Hauler's Guide Suggestion Thread - teaser posted

[Black Sunder]

Those of you who frequent Discord will know what this is about but this thread is to give a more permanent record for myself to review later on. Simply put I'm kinda bored and wanting to broaden my writing horizons a bit. I've toyed with this before, challenged people to try and come up with something and there has been little success there. @placid tried to start one and I commend him for that. @Lukiferrex got further just today while we were talking for his own experimentation and serves as a really good base for a more in depth piece. But to that end, I thought, well why not give it a try myself and see what I can come up with in regards to a Hauling Guide(name to be changed later to something more grandiose and awesome of course!).

Now I'm not saying I WILL write this, this is still just early exploration of the idea. However, I haven't seen a really good in depth one out in the SC community and well frankly the team that was doing mining/salvage on SC has been moved over to SQ42 and I don't expect many massive on that front until SQ42 is nearly complete. Aside from quantum fuel mining that is.

Initial ideas and comments for a hauling guide that people have suggested on Discord or I came up with myself. These are not in any particular order:

Only use ships currently ingame to compare with

4 hauler classes to compare/contrast: starter, small, medium, large
Emphasize ships with possible secondary role to highlight self defense capability

Quantum drive upgrades, fuel costs, wear, speeds. Websites to fit.

“Getting Started” and “So you’ve lost everything” - ties into deliveries

Rentals and where to find them

"collateral survivability" - Bigger capacity does not always make better, especially in the initial stages of setting up your asset pool and your collateral surplus.
As it is right now, big ships have a good amount of survivability versus a lone player or NPC pirate. But when you start adding up things like the mantis along with something like an energy or ballistic scattergun sabre... it becomes much more liable.
Ships that are too small also have their downfalls - at least on the legal side - as their long travel times and small capacities make it hard to recommend them over something like a mission runner. This isn't to say they don't make bank on moon hopping for high value, low yield items. But it's less versatile than acting as a full blown contractor in my books.
TL;DR, I think something to always keep in mind is that even though your job is effectively "buy low; sell high" with the fine print "time is money as is fuel", you need to still account for the unfavourables in the verse that might see you as prey... or as a threat. With random crashes being the current alpha predator, it's a good lesson for when it's not the game that's ready to take a bite out of your wallet, but players.

Interdiction avoidance tips? - TEST stealth gameplay?

Trade data websites recommendations

Buy low sell high - time cost of stations/moons vs planetside

Never investing 100% of your cash. ALways keep a reserve to build back from.

Tick rates explanation

Drug run tips

Delivery missions and best ships for it, going off earlier compare/contrast

Chaining deliveries

Good Landing Practices, solo/with people

Table of general estimated costs of ships full loaded - put with ship comparisons

Emphasize the need for escorts.

Player must ensure they know the ’lay of the land’ for their route. Communicate with org players to get intel on potential hazards.

If anyone has additional suggestions for what you'd like to see in a Guide for cargo running, post it here. I 'think' these ideas above cover the vast majority though, but I could be wrong.

-edit- If I write this it would be more focused on the ships themselves rather than the actual 'go here, sell this' because that should be self explanatory. For ships I will focus mainly on ships which CIG designates as merchant or cargo that are currently ingame.

 

[Lukiferrex]

Start of some info, for whatever it's worth

Haulers Guide:THE BEGINNINGS

Haulers Guide:THE BEGINNINGS *URGENT WARNING* Trading is like most other gameplay loops in Star Citizen, but it has one VERY important difference; you must invest capital to get started. This means that bugs, glitches, server crashes etc can COST YOU MONEY rather than time. Don’t let this stop yo...

docs.google.com

 

[Black Sunder]

Start of some info, for whatever it's worth

Haulers Guide:THE BEGINNINGS

Haulers Guide:THE BEGINNINGS *URGENT WARNING* Trading is like most other gameplay loops in Star Citizen, but it has one VERY important difference; you must invest capital to get started. This means that bugs, glitches, server crashes etc can COST YOU MONEY rather than time. Don’t let this stop yo...

docs.google.com

I'm sorry I forgot to link it in the first post.

