How to make money
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ShadowHunter13
How to make money
This would be of help to newbs like me. How to make good money fast and keep it. Not so much of making it, but of keeping it.
I see you have already had some experience in this game by the phrasing of your question. The best way, IMO, to make cash is to:
1. Trade high profit routes while you have newbie turns.
2. Bank your cash before you run out of newbies.
3. Find a less popular route to trade on.
4. Buy a better ship only when you have enough cash to get another one if you lose it.
A nice cash route is not too hard to find. Narcotics (for evils), Luxuries, and Computers are the most expensive goods and the most profitable ones. The cash and experience you get from a trade is largely dependant on distance. If you buy luxuries from a port where the nearest port that will buy them from you is 6 sectors away, you will get a better price and better exp than if the nearest one was 3 sectors away, and it goes the same way with selling. So if you want to make the biggest profit, find a port that buys Narcs Lux or Comps far from any port that sells that good. But look out cause these types of ports are hunted more often than not. Does this make any sense?
1. Trade high profit routes while you have newbie turns.
2. Bank your cash before you run out of newbies.
3. Find a less popular route to trade on.
4. Buy a better ship only when you have enough cash to get another one if you lose it.
A nice cash route is not too hard to find. Narcotics (for evils), Luxuries, and Computers are the most expensive goods and the most profitable ones. The cash and experience you get from a trade is largely dependant on distance. If you buy luxuries from a port where the nearest port that will buy them from you is 6 sectors away, you will get a better price and better exp than if the nearest one was 3 sectors away, and it goes the same way with selling. So if you want to make the biggest profit, find a port that buys Narcs Lux or Comps far from any port that sells that good. But look out cause these types of ports are hunted more often than not. Does this make any sense?
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Thorfin Skyrider
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Wed Jun 19, 2002 5:41 pm
- Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Contact:
I would add, that the lesser routes, the mach-circ routes, while not immediately as profitable, might endear you to keeping your cash longer, simply because they are hunted less.. and be smart about when you make deposits.. if there are known hunters on line, stay away from banks.. and if possible, keep three or four alternate trade route in your back pocket.. try to vary the times you trade, and always know your escape routes... this will not prevent a trader from "riding the pod" but it decreases the odds of being podded.
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Destroyer of Hope
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sun Jun 16, 2002 6:15 pm
i agree with everything that Wonks and Thorfin say but thats no suprise since both of them are veteran traders 
i would just add a few tidbits to keep you away from the big bad wolf 
to use scouts or not to use scouts ah what a decision 8) if i use scouts while trading i only have them at my ports (nowhere else) and at that first ping i run for my escape route, i also pick up my scouts when i'm done trading (don't leave any clues for the hunters to find) buy a scanner and learn how to use it and scan you're route (if you find scouts or mines go to an alternate route dont be a fool and pop the scouts, for all you know that hunter may be next door waiting) you may waste turns sometimes running to fed but it's better than buying a pod
Destroyer of Hope
i would just add a few tidbits to keep you away from the big bad wolf to use scouts or not to use scouts ah what a decision 8) if i use scouts while trading i only have them at my ports (nowhere else) and at that first ping i run for my escape route, i also pick up my scouts when i'm done trading (don't leave any clues for the hunters to find) buy a scanner and learn how to use it and scan you're route (if you find scouts or mines go to an alternate route dont be a fool and pop the scouts, for all you know that hunter may be next door waiting) you may waste turns sometimes running to fed but it's better than buying a pod Destroyer of Hope
It's not always a bad idea to destroy scout drones. If you've wandered over their scout a few times and the hunter still hasn't shown up on the current player list then by all means destroy the scout. Giving them up to date information on your position is a bad thing, for all you know the hunter themselves may be feeding that information to other members of their alliance. The problem here lies in knowing when to destroy scout drones, not if to destroy scout drones. Simply destroying any you come across is a passport to being podded, choose which, and when, to destroy with care.
