Question regarding first complex

Question

Okay, I finally got my first 3.5 Million Euro in the game after starting as bankrupt assasin. Now I want to invest them wisely.

My Plan:

• Ranch M 275.000€
• Cahoona Press M 880.000€
• Mosquito Rocket Factory 603.000€
• 3x Complex Parts 780.000€
• Renting a TL Peanuts
• Total: 2.538.000€

So far so good, can buy a trader afterwards and still have some money left. I planned on building it in "Line of Energy" (hopefully I translated it correctly), so I can add a E-Cell Factory later since it is 2.6 Million for that one alone.

Can anyone recommend that approach?

How far/close from/to each other do I have to build the factories in order to make them a complex?

Thanks for any input.

edit:

I did it how I wrote it here, thanks for all help. As reference for other people that seek help: The complex ran fine with 2 Commercial Agents from the Bonus Package. That is Trade Command Software Mk2. I was continuing Missions and earning from that factory. As soon as I could, I added a Solar Power Plant. From that date on, the complex ran fine with 1 Commercial Agent, while the AI brought me crystals and ore +. Turning 1 off is recommended, since it costs you less then. After that, I added even more and my complex consists now of the following:

• 3x Ranch M
• 1x Cahoona Press M
• 1x Cahoona Press L
• 1x Solar Power Plant
• 3x Mosquito Factory
• 2x Shied Factory 1MJ

Works quite well :).

Asked by scorcher24

Answer

For the first complex in the game, I would highly recommend something simpler and only requires energy cells. There are several that will meet the qualifications, but the best approach is....

DRUG TRAFFIKING!

It seems that the inhabitants of the galaxy are highly thirsty and entertainment deprived and will easily gobble up any amount of space weed or space fuel that you can produce at a station. On top of that, the entire 'loop' for space fuel and space weed consists of only two stations and will only require energy for input:

Space Fuel:

• Argon Wheat Farm
• Argon Space Fuel Distillery

A medium space fuel complex will cost roughly 2.7 million while a large will run you 6.7 million.

Space Weed:

• Teladi Dream Farm
• Teladi Bliss Place

A medium space weed complex will cost ~2 million where a large one will cost 4.5 million.

Keep in mind that both of these factory types are illegal. Space fuel is illegal everywhere except unowned sectors (I recommend setting one up in that sector between Montalaar and New Income as there are silicon asteroids there as well for you to expand into a full complex at a later point).

However, space weed is legal in all Teladi space, and there is a very nice Teladi sector near the center of the galaxy called Homily of Perpetuity that already has 4 solar power plants, making this the perfect place to start a weed complex.

All you have to do next is to set your complex's sell price to average - 1 and watch a steady stream of NPC ships line up to buy from you.

Can anyone recommend that approach?

Your complex looks fine, as long as it has a steady supply of energy cells I see no problems with it.

How far/close from/to each other do I have to build the factories in order to make them a complex?

Ideally, you will want to space out your factories far enough that they do not 'rub' against each other, which will cause your factories to explode spectacularly after a few minutes. I've found that the minimum distance typically is around 1.5-2km between them, but a complex construction kit can bridge distances much further than that.

There is also a trick with the complex construction kit you can use to string out your complex to as far as you want. Even if a bunch of your factories are all too far from each other, what you can do is make two complexes and place the hub within 10km of each other, then you can use a complex construction kit to bridge those complexes together. Using this trick, you can do some crazy things, such as linking together all the asteroids in Savage Spur.

Answered by yx.

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X3 reunion tutorial?

Question

I got X3 off of Steam for cheap recently. I have never played any of the X games before, and I am finding it difficult to get started. There is no in game tutorial to teach you the controls and how to play it.

So how do I get started? I don't want a walk through I just want to learn the controls so I can enjoy the universe.

Answer

The developers' forum is a great resource. I spent a lot of time here reading posts about X3 before I really figured out how to play it. There is a wealth of great information in these forums.

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewforum.php?f=2

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How to stop breaking SETA in X3 Terran Conflict?

Question

I'd like to freely move around and STILL be in SETA mode.

How can I prevent SETA from continuously breaking except when I explicitly press 'j'?

Answer

By design SETA stops running the moment you press a key or move your joystick.

From the manual:

This extension is based on the phenomenon of the 
time and space anomaly observed in the presence 
of a singularity. The SETA is an attachment to the 
ship’s normal engines, which can, when activated, 
compress time up to ten fold. Due to the constraints 
of the space-time compression technology, it 
is not possible to alter one’s course or velocity. 
The device will be deactivated as soon as any 
interference to the ship’s controls is detected. The 
device was invented to shorten travel time across 
vast distances. No known side effects exist but 
they cannot be ruled out

Basically trying to control your ship under SETA would only smack you in to an asteroid faster than the onboard AI will. But if you use your onboard computer to plot a course through multiple sectors and gates, then you can activate SETA. It will have to be re-activated each time you pass through a new gate though.

BTW, welcome to the world of X3:TC, I hope you have a lot of spare time on your hands.

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In which language was X3tC originally designed?

Question

Since egosoft is a German developer, I wonder if X3TC was developed for German or English play originally?