 

[Vahl K. Rii]

I think that when stating off - fresh from the bed spread - the first things to roll through your mind as a hauler by profession are:
- How much UEC do I have?
- How much SCU do I have?
- Am I a lawful citizen?
and
- What is the economic structure of the are?

In the scenario of a fresh-spawn - lets call this character TESTificate - with an OG freelancer on Port Olisar who doesn't smuggle... - You have 66 SCU (6600 Units), probably 10k UEC, I love the law and the economics of the area says you'll make about 4000 UEC from a 2-way trip between Yela and Cellin - 2.5 Yella>Cellin, 1.5 Cellin>Yela.

When being practical - the numbers TESTificate makes per hour comes up to about 18k, including refueling and potential repairs and excluding compounding investments.

When doing the same thing with entry-level package missions - usually ones that stack with what moons you are running - TESTificate will probably make around 25k-30k in an hour.

Another thing I'd think about constantly is once I've got a buck, but not a load - for extra-planetary trade:
- How much more will it cost me in fuel?
- How many other people run this route? Will there be pirates? Will I get interdicted by police checkpoints?
- How long will it take me to get to customs? Will the atmosphere affect my potential profit for the day?

We're assuming TESTificate will have saved enough to transition to something bigger, faster and more specialized in the art of hauling, like a caterpillar and that he's saved up enough to barely fill up his cargo hold with titanium.

This is usually a big no-no for any experienced hauler. While at this point in time - the server is more likely to maul and eat your ship up for breakfast than any endevouring pirates, the simple fact of the matter is space IS unpredictable. You should always hold off putting all of your eggs in 1 basket when you aren't paying for an escort. However it is up to you and TESTificate has made that gamble.

If it worked - for having filled his cargo with 566scu of titanium, TESTificate made nearly 100k UEC for the 30 minutes of loading up, taking off from Ariel, QTing to ArcCorp, landing and going through customs.

If it failed - TESTificate has now lost his ship - and the 490k UEC he had saved up to make the run. He died mid-travel to ArcCorp after a group of pirates pulled him out of quantum and quickly dismembered his ship after being refused a ransom - TESTificate could not pay anything, nor would he.

An escort may have saved TESTificate - in that scenario, he asked some of his org mates if they'd oblige him - he'd pay them back somehow - and they accepted. He managed to get to ArcCorp after the prirates pulled not only the prey they desired, but 2 sabres and a Vanguard as well, who quickly chased away the would-be ransomers.

...This went on way too long.

Basically, make sure you're ready to start hauling. You don't want to just jump in and find yourself making less than if you'd had helped that one guy in the mission logs ask you to transport some materials for a quick buck. Also don't make unnecessary risks. It'll only hurt you in the end, even if it's exciting.

 

[Black Sunder]

I think that when stating off - fresh from the bed spread - the first things to roll through your mind as a hauler by profession are:
- How much UEC do I have?
- How much SCU do I have?
- Am I a lawful citizen?
and
- What is the economic structure of the are?

In the scenario of a fresh-spawn - lets call this character TESTificate - with an OG freelancer on Port Olisar who doesn't smuggle... - You have 66 SCU (6600 Units), probably 10k UEC, I love the law and the economics of the area says you'll make about 4000 UEC from a 2-way trip between Yela and Cellin - 2.5 Yella>Cellin, 1.5 Cellin>Yela.

When being practical - the numbers TESTificate makes per hour comes up to about 18k, including refueling and potential repairs and excluding compounding investments.

When doing the same thing with entry-level package missions - usually ones that stack with what moons you are running - TESTificate will probably make around 25k-30k in an hour.

Another thing I'd think about constantly is once I've got a buck, but not a load - for extra-planetary trade:
- How much more will it cost me in fuel?
- How many other people run this route? Will there be pirates? Will I get interdicted by police checkpoints?
- How long will it take me to get to customs? Will the atmosphere affect my potential profit for the day?

