X3 Economy Guide Version 1.6 (Updated 10 Jan 06)

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giskard
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X3 Economy Guide Version 1.6 (Updated 10 Jan 06)

Post by giskard » Sat, 5. Nov 05, 02:29

Hello all.

Updated 10 Jan 2006

This is a guide to the X3 economy and is now more or less complete. It will be updated to take into account any changes in future patches.

X3 Economy Guide For X3 Version 1.3
http://www.theengineeringguild.co.uk/

Russian Version of the guide.
http://www.elite-games.ru/x3/economy_guide.shtml

German Versions will appear here when completed.
http://www.x-tec-online.de/index_X.htm

Italian Version can be found here.
http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=116242

Thanks to those who have done the translations, im sure it will help the players out there :)

The guide is starting to get pretty big now but if your wondering what manual trading is like in X3 then I really recommend you at least read the section called "Time to get Filthy Rich", in paticular the short story called "Trading for a Living by J R Heartly" which I wrote because traditional trading trips dont work for X3 like they did in X2 due to new features that keeps the universe constantly changing.

In the mean time enjoy the guide.

(Permission to host the guide above on any X fan site can be assumed as Given. Though it would be nice to hear from you if you use it). :)

Giskard
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Post by Yonder » Sat, 5. Nov 05, 03:06

This thing should probably not be allowed to fall to page 2 for at least a little while. Awesome job Giskard, I really like that one guide you have stickied btw.

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Post by giskard » Sat, 5. Nov 05, 03:18

Well that guide was a strictly basic game with no spoilers jobby.

This one is much more indept and although it seems pretty long now, it will get much longer before ive finished :)

I wanted to get the basic 3 trader types out there early and the complex kit work arounds too. The rest will wait until 1.3 i think.

Giskard
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Post by Tromador » Sat, 5. Nov 05, 03:25

That's interesting and useful.

It'll be interesting to know if one can, indeed, add mines into the complex - if so, I wonder if we need to locate areas where asteroids are in favourable locations. This doubly so if (to use your example) a 100% self sufficient missiles complex was desired, requring of both ore and silicon. Such a complex would also be *ENORMOUS*, possibly the single biggest structure in the X-Universe. I wonder if there are limits on size of complex or numbers of modules.

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Post by giskard » Sat, 5. Nov 05, 03:29

Ive never hit a limit yet.

I once built an entire complex around an SPP and because energy wasnt a primary product (didnt know why at the time), i decided to keep adding stuff to it until the energy was used up.

Btw i got word that you can connect mines to complexes tonight.

I need to test it but it sounds very good to me :)

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Post by Electric_Kola » Sat, 5. Nov 05, 04:06

Nice little guide there but I know it all already cause of you :)

P.S: Wheres the guineapig credits you promised? :D
"There must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the universe can be said to be zero, From this it follows that the population of the universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the product of a deranged imagination" - Douglas Adams

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Post by giskard » Sat, 5. Nov 05, 04:11

Ive not roasted that piggy yet, wouldnt be fare to offer it uncooked. :)

No credits yet, besides credits in guides soon end up longer than the guide if your not carefuly. But if you want you i'll make you part of the guide by using you in an example of what to do or what not to do <GRIN>

RMK takes his freighter and goes xenon hunting, 10 seconds later he sits watching the main menu thinking. Ok that was a mistake, i should have used a paranid freighter hehehe.

Edit: actually using player names in the game does make it more personal. Better than credits anyway.

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Post by Deleted User » Sat, 5. Nov 05, 04:16

Thank you giskard I have added your site to my faves list so I can read it later when the time is not 03:14. I should go to bed but my oldest daughter is leaving Scotland for a new life in in Australia at 05:00 (I'm her taxi) so there is not much point in going to bed now.

After perusing your site I can see I am in for a treat so thanks again for your efforts :thumb_up:

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Post by strangelove » Sat, 5. Nov 05, 04:30

I just skimmed parts and it looks like it'll be a must read down the road once I've gotten my fill of exploring the economy on my own. Now we just need a really good X3 capture guide from Al and we'll be all set :D

Cheers!

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Post by Yellowjack » Sat, 5. Nov 05, 05:45

Thanks for the guide gives me something to read whilst waiting. No good General goes into battle without intel.

