Moving on to a new alliance
When you feel you are ready to move on from this alliance to a new one, it is a good idea to take the time to talk to the alliance leaders out there, When you do, don't be afraid to talk to the major alliances as well as the small ones - they probably won't offer you a spot right away, but they can give good advive and it also puts your name on their radar for future games.
There are a number of things it is a good idea to ask alliance leaders about, to give you an idea what they look for in a member and (more importantly) to help you decide what kind of alliance you want to join.
1) What are the goals of the alliance - both in the current game, and in the future?
2) What does the alliance expect from its team members?
3) What kind of resources does the alliance offer its members (resources can be planets to park on, cash reserves, an active chatroom, advice or teaching from veteran players, etc).
4) What aspects of the game does the alliance emphasize (territory wars? hunting? trading?) and how active are they?
5) Since you are still learning, what can you expect to learn from flying with a given alliance.
There is no right time to leave this alliance and join a new one, but I recommend that you do not jump hastily or blindly into a random small alliance. Apart from anything else, some of the small ones are made up of new players who have as little game knowledge as you and are not doing anything remotely organized or coordinated.
Newbie Help Alliance message board
Last edited by Ardbeg on Fri Nov 03, 2006 5:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Safe trading
This topic is extensive, and there is no substitute for playing the game, probably dying a few times, and learning through experience. However, it doesn't hurt to keep a few tips and tricks in mind:
1) Choose your route. The best routes are also likely to be the least safe, since that is where most hunters will look for their targets. It is sometimes better to trade a slightly less lucrative route and stay alive, especially if you know there are hunters online in the area or you have seen a lot of deaths in the news on the better routes.
2) Vary your trading. Good hunters will look for trading patterns and use them to catch their prey. Try to vary your trading times and your traderoutes to stay unpredictable.
3) Use forces. If you have a ship that is force capable (i.e. a ship that can carry scouts, drones and/or mines), you should always use them when you trade. Ideally, you should have a scout+mine combo in your port sectors, and sometimes also other scouts and mines strategically placed around and along your route. The advantage of the scout+mine combo is that it warns you when someone enters your sector, plus it makes intruders load an extra screen before they can get to target you. If you see a scout message icon (top right of screen) you should immediately hit current sector, immediately run if you see a ship that was not there before (do not stop to examine it), run a few sectors to get clear, then get to safety if necessary.
Always pick up your forces when you are done trading, and use just scouts or just mines if your ship can only carry those.
4) Watch the CPL. Before and during trading, kepp an eye on the current player list and the news, and look for hunters who you think may come for you. It is sometimes better to leave trading for another time, but at least stay alive.
5) Use local map. It can sometimes be useful to enter your port sectors using local map, especially if you suspect there may be trouble close by. This allows you to see ships sitting in neighbouring sectors waiting to ambush you, but it only works if you have a scanner.
This topic is extensive, and there is no substitute for playing the game, probably dying a few times, and learning through experience. However, it doesn't hurt to keep a few tips and tricks in mind:
1) Choose your route. The best routes are also likely to be the least safe, since that is where most hunters will look for their targets. It is sometimes better to trade a slightly less lucrative route and stay alive, especially if you know there are hunters online in the area or you have seen a lot of deaths in the news on the better routes.
2) Vary your trading. Good hunters will look for trading patterns and use them to catch their prey. Try to vary your trading times and your traderoutes to stay unpredictable.
3) Use forces. If you have a ship that is force capable (i.e. a ship that can carry scouts, drones and/or mines), you should always use them when you trade. Ideally, you should have a scout+mine combo in your port sectors, and sometimes also other scouts and mines strategically placed around and along your route. The advantage of the scout+mine combo is that it warns you when someone enters your sector, plus it makes intruders load an extra screen before they can get to target you. If you see a scout message icon (top right of screen) you should immediately hit current sector, immediately run if you see a ship that was not there before (do not stop to examine it), run a few sectors to get clear, then get to safety if necessary.
Always pick up your forces when you are done trading, and use just scouts or just mines if your ship can only carry those.
4) Watch the CPL. Before and during trading, kepp an eye on the current player list and the news, and look for hunters who you think may come for you. It is sometimes better to leave trading for another time, but at least stay alive.
