I'm new to this game and i'd just like a know a few things.
First. Is there anyway i can workout how much money to take of or add on when bargaining to find out the max amount of experience i can get from the trade.
Second.I'd like to know if my trade routes are any good. My trade routes
Trade 1:18 turns for £214500 and 51 experience
Trade 2:4 turns for £29300 and 36 experience.
Any help would be nice.
Bargaining+Trading
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Trib
- Beta Test Team Leader
- Posts: 115
- Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2002 3:28 pm
- Location: Ipswich, UK
- Contact:
Hi, and welcome.
In answer to your first question there is no widely available calculator for getting the perfect prices for trading. The main reason for this is that there is a random element included in the trade formula in the game.
Second question. You have to find a balance between money and experience (XP from now on). Every good at every port as a closest matching good, and it is worked on this distance to calculate the amount of money and XP you gain for a trade.
Your example trade 1, over 18 turns is not the optimum route for that good at that port, in other words another port sells the good that you are trading there closer than the port you bought from.
Your trade 2 looks closer to the optimum, although I cannot tell for sure, as prices vary according to the type of good and the current supply/demand of the port, and the XP varies according to the number of holds your ship currently has.
Now, assuming you are in the starting ship still, the Newbie Merchant Vessel (NMV) and you have bought more holds to have the maximum 120 holds on board, then for every sectors distance from the buying port to the selling port on the optimum route for a given good the most XP you can get for the trade is 10. So for your 4 sector route (trade 2) the most you could have gotten was 40 XP, you got 36 which is pretty close.
The best trade routes are the regarded to be the ones which gain you the most XP per turn used. (unless you are after money, then you generally trade less efficient, longer more profitable routes). If you find two ports a certain distance apart with a pair of goods so that the closest port that buys the good that the other sells in the other port you are looking at in the pair, then this is a good route. The further apart these ports are, and yet still maintain that they have a pair of goods that are closest at the other port the better the route.
Ok, that sounds a little convuluted, if you require another explanation please feel free to ask.
An example.
Port A sells luxury items and buys Computers.
Port B sells Computers and buys Luxury Items.
Port A is 5 sectors away from Port B. Port B is the closest port to Port A that sells computers, it is also the closest port that buys Lux. Now if Port A is also the closest port to Port B, that sells lux and buys computers, then this is a very good route. However if Port C is closer than Port A and also sells lux, then this would reduce the money and XP you get from trading in Lux at Port B.
Another factor to consider when bargaining is your relations with that race, which shows at the top of the port goods listing screen. The closer this value is to 1000 the nearer the original offer is to the perfect price, and therefore the less you have to change your bargain price by. When your relations hits 1000 you will be offered the perfect price upfront. Your relations increase everytime you trade succesfully (offer accepted) at a port, upto a maximum personal value of 500. The other half of the 1000 is made up from your races global relations with the race that owns the port and is decided upon by the racial councils (top 20 players of each race)
Anyway, hope this helps, if you need me to try and make it simpler (as it is rather a tricky description) just ask, and I will endevour. Also any other help just ask. There are lots of ppl here who are happy to help, either here on the webboard or in the IRC chat channel.
Goodluck
In answer to your first question there is no widely available calculator for getting the perfect prices for trading. The main reason for this is that there is a random element included in the trade formula in the game.
Second question. You have to find a balance between money and experience (XP from now on). Every good at every port as a closest matching good, and it is worked on this distance to calculate the amount of money and XP you gain for a trade.
Your example trade 1, over 18 turns is not the optimum route for that good at that port, in other words another port sells the good that you are trading there closer than the port you bought from.
Your trade 2 looks closer to the optimum, although I cannot tell for sure, as prices vary according to the type of good and the current supply/demand of the port, and the XP varies according to the number of holds your ship currently has.
Now, assuming you are in the starting ship still, the Newbie Merchant Vessel (NMV) and you have bought more holds to have the maximum 120 holds on board, then for every sectors distance from the buying port to the selling port on the optimum route for a given good the most XP you can get for the trade is 10. So for your 4 sector route (trade 2) the most you could have gotten was 40 XP, you got 36 which is pretty close.
The best trade routes are the regarded to be the ones which gain you the most XP per turn used. (unless you are after money, then you generally trade less efficient, longer more profitable routes). If you find two ports a certain distance apart with a pair of goods so that the closest port that buys the good that the other sells in the other port you are looking at in the pair, then this is a good route. The further apart these ports are, and yet still maintain that they have a pair of goods that are closest at the other port the better the route.
Ok, that sounds a little convuluted, if you require another explanation please feel free to ask.
An example.
Port A sells luxury items and buys Computers.
Port B sells Computers and buys Luxury Items.
Port A is 5 sectors away from Port B. Port B is the closest port to Port A that sells computers, it is also the closest port that buys Lux. Now if Port A is also the closest port to Port B, that sells lux and buys computers, then this is a very good route. However if Port C is closer than Port A and also sells lux, then this would reduce the money and XP you get from trading in Lux at Port B.
Another factor to consider when bargaining is your relations with that race, which shows at the top of the port goods listing screen. The closer this value is to 1000 the nearer the original offer is to the perfect price, and therefore the less you have to change your bargain price by. When your relations hits 1000 you will be offered the perfect price upfront. Your relations increase everytime you trade succesfully (offer accepted) at a port, upto a maximum personal value of 500. The other half of the 1000 is made up from your races global relations with the race that owns the port and is decided upon by the racial councils (top 20 players of each race)
Anyway, hope this helps, if you need me to try and make it simpler (as it is rather a tricky description) just ask, and I will endevour. Also any other help just ask. There are lots of ppl here who are happy to help, either here on the webboard or in the IRC chat channel.
