Space Commander: War and Trade: Guide

rating_8, shooter, pc, android, singleplayer, free, scifi, trading

You are a space pilot and commander. Next to the main story, You have freedom to work as a trader or smuggler, law enforcer or a pirate or maybe a mercenary. The game is inspired by the classic title Wing Commander: Privateer. It is freely provided by https://www.homenetgames.com

 

Campaign Walkthrough

Battle Guide

Merchant Guide

Earn credits

By missions

By trading

Goods prices, production demand and station locations table.

By production

Production chains and profits table.

Campaign Walkthrough 

  • At Start your tasks are to fly between stations and occasionally kill some pirates.

    • For the first skills both energetic weapons mastery and the critical strike are good choices.

    • You will soon maximize all skills, but better to not be surprised by an overwhelming enemy.

    • You can buy an additional gun, for your starting Cobra fighter. But instead of upgrading focus on buying Viper fighter, as it has the strongest energy guns.

  • Continue campaign quests until you get a T4-Gorilla cargo vessel.

    • At this point you can choose to speed up through the campaign, or spend time building your merchant empire.

    • Either way I recommend getting a fully upgraded Viper. You can beat everything with this ship, even a star destroyer.

  • Travel time matters only if you are on mission chasing other fleets.

    • Your fuel tanks last for 12:30 of thrust time.

    • If you are concerned about days passing, put thrust time little above 1/2 of travel.

    • Going below 2 hours will usually lose fuel due to time rounding's.

    • Avoid refuelling and try to empty your tanks.

      • Your friend from Syndicate will occasionally refuel your ships for free.

  • Easy cash by cargo delivery

    • By delivery missions - the best profit

      • Smuggling for Syndicate

      • Supply demand missions for Motus

    • By trading at Jupiter stations

      • Buy electronics from Equilibrium

      • Sell at Stellar Mall and buy some of weapons, spacesuits, ships parts, and hardware

      • Sell all at Piranha and buy metal parts

      • Sell at Equilibrium and repeat

  • For guns upgrade select anti armour rather than anti shield

    • Some ships and turrets does not have shields

    • Shields are disabled in atmosphere, your vulnerability make strong guns more needed

  • As for rockets, select only target seeking missiles.

    • The guide does not have an advantage against normal guns since you still need to lock on target.

    • You can fire them on any distance

  • You can speed up through the game, if you want. You have enough firepower and you will get a free bomber to deal with destroyers.

    • You shall not do this since you will miss most of the game.

  • Stop campaign progress when they ask you to fly to the wormhole.

    • The further missions put you in the war with certain factions. This could slow building your empire.

    • Campaign will give you free ships, but it’s nothing compared to what you can buy for cash.

    • Campaign will give you a free space station, but its non ideal location and lack of raw minerals makes it worthless.

  • Increase your faction relation to 100%

    • Campaign will put you in war with some of the factions neglecting your good relations. The values are not lost and they will return when the war will eventually come to the end.

    • The easiest way to increase relations is by trading. Each time you trade on a station your relation with it is increasing.

      • This also gives you xp points so you can quickly upgrade all skills

    • You can not trade with Syndicate, missions is the only way

      • Its commanders are: Craig Baxton, Makoto Tanaka, Charlote Vernon, Don Cortina

    • After you get 100% with everyone in Solar system, you will get the Sunnyboy achievement.

  • Build your merchandise (see In solar system)

  • Return to campaign

    • You will need to destroy some big ships. See battle guide.

  • Explore the remaining systems.

    • Park all your ships and use only a single Viper - jumps through wormholes are damaging your ships and one is enough for the whole universe.

    • You can do exploration before the jumpgate is finished, but there will be nowhere to repair your ship, so you can go only two systems from Solar.

    • To explore whole galaxy use the following tactic:

      • If there is an unknown wormhole - jump to it.

      • If all wormholes are explored - check the map and jump towards the Sun.

      • If you are eventually lost use this map of the universe:

Battle Guide

Battle and power settings

  • Start by setting all power into boosters then fly around the enemies, keeping them on the edge of the screen.

    • This way you face only part of enemies at once.

  • Slow down, so boosters will recharge a little. Still round opponents.

  • Disable boosters completely and go for the fight.

    • You need boosters only for escaping or chasing. In both cases you can recharge boosters out of the fight.

  • If you use projectile weapons, enable power only for shields.

  • Looking for a new target, first try to help your other ships.

  • After battle turnoff weapons and shields.

    • Recharges are done during travel.

    • You will be able to enter battle faster - with power already selected.

    • Boosters will speed up your landing procedure in stations.

