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Post by johndramey on Mar 6, 2017 19:53:51 GMT -5
I am currently working on the idea that, as a general principle, you never want an officer job skill wasted as a Navigator, Pilot, Crew Dog, etc. Which means you want to swap out the officers you start with, unless they happen to come with some neat abilities. So if I am building the all-officer boarding party, I want to start with exo-scouts and pistoleers. If, on the other hand, I am treating the boarding party as literal cannon-fodder, I want my officers to start out as diplomats. When I get more serious about ship fighting, this may change, but for now I am not finding the high level skills of people you can hire in the spice district to be nearly as useful as the high level skills of bounty hunters, merchants, diplomats and those not commonly available. I guess I can see where you are coming from on that, but I find the opposite to be true. I like having at least one navigator and pilot officer, since they will (hopefully) always be with me and will generally be much higher level then the crew. Having an officer who will not jump ship contribute their high level skills to my ship is nice, and I can fill in extra stuff that I want (usually exploring) with special hires from contacts.
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Post by johndramey on Mar 6, 2017 3:43:07 GMT -5
Since my captain is always a merchant, I try to cover some of the gaps that my ship has early on. I almost always hunt around for a mechanic and promote him or her, as I find a good mechanic officer to be a godsend. That leaves one other slot, which I'll usually fill with a crew-dog that has good stats. I'll then double job him or her as a doctor.
That leaves me with my captain (merchant/navigator), a pilot, a navigator, a mechanic, and a crew/doctor officer. I really like this setup because it covers almost all of the important skills that I, as a merchant, need in the early game.
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Post by johndramey on Mar 6, 2017 3:40:12 GMT -5
That seems like it could be a really cool rumor. +1 from me!
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Post by johndramey on Mar 6, 2017 3:39:14 GMT -5
Also, added a section on survival skills using some information on what attributes are used to dodge attacks/change range that Cory and fallen were kind enough to provide. Please check it out and let me know if I'm wrong.
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Post by johndramey on Mar 6, 2017 3:20:22 GMT -5
Oh my, so I should pay attention to pilot as well as nav. I've basically been beefing my nav score way way up because my captains all tend to run from combat. Thanks for that break-down, fallen!
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Post by johndramey on Mar 6, 2017 3:19:13 GMT -5
Ok, so I'm looking for some ideas on what you folks out there find to be helpful trade items to carry around in the early game.
I'm talking about before you have a level 2 trade permit. I've actually been finding that loading up my hold with clothes and medicine has been a good strategy, which is in line with my original post, but there has to be some other good ones out there.
I want to flesh out my first post with some info on what is a good way to start being a merchant, because that is pretty much the hardest part of the game for us trading types. Once you get your first $50,000 or so, you're pretty much ok unless you run into some real bad luck.
Some other items that have been working out for me are: Refined ores, these can be traded with pretty much any economy and, when lined up just right, can make a lot of cash for little investment. Refined spice, if you get a good planet with decent demand and build up a decent sized stockpile, you can make a ton of cash. Frozen food turns a very nice profit at orbitals.
Anything else that I'm missing?
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Post by johndramey on Mar 2, 2017 19:25:29 GMT -5
Nah, it actually makes sense to have some good incentive to get trade permits for the player. Gating some of the more lucrative goods behind lower level trade permits will push merchant focused captains to make a run for them, while leaving some of the less lucrative but still worthwhile goods for captains that don't want to play the market game.
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Post by johndramey on Mar 2, 2017 2:46:39 GMT -5
Ohhh, playing around in the new version and notice that crop harvesters are now a trade permit 1 item. That basically means that you should get trade permit 1 ASAP if you want to be able to turn a good profit. Interesting choice.
On one hand, it closes my favorite early game trade route.
On the other hand, it really incentivizes getting a trade permit ASAP.
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Post by johndramey on Mar 1, 2017 22:49:57 GMT -5
Love it! Got back from my vacation yesterday, switched on my phone, and BOOM! new ST2 to play with.
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Post by johndramey on Feb 21, 2017 23:25:51 GMT -5
Very interesting info, that.
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Post by johndramey on Feb 21, 2017 23:16:02 GMT -5
That makes sense! I was trying to find a smuggler economy so I could get me some spice, haha.
Thanks for keeping all that stuff updated, Cory. I don't know if I'm the only one that looks at is, but I love that spreadsheet.
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Post by johndramey on Feb 21, 2017 23:07:08 GMT -5
To at least flesh out a little of the basic info before I go, I added a section on trade permits to the OP. I do have a quick question. Due to work, I haven't really been able to play much since the last update. I notice that there is a new economy type, the tradeway. Might I ask for a little information about it from fallen? I'm guessing that it is trade related for obvious reasons, but what are its quirks?
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Post by johndramey on Feb 21, 2017 21:02:29 GMT -5
Ok folks, work has been absolutely miserable for the past week+ so I've been a little remiss in updating this thread, but I promise that it will be rectified..... in a week or so. Today I leave for a Thailand vacation with my wife, will meet my pops over there, and plan on not touching anything electronic aside from my camera and my Kindle for the entire trip.
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Post by johndramey on Feb 20, 2017 23:35:52 GMT -5
Good question @earthsuit. I know that I've seen them as well, but they are not part of the math that Cory has shared with me. I know that F- is a special case that is basically rigged to prevent all but the best purchases from turning a profit, but I'm not sure if D- lands between D and F. Logically, I'd guess it does, but I cannot say for sure.
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Post by johndramey on Feb 19, 2017 19:43:37 GMT -5
Been busy at work (and have a vacation coming up, a week in Phuket!), but gotta say the new exchange is *awesome*
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