Space Trader Unofficial Strategy Guide and FAQ by Kasey Chang released March 11, 2003 0 Introduction This section is for "what the FAQ is about" and things like that. Feel free to skip this section. If you like the FAQ, please send me a dollar. :-) See [0.3] This FAQ is about Space Trader, the Palm platform game by Pieter Spronck. 0.1 A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR There doesn't seem to be any FAQ for this fun little game, so here it comes. This is a FAQ, NOT a manual. Not that you really need a manual to play this little gem. This USG only covers the Palm Version, which is the only one that exists. Some of you may recognize my name as the editor for the XCOM and XCOM2: TFTD FAQ's, among others. 0.2 TERMS OF DISTRIBUTION This document is copyrighted by Kuo-Sheng "Kasey" Chang (c) 2003, all rights reserved excepted as noted above in the disclaimer section. This document is available FREE of charge subjected to the following conditions: 1)This notice and author's name must accompany all copies of this document: "Space Trader Unofficial Strategy Guide and FAQ" is copyrighted (c) 2003 by Kasey K.S. Chang, all rights reserved except as noted in the disclaimer." 2)This document must NOT be modified in any form or manner without prior permission of the author with the following exception: if you wish to convert this document to a different file format or archive format, with no change to the content, then no permission is needed. 2a) In case you can't read, that means TXT only. No banners, no HTML borders, no cutting up into multiple pages to get you more banner hits, and esp. no adding your site name to the site list. [Small exception: a "small" toolbar with no banners embedded is okay. See IGN or Neoseeker for examples.] 3)No charge other than "reasonable" compensation should charged for its distribution. Free is preferred, of course. Sale of this information is expressly prohibited. If you see any one selling this guide, contact me (see below). 4)If you used material from this, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE the source, else it is plagiarism. 5)The author hereby grants all games-related websites the right to archive and link to this document to share among the game fandom, provided that all above restrictions are followed. Sidenote: The above conditions are known as a statutory contract. If you meet them, then you are entitled to the rights I give you in 5), i.e. archive and display this document on your website. If you don't follow them, then you did not meet the statutory contract conditions, and therefore you have no right to display this document. If you do so, then you are infringing upon my copyright. This section was added for any websites that don't seem to understand this. For the gamers: You are under NO obligation to send me ANY compensation. However, I do ask for a VOLUNTARY contribution of one (1) US Dollar if you live in the United States, and if you believe this guide helped your game. If you choose to do so, please make your US$1.00 check or $1.00 worth of US stamps to "Kuo-Sheng Chang", and send it to "2220 Turk Blvd. #6, San Francisco, CA 94118 USA". If you don't live in the US, please send me some local stamps. I collect stamps too. 0.3 VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION Gamers who read this guide are under NO obligation to send me ANY compensation. However, a VOLUNTARY contribution of one (1) US Dollar would be very appreciated. If you choose to do so, please make your US$1.00 check or $1.00 worth of stamps to "Kuo-Sheng Chang", and send it to "2220 Turk Blvd. #6, San Francisco, CA 94118 USA". If you don't live in the US, please send me some local stamps. I collect stamps too. For the record, out of ALL the FAQs I wrote (37 at last count) over the past nine years or so, I've received exactly 7 dollars and 2 sets of stamps, as of release of this guide. So I'm NOT making any money off these guides, folks. 0.4 HOW AND WHEN TO CONTACT ME PLEASE let me know if there's a confusing or missing remark, mistakes, and thereof... If you find a question about this game that is not covered in the USG, e-mail it to me at the address specified below. I'll try to answer it and include it in the next update. Please do NOT write me for technical support. This game is free under GPL license and I haven't seen it crash even once, after HOURS of playing. Please do NOT ask me to answer questions that have already answered in this FAQ/guide. It makes you REALLY idiotic. I will NOT answer stupid questions like the ones above unless I'm in a really good mood. If you send questions like that, do NOT expect a reply. The address below is spelled out phonetically so spammers can't use spambots on it: Kilo-Sierra-Charlie-Hotel-Alpha-November-Golf-Seven-Seven AT Yankee-Alpha-Hotel-Oscar-Oscar DOT Charlie-Oscar-Mike To decipher this, simply read the first letter off each word except for the numbers and the punctuation. This is "military phonetics" or "aeronautical phonetics" in case you're wondering. This document was produced on Microsoft Word 97. Some editing was done with Editpad (editpadclassic.com). 