The Cabal's Secret Hideout

• Alignment Gains and Losses
  • Alignment Gains for killing a trader on a planet
  • Alignment Gains for killing a trader on a port
• Creating & Upgrading Ports: Alignment and Experience Gains
• Density Scan Values
• Destroying a port, Defensive Rating vs Figs Needed
• Entering A Hostile Sector: Order of Events
• Evil Rob/Steal Settings
• Experience Gains for killing a trader on a planet
  • Experience Gains for killing a trader on a port
• Experience Loss for Mixed-Corps at Extern
• GOLD or Classic Player vs Figs Experience and Alignment Info
• GOLD or Classic Q-Cannon Formulas
• Hold Costs
• Landing On A Hostile Planet: Order of Events
• MBBS Fighter and Shield Odds
• MBBS GOLD or MBBS Player vs Player Experience and Alignment info
• MBBS GOLD or MBBS Q-Cannon Formulas
• Planet Information: Optimal Population and Production
• Planet Information: Supplies needed for construction and upgrades of Citadels
• Red Experience and Align Gains for SST and SDT, per turn
• Red Profit Breakdown for SST, SDT, Team SDT, and Megga Rob.
• Trader Flee formula

Planet Information: Optimal Population and Production

Optimal Pop

Fig Factor

Planet Information: Supplies needed for construction and upgrades of Citadels.

Entering A Hostile Sector: Order of Events

(What happens when you go in with no Photon)

1. Check for Nav Hazz. Apply damage if necessary.
2. One Limpet Mine, if any are present, will attach to your hull. Any previously attached Limpet will fall off.
3. Armid Mines, if any are present, will check for detonation. If detonation occurs, then 50% of the mines will detonate, rounding down. Apply damage if necessary.
4. Sector Q-Cannon will fire. If there are multiple planets in the sector, the lowest planet number will fire first, and then check to see if the ship still exists. If it does, then the next planet will fire, until all cannons fire, or the ship is destroyed.
   Example: If planet #2's cannon kills your ship, then planet #3 through whatever won't fire their cannons.
5. Fighter Encounters (one of the following):
   • Sector Offensive Fighters attack: They will attack at 1:1 odds, but will send 1.25 times the number of combined shields and figs that your ship can carry.
     Example: If your ship has a max of 10,000 figs and 1,000 shields, then you will be attacked by 13,750 figs at 1:1 odds. Any remaining figs will stay in the sector.
   • Sector Defensive Fighters challenge: You will be placed at the attack prompt and be forced to either attack, retreat or surrender your ship. Sector Defensive Figs have 1:1 odds.
   • Tolled figs challenge: You will be placed at the tolled fighter prompt and forced to either pay (5 credits per tolled fig), attack, retreat or surrender your ship. Tolled figs have 1:1 odds.
6. If there were any mines in the sector, you will be asked whether you want to avoid the sector. At this point, you are returned to the command prompt. There may still be Mines and Offensive figs left in the sector.

Landing On A Hostile Planet

Order of Events (What happens when you land with no Photon, or if you land on a shielded planet)

• Atmospheric Q‑Cannon will fire (assuming there is one).
• Attack Planet Shields (if any).
• If there were shields, and after you destroy the last one, then the Atmospheric Q‑Cannon will fire again.
• Planetary Offensive Figs attack. They only attack when there are no shields. As long as at least one shield remains, they will not attack. They attack at 2:1 odds, but will send 1.25 × the number of combined shields and figs that your ship can carry.
  Example: If your ship can carry a maximum of 10,000 figs and has 1,000 shields, you will be attacked by 13,750 figs at 2:1 odds. Any remaining figs will stay on the planet to be dealt with in step 5.
• Attack Planet Figs. Any remaining figs on the planet will defend at 3:1 odds (even if there was a Military Reaction set). After killing the figs, you are put at the Planet Prompt.
  The first thing you should do is press “O” to take ownership of the planet!

MBBS GOLD or MBBS Player vs Player Experience and Alignment Info

If you are podded, you loose 10% of your exp.
If you are #SD#, then you loose 50% of your exp, and 50% of your alignment.

Blue vs Red or Red vs Blue

If you pod them:
– Gain 10% of their experience.
– Gain 50% of their alignment.

If you #SD# them:
– Gain 10% of their experience.
– Gain 50% of their alignment.

Example:

A blue attacks a red. The blue has 30,000 figs, and the red has 20,000 figs.
The blue has 0 experience and +1,100 alignment.
The red has 12,000 experience and −100,000 alignment.

