Trading Network

[Irrehaare]

It's me again, with question. I've spent a few hours looking for answer, but to no avail.

I wanted to create a network of Trading Stations, but I have major problem:

Is there a way to set those stupid stations to sell only?

"No" to trade with other races and using only CAGs won't do, becouse I'm selling Space Fuel an Weed in some of them, so it has to be sold directly from Stations.

I'm playing ***modified***, so script or mod will do just as well.

[Timsup2nothin]

Trading stations will buy or sell, so they are driven by price. If the price is set above average NPC traders will not buy the product, generally. If it is set below average they will not sell to the station.

Does that help with your situation?

[Bill Huntington]

There's a lot you're not telling us. TC or AP? Though it doesn't matter much on this one. If you're producing it, just sell it from that station. You only need one. Sell it at Average -1 and it all sells out all the time, wherever in the universe you are. Except Yaki space.

I usually build one station in a game that sells SF. Sometimes a second one in Weaver's. Then I shuttle the SF from Weaver's to my other one.

SW and SF sell better than anything.

[Bill Huntington]

There's a lot you're not telling us. TC or AP? Though it doesn't matter much on this one. If you're producing it, just sell it from that station. You only need one. Sell it at Average -1 and it all sells out all the time, wherever in the universe you are. Except Yaki space.

I usually build one station in a game that sells SF. Sometimes a second one in Weaver's. Then I shuttle the SF from Weaver's to my other one.

SW and SF sell better than anything.

[Irrehaare]

Sorry for lack of info. I'm playing AP.

I can see how Trading Station work, but it makes no sense at all if I can't order MY OWN station not to buy. Don't you guys see it as ridiculous? It's a sandbox game after all...

Trading stations buy from other race traders when price is set high, I can prove it. And I want to sell high, not buy.

I wanted to have trading station network to distribute goods my complexes make to become independent from local markets. So selling from a original station is not an option. I'm not giving up on this idea.

About SF and SW: I have already placed complex for them in one pirate sector (the one with racing stuff, don't remember the name) and I want to sell them in Duke's sector to get as good relations with pirates as possible.

SF and SW are not all I want to sell through network, there's more (Microchips, Computer Components, Crystals, Quantum Tubes mostly).

Guess I'll have to get into scripting and modding myself. Sounds like a plan for Xmas

[ancienthighway]

Take away the CAGs and leave it so other races can't trade with the trading docks. Use CLS2 to sell wares from the trading stations, and if your own stations are supplying them, CLS1 to do the supply runs. There is no product intermediate products or resources for trading stations. Everything is buy/sell depending on inventory and credits in the station's account. (Which brings up another method, automatic transfer of funds to your global account.)

I don't know how big your are planning your trading station network, but bare in mind they are very expensive and of questionable use. Everything you want to do you can do with a number of stations in a complex, and it can usually be done cheaper. With all the wares set to product, CAGs won't go buying them. Each complex can be tailor made for each race and needs in the area.

[Irrehaare]

I'd still prefer building a network, on the long run it sound easier than designing a proper complex to suit every area. Besides it also sound easier to suply 2 or 3 huge complexes and 20-30 trading stations, than 20-30 complexes.

As I said earlier: no option of using CAG or CLS to sell, when trading SF or SW.

I like the idea of transfering all the funds, it might work, I'll check it.

Also it doesn't seem that expensive to me, since collecting 100mil takes me 3-4 hours of gameplay, I think. And selling expensive stuff always for best price in universe makes it sound like good profit, on the long run.

Thank you all guys for the advice! It's a great help.

[Timsup2nothin]

Trading stations buy from other race traders when price is set high, I can prove it. And I want to sell high, not buy.

That's what I said. You can't tell your trading station anything but the price to work with, and you can't make the AI traders do ANYTHING. If the price is high, they will sell to you. Period. You may want your trading station to "sell high," but it literally CAN'T, because the AI traders will never, ever, buy high.

To sell high you have to deliver the product. That's the way of the universe.

Big question...why do you say CLS is not an option when selling spaceweed or spacefuel? I do it all the time.

