Ore not provided trought NPC trade

[hartza76]

Hi,

i have bit odd problem i have done few small 1mj + chip complexes to different race areas. Npc start to provide all other materials to complexes but i havent seen them never to deliver ore those complexes.

I usually keep or test keep them on default values even i put 150+ to ore npc wont deliver any. Or is this problem just that i have to wait ore way more time than stuff needed by chip factory.

[AgamemnonArgon]

I tend to start a complex with an Ore Factory, and then add on to that.

However in this case I would add a couple of ships and tell them to buy Ore for me, if the npc ships will not do that.

It would also depend on how urgently I need the finished wares for my Fleet.
Top price will usually gain some attention from the npc traders.

I will pay whatever it takes to get weapons, ammunition and equipment for my Fleet. Without that, the Universe will have one for lunch....

[hartza76]

Yeah i usually make complexes with that i use CAG to provide energy cells and sell the stuff out. its just odd seem that pure chip plants will be productive but if you add someting with ore they just wont deliver the ore to that said complex.
i mean small onces 2-4 station only. and those make profit even i dont get the ore

[brownthomasw]

All I can say is there is a high demand for ore. Most all weapons and missile manufacturer use it. I never wanted to sell ore, maybe no one does thats the problem and a profit opportunity. If they're like UT's they go for best profits and loads of heavy low price dirt maybe don't compare to other things and large npc superfrieghters would rather transport 40 microchips to the factory, miss the opportunity with everyone else and waste thier time. I can't speak to the actual AI of the traders.

I've noticed in a new game many factories seem to start with energy and some food or thats what they get. Either they need ore too or they start in line with everyone else. This in one sense is maybe so there aren't a bunch of high value weapons even produced in the beggining of a new game so new players even if they cheat or something can't get 35 PPC's. Like a built in limiter again idk for sure.

Ore is available at the local mines to go get as you have found they won't bring it to you for whatever reason. Or build an ore mine or 3 together somewhere central or in local centers, you will likely need to assign sellers. Supply the local demand and you may get people to bring ore to you more or at least be certain no one else will buy what you want to buy. I once didn't want to sell ore but had 3 mines and it sold for 1 under max all day long keeping up with teladianium and even spaceweed. For whatever reason no one else is shipping ore much either and may be part of the reason people often can't find enough weapons.

[Timsup2nothin]

Generally speaking the problem with ore is that all the mineral haulers in the universe tend to end up traveling in a giant loose pack.

When the pack descends on an area there are no profits to be made, they buy just below average and sell just above and all the stations are happy...but...the area rapidly loses their attention because there is always an area just five or six sectors away that has either full ore mines, empty fabs, or more likely both...so the entire pack is drawn to move on even though they are so slow that by the time they reach the new area the old area will have run itself pretty close to the same condition.

Energy haulers fall into a similar pattern, which is why it's a good thing you have your CAG dealing the e-cells for you. Best solution is probably to use CAG for ore as well since you are comfortable with them.

[Infekted]

Yep it goes both ways too, if you are trying to sell Ore, NPC traders rarely come to you either. Those types of wares you need your own ships buying or selling it.

[Honved]

If there's a shortage of Ore in the area, then get into the mining business. Build factories that make whatever is needed locally, not just what you feel like making. Those 1Mj shields will sell, but they take resources away from the local economy. When NPC traders buy them, they end up in a Trade Station or Equipment Dock and vanish. Ore, Energy, or other required resources can help the NPC stations to run smoothly, and if you supply the Ore that they need, then they'll need more Energy to use it, so your traders can haul E-cells for additional profit.

Learn to work WITH the local economy. Learn where you can place a factory to use its surplus resources, and where you can profit by supplying resources that it can't supply on its own. The result is a much livelier game universe and many more opportunities for trade.

[Timsup2nothin]

If there's a shortage of Ore in the area, then get into the mining business. Build factories that make whatever is needed locally, not just what you feel like making. Those 1Mj shields will sell, but they take resources away from the local economy. When NPC traders buy them, they end up in a Trade Station or Equipment Dock and vanish. Ore, Energy, or other required resources can help the NPC stations to run smoothly, and if you supply the Ore that they need, then they'll need more Energy to use it, so your traders can haul E-cells for additional profit.

Learn to work WITH the local economy. Learn where you can place a factory to use its surplus resources, and where you can profit by supplying resources that it can't supply on its own. The result is a much livelier game universe and many more opportunities for trade.

This is very sound advice. I would add though that sometimes all the local economy needs are traders that won't wander off. Minerals and energy are the most glaring examples. You will often find an NPC SPP filling rapidly with product, a sector two sectors away where every fab has come to a halt, and not an NPC energy hauler to be found because they are still on their way to wherever they thought they saw a good opportunity that made it not worth waiting around. Either some Mk3 local traders (not my preference) or some CLS external traders can take advantage of these situations, make steady profits, and make the economy hum.

