[X3AP] Rookie looking for advice on starting with industry

[Alexium]

I've been playing X3TC (and now AP) quite a bit, but I never got really deep into the game (in terms of assets owned, presence in the universe etc.) and barely scratched industry. Now I want to get into that. Can someone give me some ideas on a small complex? What kind of complex(es) should I build early on, where should I locate them to get NPCs trading with me?

And another question: how many universe traders does it make sense to have?

[Bill Huntington]

The first one I set up is a Spacefuel/Spaceweed Complex in Avarice, between Montalaar and New Income. It makes $, and it's in a central location, which makes it a good place for your first base. The NPC come to you without any problem.

You have Silicon and Ore asteroids there. I set the Hub as close to the gate as I can, for my own traders.

I add traders until I have 30 or 50. You have to train them, so it is usually two or three at a time. Queen's Space and Empire's Edge are two good starter sectors. When they get to Level 10, you can make them STs or UTs. STs for a certain area is safer.

[Alexium]

Thanks.
I've found Mercury (and some adjacent Terran sectors) to be a great place to train traders.

[hisazul]

The first one I set up is a Spacefuel/Spaceweed Complex in Avarice, between Montalaar and New Income. It makes $, and it's in a central location, which makes it a good place for your first base. The NPC come to you without any problem.

You have Silicon and Ore asteroids there. I set the Hub as close to the gate as I can, for my own traders.

I add traders until I have 30 or 50. You have to train them, so it is usually two or three at a time. Queen's Space and Empire's Edge are two good starter sectors. When they get to Level 10, you can make them STs or UTs. STs for a certain area is safer.

Those sectors can have pirates, and pirate race reputation is a flimsy thing at best and defending complex is a lot more complicated then just simply giving a ship command to defense station. That won't work on complex since all the ship will defend is docking module. You need to set up patrols or gate blocks or sector defenders or point blocks. All of which require a lot of ships capable of holding their own in OOS combat.

Regardless of where spaceweed/fuel plex is npcs will flock. Try dead end sectors... or yaki sectors. In case of yaki they defend their sectors against everyone including pirates.

[Rail_Balco]

Defending sector seems to be kinda easy to me. I have lasertower complex in herrons nebula. Im using those for stock exchange trick. If you have this, you have nice income and also almost instant crushing firepower. Pirate M2 (brigantine?) jumped into elenas fortunr where is my heavy weapons complex, so i had to get enough firepower there. Took mercury full of those, ejected themm and switched to my cerberus to buy time for lasertowers to deploy themselves. After that, i flew into 35 lasertowers witth brigentine behind me. It took maybe half minute to vaporize it... Pretty efficient. To topic, i always start with sillicon or ore mine in argon prime area (ore belt or elenas fortune). Once some money are going in, i picck something what is lacking in there and start manufacturing it, either for stock exchange trick or for selling or other use, like lasertowers. Or plankton at first... Btw sry for my writing, im on cellphone.