I've been around a little while now, and I've done a fair bit of exploring with my explorer/trader character, and there's something I've been wondering...
Disregarding RP (RP is a good reason for anything), is smuggling worth it?
From everything I've seen, it's not. Doesn't matter if it's cardamine or artifacts or synthetic ganja, it just doesn't sell for enough. There are other, legal commodities that are bought cheaper and sell for more.
I'm of the opinion that cardamine and other illegal goods should sell for more at their 'target destinations' (which tend to all be Manhattan:P). Make it worth the risk of sneaking past both the pirates and the lawfuls.
1) you need to know where to look. The best trade routes are very long with legal goods but shorter with contraband. The really good legal ones like the deuterium run from some place to some place else(not telling you where) you have to go through pirate, guard, and house systems. You can make about 2700 per unit though.
2) the main purpose of a trader account is not to make money, but to run the battleship/fighter gauntlet of lawful forces without loosing your junk. That's what makes trading fun!:D
@Salamander: I somewhat disagree with you, yes part of the point of trading is the excitement of it (what little there is). But I assure you, the main reason people do it is to make money. Especially since there is no alternative to making enough to purchase most of the non-vanilla items in Disco.
<span style="color:#FF0000"><strike>RETIRED</strike></span>
ON MY WAY OUT OF RETIREMENT
Doing one run that makes me around 11 mil Ive come across Artifacts selling for 154 or something. Sell them for premium prices and thats a better mark up than my 11mil trade run. But is it worth it? Well in the correct RP circumstances I think it would. It would also make every run alot more exiting. NPC police scan you non stop it seems sometimes.
I mean really, what should be worth more? Luxury, high art, artifacts and drugs? Or bacterai and raw materials? (don't mean gold, but actually that too)
there are some good profits than can be made with smuggling... it can even be done within a few jumps, best i made smuggling was 6 mil for 2 systems...
so thats not too bad... just try and find it out.. dock at every single (pirate) base and make sure you know all the route's bases and places where to get the contraband at a good price.
i do think there should be a planet (named "The Green Machine") that grows original pot.. synth pot is okay. but i love to smoke it (in character ofcourse xD) lets think about it;)
"War. War never changes. Since the dawn of human kind, when our ancestors first discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything, from God to justice to simple, psychotic rage."
Agreed. Cardamine trading should be more profitable; I'm so sick of Tau-31 I could defect to Kusari and bomb the living crap out of Harriss and Macduff.
Quote:Quick comment - we thought that Panzer was the Leader, Swift. -Agmen
But then, smuggling should become a forbidden fruit.
Radical idea, but here goes:
Make capital planets and places with high potential contraband demand have highest buy prices, BUT when a player gets caught by NPCs, carrying contraband and an admin sees it, the misfortunate trader gets RP-sanctioned by moving him to a police guard base without half of his money (or twice the cash he'd make selling the goods)
The admin himself wouldn't scan, only look at if the incoming trader gets intercepted and cargo-demanded by the NPCs.
I agree. Smuggling paybacks aren't high enough, but also it's too easy to get away with it. Heavy sanctions against those caught are definately needed, but it can't just be get scanned and you're caught. The scans from NPCs are too frequent and there has to be the opportunity to escape. Enough of a chance to make it worth the risk. If you do get caught you lose the ship. Don't think you should lose cash though. Let's face it, a good smuggler ain't gonna keep money in a place the authorities can confiscate it.
Why punishement.. we have the police factions to deal with that?? they can put someone on KoS list or demand payment and to drop cargo... Its not the admins job to punish someone for smuggling let the police do their jobs.
"War. War never changes. Since the dawn of human kind, when our ancestors first discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything, from God to justice to simple, psychotic rage."
![[Image: Vxqj04i.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/Vxqj04i.gif)
![[Image: Sig3.png]](http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/ff332/lib3drakeaj/Sig3.png)