Heavy cruisers and destroyers.

  • Destroy fighters cover first.

  • Start attacking flagships from the bottom back, a little to the side.

    • You will be in range of the minimum number of turrets.

  • After a ride, burn the booster and turn downward. Only little turrets can reach you under the destroyer.

  • Heavy cannons and torpedo launchers are the toughest turrets. They could need multiple dives and can harm you badly.

    • Destroy weaker defence first and fire rockets against stronger.

  • The enemy fleet does not repair, nor they replenish. You can just fire your rockets and come back after reloading.

Ship selection

  • Best energy weapon ship is a Viper with an additional laser cannon.

    • Premium Mamba is just only little better since it lacks lasers

  • Best ammo ship is premium Apocalypse bomber - it’s dual railgun is one shot killer

  • The alternate ammo ship is Quad with triple chainguns

    • The Godzilla’s 40mm cannons are nice, all gunboats are very slow.

    • The Brutus has only one railgun which is not enough for one shot kill and reloads too long.

  • Cargo vessels

    • Bronto has the best cargo to fuel rate, 14/3 = 4.57

    • Rhino is worse 6/2 = 3, but it allows 50% longer flight without the need for refuelling.

  • If there is ship limit it is larger than 32, 

    • Having 15 transporters removes any pirate treat. Mounted plasma turrets will quickly clear all enemies in rage.

Merchant Guide

Earn credits

There are three options for earning credits:

By missions

  • Smuggling missions for Syndicate has the highest profit rate

    • With charisma upgrade, gives 2.1 value of item price for every item.

    • Easily giving 3k credits per mission.

    • Number of demanded items is capped at 10

  • Motus cargo delivery has the highest profit.

    • Gives 1.7 vale of the item price per item

    • Deliveries reach 20 items.

    • Profits are of about 7k credits.

  • There is no profit difference between mission from character and from the mailbox.

  • Prisoner transport gives little profit, but does not use your cargo, nor it requires direct travel.

    • IT is up to you when you want to end this quest.

  • Passenger transport needs to be executed immediately and fails if you land on a different station.

    • Profits are very low.

    • Avoid this kind of mission unless it's a Jedi with his padawan, or you have other reasons for the target station.

  • Battle missions give very little profit. Do them if you want some shooting.

By trading

Stations will not buy raw minerals or materials, if they do not use them in production. Those are chemicals, uranium, metal parts, minerals, metal ores

All others - from ship parts to electronics - are high-end products. Those can be traded anywhere.


Prices depend on the amount of goods in the store. Difference between buy and sell price - the spread - goes down with fraction relation and the bargaining skill. When the spread reaches zero, buy and sell prices will be equal.

The average price is when the shop has 10 of an item. The lowest price is at the shop amount of 24. The shop will still buy goods at this minimum price.

Best profits are done on expensive products like Ship Parts and Weapons.

Goods prices, production demand and station locations table.

