Few Questions about the Boron Plot

[KWAiRT]

Thinking of starting the Boron Plot however I have a few questions:

Should I start this plot now and begin the slow buildup while working on other plots? I'm Argon and not sure if doing the Terran Plot would be wise yet.

Is it safe to have multiple plots started in X3TC and if so will they effect the sandbox in any way? So far I'm friendly to all but Xenon and Khaak so I'm having a good trade run while keeping sectors clear of these other threats.

If I decide to leave Mahi Ma alone will he stay there indefinantly until I start the plot?

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I've decided on Unknown Sector 7, 15 but I'm not sure if I should put the hub between the two unknown sectors or between the Unknown sector and Unholy Descent. I'm assuming the hub can later be moved if I change my mind or long term plans.

Personally I just wanted a player HQ to work with but damn this plot requires a tonne of resources. I don't think I even have the money or networth to even begin contruscting the plexes for this.

Is there no other way to get the player HQ without doing the Boron Plot?

I actually started the Boron Plot and took the little squishie back to the dock but I didn't realize I needed some starting mats. I guess I need to realign the gate to prevent the Xenon from coming in right away? I ask these questions as I'm not sure If I should just reload before starting the plot and just let the squishie sit there until I'm really ready.

Any advice would be appreciated. I haven't used SETA on this save at all nor do I plan on using it for anything. My goal is to complete all objectives and plots before moving onto Albion. However I just don't want to realize I've made a few mistakes down the road I can't recover from. I'm also trying to do it all without resorting to guides. Of course however more questions arise from trial and error

[Sinxar]

What do you mean you haven't used SETA? You just don't use it on your ships (sounds extremely painful and boring) or you mean you dont AFK with SETA (yay you learned how to play! - not sarcastic)?

What you could do instead of going the complex direction is to use the hub as a trading station. You will need to do the first part and align the gates to somewhere friendly.

So for this, it revolves around using CAGs for everything. First you will want a CAG doing nothing but buying energy for the hub and keep it full at all times. This is critical.

Now you just add a ware to the hub, lets use ore as an example. I use 2 CAGs per ware. One buying at best price, one selling at best price with the hub set as their homebase with the ware at avg price.

Now what this does is one jumps around buying up ore as cheap as possible (usually 50c each), the second guy will jump around selling ore for the best possible price. That difference is pure profits. It makes so much money so quickly it puts even some of the largest most profitable complexes to shame at a fraction of the cost.

Once that is all setup and working you can get a CAG or two and simply buy nearly everything for the hub plot. Some items need to be manufactured though, such as the last needed ware because there aren't enough being produced in the universe to complete the plot in a reasonable amount of time.

This isn't really a guide but just a suggestion if you are low on cash and hate building complexes. OFC you will need to do things like make sure they are properly equipped with pilots that can use jumpdrives, blacklist setup, etc.

having multiple plots running at once should be fine as long as its not an important task.

[Timsup2nothin]

Set it up to progress automatically while you do something else category.

You can leave him there indefinitely and even if you make no progress at all no harm comes of it.

Progress on one plot may have slight effects on other plots, and plot progress in general can affect the game overall. The mechanism of this is your fight and trade ranks. In particular, your fight rank affects how many and how strong the opponents spawned at various plot missions will be. Some people suggest that the 'Final Fury' plot in particular should be 'managed' by doing it at certain fight ranks. I personally don't agree, though I have also been known to require a significant war fleet and take heavy losses to get it done. I just don't approach things from the 'I'm upset if I take losses' point of view.

Good fortune smile on your efforts!

EDIT: For what it's worth I never use SETA either.

[KWAiRT]

Thanks for the quick replies. Yeah I dumped the SETA drives and not using afterburner or bonus scripts. I was worried the AI would not know how to use afterburners so decided against it. SETA is cheating and I don't use artificial fast travel in any game.

I just enjoy it and I'm usually in a slower moving ship to make it worse. However I hop in my scout when I need to get some where quick (Quick by Argon standards) so I'm not really not worried about it.

I'm just trying to do 100% with no SETA heh. I thought it was possible up until this point. However this is going to take some planning. Your saying I can use the hub now as a home base even before it's finished? I just need to get the starting mats to realign the gate and then work on it from that angle?

I'm actually still really new to the game on so many levels. I didnt even want to play X3TC until i could make it run at 60fps SOLID so I waited years to play the damn game. Now that I'm playing I'm totually into it but way behind the curve. I did do a little research on the plot to find a suitable location and the Xenon have started to pour into the hub so I just got to thinking maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.

I already have 5 frieghters level 20 with a few different TM's and TP's. Plus a small assortment of fighters and destroyers to support my corporation. I'm still not sure if I should stick the hub between Unknown Sector 7,15 and the one below it or between Unholy Descent.

[Sinxar]

Yeah if you want to use the hub for anything you will want to realign the first set of gates. Its not too difficult just annoying. That entire plot is annoying.

