Update on adventures.

I have been bouncing all over the map doing many different things. I have ran missions, bounty hunted at Nav Beacons-RES's and USS's. I have even started trying out trading which has been my driving motivator for the past few days.

I mentioned in a previous post that I was clearing the unexplored systems around Altair for a specific reason. That reason was to open up the system data as it helps me when I'm hunting for a trade opportunity. I know there are web sites out there that you can plug in data to get this info very quickly but for me that takes the fun out of it all. I like to grab pen-n-paper, search out the systems and figure out for myself where to find bargains and how the system works. Opening up the systems data allows you to check the economy on individual stations as well as letting you see if a station is far away from the Primary star. I usually skip missions that require me to fly to a station located far away from the Primary star.

I really suck at it but its a fun distraction and I'm getting better all the time. After a while you start to put the patterns in order and you can pretty much guarantee if you pick up commodity X and haul it to a particular economy system you will make a profit. For instance Ag Meds to an Agriculture system should always turn a profit. It may not be a awesome profit but if you are flying to a system anyway to check it out and know its an Agriculture system then load up on Ag Meds or Crop Harvesters.

I plan on writing up a post on how I go about trading and finding a system at some point. I just don't feel confident that I'm doing it in such a way that will make sense or be helpful to others. I would hate to write something up only to lead others down the wrong path.

My clearing of the systems around Altair led me in to an exploration trip as I am easily sidetracked. I started looking for a decent trade run and have now ended up around 130LY away from Altair. I cleared all the unexplored systems on the way with an Intermediate Discovery Scanner and a Detailed Surface Scanner. I know there were several systems where I did not find all the objects but that's not a huge concern as there are plenty more to scan.

I fit a Hauler for travel for the trip and I like it for the most part. I like the equipment layout on the Adder better but I can't quite get used to sitting "off center" in it. I briefly bought a Cobra and while I like the ships performance it suffers from the same "off center" seating arrangement. I know with time I could get used to it but the smaller ships are performing the tasks I need done at the moment. I have a Hauler outfit for scanning, and a hauler outfit for trading (I found a nice system where I make 1300/unit one way and 700/unit on the return trip).

I also just outfit another Sidewinder for combat, I know the Eagle or the Viper is a better ship overall but there is something about an upgraded Sidewinder that I really like. I like the way this little ship handles and I can fly it fairly well.

That's a fairly long winded post so I will cut it off with my tip for the day: Always check your Transaction Tab before you log out for the day, as soon as you don't you will fail that "fetch me some beer" mission you forgot you took earlier in the evening!

I apologise for the lack of screen shots and will make up for it in my next posting.

Until next time....

Fly Aimlessly!