Trading and mining

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<h2>Introduction</h2><p>Stations make use of a variety of different wares as ingredients for producing new wares, and moving them all around is a potentially lucrative activity. Wares come in two basic varieties; harvestable resources and manufactured wares. The latter being make up of combinations of the harvested resources and/or simpler manufactured wares. Ultimately, wares feed into the production of ~100 ships, ~50 stations, weapon turrets, drones and missiles. </p><p>Generally speaking, a player will acquire harvestable resources via <a class="confluence-link" href="/confluence/display/XRWIKI/Mining" data-linked-resource-id="40436264" data-linked-resource-type="page" data-linked-resource-default-alias="Mining" data-base-url="https://www.egosoft.com:8444/confluence">mining</a>, although there are also a few unique stations dotted around the galaxy offering some of the harvestable resources (<a class="confluence-link" href="/confluence/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=41419957" data-linked-resource-id="41419957" data-linked-resource-type="page" data-linked-resource-default-alias="Mined wares at stations (spoilers)" data-base-url="https://www.egosoft.com:8444/confluence">spoiler link</a>). Other items may be manufactured by player or NPC stations.</p><h2>Types of wares</h2><p>There are approximately 6 tiers of wares, with each generally made from the preceding tier:</p><ol><li>Harvestable wares and Energy Cells*.</li><li>Food-related wares and water, used in combination to make Food Rations* or Bofu*.</li><li>Refined materials predominantly made from harvestable resources (e.g. Cut Crystals and Ion Cells).</li><li>Advanced items, such as Quantum Tubes and Chemical Compounds.</li><li>Ship Components, such as Fusion Reactors and Reinforced Metal Plating.</li><li>Ships, stations, surface elements, drones and missiles**.</li></ol><p>*  Used in every subsequent tier above the tier in question.<br />** Using varying combinations of Tier 4 and 5 wares.</p><h2>Discounts</h2><p>The prices we need to pay for any given ware may be modified by a range of possible discounts:</p><ul><ul><li>Supply and demand (modifies price by how much a station has/needs relative to storage capacity).</li><li>Faction discounts (<a class="confluence-link" href="/confluence/display/XRWIKI/Reputation+effects" data-linked-resource-id="36602333" data-linked-resource-type="page" data-linked-resource-default-alias="Reputation effects" data-base-url="https://www.egosoft.com:8444/confluence">the more a faction likes you</a>, the less their wares cost to buy).</li><li>Discounts gained from NPC on a station (rewarded by successful <a class="confluence-link" href="/confluence/display/XRWIKI/Smalltalk+and+rewards" data-linked-resource-id="33227378" data-linked-resource-type="page" data-linked-resource-default-alias="Smalltalk and rewards" data-base-url="https://www.egosoft.com:8444/confluence">smalltalk</a>; stackable across multiple NPCs).</li><li>Discounts occasionally gained while flying around stations, viewing iPoints, docks etc*</li></ul></ul><p>If you've 'scanned' an NPC station to 100%, random discounts/commissions will become available again if you rescan after leaving the zone &amp; returning. This does not apply to Beholder drone station scanning, nor to simple scanning via the Skunk's station scanner; it simply means that if you fly near** certain points on a station (whether previously scanned or not) there is a random chance that a discount/commission will appear again</p><p>&lt;**within ~500m? Dock points become useable at 750m (I think that's also the discovery range); what's the 'discovery range' for iPoints? (Trojan hacks/Beholder3 scans points at 100m).. the 'discovery' ranges need checking - Snafu&gt;</p><h2>Illegal Wares &amp; licensing</h2><p>Some ware types require Faction licences to trade in appropriately controlled zones with no penalty. If the player lacks the licence to trade a specific ware in a zone it may be lost without compensation during trade (10% chance during sale only; the 'illegal' wares are ejected from the ship in containers allowing you to pick them up again if you're quick!). <em>Almost</em> all illegal tradeable wares (ie by playership traders) are secondary resources for various production methods, therefore are not essential to produce products but can make production more efficient and economical.