0.5 THE AUTHOR I am just a game player who decided to write my own FAQs when the ones I find don't cover what I want to see. Lots of people like what I did, so I kept doing it. Previously, I've written Unofficial Strategy Guides (USGs) for XCOM, XCOM2:TFTD, Wing Commander, Wing Commander 2, Wing Commander 3, Wing Commander 4, Privateer, Spycraft, 688(I) Hunter/Killer. Mechwarrior 3, MW3 Expansion Pack, Mechwarrior 4, Mechwarrior 4: Black Knight, Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, The Sting!, Terranova, Fallout Tactics, Starfleet Command Volume II, DS9: The Fallen, DS9: Dominion War, Driver, Warlords: Battlecry, Monopoly Tycoon, Dungeon Siege, and a few others. To contact me, see 0.4 above. 0.6 DISCLAIMER / COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Pieter Spronck created Space Trader. This USG is not endorsed or authorized by Mr. Spronck. The information compiled in this USG has been gathered independently through the author's efforts except where noted otherwise. This document is based on the V1.2.0 release, and thus information listed here may NOT apply fully to earlier versions. 0.7 HISTORY 11-MAR-2003 Initial release 1 Space Trader General Info 1.1 THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q: Can you send me the game (or portions thereof)? A: It's free, go download it yourself at http://www.picoverse.com/spacetrader/ Q: Can you tell me how to play the game? A: It's a Palm game! How hard can it be? Q: Is there going to be a sequel? A: According to the author, a sequel, Space Trader II, is being worked on. Q: How should I allocate the points at start? A: I prefer 9 to 10 pts in piloting, some pts in Engineering, the rest divided up in fighting and trading as you see fit. Q: I want something with more combat! A: Look for a Palm game called "VOID". It has 3D space flight, where as Space Trader does not. Q: Can I play this on a PC? A: Try downloading the Palm Emulator from Palmsource. 1.2 SPACE TRADER HISTORY Space Trader is basically a Palm adaptation of the classic space game "Elite", but without the flight-sim section. It was inspired by Solar Wars (which in turn was inspired by DopeWars, another Palm classic game) and influenced by Elite. 1.3 SPACE TRADER HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS You need Palm OS 2.0 or later to run the basic B&W version. If you want grayscale or color (and have the appropriate machines), you'll need Palm OS 3.5 or later. The game itself takes less than 400KB of space. 1.4 HOW DOES THE GAME PLAY? You basically run a little trading outfit from your own ship. Take commodities from one system to another, run into pirates and police along the way. Even encounter some special events (sorry, can't say more now!). Make money, fight, flee, it's up to you. Your eventual goal is to make 500000 credits, buy a moon, and retire to it. 1.5 BUGS AND FIXES No significant bugs noted for V1.2.0 release. 1.6 EXPANSION PACKS? SEQUELS? RELATED TITLES? A sequel is in the works, according to the official website at http://www.picoverse.com/spacetrader/ "Void" is a similar game that gives you a 3D flight portion. You also need to dock with space stations and such. 2 Beginner's Guide Here's a guide for those of you just getting started. 2.1 HOW DO I SETUP MY CHARACTER? In general, I prefer a high piloting rating for the beginning. It makes running away from pirates much easier. Of course, you also want to avoid pirate hotspots. The rest can be divided up between engineering, fighting, and trading as you see fit. On the other hand, you should really hire mercenaries to compensate for deficiencies in those areas. 2.2 HOW DO I VIEW MY CURRENT ATTRIBUTES? Command / Commander Status. The first number is your stat. The next number is the "overall stat" (i.e. after any mercenaries and gadgets have been counted). 2.3 HOW DO I IMPROVE SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTES? You... can't. Space Trader does not allow one to enhance specific attributes. You may occasionally run into "alien learning machines" or the special 'elite captains', or even the occasional 'bottle of brew' which will improve one of your stats (it may cost you though). However, you can't choose what to improve... it's all random. The proper way to enhance a specific attribute is to hire a mercenary with better ratings than you in that area. In general, you want to hire mercs that are 9 or 10 in the area you are weak at, while weak in the area you're good at to make them cheaper. Mercs are pretty expensive at up to 95 credits DAILY. If you have more than one, the costs can really add up. You can also enhance the ship rating in the four areas by installing a gadget. Damage Control computer increases engineering, navigation computer enhances piloting, and targeting computer enhances fighting. 2.4 HOW SHOULD I START? Some players suggested you trade in your Gnat for a Flea, which gives you more working capital, but a smaller ship. If you are in a peaceful sector (minimal pirates), this may be workable. Sell your pulse laser, as you probably don't need to fight. That gives you extra money as well. You don't want to fight any one in the beginning any way. Borrow money from the bank. Even newbies can borrow 1000 cr, which should be enough to help you get started. When you got enough capital to buy goods, consider investing in the gadget that adds a 5-unit cargo bay expansion. This allows you to trade more goods, and thus, more profit. 