When to build the first station?

[SENMSL]

As I understand, the major income of this game comes from plants and factories. However, it seems a single station production module would cost more than 800,000. How should I earn the start fund for a station?

[The Dank Lord [GER]]

If this already shocks you, wait until you do the Split and Paranid plot... (which is shocking me right now cause I will never be able to finish them)
What I do is building freighters (I like to use L freighters) and let them trade really expensive goods. This is a good way to earn money. You can also sell cargo from destroyed ships to make money until you can buy your first freighter

The big thing is you just need a lot of patient.
I am 13hs in, have one L freighter and just started to build my first space station which just produces energy cells

[Wraith]

Originally posted by xcjtom:

As I understand, the major income of this game comes from plants and factories. However, it seems a single station production module would cost more than 800,000. How should I earn the start fund for a station?

Start from the bottom.
Don't need to rush a production module.

You can get a mining station up and running really fast (it only need a dock and storage)

My go to is earn enough money to get a mining station up and running by scavenging or questing and then start to expand my passive income.
(Trading and Mining)

[Knottypine]

I believe the game starts you off with a blueprint for energy cell production. I think it's the games way of leading you into your first production. You could probably set one of those up quite early on for some passive income by selling energy cells.

[icedude94]

In every game for me, I start with refined metals to increase the demand for my ore miners. You can attach an energy cell module to be self sufficient and assign your mining ships to the station manager and only allow ore to come from your own ships.

There are always plenty of hull plate factories but never enough of them to keep the shipyards supplied. You can either start your own hull plate factory or add the modules to your existing ore refining complex.

Use the supply shortfalls in the shipyards as your guide to what to produce. For me, once I satisfy the demand for hull plates, it's typically weapon components, engine parts, and advanced electronics that come next.

I would not sell energy cells. Most factories very quickly fill up on them and get bottle-necked from a lack of another material.

It's easy to spot where the opportunities are with satellites or a trade subscription to see the market.

Low selling prices and high buying prices indicate a logistics problem. Use your transports and profit.

High buying prices and high selling prices or a lack of sellers indicates a lack of producers. Build factories.

Once you have the money and rep, start your own shipyard and supply your own wares. You will make a fortune with the different factions buying ships from you.

[SENMSL]

Thanks for your help. I have found out how to hire and command crews and it's fantastic. The only question left is that will I pay employees periodically or just once?

[icedude94]

Just once to hire them. No upkeep or wages.

[Bozz 💀]

Me personnally, I just buy some M miners and put them in quiete sectors , like the terran sectors, and put them on repeat order...
they will give you passive income while you explore, do missions, do plots or whatever you going to do.

then I go for a mining complex, which is not going to cost much money as you already will have a decent mining fleet that made you some money.

[=]

A good way of making some good passive income early game is to use a small miner and have it automine nvidium in sectors which contain a lot of it (relatively speaking). They make about 100-120k per trip so they will pay for themselves quickly and you will be able to start to build up funds for bigger things.

[blackphoenixx]

Originally posted by Knottypine:

I believe the game starts you off with a blueprint for energy cell production. I think it's the games way of leading you into your first production. You could probably set one of those up quite early on for some passive income by selling energy cells.

Unless you're carting them to Oort Cloud selling ecells is almost never worth it since most NPC stations either have their own ecell production or get amply supplied by NPC energy traders. Outside of the low sun sectors the market is pretty much always saturated.

For early game income you're much better off investing into mining stations & ships.
Once you want to get into production refined metal and silicon wafers are generally in high demand and make much better profits for lower investment.

[Bozz 💀]

Originally posted by =:

A good way of making some good passive income early game is to use a small miner and have it automine nvidium in sectors which contain a lot of it (relatively speaking). They make about 100-120k per trip so they will pay for themselves quickly and you will be able to start to build up funds for bigger things.

not the best idea since they will attract kha'aks and get destroyed in most Nividium sectors and also it's very long to mine nividium.
It's far better to mine silicon or ore and sell it specially if you are lucky and have stations that buy those 2 minerals right next to swhere you can mine it.
that's 50k-100k every few minutes

[=]

Originally posted by Bozz 💀:

not the best idea since they will attract kha'aks and get destroyed in most Nividium sectors and also it's very long to mine nividium.
It's far better to mine silicon or ore and sell it specially if you are lucky and have stations that buy those 2 minerals right next to swhere you can mine it.
that's 50k-100k every few minutes

It's been working perfectly fine for me, I don't think I have lost one yet as I have them set up to escape at the first sign of trouble. I have various other miners as well but 5 x S nvidum miners give me about 30-40% of the income that 11 x M ore/gas miners give me.

[Bozz 💀]

Originally posted by =:

Originally posted by Bozz 💀:

not the best idea since they will attract kha'aks and get destroyed in most Nividium sectors and also it's very long to mine nividium.
It's far better to mine silicon or ore and sell it specially if you are lucky and have stations that buy those 2 minerals right next to swhere you can mine it.
that's 50k-100k every few minutes

It's been working perfectly fine for me, I don't think I have lost one yet as I have them set up to escape at the first sign of trouble. I have various other miners as well but 5 x S nvidum miners give me about 30-40% of the income that 11 x M ore/gas miners give me.

damn, I was doing the nividium mining in beginning until they nerfed the kha'ak and I always loose all my miners when they mine nividium... Dont know if you are lucky or I'm just unlucky lol