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PART
2: Understanding Ports To
understand TW, one must understand ports. Below is a typical SBB port
as seen from within the game:
Sector :
1995 in
uncharted space.
Ports :
Cabal's Hideout,
Class 3
(SBB)
Warps to Sector(s) :
952 -
2465 When
you port there, you get the following:
The Usurper docked
6 minutes ago.
| Items |
Status |
Trading |
%
of max |
OnBoard |
| ----- |
------ |
------- |
-------- |
------- |
| Fuel
Ore |
Selling |
2610 |
100% |
0 |
| Organics |
Buying |
950 |
100% |
0 |
| Equipment |
Buying |
2100 |
100% |
50 |
You have
3,451,542 credits and 0 empty cargo holds.
We are buying up to 2100. You have
50 in your holds.
How many holds of Equipment do you want to sell
[50]? Here
is what that same port looks like from within T-Edit:
Port number: 1484
<A> Name:
Cabal's Hideout
<W> Last ship to port:
The Usurper
<T> Last robbed by :
Traitor
<B> Class:
3
<C> Ore:
2610
<D> Org:
0
<E> Equ:
0
Productivity (units per day)
<F> Ore:
261 <G> Org:
95 <H> Equ:
210
Maximum change in cost (percent)
<I> Ore:
61 <J> Org:
-60 <K> Equ:
-51
< > Accumulated Trading Credits:
240
: I suggest you do not change values
<F> through <K>!
The INITPORT.EXE program will adjust those values for you. KEY:
B:
See here for
more detail on port Classes.
C, D, and E:
These settings control how much product is actually on the port. Note
how C in this example is at 2610. That means that there are 2,610
holds worth of Fuel Ore on the port. D and E are at 0, indicating that
there is no Organics or Equipment available. When the port is buying a
particular product, and that number is at 0, it means that the port is at
100% and ready to buy up to its maximum. When the port is selling
product, and that number is at 0, it means the port is at 0%, and can't sell
you any product. These numbers never go negative.
F, G, and H:
These settings are what control how much product the port can sell or
buy. The amount of product that they can handle is equal to 10 times
the number. So, in the above example, this port can buy 950 holds of
Organics and 2100 holds of Equipment. It can also sell 2610 holds of
Fuel Ore. The maximum value of these numbers is 3276 (32,760 holds
worth) in MBBS mode, and 6553 (65,530 holds worth) in Gold mode. These
numbers don't go negative either. These numbers explain why you can
only upgrade ports 10 units at a time. (This can be a painful lesson
to learn if you want to put 250 units of EQ on a port for some SST'ing, and
you forget the 10 to 1 conversion. Instead of 22,500 credits you spend
225,000!)
Accumulated Trading Credits:
This is how many credits are actually on the port. If you were to try
to rob this port, it would only show 618 being available. Remember the
11%? This is where it is. One thing to remember about running
MR's is that however many credits you put into the port, they will be there
when you go to rob it. It's a good idea to keep track of how much you
put in, so you can be sure to rob it all back. There has been rumors
about the Accumulated Trading Credits disappearing over time. I have
tracked a port for 48 hours, and can safely say that this doesn't
happen.
I, J, and K:
Maximum Change In Cost (MCIC).
These are the interesting
settings, and what this section is mostly about. These settings
control the PRICE of product on the port. Positive numbers indicate
that it's selling that product, negative numbers mean it's buying. The
further away from zero the number is, the more the product costs if it's
selling, or the more it pays if it's buying. The closer to zero the
number is, the cheaper it is to buy product, but the less it pays for
product. 50 or -50 is "average". Player created ports ALWAYS sell
at 50, and buy at -60. If you ever noticed that your own buy ports
seemed to be better than most ports, it's because you were right! The
full range is -100 to 100.
So, what's the difference between -30, -50, and -65? Take a look at
the chart below to get a general idea.
| Setting
for Equipment |
Amount
offered for a 32760 hold planet trade (from a MR) |
Amount
they will accept |
%
difference |
| -30 |
3,733,821 |
3,845,836 |
3.0% |
| -40 |
3,978,374 |
4,141,487 |
4.1% |
| -50 |
4,217,031 |
4,436,317 |
5.2% |
| -60 |
4,449,791 |
4,734,578 |
6.4% |
| -65 |
4,563,959 |
4,883,436 |
7.0% |
There
are several things to notice in the above chart. First off, there is a
big difference between how much the -30 port offers, and how much the -65
port offers. 830,138 credits difference, and it's 1,149,615 credits
if you haggle! Then take a look at the % difference. Notice the
pattern? If you know the MCIC number, you know how much you can
haggle, often to the credit. (it's actually significant out to like 5 digits, but I chose
to round for the sake of simplicity. The port will actually accept
slightly more than what I put there, but it's not worth figuring it out to
the credit.) I chose to use a buy port with a planet trade for this
example, because planet trades are always consistent. There will be
more charts to come that explain why I stopped this chart at -65. :-) EXPERIENCE
MATTERS If
you aren't doing a planetary negotiation, then the amount that a port will
offer is based on the Maximum Change In Cost (MCIC) and your
experience. The more experience you have, the cheaper things are to
buy, and the more they are worth when you sell up to around 1,000 exp.