If the blue launches a wave of 10,000 figs at the red, the blue will gain:

Assuming the red now has only 8,000 figs left, and the blue launches another 10,000-fig wave, the blue loses approximately 7,000 figs, and the red is podded. The blue gains:

If the blue finishes off the pod, they gain:

After the conflict:

Blue vs. Blue or Red vs. Red

Alignment Change:

Experience Gained:

If you pod them:
– Gain 10% of their experience.
– Gain 50% of their alignment.

If you #SD# them:
– Gain 10% of their experience.
– Gain 50% of their alignment.

Neutral vs. Any (0 Alignment)

Alignment Change:

Experience Gained:

If you pod them:
– Gain 10% of their experience.
– Gain 50% of their alignment.

If you #SD# them:
– Gain 10% of their experience.
– Gain 50% of their alignment.

GOLD or Classic Player vs. Figs

(Corp or Personal - Experience and Alignment Information)

Blue vs Red or Red vs Blue

Example:

Your enemy has 1,000 tolled figs, and you attack them. If the enemy has a personal alignment of −10,000 and a corp alignment of −5,000, and you attack with 1:1 odds, losing 1,000 figs in the process, then:

• You gain 67 experience.
• You gain 2,000 alignment for hitting personal figs.
• You gain 1,000 alignment for hitting corp figs.

It’s the figs you lose that matter — not how many they have.

Blue vs Blue or Red vs Red

Note: The Experience is the same as MBBS, but the alignment penalties are different.

MBBS Fighter and Shield Odds

* NOTE: As of version .55, Offensive figs will calculate the number of figs required to destroy your ship (your max total shields and figs, not your current shields and figs as in previous versions) based on 1:1 odds, and then send 1.25 times that amount (or the remaining figs if it's less than that).  If you are in a ship with 1:1.3 odds or better, your ship will survive the attack.  Any figs that survive the attack or aren't used remain in the sector.

** NOTE: Planet Offensive figs also send 1.25 times the number of figs required to destroy your ship as above, but the odds are 2:1, so you either need more figs than the planet has, use a modified ship, or come in with a photon, otherwise the figs will pod your ship, even a scout!  Any figs that survive the attack or aren't used remain on the planet.

MBBS GOLD or MBBS Q-Cannon Formulas

Sector:

Atmospheric:

Example:

A typical L with 200,000 units of fuel ore, and 20% AtmosLvl, and 10% SectLvl will do 6666 points of damage to your ship when you enter the sector, and 72,000 damage if you immediately try to land on it after the sector fire.

GOLD or Classic Q-Cannon Formulas

Sector:

Atmospheric:

Example:

A typical L with 200,000 units of fuel ore, and 20% AtmosLvl, and 10% SectLvl will do 6666 points of damage to your ship when you enter the sector, and 18,000 damage if you immediately try to land on it after the sector fire.

Evil Rob/Steal Settings

THE MATH:

There are two settings that affect how much you can rob or steal.  The RobFactor, and the StealFactor.  These settings are determined by the Sysop. (Although in MBBS mode, they are fixed.)  They are measured as a percentage, i.e. 50%.

Here is the formula you need to use to figure out how much you can rob from a port with minimal chance of a bust:

Example:
Rob Factor is 50%.  Your experience is 10,000.
3 / .5 = 6,  6 * 10,000 = 60,000
You can rob 60,000 credits.

Here is the formula for stealing holds:

Example: (StealFactor is 70%.  Your experience is 3,500.)
30 * .7 = 21, 3500 / 21 = 166.6 holds.  (166 holds, drop fractions!)

For your convenience, I have put the default values for a MBBS and a Classic game.

MBBS:
EXP * 6 = Maximum Credits you can rob at once.
EXP / 21 = Maximum holds you can steal at once.

Classic:
EXP * 3 = Maximum Credits you can rob at once.
EXP / 30 = Maximum holds you can steal at once.

Be sure to check the settings the sysop is using in a classic game by pressing * at the Game Menu. (The first menu after you choose which game you want to play.)  And remember, even if you follow these settings, your chance of busting is around 1 in 50.  You WILL bust!

Density Scan Values

* If there is a 'yes' in the anomaly column, then there is likely a cloaked ship there.  Cloaked ships have a zero dens scan, but trigger the anomaly flag.  Limpets always trigger the anomaly flag.

