Trading
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Contents |
The Basics
Holotrek has 15 "market consoles" spread out in the galaxy. Some are readily accessible by most PCs, while others could require months of dedicated RP to locate, leave alone access. These consoles are the means by which you access planetary or space station markets.
Commands
insert <chip> Inserts a credit chip into the console. eject Ejects the inserted chip. container <container name> Selects a container in the current room. This is where cargo you buy goes to and cargo you sell comes from. It is not necessary to select your cargo container if it happens to be sitting on a hoverpad which is under your control. list Lists commodities the planet/station is willing to buy and sell. buy <quantity> <item> Purchases the specified quantity of the specified commodity at market price. sell <quantity> <item> Sells the specified quantity of the specified commodity at market price.
- Commodities Trading: "Buy low, sell high," is pretty much your only mantra if this is the lifestyle you choose. Your goal is to locate which market consoles have which commodities, purchase them at low prices, and then sell them at other market consoles at a higher price. You'll need to begin with a cargo container and a means of transportation to locate other market consoles for you to trade with. Be forewarned though, Holotrek supports a variable market economy that fluctuates as commodities are traded, and market contracts are fulfilled. So the prices you see one day, may not be the same when you return. Caveat emptor!
- Delivery Contracts: Be a well-paid delivery person! Assorted entities in HT want to give you credits to deliver their items, and in return they'll pay you - sometimes handsomely, and sometimes not-so-handsomely. Again you'll start at a market console, and again you'll you need to begin with a cargo container and some means for moving it between points in space. If you deliver late on a contract, expect to find it harder to get good contracts for a while. You will also likely get paid less than the full amount. If you don't deliver at all, the contract will expire after 24 hours. This will likely have nasty consequences. Certainly you won't be getting any more contracts from that corporation. They might be sending someone with the 24th century equivalent of a baseball bat after you, too. At any time, the @contracts command will tell you the status of any contracts you've signed recently. @contracts <ID#> will give you details on that specific contract.
Commands
contract list Get a list of contracts being offered to you. contract detail <#> Get detail on a contract offered, where <#> is the number of the contract displayed on "contract list". contract haggle <#> Haggle with the entity offering the contract to try to get more money out of it. contract accept <#> Accept a contract. This commits you to picking up the goods and delivering them intact to the destination. pickup [<id>] Pick up the goods for a contract, specified by its ID (which you can get from @contracts). The ID is not necessary if there's only one contract you're picking up the goods for here. deliver Deliver goods you've previously picked up, completing the contract. If there's more than one contract you're delivering on here, this will attempt to deliver on each of them.
Getting Started
This walkthrough will get you through your first transaction, to get you started. Now, assuming you're beginning your PCs life as a Trader on Hellesport Station, lets start there.
- Don't spend any of your money. You're going to need every credit.
- Head to a replicator on the station. You'll have to figure out where it is ICly yourself!
- 'man replicator' to step up to the device and 'listitems' to see what it sells. Hopefully, there'll be a "cargo box" that, (a) you can afford, and (b) is in stock. If one of these two things is at issue, you'll have to seek other means to obtain one.
- Purchase the "cargo box" by using your credit chip (i.e. 'insert') and 'select <appropriate ID#>' to purchase the box.
- Now find a market console. Again, where it is located is IC information, so you're on your own again.
- 'man market' to step up to the device, once you've found it, and 'list' what it has available.
- Set the container you want to load up by 'container <name of your container>', 'insert' your credit chip again, and you're ready to get trading.
- Now before I continue, remember that Holotrek has a variable market economy, so the transaction listed below may or may not, (a) be available, or (b) still be profitable.
- The command to buy is 'buy <quantity> <item>', what you'll need to know though, is that regardless of whether you're buying one or a hundred, type out the <item> as it is listed in the market console. So in this example it'd be 'buy 1 lubricants.'
- Then 'eject' your credit chip to reacquire it, pick up your cargo box, and trudge off to find a transport.
- Now there are a number of ways to do this, renting a shuttle, hopping on the IPS public transportation shuttles, or hitching a ride from a PC or friendly NPC (and stirring up some RP while doing so). Whichever way you do so, get to Risa and locate the market console there.
- Once there 'man market' to step up to the device, 'list' what it has available, set the container you have your lubricant in by 'container <name of your container>', 'insert' your credit chip again, and once again you're ready to get trading.
- So, with your credit chip inserted and your container set, you'll sell your lubricant in a similar fashion to how you purchased it 'sell 1 lubricants.'
- And that, they say, is how we do that. You should have a decent grip on the process, so now you just need to work out the details: profitable commodities, cheaper transportation, time spent, etc, etc, etc. It's a tough life, but also a free one, and potentially a profitable one!
Warnings
Remember, in Holotrek IC actions have IC consequences! As a trader, you are and will be held responsible for illegal border violations, knowing and upholding trading embargoes (unless you want to risk smuggling), and any other IC detail that you may or may not immediately be aware of. The way to figure these things out? Role-playing! Talk to experienced traders, Starfleet Officers, Romulan Smugglers and so on to get a feel for what's out there (and how to get around it!).
Another thing to bear in mind is that Holotrek is not really about making money. It's about role-playing. Indeed, after a certain point of material acquisition, there's really not a whole lot of things that you can do with your money. Certainly, you could spend hundreds of hours saving up for a Borg Cube, or that super-1337 trading/fighter carrier/supernova-causing ship, but that time might be better spent seeking out, or creating a far more enjoyable RP session. So as a word of advice, don't get caught up in the "credit-game," there's just not a whole lot to it.