And for Camera4 - No good sending a daughter to Oz mate we haven't got X3 yet! :wink:
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Post by obi-HERMITMAN » Sat, 5. Nov 05, 06:49

excellent work, that'll come in handy when I start the trade and factory side of my career:D

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Post by kevenh » Sat, 5. Nov 05, 11:39

Good work!
Don't forget to leave time to play X3 :o

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Post by TSM » Sat, 5. Nov 05, 12:20

Nice guide Giskard when I get time to play X3 I will use it :wink:
FAQ's Egosoft Interactive FAQ
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Post by (/\)arped » Sat, 5. Nov 05, 12:25

Whoa good guide there.

Posting a link to it on FACTS, sure they'll appreciate it.

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Post by Yskonyn » Sat, 5. Nov 05, 14:08

Hey Giskard, stop writing and play the damn game will you?!
;)
You'll be having written more guides than I can possibly read while still leaving time to play in no time this way!

Keep up the good work, mate.
Yskonyn -

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Post by giskard » Sat, 5. Nov 05, 14:37

Hehehe.

My site is a gaming site for players and these guides go on that. Running my site is one of my hobbies. X is one of my favourite series of games so writing guides for it is a match made in heaven :)

Keep your eyes on that guide because it will grow over time.

Especially after the release of various patches.

PS, for plot and capture guides best look else where. Im not a capture freak or a plot freak. In fact im not really a plot fan even if i do like the storyline. Im more of a open ended game fan.

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Post by Master Merchant » Sat, 5. Nov 05, 16:13

This needs to be stickied. Excellent guide also heres another do not.

Master Merchant gets angry because the Boron won't sell him a Dolphin Super Transport. He comes back later with a Argon Titan and starts blasting the Boron Stations. (will do this as soon as I get the game!...and I can afford/capture a Titan...give me a month)
If it makes money, do it...if its illegal...don't get caught. Freelancer
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Post by giskard » Sun, 6. Nov 05, 15:56

Hello all.

Im hearing the work around for choosing your primary products doesnt work for SPP loops because energy is never a primary product. Probably because every factory uses it as an intrim resource.

I have had the method described in the guide work in none spp loops in my old game but if anybody tries it and it doesnt work, can you pm me the exactly details of your complex please. Including the order you linked the factories in and whether they ran for a bit first.

Thanks :)

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Post by giskard » Sat, 12. Nov 05, 00:53

Guide updated.

Theres now a list of freighters and locations you can buy them from as well as an entire section of manual trading. The last section may seem boring but ive writen it as a story that basically is my own experience of the game and what I did and when I started doing it.

I clearly explain how you go from an X2 trader playing X3 to a proper X3 trader thinking about your next sale using a story to tell of my own experiences in X3. The story is only part of the full guide and explains the manual trading aspect of it. Understanding that part is the key to good factory placement which will be added at a later date.

Bewarned, trading in X3 is addictive.

Click on the link in the first post or the link below to read the entire guide.

http://www.respawn.co.uk/content/view/317/70/

For your amusement and and some tips, here is the story. The story is my guide to good trade routes, its the only way in X3 I can be accurate given X3s new features, since it explains at what point in the game those trade routes exist and what I do later that makes those routes obselete.

PLEASE DO NOT READ THE STORY IF YOUR CONCERNED ABOUT SPOILERS.

There is nothing I regard as a spoiler in the story below, but a spoiler to me is plot related. A spoiler to you may be colour of the boron M3.
Spoiler
Show
Trading for a Living by J R Heartly.


(Its Joke guys, e.g. the advert...never mind).


I find my self in Argon Prime in a standard Mercury with Seta and 1x 1mw shield. I have about 20,000 credits to my name and most items I see costs at least that to buy. I could buy 4 satellites right here in Argon Prime but I would only make 4000 from them. I could try and buy Weapons but my ranks too low. So Argon Prime is effectively useless to me right now. However I notice the energy prices at the factories and decide if I can find energy then I might make some money here. So I go East to the Wall and buy up the cheapest Energy I can find there. Hopefully at 12 credits, if not less than 15 credits and back I go to Argon Prime. I spot factory asking 17 credits for Energy Cells so I sell there. I was hoping to buy at 12 and sell for 19 but that did not work out too well.


