X3:TC PHQ CAG Questions

[terryokc2]

Another topic brought this question back to the forefront for me again so I thought I'd put it to you out there to see what I might gather from the community.

Situation: PHQ wares properly added to the station list for constructions. Limits have been set from 500 for light use wares to 2000 for the heavy use and including 100,000 for e-cells.

Problem: Finding the proper percentages for the CAGs (Usually 3) to purchase these wares up to the limit amounts. i.e. 100 percent overfills and the PHQ limit of 500,000 is reached with a few wares short on being able to construct ships.

I have played around many times with percentages of purchase and selling of wares to achieve a good balance of wares at the PHQ for stable ship construction ques. I do know that I failed to put "yes" for trading only with npc stations on all my CAG's across the universe and proceeded to get CAG's selling to the PHQ and filling it up with Ore, for instance. Now, after taking care of this, I am thinking that my MK3 universe traders are doing the same...with the PHQ as well as my Hub. I tried putting all of the wares to the lowest price to prevent the UT's from selling to the PHQ, but this will prevent the PHQ CAG's from finding any deals at all for purchasing the wares the PHQ needs. (except perhaps the e-cells ) I have also tried putting certain wares back to average and assigning one of the CAG's those specific wares to deal with with a little success, but still can come short on a ware or two.

Sorry for the extended post...but my ultimate goal here is to find out what solutions my fellow pilots out there came up with for this "problem" that is a small frustration for me. i.e. Did anyone out there find good numbers for CAG's and their PHQ's?

[Aragosnat]

Another topic brought this question back to the forefront for me again so I thought I'd put it to you out there to see what I might gather from the community.

Situation: PHQ wares properly added to the station list for constructions. Limits have been set from 500 for light use wares to 2000 for the heavy use and including 100,000 for e-cells.

Problem: Finding the proper percentages for the CAGs (Usually 3) to purchase these wares up to the limit amounts. i.e. 100 percent overfills and the PHQ limit of 500,000 is reached with a few wares short on being able to construct ships.

I have played around many times with percentages of purchase and selling of wares to achieve a good balance of wares at the PHQ for stable ship construction ques. I do know that I failed to put "yes" for trading only with npc stations on all my CAG's across the universe and proceeded to get CAG's selling to the PHQ and filling it up with Ore, for instance. Now, after taking care of this, I am thinking that my MK3 universe traders are doing the same...with the PHQ as well as my Hub. I tried putting all of the wares to the lowest price to prevent the UT's from selling to the PHQ, but this will prevent the PHQ CAG's from finding any deals at all for purchasing the wares the PHQ needs. (except perhaps the e-cells ) I have also tried putting certain wares back to average and assigning one of the CAG's those specific wares to deal with with a little success, but still can come short on a ware or two.

Sorry for the extended post...but my ultimate goal here is to find out what solutions my fellow pilots out there came up with for this "problem" that is a small frustration for me. i.e. Did anyone out there find good numbers for CAG's and their PHQ's?

Go to commands select 1-10 slot then go to dockware manager should be at the bottom and the select ware and limit each amount the ware takes. Hopefully someone can explain it better then myself. But, simpliy put. You can tell the station to limit the wares and don't worry about the CAG.

[terryokc2]

Go to commands select 1-10 slot then go to dockware manager should be at the bottom and the select ware and limit each amount the ware takes. Hopefully someone can explain it better then myself. But, simpliy put. You can tell the station to limit the wares and don't worry about the CAG.

Situation: PHQ wares properly added to the station list for constructions. Limits have been set from 500 for light use wares to 2000 for the heavy use and including 100,000 for e-cells.

I have those set from the Dockware Manager...what I'm having is a lack of these quantities being reached by the CAG's. This is where I've been playing with the percentage amounts...trying to find a happy medium or at least ones that will keep the PHQ at a good level for all the wares.

[SIMON POPPLEWELL]

Sadly this is the problem when using CAGs. I tend to prefer having my own complex procucing the resources and use 'CLS ships' (internal distribuition) to supply PHQ, they seem to behave themselves and don't over stock the ware manager's settings.

[tempattt]

Having your MK3s and other stations' CAGs sell wares to the PHQ isn't SUCH a problem...it still sources the correct products, just out of another treasury.

I would try turning automatic pricing on in the phq's command console. This keeps the price of needed items high and vice versa, which means that when your hq is nearing your pre-set stock limit, your CAGs and MK3s won't pile up looking for what they perceive to be a great deal

[jlehtone]

1. Start "Trade Barrier CAG" on the PHQ. That should make sure that no CAG of other stations comes to the PHQ.
2. Set "Trade with other races" to 'No' on the PHQ. That should stop UT's from buying* from the PHQ and the NPC from trading at all.
3. Set prices just below average. -1 should be enough to stop UT's from selling* to the PHQ.

