X3TC - Best Way to Buy Equipment?

[irR4tiOn4L]

Hey all! So im sorta at the point where equipping a new ship involves collecting a fair few guns, ammunition types and shields. The prospect has had me lay off purchasing a Tiger for a while now

What is the best way to partially automate this process? Id like to simply tell a trade ship 'buy X of weapon X wherever you can', but alas there seems to be no such option. As im sure youll understand, the prospect of going through the encyclopedia and visiting every known place that sells that ware to get enough stock is not something i want to do for every ship and every ware i need.

Is there anything i can do? Any scripts i can install that extend the trade options in this way?

Cheers!

[perkint]

There was a similar thread recently and the conclusion form that was that the best options are either:

Remote best buy
Tell a ship to go off and find x within y sectors. No control over how many it buys.

Supply software
Not actually used it so not sure, but you can tell it to go find x items of equipment to take to y ship.

I use the remote best buy, personally.

Tim

[Kor'ah]

Supply command Software + Transporter Device + Satellites in all the major weapon produceing sectors, EQ docks and outposts.

I order an old baldric to go fetch things useing the supply command software for a new ship remotely, useing the "Resupply ships" command. Software extensions are handled by a TM that has 4 Discos homebased to it that has basicly every extension pre-purchased.

[GCU Grey Area]

I use the Hub - storage capacity for most wares is an order of magnitude higher than a conventional equipment dock & 25 freighter class docking bays which can be used either by 'Buy For Best Price' equipment gatherers or for automated storage of equipment ('Sell for Best Price' with the price set to 1cr above average equipment dock prices) for the few wares for which the Hub's storage capacity is a bit too limited (e.g. PPCs).

For example, my main use is for maintaining a good stockpile of my favourite missiles to obviate the need to construct a missile complex. I have around a dozen TPs buying up missiles, my logistical support Hyperion docks, auto-resupplies & then jumps to wherever I am to replenish the supplies carried by my Hydra after each mission. Works completely automatically, I'm never short of missiles & all I have to do is periodically top up the Hub's cash reserves & select my missile loadout from the extensive list carried by my Hyperion (at least 50 of all the NPC supplied missile types).

[irR4tiOn4L]

I use the Hub - storage capacity for most wares is an order of magnitude higher than a conventional equipment dock & 25 freighter class docking bays which can be used either by 'Buy For Best Price' equipment gatherers or for automated storage of equipment ('Sell for Best Price' with the price set to 1cr above average equipment dock prices) for the few wares for which the Hub's storage capacity is a bit too limited (e.g. PPCs).

For example, my main use is for maintaining a good stockpile of my favourite missiles to obviate the need to construct a missile complex. I have around a dozen TPs buying up missiles, my logistical support Hyperion docks, auto-resupplies & then jumps to wherever I am to replenish the supplies carried by my Hydra after each mission. Works completely automatically, I'm never short of missiles & all I have to do is periodically top up the Hub's cash reserves & select my missile loadout from the extensive list carried by my Hyperion (at least 50 of all the NPC supplied missile types).

Good option but im nowhere near having a PHQ or the Hub

Remote best buy
Tell a ship to go off and find x within y sectors. No control over how many it buys.

I cant seem to get this option to work! Its greyed out
EDIT: I dont have best buy/sell locators on those ships, thats probably why

Supply command Software + Transporter Device + Satellites in all the major weapon produceing sectors, EQ docks and outposts.

Will look into this, all my freighters have that software and i put satellites wherever i can

[irR4tiOn4L]

Thanks guys, Remote Best Buy does the trick (ill also look at getting the hub/phq and the resupply ship options though).

The trick with Remote Best Buy is that for some odd reason it first asks for a sector, factory and specific ware; i hadnt realised it then buys it wherever it can!

You guys just saved me a huge ton of work!

[Kapakio]

By the way, about the hub...

Spoiler

Show

You get the hub just from the begining of the mission, just after you transport Mahi Ma to it. You don't need to do all the delivery missions to be able to use the hub

[jlehtone]

The trick with Remote Best Buy is that for some odd reason it first asks for a sector, factory and specific ware; i hadnt realised it then buys it wherever it can!