But without the bonus pack there isn't much you can do with it except use it as a shortcut and storage.

I put it between those sectors as well. Mostly just for security. The problem i always run into is a pirate base will spawn in the deadend unknown sector and they patrol around looking for ships to kill (generally mine).

[KWAiRT]

Well I didn't even think I could use it as storage but hell thats really the only reason I wanted an HQ to begin with heh.

So should I reload and start over but bring the mats back with the squishie this time? That way I can start the next step and hopefully realign the gate before Xenon pour inside? Or can I just leave it as is and go back with the starting mats later?

[KWAiRT]

Yeah if you want to use the hub for anything you will want to realign the first set of gates. Its not too difficult just annoying. That entire plot is annoying.

But without the bonus pack there isn't much you can do with it except use it as a shortcut and storage.

I put it between those sectors as well. Mostly just for security. The problem i always run into is a pirate base will spawn in the deadend unknown sector and they patrol around looking for ships to kill (generally mine).

Hrmm interesting I didnt realize pirate stations would spawn in like that. Wow now I'm even more confused as to where to put the damn thing. I definantly like the idea of having a few of my own systems though. That Paranid area looks like a good place otherwise. Although I can't say from experience.

[KWAiRT]

Set it up to progress automatically while you do something else category.

You can leave him there indefinitely and even if you make no progress at all no harm comes of it.

Progress on one plot may have slight effects on other plots, and plot progress in general can affect the game overall. The mechanism of this is your fight and trade ranks. In particular, your fight rank affects how many and how strong the opponents spawned at various plot missions will be. Some people suggest that the 'Final Fury' plot in particular should be 'managed' by doing it at certain fight ranks. I personally don't agree, though I have also been known to require a significant war fleet and take heavy losses to get it done. I just don't approach things from the 'I'm upset if I take losses' point of view.

Good fortune smile on your efforts!

EDIT: For what it's worth I never use SETA either.

Sounds like some of the plot missions are going to be insanely hard. I've just been sandboxing around for hundreds of hours exploring and trading blowing stuff up... GREAT now its going to bite my ass in the end haha. Oh man does it get really bad?

[Nanook]

Thanks for the quick replies. Yeah I dumped the SETA drives and not using afterburner or bonus scripts. I was worried the AI would not know how to use afterburners so decided against it. SETA is cheating and I don't use artificial fast travel in any game....

Not sure why you think SETA is 'cheating', since it speeds up everything, not just you and your ship. Enemies move just as fast, too. It's fine if you don't want to use it and instead decide to trudge across large sectors at a snail's pace, but it's not really 'fast travel' as in other games. The same amount of ingame time passes whether you use it or not, unlike in something like the Elder Scrolls games.

As for the bonus pack, you're doing yourself a big disfavor by not installing it. There are several trade scripts in there that most players consider essential to the game, and Egosoft thinks so, too, judging by the fact that they signed them and included them in the BP.

But it's your game.

[Sinxar]

You can just leave him for later. no big deal. the station part of the hub is indestructible (afaik).

The pirate station thing, they will respawn randomly when one is killed. If you ever have a long running game, you will notice that almost every pirate station is extremely far from anything over time. It is because they get destroyed by race military and in the process of respawning they eventually get the right spot so nothing will travel out that far to find them.

[TTD]

When I first did this plot, I had no info.

I did the bits and pieces as and when I could
6 weeks later it was complete.

Others have planned well in advance and completed within a few days from pick up to complete.

Yes Microchips are the biggest problem.

But if you are playing with the latest patches, then you will find the whole plot easier than the original version.

[KWAiRT]

Not sure why you think SETA is 'cheating', since it speeds up everything, not just you and your ship. Enemies move just as fast, too. It's fine if you don't want to use it and instead decide to trudge across large sectors at a snail's pace, but it's not really 'fast travel' as in other games. The same amount of ingame time passes whether you use it or not, unlike in something like the Elder Scrolls games.

As for the bonus pack, you're doing yourself a big disfavor by not installing it. There are several trade scripts in there that most players consider essential to the game, and Egosoft thinks so, too, judging by the fact that they signed them and included them in the BP.

But it's your game.

Cheating might be a bit too strong in this case since like you say it speeds everything up. I don't know though it's one of those flaws I've developed over the years playing all these games. I just try and imagine playing all those older games with fast travel or what not and it just seems silly. There are only a few large systems in X3TC that I've come across but I love them the most of all.

I would prolly love the CAG scripts no doubt about that. I just don't understand why these scripts aren't already in the game. They aren't in my STEAM version anyways so I just went ahead without them. Actually I would love to be able to tell my freighters to blacklist some things and stations. So far I'm only a small corp though. I don't have any complexes just sector traders and universe traders with a small defense fleet nothing above M6. Hey at least I didn't opt for the 80m/sec Pelican. However I'm very used to slow capitals so I'm not worried as long as I have my personal fighter on standby

[KWAiRT]

When I first did this plot, I had no info.