</p><p>Some licences have low reputation requirements and can be fairly cheap to purchase*. After a licence for a certain ware type is owned, &lt;ware&gt; will no longer be highlighted as illegal (ie flagged orange in your Trade screen) in the relevant System (NOTE: Albion requires licences from both HoA <em>and</em> PMC to gain this status!)</p><p>*Licenses can cost from around 100KCr to around 1.5MCr &amp; depend upon faction rep; a /permanent/ rep loss taking you below the threshold will result in the automatic loss of the licence! Discounts apply from the individual license dealer if successfully smalltalked; I'm unsure as to whether rep discounts also apply. Either way, don't expect to be able to buy all licenses at the beginning of any gamestart! See the Notes column in <a class="confluence-link" href="/confluence/display/XRWIKI/Reputation+effects" data-linked-resource-id="36602333" data-linked-resource-type="page" data-linked-resource-default-alias="Reputation effects" data-base-url="https://www.egosoft.com:8444/confluence">Reputation effects</a> for some details - Snafu</p><h2>Economy Analytics Software</h2><p><a class="confluence-link" href="/confluence/display/XRWIKI/System+upgrades" data-linked-resource-id="37060735" data-linked-resource-type="page" data-linked-resource-default-alias="System upgrades" data-base-url="https://www.egosoft.com:8444/confluence">Economy Analytics&nbsp; Software</a>, <span>graphically represents trade information that can be selected by location, type and ware.</span></p><p><span>Location:</span></p><ol><li><span>Object: Info is available for individual CVs and stations we have knowledge of trade offers for.</span></li><li><span>Map: Alternatively, All info is available for all trade offers within entire zones, sectors, systems or the galaxy,</span><span><br /></span></li></ol><p><span>Type:</span></p><ol><li>Trade Offer Prices</li><li>Trade Offer Amounts</li><li>Storage Levels</li><li>Management Accounts (player property only; Manager and/or Architect)</li></ol><p>Ware:</p><div><ul><li>Trend lines for up to 4 wares can be displayed simultaneously.</li><li>Wares are grouped into several sub-categories for easy of location and/or avoiding clutter.</li></ul></div><h2>Gaining information about trade offers</h2><table class="confluenceTable"><tbody><tr><th style="text-align: center;" class="confluenceTh">Actions</th><th style="text-align: center;" class="confluenceTh">Information gained</th><th colspan="1" style="text-align: center;" class="confluenceTh">Benefit of a <a class="confluence-link" href="/confluence/display/XRWIKI/System+upgrades" data-linked-resource-id="37060735" data-linked-resource-type="page" data-linked-resource-default-alias="System upgrades" data-base-url="https://www.egosoft.com:8444/confluence">Trade Computer</a></th><th colspan="1" style="text-align: center;" class="confluenceTh"><span>Benefit </span>of a <a class="confluence-link" href="/confluence/display/XRWIKI/Smalltalk+and+rewards" data-linked-resource-id="33227378" data-linked-resource-type="page" data-linked-resource-default-alias="Smalltalk and rewards" data-base-url="https://www.egosoft.com:8444/confluence">Trade Agent</a></th></tr><tr><td class="confluenceTd">Player visting stations</td><td class="confluenceTd"><p>Approaching a station's Trade Port unlocks <span>offers </span>available at that Trade Port (several per station):</p><ul><li>Unlocked offers are a snapshot so after moving away from the Trade Port, it won't update when the station's needs change.</li><li>Player knowledge of the <span>offers </span>is lost after 5 hours, or after the player leaves the zone.</li></ul></td><td class="confluenceTd"><ol><li>Approaching any part of the station will unlock all the station's offers.</li><li>Trade <span style="line-height: 1.42857;">offers are not </span>lost on zone change.</li></ol><p>(Special Trade discounts/commissions remain time-limited and snapshots)</p></td><td class="confluenceTd"><ol><li>They share all the station's offers with the player, regardless of the player's location.