After 1,000 experience, there doesn't seem to be a difference between
1,000 exp, 10,000 exp, or 1,000,000 exp. See the following chart:
| Current
Exp |
Average
Amount Offered for 250 holds of EQ at a 50 MCIC Port (Sell Port) |
Difference
between each successive offer |
|
Current
Exp |
Average
Amount Offered for 250 holds of EQ at a -50 MCIC Port (Buy Port) |
Difference
between each successive offer |
|
Current
Exp |
Average
Amount Offered for 250 holds of EQ with 100% planet trade at a -50
MCIC Port (Buy Port) |
| 0 |
11,760 |
|
|
0 |
32,405 |
|
|
0 |
32,181 |
| 100 |
11,443 |
317 |
|
100 |
32,779 |
374 |
|
100 |
32,181 |
| 200 |
11,219 |
225 |
|
200 |
32,963 |
184 |
|
200 |
32,181 |
| 300 |
10,953 |
265 |
|
300 |
33,077 |
114 |
|
300 |
32,181 |
| 400 |
10,774 |
179 |
|
400 |
33,277 |
201 |
|
400 |
32,181 |
| 500 |
10,476 |
298 |
|
500 |
33,582 |
305 |
|
500 |
32,181 |
| 600 |
10,173 |
304 |
|
600 |
33,723 |
140 |
|
600 |
32,181 |
| 700 |
9,965 |
208 |
|
700 |
33,976 |
253 |
|
700 |
32,181 |
| 800 |
9,613 |
352 |
|
800 |
34,206 |
230 |
|
800 |
32,181 |
| 900 |
9,426 |
186 |
|
900 |
34,474 |
269 |
|
900 |
32,181 |
| 1,000 |
9,097 |
329 |
|
1,000 |
34,646 |
172 |
|
1,000 |
32,181 |
| 1,100 |
9,118 |
-21 |
|
1,100 |
34,657 |
11 |
|
1,100 |
32,181 |
| 1,200 |
9,102 |
16 |
|
1,200 |
34,734 |
77 |
|
1,200 |
32,181 |
| 1,300 |
9,156 |
-54 |
|
1,300 |
34,655 |
-79 |
|
1,300 |
32,181 |
| 1,400 |
9,061 |
95 |
|
1,400 |
34,710 |
55 |
|
1,400 |
32,181 |
| 1,500 |
9,130 |
-69 |
|
1,500 |
34,739 |
29 |
|
1,500 |
32,181 |
| 10,000 |
9,217 |
-87 |
|
10,000 |
34,697 |
-42 |
|
10,000 |
32,181 |
| 20,000 |
9,134 |
83 |
|
20,000 |
34,672 |
-26 |
|
20,000 |
32,181 |
| 30,000 |
9,145 |
-11 |
|
30,000 |
34,688 |
16 |
|
30,000 |
32,181 |
| 40,000 |
9,062 |
83 |
|
40,000 |
34,600 |
-88 |
|
40,000 |
32,181 |
| 50,000 |
9,223 |
-161 |
|
50,000 |
34,651 |
51 |
|
50,000 |
32,181 |
| 100,000 |
9,142 |
81 |
|
100,000 |
34,657 |
5 |
|
100,000 |
32,181 |
| 1,000,000 |
9,082 |
60 |
|
1,000,000 |
34,757 |
100 |
|
1,000,000 |
32,181 |
| 4,500,000 |
9,095 |
-13 |
|
4,500,000 |
34,721 |
-36 |
|
4,500,000 |
32,181 |
This
chart was made using 2 scripts, one that reset the port after a trade (back
to 100%), and one that did the actual trade. These are the offered
prices, not the haggled prices. Each experience value was run 20
times, and I took the average. I re-ran all the tests 5 times, for a
total of 100 trades at each exp value. The averages were consistently
within +/- 2%.
Notice that Planet Trade Offers NEVER
change. Also keep in mind that Alignment has nothing to do with it
either. I've tested this at -4,000,000 and 4,000,000 alignment, and at
every 10k increment in between. Based on this chart, you can see that
the PPT'er with 1000 exp is going to make more money than the guy with 0
exp. It
shouldn't take you long to come to the same conclusion that I did once I
realized how experience and MCIC worked. If you want to make real
money, you have to find buy ports with LOW MCIC's, like -60 or less.
Particularly if you are planning on going through all the trouble and
expense to upgrade them for Planet Trading or MR's. PORT
GENERATION By
now, you're probably wondering how to find a -80 buy eq port, right?