Interface. You have to specify the ware to buy. Stations do have lists of wares to choose from. Sectors have list of stations to choose from. Like phone-call to "Support"; you have to press numbers before a person answers.

X3R FSUP uses different method. You choose ware directly from one list. The list has all ware and upgrades in it, including plot-only items.

[GCU Grey Area]

I use the Hub...

Good option but im nowhere near having a PHQ or the Hub

Oops, should have said, there's no need at all to complete the Hub in order to use it as an arms dump/collection point, though I reckon it is advisable to do at least the first phase so the gates can be moved to somewhere where there's little risk of Xenons intercepting Hub freighters - had my Hub set up as an arms dump within 2 days of starting my current game, though it did take a little longer to obtain all the freighters it's currently using (I stole most of them).

As for the PHQ, personally wouldn't use it for equipment storage - in order to build the biggest ships (e.g. Aran) the PHQ needs almost all of it's storage capacity just for the raw materials required for ship construction (i.e. ore, silicon, computer components, etc).

[Kor'ah]

With "Supply command software" the TS will hunt down the required item and deliver it to the target ship. Then squeek when the task is finished. No fumbleing around looking for stations or anything like that. Just tell the TS to "Fetch 16xPPC for my new Boreas" and off it goes. All that's really needed is a good satellite network and you should have that anyway.

[irR4tiOn4L]

Guys thanks for all the awesome tips!

My sattelite network isnt great, ive only got 18 sectors and lost one recently. Still, Resupply works an absolute treat; but you have to be careful not to have ships following the ship being supplied otherwise it tries to equip that too. Also, while my ship would transfer across the items, it wouldnt refuel ITSELF with energy cells, so its probably best to have a ship that can dock do this task

The Remote Best Buy is also great, though i cant ask it how much to buy this doesnt bother me as i often want as many as possible for stock.

The Hub tips are an absolute godsend there; i havent actually had the starting events for the hub missions though, but i will definitely keep this in mind when i do so i can finally store all my wares somewhere


Ive actually bought a Springblossom now; you dont notice how fast it is in Aldrin, the most excrutiatingly large sector ive ever seen; with the worst framerate (unfortunate). Its definitely more powerful than the normal ships (but its better weapons are hard to source) but its still just a ship. I dont actually fly it; i bought it as a convenient resupply ship

Its large cargo bay, while OP, is a godsend in this role (and who really wants to keep messing about and refueling their supply ships anyway?)

[GCU Grey Area]

The Hub tips are an absolute godsend there; i havent actually had the starting events for the hub missions though, but i will definitely keep this in mind when i do so i can finally store all my wares somewhere

Glad it's useful info. Another thing I forgot to mention & just remembered is that you can even store factories in the Hub - it's only storage, the factories can't produce anything - but it can be handy if, say, late one night you absent mindedly end up buying a pair of crystal fabs, instead of the chip plants you actually wanted to build. I have a couple there right now waiting for me to build my next complex (saves using up a TL's cargo capacity to store them).

[synctrance]

Glad it's useful info. Another thing I forgot to mention & just remembered is that you can even store factories in the Hub - it's only storage, the factories can't produce anything - but it can be handy if, say, late one night you absent mindedly end up buying a pair of crystal fabs, instead of the chip plants you actually wanted to build. I have a couple there right now waiting for me to build my next complex (saves using up a TL's cargo capacity to store them).

Brilliant, i didnt know that!

To the OP, if you want to buy guns from NPC for best price HUB is a must (PHQ preferred).
"Remote Best buy" is half broken in X3TC, ships simply wont look for best price across the universe. I had ships buying 2x200mj shields while 6x200mj were sitting just few jumps away!
"Buy ware for best price" on station assigned traders is more accurate, that way you can control your spendings.

[perkint]

"Remote Best buy" is half broken in X3TC, ships simply wont look for best price across the universe. I had ships buying 2x200mj shields while 6x200mj were sitting just few jumps away!

I think it just buys the closest it can find. Was frustrating when using it to buy good produced in various factories, since after the second or third purchase, it would jump back to the first fab to buy the 2 that had just been produced, instead of to the other side of the universe to buy the 200 in stock over there

Tim