2.5 HOW DO I SURVIVE? You need to upgrade to a ship that has shields ASAP, and of course, buy a shield! Even Firefly is more survivable than the Gnat. (See Ship References in [3]) Of course, making that initial 20k cr is going to take some serious trading on your part. Remember, you can always surrender. You may lose most of your cargo, but it's better than losing the entire ship. 2.6 HOW DO I MAKE MONEY? Trading makes more money than anything else. It is possible to make up to 30-50K credits in a single trip, NOT counting contraband. Contraband can make 75K or more per run. Initially, you have only 1000 cr, so you can't afford much. Try borrowing 1000 cr from the bank to give you 2000 cr. That should be able to increase your profit substantially. Just remember to pay it back when you can. Interest DOES accumulate... Pirating makes a bit of money, but you'll be constantly chased by the police and not able to move to different planets in search of better prey or trading. You also never know what you can find in those ships... Could be anything from water to robots. Bounty-hunting is a very dangerous profession. In Space Trader, your shields only regenerate when you reach the next planet. So you can only take on one or two enemies per trip (depending on how much damage do you take on your shields). That means only a few thousand credits per trip, and the risks are tremendous. 2.7 HOW DO I SAVE MONEY? Your expenses are pretty minimal, but let's analyze them nonetheless... Fuel: you must pay this, no matter what. The larger the ship and longer the jump, the more fuel you use. This is not controllable, so don't worry about it. Usually it is under 20 cr per trip. Repairs: get a ship with shields, and let shields take the damage to minimize repairs. Don't travel to planets where you're likely to encounter pirates or attackers. That way, no repairs, no repair expenses. However, in general, repairs are just somewhat more expensive than fuel. Wormhole transit fee: if you use a wormhole you need to pay a transit fee. This cannot be avoided except by avoiding wormholes altogether. The cost is minimal (about 100 cr) , so forget about it. Newspaper: reading news costs 2 credits. When you have a lot, this is nothing. But at the beginning, don't read any news. Mercenary: every mercenary must be paid a daily salary, from 40 cr to 95 cr. The better the merc, the more he/she/it costs. Don't hire mercenaries until you can afford them. Insurance: you usually don't need insurance, esp. in the early parts of the game. The cost outweighs the benefits, and cuts into your operating capital. Only buy insurance when you go on very dangerous assignments, like take out the Acamar space monster, take out the Firefly, and so on. 2.8 HOW DO I AVOID PIRATES? You need a high pilot rating to be successful fleeing from pirates. Select the FLEE option, and hopefully you'll get away from the pirate. You can always SURRENDER the ship. The pirate gets to pick the cargo to take from your cargo bay. However, they cannot take your ship equipment or your cash. There is an exception... If you don't have any cargo in the cargo bay, the pirate will extort you for money. Therefore, ALWAYS keep 1 piece of cargo on the ship, doesn't matter what type. Worst case... use the escape pod... If you bought one. It's only 2000 credits, so you should definitely get one. 2.9 WHAT DO I DO WITH THE SPECIAL EVENTS? Do NOT touch the "special" button until you are ready! (Read: At least a fully-equipped Hornet) Some of those quests have a time limit, and if you fail, there can be serious consequences! 3 The Galaxy 3.1 HOW GALAXY IS CREATED (I THINK) The galaxy is randomly created for each game at the beginning. Each system is randomly placed (roughly equal distribution), but with one constraint: each system MUST have at least one other system within 13 parsecs. The government type, system size, tech level, and such are also randomly generated. Then the wormholes are randomly added to the worlds, but at least a certain number of parsecs apart. Most of them cross the galaxy, but some may travel shorter distances. 3.2 HOW THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND WORKS (I THINK) Every planet has resources it generates every game day. The amount depends on the planet size. At the beginning the game gives about 5-8 days of "stockpile" to each planet, depending again on the planet's size. If you empty the stockpile (buy out the inventory), it will take the planet many days to replenish the stockpile. So if you revisit the planet again and again, you'll eventually find nothing for sale (or at least nothing that'll make money). Tech level and government affect the price of the item. Communist governments have lower prices than capitalist governments, and so on. 3.3 THE PLANETS The quests that involve specific planet names will always use the same planet names. For example, the space monster will ALWAYS attack Acamar, and so on. Other quests and special events may show up at random planets. 3.4 TRAVELLING Your ship has a jump range, and cannot be extended. EXCEPTION: one of the quests, when complete, gives you a "fuel compactor", which allows any ship to do 18 parsec jump. You will need a gadget slot to install it, and the compactor costs 20000 to move to another ship. While on the way, you may run into other ships, who can be traders, pirates, police, aliens, or special encounters. See [4] for more discussions on other ships. If you have the Cloaking Device, the chances of you running into others are decreased (but NOT eliminated!) 