It's obviously an exploit because you're creating new items out of thin air, for free. So if you have objections to that sort of thing, you should probably stop reading.
1. Requirements
1.1 Bonus Package
1.2 Ships
2. Preparation
2.1 The list of wares
2.2 The item you want to clone
2.3 The "transfer item"
2.4 The "buffer items"
2.5 Ship placement
3. Commodity Logistics
3.1 Setting up your CLS2 Ship
3.2 Initiating the drop-off
4. The freight exchange
4.1 Finalizing the cloning process
5. Other things
5.1 Cloning again
5.2 A few recommendations
5.3 Questions you might have
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1. Requirements
1.1 Bonus Package
To clone items, you will need the official Bonus Package. This Bonus Package includes some custom scripts, one of which is required for this exploit. Usage of the Bonus Package does not tag your game as modified so there's no reason not to install it.
1.2 Ships
You will need four ships for this trick. To keep things clear, I'll give them meaningful names:
- The Donating Ship -- Ideally, this should be a large ship that can hold XL-type or even ST-type cargo. Generally: A TL-class ship. You can use a smaller ship, but if you want to clone massive amounts of goods, it might take longer. In this example, I'm using an Argon Mammoth as my Donating Ship.
- The Receiving Ship -- This is the ship in which your cloned wares will appear. The more, bigger items you're trying to clone, the bigger this ship should be. That's why this ship should really be a TL-class ship. I'm also using an Argon Mammoth here, in this example.
- The CLS2 Ship -- The driving force behind the exploit will be this ship. It should be a medium-fast ship that can hold M-type or preferably L-type cargo. Your average M3 will do. I'm using an Argon Nova. Furthermore, be sure to equip this ship with the following expansions:
- Navigation Command Software MK1
- Commodity Logistics Software MK2
- The Hangar Ship -- The CLS2 Ship needs a place to dock and the Hangar Ship is that place. So your Hangar Ship must be a TM, TL, M7, M1 or a Paranid Hyperion Vanguard. In this example, I'm using an Argon Magnetar.
2.1 The list of wares
Whenever you transfer goods between two ships, the available wares are presented in a certain, non-alphabetical order. For this exploit, this order is very important.
The order of (almost all) wares can be seen in in this picture. I couldn't find Ion Mines, Shadow Missiles and Wraith Missiles, so they are not on the list... Sorry.
At any rate, keep this picture at hand. You will need it for the next few steps.
2.2 The item you want to clone
First, select the item you want to clone and figure out where it is located on the above list. You will need at least one of the item you want to clone. More than one works too, but one is enough.
In this example, I will clone the Phased Array Laser Cannons and I use two of them.
You can only clone one type of item at the same time.
Transfer the item(s) you want to clone to your Donating Ship.
2.3 The "transfer item"
Do you still have the ware-order list picture ready? Because you need it now. Choose an item, preferably something that is cheap and easy to get (to save yourself money and time), that is located above the item you're going to clone. As I mentioned, I'm going to clone Phased Array Laser Cannons in this example. That means I can choose everything from Fighter Drones MKII down to Phased Shockwave Generators, because they are all listed above the Phased Array Laser Cannons.
In this example, I will pick a Navigation Relay Satellite. This is my "transfer item" and you only need one of this item. As you can see, the Navigation Relay Satellite is listed before the Phased Array Laser Cannons. Put the transfer item in the cargo bay of your CLS2 Ship. The cargo bay of said ship should now look something like this.
2.4 The "buffer items"
Now, using the ware-order list picture, choose an item that is listed below whatever you're going to clone. You'll need a bunch of these items - specifically, the exact amount of cloned items you want to end up with. I will name these the "buffer items". If you want to create 200 Gamma Kyon Emitters, you will need 200 buffer items. Are you trying to get 50 Beluga Missiles? You will then need 50 buffer items. Perhaps you're looking for 75 Flak Artillery Arrays...? This means you will need 75 buffer items.
Suffice to say, your buffer items should be cheap and easy to get. And - as I already mentioned - below whatever you're trying to clone, on the ware list. Impulse Ray Emitters are at the very bottom of the list. They're cheap and easy to get so I will use them as buffer items in this example. I want to turn my two Phased Array Laser Cannons into 100 copies, so I must now acquire 100 Impulse Ray Emitters.
Transfer the buffer items to your Donating Ship as well. The cargo bay of said ship should now look something like this.
2.5 Ship placement
You need to find a place to dock your Donating Ship and Receiving Ship. If these ships are large, you will need to look for a Shipyard, Equipment Dock or certain Headquarters. In the case of smaller ships, smaller stations work as well.
In this example, I will dock both my Argon Mammoths at the Split Equipment Dock in Family Njy, see?