Station

Area

Sh ip pa rt s

We ap on s

Ha rd wa re

El ec tr on ics

Me di ci nes

Sp ac e su its

Nu cle ar fu el

Ch em ic als

Me ta l pa rts

Nu tr ie nts

Ur an ium

Mi ne ra ls

Me ta l or es

Wa ter

Ox yg en

Sh ip ya rd

Bu ya bl e

Ty pe

1.sindicate



579



336














2.motus

-1

576

492

440

302

285














3.maximum

0

428

364

325

220

208

143

39

116

78

65

130

65

39

26

19




4.average

10

330

280

250

170

160

110

30

90

60

50

100

50

30

20

15




5.minimum

24

232

196

175

120

112

77

21

64

42

35

70

35

21

14

11




Bastille

Belt

+1


-1

+1



-1

-1

-2

+1




-2




F

CFF Deimos

Mars







+3

+1



-1

-1


-1





Cobra

Uranus

+1

+1

-1

-1



-1

-1

-1

-1





-1

S



Equilibrium

Jupiter




+1



-1

-1

-1





-2

-1




Esculap

Mercury





+2


-1

-2


-3





-1




Excalibur

Saturn







-1




+1








Galileo

Uranus

+1


-1




-1


-1

-1





-1

S

B

F

Gray Matter

Earth



-1




-1

-1

-1

-1





-1

S

B

F

Green Farm

Earth







-1



+4




-8





Hera

Jupiter







+3


+1

-1

-1

+2

+2


-2


B

M

Ignis

Earth







-1






+12






Liber

Belt







+3

+2

+1

-1

-1


-1

-1

-2




Lighthouse

Neptune

+1



-1



-1


-2

-1





-1

S



MCS

Belt







-1



-1

+1




-1




New London

Saturn


+1

-2

-1

+2

+1

-1

-4

-2

-11





-9

S



New Warsaw

Jupiter







-1



-2


+6



-2




Odysseus

Jupiter



















Orion

Belt







-1



-1





-1




Parabellum

Jupiter

+1

+1


-2



-1

-1

-2

-1





-1

S



Piranha

Jupiter







-1


+1

-1



+2


-2




Pitagoras

Jupiter







-1

-1

-3







S

B

F

Poseidon

Earth







-1







+20





Red Core

Mars







-1



-1


+2



-1




Steel Heart

Belt







-1





+2

+6






Stellar Mall

Jupiter

+1

+2

+1

-4


+1

-1

-3

-3







S



Terra Vita

Earth







-1








+20




Titan

Saturn

+1


-1

+1



-1

-1

-2







S

B

F

White Dragon

Venus







-1



+1




-4

-1



 

By production

The unwritten game target is to build your own merchandise empire.

Each station have a limit of 13 facilities, there are three types of stations:

  1. Mines - produces provides raw minerals - oxygen, water, metal ores, minerals, uranium - can be extended to:

    1. produce more minerals of the already produced type.

    2. forge any materials from minerals (metal parts, chemicals nuclear fuel

    3. Produce nutrients and cash (habitat).

  2. Factory stations, can produce:

    1. High end products

    2. Produce nutrients and cash (habitat).

  3. Outposts can not have production facilities.

Production chains and profits table.


F/M

material 1

material 2

result

count

profit

Metal Mine

M



metal ores

3

90

Minerals Mine

M



minerals

2

100

Bio Farm

Both

water

water

nutriens

1

10

Forge

M

oxygen

metal ores

metal parts

1

15

Chemicals plant

M

water

minerals

chemicals

1

20

Uranium refinery

M

uranium


nuclear fuel

4

20

Habitat

Both

nutriens

oxygen

cash

50

-15

Space suits factory

F

chemicals


space suits

1

20

Pharmaceuticals Labolatory

F

nutriens

chemicals

medicines

1

20

Electronics factory

F

Metal parts

chemicals

electronics

1

20

Engineering module

F

Metal parts

electronics

hardware

1

20

Armament factory

F

chemicals

electronics

weapons

1

20

Shipyard

F

Metal parts

hardware

ship parts

1

20


Production can be done in owned stations, and can be automated with transport lines. 

  • Each line can have only one transporter with a capacity of 20 and goes very slow.

    • Long lines are thus unreliable.

  • The most prominent production is Habitat, as it produced cash directly to your account

  • All production requires oxygen and water.


In solar system:

  • You can not own water nor oxygen produceduction.

    • Only earth produces them and you must buy it there.

  • The habitat is not profitable.

    • It needs two water and one oxygen which costs 39$ (2*14$+11$), gives only 50$ and requires the player to transport both water and oxygen.

  • The only buyable mine station is Hera around Jupiter, producing only metal ores and minerals. There
    are still sensible profit options:

    • Construct only mineral mines and sell it all the Liber (Belt) or CFF Deimos (Mars)

    • Buy a factory station for production chain and feed it with water and oxygen

      • The best factory station is Pitagoras as it is also Jupiter’s moon

      • On Pitagoras produce 2*ship parts and the needed materials (2*hardware, 2*electronics)

      • On Hera have 6 metal parts forges, 2 chemicals. And the needed minerals one mineral mine and 2 metal mines.

        • You still have 2 free places for additional 1 chemicals production feeding space suits


In all other systems stick to habitat production.

This linked sheet, an example of Tau-Ceti production, will help control production numbers for each good.

  1. First part is production in a station. Fill it with your current or target production.

    1. Fill with produced goods numbers - two metal mines is production of 6 ores.

  2. Second part is calculated as final station production from sources and requirements. 

    1. It is station demands and production seen on the map.

  3. Third is your transport lines - fill it with your transport ideas.

    1. Transport speed is limited and its control is tricky

    2. There is a limit for 20 items per line. Maximum transport depends on distance between stations

    3. If the source station is feeding multiple targets, the closest station will get more goods. The control is harder, but the overall throughput is larger. The more lines makes more transport ships.

  4. Fourth is final production after calculating factories requirements and transport lines. It is to ensure your netto productions.

By exploiting

  1. When on a cargo station you can exit an reenter the game. The Cargo shop content will reset. This allows for better prices.
  2. If you have 0% spread with a faction, the actual spread is negative allowing you to get cash for free.
    1. You buy item from shop, the amount drops and the price rises.
    2. Now you sell item back at the higher price.