Space fuel and hostile military

ja_ · Post by **ja_** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 19:21

OK I'm trying to get into building factories and I hear space fuel is a decent product to start with because it will sell itself. So I set out to build a space fuel complex.

First, I build a small one in Teladi space. The military hostile me and destroy it. So I go off and build another one in an Argon sector. It lasts for about an hour and then the Argon military hostile me and destroy it. I try a third in Argon border space (Ore Belt) and before I have even connected the factories together, let alone sold anything, a Cerberus has appeared and started destroying the complex.

How do people actually manage to build these complexes and not have them blown apart instantly? Where do I need to put them?

Laden Swallow · Post by **Laden Swallow** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 19:25

Somewhere where the goods aren't illegal?

These factories were good in X3:R because they could be placed in core systems, the pirates come to you and you scan and get them to drop cargo/kill pirates. Then resell it at the same place again

Haven't used them in TC yet, partly due to the fact that the military seems to be a bit more on the ball.

KoshZdryh · Post by **KoshZdryh** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 19:26

N00bTW : Unknown Sectors ... anyone ?

DeadlyDarkness · Post by **DeadlyDarkness** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 19:47

Tip:

Place your fab in a core sector (i usually place mine as a complex in ore belt).

Then, scan ships leaving your factory, shoot until they bail.

You can then pick up the dropped cargo and drop it back in your station, and occasionally cap a few more transport ships.

jordan kirwan · Post by **jordan kirwan** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 19:48

I must be missing something
as I have yet to see any npcs in unknown sectors
teladi sectors should have been alright as fuel is legal
It might have changed I don't know where its legal apart from pirate sectors

ja_ · Post by **ja_** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 19:53

Laden Swallow wrote:Somewhere where the goods aren't illegal?

Yeah, I've figured that much out

I just don't know where that might be.

The problem for a new player is that it isn't made clear in the game that producing space fuel is illegal (the fact that the Argons sell me the damn factory but then attack me immediately when I place it is pretty wtf), and even when you figure that out, it is not made apparent at any point in the game, or anywhere in the manual, where and where not a space fuel distillery might be tolerated.

DeadlyDarkness · Post by **DeadlyDarkness** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 19:59

it isn't illegal to make it, just make sure none of your ships are carrying it. Once they've docked and bought it, then all bets are off.

ja_ · Post by **ja_** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 20:05

DeadlyDarkness wrote:it isn't illegal to make it, just make sure none of your ships are carrying it. Once they've docked and bought it, then all bets are off.

None of my ships are carrying it

As I say, I'm a relatively new player and so the attraction of a space fuel complex is that the end product doesn't need to be sold, I can just leave the complex running and NPCs will actively come and buy it.

The third complex I tried to build, it was destroyed before I had even attached the complex connectors - the distilleries had not produced a single unit of space fuel before they were attacked.

DeadlyDarkness · Post by **DeadlyDarkness** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 20:44

That's odd, ive never seen that happen before. Perhaps it's a bug or maybe it was ships from a race you have poor reputation with.

UK_lawman · Post by **UK_lawman** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 21:23

In X3R, Space fuel was indeed a nice little earner, however, in TC Egosoft have changed the rules slightly in where you can build such fabs..

It is still possible to make a mint from selling space fuel, it just takes a bit longer to do so..

Spoiler

Show

In the early part of the game the player only knows of one place that buys space fuel [Herrons Nebula] and Trading dock there soon fills up and your then waiting for the stock to go down so you can sell more space fuel..

Buying a Space Fuel Distillery early on in the game is a waste of time since the Trading Dock in Herrons Nebula quickly fills up and your waiting a long time till stock levels goes back down before you can sell some more.

What I do is have a TS (equipped with a Jump Drive) run Space Fuel between the Distillery and Trading Docks and occasionally check the stock levels and sell space fuel as and when the stock levels drop in the Trading Dock. Later on in the game you will find other places to offload your Space Fuel, but even then I find that the output from the distillery in Herrons Nebula is sufficient to keep the 3 places that I found so far always full!.

My remote TS has made a hundred or more runs in Herrons Nebula and has never been stopped once for running space fuel so there should be no problem using this method.