5) Use local map. It can sometimes be useful to enter your port sectors using local map, especially if you suspect there may be trouble close by. This allows you to see ships sitting in neighbouring sectors waiting to ambush you, but it only works if you have a scanner.
Last edited by Ardbeg on Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:27 am, edited 2 times in total.
How to trade
In SMR, trading is the easiest and most fundamental way to accumulate both cash and experience points. The basic principles of trading are easy, but getting really good at it takes time and experience.
The basic idea of trading is that you buy goods from a port that sells them, transport them to a reciprocal port that buys them, and sell them there for a profit. If you make a good trade, you will also accumulate experience points for the trades. Reciprocal ports for a trade good are ones which can be matched up to create a trade route; for example if a port sells wood then all ports that buy wood are reciprocal ports and can potentially be used to create a "wood" traderoute. A good traderoute is one which can be traded in both directions (different goods of course), and one which makes good profits and/or experience. More on that later.
There are 12 tradegoods on the game, divided into low mid and high level goods. Three of the tradegoods are so-called illegals and can only be traded if your alignment in -100 or lower. The low level goods are wood, food, ore, precious metals and slaves (illegal); the mid levels are machinery, textiles, circuitry and weapons (illegal); and the high level goods are computers, luxury items and narcotics (illegal). Generally speaking, higher level goods are more rare, and will lead to better profits and often more experience points.
The value and efficiency of a traderoute between 2 (or more) ports is determined by the multipliers for the goods traded, where the multipliers are determined by the distance to the nearest reciprocal port (note that the port you are actually using is irrelevant, it is the nearest port that counts). For example, if a port is buying computers from me and the nearest port selling computers is 3 sectors away then the multiplier for selling those comps is 3x. The multiplier determines the profit you will make and the maximum experience you can gain, the higher the multiplier, the better the trade.
The experience you get from a trade depends on your relations with that race, and on how good a deal you make. With perfect relations (1000) you will automatically be offered the best possible deal by a port and will not need to bargain at all. At less than 1000 relations, you get experience depending on how well you bargain, where bargaining means offering a little less than the port asks for when you are buying and asking for a little more than the port is offering when you are selling. relations go up with successful trades, and they go down when a port refuses the bargain you offer them. If you are trading with your own race, it is often a good idea not to worry too much about making the best bargains at first and try to get maximum relations as quickly as possible.
One of the major contributing factors to how well you can trade is the ship you are using. Profit and experience depend on the number of goods you are able to trade which depends in turn on the number of cargo holds you have and the speed of your ship. A general guide to how efficient a tradeship is is to multiply the number of holds by the ship speed to give you the trade potential. It is important to note, however, that trade potential is not the only important factor in choosing a tradeship. For example, the planetary super freighter is a very efficient trader with good defenses but is very slow and therefore very inefficient if you have to travel a lot between traderoutes and parking spots; whereas the Interstellar trader has pretty good trade potential and a jump drive to allow you to travel easily but has very weak defenses and is easily killed.
In SMR, trading is the easiest and most fundamental way to accumulate both cash and experience points. The basic principles of trading are easy, but getting really good at it takes time and experience.
The basic idea of trading is that you buy goods from a port that sells them, transport them to a reciprocal port that buys them, and sell them there for a profit. If you make a good trade, you will also accumulate experience points for the trades. Reciprocal ports for a trade good are ones which can be matched up to create a trade route; for example if a port sells wood then all ports that buy wood are reciprocal ports and can potentially be used to create a "wood" traderoute. A good traderoute is one which can be traded in both directions (different goods of course), and one which makes good profits and/or experience. More on that later.
There are 12 tradegoods on the game, divided into low mid and high level goods. Three of the tradegoods are so-called illegals and can only be traded if your alignment in -100 or lower. The low level goods are wood, food, ore, precious metals and slaves (illegal); the mid levels are machinery, textiles, circuitry and weapons (illegal); and the high level goods are computers, luxury items and narcotics (illegal). Generally speaking, higher level goods are more rare, and will lead to better profits and often more experience points.