3.5 HOW TO LOOK FOR MARKET OPPORTUNITIES In general, you want to shuttle between agricultural planets and industrial/hi-tech planets, the more of them in a sector, the better. The planets need to be as big as possible (they generate more cargo). You take food, fur, and low-tech items from the low-tech planets to the high-tech planets, and you bring back things like medicine, robots, machines, and so on. Use the galactic chart and look for the different systems and their governments, and look for the two near each other. You should be able to locate some nearby. Also avoid anarchy governments as such planets are always full of pirates. One very lucrative route is to smuggle narcotics between hi-tech (or post industrial) and theocracy. You can make over 1000 credits per cargo unit if you make it, depending on exact circumstances. I've seen the profit go as high as 1500 cr per cargo unit. 3.6 GOING LONG DISTANCES VIA WORMHOLES When you need to go to a specific place for a quest, look at the galactic chart first. It may be possible to go through the wormhole and get there much faster. 4 Fighting and Fleeing You will do a lot of fighting and fleeing in Space Trader. They are the only ways your ship can stay alive. 4.1 FIGHTING I haven't looked in the source code, so this is my impression of how it works. it may not be accurate. You have your ship, the other side has their ship. One side initiates the attack (usually, that's the attacker). He uses his FIGHT rating and "shoots". The target uses the PILOT rating to see if the shot lands. If the shot lands, the ship then have the ENGINEER run a dice roll to see how much damage is actually done. The damage is applied to shields if there are some installed. The remaining is applied to the hull strength. When the hull strength reaches 0 (the hull is all black) the ship blows up. The two sides will take turns shooting at each other until either one side is destroyed, or flees, or surrenders.. 4.2 IMPLICATIONS OF FIGHTING The better your pilot rating, the less hits you will take. The better your fight rating, the more hits you will make. The better your engineer rating, the less damage you will take. The more weapons you have (and the better they are, military laser being best), the more damage you will do when you hit. 4.3 FLEEING When one of the ships in a battle chooses to flee, the other ship may choose to continue the attack. Depending on the piloting skill of the fleeing ship, this chase can be very short, or quite long. The fleeing ship may continue to take damage. Success in fleeing depends on the pilot rating. The better the pilot rating and the smaller the escaping ship, the more likely he will get away. 4.4 CHASING If the ship you're targeting chooses to flee, you can elect continue ATTACK (which means you chase him), or IGNORE (which ends the encounter). If you attack, he MAY still get away, or he may even surrender to you. The better your pilot rating, the less likely your target will get away. 4.5 YOU SURRENDER If you surrender to pirates, they will take all your cargo. If you have no cargo, they will take a LOT of your money, or if you have no money, they will extort you for more. [Developer's Tip: Always carry one unit of cargo, even if it's just water] If you surrender to police (contraband?) you'll likely go to jail and receive a big fine. You may surrender in other instances, that will be discussed later. 4.6 YOUR OPPONENT SURRENDERS If your opponent surrenders, you can choose to accept the surrender, or continue to attack. If you accept the surrender, you get to loot his cargo (anything he has). You can "dump" some of your existing cargo to make room if needed. If you continue attack, your opponent will attempt to flee. 4.7 GENERAL FIGHT/FLEE TIPS Invest in good equipment when you can. A military laser does a LOT of damage compared to pulse laser. On the other hand, a pulse laser is better than no laser at all. Hire mercenaries to help you flee or fight as you see fit. Get shields as soon as possible. You need those to survive. Even the cheap energy shield is better than nothing. Get gadgets that improve those ratings. 5 Other ships The other ships you encounter roughly falls into the following categories: police, pirates, neutral traders, aliens, and special encounters. 