How I have about 30,000 credits. Still not a lot so I make another run but this time I take the energy cells to Home of Light. I see 2 Cahoona Bakeries and check of the prices for Meat Steaks are less than 40credits each, they are and the Trading station is paying over 70 in the same sector but they are full of energy. The Crystal fabs in the sector however need Energy and Meat Stakes and are willing to pay 19 for the energy but only 53 for the food. So I sell the energy to them and buy up the Cahoonas at less than 40 and sell them to the Trading Stationing. My money is rising faster now. I decide check out the Crystal Prices and the Quantum prices but notice I do not have the cash for those yet. Certainly not enough to buy a decent number of them. Its still better for me to trade Energy and food. So I buy up any bargains left in the sector, Meat Stakes from the Cahoona Bakery and head over to Cloud Base South West where I may be able to sell them to the weapon facts in that area.


I get there only to find they all are fully stocked with food so I sell to the Trading station again and make some money that way. I spy a Special Weapons Facility and decide to check it out. IONs and Mass Drivers are on sale as is Ammo. But the only the Ammo is available to buy because my Rep is not high enough. The Ammo is fully stocked and can be brought for less than 600credits. I check the sector map and see what price the Equipment Dock wants Ammo at. It says over 600credits. So I buy up as much as I can and sell it at the Equipment Dock.


Wow, I just made more money in one go than I ever did trading food. I still do not have the money to trade weapons or the rep but I can buy those crystals nows. So I return to Home of Light and Buy up some crystals and start going from Trading Station to Station to sell them because they have a guaranteed price where as factory prices, even for secondary goods always change according to their stock. Equipment dock prices are also fixed. So they too guarantee a price.


I remember the Special Weapon Facility was fully stocked with ION Distruptors and Mass Drivers, the IONs at 40,000 credits cheaper when brought from there compared to any Equipment Dock in the Universe. Trouble is, the factory sells more than any one Equipment Dock can buy, Equipment docks only ever buy 2 at a time and usually have some in stock. Still I could sell to Equipment docks owned by races that do not want ION Distrupters. They will usually be empty, so I could dump 2 on them and make 80,000 credits in one trip.


The mass drivers appear to offer a profit of only 10,000 each but a Equipment dock can take 4 of them. So if I brought 4 from a fully stocked Special Weapons Factory, I could sell them in one go or a few here and there. They do not take up much room either so my cargos value will be huge and that means lots of profits later for me.


Trouble is, I do not have the money or a high enough reputation to buy them yet. So I make a note of future bargains in Cloud Base South East and head over to Red Light. Wow, lots of high tech goods here. Those Drone factories are full but cost 3000 each. I'll buy them anyway and sell them at a Trading station. Luckily I was able to sell all my stock this time but I noticed the Trading station and Equipment Docks usually only buy half of the stock a factory holds. So in the future I will have to remember I will need to sell at 2 different trading stations to sell all my stock.


Laser Towers are on sale for 125,000 in Argon Prime and the factory is fully stocked with them, 8 in all. I can afford 4 but a trading station only buys 2 at a time and some of the trading stations already have 1 in stock. But wow, they are selling for 150,000 credits. Thats a profit of 25,000 credits and they hardly take up any cargo space.


I stand and think about it for a moment. 2000 energy cells earns my peanuts but fills up my hold yet 1 Laser tower will give me the same profit and would not fill up my hold. But I need lots of money to buy and sell those. Where can I raise they kind of cash..humm.


Argon Prime sells Satellites, there are computer components and microchips scattered around other sectors and there's also Mass Driver Ammo. Do I trade them one product at a time and buy as much as I can to sell quickly knowing not every trading station wants those goods or do I buy a little of each knowing I will get a sale at every place I dock.


That is the question that changes my game.


I decide not to buy all the Computer components, crystals, microchips or satellites but only by enough so I can sell the lot to any single trading station. Suddenly my holds filling up rapidly with Hi tech goods and IM bouncing around Argon Space earning money at every stop. Before long I notice I have my 1 million credits and IM parked in CloudBase South East. I spot a shield factory so I buy my self a 25mw shield for 73,000 then decide to buy the lot anyway because I can sell 6 to the Equipment dock in this sector for 85,000. Easy money. When I get there I notice I can buy IONs and Mass drivers. So I undock and head for the special weapons facility to buy them at rock bottom prices. I buy 1 ION and 4 Mass Drivers. Total expected Profit will be 80,000 for them alone.


