[MPR Import] Wolf updates

[Darius Dornwell]

Mon Nov 30, 2009 2:26 am - Sun Sep 12, 2010 2:13 pm

Hi all,

Just starting this topic in the hope that someone might roll through and give me some feedback.

For the last while I've been focused mostly on upkeep in Wolf - trying to keep buildings ticking over and so on. It's been a challenge getting water consistently to the various buildings, although we seem to have a permanent over-supply of food... also a few buildings have trade turned off when it may not be necessary.

But anyway, how am I doing as an unofficial stocker? Are people making money or losing it? What else might make sense for Wolf to get the economy back up and bigger again, and make Wolf Station mighty?

Thoughts please, and don't hold back if I'm messing things up - I really want to know.

Last edited by Involucra on Thu Dec 03, 2009 2:37 am; edited 1 time in total

Ha. Not all at once, now...

I guess Wolf needs more active players back home. Lately it looks like Wolf residents went off for business elsewhere.

Unfortunately I've been away a couple of days, and am trying to get back into things again now.

The problem is I really would like to rank and skill into a bigger trade ship than the Venom but am not sure if I can spare the time from maintaining Wolf... a bit of a conundrum.

Update: Wolf Station is now in growth mode again, just above 35,000 workers and rising, which is good news obviously.

We have a new space farm in the west, which is also good, but we have a surplus of food once again - around 200 tons sitting there (on average) per farm. Should we try to export some of this? Or is the best option to patiently grow Wolf Station and let it take up more of the farm food production?

If Wolf is producing more food than it consumes, even with growing the station, you can always export it to Vewaa/Exackcan/Besoex/Pollux/Laanex

If Wolf is producing more food than it consumes, even with growing the station, you can always export it to Vewaa/Exackcan/Besoex/Pollux/Laanex

I'd assumed that Vewaa was okay for food what with the planet and all, but I'll check it out (same with Besoex). I'm only in a Venom so wouldn't be going much further than that on top of a stocking run.

Cheers for the tip!

The problem is I really would like to rank and skill into a bigger trade ship than the Venom but am not sure if I can spare the time from maintaining Wolf... a bit of a conundrum.

I would say the ranking should be your short-term priority. At least to get into a Constrictor, which will make your trading life more efficient. If Wolf and the buildings have to go unattended for a while, so be it - you'll catch back up a lot faster with the greatly expanded cargo capacity of a Constrictor. The alliance can certainly ask within if there's maybe a younger player who wants to break out of their combat ship to do some trading for a while, or worst case scenario, Wolf Station goes down to 5,000 population for a bit. It can always be grown back; don't want you to feel imprisoned in Wolf.

And I suppose I have the other usual questions for you too. Are you making a decent profit upkeeping the economy? And, is this what you want to do and you're enjoying it? Have any medium-term goals? Looking to own your own economy instead of running what's essentially an "NPC" one? etc.

I haven't visited Wolf at all in the last... oh... 3 months at least now probably. But given the detail and content of your threads, it's clear you've been doing an admirable job trying to maintain the entire sector in nothing more than a Venom, and it doesn't appear you've had any real help to speak of. So as to what you could "improve" on, I have no input, other than to make sure you're not doing something that leading to burnout.

I would say the ranking should be your short-term priority. At least to get into a Constrictor, which will make your trading life more efficient. If Wolf and the buildings have to go unattended for a while, so be it - you'll catch back up a lot faster with the greatly expanded cargo capacity of a Constrictor.

I'm increasingly thinking this way. What I've usually been doing is swapping between sessions of upkeep in Wolf and sessions of ranking, although of late the rank runs have been a little disappointing. Increasingly though now I'm doing several upkeep sessions in a row, since the economy seems to be working better and the station is growing - would be loath to see it slide backwards.

Not too long ago I had a sort of arrangement worked out with Whiskeyjack for upkeep, but I don't see them around much anymore. Again, though, I really don't think I'd want to see the economy fall all the way back down while I take time off to get into a Connie.

And I suppose I have the other usual questions for you too. Are you making a decent profit upkeeping the economy? And, is this what you want to do and you're enjoying it? Have any medium-term goals? Looking to own your own economy instead of running what's essentially an "NPC" one? etc.

Let's see: on average I think I make around 150,000 - more on a good run, a lot less if higher-value goods are gone. It more than covers maintenance and has let me do a few big building upgrades. I do worry though that I'm profiting off building owners who aren't actually selling the final goods, which is why I periodically try to export goods like metal where Wolf is currently way oversupplied. The idea is to give the owners a bit of an earnings boost and clear out stock. If I play it right there is sometimes more profit in it for me too.

I certainly enjoy the income, and it fits in with the RP aspect of my character which I'm trying to develop. Long-term though I guess I'd like to have more time for ranking and skilling - I'd hope that at higher levels I might be trading higher-value goods over longer distances, without quite so much active upkeep. Sometimes in Wolf I've gone days without seeing a purchase from another player at my buildings. (I know I'm not alone too so this isn't about me being a martyr!)