5.1 POLICE Police use all sorts of ships, everything from Gnats to Wasps, with all sorts of crew and equipment. They may occasionally demand you to stop for inspections. You can FLEE, SUBMIT, FIGHT, or BRIBE. If you FLEE, you will run away from the ship via the standard "flee" procedure. The chances of you doing that is dependent on your pilot rating vs. their pilot rating. As you are running away from the police, your record immediately changes to "dubious". This has consequences, as you will make less money on sales, you lose credit at the bank, and so on. If you SUBMIT, the police will check your cargo for contraband. If you actually have contraband onboard, you'll get a chance to countermand that. However, if you do let them search and they DID find contraband, you may be fined heavily and/or go to jail for a period of time. If you FIGHT, you fight the cops similar to the pirates, and you get the "dubious" reputation. Depending on how far you go (like destroying dozens of cops), you can go as far as "psycho". If you BRIBE, the police will shut up in exchange for payment. Beware that SOME police cannot be bribed. The payment is usually QUITE expensive (10000 cr or more). However, if you make enough, this may not be a bad idea. 5.2 PIRATES Pirates comes in all sizes as well, and all sorts of equipment and crew levels. When you encounter a pirate, you can FIGHT, FLEE, or SURRENDER. Pirates want you to surrender. If you surrender, they take as much of your cargo as they can fit into their cargo bay. Mostly, they leave you with nothing. You can FLEE, which means you outrun the pirate. The chances of you doing that is dependent on your pilot rating vs. their pilot rating. You can FIGHT, which means you hit the pirate until either of you decided to flee instead, and actually get away, or surrenders. 5.3 NEUTRAL TRADERS You can find fellow traders in the space ways. You can choose to ignore them, or you can trade with them in space. It's up to you. Personally, I don't trade in space, as I have NO IDEA what the prices SHOULD be. You can set Preferences so you ALWAYS ignore neutral traders. 5.4 ALIENS You may encounter alien ships in the galaxy, esp. if you are on specific quests. The alien ships are tough, but not impossible to beat. In any case it is quite possible to run from them. In one of the quests, you have an artifact you must deliver, but it's an alien artifact and the aliens want it. If you surrender in one of those fights with aliens, the aliens will take the artifact, and the quest will end. 5.5 OTHER ENCOUNTERS You may occasionally encounter other ships, esp. on quests, but sometimes at random. One of the random encounters is a special captain. The name is randomly picked from a list, but they're always in a Wasp, and they want to meet you. Basically, you have either military laser(s) or reflective shield(s). That captain needs one in a hurry, and they will raise one of your skills in exchange for the item. Basically, you're trading 20000 to 30000 cr to raise one stat. Another random encounter is for a bottle of enhancing tonic. However, the chances for this tonic to work are... low. The expiration date can't be read. Still it doesn't hurt to try it. Another random encounter is for the Marie Celeste, a Flea that appears to be abandoned. There's some cargo onboard, but if you attempt to remove it, police may come after you. 6 Career Paths There are many career paths in Space Trader... Trader, Bounty Hunter, Pirate, and Smuggler. 6.1 TRADER Trader is the way to make the most money. Some commodities (non- contraband) can make up to 150 cr profit per unit. Some really expensive stuff like robots and such may even reach 1000 cr per unit profit. To make money trading, you need to locate the right market, make money both ways, and be ready to move to another market when this market runs out of things to buy and sell. 6.2 BOUNTY-HUNTER Bounty-hunters go out and hunt pirates. This is a VERY dangerous profession, and the rewards aren't that good. You make anywhere between 50 to 2500 per kill, depending on the ship and the equipment onboard. You need to be very nicely equipped, and don't fight more than you can handle. It is tough living. Occasionally you may be able to pick up a unit of cargo from the wreckage of the pirate you killed, but that's few and far in between. You can also accept pirate surrender, in which case you take as much of cargo as you can, and let them go. 6.3 PIRATE Piracy actually is a lousy way to live. Other pirates are constantly trying to kill you. The police are after you, and the traders can fight back. And you have NO IDEA what you're going to get from the next target... Water, or robots? Or anything in between? You may not even be able to sell that cargo! Still piracy is almost pure profit (except fuel costs, and initial outfitting of the ship). You will need a decent ship, preferably one with more weapons than shields, and good FIGHT and PILOT ratings. 6.4 SMUGGLER Smuggler is basically a trader that deals on contraband. His ship is usually fast, nicely protected, and probably has a cloaking device. Profit in contraband can be very good, but the police will always be after you. 6.5 MIXED The best way to make money is be trader until you worked your way all the way up to the Hornet or Wasp. Then you can start making kills, indulge occasionally in smuggling, and start making your reputation. 