Most important thing is to trade quickly. Do not enter a port sector without having first decided what you're buying/selling. Hanging around at ports is another surefire way to buy yourself a pod.
As for your own scouts, it's true that spreading them all over the place will flag your position for hunters, however dropping scouts at the ports you are trading, and at adjacent sectors to those ports, will give you valuable time to perform a tactical retreat (Ie run away screaming "No, don't let the nasty hunter get me" ).
As has been mentioned, don't let yourself get fixated on one trade route. Always try to have at least one backup to go trade on should your favourite route become mined/scouted etc. If possible (And you have a jump drive) try to make these in different galaxies.
The best hunters (Combined with decent intel) can pick up on trading patterns fairly easily, try to mix up your trading times and avoid falling into the pattern of trading the same route at the same time everyday.
Do NOT avoid going to the bank so much that you find yourself carrying around anything in excess of 10mil. Losing a ship is ok, losing both the ship and your means to buy a new ship is just plain nasty. Plus you're losing out on interest from that 10mil while it's on your ship.
Finally. If you get podded don't be too proud to just ask the person who podded you how they did it. Most of the time they'll answer, and a lot of the time you'll discover it was just chance that caused it to happen (Yup, we all have bad luck sometimes). Paranoia can be a good thing, but imagining your killer has access to every last piece of intel about you is very bad. The game doesn't have that many decent target hunters, chances are that any pod you take was from bad luck, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Grab another ship and get back on the pony.
Most important thing is to trade quickly. Do not enter a port sector without having first decided what you're buying/selling. Hanging around at ports is another surefire way to buy yourself a pod.
As for your own scouts, it's true that spreading them all over the place will flag your position for hunters, however dropping scouts at the ports you are trading, and at adjacent sectors to those ports, will give you valuable time to perform a tactical retreat (Ie run away screaming "No, don't let the nasty hunter get me"
).As has been mentioned, don't let yourself get fixated on one trade route. Always try to have at least one backup to go trade on should your favourite route become mined/scouted etc. If possible (And you have a jump drive) try to make these in different galaxies.
The best hunters (Combined with decent intel) can pick up on trading patterns fairly easily, try to mix up your trading times and avoid falling into the pattern of trading the same route at the same time everyday.
Do NOT avoid going to the bank so much that you find yourself carrying around anything in excess of 10mil. Losing a ship is ok, losing both the ship and your means to buy a new ship is just plain nasty. Plus you're losing out on interest from that 10mil while it's on your ship.
Finally. If you get podded don't be too proud to just ask the person who podded you how they did it. Most of the time they'll answer, and a lot of the time you'll discover it was just chance that caused it to happen (Yup, we all have bad luck sometimes). Paranoia can be a good thing, but imagining your killer has access to every last piece of intel about you is very bad. The game doesn't have that many decent target hunters, chances are that any pod you take was from bad luck, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Grab another ship and get back on the pony.
Pickles
And when his armies reached the coast; and he beheld the sea; and comprehended the breadth of his domain; Alexander wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer.
And when his armies reached the coast; and he beheld the sea; and comprehended the breadth of his domain; Alexander wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer.
make sure you are alone on the trade route. No matter how profitable and route may seem it is not worth taking multiple pods for. Others are very possesive of their route and may not be afraid to call upon a fighter friend, or in some cases buy a warship themselves. and once you see that warship... 8O . Just make sure that you are not trading with someone else for precaution. Also when choosing which ship to buy for trading there are two main things to consider, speed and holds, since most trading ships won't have good defensive or offensive capability. To find the best deal just multiply the two. if the ship has a speed of 8 and 200 holds that is basically saying 1600 holds and hour. But a ship that goes a speed of 4 and holds say 600 will get you 2400 holds and hour. If you get ships that are tied in this area you might then consider defensive options for the better ship. 
B.O.B. - Rosebud is one of craziest cool drunks I know.