but I always regret it when it comes to placing factories because I haven't a clue where to put them to make a profit.

Sometimes I make heroic but usually short lived attempts to document every trading opportunity on a chart

I have a small spreadsheet which has details of the generic goods at free argon stations (that gives me the average price) and various possible bargains plus all the stations in one or two sectors which I tend to use as bases (Nyana's and Lyrae).

thoughts and tips ?

j

[Nividium]

I think if I had to do the things you describe for playing the X3 game that I would shoot myself. Or, at least put the game away and never ever look at it again.

[CBCRonin]

I did quite a bit of charting and factory planning in Reunion, but far less for Conflict. Some secondaries are pretty hard to corner the market on now and less lucrative due to their slow use.

In Reunion, I controlled the silicon market in Argon Space (bought out competitors stocks when cheaper than I could make it), supplied e-cells locally so the factories that used silicon were always operating, controlled the Husk market in Boron and Telad. in Paranid space, had large distilleries/wheat and Dream/Bliss complexes, and an entire corporate system in Unknown space that was really taking off.

Every one of which had its own defense flight of a captured M3 with two M4s and one or two TS (depending on location, one dedicated to deliveries and possibly one for energy cell purchase).... except for the corporate sector that had a far more substantial defense force

I had to keep charts, along with plans for further expansion.... just to keep a handle on things.
--------------
In Conflict, I have a space fuel distillery.

Silicon is used quite slowly and I have yet to see a factory with an empty silicon secondary after two days play time.

Food was very profitable in the beginning, but now hundreds of independant traders deal in it.

Husk still looks attractive, but traders begin transporting it the minute I start checking the market (checking prices and demand with my satellite network).

Energy traders keep everything running far smoother in Conflict than in Reunion, so at least there isn't a need to provide e-cells to defunct production factories.

It feels as if fuel and wd are the only two reliables that a player can dominate now in the production sector. So I haven't felt the need to chart my corporate plan.

[klingens]

X3 economy is a very simple one: if the factory producing a tradegood is full (or at least above 50% full), prices are cheaper than average. That means, I can buy and no matter what I will make a profit. At the least, I can sell it to equipment docks or terracorp for average price. So there is no need to keep any notes on paper or know anything.

[Spychotic]

The universe is dynamic enough that any permanent notes are worthless. There are perhaps some staples that are usually good; for example I always found that an M solar plant in The Wall was a good bet, but due to the effects of GoD there's no guarantee that what for me is a generally reliable trade run even exists in someone else's game.

There's a few staple factories too; Wheat in or near Argon Prime, Nostrop and Teladianium in Paranid space, Scruffin or Plankton in Argon space etc but again these can be removed by GoD.

[maphys]

b)
I tend to have a good but vague idea what to sell and what not to. I know which goods are generally easy to shift and after a few game days I usually have a better idea which goods sell well in different areas. Sometimes when scouting for a factory I'll set up a sector trader and see what they are selling/buying. Just leave one going, check the hold a few times an hour and then build closed loops to make that. Or alternatively spot something that they are not selling because it is not available locally and add that to the factory complex.

M

[EmperorJon]

B. I always know what things sell for, and if it's a good deal. I also know the best sectors for setting up certai factories etc. at the beggining of the game, and amazing trade runs.

Want a sharre in them anyone?

I'll give you one:

Spoiler

Show

Aladna Hill has a lot of Ore eaters... and the nearest Ore is in a very dnagerous sector...

[mrbadger]

I fly round in my TM checking prices and availabiliy in regions of the map a lot of the time. This is mainly to discover places that could do with a dedicated ST, but also to collect up any required items, like capital ship weaponry, sheilds and missiles.

In previous games I surveyed the region around a proposed station/complex location in order to work out which station type would be best, or if I already had a station/complex in mind, where best to place it.

I realise some people would find putting so much effort in a bit boring, but it's just a matter of play-style. The option is there to do it if you want, but if not the option is also there to build massive closed loop complexes and supply your own needs.

I've done the latter in several games, but I got bored with it, so now I prefer to keep my empire relient on the npc stations.

