[X3R] Can you trade with TL class ships?

joefitts63 · Post by **joefitts63** » Mon, 13. Aug 12, 22:27

I feel like I have to be doing something wrong here. The largest trading ships seem to be useless for trading. I can't dock with stations, so I can't trade with them. So I thought I would use a TS ship to deal with the stations and bring the goods to the TL. However, I can't dock the TS to the TL, so there is no good way for them to travel together. The notion of using smaller ships which can dock to the TL is lucicrous.

The whole process seems to be entirely manual and insufferably tedious.

1) Jump to a new sector.
2) Jump the TS to that sector.
3) Find good deals.
4) Move TS to station.
5) Buy goods.
6) Move near TL so you can transfer goods.
7) Repeat 4-6 for each good deal in sector, not only buys but sells also.

This is unutterably boring. One sector and I reverted to a save before I bought the TL. Surely I have to be missing something. The biggest transporters can't really be utterly useless for trading, can they?

Kirlack · Post by **Kirlack** » Mon, 13. Aug 12, 22:34

I'm afraid they can. TLs are best used for mass storage or station construction. If you were playing TC I'd suggest going modified and getting a Goner Ozias (TL that can dock TS/TP class ships), but you're not...

joefitts63 · Post by **joefitts63** » Mon, 13. Aug 12, 22:50

How depressing. I really wanted to do large volume trading with a TL.

You would think you should be able to trade with stations using the transporter device, even if you can't dock. After all, you can transport goods between ships. What is a station but a big ship with no engines?

Snafu_X3 · Post by **Snafu_X3** » Mon, 13. Aug 12, 23:56

You can use freight drones for manual trading if you've got trade Mk2 installed (transfer freight via drones) between stations you own; with stations you /don't/ own you can still use drones, but the method's a bit more involved

Kirlack · Post by **Kirlack** » Tue, 14. Aug 12, 00:10

I was going to suggest that, but I'm fairly sure FDs didn't exist in Reunion

Snafu_X3 · Post by **Snafu_X3** » Tue, 14. Aug 12, 01:45

Ah...

The OP can also use fighters with decent cargobays.. I didn't mention that option earlier 'cause freight drones are better (800 XL cargo) for almost any bulk goods

joefitts63 · Post by **joefitts63** » Tue, 14. Aug 12, 02:45

There are no fighters with cargo bays even marginally adequate to consider them for bulk trading. I am definitely not moving 10,000 units of cargo over 200 at a time...

TheZapper · Post by **TheZapper** » Tue, 14. Aug 12, 02:49

In X3TC: Blastclaw Prototype 600 Cargo; or Falcon Hauler (XL) 300-ish.

joefitts63 · Post by **joefitts63** » Tue, 14. Aug 12, 02:56

Which is, of course, totally irrelevant information in this X3R topic.

Vim Razz · Post by **Vim Razz** » Tue, 14. Aug 12, 05:26

The TL is pretty much for station construction or to act as a mobile warehouse.

For fully automated trading buy-low, sell-high trading you can use it with Transporter Device equipped CLS-2 freighters, though CLS-2 is a lot harder to set up in Reunion than it is in later games.

Ship 1 is programmed to buy x/y/z wares cheep and dump them in the TL.

Ships 2,3,4 are programmed to load x, y, or z wares off the TL respectively and sell them at top dollar.

This would be a pretty expensive system to set up if you actually have to buy the TL like you do in R, though...

For manual trading, though...? yeah, I can see how that would be ungainly.

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[X3R] Can you trade with TL class ships?

[X3R] Can you trade with TL class ships?