*Assumes that X3TC UT behave like X3R UT. I've never had any UT in either game.


Higher level CAG should co-ordinate. Either not buy the same resource, or at least not buy it from the same station (like Trade Mk2 does). Still, they might end up dispatching semi-simultaneously. However, they should not go over the set limit by more than what they can haul in (which makes bigger and slower ships the worst).

You could white/blacklist resources, i.e. limit what each ship can buy, or have less ships buying. The vault does not need to be full constantly, just when the previous build completes.

Back in X3R I had two CAG to buy all but building resources and one CLS1 from Complex filling the resource needs (like Simon suggested above). X3R CAG had slightly different logic though.

You could build a Dock (or use the Hub), let CAG's to buy to it, and deliver with CLS1 to PHQ.

[Aragosnat]

Sorry glossed ove the UT part and what "jlehtone" said should work for UTs. But, I prefer ST, CAGs and CLS over UTs as I can control where exactly they can go.

For the PHQ sounds like you have to many wares listed as you can still go over the max without know you have (checked with my own saved game with PHQ where I added 500 BP to list and the max did not change since I have it set up to build an Aran when it gets done RE). Check the overview since you know where to look and add the percentages up just to make sure or it might be better just to add up the total space taken up by each ware to see when you go over the 500 k limit. Remember new people to muiltiple the ware out by the space each unit will take in your ship.

A sidenote. If using PHQ for ship building. Store wares like shields and guns in a TL. If you would like. I can post you the max wares needed for Aran building which if I understand right is the largest ware hog ship one can ever construct vinilla wise (sadly does not include nividium needed for the Khak ships).

[terryokc2]

Thank you...I do appreciate the advice from each of you. I will definitely look into several of the options put forth in your replies. Hoping to end up with a happy medium and not find the PHQ with 30,000 ore and no microchips, for example.

[jlehtone]

I guess the "worst case scenario" is that the ware is "full haul"[1] short and all ships head out to get it. First ship will fill the need. The others add on top. That would create a surplus of "full haul" times "the others". At most.

[1] Full haul is the minimum of (1) what the ship can load at most, and (2) how much the source can have (e.g. a full Ore Mine L).

[terryokc2]

Usually, tho, CAG's will communicate and then only one will go after the ware. At least, that is what I have observed when I watch them at times. What I am trying to find is a buy percentage that will put the wares as close to my limits as possible. The PHQ seems to make the CAG's work the shopping differently as opposed to a regular station. In my mind, it is if they treat the wares differently instead of just straight resources or products (main and intermediate) and this is where the problem begins and ends.

[Aragosnat]

Usually, tho, CAG's will communicate and then only one will go after the ware. At least, that is what I have observed when I watch them at times. What I am trying to find is a buy percentage that will put the wares as close to my limits as possible. The PHQ seems to make the CAG's work the shopping differently as opposed to a regular station. In my mind, it is if they treat the wares differently instead of just straight resources or products (main and intermediate) and this is where the problem begins and ends.

Yeah. I have noticed that too as well. But, that is a good thing too. As it lets all the CAGs not end up going to the same station and trying to buy after the first one makes the price go to high or the stock vanish.

Well this could be a work around for you then. Buy a trade station(s) or EQ dock(s) or just use the Xenon Hub and asign the CAG(s) to that and with them set to only visit NPC stations. Then use CLSs with unload up to X set for the PHQ for each ware from the Hub or EQ / Trade stations. Then you can leave the CAGs set to 100%.

I think the main reason why Trade Stations, EQ Docks and Xenon Hub should work better is they have a better hard coded limit for each ware while the PHQ does not. The CAGs could be ignoring where the values for the variable code line for the PHQ is set (with all the updates, the bonus pack might need an update / fix too). Just my take on it, could easily be wrong.

Sidenote: For an even more expensive possably pointless salution. Make a non-self supporting plex with all the wares the PHq needs.

[terryokc2]

Well this could be a work around for you then. Buy a trade station(s) or EQ dock(s) or just use the Xenon Hub and asign the CAG(s) to that and with them set to only visit NPC stations. Then use CLSs with unload up to X set for the PHQ for each ware from the Hub or EQ / Trade stations. Then you can leave the CAGs set to 100%.

(head slap). Yes, one of those most obvious and right in front of my face things I had not considered. As I do have both an EQ dock and a Trading station of mine in the same sector as the PHQ (parking spaces mainly), I can put this to use. Thank you.

[jlehtone]

You could build a Dock (or use the Hub), let CAG's to buy to it, and deliver with CLS1 to PHQ.

[terryokc2]

You could build a Dock (or use the Hub), let CAG's to buy to it, and deliver with CLS1 to PHQ.

Yes, in going back, completely missed that...my sincere apologies. It is like I saw it, but didn't "read" it....or I read it, but didn't "see" it.