The value and efficiency of a traderoute between 2 (or more) ports is determined by the multipliers for the goods traded, where the multipliers are determined by the distance to the nearest reciprocal port (note that the port you are actually using is irrelevant, it is the nearest port that counts). For example, if a port is buying computers from me and the nearest port selling computers is 3 sectors away then the multiplier for selling those comps is 3x. The multiplier determines the profit you will make and the maximum experience you can gain, the higher the multiplier, the better the trade.
The experience you get from a trade depends on your relations with that race, and on how good a deal you make. With perfect relations (1000) you will automatically be offered the best possible deal by a port and will not need to bargain at all. At less than 1000 relations, you get experience depending on how well you bargain, where bargaining means offering a little less than the port asks for when you are buying and asking for a little more than the port is offering when you are selling. relations go up with successful trades, and they go down when a port refuses the bargain you offer them. If you are trading with your own race, it is often a good idea not to worry too much about making the best bargains at first and try to get maximum relations as quickly as possible.
One of the major contributing factors to how well you can trade is the ship you are using. Profit and experience depend on the number of goods you are able to trade which depends in turn on the number of cargo holds you have and the speed of your ship. A general guide to how efficient a tradeship is is to multiply the number of holds by the ship speed to give you the trade potential. It is important to note, however, that trade potential is not the only important factor in choosing a tradeship. For example, the planetary super freighter is a very efficient trader with good defenses but is very slow and therefore very inefficient if you have to travel a lot between traderoutes and parking spots; whereas the Interstellar trader has pretty good trade potential and a jump drive to allow you to travel easily but has very weak defenses and is easily killed.
Last edited by Ardbeg on Fri Nov 03, 2006 5:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Operations guide
http://smrcnn.smrealms.de/viewtopic.php?t=3922
Once you graduate to alliances that are more active in the bigger picture of a game, you will want to take part in alliance operations. SMR op's come in all kinds of shapes & sizes and flavours, and involve things like territory wars, planet busts, port raids and fleet battles.
The link I posted here is a rough guide to what you might expect, and what will be expected of you, in alliance op's.
http://smrcnn.smrealms.de/viewtopic.php?t=3922
Once you graduate to alliances that are more active in the bigger picture of a game, you will want to take part in alliance operations. SMR op's come in all kinds of shapes & sizes and flavours, and involve things like territory wars, planet busts, port raids and fleet battles.
The link I posted here is a rough guide to what you might expect, and what will be expected of you, in alliance op's.
Last edited by Ardbeg on Fri Nov 03, 2006 5:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Turns
Many of the basic actions performed in SMR cost turns, the most common examples being moving, trading & attacking. One of the keys to success in the game is good turn management, no matter what you are busing the turns to accomplish. If you are a trader, you want to get as much cash and xp as possible per turn used. If you are a hunter, you want to spend as many turns as possible efficiently locating targets and getting kills, and as few as possible chasing traders around without getting the final trigger shot off. In an alliance, you will often be expected to save turns for op's, where it is often crucial to have plenty of alliance members show up with plenty of turns.
Turns are accumulated constantly, whether you are logged in or not, and are a product of ship speed and game speed. When you click the Trader link on the left of your screen, one of the things you will see is how many turns you get per hour in the ship you are in, and also the maximum number of turns you can accumulate in the current game. It is important to manage your turns carefully - make sure to always leave yourself enough turns to get back to somewhere you can park safely (preferably with some to spare in case you run into trouble on the way). It can sometimes be a good idea to save up a large number of turns so you can use them all in one session, but be aware that this is not always possible or even ideal. You should try to avoid reaching the maximum number of turns, since you will then stop getting more and will basically be wasting the turns you would usually have accumulated.
A good way to get a few extra turns and help the game at the same time is to click on the voting links at the bottom of your screen. Voting for SMR helps our rankings, which brings more players to the game - making it better for all of us.
Many of the basic actions performed in SMR cost turns, the most common examples being moving, trading & attacking. One of the keys to success in the game is good turn management, no matter what you are busing the turns to accomplish. If you are a trader, you want to get as much cash and xp as possible per turn used. If you are a hunter, you want to spend as many turns as possible efficiently locating targets and getting kills, and as few as possible chasing traders around without getting the final trigger shot off. In an alliance, you will often be expected to save turns for op's, where it is often crucial to have plenty of alliance members show up with plenty of turns.
