new: trading in ships

[Bilvana]

sorry if this is the wrong forum to ask, but here goes.

when I trade in a ship, the screen shows cargo xx/xx for the ship I want (example 20/40)

but when I buy the ship, the hold is empty, worse, I lose forever what my prior ship was carrying.

just checked, I don't lose passenger or delivery contracts, as they go with the captain, I assume.

this leaves me in an unfavorable faction with nothing to do but take the faction hit?

now I know not to jump ships unless everything is ideal. but that is quite rare.

I could transfer via cache, taking the small morale hit of travelling without w/f I assume, if wilds are available.

selling then rebuying from the exchange would be my last choice, so many negatives.

I wonder if cargo is included in the salvage price? (possibilities for you advanced players)

I'd like to hear work-arounds, or if I'm just doing it wrong.

[fallen]

Bilvana - can you share your device type and the version of the game you are playing, which you can read off the main menu?

I assume when you are saying "Trading in" you mean selling your old ship and getting a new one?

[Bilvana]

version 5.9.31 on android 5, Samsung sm-g900p?
started a test game to check.
new ship plan, Trading in my starter ship.
vae victus, hold: 37/40 water 31, lux. rats 6
star liner, hold 41/74 (no details of contents)
I sold my hold contents, the ships scrap value of 40,495 didn't change.
just wondering what other players do when trading in, rather then purchasing outright.
even when buying a second ship, what is your plan to transfer / equip the new one?

[slayernz]

Bilvana welcome to the forum! Ship dealers are unscrupulous at times. When they give you a trade in price for your ship, it has a nominal value including the cost of cargo (which is not worth anything to them because they're ludites). When you do the "trade-in", you lose everything in your hold.

What I would recommend is always buying a new ship outright. The new ship goes straight into the dry dock (you need military rank to get into the dry dock area).

Once you go into dry dock, you can transfer goods from one cargo bay to another, and then (and only then), sell your old ship.

"Wait a minute," I hear you say. "I don't have enough money to buy the ship outright - I need to trade in my old ship in order to cover the costs"

My answer. Don't do it. Don't buy a new ship if your funds are tight. Always have a buffer of at least $40k or so to cover repairs in case of mishap when you're accidentally shooting at a Steel Song warship and the tea pots they shoot back at you actually cause damage. Also, you'll sometimes find yourself with sail damage or other mishaps that result in you having to pay repairs. So save up your money and avoid the need to immediately trade in. It's better for you because you will have a financial buffer, AND you'll be able to transfer stuff between the cargo bays.

How do you get quick money? The absolute fastest way is doing some shortage rumors. Find somewhere that is short of Metal, or Clothing, or other non-restricted goods. Fill your hold up as much as you can, and sell. Even in the Vae (with a WF tank) you'll make around $80k of revenue (with maybe $10-15k of cost).

If you have some real cash available, buy yourself the ship designer IAP. It's soooooooooooooooooo worth it. You get to design the perfect ship and then you're unstoppable and can camp over Steel Song worlds and rain destruction on all things Steel Song you can focus on things you enjoy within the game.

[Cory Trese]

Great tips. Selling your ship back to the Factions is not always a good deal.

Buying the Ship into Dry Dock is way more preferable. Then you can also spend additional credits to get it upgraded.

Even a new better ship still might not out perform your current ship if it has upgrades.

You get very poor trade in on your Upgrades as well, another reason to keep around a backup.

[Bilvana]

thank you, dry dock was an option I hadn't explored, rank has it's privileges.
digging through the wealth of info in forums, tons I need to read up on, but don't know I do yet.
I'm in admiration of the commitment Cory has to all the projects, and care of his fans.
I haven't seen this level of dedication since Randy Chase, of Kellogg creek software.

[capthawk]

Hi Bilvana, welcome to ST!
In addition to Corey keep an eye on fallen posts... He's a Trese Brother too.
If you haven't, the pinned material in ST Rules and ST Techniques is a great first stop. Check out the Consolidated Database there by xdesperado!
Getting new ships: agree with above. Keep in mind with the free version you can have up to 7 ships dry dock, and up to 20 with elite (plus the ship you're in!) So if you live long enough, you can start trading in ships that you've outgrown and replacing them.
Also, all you need is rank one, with any or all of the factions to have dry dock access, so you can eventually stash ships wherever you want. Independent planets don't care about rank, so the dry dock there is open no matter what.
Let us know if you get stuck, in game or searching forums and finding answers, we'll be glad to at the least direct you where to go!

[xdesperado]

capthawk think this is the thread you mentioned startradersrpg.proboards.com/thread/4267/consolidated-list-information-players
The credit for that belongs to johndramey and not me.

[capthawk]

Feb 24, 2016 15:34:20 GMT -5 xdesperado said:

capthawk think this is the thread you mentioned startradersrpg.proboards.com/thread/4267/consolidated-list-information-players
The credit for that belongs to johndramey and not me.

Oops sorry John!
So many good contributors, I still get people mixed up!
P.S. how do I tag someone?

[fallen]

capthawk is it using the at symbol (@) like twitter. @ capthawk, but without the space.

[capthawk]

fallen thanks!