I haven't visited Wolf at all in the last... oh... 3 months at least now probably. But given the detail and content of your threads, it's clear you've been doing an admirable job trying to maintain the entire sector in nothing more than a Venom, and it doesn't appear you've had any real help to speak of. So as to what you could "improve" on, I have no input, other than to make sure you're not doing something that leading to burnout.

It hasn't been as hard as all that. But yes, I'm conscious of not wanting to be stuck in Wolf 24/7, although when I do leave it's often with a bit of guilt over possible missed ticks or buildings swamped in unsold production. Working on that balance is the trick I think.

In fact I'm going to have to be away the next few days (off on mini-holiday) - will see the shape of things when I return.

Alright, long enough post now, I think...

Something to think about is that you can make good money in a venom, equip some guns and get into a Lanner in short order. This would allow you significantly more cargo room and decrease AP's needed to stock a single sector. The strength of Imperial fighters is most certainly our weapons/missiles we get from ranking. But if you prefer trading, a Lanner or BBB are easy to obtain and quick. I always recommend people get into the ship of their choice first as it makes realizing subsequent dreams more effiecent.

Thanks Vry - I'd never given the Lanner much thought, but as a straight upkeep machine it might be a nice choice. For now I'm trying to get my XP and rank up to Baron so I can perhaps have the Lanner/BBB/Constrictor option available.

Doing a mix of upkeep and missions is working well at the moment. I try to drop a message into alliance chat to let people know when I may be away from Wolf for a while, so that the buildings get stocked and money gets made...

To get back on topic a bit more: Wolf is doing handsomely right now as far as I can see. We've lost a few buildings, but I doubt we needed three high-level electronics plants and four med labs anyway - the remaining buildings more than meet the sector's needs. The starbase is racing up to almost 85,000 workers too, so we have a bit more demand from there to level things out (the station consumes more of the extra ore, metals etc as well as medicines and liquor and so on).

And a final message again to building owners in Wolf - since I'm around Wolf quite often, if there's anything I might be able to do to make your businesses work better, just let me know and I'll consider it and try to build it into my routine.

Okay, so I stepped back a bit over Christmas and have accelerated my XP/skilling/ranking a bit. The downside is that Wolf is now down below 50,000 workers again, so I'll be doing a full upkeep and export round in my next 5000 AP to get some normality back again.

I'll also only be pursuing mission runs when I get a solid indication of a good creature to kill or a worthwhile rank/skill gain, which will keep me a bit closer to Wolf for upkeep purposes. Help would of course be most welcome.

Talk to Zia - she was mentioning in chat that she (he?) was looking for a trading route. If Wolf is reasonably profitable I'd think you might be able to talk her into taking over part or all of it, at least short-term.

Will do, thanks!

Bumping with one more minor issue: what can be done with the hundreds of tonnes of gems building up in Wolf's asteroid mines? Would anyone nearby have a use for these?

Bumping with one more minor issue: what can be done with the hundreds of tonnes of gems building up in Wolf's asteroid mines? Would anyone nearby have a use for these?

If the optics are full, you can always dump them on the station, or contact Hollander from AI to make arrangements for shipping them to the Besoex TO and from there to AEG...

Thanks Waltherius - if/when I have time, I'll investigate that as an option.

Just a headsup for all who have businesses in Wolf: I'm currently planning a switch of internet/phone provider, which if I go through with it might mean that I would be unable to access Pardus for possibly a fortnight at most.

I will try to post here as early as possible to let you all know when I won't be able to stock or upkeep in Wolf. I regret this (I want to progress in-game and make money like everyone else) but IRL issues - like dumping my awful, awful telecommunications provider - come first.

Thanks in advance for your understanding.

Gems are also needed in Laanex optics factory, any surplus you can store in Laanex and KU 3-616 TOs.

Have shipped some gems around, will likely do the same again soon just to keep the mines going properly. In the meantime however there is stil a lot of metal and HW lying idle in Wolf, I know it can all be exported, but I only have so many APs...

Yup, time for another Wolf-related announcement if anyone still reads this topic...

I am headed off for the traditional Kiwi summer holiday, leaving on the morning of Saturday 6 February (GMT +13) and returning on Monday 15 February. Since this is a small beach house we are headed for I won't have computer access during this time.

My plan at this point is to level up to Baron over the next day or so, and then concentrate on getting Wolf's economy as tidy as possible before the evening of the 5th. After I return on the 15th, I plan to head straight back to Wolf to put everything back in order again - but this time in a Constrictor courtesy of Waltherius, which will make stocking a heap easier.

Obviously this means I won't be available to upkeep Wolf for about 9-10 days, so building owners might want to check on their businesses and possibly see if someone else is willing to stock and upkeep the sector in my absence and keep everything else ticking over (literally).

Sorry for the inconvenience but I am overdue for a proper break IRL! I hope to be back with a vengeance, equipped with a ship that will let me stock more effectively, and thus also get away for more ranking etcetera as time allows.

PM me over the remainder of the week if you have any questions or comments, either here or in-game.

Back and trading again.

