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FRONTIER HELP - STARTING POSITIONS


1. the Sol System
2. the Lave System
3. the Ross 154 System


the Sol System

The Sol start position starts you off with the worst ship of the three start positions, but in the best place for trading. If you start in the Sol system it is quite possible, if you stick to the trade routes between Sol and Barnard's Star, to earn enough money to buy a large ship with plenty of cargo space and a big gun without ever seeing a pirate, making the Sol system the best start position if you only want to make money, but it can be a bit boring to play, and your ELITE rating will probably not be very high.

When you start in the Sol system, you should first sell the 1MW beam laser that came with your ship, remove the Interplanetary Drive, and fit a Class 1 Hyperdrive. Fill up your fuel tank, buy 1T of Hydrogen Fuel, buy some Atmospheric Shielding and an Autopilot, and spend all your remaining money on Animal Meat and Fruit and Veg. Launch your ship, and make a Hyperspace leap to the Barnards Star system. Dock at a starport or space station, sell your cargo for a profit, and buy some Farm Machinery or Computers. Take these to Sol, sell them, and spend the money on Animal Meat or Fruit and Veg.

Continue to do this, and eventually you will have enough money to buy some Robots at Barnards Star. Your trading runs should then change to carrying Robots from Barnards Star to Sol, and Luxury Goods from Sol to Barnards Star. Remember to look for "Wanted" notices on the bulletin board, as both of these goods are in heavy demand.


the Lave System

Starting in the Lave system puts you in the middle of a group of dangerous pirate-infested systems, without any particularly good trade routes between them, and with 70,000 Credit fines with both the Empire and the Federation. However, to compensate for this, you are given the best ship of any start position, and your game should be far from dull!

When you start in the Lave system, the first thing you should do is remove all your ship's optional extras and sell it for a cheaper model, for example a Viper Defence Craft. This is so you can afford some decent weapons - only a fool would enter the Riedquat system with only a 1MW pulse laser. Once you have bought your new ship, fit it with a 1MW beamer, an Autopilot, some fuel and as many Hand Weapons as you can afford.

Now leave the Space Station, and use the Galactic map to select the Riedquat System as your target. When you arrive, select La Soeur de Dan Ham as your target for the Autopilot (the space station orbiting Waterloo), and switch on the Stardreamer. Expect to be attacked by pirates many times before you arrive, so your ELITE combat rating should be at least 'Poor' by the time you get there.

Sell your cargo, and fit a Cargo Bay Life Support to your ship. Use all available cash to buy Slaves, and return to Lave, where you will also be attacked by pirates. At the Lave Station, sell your slaves to Edward's Goods Emporium, and spend your fat profits on more Hand Weapons to take to Riedquat. If you get caught smuggling illegal goods by the Customs officers, remember that the Lave police are corrupt and easily bribed.

When you have enough money to spare, buy a bigger ship - a Cobra - III like the one you sold when you started is a good steppping stone. With the larger cargo capacity, your funds should increase even quicker, and you should have enough cash to buy an Asp Explorer, but remember to look for crew before you buy - being stranded in a space station with no crew isn't much fun. Eventually, you should have enough money to pay off your fines to the Empire or Federation, so you can move on to more profitable trading areas.


the Ross 154 System

Starting in the Ross 154 system is a compromise between the Sol system and the Lave system - on one hand, your ship isn't as good as the one you get in Lave, but on the other Ross 154 isn't quite as well situated for trading as Sol. However, you can easily get onto the Sol - Barnards Star trading run, and with the better ship you could be at an advantage on that run when you get there.

When you start off, sell your missiles - you won't need them. Buy some Animal Meat, then you're ready to set off to Barnards Star. Sell the meat there, buy some Farm Machinery, then go to Sol.

From now on you should trade between Sol and Barnards Star. This is a great run for making money, but as they are both 'safe' systems you shouldn't see many pirates, so if you want to improve your ELITE rating you'll have to head off away from this area. However, you can make lots of money on this run, first by trading Farm Machinery or Computers from Barnards Star for Animal Meat or Fruit and Veg from Sol, then, when you can afford to, buy Robots at Barnards Star and Luxury Goods at Sol. Repeat until rich.


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