Turns are accumulated constantly, whether you are logged in or not, and are a product of ship speed and game speed. When you click the Trader link on the left of your screen, one of the things you will see is how many turns you get per hour in the ship you are in, and also the maximum number of turns you can accumulate in the current game. It is important to manage your turns carefully - make sure to always leave yourself enough turns to get back to somewhere you can park safely (preferably with some to spare in case you run into trouble on the way). It can sometimes be a good idea to save up a large number of turns so you can use them all in one session, but be aware that this is not always possible or even ideal. You should try to avoid reaching the maximum number of turns, since you will then stop getting more and will basically be wasting the turns you would usually have accumulated.
A good way to get a few extra turns and help the game at the same time is to click on the voting links at the bottom of your screen. Voting for SMR helps our rankings, which brings more players to the game - making it better for all of us.
Last edited by Ardbeg on Fri Nov 03, 2006 5:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
What the NHA can do for you
There are a number of ways this alliance can help you as a new player, and you are welcome to make use of as many or as few of these as you wish:
1) Access to one or more experienced veteran players who will give you accurate and unbiased advice. Most players in SMR will help you if you need it, but the veterans in this alliance are here specifically to help you.
2) An extensive alliance message board with all the basics you need to know. Alliance members are encouraged to use the message board to ask their own questions - if you are wondering about something, chances are that other new players would like to know the answer too.
3) Maps. A short time into every game, this alliance will usually have full maps of the game universe. However, keep in mind that maps will change slightly during the course of a game as ports get upgraded and busted down.
4) If you stay in NHA, stay active, try to learn, and keep in touch with the Newbie Help Leader then this alliance can be a stepping stone to the more established alliances. Every game I get alliance leaders asking me to recommend newbies who are active and have potential.
5) Newbie Help Leader will work with each of you individually on specific questions and game goals if you want. If resources allow it (I am dependent on my own trading income for cash) I try to reward players for achieving the game goals they work towards. I also try to make sure that members have at least a mid-level tradeship after they have been killed, although I try to make sure that they have learned from their mistakes before buying replacement ships (to be fair to the rest of the players in the game, you can no longer get cash or new ships after reaching fledgling status, although you are welcome to stay in the alliance as long as you like).
There are a number of ways this alliance can help you as a new player, and you are welcome to make use of as many or as few of these as you wish:
1) Access to one or more experienced veteran players who will give you accurate and unbiased advice. Most players in SMR will help you if you need it, but the veterans in this alliance are here specifically to help you.
2) An extensive alliance message board with all the basics you need to know. Alliance members are encouraged to use the message board to ask their own questions - if you are wondering about something, chances are that other new players would like to know the answer too.
3) Maps. A short time into every game, this alliance will usually have full maps of the game universe. However, keep in mind that maps will change slightly during the course of a game as ports get upgraded and busted down.
4) If you stay in NHA, stay active, try to learn, and keep in touch with the Newbie Help Leader then this alliance can be a stepping stone to the more established alliances. Every game I get alliance leaders asking me to recommend newbies who are active and have potential.
5) Newbie Help Leader will work with each of you individually on specific questions and game goals if you want. If resources allow it (I am dependent on my own trading income for cash) I try to reward players for achieving the game goals they work towards. I also try to make sure that members have at least a mid-level tradeship after they have been killed, although I try to make sure that they have learned from their mistakes before buying replacement ships (to be fair to the rest of the players in the game, you can no longer get cash or new ships after reaching fledgling status, although you are welcome to stay in the alliance as long as you like).
Last edited by Ardbeg on Fri Nov 03, 2006 5:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Avoiding mines
Enemy mines are something you will encounter on a regular basis in SMR, and there are a couple of things that can help prevent you dying to them.
1) If you hit a mined sector, you always have a safe way out. Going back the way you came to your green highlighted sector will spare you from hitting any more mines.
2) Use a scanner. If you are working in an area where there are mines and trying to avoid them or work around them, scanning potential sectors to move to will give you an idea of how heavily mined they are - a higher force scan usually means more mines.
3) Work from UNO. If you are travelling a long way, it is often a very good idea not to plot your route directly from A to B, but to plan it so that you pass UNO shops along the way - this will allow you to refill your defenses as you go if you take some damage. This is especially important when travelling through large neutral galaxies.