7 Developer's Tips These tips are found on the official website. ú It is best to travel with at least one of your cargo bays full, if only with a canister of water. That way, if you have to surrender to pirates, they will find at least something to steal and won't resort to extorting you. Besides, when one of the pirate ships in a system has robbed you, he will probably have sent the message to the other pirates in the system that you are picked clean, and in all likelihood the others will leave you alone after that. ú Special situations in a system, like war, a cold spell, or boredom, last a while. It may be worth your while to bring such a system the goods they require from neighbouring systems, since you can sell them with great profit. Newspapers may give information on special situations on nearby systems. ú When you find two systems close to each other which require goods which the other one produces cheaply, you might find it tempting to keep travelling between them. However, since it will take a while before the stock of a system is replenished, this usually works only for a few short days. After that, you better seek your luck elsewhere. ú Be warned that when you become richer, you will attract stronger types of pirates. Also, when the police starts to consider you a real villain, they will send more and stronger ships after you. ú Sometimes you get an offer to go on a special assignment for someone. You should remember, that if this assignment would be easy, the person who offers it to you would probably do it himself. So don't be too eager to follow up on such an assignment, unless you are fairly sure that you can stand your ground when things get a bit troublesome. ú Don't be a hero. You have only got one life. Fleeing is an option. 8 Kasey's Tips I generally play a regular trader, and only later branch into smuggling and bounty-hunting. I don't do pirating as it doesn't make enough money for me. Initially you don't have enough of a ship to do pirating any way. 8.1 USE THE AVERAGE PRICE LIST A LOT The average price list is your most important screen in Space Trader. Set it to "relative price" mode, and it will tell you what commodities are available in the current system can be sold for a profit if taken to the target system. For example, if the screen says Cheron, medicine is in bold and says +22 cr, that means if you take medicine to Cheron, you can make 22 credits for every unit you sell (subject to fuel costs, price fluctuations, and so on). However, before you buy the commodity, use the system info to make sure you're not flying into a pirate's nest. 8.2 SMUGGLING ONLY WHEN IT'S REALLY WORTH IT In general, you should not smuggle unless the profit is extreme, and I mean over 300 credits per unit, more like 500-1000 cr per unit. It is best to earn "trusted" police rating before you even attempt smuggling. At that rating, police inspect you less than normal. Having a cloaking device would help, but that cost 90000 cr! If you get caught, try bribing. Usually the bribe is not that bad compared to the profit margin, and it preserves your police rating. However, sometimes, you just have to FLEE. Run for it, and with a high enough pilot rating, you should be able to get away. Then just make it to your destination, sell the stuff, buy some innocent stuff and leave. You have to survive until the "next day" when the police will simply inspect you rather than demanding you to surrender. 8.3 TRY TO MAKE PROFIT ON EVERY RUN Even if you have to carry commodities that only shows like 1 or 2 cr profit. At least you've covered the fuel costs. 8.4 AVOID FIGHTS UNTIL YOU CAN WIN THEM That means don't fight any one until you have a fully outfitted fighter, like Hornet or Wasp. Before, then, just FLEE. 8.5 GET ESCAPE POD ASAP If your ship was destroyed, your game ends, unless you have an escape pod. Also, you MUST have escape pod in order to buy insurance. Thus, an escape pod is a "must-have". 8.6 BORROW FROM THE BANK INITIALLY FOR MORE CAPITAL You start with only 1000 cr, which can't buy much. By borrowing another 1000 cr from the bank, you should be able to buy some more commodities for trading, and earn more profit as a result. 8.7 BUY INSURANCE ONLY WHEN YOU NEED IT Insurance in Space Trader is expensive in general. However, the rate goes down for every day of no-claim, up to 90% discount. Still, insurance is not really needed until you have a bit of money, and maybe not even then (it's called "self-insured"). Consider buying insurance just before going on a dangerous quest. It'll cost a LOT to buy insurance with zero no-claim, but spending 1000 cr a day for 5 days is better than not buying it and losing a 250000 cr ship, right? 9 Ship References The ships will be listed with all their stats. The WSGC stands for weapon slots, shield slots, gadget slots, and crew quarters. 9.1 FLEA A Flea is cheap and tiny. It is essentially your escape pod with a fuel tank and a cargo bay. It has ONLY 25 hull pts and 10 cargo spaces. However, it can jump 20 parsecs, the longest of all ships. If you eject from a dying ship, your escape pod can be converted into Flea for 500 credits. Hull: 25 Cargo: 10 Jump: 20 W/S/G/C: 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 Suitable for: nothing, except getting you to a system where you can buy another ship Survivability: F (a kick in the shins will blow this ship up) Pros: cheap, long range Cons: not likely to survive in this ship except in the quietest sectors. 