Making money

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cally2
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun May 24, 2009 6:46 am

Making money

Post by cally2 »

I've read most of the threads in Strategy, but all of them are focused on how to get experience while trading. I couldn't care less about experience. My problem is money. It's so slow to make money, even when trading stuff like luxury items. The ships with more cargo bays cost so much to buy and then when I buy them they usually get killed by mines anyway, leaving me completely broke and having to start the whole long process again, but even slower. What am I doing wrong?
StarSoldier
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2005 7:43 pm
Location: Canton, Michigan

Re: Making money

Post by StarSoldier »

Well the first place to start would be to find an alliance that can help fund your effort in trading. This can be a great help to new players, and I would bet that majority of the vets would be lost without alliance help and funding.

The second thing you can do is to download a program known as MGU. Merchants Guide to the Universe. This program, after downloading games maps, will give you strategic ports to trade, including the goods needed to be trading, and will give you approximate statistics on how much that port will pay. The higher the number, the better the pay offs.

Thirdly, going evil can be a better way to make money. You risk being searched and losing your payload and some money, but in the long run, more money can be made from Narcotics and weapons, and also give you a better range of ports to use, making you less likely to be predictable when hunted.

When it comes to dying to mines, try to be aware of your ships Shields and Armor. When you have shields, you can hit any number of mines without dying, even if you only have one, so make sure you are stocked well on shields and armor when out of Newbie protection. Also, if you are hitting mines, the best thing you can do is to retrace your steps backwards. After you enter a sector, the sector you just left becomes bright green. If you hit mines in another sector, you can go back to you last sector, without taking anymore damage from those mines. Also, buy a scanner and be sure to use local maps and scan each sector where forces come up. Any enemy scan totaling greater than 3 has the potential to contain enemy mines that can harm your ship.

I know this is a long post, but if you take anything out of it, take the first part. An alliance, big or small, is a fundamental part Space Merchant Realms, and very few players are good enough to go solo. If you need anymore help, feel free to message me in-game. Star Soldier.
Feel Safe at Night, Sleep With a Cop! :P
Freon22
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Re: Making money

Post by Freon22 »

Another thing to keep in mind. Most hunters will help you replace your ship if you are a newbie and you ask nice. You then take the lession and learn from it, and always understand its a game and everyone is trying to have fun playing. Traders, hunters, miners, planet builders.
cally2
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Joined: Sun May 24, 2009 6:46 am

Re: Making money

Post by cally2 »

But you're thinking like people with money. Shields cost a LOT of money. Scanners cost even more, and ships with scanners cost even more. I can't afford these things. All my money is spent on ships so that I don't have to trade with 60 cargo holds making maybe 10000 per trade if I'm lucky. I just got killed twice today. The first time while trading for miserable amounts of money, the second after getting hit by mines in my damn escape pod while trying to find my way to a ship store. How the hell are you supposed to do anything when any time you try to make money you get killed?
drake
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Re: Making money

Post by drake »

cally2 wrote:But you're thinking like people with money. Shields cost a LOT of money. Scanners cost even more, and ships with scanners cost even more. I can't afford these things. All my money is spent on ships so that I don't have to trade with 60 cargo holds making maybe 10000 per trade if I'm lucky. I just got killed twice today. The first time while trading for miserable amounts of money, the second after getting hit by mines in my damn escape pod while trying to find my way to a ship store. How the hell are you supposed to do anything when any time you try to make money you get killed?

If you'd read their replies it would help a lot.

Shields do cost a lot of money, a scanner is a days plus worth of trading, and god help if you want a real ship like a Planetary Super Freighter. This is where an alliance will help you out. The way a typical alliance works you have 2-3 people trade the first day strictly for money, their money in turn buys a 4th player an ist. THAT player with the ist can now buy player 5 an ist, and so on and so forth. This game was built around alliance play, it was never easy for the solo player. An alliance helps get you maps, can help protect you trading, can help upgrade your ship. If you're part of the Newbie help alliance get out now lol, it's not going to function as intended. Go through the alliance list and message the leaders (not me) asking if they have a spot open and if they can help you.