We're assuming TESTificate will have saved enough to transition to something bigger, faster and more specialized in the art of hauling, like a caterpillar and that he's saved up enough to barely fill up his cargo hold with titanium.

This is usually a big no-no for any experienced hauler. While at this point in time - the server is more likely to maul and eat your ship up for breakfast than any endevouring pirates, the simple fact of the matter is space IS unpredictable. You should always hold off putting all of your eggs in 1 basket when you aren't paying for an escort. However it is up to you and TESTificate has made that gamble.

If it worked - for having filled his cargo with 566scu of titanium, TESTificate made nearly 100k UEC for the 30 minutes of loading up, taking off from Ariel, QTing to ArcCorp, landing and going through customs.

If it failed - TESTificate has now lost his ship - and the 490k UEC he had saved up to make the run. He died mid-travel to ArcCorp after a group of pirates pulled him out of quantum and quickly dismembered his ship after being refused a ransom - TESTificate could not pay anything, nor would he.

An escort may have saved TESTificate - in that scenario, he asked some of his org mates if they'd oblige him - he'd pay them back somehow - and they accepted. He managed to get to ArcCorp after the prirates pulled not only the prey they desired, but 2 sabres and a Vanguard as well, who quickly chased away the would-be ransomers.

...This went on way too long.

Basically, make sure you're ready to start hauling. You don't want to just jump in and find yourself making less than if you'd had helped that one guy in the mission logs ask you to transport some materials for a quick buck. Also don't make unnecessary risks. It'll only hurt you in the end, even if it's exciting.

I added a note to my doc about emphasizing the need for escorts for large ships.

Added this note as well: Player must ensure they know the ’lay of the land’ for their route. Communicate with org players to get intel on potential hazards.

I had a note already of "So you've lost everything" so thats taken care of.

 

[Thraesh]

If, and this is a big if, I were a new player and decided I wanted to pursue a career in cargo hauling, I'd probably want a guide something like this:

- Starter ship choices (Probably Aurora or Mustang with possible upgrades listed later)

- How to make capital safely to start cargo hauling

- Basics and outline of cargo hauling (basically how to start or where to start)

- General rules for cargo hauling (how much to invest, what to look for, where to haul)

- Possibly upgrading parts on starter ship

- General new ship/s to aim for to start bringing in bigger hauls or rentals and where to get them

- From here it can vary but possibly a list of ships to aim for and why, upgrades on them, best resources/drugs, etc to haul for profit when possible, cargo hauling with friends

 

[Black Sunder]

If, and this is a big if, I were a new player and decided I wanted to pursue a career in cargo hauling, I'd probably want a guide something like this:

- Starter ship choices (Probably Aurora or Mustang with possible upgrades listed later)

- How to make capital safely to start cargo hauling

- Basics and outline of cargo hauling (basically how to start or where to start)

- General rules for cargo hauling (how much to invest, what to look for, where to haul)

- Possibly upgrading parts on starter ship

- General new ship/s to aim for to start bringing in bigger hauls or rentals and where to get them

- From here it can vary but possibly a list of ships to aim for and why, upgrades on them, best resources/drugs, etc to haul for profit when possible, cargo hauling with friends

Definitely. This is a priority after the ships themselves are talked about.

 

[GameFleek]

Hello Testies. Hopefully some of you remember me from my Twitch Streams or from Discord as I'm often saying something silly to make you laugh. But when it comes to hauling, carrying big loads is not funny. You have to know where to dump that big load, and I want to help. Most of my ship buying decisions have been based on Cargo and Logistics, such as the MerchantMan and others. I will help in the effort of crafting this document to help new comers and old timers alike.

