Long time without a "trading" game X3AP

[BankruptAssasin]

I have not had a proper trading game in the x universe in a long long time, Reunion for me was mostly trading while TC/AP have mainly been fighting, i have started as Teladi Traficker and im fast approaching my first million. Once i get enough funds i want to start building stations, no necessarily a complex, i would need x amount of money for one of those.

I have before had a Scruffin & Plankton farm in the wall which was quite successful, I understand that Space weed/fuel sell like hot cakes as do some other tech stuff like Microchips, 1mj shields etc, but i would like wares that help the surrounding area.

I have no issues having a space fuel/weed complex by any means but 1mj shields feel kinda cheaty to me in that they sell like hot cakes but not overly useful to the economy, plus i assume the market will eventually saturate?

I have been wondering should i aim for a Ore/Silicon mine then later Microchips, this way i can make money early and at the same time have some resources for the Hub Plot when i get to that.

There does not seem to be many guides in trading and first stations, well none that google can find, there is a lot of gides explaining the basics of supply/demand and even those that are helpful are mainly about fuel/weed/chips/shields complexes.

Thanks for the Help

[OniGanon]

The AP Hub Plot doesn't require a ridiculous amount of Microchips. Just so you know.

For manual trading, Ore is always good. For some bizarre reason, the NPCs tend to ignore it, so there's always Ore Mines around with full stock and there's always plenty of buyers near empty. You don't have to build Ore Mines though, if there are any NPC Ore Mines in the area. It's actually cheaper to just trade the NPC's Ore than it is to make it yourself.

Soja Beans is another great product for manual trade. The SW corner of the Paranid home sectors is filled up to the triple eyeballs with Soja Beans at minimum price, while the Soyeries all over Paranid space are sitting empty.

Rastar Oil is selling at minimum price in Thyn's Abyss any time I care to check. It's a little harder to move (try Patriarch's Conclusion, Rhonkar's Might and Twisted Skies) but it's major profit when you do.

Slightly risky, but Black Hole Sun is filled with Meatsteak, and M148, Nathan's Voyage, Wastelands and Interworlds are starving for it.


Station suggestions?

Ore Mine L + Cattle Ranch L + Cahoona Bakery L in Legend's Home, 2 sector radius. Do the same in Argon Sector M148, 0 radius. Add another Ranch + Bakery to both when you have the money.

The area around PTNI is starving for NoStrop. Build a Flower Farm L + Sun Oil Refinery L in Two Grand, with 2 sector range. Add another of each when you have more money.

Soyery + Teladianium in Shore of Infinity.

Protein in Terran space.

BoGas in Ocean of Fantasy.

[BankruptAssasin]

Thanks, will come in handy.

I'm playing AP with TC plots, not sure if the Hub Plot is TC/AP

[Alche]

Sounds like a manual task this one! Given a group of sectors you’re interested in, just go around the local stations looking to see what they’ re mostly short of and satisfy the demand. Whether you’ll make any money is another matter, and whether the local economy gives a stuff I doubt it.

For example, I noticed many of the Terran sectors were not getting any water delivered, looked like their whole economy had ground to a halt, so I stepped in building huge water complexes supplying the sol system. Did I make any real money, nah, but it was satisfying seeing the economy booming!

[OniGanon]

Terran space is short on Water because NPCs ignore Ice, much like they ignore Ore. There's lots of Ice around Uranus (queue obligatory Uranus joke) selling constantly at minimum price, so that's a good spot for a Water station.

[Zaitsev]

Thanks, will come in handy.

I'm playing AP with TC plots, not sure if the Hub Plot is TC/AP

If you play AP with the TC plots mod the Hub Plot will be the TC version, so then you better start stockpiling microchips

[BankruptAssasin]

I fully plan on doing just that, I'm trying to work out the chip plant needs so i can supply the goods and buy the microchip - I make money selling the resources and that money buys the microchip.

But im having real trouble trying to figure this out, anyone want to shed some light?

My idea is that i can keeps some microchips supplied and feeding me their microchips for "free" this way when i get round to the plot i already have a stock pile and i dont need to build 600 chip plants later. I will prob need to build some but im hoping this will help.

On another note, how does one actually stock pile things like ore/silicon? i would need numerous mammoths to do this.

[Zaitsev]

I fully plan on doing just that, I'm trying to work out the chip plant needs so i can supply the goods and buy the microchip - I make money selling the resources and that money buys the microchip.

But im having real trouble trying to figure this out, anyone want to shed some light?

My idea is that i can keeps some microchips supplied and feeding me their microchips for "free" this way when i get round to the plot i already have a stock pile and i dont need to build 600 chip plants later. I will prob need to build some but im hoping this will help.

On another note, how does one actually stock pile things like ore/silicon? i would need numerous mammoths to do this.

If you do that you're in for a fairly long haul, as it will take you about two weeks ingame to complete the chip part of the plot if you rely on feeding the NPC chip plants alone.

[Sabrina Bergin]

To stock pile the ores build some ore stations do not let them trade except to buy e-cells and fill them up.

Then when you need to build chip plex's or if they are already part of the ore complexes then just turn them on or add them as required.

[BankruptAssasin]

I don't plan on doing just that, i am only at the start of the game so nowhere near enough funds for the super chip complex and playing a sole trading game until i buy a shrike.

I want to get a head start on the chip part as i have never completed this plot without using mods to make it easier. I understand it will take me a while but i want to build an empire of my own before i start combat so waiting 2 weeks etc is not going to be that much of an issue, once i have my shrike, the weapon/missile complexes i fully intend to build the chip plants.

[Sabrina Bergin]

In of itself the Shrike is a good ship.

Unfortunately it is getting the weapons and fighters for it that is expensive.
I was lucky enough in my current game to get one through a return ship mission which I failed but after that it was a bit of a grind to get the credits to equip it.

[BankruptAssasin]

I fully plan on using Trapper Tims Guide on CLS (Timsup2nothin) he suggests cornering the market in Teladi Space for the goods by supplying the food/e-cells//minerals - this should help with supplying the Shrike the tech i need ranging from flak/guass cannons/ebc and their munitions, plus heavier guns like the cigs until i get IBL's.

I have tried this a few times but i can never get it working 100% though so if anyone including tTm wants to explain this to me in very simple terms i would greatly appreciate it, i may then be able to do the same for the chip plants.

[Nanook]

...
I want to get a head start on the chip part as i have never completed this plot without using mods to make it easier.....

Zaitsev is correct. You really don't want to rely on the NPC chip plants for the HUB plot. There aren't enough of them, for one thing, and the NPC's will buy the chips as fast as they're produced, even at near maximum prices, leaving very few for you. It will be a lot longer than two game weeks to fulfill the plot needs doing it this way.

If you want to get an early start, when you can afford one, buy a single chip plant and use NPC resources to supply it. Periodically after that, add more chip plants as they become affordable (balancing that with your other needs). You're going to need a couple dozen chip plants, at minimum, to complete the plot in a reasonable amount of time so it will take a while to build your complex. I've used up to 60 chip plants in past games and even that takes a long time to produce 75,000 microchips.

While that's going on, you can concentrate on making money and gathering all the other resources you need. Everything else can be obtained via the NPC's and mobile mining, so you don't need to build any other complexes. The chip phase will take so long that you'll have plenty of time to gather the other resources before the chips are even close to being done.