Terran Hull Parts? What gives?

[Ventus]

Fairly new start, building with TER, but stations I want to build need hull parts that TER don't make? Is it the case that the Terran start gives you non-terran blueprints? And if so, how can "switch" over to Terran station construction? I see other Terran Solar plants.

This is my first playthrough, Terran Cadet. I am building up the Player HQ the story pushes you to, and I need money. I have done the Yaki questline, but am just now starting to settle into the stations and such. I have 9 miners, mostly silicone, selling for 100k or so a pop.

Someone told me that you can build a Power Cell station Mercury, and a docking pad and storage in the asteroid belt, and make really good money selling so long as you give it a courier to shuttle the goods. I am trying to give that a go, but ALL the Ship Hull Parts Factories are sold out, (TEL and one other faction I can trade with, like 30 factories, all empty?).

I appreciate the help. Loving the game, but trying to unriddle how some things work is crazy difficult (esp when you add the 6+ years of outdated guides). Thanks for helpful answers.

[Defektiv]

Hull Parts are always in constant demand without player intervention in my experience. You'll have to travel for them until you can build them yourself.

[Ventus]

Originally posted by Defektiv:

Hull Parts are always in constant demand without player intervention in my experience. You'll have to travel for them until you can build them yourself.

Thank you . How can you "build them yourself"? Who gives that blueprint for (what I assume) is a production module? Is it TEL?

Sounds like Terran start indeed requires Hull Parts that TER cant craft, that I cant craft, and that everyone else is out of... frustrating. Followup, does this mean just wait? Should I re-task miners to feed something to increase TEL production of hull parts?

I'm worried I am going so slow that Xenon is going to steam roll everyone without my intervention.

[conrado.lacerda]

Your basic problem seems to be that, as a terran cadet, your reputation with most other factions is pretty sour. (You can check your reputations in the "Player Information" menu, "Factions and Reputation" tab.) Because of this, no one will sell you the materials for your station; you need at least -10 rep with a faction to be able to buy stuff from them. So, my recommendation would be to complete missions and similar things to improve your reputation with some factions, most notably the Argon, the Antigone and the Godrealm, which, aside from the Teladi, can provide the materials you need.

The second possible approach to is to produce these materials yourself. Although you began as a terran cadet, you can purchase blueprints for and build stations with modules from any other species in the game, provided you have a good enough reputation with them. So, you can build stations that produce hull parts, claytronics etc. However, this route can take a while and requires a fair amount of money.

Edit: you can buy module blueprints from faction representatives.

Edit 2: the terran economy doesn't use hull parts and almost any other ware from the "universal" economy, with the 2 exception being energy cells and medical supplies.

[Hopscotch]

At the start of the game the economy is in shambles and you really need ferry resources to the shipyards to get anything done. For the player HQ you only need to build 1 L Solid and Container storage (or several smaller ones) so you can store the resources for researching, other than that, investing in the PHQ early is a waste.

Since you started as terran, the best strategy i found is to send Hokkaido mineral miners to Oort Belt (build them at the Segaris Pioneers shipyard) and mine silicon for the Computronics factories there, you will make 450-500k per miner but you need ~3.7 mil for a bare-bones miner. After that get the computronics blueprint and build a factory in Asteroid belt to make all the money you will ever need and then make the microlattice and silicon carbide factory so you have construction materials for the stations.

On my current game I made a factory with 8x Computronic that made me ~2 billion in just over 1 day of game time. It needs 22 L miners to keep it at full production and everything it produces is sold immediately.

When explanding into non-terran space you will need to set up hull parts and claytronics factories first so you can build your stations faster or sell to the market for some quick income. In case you didn't know there's an x4 calculator to help you visualize the production/consumption of your factories, it a must have when building IMO, just google "X4 calculator".

[Defektiv]

Originally posted by Ventus:

Originally posted by Defektiv:

Hull Parts are always in constant demand without player intervention in my experience. You'll have to travel for them until you can build them yourself.

Thank you . How can you "build them yourself"? Who gives that blueprint for (what I assume) is a production module? Is it TEL?