I see Wolf's missing a few important buildings now - if you have slots free, maybe check the thread below?

You need to get yourself a BOA or BBB =) Think at how much faster you could transport goods. You already do a good job, but that extra space makes a world of difference. I hope my SF's are enough for the economy... if not let me know and I'll try to upgrade them if the sector is still overproducing metal/ore!

For current building owners in Wolf, please bear with me as I try to get the SB back to a reasonable population, after which the economy should function much better. If you really want to move elsewhere, it's up to you, but I promise I will do my best to make it worthwhile if you choose to stay.

If anyone is contemplating a new building, right now we badly need chemical and optics factories, and will shortly need a med lab too - I won't pretend that there's a huge amount of money to be made *right now* but there are opportunities to make very good money once things revive a bit. Come and have a look around if you're interested, and then contact sector manager Myth to see what's needed and precisely where.

Update: Wolf Station's population seems to be hovering around 13-15,000 workers. Occasionally it gets higher but if for whatever reason I end up docked in Vewaa or Exackcan overnight the SB usually misses food/water ticks and down it drops.

On the plus side, it's proving a bit easier now to keep buildings ticking - we now have electronics being produced and consumed regularly (rather than having hundreds of tons of old stock) and Wolf's metal is being cleared out on a regular basis which helps the asteroid mine owners too. There are still some extra buildings needed to make the economy work better, so take a look at the thread below if you have a slot free.

Anyone willing to do some minor upkeep or stocking - even if it's just making sure the SB doesn't miss food and water ticks - would also be very welcome. As you all probably know by now I am New Zealand-based, which means due to timezones I'm usually online only when almost noone else is; so there's definitely room for a second shift of upkeeping/stocking in Wolf.

Thanks again for your attention

Updating again for those interested...

Wolf has recently had a bit of a building boom in the asteroid field to the east, with a large number of new mines and metal smelters all around. Unfortunately, most of these new non-MPR buildings have high minimums set, and I suspect they are part of a private economy sending metal somewhere else - certainly the insane steel surpluses Wolf used to run are a thing of the past. It's quite hard even to get sufficient ore for building upgrades at times.

Apart from that, we've now got a new chem factory just south of the starbase which is very helpful in supplying my recyclotron and brewery plus the one remaining plastics plant.

Things we're still running short on:

- water, as always, which often makes it hard to supply all buildings and not end up starving the SB, unless I import from Vewaa and run the risk of raising the price too high there. Vewaa always seems to be 30 cr/tn or above on water which isn't ideal...

- rad cells - the two active droid factories need these which I'm currently importing from Laanex. Does anyone know of another reliable nearby source for these?

- electronics - there is only one electronics plant left in Wolf and it's inactive, which means importing goods from elsewhere. A domestic source for these would be great. And...

On the plus side, things we've got way too much of:

- Food! On any given day you can find maybe a thousand tons of food in mine and Vrykonik's farms (and recyclotron) in Wolf. Even after buildings are stocked and the SB fed, there's more than enough to go around. Maybe it can be used elsewhere...

So if anyone reading the above thinks they might like to set up a building, feel free to fire me or Myth (sector manager) a PM ingame, or just jump in. I upkeep as regularly as possible so will do my best to make any new building a profitable venture.

Excess food can be sold to Besoex.
The water problem will hopefully fade with the new TO in Wolf...

Thanks for the feedback! Will probably move to selling some food to Besoex at the start or end of each Wolf stocking run (as APs allow).

At the moment Vewaa's water price seems reasonable - haven't seen it reach 30 cr/tn for a while - so keeping Vewaa well supplied with energy certainly seems to help Wolf (my other motivation for my new Vewaa neb plant...).

It would still be nice to have an alternate source of electronics too; there are a couple of droid factories in Wolf that need rad cells, so perhaps someone could import these from Laanex from time to time.

Otherwise, things are looking pretty good in Wolf - starbase is nearing 50k pop for the first time in a while. Hope we can keep it there

Thanks to whoever is currently trading with Wolf Station - it's now at 75k population which is a much better level.

I even had to upgrade my space farm (untouched for months!) to produce a bit more food for the hungry station...

We could still use a more reliable source of electronics if anyone is reading. Other than that, situation normal - I'll keep stocking and updating this thread more often.

I wish I had Darius' talents with stats but hey, will try and work on that as time allows...!

Thanks Invo, I am glad to help!

We have almost the same problem with gems in Exackcan. The ORCs we have only consume some of them. We have to sell them to planets/NPC-SBs more regularly and/or set prices to 0 to be able to just drop them. My TO in Vewaa buys lots of them for 100cr/t. Selling them to the BM is also an option (10cr/t).

Our ORCs consume like 16t per day each, i.e. 64t in total.
If Laanex/Vewaa/Wolf were at about 100k, they would consume 32t per day each, i.e. 96t in total.

Since I fixed a lot of issues in Vewaa, I now can put more efforts in inter-sector things as well. Vewaa needs the plastics from Wolf, and has some excess electronics...
FYI... Vewaa now has some excess chems as well.

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