How do you auto-supply your HQ?

[x2newbie1]

I wanna set up a few ships to auto supply my HQ with ecells and stuff. Is this possible? If so, how?

[euclid]

My UT's and NPC traders are doing the job.

Cheers Euclid

[x2newbie1]

My UT's and NPC traders are doing the job.

Cheers Euclid

How do you specify which products you want to buy for your HQ?

[Deman]

As soon as you add one item of something say Energy Cells, that will then be in the list for price adjustment.

It's important to note you cant really abuse the HQ as a personal storage facility though unless you set the price high and fill it with credits as your UT's will fill it then. If you set the price low though they will empty it in double time. Very tricky balance.

[jlehtone]

How do you specify which products you want to buy for your HQ?

Price. First, you add the wares that it should stock (just like Trading Station or EQdock). Then, you set prices. High price should attract salesmen. For example, average+1 should make the UT to sell guns to HQ, because no NPC EQdock offers that much. Most of the resources needed for ships are usually consumed as "secondaries", so you should check what the NPC is ready to pay for them. It might differ from the price range at the producer.

Naturally, high price means that you have to dumb credits into HQ. Plenty of them.

[Mad Jock McMad]

I have freighters buying in stuff like teladianium, silicon and ore, with some fast TPs buying microchips and computer components etc. Takes quite a lot of management, click the price to low when you have enough of a commodity for the next ship, raise it if you need more. Seems to work, but I'm tempted to give up on shipbuilding as I do have enough money just to buy whatever ship I need!!! At least you can get all the upgrades in one go.

[dragonemp]

you can not just buy whatever ship you want......some ships are quite unique like m7 and arrow, khaak and xenon ships
and there's not too many components needed, just use a few TS to do the job, there's no need to adjust price constantly, set up a high enough price you can afford.

BTW, of course you CAN use your HQ as storage and that's one of the main purpose of your HQ, just don't trade with other races.

[DarthVodka]

If like me to you don't use UTs (I haven't used them since way back when they all got slaughtered. Are UT's any better now with the latest patches?) or you just want more control over the process, you could try using Commodity Trader 2 software to set up repeatable trade routes. It's pretty easy to do once you get used to the commands, but read through the examples in the bonus pack help files to get the hang of it. It should be in the X3 bonus package folder on your start menu, if you have it installed.

Using CT2 a freighter should simply ferry the same good(s) to and/or from your HQ indefinitely. You can manually instruct him to stop when your supply reaches however much you want, and restart him again when needed.

Edit: I haven't actually tried this myself with the HQ, but I use the same process for some of my complexes where a certain resource like silicon is underproduced and I need to ferry it into my supply line. I'm assuming CT2 works with the HQ too... but you know what they say about assumptions

[jlehtone]

Edit: I haven't actually tried this myself with the HQ, but I use the same process for some of my complexes where a certain resource like silicon is underproduced and I need to ferry it into my supply line. I'm assuming CT2 works with the HQ too... but you know what they say about assumptions

Good point. HQ is not a Factory. HQ is not a Dock. HQ is not a TL. Now what might be the default operation of the script, when none of its type tests return 'true'? For UT, that is "trade anyway".

[layton99]

(I haven't used them since way back when they all got slaughtered. Are UT's any better now with the latest patches?)

Have 8 and have only lost one.

I put in a few of each of the products I needed set to one over price and have plenty of stuff coming in. So far have replaced all my mercury traders with dementers by using the change pilot option then sold off the mercurys and captured vultures etc.

Did make a slight mistake put some drones in the HQ and didn't set to one under and got 5000 of them lol but have put them 10 under and only have like 70 left.

Really would like to start again might have to reinstall game as for some reason can't find any freebie ships at all!

[x2newbie1]

Thanks for all the info and helpful suggestions.

[fud]

I think I'm going to go an alternate route, and build a complex that makes all the bits needed, then ship it to the HQ in bulk. If I read right, Jaguars are spit out in about 4 minutes. Sell off 15 of those an hour, that's a decent start anyway.

[Looney]

to automate the buying of required products for my HQ..... and it seems to work well.....

i have set no other race can trade.
i have 3 commericial reps auto buying at AVERAGE prices in a four sector range. HQ bases in aleeklas whatever its called

I use a further 2 doing manual trade runs for the more difficult to aquire goods. i have 10 uts.... not of which have died in months.
And they do not bother my HQ as the price is not attractive enough for them.

[The Rogue Trader]

What I've done is when resources are needed I buy at 150 percent of average price, when I dont need resources I set prices to the minimum. If the AI don't come running to me at least my UT's do...... Also so my HQ never runs out of money I have homebased 50 UT's there.

[Hinder]

I have a question;

You add a Item and set the price to Avg+1, once you get the stock you need, if you drop the price back down, wont the UT"s grab it back up and go and try to sell it?

I'm thinking one way of handing this is to have a TL docked at the station purely for storage? Once you get to the desired stock level of the item, just transfer it to the TL and take it off the list? Or is there a easier way?

Hinder

[Looney]

its a good point.....

i have never seen a UT do this action personally.
I have set NO trade with other races..... i am not sure to be honest if this effects the UT.
Although..... i had reset one uni trader after a repair at my HQ.
He had no energy.
Energy at the HQ was 12 credits. Yet he still went to dock at an AI ssp instead.
Not sure if this is a general rule. But then again..... the stores in the HQ are not goods produced to be sold, so should make sense.

[VincentTH]

As I mentioned in the other HQ-supply thread, I found that CLS2 is the best SW to use to deliver goods from your complex to the HQ. If you want to buy from NPC< just use the regular basic "Best Buy and Best Sell" trade commands, or issue manual trade commands.

Commercial Agent, Station Manager and CLS1 would not work correctly, as they do not know what a HQ produces. CLS2 jsut does not care, and will just deliver the goods to the HQ, as long as the product is listed at the HQ.

One small problem: Since there are no limit at the HQ, you may over-supply the HQ and overstock the resources. I think CLS2 has an advanced option that handle that situation, but I have not tried it.

[The Rogue Trader]

Alternativly have 1 or 2 empty TL's docked and transfer the wares into them........