I did the bits and pieces as and when I could
6 weeks later it was complete.

Others have planned well in advance and completed within a few days from pick up to complete.

Yes Microchips are the biggest problem.

But if you are playing with the latest patches, then you will find the whole plot easier than the original version.

I think that is the approach I will take. At least I can use it for storage. I didn't realize this at first. I'll get better as I go at bringing in the materials and try and micromanage it into smaller stages at this point. I can build a plex even with symetry but I'm not sure I have the capital to start the project fully yet anyways. For now though I will align the gate with my original plan and then go from there.

Also the Xenon are roaming around inside the hub atm. Can I come back with the starting mats later? I've only been in the hub twice now but both times it was clear until I loaded up and realized some friends are inside. I just jumped out and left them alone as I was in a TP. I still have not aligned the gate but am wondering if I should just leave for now and then go back with the mats, saving before hand of course.

[Timsup2nothin]

Just my opinion, but when the developers sign off on the scripts and put them in the bonus pack they are supposedly saying they aren't imbalancing, so I consider them in the same category as a patch.

On SETA, I just never have a problem finding something to do. The long flights are spent on managing, or sometimes micro-managing, or just gawking at the scenery...or getting snacks.

[KWAiRT]

Just my opinion, but when the developers sign off on the scripts and put them in the bonus pack they are supposedly saying they aren't imbalancing, so I consider them in the same category as a patch.

On SETA, I just never have a problem finding something to do. The long flights are spent on managing, or sometimes micro-managing, or just gawking at the scenery...or getting snacks.

I make good use of the travel time also. From managing to bio breaks and food etc. Again thank you all for the replies and advice. Much appreciated.

[Nanook]

Just my opinion, but when the developers sign off on the scripts and put them in the bonus pack they are supposedly saying they aren't imbalancing, so I consider them in the same category as a patch.

To add to this for KWAiRT's benefit, the devs put in the script editor just so players could think of things the devs either didn't, or didn't have time to implement. By putting them in the Bonus Pack, they're saying they agree that they should be in the game. In a few cases, what started out as player-made scripts, first became bonus pack scripts, and then were integrated right into a later game. The Trade Command Mark III script, which implements the Sector/Universe traders, is one good example. It started out as a third party script in X2, which got signed for the X2 bonus pack, and then was integrated directly into all the later X3 games.

On SETA, I just never have a problem finding something to do. The long flights are spent on managing, or sometimes micro-managing, or just gawking at the scenery...or getting snacks.

This is all well and good once you do have something to do. But starting out in a slow, almost stripped down freighter travelling at, say, 60 m/sec can be very boring. SETA (time compression) is a very good way to speed up the slow parts at the start of a new game. The first couple of games you play, there's lots of new stuff to see, even on a 'slow boat'. But once you've seen everything a number of times previously, SETA can be a sanity saver.

[Timsup2nothin]

This is all well and good once you do have something to do. But starting out in a slow, almost stripped down freighter travelling at, say, 60 m/sec can be very boring. SETA (time compression) is a very good way to speed up the slow parts at the start of a new game. The first couple of games you play, there's lots of new stuff to see, even on a 'slow boat'. But once you've seen everything a number of times previously, SETA can be a sanity saver.

There are those who would say this explains everything, as they doubt I have any sanity available to save.

True story...when I first started playing Reunion I found the place to change the SETA setting, switched it from default 6x to 10x, watched for a minute and thought 'wow, I don't see any difference'. So my early play of Reunion I would set auto pilot and do housework and marvel at how huge the sectors were and think 'man I couldn't handle this without that 10x SETA thing.' Later when I found out that there was a different key for actually turning the SETA on I was suitably embarrassed.

That aside, early on in the game I usually fly around in fast ships and MORT any freighters I have, so pretty much right from the start I keep busy enough.

[TTD]

It's just simple things like that which noobs usually miss. It must have been over a year before I found out about the k key for video !

[Nanook]

....early on in the game I usually fly around in fast ships and MORT any freighters I have, so pretty much right from the start I keep busy enough.

It does depend on one's playstyle, but also on the game start. Recently, I started as the Terran Defender in AP, where your starting ship is an untuned Katana. Now imagine flying through all those huge Terran sectors at <90m/s just to get through the next Trans-Orbital Accelerator, without using SETA.

[Timsup2nothin]

....early on in the game I usually fly around in fast ships and MORT any freighters I have, so pretty much right from the start I keep busy enough.

It does depend on one's playstyle, but also on the game start. Recently, I started as the Terran Defender in AP, where your starting ship is an untuned Katana. Now imagine flying through all those huge Terran sectors at <90m/s just to get through the next Trans-Orbital Accelerator, without using SETA.

Ick. I'll remember that when I play AP.

I usually go with 'nostalgic Argon' or 'anonymous Argon'. When I start with more ship, like Argon patriot with the armed Elite, I generally immediately trade off the ship for a tuned M5 and a freighter...but I'm guessing you and that Katana might be a long way from a shipyard.