Goodluck
-
Trib
- Beta Test Team Leader
- Posts: 115
- Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2002 3:28 pm
- Location: Ipswich, UK
- Contact:
Also, in terms of prices, the further down the list ont he port screen (further to the right on the maps) the good is the more money it is potentially worth (dependant on distance) so luxury goods will generally make you more money than say textiles.
For an alternative description see Wonks " How does this trading thing work" thread in the FAQ section of the board, or follow this link http://www.smrealms.de/smrcnn/viewtopic.php?t=1260
For an alternative description see Wonks " How does this trading thing work" thread in the FAQ section of the board, or follow this link http://www.smrealms.de/smrcnn/viewtopic.php?t=1260
Just an added note: the higher relations you get with a port, the closer it will offer to the perfect selling price. So if you are trying to estimate the price you should be bargaining and start to miss trades, this is probably why.
When you get to 1000 relations with a port, it offers you the perfect selling price every time. You up your relations by successfully completing a trade, bargaining or no. But if you miss a trade your relations go down a bit.
When you get to 1000 relations with a port, it offers you the perfect selling price every time. You up your relations by successfully completing a trade, bargaining or no. But if you miss a trade your relations go down a bit.
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Hellman109
- Beta Tester
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2002 5:37 am
- Location: Australia
- Contact:
Good or bad huh?
Well, this game being as well balanced as it is you can quiet easily be either. Both has there advantages below, the disadvantages are not getting what the other gets. (ie, if your good, you cant get the advanmtages of being bad)
GOOD
"good" players get access to three federal ships, these being the federal ultimatum (FU), federal discovery, and the Federal Warrant.
The FU is considered to be the best war ship in the game, as it can have the highest attack rating. ALL federal ships (the 3 above) also take half (10 as opposed to 20) damage from mines, which can be useful.
Good players also get "war kill payments" where if you kill (aka pod) someone who is a race your race is at war with, you can goto your races HQ and claim some payment for it.
Another advantage is that you can get federal protection easier. If you have 150+ alignment you can have an attack rating of 4 or less and get federal protection. These federal ships also get the jump drive "JD" which can warp you to anywhere in the game (although you can miss by eight sectors if your unlucky) which can help you get to what/where your needed in a short amount of time.
BAD
I personally prefer bad, because of the reasons below, but, as i said, allot of people will also like good.
Illegal goods, if you have an alignment of -100 or lower you can trade in illegal goods, one of which is narcotics, the most expensive, and therfore can be the most profitable, good in the game (there are 2 others you get which are in the middle of the price listings aswell).
You also get access to 3 underground ships, the theif, the assasin, and the death cruiser (DC)>
The DC can hold 125 mines, which is more than any other ship you can normally get to in the game. The theif is also a good trading / planet stocking ship as it has 12 speed (it earns 12 turns per hour) and it has 150 holds, which, when put together with the speed, makes it a good trader. All bad ships can also get a cloak generator, which when turned on, makes you hidden from everyone unless they are at a higher experience level, or you attack.
Hope this helps
Well, this game being as well balanced as it is you can quiet easily be either. Both has there advantages below, the disadvantages are not getting what the other gets. (ie, if your good, you cant get the advanmtages of being bad)
GOOD
"good" players get access to three federal ships, these being the federal ultimatum (FU), federal discovery, and the Federal Warrant.
The FU is considered to be the best war ship in the game, as it can have the highest attack rating. ALL federal ships (the 3 above) also take half (10 as opposed to 20) damage from mines, which can be useful.
Good players also get "war kill payments" where if you kill (aka pod) someone who is a race your race is at war with, you can goto your races HQ and claim some payment for it.
Another advantage is that you can get federal protection easier. If you have 150+ alignment you can have an attack rating of 4 or less and get federal protection. These federal ships also get the jump drive "JD" which can warp you to anywhere in the game (although you can miss by eight sectors if your unlucky) which can help you get to what/where your needed in a short amount of time.
BAD
I personally prefer bad, because of the reasons below, but, as i said, allot of people will also like good.
Illegal goods, if you have an alignment of -100 or lower you can trade in illegal goods, one of which is narcotics, the most expensive, and therfore can be the most profitable, good in the game (there are 2 others you get which are in the middle of the price listings aswell).
You also get access to 3 underground ships, the theif, the assasin, and the death cruiser (DC)>
The DC can hold 125 mines, which is more than any other ship you can normally get to in the game. The theif is also a good trading / planet stocking ship as it has 12 speed (it earns 12 turns per hour) and it has 150 holds, which, when put together with the speed, makes it a good trader. All bad ships can also get a cloak generator, which when turned on, makes you hidden from everyone unless they are at a higher experience level, or you attack.
Hope this helps
All I heard was blah blah blah, Im a little whinger.
All good stuff. Good guys also get access to the HHG which does 300 shield damage at 35% accuracy. Gang members get the Nuke, which does 300 armor damage at 35% accuracy.
Most people prefer to go evil at the start of a game if they find out where the UG is, because it gives you an extra 3 trade goods that only the evil guys can use, which can open up some great trading possibilities. However, you can't get that coveted President position unless you are a deputy. And being evil really isn't much good in the long run unless you have very high experience.
BTW, if you have some extra time check out the FAQs section on the webboard. I have answered a lot of questions like these there...
Most people prefer to go evil at the start of a game if they find out where the UG is, because it gives you an extra 3 trade goods that only the evil guys can use, which can open up some great trading possibilities. However, you can't get that coveted President position unless you are a deputy. And being evil really isn't much good in the long run unless you have very high experience.
BTW, if you have some extra time check out the FAQs section on the webboard. I have answered a lot of questions like these there...