Sounds like Terran start indeed requires Hull Parts that TER cant craft, that I cant craft, and that everyone else is out of... frustrating. Followup, does this mean just wait? Should I re-task miners to feed something to increase TEL production of hull parts?

I'm worried I am going so slow that Xenon is going to steam roll everyone without my intervention.

What conrado said above. You can also scan data leaks on stations and sometimes get the blueprint that way. Don't worry about Xenon taking over the universe. They will sometimes break through and terrorize an area you're in but I've never seen them get super out of control even in my save I started when the game first released. Just try to look at the map occasionally and if you see one make sure to stay out of its way. If you happen to agro one you can also kite them to a station to escape.

There is a trade overlay on the map in the upper right. Turn that on, type Hull Parts into the search to tag it and then scroll out on the map. Highlight the Hull Parts entry on the list and it will point to exactly where the station selling them is located. You probably don't want to automate that as a new player as its easy for the ai to get into trouble and those are bigger losses at the start.

Ultimately you can get to the point where you're building and supplying everything anywhere at any time for almost no cost. But it takes a long time to get there.

[mcb0ny]

Terran station modules need Computronic Substrate, Energy Cells and Silicon Carbide. If a module needs Hull Parts, it's not a terran design. And you do start with a Basic 1M6S dock, thats not terran. Use 4M10S Luxury, that's terran.

[conrado.lacerda]

Originally posted by Defektiv:

You can also scan data leaks on stations and sometimes get the blueprint that way.

Don't you need the appropriate research from the HQ for this?

[Defektiv]

Originally posted by conrado.lacerda:

Originally posted by Defektiv:

You can also scan data leaks on stations and sometimes get the blueprint that way.

Don't you need the appropriate research from the HQ for this?

I had to check its been so long but yes, but its pretty early. I think mcb0ny is right too, you can go all Terran and save some. But there are also things you can't find in Terran space that the same also applies. I know I'm always providing my own Advanced Electronics, Field Coils, Shield and Turret Components on a regular basis. And they also don't have an endless supply of their own unique products.

[conrado.lacerda]

Originally posted by Defektiv:

Originally posted by conrado.lacerda:

Don't you need the appropriate research from the HQ for this?

I had to check its been so long but yes, but its pretty early. I think mcb0ny is right too, you can go all Terran and save some. But there are also things you can't find in Terran space that the same also applies. I know I'm always providing my own Advanced Electronics, Field Coils, Shield and Turret Components on a regular basis. And they also don't have an endless supply of their own unique products.

I only pointed this out is because the author of the thread is asking for help on how to build the dock in the HQ station, which comes before being able to do research... So, it might confuse more than help, like, "I spent the last 5 hours scanning every leak in every station and it didn't work!".

[Ventus]

Great answers. Thank you, ill pick one and mark closed. I appreciate it.

I think what caught me off guard were all the EMPTY hull parts factories (some 30 that would sell, if they had stock, and many more I cant buy from). Thats what pushed me to go "well ♥♥♥♥, if I want my Terran Station built, which requires Hull parts, ill make those myself!"

Alas, Hull Part crafting doesnt come from TER (found it with ARG for 5 mil). Seems weird that my station blueprints would require hull parts that I have to rely on others for, but I got some great suggestions.

I shall begin the next arc of my story, from needing hull parts to building a hull parts module, the prerequisite materials, and then waiting because those too probably need hull parts =D

[Defektiv]

Fair enough. Probably still easier to just use the trade overlay. It's been a while since I restarted as a new player but I think you can find Hull Parts as close as Asteroid Belt or Argon space.

[conrado.lacerda]

Originally posted by Ventus:

"well ♥♥♥♥, if I want my Terran Station built, which requires Hull parts, ill make those myself!"

As noted before, terran modules don't require hull parts, you must have selected the "universal" docking module instead. As a terran cadet, you should also have the blueprint for the terran dock; use it! But know that this will require you to either transport all the materials from terran space to your station or give your station the money to buy them and WAIT for terran traders to supply...