Oh, the joys of being a cosmic sociopath! X3 physics allow you to bottom out speed and swing around while inertia carries you forward. The violent ones are less safe than the secure trade runs, but you'll see your reputation rise quickly. Check out the missions at local sector stores, and perform a few. Are the Argon ships in a certain sector being harassed by pirates? Go pirate hunting. The same course of action already recommended for gaining access to specialized equipment - becoming friends with a race - works for combat. But if you prefer leaping into the action like some interstellar Genghis Khan, laughing as you eviscerate your foes and loot their ships, this game can suit your bloody needs, too. I've focused on trade because the model in X3 is so sophisticated, and the opportunities so much greater than in any previous, similar type of game. Use it or just continue buying it and selling it to others. If your rank is high enough, you should be able to buy some of the better gear they reserve only for their exclusive buddies. Buy and sell on a massive scale from a race, and they'll like you better as they will, too, if you perform various tasks for them. Your reputation with them improves, going through many ranks - the Argon, for example, have 16 ranks, from Enemy of the Federation to Hero of the Federation (and passing through such interesting waystations as Suspected Foe, Confirmed Friend, and Federation Overwatch). The more you trade with a given race, the more that race likes you over time. You'll be happy to know that not only does trading make you rich, but it also makes you friends. X2 had modders who created plenty of additional in-game "software" for purchase at sector stores, and we'll likely see the same phenomenon with X3. These "programs" cover the field, from optimizing use of your rudder for greater ship maneuverability, to relay satellites that pass along distant sector prices, to determining all of the prices in whatever sector you enter without landing anywhere (which saves a great deal of time). You can even automate some of this activity if you purchase the right kind of software for your ships, leaving you free to explore. Finally, you can purchase, transport, and establish your own factories and factory complexes, using and creating resources that feed into one another, to develop sophisticated end products for sale. But with various plants and factories operating in different sectors, some of them specialize in a few goods that create periodic shortages and surpluses, so you're always guaranteed a steady stream of suppliers and customers. Sell a lot of Stott Spices, and the businesses needing them in that sector will pay less for them until the supply runs out. Since the X universe's economic model is flexible, it adjusts to changes. Alternatively, you can go through several sectors looking for overruns and shortages - buying wherever the first occurs, selling to the latter. You can buy mining and transportation equipment and set yourself up besides a nice, plump asteroid field. There are three courses open to you as a free range galactic capitalist in X3. (There's even an option that allows you to play a completely plotless game, setting your own personal goals.) Seek out space combat right away, if you prefer, or just buy and sell or use your renowned financial acumen to make a fortune purchase a fleet of ships, upgrade their equipment and software, and become a flying space terror. Yes, it has a plot, but you can choose to ignore it for literally as long as you want without suffering any penalties while you explore the universe, seek out its more than half a dozen races, and involve yourself in trade and/or combat. There are also other traders, various policing forces, taxis, independent travelers, pirates (as already noted), and the Khaak and Xenon, two mysterious races who prefer reducing the rest of existence to interstellar rubble. There are a variety of plants and factories scattered about producing and demanding any of more than 100 items, as primary or intermediate resources, and finished products. Others, like the Paranid sectors, provide more opportunities for traders in search of a great deal, but also numerous pirates looking to feast on those same traders. Some sectors, like Boron space, are well-patrolled and good places to start out as a novice, but they lack the kind of bargains and action that a more advanced trader or combat jockey will enjoy. X3 takes place in a huge universe: 130 named sectors, each with its own events, micro-economy, and people in charge.
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