X3AP: Pirates / Protecting Trade Ships?

[Fulgrymm]

I would say the 20 or so you have is sufficient. More so if you get Mk IIs, because then they have the firepower to do more than tickle Pirate Novas. As far as the limits, AFAIK there is none, you can launch as many drones as they have in storage. As for how many they launch when attacked, as far as I have observed they launch all and then try to make a run for it. For the pilots to use JDs to escape, I think they need to be level 8, since that's when they can become UTs. As for equipment, I think they just need the ability to see prices, so drop satellites in the sectors you intend it to operate. For SPPs, and stations in general, they tend to be pretty safe in core sectors like Argon Prime, Paranid Prime, Seizewell, etc. But for protection? Yeah, five fully outfitted M3s should do the job. Once you can afford M7s for protection, you can look into placing stations in more dangerous but lucrative sectors. If you're gonna do patrols, probably best to assign larger ships to the role, to minimize losses. A couple M6s maybe. Large threats like capital ships will tend to attract the attention of RRF that's been built into Albion Prelude, so you shouldn't have to worry about those so much.

[Lotharian]

- I read that MK2 Drones were too slow?
- It kinda sucks that they will launch their entire allotment of drones instead of a set amount, or being able to set an amount. Seems like an oversight.
- My trader in Argon Prime was buying and selling Space Fuel. Isn't that illegal?? Any way to stop them from doing that?
- Can I blacklist sectors without installing a mod?

[Fulgrymm]

They are slower, but pack a pretty mean punch for their size. Your traders are probably buying up cheap stock from the distilleries in Herron's Nebula and selling them at trading stations for a profit. AFAIK there is no way to blacklist wares, profit is profit to them. As far as blacklisting sectors, do you consider the bonus pack a mod? One of the features is a Mk3 trader sector blacklist functionality.

[Black_hole_suN]

- UT and LT does not automatically launch mk2 drones when attacked, IIRC. I could be wrong tho.

- If you have installed the Bonus Pack, you can blacklist sectors from the "Additional Commands" on your ship's console. Use this to blacklist pirate sectors, sectors bordering xenon sectors, war sectors, terrans. Its not perfect so you may occasionally find your ship in a blacklisted sector from time to time.

- to protect your traders from being attacked, activate its auto-jump feature then set jump fuel resupply to an ample amount. (I give mine 400 e cells). Once Betty announced that you ship is being attacked, find that ship on your property list ASAP then order it to "Follow Me". The ship should appear to the nearest gate from you after 10 seconds.

- set up a satellite network, it will help your UT select the best trade deals in the galaxy.

[X2-Illuminatus]

- set up a satellite network, it will help your UT select the best trade deals in the galaxy.

It won't. MK3-Traders don't make use of satellite networks.

[Lotharian]

It won't. MK3-Traders don't make use of satellite networks.

Huhhhhh?? I've been using 1J and 2J local traders for a long time and it always seemed like they benefited from the networks?? How do they know where to go for trade runs then?

[jlehtone]

Q: How do NPC traders know offers? They never have any satellites.
A: The game engine has a list of all stations, all prices, and search functions.

Q: But I need assets?
A: Yes, a search for player is limited to "known to player". That is actually more computation than the "search all", but there is only one of you while there are hundreds of NCP traders.

Q: My AI traders?
A: Are not limited to what you know. Not as much as you are.


You can see the best offers in a sector (even a remote sector) if ship has Best Buy & Best Sell software (or via satellite if playership has).
You can't see the best offer within N jumps. Your traders get the best offer (within N jumps) with one function call without checking each sector that has player assets and without Best Buy/Sell softwares.

I've used that occasionally: order AI trader to buy (scarce) item with large jumplimit. When/if it finds an offer, check where it is heading, stop it, and go yourself. Way more efficient than checking every sector that I have assets in (i.e. almost all).

[Lotharian]

Yeah I saw in another guide that Mk3 traders don't benefit from satellite networks. I guess the deployment of satellites is mentioned so much that people assume it's true. A persistent rumor or misinfo. I still like having the network, but now it won't act as a barrier to starting traders.

- Do you know if the Mk3 trader's information range is the same as their LT jump range?
- Any tips on equipping a large fleet, finding medium shields and drones for them?
- Can you ever get attacked by police or anyone else for selling "retrieved" ships, or is it just the reputation penalty?

I actually got a mission to retrieve an M7, and after wrestling with my conscience (and then seeing there is no reputation penalty for selling an M7 LOL) I went and sold it for 11 million. Then invested in a dozen Mistral in total. But now I've had to scrounge all over the place and manually supply some factories just to get shields for my fleet, let alone the drones. I tried supplying the stations and waiting for production but it took so long that I ended up just jumping them anywhere that had an existing stock of 25MJ shields. I really feel like the first stations I should produce are a medium SPP and medium shield facility in Argon Prime.

