This intro is aimed as helping people with a couple of million credits to invest make big returns, whilst planning towards and economy which eventually makes the best possible ones. Without relying totally on finding the perfect sector in which to place a SPP.
Most everyone, me included starts off by placing a lone SPP somewhere. The beginning of an empire!!
The next logical thing to do is plan where to build then next one and repeat the process but there is a limit to how many times that can be done before demand falls off or the supply of crystals dries up. And crystals are usually the problem.
So you build a crystal fab, and then most likely find that it has problems getting enough food. So time for a Cahoona Bakery!!
Now you have the beginning of a trade loop - which takes advantage of the AI as a cheap source of energy, argnu beef and silicon, and a crystal fab to keep your SPP stocked up. Fantastic!!
All 3 factories are making good credits and you are better off than you were before.
Looking at the local trading dock, you notice that it might be a good idea to produce Mosquito Missile, so after some digging around you set one up.
Again it requires energy, ore and food. The local market doesnt produce enough food so you're faced with another Cahoona Bakery.
All this construction is starting to put a drain on the AI power plants and Cattle Ranches - so its harder to get goods at the right price. You could increase the number of jumps on your factories; but thats risky because not all those sectors are safe; and its going to take a long time to bring food and power in from afar.
Is there a way that you can supply your missile factory and your solar powerplant at no cost, in sector so that both of them make the most money they can?
The answer is Yes!!
By filling in the "gaps" in your existing setup with a Cattle Ranch, Cahoona Bakery, another SPP which trades just to you and another crystal fab and a silicon mine - you can pretty much take care of all your needs.
Wow thats a lot of factorys to shell out for.
Sure but it makes your existing factories earn more; and its a heck of a lot cheaper than moving away a sector and shelling out on a new Centuar to defend the freighters. Thats 10M straight away - and a single lost freighter can grind a factory to a halt especially after a hard night of leaving the computer on and hoping you can afford something new the next morning
And you dont have to build them all at once - you can put them down 1 by one - in fact its better that way because they all need to stock up a little before they contribute back.
You still rely on other factories for Cattle, and a bit of silicon and ore - but thats ok. All three are generally available quite cheaply, and easy enough to hunt down for yourself if the need arises.
Best of Luck, and if you want some examples of specific loops, and the real long term advantages of them check out the advanced guide at
http://www.egosoft.com/x2/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34805