I decide it is time to sell to the Split so I buy a jump drive and 800 energy cells and head for family Whi and sell them all to the Equipment Dock in that Sector. Just to the south in another sector there's another weapons facility I can buy from once I have a high enough rank. I notice there is a special weapons facility in Thuruks Beard and I can by and sell ammo in the same sector. Before Long I can buy basic items from the split. My Split reputation is rising and I can still sell expensive Argon Items to them despite my Split Reputation.


Away I go bouncing from one races sector to the other, buying up any weapons I find that are going cheap and selling at the closest Equipment Dock. Before Long I notice I have 4 million credits and I never seem to spend more than 2 million. I think this as I arrive in Great Reef. The Borons allow my to buy weapons now so I start buying everything I see going cheap in Great Reef but it appears to be one massive weapon producing sector. My 4 million is gone. I have Ions, Mass Drivers, Ammo, 2 different types of Shields and several times of missiles onboard my freighter and Its still not full. There's a lot of other stuff that would fill it if I had the money.


Then I realize 2 things.


I will need a bigger freighter to hold my purchases and to hold more Jump Fuel. But first I must sell what I have and that means selling a bit, topping up my jump fuel for the next jump then selling a bit more. I appear to be trading with everybody, everywhere. Going from Argon Prime to Getsu fune in a single leap just to sell a few weapons but each time I do my profits increase by about 200,000 credits.


I purchase a Super Freighter and move my goods and equipment across to it and head back to Great Reef to buy up the goods I could not afford the first time. I am 2 million credits down now but I still have enough to earn the 2 million I spent on the freighter back quickly. I jump to Depths of Silence and realize, this a mini me of Great Reef. Wow the profit to be had. So again I stock up with as much as I can carry and start jumping to trading stations and Equipment docks where I can sell these goods. Because I know the profit made on a few of these items is worth more than the cost in jump fuel I do not worry about distance. Every customer is 1 sector away in my eyes.


Then one day I wake up and notice I have not been to Argon Prime in a long time. I seen to spend a lot of my time in Boron and Paranid sectors. With the odd trip to Nathans Voyage for Warheads. Somebody asked me for Rimes the other day and instead of telling them the sector to get them from, I gave them a lecture on Rimes and good customers for them through out the galaxy. They wandered off cursing them selves for asking the question in the first place.


I appear to be spending my time plotting my course around the universe, working out if I buy from Family TKR, I can sell in The Vault, then Family Whi. If I buy from Great reef I can sell in Trinity Sanctum and half a dozen other places near there. If I want to sell IONs, I need to remember who does not ask for them because they always buy, at least they do once they sell the last lot I dumped on them. I find my self thinking, humm 2000 spare cargo space, time to top up with Hi tech goods rather than waste the space, so here comes the crystals, the ammo, the quantum tubes.......


Docking Granted....oh IM here. Where was I going again I forgot.


Checks the Sector map and the station, Oh yes I was selling AHEPTs this time.


Lets see what else I can sell here.
Its just a shame seta doesnt work when using the universe map to look around multiple sectors :)


Giskard
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Post by DTomlyn » Sat, 12. Nov 05, 03:06

Hi Giskard... (and everyone else) - LTNS....;) (Darren Tomlyn here - I hadn't used my old account for so long it'd become inactive - and rather than muck around and wait for that to be sorted, I just created another for X3). (I'm still annoyed I never got to finish the X2 Station Stats Spreadsheet - but still - it's time to start another one! :) - (I lost my X2 cd, and had to re-format and re-install so I haven't played X# in quite a while - I guess it's goodbye life again ;) ).

(I'm also hoping my comp can run it ok ;) ).

Still - it'll make a nice break from writing music :) (Though I need to do that too, otherwise I'll never finish half the stuff I've started).

Well - I've read most of the guide - and it seems that my new 'prices to buy' list will be even more important than it used to be :)

(P.S. I'm not too much of a fan of plots and capping either ;) - I'm a business empire freak I guess ;)).

Guess I'll be around quite a bit from now on (again) :)

But now it's time to test it out and see what it plays like :)

C ya

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