X3TC E-Cells and Trading Questions :)

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Lea Flamma
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X3TC E-Cells and Trading Questions :)

Post by Lea Flamma » Wed, 22. Jan 14, 11:55

Hi there again :)

I recently came up with a small problem. I am expanding my small company. And as for now I tried to build where there were E-Cells and Roids available in the same sector. But right now I decided to build two small complexes in US between Montalaar and New Income, the one with some debries in it. As ou can guess those complexes are for Space Weed and Fuel. But even thou each has 3-4 TS assigned they run out of E-Cells on daily basis. I checked the nearby sectors before ploping the complexes and there are SPP 2-3 jumps away.

So my questions:

1. Should I go for a self sustainable complex?

There is a silicon Roid which I can use to produce E-Cells.

2. How to make NPC sell me E-Cells?

For selling it's Avg-1 and for buying? Max price? Will have to check if it will still be profitable.

3. How about building a Trading Station and giving it a couple of TS which will jump around the universe to gather E-Cells for best price?

There are some SPPs that are siting with full cargo space and lowest price. Would that stiumlate global economy? Would it be profitable?
Wherever we want to go, we'll go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs but what a ship is... what the Black Pearl really is... is freedom.

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Sinxar
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Post by Sinxar » Wed, 22. Jan 14, 12:50

The easiest way would be to use a CAG or two using Mistral SFs (hire them in Herrons Nebula - fire/hire until you get a cargo messager level pilot). Make him use a jumpdrive, blacklist bad sectors etc. A jump range of about 20 works pretty well.

To make NPCs supply enough, I've always had to set the buy at 18c at least. It stays full then but less profit.

In that specific sector I always made a large weed/booze plex and made it self sustaining for the least amount of maintenance. I always put is halfway between the gates so it takes a while for traders to reach it with a TS.

Another option is to attach a SPP to it then import crystals from another complex.

The problem with the trading station idea is the storage space per ware is tiny. VERY tiny. So you would have to set up a chain of transports to make sure you can store and transport the energy. A CAG can do this in a single step.

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Torpor
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Post by Torpor » Wed, 22. Jan 14, 14:07

in my version of tc factory-associated ts will use autojump and autorefil if its set in commands menu and they have jumpdrive and navsoftware mk1

so i'd build the complex near a gate, get a mistral SF, max out his tunings, give him jd and navbla, tell him to buy ecells for best price, 15 works imho pretty well, and set jumprange to 15-25
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please excuse my bad english. no native speaker, but german forum is dying ;P

Lea Flamma
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Post by Lea Flamma » Wed, 22. Jan 14, 14:08

I never really used Trading Stations so I am walking blind here about the storage capacities. Creating a self sustaining complex is also not my style as I would lose a lot of profits. It's better to buy for 12-13 and sell your own for 15.

What I meant with the Trading Station is to set up some TS to buy for best price. Equip them with JD for fast travel. Then have 3-4 to deliver E-Cells from Trading Station to the complexes. Any surplus would be sold to NPCs for 15 Cr. It sounds great in theory.
Wherever we want to go, we'll go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs but what a ship is... what the Black Pearl really is... is freedom.

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Sinxar
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Post by Sinxar » Wed, 22. Jan 14, 14:54

Yes, the key words are "in theory". This does work with the Xenon hub though but not so much with the trading station/eq docks. The problem is how much space it has for each ware.

Since it can only hold 2500 energy cells, when your traders go to buy them, the will only buy what fits into the storage of their homebase. If you want to use a trade station as a cash generator, use CAGs and high profit margin wares. Im not sure but NPCs may not trade with them anyway, maybe that is only eq docks been a while since I played with the trading stations. I am recommending CAGs because they are smart enough to run when attacked and are smart enough to get the best deals possible and work together.

However if you want to do this, the Xenon Hub is far superior for this purpose. The only time I had to use trade stations was to sprinkle them around in terran space to revive the economy (TC).

The real issue is how much energy is eaten by weed/booze complexes. Even small ones eat up a ton. There are three choices, buy energy at a high price, make it self sufficient or use fast traders to fuel it using jumpdrives (CAGS or CLS). I still vote for making it a closed loop, just for the ease of use. I don't like replacing trade ships and a close loop money maker is one less thing I have to worry about.

Lea Flamma
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Post by Lea Flamma » Wed, 22. Jan 14, 20:05

Thanks for the reply. I will get my CAGs some Jumpdrives and set them to auto-use.


Btw. Do I have to set Jumpdrive in the command console in "on" position or will they use it automaticly? Same for UT.
Wherever we want to go, we'll go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs but what a ship is... what the Black Pearl really is... is freedom.

Nanook
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Post by Nanook » Wed, 22. Jan 14, 20:56

As stated above, your CAG's need to be at level 4 (Cargo Messenger) before they'll use a jumpdrive. So you need to either train them up first, or do as suggested and go to the Trading Station in Herron's Nebula and hire/fire pilots until you get one at Cargo Messenger level.

RE your btw: CAG's do not use the autojump option in the ship's command console. They use their own algorithm which is accessed through the Commercial Agent option in the ship's Trade menu. As for UT's, they use their own algorithm, too, which is separate from the others.
Have a great idea for the current or a future game? You can post it in the [L3+] Ideas forum.

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Lea Flamma
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Post by Lea Flamma » Wed, 22. Jan 14, 21:02

Nanook wrote:RE your btw: CAG's do not use the autojump option in the ship's command console. They use their own algorithm which is accessed through the Commercial Agent option in the ship's Trade menu. As for UT's, they use their own algorithm, too, which is separate from the others.
Yup, found it already in the settings :) But how do I allow UTs to use Jumpdrive? They have no such settings. Will they use it themselves or is it set somewhere?
Wherever we want to go, we'll go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs but what a ship is... what the Black Pearl really is... is freedom.

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TTD
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Post by TTD » Wed, 22. Jan 14, 21:08

btw, that is exactly where I built my d/b complex in TC.
It was selfsustaining though.

But that sector went from being empty to being crowded with buyers .
And my rep went up with virtually every race,especially the pirates who even built their station there.


:D

Nanook
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Post by Nanook » Wed, 22. Jan 14, 21:11

Lea Flamma wrote:..But how do I allow UTs to use Jumpdrive? They have no such settings. Will they use it themselves or is it set somewhere?
Once they reach a certain level, and you've restarted the Sector Trader as a Universe Trader, they'll use the jumpdrive automatically. And if you don't supply them with one, they'll acquire it on their own.
Have a great idea for the current or a future game? You can post it in the [L3+] Ideas forum.

X4 is a journey, not a destination. Have fun on your travels.

Lea Flamma
Posts: 410
Joined: Sat, 1. Sep 12, 16:04
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Post by Lea Flamma » Wed, 22. Jan 14, 22:03

Nanook wrote:
Lea Flamma wrote:..But how do I allow UTs to use Jumpdrive? They have no such settings. Will they use it themselves or is it set somewhere?
Once they reach a certain level, and you've restarted the Sector Trader as a Universe Trader, they'll use the jumpdrive automatically. And if you don't supply them with one, they'll acquire it on their own.
Yeah, I know that. From lvl 9 they can use it, from 12 they buy it. Was jsut wondering on the mechanics of usage :) Thank you for explenation :)

What's a d/b complex?
Wherever we want to go, we'll go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs but what a ship is... what the Black Pearl really is... is freedom.

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TTD
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Post by TTD » Wed, 22. Jan 14, 22:46

drugs/booze

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