9.2 GNAT Gnat is your starting ship. It is a suitable ship for a starting trader, but lack of shields means it wouldn't last in anything except the safest systems. Hull: 100 Cargo: 15 Jump: 14 W/S/G/C: 1 / 0 / 1 / 1 Suitable for: trading Survivability: D (no shields!) Pros: you start with this ship for free, and it's... bearable Cons: no shields, low cargo 9.3 FIREFLY Firefly is the ultimate small ship. It has excellent jump range, large cargo bay, and a shield slot, making it far more survivable than the Gnat. Hull: 100 Cargo: 20 Jump: 17 W/S/G/C: 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 Suitable for: trading Survivability: C (single shield slot) Pros: has some of everything, good all-around beginner's ship Cons: expensive for a small ship, no extra quarters for mercs and such 9.4 MOSQUITO Mosquito is the smallest combat-oriented ship you can buy, excellent for bounty-hunting or pirating. Its main problem is its short legs, at only 13 parsecs. Hull: 100 Cargo: 15 Jump: 13 W/S/G/C: 2 / 1 / 1 / 1 Suitable for: pirating / bounty-hunting Survivability: C Pros: 2 weapons put you ahead of other small ships (except other Mosquitos) Cons: low jump range, low cargo space 9.5 BUMBLEBEE Bumblebee is a larger firefly, with slightly more cargo space, gadget slot, shield slot, AND crew quarter, so now you can finally hire a mercenary. Hull: 100 Cargo: 25 Jump: 15 W/S/G/C: 1 / 2 / 2 / 2 Suitable for: trading Survivability: B (double shields) Pros: survivable, lots of gadgets, room for mercenary Cons: small cargo space for a medium ship 9.6 BEETLE Beetle is a very weak freighter, with weak hull, and NO weapons. It, however, has a huge cargo bay, and THREE crew quarters. Still, it is not really survivable, and thus not recommended. If you must use it, visit only safe systems. Hull: 50 Cargo: 50 Jump: 14 W/S/G/C: 0 / 1 / 1 / 3 Suitable for: trading Survivability: C- (single shield) Pros: huge cargo bay, lots of crew Cons: lousy hull, no weapons, lousy jump range 9.7 HORNET Hornet is mainly meant as a shooter, with 3 weapon slots. It can be a dangerous ship in hands of right crew. Hull: 150 Cargo: 20 Jump: 16 W/S/G/C: 3 / 2 / 1 / 2 Suitable for: pirating / bounty-hunting Survivability: B (double shields) Pros: 3 weapon slots for lots of firepower Cons: lousy cargo room, minimal gadget space 9.8 GRASSHOPPER Grasshopper is a more "civilized" Hornet. It gave up one weapon for larger cargo bay, 2 more gadget slots, and one more crew quarter. Hull: 150 Cargo 30 Jump: 15 W/S/G/C: 2 / 2 / 3 / 3 Suitable for: everything Survivability: B+ (extra gadget slots) Pros: very "average" ship, okay in everything Cons: jack of all trades, expert at nothing 9.9 TERMITE Termite is the largest trading ship you can get, and the only ship with 3 shield slots! With a monstrous 60 space cargo bay, you can buy out entire inventory of a planet! Its only problem is its lack of range... Hull: 200 Cargo: 60 Jump: 13 W/S/G/C: 1 / 3 / 2 / 3 Suitable for: trading Survivability: A+ (3 shield slots!) Pros: HUGE cargo bay, 3 shield slots Cons: lousy jump range, minimal weapons 9.10 WASP Wasp is the ultimate ship, with strong hull, 3 weapon slots, two shield slots, 2 gadget slots, and three crew quarters, AND 35 spaces of cargo. Hull: 200 Cargo: 35 Jump: 14 W/S/G/C: 3 / 2 / 2 / 3 Suitable for: everything Survivability: A- (2 shield slots, but lots of room for gadgets) Pros: 3 weapons AND 2 shield slots makes this the ultimate attacker Cons: extremely expensive, lousy jump range 10 Gadget and Equipment references Note: Special items, such as lightning shield and trash compactor cost 20000 cr to move to a new ship. The special anti-laser coating of the Scarab cannot be moved to another ship. 10.1 WEAPONS There are three types of lasers: pulse lasers, beam lasers and military lasers, in order of damage done. Two weak lasers is better than one medium laser. Military lasers are only sold on hi-tech worlds. 10.2 SHIELDS There are two types of shields: energy shields and reflective shields. You need at least "industrial" world to buy reflective shields. 10.3 GADGETS extended cargo bay (5 extra spaces): useful for most traders, this extends the cargo bay so you can carry more commodities. It is also cheap navigation computer: increases your effective piloting skill by 3 targeting computer: increases your effective fighting skill by 3 auto-repair system: increases your effective engineering skill by 3 cloaking device: reduces your chance of being detected, also depends on your engineering skill (the better you are, the less likely someone will find you). In a fight, it also makes you harder to hit and more likely to escape. 10.4 TRADE-IN Equipment cannot be transferred between ships in ST. When you sell off a ship, you sell off all the equipment with it as well. The total value of the and the equipment is given as the trade-in value for the ship. You then buy a ship with nothing in it, and must outfit it again. 10.5 ESCAPE POD You can buy an escape pod for 2000 cr at most shipyards. If your ship has an escape pod, it will be used automatically when your ship blows up. Rescue service will pick you up and drop you off at the nearest planet, where you can convert that pod to a Flea to continue your journey. If you had purchased insurance, see next section. 10.6 INSURANCE If you have an escape pod installed, you can at the bank buy insurance for your ship. If you have insurance the bank will refund your ship's trade-in value in the case of an escape pod ejection. Remember, trade-in is 25% lower, so this is nowhere NEAR the replacement cost of the ship. Still, it's better than losing everything. You have to pay a daily rate, which depends on the worth of your ship, for the insurance. This rate will drop 1% for every day you don't claim, up to a reduction of 90%. Since the no-claim gets transferred to a new ship when you buy one, it may be useful to rack up your no-claim days with a cheap ship, before you buy an expensive one. After an ejection, you have to buy a new escape pod and thus new insurance. Your no-claim will be reset to 0% when that happens. 