-- Trade

[Lehmund]

Trade

Accumulating credits is the lifeblood of TradeWars: Rising. The quickest and easiest way of amassing wealth is through trading, the most commonly-performed task of the game.

Trade is conducted between Starports and players in the same sector as you are. Every port is either buying one thing or selling another, so it is important to find port pairs demanding each other’s resources. There are eight types of starports in total: BBB, BBS, BSB, BSS, SBB, SBS, SSB, and SSS. The letter B means that it is Buying a resource, and an S means that it is Selling another. Each letter, in sequence, represents the three fundamental types of resources: Fuel Ore, Organics, and Equipment. A BSB port, for example, Buys Fuel Ore and Equipment, and Sells Organics.

Each Starport has a maximum stock that they are looking to Buy or Sell. This information can be viewed upon selecting a Starport in the current sector. Options for Buying, Selling and Stealing also appear.


Starport Trade

Selecting a starport will instantly put you in trade mode. Trade information, such as the max stock and demand the port has for each resource, are displayed in the popup panel. A set of three tick boxes allow players to quickly choose which resource(s) they wish to buy and/or sell. Only resources presently stored in a ship’s cargo holds can be sold, and empty cargo holds are required for purchases. This is also where you can attempt to Steal from the merchant. See farther below for more details.


Player Trade

Selecting Trade after you click on the player capsule (bottom center) allows you and the opposing player to select the Credit amount and items that are meant to be traded to one another. All trades are final and players are responsible and free to be careful about the balance in the trades they perform.


Stealing Credits

Stealing refers to a disputable acquisition of credits. These acts of the evil-aligned share many risks and rewards, and both must be performed while docked at a port (Starport selected). When done with precision and skill, Captains often find that stealing really isn’t so bad (legal issues aside).

Stealing is achieved simply by pressing the Steal button in the Trade popup that appears when you dock at a trade station. This button will only be available to Captains that have alignment 0 or lower.

Success at stealing is determined by the Captain’s Experience points. Higher experience yields more successful operations, and higher maximum amounts. Stealing is an xp handout event where, upon a success, you shall receive Experience depending on the amount stolen. The more you steal, the more Exp you get. The more Experience you have, the more you will attempt to steal. But, with greed comes penalty. Any failed attempt at stealing is met harshly: the offending player's ship is immediately attacked by the Starport guns. The bigger the offense, the harsher the penalty. The Starport in question will do a minimum 50 power of damage or more in frustration if the insult results in the loss of large amounts. Many an Evildoer was blown up sky high because of greed. And to top it all off, the grieved Starport owner will refuse to do business with you for a minimum of 24 hours when you get caught. Furthermore, the Captain's alignment will be reduced considerably dependent again on the amount stolen.

Starports initially contain a nominal amount of Credits. As traders Buy Resources from them, their coffers grow and thus nefarious individuals can often steal large amounts from regularly used Starports. Though, this is risky business, experienced unscrupulous Captains can make a fortune Stealing.


Planetary Trade

Starports in orbit of a planet are capable of conducting planet-to-port trade. This setup allows players to instantly sell Resources on the planet to the orbiting Starport. To do this, simply land on the planet who wishes to trade with the Starport in orbit, select the Starport while landed, then trade as you usually would, except your planet's capacities are used instead of your Ship's, hence you can make huge transactions in this way in one shot. This is the reason many Captains prefer to settle their base in a sector that has a good Starport. Be advised that any Trade bonus or penalties incured on your ship will translate when you do planetary Trade. i.e. if you have a Psyprobe and have the Good Trade bonus, you will get a +2% price hike on sells and a -2% price reduction on buys, just as if you were trading with your ship.


Class 0 Ports

Built by the Federation, these specialized ports serve as weapon supply points along the galaxy’s borders. In addition to providing the Federation with arms, the proprietors of class 0 ports are happy to sell to Captains any excess Fighters, Shields (Hp), and Cargo Holds they may have available. As a result of their hardware production focus, these Starports do not trade in Fuel Ore, Organics, or Equipment.