F8 page (commodity market)

Description of the F8 screen and the available modifications. (For tips on making money, see Oolite Trading)

F8 screen from the Vanilla game

F8 screen after being OXP'd!
*The added commodities (medicine, witchfire, oxygen etc) spill the commodities over onto a second page
*Docked HUDs removes the HUD from the bottom of the screen leaving just the fuel bar & missile display
*Market Observer adds the market analysis columns (average/diff/%diff/purchase breakdown)
*SW Economy has changed the order of the commodities - and has altered both the galactic average and this system's prices
*XenonUI adds the text in the margins - the helpful functional menu & sub-commands

BGS (v.2.5.1) F8 screen overlay (with docked Vimana HUD)

BGS (v.1.10.9) F8 screen overlay (with Vanilla game HUD)

In-flight screen

This screen can be accessed in flight, showing the market at the main orbital station. But it will not scroll if more than the 17 vanilla game commodities are for sale. It will also show the market for a "targeted" station.

Key-commands

• The "Arrow keys" both navigate around & between the pages, and also buy and sell items. Take care!
• Pressing the F8/8 button a second time toggles between the commodity market page with the commodity: "item" information page

Using the F8 Trading screen

F8/8: summons the screen. The prices shown (anywhere in the system) are those of the main orbital station only.

Arrows - up & down: select one of the 17 commodities

Arrows - left & Right: buy or sell the selected commodity

Enter: sells your entire inventory of the current item or buys as much as your hold (and Credits) will allow

F8/8 repeated - toggles between more detail on selected commodity & main market screen (eg if you have some in your hold: purchase price records for cargo hold contents)

?: toggles between 6 filters for the commodities

• all 17 commodities
• only goods carried in station or in stock in cargo hold
• goods carried in station only
• goods in stock in ship's cargo hold only
• legal goods: just the 14 legal commodities
• prohibited goods: just slaves, narcotics & firearms

/: toggles between 6 sorted orders for the listed commodities

• default order: the original order from Classic Elite
• alphabetical order
• order of price
• order of quantity in stock in station
• order of quantity in ship's cargo hold
• order of unit mass: ie TC/kg/g

Trading OXPs

• HyperCargo is accessed either though the F4 screen or by the F5-F8 key combination
• Market Inquirer's commodities database is accessed through the F4 screen
• New Cargoes's speciality cargo markets are accessed through the F4 screen

Number of commodities on offer

The Vanilla game features just 17 commodities which fit on the one page.
The following commodities are added by OXPs:

• Oxygen (from SW Economy)
• Fresh water (from SW Economy)
• Medicine (from SW Economy)
• Quirium Crystal (from Montanas Resource Pack 01)
• Quirium Fuel (from Fuel Tweaks)
• Quirium Plasma (from Solar Harvest OXP)
• Coronal Plasma (from Solar Harvest OXP)
• Witchfire Whisky from Darkside Moonshine Distillery

As the number of commodities increases, spilling onto a new second page, you may find a need to leave some off the list - or change their order. See the Filter and Sorting order toggles above.

Changing the page

• BGS 2.5.1 provides an overlay displaying a backdrop of a market
  
• BGS 1.10.9 has a panel added as well.
• XenonUI provides an on-screen reference list of key commands for this and the other F4-F8 pages
• Market Observer adds a plethora of information for making informed choices for buying or selling
• Docked HUDs removes your HUD from the bottom of the page, leaving only the fuel bar & missile display. Some of the more recent HUDs do this automatically.
• 'No Market' Notification is for Dockables with no market. It replaces the meaningless Vanilla game F8 page giving empty values for each commodity with a formal notice that there is no market.
• Real-Life Economics causes the prices of the commodities to change as you look at them!
• Commodity Markets OXP replaces the single price of each commodity with a buy/sell spread (of 4-10%).

• You can navigate between the commodities using the up & down arrow keys
  
• Docked HUDs removes the HUD from the bottom of the screen leaving just the fuel bar & missile display
  
• Market Observer adds the market analysis columns (average/diff/%diff/purchase breakdown)
  
• SW Economy adds the line about life-supporting goods and space objects
  
• XenonUI adds the text in the margins - the helpful functional menu & sub-commands
  

This page is accessible both while docked and in flight. The in-flight prices given are those of the local main orbital station. This is where you both buy and sell commodities - and hopefully make a profit!

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F8F8 screen from the Vanilla game

F8F8 screen (OXP'd)

Replacing the page

Note that Feudal States & Lave Academy OXP both replace this page - with either the on-planet Feudal Court (replacing a possible planetary market) or with the Academy extra-mural Syallabus).

F8F8 page (commodity "item" information)

Information about just one of the commodities on the F8 page. You can use the up & down arrow keys while on F8F8 to move between the commodities.

Various OXPs fill this screen with more information:

• Market Observer adds the price at which you bought each individual tranch of that particular commodity in your hold
• SW Economy adds trading advice about each commodity
• SOTL Altmap, another game using the Oolite engine, adds information here on this page about each of the 40 AltMap commodities (and at time of writing, this is your only clue as to where best to buy or sell them!)

This page is rather underused at the moment. Only SOTL Altmap uses it for anything really important.

Links

• ... faffing with the F8 screen (2013)
• Legal column on Market screen (2015) discussion of the confusions inherent in the Legal column. See Smugglers for Phkb's solution.
• SOTL Altmap Scenario F8 screen with 40-odd commodities!
• F? page combinations‎‎ - eg: F6 + F6 + F5
• Still don't perceive purpose of market info screen (2024)