CLS and CAG levels

[Trevelvis]

I have trained up some CLS pilots and now want to replace ships from my stations to do CAG but not sure what the ranks are for both trainings and what levels do the CAG start selling products

[Triaxx2]

Ranks transfer directly, so they should start as a CAG at the same rank they were CLS.

[RAVEN.myst]

That's right - both types start using the jumpdrive at level 4, at which point their rank names start to differ, but that's a purely cosmetic distinction. For the first three levels, they share pilot ranks (apprentice, courier, supplier), but then the equivalences are:

4 = Cargo Messenger (CLS) = Trader (CAG)
5 =Forwarding Agent (CLS) = Dealer (CAG)
6 = Logistician (CLS) = Major Dealer (CAG)

[SirNukes]

To answer the last question, CAGs sell products at rank 2, Courier, just after finishing their apprenticeship (requires 2 hours of flight time).

[Alan Phipps]

One not-so-obvious tip: never use experienced CLS/CAG pilots as Mk3 traders (ST/LT/UT), or vice versa, as they lose *all* of their piloting skills if you do.

[Snafu_X3]

One not-so-obvious tip: never use experienced CLS/CAG pilots as Mk3 traders (ST/LT/UT), or vice versa, as they lose *all* of their piloting skills if you do.

Altho you /can/ pilot them manually then return them to duties (in TC at least) with no loss of rank

Occasionally I've noticed a swap between similar S(U)T/Cxx pilots happening & associated pilots retain rank, but not enough to confirm the exact circumstances (possibly multi-ship-swapping WRT player?), but in general the above advice holds good!

I don't use UTs as a rule: they're far too squishy for my empires. STs however, esp once fully trained (only way to get them to L25 is promote them to UT, watch them like a hawk, then demote them)..

[RainerPrem]

...

STs however, esp once fully trained (only way to get them to L25 is promote them to UT, watch them like a hawk, then demote them)..

Hi,

is there a difference in abilities between L20 and L25?

cu
Rainer

[Snafu_X3]

There is in the text, but I'm not sure if that translates to gameplay; I've been looking for independant confirmation one way or another for some years now..

[SirNukes]

UTs and STs covering 2-3+ sectors will do their deal search by randomly selecting wares, checking profit, and comparing to an acceptable threshold. If no deals are found after some max number of checks, they will wait 10 minutes before retrying. The number of checks is based on the pilot level (50 + 5*level), so higher level pilots should be less likely to fail to find a deal, all the way to level 25.

[BugMeister]

...

STs however, esp once fully trained (only way to get them to L25 is promote them to UT, watch them like a hawk, then demote them)..

Hi,

is there a difference in abilities between L20 and L25?

cu
Rainer

I have some notes which state that Level 23+ traders additionally co-ordinate
their trade runs with each other to avoid multiple Traders heading for the same stations..

- the notes are quite old, so I'm not sure if this still applies.. (??)

[SirNukes]

I have some notes which state that Level 23+ traders additionally co-ordinate
their trade runs with each other to avoid multiple Traders heading for the same stations..

There is a comment at the top of one of the files which states 23 for this, though the actual code checks for trader level 11. Also, it appears the coordination works by just blacklisting the sectors with the selected buy and sell stations for 8 minutes after a deal is selected. This might limit how many sector traders you might want to have running in a small region. (Note: blacklist is only checked by traders level 5+, so it should be safe to start out sector traders in the same area.)

[Truthowl]

One not-so-obvious tip: never use experienced CLS/CAG pilots as Mk3 traders (ST/LT/UT), or vice versa, as they lose *all* of their piloting skills if you do.

Thank you @Alan Phipps. I've been wondering WHY my trained pilots kept losing their F`ing minds and starting over experience wise.

@Necro_Police, I know, I know, but F` you. This is extremely relevant and there is no documentation, that I'm aware of, that explains to the end user what will happen if you do a logical thing and transfer a trading pilot from one job to another trading pilot job. Going from CLS/CAG to ST/LT/UT should NOT strip the pilot of all experience.

[Alan Phipps]

@ Truthowl :You're welcome. IIRC, the Mk3 trader scripts were developed within Egosoft and the CLS/CAG scripts were developed by 3rd party modders and later added to the signed Bonus Pack - hence the disconnect.

PS: I am the Necro_Police - and I don't need F'ing. Happy New Year!