Well, it's a bit more complicated than that. I need to touch on how
ports are generated in TWGS first. Port numbers and sector numbers are
not directly tied to each other. When the game pre-generates ports, it
assigns the ports to random sectors. (So port 1522 isn't going
to be in sector 1522.) Interestingly, there are more class 1, 2, and 3
ports than any other type. For a standard bang (40% port density and
95% built ports), there are 1900 ports generated. 4 of those ports are
the special ports, so that leaves only 1896 ports. The chart below
shows their distribution.
| Port
Class |
Quantity
of Ports with Port Bang Settings at 40% total and 95% built |
Percent
of Total Ports |
Quantity
of Ports with Port Bang Settings at 80% total and 95% built |
Percent
of Total Ports |
| 1 |
378 |
19.94% |
758 |
19.97% |
| 2 |
379 |
19.99% |
759 |
19.99% |
| 3 |
379 |
19.99% |
759 |
19.99% |
| 4 |
189 |
9.97% |
379 |
9.98% |
| 5 |
189 |
9.97% |
379 |
9.98% |
| 6 |
189 |
9.97% |
379 |
9.98% |
| 7 |
94 |
4.96% |
189 |
4.98% |
| 8 |
99 |
5.22% |
194 |
5.11% |
| Totals: |
1896
|
100.00% |
3796
|
100.00% |
I
banged 20 games with each of the port settings, and got the same results
every time. It's roughly 20% for 1-3, 10% for 4-6 and 5% for 7
and 8. I
also tracked the MCIC numbers for all the ports and found the following:
| Product
Type |
Low
MCIC for Buy Port |
High
MCIC for Buy port |
Low
MCIC for Sell Port |
High
MCIC for Sell Port |
| Equipment |
-65 |
-20 |
20 |
65 |
| Organics |
-75 |
-30 |
30 |
75 |
| Fuel Ore |
-90 |
-40 |
40 |
90 |
These
maximum and minimum numbers were consistent regardless of the number of
ports. That means that you will never find a Buy EQ port better than
-65. Sucks, huh? So, I decided to track the frequency of ports,
and found that the distribution was flat, and that you can expect there to
be approximately 21 equipment ports for each value of MCIC, 21 organics
ports for each value of MCIC, and 19 fuel ore ports for each value of MCIC.
However, you're just as likely to find a -65 EQ, -20 org, -90 fuel port as
you will a 20 eq, 75 org, 20 fuel port. Basically, in an average bang,
there will be 126 buy EQ ports at -60 or less. The only way to find
them is trial and error. I will tell you that while it's a pain to
track down the -60's, it's worth your while to AVOID the -20's! If you
aren't getting at least 34,500 credits for 250 holds with 1k or more exp,
(or 32,181 for a 250 hold planet trade) you shouldn't bother working with
that port. Two more charts, showing the value in credits for all product at
various MCIC settings.
| SELL
PORTS: |
MCIC
VALUE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
90 |
80 |
75 |
70 |
65 |
60 |
55 |
50 |
40 |
30 |
20 |
| Normal
Trade Fuel Ore, 250 holds |
1,092 |
1,754 |
2,082 |
2,407 |
2,730 |
3,049 |
3,361 |
3,675 |
4,302 |
N/A |
N/A |
| Normal
Trade Organics, 250 holds |
N/A |
N/A |
3,768 |
4,406 |
5,054 |
5,696 |
6,330 |
6,964 |
8,189 |
9,414 |
N/A |
| Normal
Trade Equipment, 250 holds |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
8,787 |
9,945 |
11,059 |
12,190 |
14,434 |
16,603 |
18,725 |
The above chart
assumes Zero experience, the sell port is at 100%, and no
haggling.
| BUY
PORTS: |
MCIC
VALUE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-90 |
-80 |
-75 |
-70 |
-65 |
-60 |
-55 |
-50 |
-40 |
-30 |
-20 |
| Normal
Trade Fuel Ore, 250 holds |
10,678 |
10,226 |
10,030 |
9,772 |
9,517 |
9,293 |
9,035 |
8,791 |
8,276 |
N/A |
N/A |
| Normal
Trade Organics, 250 holds |
N/A |
N/A |
20,144 |
19,646 |
19,176 |
18,698 |
18,184 |
17,712 |
16,659 |
15,634 |
N/A |
| Normal
Trade Equipment, 250 holds |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
34,647 |
33,701 |
32,853 |
31,910 |
30,108 |
28,257 |
26,380 |
| Planet
Trade Fuel Ore, 250 Holds |
10,920 |
10,465 |
10,233 |
9,998 |
9,759 |
9,518 |
9,273 |
9,025 |
8,520 |
N/A |
N/A |
| Planet
Trade Organics, 250 Holds |
N/A |
N/A |
20,350 |
19,879 |
19,401 |
18,918 |
18,428 |
17,931 |
16,920 |
15,884 |
N/A |
| Planet
Trade Equipment, 250 Holds |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
34,829 |
33,958 |
33,075 |
32,181 |
30,360 |
28,494 |
26,583 |
The above chart
assumes zero experience, the buy port is at 100%, and no haggle. Those
two charts show average numbers. The exact numbers, except for the
planet trades, will vary somewhat because ports offer around 25 different
prices for any given amount of product. I have a much more detailed
chart that covers all the ranges, and what each of those offers are, but
there isn't room on my site for it. This information should cover
about 99% of the situations you might encounter anyway. Well, enough
about ports.
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