Also worth noting: It is recommended that you, the player, position yourself in a different sector, in a ship, somewhere safe.
Order your CLS2 Ship to dock with your Hangar Ship and order your Hangar Ship to position itself just outside the Equipment Dock, like this. A km or two will do just fine.
3. Commodity Logistics
3.1 Setting up your CLS2 Ship
The basic idea is as follows: You will order your CLS2 Ship to drop the transfer item (in this example: Navigation Relay Satellite) in the cargo bay of either your Donating Ship or Receiving Ship and as soon as the CLS2 Ship is en-route, you will start a freight exchange between the Donating Ship and the Receiving Ship - more on the exchange in a few.
Those who know how to set up CLS2 to do the above, skip the next part. Those who have never used CLS2, or those who aren't sure if they're doing it correctly, read this quick guide on how to set up the CLS2 Ship:
- Open the Command Console and select Trade... ---> Start external commodity logistics...
- Select Waypoints.
- Select Add ship.
- Select the sector the ship is in, which is Family Njy in this example.
- Select your Donating Ship or Receiving Ship, it doesn't matter which one.
- Select Unload.
- Select Technology (this selection depends on whatever you used as transfer item).
- Select your transfer item, which is a Navigation Relay Satellite in this example.
- Select Manual input.
- Enter 1.
- Verify that you now see something that looks like this and then hit Escape.
The hardest part is over! Now all you need to do is select Start external Commodity Logistics.
Your CLS2 Ship will now undock from your Hangar Ship in order to deliver the transfer item to either your Donating Ship or Receiving Ship. Read on quickly!
4. The freight exchange
4.1 Finalizing the cloning process
Select your Donating Ship and start a freight exchange with your Receiving Ship. Now:
- Select your buffer items, which are Impulse Ray Emitters in this example.
- Enter the amount of buffer items (in this case: 100) and click the left arrow, as if you were going to transfer the buffer items, but do not hit Enter yet.
- Wait thirty seconds or a minute or so for the CLS2 Ship to deliver the transfer item. You can use SETA to speed this up. The wares that are in the cargo bay of your Donating Ship will shift down one spot (because the transfer item suddenly appeared at the top of the list) but the selection you made (100 buffer items to transfer) will not reset! You will see something very remarkable, namely this.
- Last but not least, hit Enter and you will have cloned your target item!
5.1 Cloning again
Do you want to clone some more? Simply tell your CLS2 Ship to stop its current command, then move the transfer item back to its cargo bay and then tell it to dock at your Hangar Ship, in that order. Now you can select "Start external Commodity Logistics" again.
5.2 A few recommendations
Really just a few, because most things have already been said:
1. Use a Fighter Drone MKII as transfer item, because it is at the very top of the ware list.
2. Use Impulse Ray Emitters as buffer items, because they are at the very bottom of the ware list.
You won't ever have to switch transfer and/or buffer items again!
Unless you want to clone Fighter Drones MKII or Impulse Ray Emitters, in which case you are ****ed six ways from sunday. Sorry.
5.3 Questions you might have
Q: Why should I be in a different sector than the one where the ships are, that I use during this exploit?
A: Well you can be in the same sector, but if you are, the CLS2 Ship will take longer to dock because it'll approach the station from a really long distance, like all AI ships do. This is simply a waste of time.
Q: Why must I be in a ship when the transfer happens?
A: You can use SETA to speed things up. You won't have to wait very long for your CLS2 Ship to dock. If you are docked at a station, you can't use SETA.
Q: Why do I need a Hangar Ship? Can't I just dock my CLS2 Ship elsewhere?
A: You can definitely dock your CLS2 Ship elsewhere, but stations are generally further apart than just a km or two, so this means that your CLS2 Ship will have to travel further to deliver the transfer item, which is again a waste of time.
Q: Why does this trick work? What is the mechanism?
A: When a new ware is added to the list during a freight exchange, the wares that were already there move up or down a spot (in this case down, if you're doing it correctly). The selection box, however, doesn't move down. That's why you can suddenly transfer x amount of items that weren't there before.
Q: When I initiated the freight exchange, the transfer item was already in the ware list! How is this possible?
A: You were too slow. The time it takes for the CLS2 Ship to dock is the time you have to initiate the freight exchange and select your buffer items. This should be at least half a minute, even if your Hangar Ship is parked really close to the station you chose.
Q: I want to clone Ion Mines/Shadow Missiles/Wraith Missiles but they are not on the ware-order list. What do I do now?
A: I couldn't find any of those but you should be able to guess roughly where they should be on the list. When in doubt, see "5.2 A few recommendations".
That's all, enjoy!
