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[Blaze]

A note, a nearby sector from the place you got that M4 lies an ownerless M3.

I'm not very fond of the Pericles class due to their inability to mount Mass Drivers or Phased Repeater Guns, to each their own though.

And yes, sell the Toucan to upgrade the Sugar Daddy's Cargo/Speed if you already haven't. The Iguana isn't really a ship made for trading, so just upgrade its speed so you can do passenger missions and earn rep to get some real weapons.

[Simmura McCrea]

The main advantage of the Pericles over the Spyglass at the moment is the fact that it has 8.3 times the shielding, is only ~100m/s slower and can actually use guns that aren't the IRE. The Sugar Daddy's full upgraded (dear god cargo space is pricey) and will be set to automated trading shortly. We'll see how much money it makes me. I'll send the Spyglass sniffing around to see if I can find that M3 (the Pericles can't mount a triplex scanner, alas).

[Burnt Pies]

I prefer PACs to PRGs anyway, and MDs are my least favourite weapon in the game. They're just too good.

Train up the Sugar Daddy in a sector that produces Energy and both stages of whatever the racial food is (Set it to sector trade in there). It'll level up much faster than in another sector and be more useful. Empire's Edge is perfect for that. Only switch it to Universe trading when it hits level 12, as it'll then acquire a Jumpdrive, and that means it's much more likely to survive getting attacked.

[Simmura McCrea]

Found the M3 and send it around half of Argon space trying to get it kitted out. In the meantime, tried out the Pericles and managed to get 3 pirates to bail. The resulting Harrier, Buster and Elite were all sold. The Sugar Daddy's not doing great with automated trading, but I'll try it in Empire's Edge and see if it does better. The Eclipse flattened a trio of pirate M3s in a hail of green plasma death, so I'm enjoying it. Needs PACs for the turrets, though. Combat missions are definitely possible now, though.

Current assets
M5 Spyglass
TS Sugar Daddy
M4 Enhanced Pericles
M3 Advanced Eclipse
TP Iguana Vanguard
1.7 million Cr

Spoiler: The Eclipse (click to show/hide)

[Blaze]

You could trade in your Pericles and buy a Solano. It's a fair bit slower, but has over 3x as much shields, a significantly better laser generator, and (for me) better weapons available for it (God forbid you try using FBLs on your Pericles). Plus it has L cargo capacity, so you can mount a triplex scanner.

Since you're on decent terms with the Paranid, send the Spyglass further into their territory. They usually have a lot of soyfarms/soyeries but lack the cargo haulers to move them around. Easy profitsss and trading xp.

[Simmura McCrea]

While scouting the Paranid sectors in the Spyglass, I ran into a Kha'ak Cruiser. To no great surprise, the Spyglass didn't last long, and I got my first game over. On the plus side, the Sugar Daddy seemed to be doing okay in Empire's Edge. I'm going to avoid those sectors for a bit next time.

[Blaze]

You should've just navigated around it; you have the speed to do it, provided it wasn't doing something like hanging in front of the gate.

Any thoughts on what you want for a long term player ship? An M3? M6? or even an M7?

[Simmura McCrea]

It was a case of jump into the system, battle music, "Oh it's just some pirates again, wait wtf is that", check map, "Kha'ak Cruiser? Shitshitshit", bzzzzzzp Game Over.

For the moment, I'd like to save in the direction of more transports and a station or two. An M6 or M7 would be nice, though. I've no idea which, though, I'd have to run around the shipyards comparing penises stats.

[Burnt Pies]

There's 3 M7s worth buying in TC; the Tiger, Panther and Shrike. This is because they're the only ones to mount a decent amount of anti-capital weaponry (Incendiary Bomb Launchers and for the Shrike, Gauss Cannons). The paranid Agamemnon's decent, as well, but it's capture only.

In terms of a comparison, the Tiger's basic; flak and anti-capital weaponry, while the Panther has all that and a 20-fighter carrier bay. The shrike has better sustained firepower, as Gauss Cannons are ammo based, and thus don't use much Energy. The shrike's also a lot slower than the other two, being a Teladi ship compared to Split.


For M6s, the big ones are the Springblossom, Vidar and Hyperion Vanguard. The Springy's faster than most M4s, and packs a nice punch, the Vidar's fairly maneuverable and packs a better punch, and the Hype has better turret coverage and missile compatibility, as well as looking awesome.

[Simmura McCrea]

Having found the wiki, I realise that I don't have the Albion Prelude DLC. Steam notes that saves from the base TC aren't compatible with save from AP. Is it worth my starting again with AP, or does it not add enough stuff?

[Blaze]

There's more about it here.

TC has more plots than AP, which has the "main plot", HQ plot, and Hub plot. AP has the Argon/Terran war, which is sort of a never-ending stream of missions. Some people find the war annoying, as it renders some sectors unusable via spawning massive waves of Argon or Terran ships. Regardless of your standing, it just chooses whomever you have lower rep with.

It's easier to start out in AP, and the stock exchange is an easy way to make profitsss if you know how to game the system; and even easier if you decide to cheese it.

AP does make more ships available, basically any given races' ships can be bought from their shipyards, as well as a few new ships.

Oh, and the economy isn't as terribad as it is in TC, although it is still pretty terribad.

Edit: One big thing is that combat has become a lot more "missile-y". NPCs can all run the Mosquito missile defense script and have a significantly higher chance of lobbing missiles. Should you run into a hostile missile frigate, you'd best turn tail before you, everything else in the sector, and your FPS is blown to dust. Then there's the Xenon I which can barrage firestorms and even hammerheads.

[Burnt Pies]

Combat in AP is too 'missile-y' for my tastes, and the Argon-Terran war is the most annoying and poorly thought out thing in the game. If there was a way to turn off the war, port TCs plots into AP and remove/neuter Bombers and M7Ms, it'd be brilliant.

I still play TC, although recently it's mostly been with the XRM mod.

[Bluerobin]

So, this thread has got me wanting to (I think?) play the X series. I want to play a space sim where I start out crappy (possibly in debt with some faceless corporation) and build up as a trader, upgrading ships and ship parts, eventually buying additional ships and starting a trade empire. Is the X series one that lets me do that? I think it is, from what I've seen/read. Also, I got the full X pack on Steam some time ago, so I have these:

Which should I start with if, for now, I want the most polished, trade-centered experience?

[Lorgath]

Yup, the X games are definitely what you're looking for. Oolite is also a good choice, and it's cheap as free to boot!

I'd say X3:TC is your best bet for a "polished, trade-centered experience."

X3:AP does have more ships, stock exchanges and a greater draw distance to name a few. However, the endless war between the two human factions makes it the least safe for building a trade empire, and the "plot" is the worst of all the games (not that this has ever been a strong point in any X game).

For learning to play the X games, try this thread:
http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=162408

This place is goldmine of information too (this chap has covered x3 and x3:tc too):
http://roguey.co.uk/x3ap/

[Bluerobin]

Awesome! Thanks a bunch. Now I just need the hours of free time that I'm sure this will consume as soon as I start.