I want to buy some weapons and armor and a ship.

In most realities there are basically three ways to buy things. (1) Go to the appropriate RETAIL store and buy something for more than it is worth. (2) Contact someone through a CLASSIFIEDS ad or consignment store and haggle for a good deal. (3) Order something MANUFACTURER DIRECT at a slightly discounted price, but paying for shipping--like ordering form a website.

Please see my questions regarding these methods below and in your response, indicate by number which method you are explaining. Thank you!



(1) RETAIL

Now I understand that you can hire NPCs and stuff from specific buildings. Can you also buy standard equipment in specific kinds of buildings? If so, how do I find those buildings on different planets? Just spend hours exploring?

I've also heard mention of some 'galactic markets.' How do I find these? Shouldn't it be listed with their planet info that they are a market? I would really like to just get dropped off at the door of a store, walk in, and buy a ship, weapons and armor. I wouldn't even mind paying a little extra if it would just make it SIMPLE.


(2) CLASSIFIEDS

I think this is kind of the purpose of CPM, right? To get a good deal by bidding. Not exactly the same as haggling, but whatever. How does CPM work? Do I actually have to go there to perform transactions? I read a lot of stuff about 'using middles' and 'sending' stuff, but I can't find an actual step-by-step guide for that. It would be really helpful if somewhere, someone would create and walk through an example transaction through CPM or another market.


(3) MANUFACTURER DIRECT

Am I supposed to contact a faction and order a ship or other items directly? Can I do that? If so, why don't the different factions advertise who to contact in their organization to buy stuff from?

Maybe I'm missing something, but the economy around here seems really unnecessarily complicated and I'm having a hard time seeing how a guy gets ahead here.

1) in the city where races spawn, there should be a building called a Shop. Enter that building, and there should be an option on the Actions tab to buy items. Buy, equip, and you're all set. Note that these are all rather weak "starter items" and you shouldn't be relying on them for very long.

2) CPM is a 3rd party marketplace. You either buy listings or bid on auctions, then complete the trade from within SWC's interface. To use a middle, you and the seller agree on a person (stick with the big names -Syn, Togan, Dac Kain), and you each send your half of the trade to that person, who then completes the trade for you.

3) manufacturer direct is pretty straightforward. Most production factions have a website, and they'll tell you there if they sell to the public. Often they have a page dedicated to how to buy from them. If all else fails, send a DM to the faction leader. If they like making money, they'll get back to you.

Hope that helps. If you have further questions go for it, I'm on my iPad at the moment and just wanted to get you some basic answers.

That is helpful, thank you!

Though I'm still not clear on using (2). When I buy something there, do they send it to me somehow? Will it be added to my inventory, but potentially on some planet far far away that i have to get to?

That's been one reason I hesitate to buy a ship off CPM. How do I get it once I've sent my money?

I suppose I have the same issue for (3) as well. I realize these are probably simple things, but I want to know before I drop a couple mil. Thank you

You have ti correct, if you buy something from CPM or a faction/producer... it will be aded to your inventory when they make it over, but you will either have to retreive it yourself, or arrange for delivery.

some sellers and factions will provide delivery, and other times they will not.

If you do not hae transportation or can't leave what you are doing to pick items it, it does limit your options for getting something you can use, but you can still own something that is still halfway across the galaxy.

Is there a kind of building that sells ships?

Can any manufacturing group construct and sell any ship, or are they faction specific? And if so, how do I tell who to ask to build me a certain ship if it has no affiliations?

What about rare ships? Can I order the construction of a rare ship like the bayonet class light cruiser?

No there is no buildings that sell Ships there are some you can exchange CPs for ships.

Ships are faction Specific and if there is no affiliation it usually means it cannot be made by anyone.

Rare ships are rare they cannot be made, you will have to purchase them from people who have them.

So if rare ships can't be built, where do they come from?

There are 3 types of ships:

1) rare/unique
2) CP
3) produceable

Type 1 are generally indicated on the Rules under the Unique or Rare sections. These are old, one-of-a-kind ships that were created for groups years ago, or they are CP ships that have been traded out for newer options

Type 2 are ships that you can "spawn" using CPs (Combine Points). CPs are gained by voting for the Combine, doing work like art or descriptions for the game, or donating money for server costs (though no one is ever under any obligation to donate money). These ships are spawned by going into a Landing Pad or a Starport, clicking on your CP amount under your avatar/HP/level, and going to the Exchange CP page. These range in cost from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of CPs.

Type 3 are the most common. Ships that are produceable are made by productions factions. Factions that own the rights to the ship in question will be listed on that ship's Rules page. This is called owning the "datacard" to the ship or entity in question. If the faction type is the same as the entity type (ship production factions for ships, vehicle factions for vehicles, item factions for items, etc), then that faction can produce that item.

Ok, so, having said all that, the only buildings that "sell ships" are the Landing Pad or a Starport, where you would have to spawn a CP ship.

Production factions can produce whatever they have access to the datacard for. Ships with no affiliation are probably "rare" and unable to be produced. Sometimes you can buy a datacard use from one faction and get another faction to make that ship for you, but in these cases you'll often have to provide your own raw materials at least.

And I might have covered this already, but rare ships can no longer be produced. To acquire one of them now, you'll need to find one for sale in the Commerce forum or on a market like Centrepoint. It has been said that rare ships will be added to the Research & Development pool, but that feature has not yet been implemented so it will likely be months or a year+ before that becomes a possibility.