[UniTrader]

well, they may buy high, but it requires much micro-managment afaik:

NPC Trade Scripts basically work like this:
=> find best Offer in Range for ware, but at least above/below average Price (depends on wheter its buy or sell)
=> fly to Offer Station
=> and sell/buy Product

note that Prices are not checked again when the Ship is already on the way, so you can increase your Profit margin by regulary switching between high and low Price - but i doubt it will increase your profit per time since you will miss many possible customers while the Price is set high.. it may be more efficient to get a Police License and go on smuggler Hunt in front of your Station - and put the stuff back where it belongs..


note: its been a long time since i looked into legacy X, so this info may not be entirely accurate

[Irrehaare]

Wait a second, CAG selling SF won't be shot down in Commonwealth space? If yes, then all this discussion is pretty much pointless.

I may play modified game, but switching prices or hunting down guys that just bought contraband for you is IMO cheating.

Anyway: I'll be back to playing no sooner than in new year, so it'll be a while before I check your ideas.

[ancienthighway]

The worse that will happen with your ship carrying illegal wares is it will have to dump the ware in space for the police to blow up. The ship flies away, your rep is hurt a bit, and you lose your investment in the illegal.

A couple of fast M5s with decent cargo capability is the usual way for running your own smuggling operation. A stripped down Disco Hauler is the best of the Disco variants, but the Terran Rapier is probably the best M5 over all. Paranid Pegasus and Yaki Fujin might allow you to squeeze in a few more crates than the Disco H. and have better speed. The Teladi Hauler has the largest capacity but is the slowest. Fast enough to avoid most scans though.

Pricing on illegal wares is fairly straight forward. Teladi will always pay average price for weed. Pirate stations in pirate or unknown sectors will always pay average for weed and booze. Pirate stations in commonwealth sectors almost always pay max price for booze and weed, unless it's a Teladi sector, then weed is average. The couple Argon Trading stations dealing in booze will trade at max.

[Bill Huntington]

If you're selling all your SF and SW at average -1, it doesn't matter if you buy some from traders. It will get sold again.

[Timsup2nothin]

Wait a second, CAG selling SF won't be shot down in Commonwealth space? If yes, then all this discussion is pretty much pointless.

I may play modified game, but switching prices or hunting down guys that just bought contraband for you is IMO cheating.

Anyway: I'll be back to playing no sooner than in new year, so it'll be a while before I check your ideas.

As highway says, if they are challenged they just dump the goods. A fast ship seldom gets challenged, and a small ship dumps a load you can afford to lose anyway. So I use M5s to supply pirate bases that pay max price.

You can dock at a marine barracks and see what the max capacity and max price for a secondary resource is (price is 873 I think, don't remember how much it holds) and set up something like an Express Hauler with enough jump fuel to make the jump there and back and deliver the exact amount. The only risk is the short trip from the gate. Everyplace that uses it as a secondary resource is the same and that's a very good route.

Places that use space fuel as a primary resource are usually in pirate sectors anyway. As long as your delivery ship is using a jump drive there is no concern with challenges from cops. I set them up to sell at 1200.

I also usually keep a ship of my own docked at the factory with a CLS pilot loading up jump fuel, whiskey and weed. Whenever there is a money mission at a trading station there is a fair chance it is a pirate, and if that pirate wants whiskey or weed they will pay astounding prices, like ten times max, but the time limits are short enough that unless you have a ship loaded and ready they can be hard to do. I jump the ship in and then fly it myself on those, usually. Get back in my ship after, jump the delivery ship back to the sector with my 'plex and turn the CLS back on. Dude dock, reloads the jump fuel and product and its ready for the next one. In my current game that alone makes me about twelve million credits per game day.

[Irrehaare]

Well, that's what i call helpful. Thank you people.

I'll have to think about this stuff.

[MarvinTheMartian]

Pricing on illegal wares is fairly straight forward. Teladi will always pay average price for weed. Pirate stations in pirate or unknown sectors will always pay average for weed and booze. Pirate stations in commonwealth sectors almost always pay max price for booze and weed, unless it's a Teladi sector, then weed is average. The couple Argon Trading stations dealing in booze will trade at max.

The simple way of thinking of this is if the ware is illegal in that sector it will be bought/sold at max price, if not, it's average price. This includes spaceflies, Squash mines, slaves etc.

The downside of using a complex to front the sale instead of a trading station is that you can't use CLS1 to distribute the wares (it only sends resources to a station/complex) which increases management of distribution using CLS2 or CAG. It can be done but just with extra steps.

Player Trading Station prices are the "sell" price, the trading station will buy at this price -1 so you probably want the sell price to be average -1 for the NPC to do the leg work for you and it's unlikely that NPC will sell to you for avg -2 if there's a market to buy them at avg (they wouldn't buy from you at avg -1 otherwise)