</li><li>Trade <span>offers</span> are updated in realtime.</li></ol><p>(The <a class="confluence-link" href="/confluence/display/XRWIKI/Key+bindings+and+controllers" data-linked-resource-id="41420713" data-linked-resource-type="page" data-linked-resource-default-alias="Key bindings and controllers" data-base-url="https://www.egosoft.com:8444/confluence">Trade Offers Menu</a> does not update in realtime so to refresh that, you will need to close and reopen it)</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" class="confluenceTd"><span>Player scanning station Info Points</span></td><td colspan="1" class="confluenceTd"><p>Can Unlock knowledge of modules, such as on ware storage and manufacturing processes*. Capability <span style="line-height: 1.42857;">to scan some hardened modules to 100% requires:</span></p><ul><li><span style="line-height: 1.42857;">Ownership of <a class="confluence-link" href="/confluence/display/XRWIKI/System+upgrades" data-linked-resource-id="37060735" data-linked-resource-type="page" data-linked-resource-default-alias="System upgrades" data-base-url="https://www.egosoft.com:8444/confluence">scanners</a> (fully unlocks most modules).</span></li><li><span style="line-height: 1.42857;">Scanning with <a class="confluence-link" href="/confluence/display/XRWIKI/Drones" data-linked-resource-id="36602427" data-linked-resource-type="page" data-linked-resource-default-alias="Drones" data-base-url="https://www.egosoft.com:8444/confluence">Beholder URVs</a> (needed for toughest modules). </span></li><li><span style="line-height: 1.42857;"><a class="confluence-link" href="/confluence/display/XRWIKI/Reputation+effects" data-linked-resource-id="36602333" data-linked-resource-type="page" data-linked-resource-default-alias="Reputation effects" data-base-url="https://www.egosoft.com:8444/confluence">High faction relation level</a> (bypasses the need for scanning).</span></li></ul></td><td colspan="1" style="text-align: center;" class="confluenceTd"><em>n/a</em></td><td colspan="1" class="confluenceTd">All storage modules* are automatically unlocked by Trade Agents.</td></tr><tr><td class="confluenceTd">Traders doing <a class="confluence-link" href="/confluence/display/XRWIKI/Trading" data-linked-resource-id="38699129" data-linked-resource-type="page" data-linked-resource-default-alias="Trading" data-base-url="https://www.egosoft.com:8444/confluence">manual trades</a></td><td class="confluenceTd">When these ships initiate docking and trading, we gain a snapshot of all the station's trade offer.</td><td class="confluenceTd">None.<br />(Trading Captains are the equivalent of a player with a TComp).</td><td class="confluenceTd">Manual trades can only be ordered when we have knowledge of trade offers so the benefits above apply here.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" class="confluenceTd">Traders <a class="confluence-link" href="/confluence/display/XRWIKI/Stations" data-linked-resource-id="40436383" data-linked-resource-type="page" data-linked-resource-default-alias="Stations" data-base-url="https://www.egosoft.com:8444/confluence">subordinate to Managers</a></td><td class="highlight-grey confluenceTd" colspan="3" data-highlight-colour="grey"><p><span>Managers can be considered to have access to their own network of Trade Agents since subordinate </span>Captains have full and automatic knowledge of all trades within their station's <a class="confluence-link" href="/confluence/display/XRWIKI/Stations" data-linked-resource-id="40436383" data-linked-resource-type="page" data-linked-resource-default-alias="Stations" data-base-url="https://www.egosoft.com:8444/confluence">trading operation range</a>.</p><ul><li>Mission Computers and Trade Agents are ineffective on Player stations: you already have all the info!</li><li>Manger knowledge of trade offers isn't shared with the player</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table><p>* <span>Note that unless a manufacturing module's info is unlocked, a ware will not be listed in storage info if there are zero items remaining (<a href="http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=4603986#4603986">RAVEN.myst</a>).</span></p>