[em3e3]

e. Use Sector/Local traders. Plus a MORT running around, buying up weapons at minimum price.

[XanII]

X3:R economics wasnt that hard. soja husk primary in paranid space, soja husk secondary in split space. silicon in main argon space, etc etc. small or large niches here and there that were pretty obvious and provided a good investment opportunity.

in X3:TC it is so much harder. i really dont have easy pickings that much. i believe my most 'profitable and easy' factory must be my first one a couple of sectors above argon prime that yanks out 1mj shields. it has got so high demand i cannot please the market. Some ore factories in key OTAS/Argon areas are also good boosters for local factories, yet dont bring that much cash.

Oh, and i stay completely away from cahoonas etc. i refuse to touch them, they were trouble in X3:R and in TC they are double that pain.

[Gswine]

Early in game my manual trade runs look like this.

Energy cells, crystals and quantum tubes.

Crystals can be sold at power plants and tube plants but also sold at weapons fabs. Quantum tubes sold at shield plants.

This helps to keep track of production of larger credit items and time best profit buys.

Note that (except energy cells) they are secondary resources and will not help the production of items. You can use automated trading to take care of primary resources or manually stock certain factories to promote production.

Once you have a cycle going you will hopefully be able to time certain buying and selling while building up a detailed map of sectors in your game.

At some point though, you may find that the cycle will break. As you purchase often from regular stations, NPC traders will buy the stock at a higher price than they would before. Either alter your buying patterns or (hopefully) use your profits to do other things.

[Antarus]

I don't think there is a need to keep notes on the economy. Knowing that some wares (like fuel/weed, 1MJ shields etc) have a high never-ending demand is enough, you just build complexes that make the stuff and never worry about trading again. If I want to trade in something else, I usually just check which place has a lot of potential buyers in close proximity and build there (like Teladianium in Duke's Vision, SQUASH-mines in Rhonkar's Trial...). Then there are ST, which are "start and forget".

[TTD]

In my main game, I have moved on to Sector Support Complexes.

Just find out what all the local stations are buying and then build one complex to fulfill that demand.

Obviously Minerals can't always be provided.

[Starlight_Corporation]

I rarely build complexes to supply things to the economy. I mostly try to seek small holes in the economy and plug it with a single factory, or create a shortage by building certain fabs (stuff that the tradedocks/EQ doscks buy, but no factory within a few jumps) That way I can add foodfabs & farms, supplying the economy and draining it.
Positive aspect is that it keeps the economy well supplied, and seems to put GoD away from the shiny red destruct button, and instead uses the green Construct more button.

It becomes apparant in sectors where I haven't intervened for a long time (Omicron Lyrae mainly at my game, whole argon sector was practically dead due to no SPP's nearby) Currently trying to save the region's economy. Even had to resort to building an Energysupplying complex as there wast just nothing there to start off from (a lone NPC Silicon M class Mine that's deprived of energy won't cut it)
I am aware that at other players, that same region might be a triving moneypit, spewing out more resources then you can handle.

@EmperorJon

In my game that area has several oremines in safe sectors (check the paranid sector bejond the supergate & the argon sector bordering the Boron)
This shows us that what can be a big gap in the market at one person's game, can be overflooding with the same resource at someone else.

Main thing I do is, check what fabs/tradestations/EQ need, and then see if there's a shortage of it (usuallly noticed by a consistant low stock of said resource in multiple factories)

[Incubi]

I keep a general idea of what is good. In x3tc, buying soja husk and selling them in Boron space is allways a good profit. If you find rastor oil for near cheapest price, fly to a split area starved of rastor oil and make a huge profit. ( both require JD to be feasable and profitable )

AFter a while I only trade in weapons remotley. too busy for menial task. This is the point that I Have half a dozen mobile miners automated, 5 UTS and a bunch of Rts ( regional traders ) and am focused on complex building and combat.

[jlehtone]

X3 economy is a very simple one

Simple enough to remember the basics. Simple enough to know a good deal when one sees one.

[K-64]

I know enough about my markets to get along. If I'm ever in doubt then I printed off the commodity list from the X3TC Stats Compendium, that has helped me decide whether or not to buy or sell at certain stations.