_{I'm asking because basically I want to know which language I should pick with German being my mother language while I prefer original language versions, but that's probably too subjective...}

Answer

It looks like it was originally released in English, according to this post on their forums:

The English language version of X³: Terran Conflict will be available from retail outlets on October 10th, and you can pre-order from the Egosoft Online Shop NOW. X³: Terran Conflict will also be available for pre-load from Steam starting one week before release.

However, comments on another post suggest that perhaps both languages were available at launch:

Yes, during the installing process, your computer ask you, what languages you would like to install

and this post seems to support that theory:

Wenn die deutsche Sprachdateien installiert wurden, kannst du die Spiel-Sprache, wie im FAQ-Artikel Ich habe mehrere Sprachen installiert. Wie ändere ich sie? beschrieben, auf Deutsch umstellen.
(roughly: If the German language files are installed, you can switch the language in the game to German, as described in the FAQ article "I have multiple languages ​​installed. How do I change it?")

Note that neither post specifically says German was available at launch, but I was not able to find evidence that the German-language version was released later.

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Is there a “Go to Coordinates” command?

Question

I'm just starting out, and having trouble navigating space in 3 dimensions. Even when I know what coordinates I want, I have a difficult time getting there. Is there any way to target a specific X,Y,Z coordinate so I can aim for it manually or autopilot to it?

Answer

Yes, in sector map. Change axis and navigate the blinking cursor with the numpad arrows, then click on the cursor.

There are mods/scripts that make it even easier to navigate, I don't have the links to them though.

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How can a broken gate be repaired?

Question

While exploring, I've noticed in a few random sectors the remains of a dead sector Gate. I've heard in the forums for previous versions of the game that Gates are repairable.

Can broken Gates be repaired and how does one go about repairing them?

Answer

You can't if you're playing "vanilla" x3. In vanilla x3 they are just there to sit around.

If however you're playing a modded out version of x3, there's a script on their official scripting forum, that allows you to repair and link broken gates.

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Where can an Orbital Weapons Platform be purchased?

Question

I've searched much of the galaxy, probably more than 100 sectors, but I haven't found any shipyards producing orbital weapons platforms.

I would love to get one of these to upgrade the defenses around my factories and to hold spare weapons and drones.

Can a player purchase or build a small, medium, or large orbital weapons platform?

Or are orbital weapons platforms only for the AI-controlled Core Sectors?

Answer

A quick look at the Egosoft forums turns up a few posts that indicate that it is not possible for the player to control an Orbital Weapons Platform - they cannot be purchased or captured.

However, there are also posts on the forum that indicate that mods or scripts can be used to add this functionality to the game, but I don't currently have the game available to test any of them and I'm not going to recommend any of them blind - but have a look around on the forum if that's something you're interested in trying.

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What's the cheapest way to destroy a hostile laser tower?

Question

In the treasure map quest, the player has to destroy a set of laser towers.

The only problem is that they more powerful and longer range than my own lasers. Also the tenacious towers can apparently shoot down longer range missiles (I learned to my dismay), as well as powerful shields.

What's the best way to take these things out?

My current plan is to save up for some exotic expensive long range laser or ammunition weapon but I'm not sure which one. My backup plan is to buy a huge warship and outgun them at close range using an array of expensive shields.

Still, I'm not sure what's the most efficient way to spend money to overcome this obstacle.

What's the cheapest way to take out a set of hostile laser towers with a range of, at least, 5km and fairly powerful shields?

Answer

Distract the laser towers. Overwhelm them with a bunch of swarm missiles, wasps work great in that regard, and then sneak in a slower missile with a big punch. This tactic is pretty great overall whenever you use missiles. Wasps are one of my favorite missiles for distraction due to its relatively high speed and the swarm capability. Not to mention they can be 'shotgunned' at nearby m5 and m4s to take them out fast.

If you are in a M6 or higher, you can pretty much ignore the return fire and take it out fairly fast.

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How Background mode works ?

Question

I just enabled "Run Game in Backgroun" in X3: Terran Conflict. But I don't know how it works, I just minimize... or what ?

Thanks.

Answer

Normally, X3:TC pauses when the game is not 'in focus'. If you wish the game to continue processing while you are alt-tabbed out, then enable that mode. This is beneficial in some ways such as allowing your factories and complexes to continue to operate and produce profits, but you also risk the possibility of your ship being blown up by invading Xenon or even pirates when you are not paying attention.

Also, there are built in flags that cause random pirates to spawn to attack your complexes, auto traders, etc when you remain idle in SETA mode for long periods of time.

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How does one search for a trading good one doesn't have?

Question

For the Terrain story-line, in one mission the player has to deliver Teladianium to a Military Outpost. The only problem is that I'm not sure where to find Teladianium. The only trading post that has it is in Teladi space and they hate me from the last mission.

Where can I score some Teladianium in or near the Terrain Sectors?

Answer

Look in your in-game encyclopedia, under 'advanced' in the personal menu (the top button on the left).

Teladianium should be under "Bio". From there you will get a description, pricing information, and locations of where it is made, sold, and purchased.

The last three will only list places that you have found in your exploration.

More information here.

---

If that fails, there should be Teladianium in the sector Ceo's Buckzold.

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