If you want to try and make it on your own good for you, but realize it's not that easy. You'll need to make some sacrifices to start out. Since you said you already died and are in an escape pod it'll be even harder. Go into your alliance HQ and get the free ship, it's not much but it's better than a pod. Then find the biggest money route in your racial galaxy. Trade that and only that until you get around 1.5 mil depending on your race. This will take you 2-3 days to make that much in the free ship. With that money buy the trader for your race. Every race has one for around 1.5 mil. Again, it's not much of a ship, but it's a huge improvement over what you had. Now with that you'll do the same thing trade only the money route until you get 5 million. Once you have 5 million you can buy an Interstellar trader IST. Now you can get all the bells and whistles. Get the IST, the scanner, full shields and armor, drones, scouts, mines. With this you have a choice to make, the ist offers you a Jump Drive JD, more turns, and good trading... but it's /7 max defence isn't very safe and it makes it that much easier for people to pod you. So you can either go trade for xp now, or you got back and trade the money route untill you make roughly 10million. This will get you the PSF.

Now all this is fine and dandy at the start of the game... almost no one would be hunting you, no mines would be out, ports will be untouched. However we're not at the start of a game, many routes have been ruined by reckless busting, we're all hunting just you (that's a joke.. maybe), and a good portion of our player base seems to think that genital size is directly related to mines laid. This means trying to make that original upgrade money will be dangerous, and even after you have it negotiating the mines to get the ship you desire will be no easy task.

The one thing is just don't get discourage. It is very very difficult to step into the middle of a round here and get your feet under you without help. There's not much time left in this round, so stick it out for now. Try to find an established alliance to take you in they'll get you a real ship and let you know where to avoid so you don't keep dying to mines. When the next round starts get in as soon as you can and it'll be that much easier. You'll still get podded more than likely, that's part of the game. Hopefully though by the time you do you'll have the bank for another ship, or the help to get a new one.

One last thing, if you're in game and have questions feel free to ask people online. A great deal of the player base here is always willing to help. If no one's online you can send me a message and I'll respond when I get on.
Freon22
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Re: Making money

Post by Freon22 »

Hi cally2, listen to drake he is giving you good advice. Two things are you playing the vet game? If so then you should know that the current map is the most unfriendly map there has every been for new players. You should be playing the newbie game so you have sometime to learn how to trade or you should be in an alliance that can give you help. Another thing never keep money on you, after you get a few million put it in the bank. This way when you get poded you will have the money from the pod and any money that the hunter will help you with plus the money you have in the bank.

Also do not waste your 100 newbie turns!!!!!!! When you die you get 100 newbie turns and you will be at your races HQ. Get the free ship fill the shields and armor with the money you got from your pod. Plot cource to the bank and get your money, then plot cource to where you want to buy your ship at, then plot cource to the closest UNO or HQ to buy cargo holds and more shields and armor with any money you have left. Make sure you keep atlease 20,000 thousand so you have trading money. Now if you have any newbie turns left plot cource to your trading route and trade until you have only 1 to 5 newbie turns left.

You should then stop trading for that day do not move your ship, you are safe no one can pod you if you have at lease 1 newbie, now let your ship build up more turns for the rest of that day. The next day make a b-line for the bank to deposit your trading money or to the HQ. Now do nothing but read the old news, write a list of who is killing traders and in what sectors. You know that old saying "Know thy enemy" well it is true in this game. KNOW who the hunters are, KNOW where they are getting thier kills at. Now watch and see what times they are online and adjust your trading time so you are NOT trading when they are hunting. Another thing always watch and see who is online, make a trade then look and see who is online, make a trade then look and see who is online, make a trade then look and see who is online. Keep doing that until you have traded as much as you can, and if you see one of the hunters that you know hunts in your area make a b-line for HQ and stop for that day. Do not think you can wait until he is off-line then its safe to start trading again. Just stop for the day!!!!! Always know who is online and what they are doing before you ever leave FED space.

I have played SM/SMR for too many years and about 80% of the time I play solo. I play solo most times for a few reasons but I still die a few time during a game. Playing solo is the hardest way of playing SM and no new player should ever try to learn the game playing solo. All you will learn is what the pod screen looks like.

So read drake post and play safe and have some fun, getting killed a few times every day is not fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Infinity
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Re: Making money

Post by Infinity »

Okay, I PMed the guy today asking him to join us, after seeing this thread...

He never replied and died to forces again :(

I am Lacey in game.
Use The Force(s)!
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