I have joined with some of you in the voice chat rooms of Discord and listened to you make hundreds of thousands of credits hauling all night. I will take those tips, tricks, and good ole fashion advice and share it along side @blacksunder in this guide. For years, I with other members of the Rock Raiders, have been planning for growth, opportunity, and fun for everyone that wants to be part of this great Division of Test Squadron. We will help you decide what ship is best for you from start to finish. Of course, there are some ships like the Hull Series that is not yet in game. We will cover those in a future version as we want to give you fact and not speculation.

I'm really looking forward to the day when we have warehouses around the 'Verse and make money over fist like Amazon while building close relationships with each other. It will all be soon™er than we think and my hope, is that this guide helps up know what to do when the time comes.

Thanks,
Gamefleek

 

[Vahl K. Rii]

I love it!

In regards to useful links, for checking trade deals and setting up routes, I usually use this to plan stuff out. It's not as easy to navigate as a spreadsheet but it does automate a lot of the fluff that comes with the job title. It's also pretty up to date whenever I've used it. I haven't measured UEC for UEC how accurate it is but it's within 99% right now.

Something no site or spreadsheet does right now is calculate fuel expenditure and costs. It's usually negligible but for those that do want to know, it's not a hard thing to do, it's just tedious. You might want to consider talking about that too lest we be suckers for ArcCorp-Levski hauling runs.

Still needs content polish but seriously, I can't wait for the finished product!

 

[Michael]

wanted to start something with trade focused here. Then real life brought the project to full stop:

Trading guide

Trading guide (3.7) Which ship should i choose? 1 Jack of all trade: 1 More serious trade ship 1 Advanced 2 High end trade ships 2 Should i trade legal or illegal trade goods? 2 How to choose a trade route? 2 How much should i invest? 3 Where can i find trade consoles? 3 Lets get started, how d...

docs.google.com

feel free to use whatever you want :)

 

[BUTUZ]

I'll save you some time Mr Sunder as I know you are a busy man raiding those rocks every day with the boys.

Butuz' Succinct Guide to Trading.

1. Buy a Cat.
2. Be rich!

//eof

 

[Black Sunder]

I'll save you some time Mr Sunder as I know you are a busy man raiding those rocks every day with the boys.

Butuz' Succinct Guide to Trading.

1. Buy a Cat.
2. Be rich!

//eof

Instruction unclear, bought big lion cat, now in massive debt.

 

[Thraesh]

I decided to try this as well, bought a house cat, it clawed up my furniture and scratched up my hand. Looking for refund

 

[DirectorGunner]

Is herding lions like herding house cats? Should try this for science

 

[Black Sunder]

Is herding lions like herding house cats? Should try this for science

They behave better if they are not hungry.

 

[GameFleek]

I love it!

In regards to useful links, for checking trade deals and setting up routes, I usually use this to plan stuff out. It's not as easy to navigate as a spreadsheet but it does automate a lot of the fluff that comes with the job title. It's also pretty up to date whenever I've used it. I haven't measured UEC for UEC how accurate it is but it's within 99% right now.

Something no site or spreadsheet does right now is calculate fuel expenditure and costs. It's usually negligible but for those that do want to know, it's not a hard thing to do, it's just tedious. You might want to consider talking about that too lest we be suckers for ArcCorp-Levski hauling runs.

Still needs content polish but seriously, I can't wait for the finished product!

I have began coding in Python, and I believe down the line I may be able to make something that can calculate travel fuel cost as well.

 

[Black Sunder]

This thread will be open for a week. Please, if you have ideas, post them and I'll consider them.

 

[August]

Back to the topic of the meeting today, we should probably reinforce the standard practice of all haulers bringing TESTies as an escort - it’s particularly important when you’re just starting as you’re risking everything.

 

[Black Sunder]

Back to the topic of the meeting today, we should probably reinforce the standard practice of all haulers bringing TESTies as an escort - it’s particularly important when you’re just starting as you’re risking everything.

Got ya covered:

"Emphasize the need for escorts for large ships. "

 

[August]

Got ya covered:

"Emphasize the need for escorts for large ships. "

Not just the big ones! Trader Joe in her freelancer needs an escort too!