News:Commodities

news Commodities

The most basic way for a ship to make money in the game is through cargo runs. Stock your ship with cargo, and deliver it to a world that requires the resource. This can be done at any Trade Office. Simply type +mkt/help while there to display the command list for cargo hauling.

Commands

Command	Explanation
+mkt/help	Displays the help screen
+mkt/ships	Displays accessible ships
+mkt/manifest <ship>/	Displays ship's manifest
+mkt/buy <#> <commodity>=<ship>/<code>	Purchases cargo
+mkt/sell <#> <commodity>=<ship>/<code>	Sells cargo
+mkt/commodity <commodity>	Researches a commodity (using your Value skill)
+mkt/compare <market>	Compares prices (using your Value skill)

+mkt/help

Pretty self explanatory. This command will display the list of available cargo related commands.

+mkt/ships

This command will list the ships currently able to take on cargo at your location.

+mkt/manifest <ship>/<code>

This code will display a chart telling you the current cargo in your ship's hold, the number of tons of each commodity you have, the amount that you can sell the cargo for on the planet you're currently on, and the price you payed for it when you originally acquired it. At the bottom, you will be able to see the amount of free space left in your cargo hold.

+mkt/buy <#> <commodity>=<ship>/<code>

Once you have selected a commodity you wish to transport, use this code to stock your ship. Insert the number of tons, the name of the commodity, the name of the ship to load the commodity onto, and the code for that ship. The amount of tonnage cannot exceed the free space in your cargo hold. To see how much free space is left in your cargo hold, use the +mkt/manifest <ship>/<code> command.

+mkt/sell <#> <commodity>=<ship>/<code>

Once you have reached the destination where you would like to sell the commodity that you are transporting, use this code to automatically sell your cargo to the vendor. Like the +mkt/buy command, insert the number of tons, the name of the commodity, the name of the ship that the commodity is on, and the code for that ship.

+mkt/commodity <commodity>

This will bring up a chart of all the planets and the import value and export cost of the specified commodity on each one. White numbers in the export column indicate a world where the cargo is cheap to buy, and white numbers in the import column indicate worlds where it is profitable to sell.

+mkt/compare <market>

Use this command to decide what type of cargo to transport and where to take it for the best profit. You're character will need the Value Skill to display this data. This will tell you what the planet who's name you enter in the <market> slot sells, who needs it, what it needs and where to find it, and the profit you will make from the cargo run. The screen will look like this:

. o O Viable Trade Routes O o . 
.----------.-------------.-------------.--------.
| Commodity | Source     | Destination | Profit |
>-----------+------------+-------------+--------< 
| Low Tech  | Persephone | Sihnon     | 3      | 
| Grains    | Sihnon     | Persephone | 3      | 
| Textiles  | Sihnon     | Persephone | 6      | 
| Chickens  | Persephone | Sihnon     | 2      | 
'-----------'------------'------------'--------'

The first column, Commodity, lists the items that the planet demands and supplies. The Source and Destination list respectively where the cargo can be purchased, and where it should be taken. The Profit column lists the amount of profit your ship will make in dollars per ton of cargo transported.

Walkthrough

Here's a sample walkthrough of stocking your ship with cargo. Say you're at the Sihnon Trade Office with your ship My Ship, whose code is set to 12345, something an idiot would put on his luggage or on the airshield of planet Druidia.

Type +mkt/compare sihnon which brings up the viable trade routs for the planet. The profit column indicates that your most profitable course of action would be to export Textiles to Persephone, netting you a profit of 6 dollars for every ton.

To determine how many tons you can export, you type +mkt/manifest my ship/12345 which tells you that you have space for 300 units of cargo. You type +mkt/buy 300 textiles=my ship/12345 to fill your cargo bay with 300 tons of Textiles.

Now you're ready to fly to Persephone. Once at the Persephone Trade Office, you type +mkt/sell 300 textiles=my ship/12345 to sell your cargo. You make a profit of 1,800 dollars.

There is more than one way to get cargo. You can purchase cargo from nobles, who can make it in their factory and sell it at a lower cost than local vendors. Or it can be recovered in space after having been jettisoned by another ship.