[Infekted]

It's not like there aren't plenty of places to buy Ore, or plenty of places to sell it. It's that you have to use your own ships for it to be reliable.
When you do use your own ships, energy and ore are some of the most consistent trade goods there are. I.E. You can have a lot of ships trading it with 100% up time.

[Honved]

Setting up a Sector Trader (using fairly expensive Trade Mk3 software) can supply needed resources to all of the local factories from any sources within the sector. When they reach trade rank 6, you can restart them with a RANGE of 1, which will allow them to trade in adjacent sectors, and is extremely useful for keeping an area supplied with whatever it needs, provided that everything is available in that 3x3 sector area. The key is in choosing that central sector, and insuring that the required resources are included in their potential area of coverage, while nearby Pirate and Xenon sectors are NOT.

If the required resources are not in range, you'll either need to set up a CLS trader to haul specific goods on a regular supply route, manually assign a TS to haul them, or wait until your STs hit level 8 and increase their Range to 2. A ST with Range = 3 centered in Argon Prime can cover the entire set of Argon sectors in that entire region, without ever straying into Pirate or Xenon space.

At Level 7, you can convert them to Universal Traders, but they are free to wander off and pursue those same "perfect deals" that drew the host of NPC traders away. They are also more likely to take shortcuts through Pirate or Xenon space, and convert your sizable investment into a rapidly expanding cloud of hot gas and debris. STs are far more stable and dependable at keeping an economy running; I generally have at least 10 STs for every UT.
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Duh! Sorry for the complete brain-fart, but CAG is intended for exactly what you're trying to do. If you have the officially approved Bonus Pack (if not, download it from the forum links), it is designed to have a ship supply required resources to your own factories. At higher levels of experience, the trader will start to sell the finished product as well. You can set the maximum trade range at the factory itself, so they don't wander 12 sectors to get Ore 1 credit cheaper than what's available 3 sectors away.

[zazie]

Yep it goes both ways too, if you are trying to sell Ore, NPC traders rarely come to you either. Those types of wares you need your own ships buying or selling it.

I disagree to your first statement; Ore Mines are very valuable to improve your reputation with a race your traders can't dock at their stations.

Of course, it is slow, and of course you don't make the giga-mega-profit by selling ore, but the investment is worth each credit for the intended purpose.

The problem in NPC-trading is the slowness of the NPC-traders. If your offer (well below average price !!) is attractive, it takes 'ages' untill the NPC-freighters drop in. But they will.

As an example: In my actual Game (well, it is XTC 2.1, but my strategy worked in Vanilla-games as well) I have raised my Boron Rank from -1000000 to about -620000 in about 4 IG-days only with one Ore-Mine in a sctor closest to Boron Space. I do not have any other interaction with the Boron.

[Infekted]

Mmm maybe in some spots, and maybe by setting really low prices. But on the whole I find not. I usually tend to end up with massive ore production, and even when setting really low prices I get literally zero visitors. I've tried a few times as it would be preferable to have them buying direct. But they rarely do.

And then I can put upwards of ten CAGs on the same plex and have them all selling Ore constantly.

About the NPC traders being slow, yes you are entirely correct, even "good" sellers take a while to start getting shifted. But you can tell if there's any on their way by ordering the plex to report inbound vessels.

If I was inclined to NPC trade rep up, I personally wouldn't choose ore.

[AgamemnonArgon]

My plan with Ore in my current newish game is to have some Sector Traders centred on the Ore Belt and let them see how they can develop trade in Ore around there, whilst setting up some of my own Ore factories and have those characters sell the Ore actively.

It does lead to a shortage of weapons until one sets up one's own weapons production factories, and losing even a Frigate can mean losing fourteen weapons that can take some time to initially gather.

Low profits or not, Ore mining needs a push, at least in my own game.

[RoverTX]

I tried fixing this once by upping the number of ore and mineral traders compared to the other types of traders, didn't really do much good. Do any of the major mods fix this problem, or is this just an issue that you can't avoid no matter what, unless you provide the traders.

[Timsup2nothin]

I tried fixing this once by upping the number of ore and mineral traders compared to the other types of traders, didn't really do much good. Do any of the major mods fix this problem, or is this just an issue that you can't avoid no matter what, unless you provide the traders.

No matter how many there are they all end up traveling in a large loose pack, so some areas are flooded with mineral haulers and other areas the mines are stuffed and disappearing while all the fabs are stopped for lack of ore. I dunno if mods fix that. I'd guess it would require reworking the basic NPC mineral trader script, if that is accessible.