Demotruk · Post by **Demotruk** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 21:23

DeadlyDarkness wrote:That's odd, ive never seen that happen before. Perhaps it's a bug or maybe it was ships from a race you have poor reputation with.

That's how Terran Conflict plays. It says in the manual that few stations have the license to produce space fuel, and that doesn't include your factories.

I think they will actually go after you in unknown sectors too, I think "recon" units are to blame for that.(I've seen the military attack pirate bases in unknown sectors, I haven't set up a distillery myself yet).

I think what you want to do is put the factory somewhere that neither border control nor recon will ever go. As I've been watching pirate bases die and spawn in my game, it's been the ones in the most remote parts of sectors that survive the longest.

If my theory is right, Elysium of Light is a good place to set up. It's never policed, and in my game there's a pirate base in plain view that has never been touched by the military.

DeadlyDarkness · Post by **DeadlyDarkness** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 22:28

How about Space weed? Is there a problem with that in Teladi sectors?

Demotruk · Post by **Demotruk** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 23:07

DeadlyDarkness wrote:How about Space weed? Is there a problem with that in Teladi sectors?

Don't think so, I certainly haven't noticed it.

SIMON POPPLEWELL · Post by **SIMON POPPLEWELL** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 23:18

DeadlyDarkness wrote:How about Space weed? Is there a problem with that in Teladi sectors?

Space Weed is legal in Teladi space, so you can build them in their sectors. Only Space fuel is illegal. Probably have to find some remote corner of space to build Space fuel fabs.

Trouble with building in remote sectors is that there probably wont be many buying customers.

Demotruk · Post by **Demotruk** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 23:36

SIMON POPPLEWELL wrote:
DeadlyDarkness wrote:How about Space weed? Is there a problem with that in Teladi sectors?
Space Weed is legal in Teladi space, so you can build them in their sectors. Only Space fuel is illegal. Probably have to find some remote corner of space to build Space fuel fabs. Trouble with building in remote sectors is that there probably wont be many buying customers.

If it's anything like Reunion, there'll still be plenty of buyers. I set one up in the unknown sector west then south of Unholy Descent, and it was still always being bought.

SIMON POPPLEWELL · Post by **SIMON POPPLEWELL** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 23:48

I had an idea. What if the complex is built way above or below the centre of the sector, like 60kms or so. That way they will be out of scanner range of military ships or police patrols. I usually place Sats either -40kms or +40Kms to avoid losing them to hostiles. Might work with a complex to.

DeadlyDarkness · Post by **DeadlyDarkness** » Sun, 2. Nov 08, 00:32

Somewhere like Split Fire or Brennan's Triumph is a good place. In my game, there's few pirates, and even then they aren't going to do enough to destroy one of your stations.

Demotruk · Post by **Demotruk** » Sun, 2. Nov 08, 00:47

SIMON POPPLEWELL wrote:I had an idea. What if the complex is built way above or below the centre of the sector, like 60kms or so. That way they will be out of scanner range of military ships or police patrols. I usually place Sats either -40kms or +40Kms to avoid losing them to hostiles. Might work with a complex to.

One possible issue with that, any freighters that fly to the station may be followed by border control(to scan them), and the factory may be caught that way. Assuming that the factories are attacked when seen by police/military.

DeadlyDarkness · Post by **DeadlyDarkness** » Sun, 2. Nov 08, 01:16

Don't think it makes a difference, the AI will know the station is there and fly straight to it.

There are a few unknown and lightly defended pirate sectors near populated areas, the only trouble is a space fuel complex needs a 52-60 silicon roid, which are hard to find. Treasure them

.

simonnance · Post by **simonnance** » Sun, 2. Nov 08, 01:24

few people are going to have the cash to run a closed loop off the bat, in fact i got through the entire of X3R without buying a SPP, and i had a load of loops going on.

Place well and capitalise on SPP heavy areas in the AI economy.Hatikvah's Faith is about to get a Spacefuel complex dumped in it..... think there are at LEAST 8 ai SPPs in a 2 jump range, of which one is an XL.

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Space fuel and hostile military

Space fuel and hostile military