Contrabandista's Art

Contrabandista's Notes & Quotes

Condensed and (usually) paraphrased quotes from the Oolite BB on the Contrabandista's Art. collected by Rese249er in 2012

Editor's Note: 2012 was before the changes to Rock Hermits and commodity markets implemented in Oolite v.1.82. The material below has been annotated accordingly.

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El Viejo's Rule #1: Always have enough for a jump in the tank.

El Viejo on 'the most valuable commodity': Bit of a trick question, I suppose - sorry about that. My answer has always been quirium fuel - it's free or dirt-cheap, but absolutely priceless in combat!

El Viejo on drop-tanks: If you don't carry drop-tanks (or a reserve tank), only make short jumps wherever possible. This can have several benefits.

EV's narc-selling tip: pull into a rock hermit in a poor agricultural anarchy or feudal system, sell narcotics at 90₢ or above, proceed to the main station, buy furs at less than 50₢, return to the hermit and sell furs for over 90₢. note: this now needs Ye Olde Hermit markets which restores the earlier markets to some hermits

EV's general guidelines: A player's personal RoE (Rules of Engagement) come into the equation too - for example, I never engage Vipers unless I absolutely have to (and I certainly never splash a Viper except in extremis - they're just regular guys doing a rotten job, after all - and they don't have escape pods). Hunch your shoulders and take the hits, and if you cannot evade them, hyperspace out (as unfortunately Vipers cannot follow the player through their wormhole). Get your RoE firmly established, and get your contraband trade rules established - I never buy narcotics at over 10₢, I never sell at under 70₢ (and if you're a morally upright person such as myself, never deal in slaves or firearms).

Jeffron: Learn docking on injectors.

Ya-Tah-Hey's Cargo Bays trick: use a ship with multiple cargo bays, keep only clean goods in the current manifest.

Switeck's Stations tip: With enough stations in 1 system, at least 1 station is likely to have high narcotics prices... though only the main station is likely to have any for sale.

Diziet Sma's view on 'acceptable' contraband: ...Whilst I agree with you (El Viejo) on slavery, I regard firearms as something of a grey area. Overthrowing tyranny often requires being able to counter the firepower arrayed against you, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter, etc..

Diziet Sma quoting El Viejo: You gotta have a nose for the business, and I couldn't explain that. The best deals are where you buy 32TC at 1.2₢, jump out, jump straight back to the same system, and sell at 102₢ - but you may have to fight your way in (and out, of course). Oh, one tip maybe - I visit a lot of systems that a player wouldn't normally visit - the in-between worlds (and a well-balanced cluster of systems is handy)!

Spara quoting "a seasoned veteran giving guidance: "You see lad, if you want to have a better look at the opponent, you really should fly closer."

On 'hitch-hiking'

Diziet Sma: ...if I have to make a long jump into a system, I'll loiter in the Station Aegis scanning wormholes until I can hitch a free ride. I once waited an hour (real time) and 20+ wormholes, for a trader heading to the system I wanted. Better that than getting jumped on arrival by six or more henchmen, and me with near-dry tanks. (Interesting side-note: after a while of watching and waiting, you can generally predict which system a ship will jump to, by the direction they head in after exiting the Station. When you see a ship head in a direction that's new to you, pay attention.. it might be the ride you've been waiting for.)

El Viejo: Hitching a free ride (something I do a lot) can a very good idea for a new Jameson. Yes, you don't know where the wormhole is going, but...

superbatprime: Escort missions OXP (Note: this might be Escort Contracts OXP) is good for the odd free ride too, I always check to see if anyone is going my way (or even a nearby-ish system) before departure, the fee more than covers any injecting done along the way and it's nice to have company (and backup, although some Mothers can be a little too enthusiastic about getting into fights) on the trip.

Disembodied: it helps to have a Wormhole Scanner fitted, if you're going to be a professional hitcher.

Note: one can also use Station Dock Control which in-station shows where some of the docked ships are going - and allows one to launch immediately before them, obviating the need to wait

Links

• Contraband and legal status (2012)
• Rese249er's original version of the above (2012)

The condenser, Rese249er

Rese249er is also the author of HoloNum HUD, the 249th Naval Reserve Wing OXP and tried to develop a grapple beam OXP.

He also wrote some OoFiction: see his entry in the List of Oolite stories

And he playtested the Serpent Class Cruiser