Question about smuggling

[tylertoo]

Yes, I know there are no dumb questions. But I'm sure I'll feel dumb with the answer.

Question: Playing as a pirate, once I accept a smuggling mission, do I need to manually assign freighters to carry out the mission? Or do my freighters that are AI controlled eventually take up the task? I'm not sure what I do precisely once I accept the mission (if anything).

The manual is mum on this question. All I could find it:

Smuggling missions, once accepted, become a priority goal for any smugglers in your pirate faction. Those that manage to fulfil the mission before it expires will earn you a significant bonus for each delivered resource.

[Raap]

You can't actually control the private sector's ships, even in Pirate mode. So no, there's nothing you can do to order them to do smuggling missions. There are a few things you can do to assist them however; you can make sure you have lots of freighters so that some are always available for smuggling missions, and you can make sure you have lots of resources to smuggle.

[tylertoo]

I thought pirates had no pirate sector. They do?

[sanderz]

thats a good question - does a pirate ALWAYS have to build its own merchant ships or a does a private sector still do it for him automatically?

[Raap]

The private sector in pirate mode has no cash, since they have no colonies. I don't think it gets any cash even when it gets colonies. At any rate, without cash it can't build stuff, meaning you'll have to build everything manually.

On the bright side, you don't pay upkeep for any private-sector ships or bases. In fact, no one pays the upkeep, as far as I can determine.

[Mansen]

I'd like to know this as well - how exactly do Pirates smuggle goods? Do we queue up freighters constantly manually?

[tylertoo]

ORIGINAL: Mansen

I'd like to know this as well - how exactly do Pirates smuggle goods? Do we queue up freighters constantly manually?

Bumping slightly in search of an answer. Is it simply this: accept a smuggling mission, order up a bunch of freighters?

[Scrove]

Far as I know, if you have extra of the resource and you have free smugglers/freighters then they will automatically take that mission and start smuggling resources.

[elliotg]

ORIGINAL: tylertoo

ORIGINAL: Mansen

I'd like to know this as well - how exactly do Pirates smuggle goods? Do we queue up freighters constantly manually?

Bumping slightly in search of an answer. Is it simply this: accept a smuggling mission, order up a bunch of freighters?

That's pretty much it [:)]

Once you accept a smuggling mission your freighters will prioritize fulfillment of that mission. As you've probably noted, the mission includes a description of how many of your freighters are currently undertaking the smuggling mission. If you have the civilian travel vector overlay turned on, when you hover over the smuggling mission in the Empire Navigation Tool, the travel vectors of all freighters currently fulfilling the mission will be highlighted in red, so you can see which freighters are performing the mission, and where they are (when zoomed out to the sector/galaxy level).

Note that as a pirate you have to pay for both the purchase and maintenance costs of freighters. You can directly build them at your space port, but they are automated and control themselves, transporting cargo as necessary.

[Mansen]

So basically you have to pay attention to and manage the construction of freighters yourself as a pirate? D'aww - Would have been nice if the Build screen had options for freighters as pirates. [:'(]

[tylertoo]

ORIGINAL: elliotg


That's pretty much it [:)]

Once you accept a smuggling mission your freighters will prioritize fulfillment of that mission. As you've probably noted, the mission includes a description of how many of your freighters are currently undertaking the smuggling mission. If you have the civilian travel vector overlay turned on, when you hover over the smuggling mission in the Empire Navigation Tool, the travel vectors of all freighters currently fulfilling the mission will be highlighted in red, so you can see which freighters are performing the mission, and where they are (when zoomed out to the sector/galaxy level).

Note that as a pirate you have to pay for both the purchase and maintenance costs of freighters. You can directly build them at your space port, but they are automated and control themselves, transporting cargo as necessary.

Thanks for clarifying, Elliott. And great game [&o]

[Bloodly]

ORIGINAL: Mansen

So basically you have to pay attention to and manage the construction of freighters yourself as a pirate? D'aww - Would have been nice if the Build screen had options for freighters as pirates. [:'(]

Or steal them, of course. There's so many independent freighters, after all.

Interesting thing: You may add as many Assault Pods and Tractor Beams to freighter designs as you like, since they aren't 'weapons'. Will have to check on your actual Gravitic Weapons. Probably won't.

If Ion Cannons don't count as weapons, there's possibilities here. Even if they are, the possibilities still exist, given you generally have so many freighters.

[Mansen]

I'm just horrible at keeping an eye on how many freighters are needed compared to supply and demand. It's not like your advisors bother to tell you that you're 40 freighters short for your current demand. [:(]

[tylertoo]

EDIT: Nevermind.


Reason for edit: I'm a moron.