11 Quest and Special Events Note: You can have maximum of 4 quests active at once (except the final "go to your moon and claim it" quest, which counts separately). This list is by no means complete. If you spot one that's not here, or if you have more details, please contact me! 11.1 QUESTS YOU GET ON PLANETS You get one of these quests when you click on the "special" button at the system information screen. Or you can get one of the special events (next section). 11.1.1 Space Monster Quest: Space Monster is attacking Acamar. Go destroy it. Opponent: The space monster is a pretty tough opponent. Do not tackle unless you have a Hornet or Wasp, 2 reflective shields, 3 military lasers, and a GOOD fight rating. Reward: ?? 11.1.2 Scarab Quest: The Scarab, an advanced ship with a hull coating that can ONLY be damaged by pulse laser, has been stolen. Go destroy it. Opponent: Scarab can only be damaged by pulse laser, and you'll have to chase it down Reward: You can get that coating applied to your ship. However, the coating cannot be transferred to another ship. 11.1.3 Firefly Quest: Firefly, the ship with advanced lightning shield prototype, has been stolen. It was last seen at _____ Opponent: Firefly is not a hard ship to destroy if you have a fully outfitted warship (Hornet or Wasp, fight rating of 9 or higher, and so on) Reward: you get a lightning shield as reward 11.1.4 Warn the doctor Quest: Travel to _____ and warn the doctor not to perform the experiment, or the universe will be ripped apart! Opponent: just time... 6 days or less Reward: Portable Singularity for instant jump to any planet Failure: if you warp between systems you may be thrown in a random direction and emerge elsewhere. 11.1.5 Warn alien invasion Quest: You must travel to _____ and warn the local defenses about an alien invasion. Opponent: just time Reward: fuel compactor? (gives any ship range 18 jump) Failure: the planet gets blasted back into pre-agricultural anarchy 11.1.6 Take the diplomat home Quest: Take the diplomat home to Devidia. Requires: a free living quarter Reward: price haggling computer? 11.1.7 Take the Criminal Home Quest: Take the crimianl home to ________ Requires: a free living quarter, negative reputation (you only get this quest if you have negative reputation. If you have positive reputation, you'll see the diplomat quest instead). Complications: the police will be after you all the way Reward: You get a Merc for free (supposedly?) and your record's reset to "neutral". 11.1.8 Deliver medicine to plague planet Quest: Deliever special medicine to a plague-stricken planet Requires: 10 cargo space Run the cargo to that colony Reward: _____ 11.1.9 Alien Artifact Quest: Take this alien artifact, and search for the scientist, who only said he'll be visiting a hi-tech system (but not which one!) Requires: none Complications: Alien Mantis ships will be chasing you all over the place. If you can't fight them, surrender, and they'll take the artifact. Reward: just some more credits. 11.2 SPECIAL EVENTS 11.2.1 Alien Learning Machine You get to use the alien learning machine for 3000 cr, but you can't pick the skill to learn 11.2.2 A Wondrous Item Someone offers to sell you a "wondrous item" for 1000 cr. It turns out to be a tribble. And yes, just like the tribbles on Star Trek. If you load up any food, they multiply like crazy. If you load up any narcotics, some of them turn into fur. The only way to get rid of them permanently is to visit a planet where they'll pay you 5 cr per tribble onboard. However, to locate such a planet, you'll have to check the "News". 11.2.3 Erase your Record Someone offers to erase your police record if you pay him ________ It works, and if you trade or smuggle a lot, it may be worth it. 11.2.4 Buy a Moon If you pay 500000 cr, you can obtain a small moon at Utopia system, and retire to it. That would be the ultimate retirement. 11.2.5 Sealed containers A second-hand dealer wants to sell you 3 sealed cargo units for 1000 cr. It could be anything from water to robots. Do you buy? 11.3 SPACE WAY ENCOUNTERS There aren't that many space encounters, but they are usually beneficial. 11.3.1 Captain needs shield This only happen if you have at least one reflective shield onboard. A captain in a Wasp requests a meeting. He asks that you give him your reflective shield in exchange for some training. 11.3.2 Captain needs laser This only happen if you have at least one military laser onboard. A captain in a Wasp requests a meeting. He asks that you give him your military laser in exchange for some training. 11.3.3 Marie Celeste You ran into this tiny Flea that seem to be abandoned. It has 10 units of cargo onboard. Do take a chance and grab it? If you grab the cargo, there's a GOOD chance cops will shop up and attempt to arrest you. You can flee. It's up to you. 11.3.4 Enhancing Tonic You may run into a bottle of enhancing tonic, with no readable expiration date. It will do something to your stats, but what it will do precisely is not known. 12 Miscellaneous Nothing at this time. --THE END--