These values are cumulative, so if there is a planet with 2 empty ships, a limpet and 150 mines and 10,000 figs over it, your density scan will report 52078.  Anything over 100, or any anomaly should be holoscanned.  Some players will deliberately try to mislead you by dropping figs/mines in combination that add up to either 40 or 100 or 500.  When in doubt, Photon it! :-)

Alignment Gains and Losses

Experience Loss for Mixed-Corps at Extern

This is not a straight-forward formula, since there has to be a comparison first, then the formula is applied. The process works as follows:

1. Take two players in your corp: the one with the lowest (negative/red) alignment and the one with the highest (positive/blue) alignment.
2. Treat the negative alignment number as a positive, and compare the two numbers.
3. Whichever number is LOWER is the one that is kept.
4. Take that number and divide it by 4 — that's how much experience is lost per player.
5. Experience cannot go below zero.

Example:

At extern, the alignments of Player 1 and Player 3 are compared (the high blue and the high red). Player 1's alignment (1,000) is the lower of the two values, so the total experience loss for the corp is 250 (1000 / 4).

Note: Player 5's experience will stay at zero, since it can't go any lower. Player 1 and Player 2 are now also Fedsafe, since their experience dropped below 1000 (to 750).

Creating & Upgrading Ports

Port Creation Experience and Alignment Gain (regardless of current alignment)

Port Upgrade Experience and Alignment Gain (regardless of current alignment)

HOLD COSTS

The cost of holds are:

B is the base cost of the hold.  B is a random number generated each day by TWGS.  I've tracked it over 30 days, and seen it range between 151 and 249.  Extern and the hour change don't seem to change this number, only the day change.  It appears to be an 18 day cycle.  It starts at 151, then over 9 days works up to 249, then back down to 151 over another 9 day period.

H is the number of holds you want to end up with.

I is the increment number, which is always 20.  (Each hold costs 20 more than the last one.)

Example: The cost for 100 holds (from zero holds) when B is equal to 200 is: (200*100)+((20*100)*(100-1))/2 or 20000 + (2000 * 99)/2 or 20000 + 99000 = 119,000 credits.

To find out what B is, use the following formula:

C is the cost for the NEXT hold.  (When you look at the purchase screen, it will show the cost for the next hold to be one less credit than it actually costs to install.  If you try to buy just one hold, you will see the correct price.)

H is the number of holds you ALREADY have.

I is the increment number, which is always 20.  (Each hold costs 20 more than the last one.)

Example: You have 50 holds, and to get to 51 holds, it costs 1164, then B = 1164-(50*20) = 164.

To find out how much it costs to purchase large quantities of holds, figure out how many holds you have and how many you want to end up with.  For example, if you have 50 holds, and you want 250, you first figure out what it costs to get 250 holds from 0.  Then you figure out what 50 holds cost and subtract that from the 250 hold figure.  Using the above value for B (164), the cost for 50 holds is 32,700, and for 250 holds is 663,500, so it costs 620,800 credits to go from 50 to 250 holds.

I know this is kind of trivial, since most of the time you just buy what you need, but now you know how it works.  Also, take a look at my essay, The Economy of Tradewars, since I had to figure this out in the process of writing that guide.

Red Experience and Align Gains for SST and SDT, per turn

This can be useful to know, since you can tell how well your competition is doing. Keep in mind that there are a lot of things a red can do to throw off your calculations, and tracking exp is folly, since busts always screw up your numbers. But you can get a general idea if your enemies are SST'ing or SDT'ing, besides counting planets, and you can get a rough idea at how much money they are making.

Assuming 250 holds per rob:

Red Profit Breakdown for SST, SDT, Team SDT, and Megga Rob

NOTE: ALL calculations assume you are using -65 MCIC ports. This tries to show the MAX potential profit per turn. These calculations were done using Elder Prophet's Haggle routines, and the SST is an average, since the actual income from ship trades has many variables, that can't all be easily factored in. The SDT math assumes that you were doing sell offs every 2000 units of EQ and the planet trade is set to 100%. Busts calculated at 1 in 50. By team, I mean your reds are clearing each other's busts.

Megga-Rob assumes you totally drain the EQ on the sell port.

What may surprise some people is how much you can make SST'ing.  That's because you can make more profit from a ship haggle than you can from a planet haggle.  Now, assuming there are 1000 turns, and you have 2 reds, your blue will be spending 620 turns furbing 2 solo reds SDT'ing, or 320 turns furbing 2 reds Team SDT'ing, or 440 turns furbing 2 solo reds SST'ing, or 226 turns furbing 2 reds Team SST'ing.  So, from the blue's side, SST is more turn efficient,  saving 180 turns running solos, or 94 turns running teams.  This is because the red is only running the risk of busting once every 3 turns SST'ing vs every 2 turns SDT'ing, so odds are good your reds will bust less with SST.  While I always recommend that your reds SDT whenever possible, it's something to keep in mind if you are pressed for blue turns.  Certainly, you always want to run with 2 reds, clearing each other's busts.

