(01-24-2009, 07:46 PM)Fozzie Wrote: I've been playing this game for months and I can't figure out where people are making so much money. I fly a 3500 cargo unit Firefly and the most I can make per run is about 5 mil for a 15 min run. So in a solid hour I make 20 IF I don't get raped by "3mil r die" pirates or fly something I had no idea was contraband untill someone demands I drop it. Most often I trade for an hour and maybe end up 10 mil from where I started. I even tried the diamond niobium run and that only paid me a little over 5. I know players who are hardly ever here and have 10 chars all with capships and billions to spend. All I want are a few solid routes , not to get instantly rich. The one good route I've found has no return trip so it wastes 10+ min flying to where I can get profitable goods. I have searched the forums finding nothing helpful. I asked other players and got runarounds and wild goose chases so now I'm asking here.
I get the feeling I'll be told to spend more hours and hours reading old forum topics but this hasn't been helping. Yesterday I tried to fly diamonds to Tokyo the long way and got nailed by Dragons 1 jump from Tokyo. I didn't realize diamonds were contraband anywhere. and I'm having the hardest time figuring where I fit in here. To be perfectly clear I'm not looking for orp runs, I know pirates and lawfuls are part of the game but I really can not catch a break I get pirated or hassled by lawfuls on nearly every run and it's making this game less fun all the time. I can't usually afford to build or play my other chars because I spend most of my game time in a seemingly futile attempt to trade.
Ps. the trade routes on the wiki are all wrong, must be old info.
I was amusing myself reading these old threads with comments from my oldest forum acct. (2008)
and found this to be something that may still be a struggle for new traders.
It may no longer be AS pertinant as it once was in the newer versions of the Mod, but it's worth mentioning an old method that I used in these days when trading was significantly harder than it now is.
If you toss out the expectation of maximizing a forth and back trade route with the expectation of making big money, you may find it useful to do what I once did.
(as background info, my primary Disco character has always been a trader, (Redline.Inc))
Look at the longer routes which make good profit and combine them flying half loads.
Say, pick up one product in New London that sells well in Tau-31, find another product that sells decently, if not well, between those two systems. Sell the lesser product where necessary to make some profit and find something to pick in that system to refill the half load that sells well in ie. Kyushu, and continue this process.
I've long since forgotten the details of my old routes, but at one point (in the Old Disco economy) I once had a route that I called "the Great Circle" where I repeated this process thru the circular main routes thru the outer houses (Bretonia thru Taus to Kusari, thru Sigmas to Rheinland, thru Omegas back Bretonia) Rinse and repeat, where I made consistently better than average and often more than the best back and forth routes, collectively.
My main point is, avoid the boredom of repetitious routes and try to see the forest thru the trees.
I promise you that there's many items that pay you half as much as the big money route by flying half as far. It doesn't seem like lot of money selling for the smaller profit twice as often, but you'll be surprised at how it adds up, especially in the profit over time paradigm.
This works especially well for new traders with smaller ships and less money.
You'll find yourself buying the bigger ship and making incrementally higher profits in no time.
PS. I see that one thing hasn't changed about the Wiki in over a decade.
User was banned for: Possibly compromised account.
The last econ dev that wanted to make changes like that, and would have really enjoyed talking to you and gaining your feedback, was basically shit kicked to the curb because he challenged the status quo. I have hope on a few current staff members. Unless somebody new comes along (if you are willing to subscribe to the circle jerk, go for it), we won't see any new developments like this.
It ain't about what you are capable of, it's about what you're willing to do.
(05-20-2023, 11:04 AM)Racerdude Wrote: The last econ dev that wanted to make changes like that, and would have really enjoyed talking to you and gaining your feedback, was basically ***** kicked to the curb because he challenged the status quo. I have hope on a few current staff members. Unless somebody new comes along (if you are willing to subscribe to the circle jerk, go for it), we won't see any new developments like this.
I helped the old Excelsia Mod devs a bit with their economy, and have offered to assist if they wanted to make changes in Disco.
I only got the sound of crickets as a response, so I can't argue your point.
User was banned for: Possibly compromised account.
Kemwer munitions from Akabat, Omicron Mu to Fort Leniex, in Vespucci.
Profit is 8439 per unit, I use a 4300 cargo ship with Crayter ID so that I can land on both.