[Fulgrymm]

Building stuff yourself is generally the most reliable way to equip your ships. I would also look into constructing a complex that builds 1 MJ shields and IREs, those sell like hotcakes according to a guide I read and my own observations from doing it. For your 25 MJ shield factory, if its purpose is to equip your own fleet, then don't forget to forbid NPC trading so they don't swoop in and buy up all your stock. Regarding your M7 shenanigans, so long as you sell it before the timer reaches zero, there will be no police response. Even when they do respond, it's just specifically to target the stolen ship, once they kill it they will disappear from whence they came.

[Black_hole_suN]

- Any tips on equipping a large fleet, finding medium shields and drones for them?

You can send identical ships (meaning: same ships down to their upgrades and contents of their cargo bay) to dock in a shipyard thats connected to an equipment dock.

- make sure the equipment dock sells the hardware you need
- make sure it has at least one unit of the said equipment. If no stock left then sell one to the equipment dock.
- use the feature that lets you equip multiple ships at once, buy the equipment then sell it again ~~ new stocks of it will magically appear for sale.
- do this repeatedly until you bought everything you need

This is an exploit so use at you own discretion.

As for drones, your traders can buy them on their own once they are high enough in levels.

[jlehtone]

Yeah I saw in another guide that Mk3 traders don't benefit from satellite networks. I guess the deployment of satellites is mentioned so much that people assume it's true. A persistent rumor or misinfo. I still like having the network, but now it won't act as a barrier to starting traders.

Satellites are useful:
* You can see what is going on OOS
* The Satellite Early Warning (SEWN) script can use your Advance Satellites to notify you when hostiles show up or apparently even call in a Wing, similar to the NPC RRF
* A Commercial Agent (CAG) can be told to trade only in sectors that contain an Advanced Satellite belonging to the player

- Do you know if the Mk3 trader's information range is the same as their LT jump range?

When you start LT, it will look for and trade only in the sectors that the (base,range) does specify.
When you start UT, it will look for and trade within N jumps from its current location, where N is set by level of pilot and whether it is looking for buy or sell. (Can't be sure, but I think some version of UT had at top level "buy within 5 jumps, sell within 25" limits.)

- Any tips on equipping a large fleet, finding medium shields and drones for them?

As said, you can equip multiple ships simultaneously. You can do it later too, not just during the purchase. I have bought 10*10 ships and then equipped all 100 in one step.

The regular shipyard have docking clamps for only 5 small ships. The "super" shipyards have infinite internal dock for small ships. Hence equip en masse later is better to do at supers.

If one plays the plots/stories/whatever, one ends up with couple "trading stations", stations that can trade any ware. I have them in central positions, i.e. about 15 jumps from any sector I care to trade in. They have CAGs to buy in wares. If there are shields anywhere, my station(s) can hoard them. (I have CLS2 "trap" at the station offloading the valuables that CAGs bring in.)


Disclaimer:
If I haven't mentioned it earlier: I don't trade. Not for credits. Not at start.
My path (in X3, X3TC, X3AP) was simple:
1. Get Dragon
2. Become Xtreme in combat
3. Look at plots
4. Trade for fun
The step #2 has a side-effect: credits accumulate. Obviously, having a billion first and then starting a trader does mean that the trader is rather expendable.

[Lotharian]

Interesting. I may not run so many trade ships that I need the exploit. I have 12 equipped LTs right now and they seem to be surviving. I'll probably get another 8 soon and then maybe 10 more later, might be it. Could just make do with what's available. But if I start wanting big wings of combat ships well...

And that's funny you do combat to get rich and then run traders out of boredom. I always tried running trade ships to get rich, then I wouldn't have to get too angry about combat losses. I still haven't really done much real X3 combat. I always found it aggravating. I want to get better at it though.

[jlehtone]

And that's funny you do combat to get rich and then run traders out of boredom. I always tried running trade ships to get rich, then I wouldn't have to get too angry about combat losses.

Missions. I kill to get rank. Only personal kills count for combat rank. Higher rank yields larger pay from combat missions.
That phase was one man, one ship. Every combat loss was thus very personal.

I visit neighbors of Xenon regularly. "Defend against Xenon"/"Hold Position" missions are common there. If there is mission, I call Python, place it 12 km from the Gate, accept mission, sit in Python, wipe incoming Xenon, take the cash, and continue my wandering.

Loot. Wasting a lot of red ships leaves containers in space. I have at least one TS on standby. When fight is over, I call it: "jump here, collect these". And try to remember to tell it to jump back to base afterwards, rather than forget it in dangerous zone.
Although, I rarely sell loot (except resource wares). Happiness is an Aran full of guns.
For example, PALC (for Panther and Pteranodon) can be found only as loot. I had a stash before I got the ship.


When I was collecting Jump Beacons (or Valhallas), I had a fleet. Enter Terran sector, where the objective is. Deploy Beacon far out. Jump in fleet. Terran RRF appears and beelines for us (I had kill on sight status). Let the M7M and M8 barrage all incoming threats (the fleet did include supply ships, because RRF takes quite a lot of missiles). Finally, sector almost clear, board the ship that has Beacon/Valhalla. Jump everyone out.


There are thus at least four types of combat:
* You fly a small ship
* You fly a big ship
* You have (lots of) missiles
* You use fleet
They offer different "aggravation".