THE MATH:

SST:

SDT, Solo and Team:

Megga-Rob:

Experience Gains for killing a trader on a planet

I have tested this for both Classic Gold and MBBS. The numbers are the same in both cases.

The amount of experience gained for killing another trader sitting on a planet, by ZDY'ing it:

Note: The +50 is for blowing the planet. It will be more if the planet has a citadel.

Example: Your exp: 1,000, enemy exp: 10,000, L0 cit.

Note: The experience gain is the same for killing them at a port! These gains happen regardless of whether you pod them or #SD# them. It's all the same for you! The enemies losses are the usual: -10% exp and -0% align if podded, -50% exp and -50% align if #SD#.

Alignment Gains for killing a trader on a planet

I have tested this for both Classic Gold and MBBS. The numbers are the same in both cases.

The amount of alignment gained for killing another trader sitting on a planet, by ZDY'ing it:

Note: The −1 is for blowing the planet.

Example 1: Your align: 1,000, enemy align: −10,000

Example 2: Your align: 1,000, enemy align: 1,000

Note: These gains happen regardless of whether you pod them or #SD# them. It's all the same for you! The enemies losses are the usual: -10% exp and -0% align if podded, -50% exp and -50% align if #SD#.

Experience Gains for killing a trader on a port

I have tested this for both Classic Gold and MBBS. The numbers are the same in both cases.

The amount of experience gained for killing another trader sitting on a port, by blowing it:

Note: The +50 is for blowing the port.

Example: Your exp: 1,000, enemy exp: 10,000

Note: The experience gain is the same for killing them at a planet! These gains happen regardless of whether you pod them or #SD# them. It's all the same for you! The enemies losses are the usual: -10% exp and -0% align if podded, -50% exp and -50% align if #SD#.

Alignment Gains for killing a trader on a port

I have tested this for both Classic Gold and MBBS. The numbers are the same in both cases.

The amount of alignment gained for killing another trader sitting on a port, by blowing it:

Note: The −55 is for blowing the port.

Example 1: Your align: 1,000, enemy align: −10,000

Example 2: Your align: 1,000, enemy align: 1,000

This means if you kill a trader at a port, you will get just about 100% of their alignment! These gains happen regardless of whether you pod them or #SD# them. It's all the same for you! The enemies losses are the usual: -10% exp and -0% align if podded, -50% exp and -50% align if #SD#.

Destroying a port, Defensive Rating vs Figs Needed

I have tested this for both Classic Gold and MBBS. The numbers are the same in both cases.

A stock ISS has 1.5:1 odds, for example. The 22 is approximate, because while I've seen the number of figs needed to blow a port as low as 19.5, I've never seen it go higher than 22. It's sorta random, just like all combat in TW.

Example: Def Rating = 551 (a typical MBBS SBB that's been fully upped on EQ) vs a Stock ISS with 1.5 odds

NOTE: If you need more figs than you can launch in one wave, the port will shoot back! How much it shoots back has so many variables, that I'm not including that here. (i.e. I haven't found a consistent pattern yet.) That's a project for another time.

NOTE 2: STARDOCK and the CLASS 0 ports work differently! Do not use this formula for those port types! I have done a lot of research on blowing dock and the class 0's and combat with them varies a lot. As a rule of thumb, the first time you blow up Dock or a Class 0, using a stock Interdictor Cruiser, you need about 248,000 figs and 32,000 shields. If shields are cheaper than figs, use them, otherwise, just use figs (280,000 figs with no shields). These are just approximations, you may need 10,000 more or less, depending on luck. Oh, and you'll need a corpie feeding you figs and shields too. Takes about 11 waves of 15,000 figs. After you have killed a Class 0 or Dock, all the remaining special ports get their defensive ratings increased, including the port you killed after it regens! (they go from 2,500 to 5,000, etc.) The figs needed goes way up too, to about 890,000.

Trader Flee formula

Notice this is NOT greater than or equal to, so if it's close, pack a few extra fighters. There is also a very small amount of wiggle room here due to the inherent randomness of TW combat. To be on the safe side, have 1.3× their fighters plus shields if you want to force a flee, or 1.2× if you don't. The odds of the ships and the maximum capacities of fighters or shields have no bearing on the formula; it only factors in the amounts currently on hand.

See the following for more info:
Trader Flee
Thanks to Psion for working this all out!