4) Use your maps. If you encounter heavily mined sectors, retreat to safety, then take the time to look carefully at your maps to see if the area you were in is close to something an alliance would want to protect (usually a galaxy warp or a Combat Accessories shop). Then plan a new route avoinding this area.
Enemy mines are something you will encounter on a regular basis in SMR, and there are a couple of things that can help prevent you dying to them.
1) If you hit a mined sector, you always have a safe way out. Going back the way you came to your green highlighted sector will spare you from hitting any more mines.
2) Use a scanner. If you are working in an area where there are mines and trying to avoid them or work around them, scanning potential sectors to move to will give you an idea of how heavily mined they are - a higher force scan usually means more mines.
3) Work from UNO. If you are travelling a long way, it is often a very good idea not to plot your route directly from A to B, but to plan it so that you pass UNO shops along the way - this will allow you to refill your defenses as you go if you take some damage. This is especially important when travelling through large neutral galaxies.
4) Use your maps. If you encounter heavily mined sectors, retreat to safety, then take the time to look carefully at your maps to see if the area you were in is close to something an alliance would want to protect (usually a galaxy warp or a Combat Accessories shop). Then plan a new route avoinding this area.
Last edited by Ardbeg on Fri Nov 03, 2006 5:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
IRC chat
It is very helpful to learn to use IRC chat often while playing this game. The first step is to simply use the IRC chat link on the left of your screen and just spend some time in the #smr room getting to know some of the players. This is also a good time to ask questions - not just about technical or tactical aspects of the game, but about what the players like about the game, about the alliances, about pretty much anything. Getting to know the players and the community is part of getting to know SMR.
When you end up in an alliance, playing with a team, you will find that they pretty much all use dedicated alliance chatrooms that they use for conducting alliance operations. These rooms are also a place to simplky hang out and chat, which is a great way to get to know your teammates.
In time, if you are able to do so, it is useful to install an IRC client on the computer(s) you use. mIRC is free and works well. If you have trouble getting your IRC client to work, there are instructions and help to be found on the webboard.
It is very helpful to learn to use IRC chat often while playing this game. The first step is to simply use the IRC chat link on the left of your screen and just spend some time in the #smr room getting to know some of the players. This is also a good time to ask questions - not just about technical or tactical aspects of the game, but about what the players like about the game, about the alliances, about pretty much anything. Getting to know the players and the community is part of getting to know SMR.
When you end up in an alliance, playing with a team, you will find that they pretty much all use dedicated alliance chatrooms that they use for conducting alliance operations. These rooms are also a place to simplky hang out and chat, which is a great way to get to know your teammates.
In time, if you are able to do so, it is useful to install an IRC client on the computer(s) you use. mIRC is free and works well. If you have trouble getting your IRC client to work, there are instructions and help to be found on the webboard.
Last edited by Ardbeg on Fri Nov 03, 2006 5:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Multiple accounts
Multiple accounts are NOT permitted in SMR. The game has admins who actively look for multiple accounts and suspicious activity. If you are caught playing more than one account, you risk losing all your accumulated stats and being banned from the game.
One of the results of this strict policy on multiple accounts is that you should try to avoid logging into your account from any computer also used by other SMR players. Even though you are not actually playing more than one account, it can seem as though you are when the connection logs are checked.
Multiple accounts are NOT permitted in SMR. The game has admins who actively look for multiple accounts and suspicious activity. If you are caught playing more than one account, you risk losing all your accumulated stats and being banned from the game.
One of the results of this strict policy on multiple accounts is that you should try to avoid logging into your account from any computer also used by other SMR players. Even though you are not actually playing more than one account, it can seem as though you are when the connection logs are checked.
Last edited by Ardbeg on Fri Nov 03, 2006 5:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Port raiding
It's simple - don't do it! Raiding small ports will gain you nothing and will often get you killed, and raiding big ports is impossible without a well-armed fleet of warships.
It's simple - don't do it! Raiding small ports will gain you nothing and will often get you killed, and raiding big ports is impossible without a well-armed fleet of warships.
Last edited by Ardbeg on Fri Nov 03, 2006 5:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.