How Do I Trade Equipment?

I have 3 "Avionics" I wish to trade for a grade-4 CPU. The 3 trade goods in question are an LDS 1 and 2 LDS 2's.

Unfortunately the Trade Manager does not seem to recognize that I have the required trade goods, and I'm guessing that's because they're in "Equipment" instead of "Cargo".

How do I move the items over to "Cargo" so that I can trade them for a better CPU?

Alternatively, why does the Encylopedia list LDS drives under "Commodities / Electronics / Avionics" when they are in fact not eligible trade goods? Is it not reasonable for the player to assume that if a product is listed as a "Commodity" that it can therefore be traded?

it kinda sucks, but all you can trade are cargo-types. you can find, say a heavy pbc in a cargo pod, get it back to base, and it puts it in inventory, not cargo. it seems to me that the game puts into inventory only the things the player can use in his loadout, and all else goes to cargo, its the same with pods of gnats, seekers, and the like that you find, if you can use it, it seems you cant trade it away

"Faith lies in the ways of sin"

You can trade all cargo types, including weapons and other "equipment" online with the epic online mod.

The mod allows you to select any cargo type you have in your base in the SP game.

You can take the selected cargo online to a game (or host your own game) and trade it off for whatever you agree.
You can pre-agree a trade in the forum. Or, you can agree which trades goods for what directly online, using the ingame chat (You can leave the game anytime and go get other trading goods from your base in the SP game.)


Have Gun, Will Travel

So UA, how did you resolve this issue? That trade for the grade 4 CPU has been staring me in the face for a long time, but I can't get it. Have you found placed to pirate avionics? And if so, were you able then to trade them? Or did you go with Major Tom's advice and get the mod?

MajorTom:

I haven't finished the SP game yet, but if I ever play MP I'll definitely load up the trade mod.

Sivadrake:

The Grade 4 CPU is even more tantalizing for me, because I have some Avionics loot, just not enough to buy the CPU.

What's really lame is that neutronium, billed as "the most valuable stuff in the Badlands" or some such bombast, is virtually worthless.

Yup, the vaunted neutronium is crap. Never mind what Jarvis says about it. Nobody wants it.

I hit the 2 Dagda neutronium facilities hoping maybe some gemstones might turn up, but all I found was a bunch of worthless neutronium, all the while Jafs cooing as if we had struck it rich or something.

Jarvis and Jafs both say neutronium is very valuable, and we all know what expert appraisers they are. Anybody want a few dozen pods of neutronium? I'll trade them all for one pod of gemstones or avionics, or better yet a Mk 4 CPU or Autorepair.

Gold. Yeah, right, that's another worthless item. For some reason Moe, Larry, and Curly wanted to keep it for themselves, as if it had some value beyond fodder for the shredder. I'd sure like to know who their connection is.

Trading is so screwed up in this game it's ridiculous. The same damn faction that offers you what you don't need won't sell you what you do need, even though you have piles and piles of stuff they need.

Imagine this conversation:

Jafs: "I don't have the 3 potatoes you're asking for the engine upgrade -- can I offer you a few pods of cosmetics instead?"

MCA: "Nope, we only trade weapons for cosmetics. Engine upgrades cost potatoes. We'll sell you as many weapons as you have cosmetics to offer, or as many engines for potatoes, but we will not sell you weapons for potatoes nor engines for cosmetics."

Jafs: "So ... no potatoes, no banana."

MCA: "In a nutshell."

Jafs: "Nuts."

MCA: "Oh, nuts will get you Autorepair Mk 2, but for the Repair Expert System only berries will do -- and no, you can't buy an Autorepair Mk 2 with berries. But you've probably figured that out by now ..."

Is the lack of any sort of currency or even a fungible commodity also part of the sinister corporate conspiracy to dominate the Badlands? Obviously they have access to currency or they couldn't have sold stock and incorporated.

"And in business news, Maas Industries is up 12 1/2 potatoes, while the Solan Corporation has slid another 2 pods of ore to 24.8 per share in light trading."

Riiight. You know if they've got corporations they've got to have some kind of currency. Hell, I'd settle for skee-ball tickets. I guess The League doesn't believe in currency, which in political terms orients them just left of Mao Tse Tung.

If the barter system were complete (and had a better UI) it wouldn't be so bad: trade neutronium for avionics, trade avionics for CPU Mk 4. Unfortunately except for FireCon Sensors manufacturers of cargo won't trade -- only manufacturers of nontradeable equipment will trade. I can buy missiles and remote-bombs by the truckload, but nobody will sell me reprocessed meat. (Can't buy Spam?!)

I was hoping Jafs wasn't full of it when he said, "Do you know what I could get on the black market for these [seeker mines]?" I cranked out a few extra, just to confirm that the answer to Jafs' question is indeed "absolutely nothing". Seeker mines are only tradeable until you build 9 of them for 3rdWay, then they revert to nontradeable "equipment". So, Jafs, what you could get on the "black market" for seeker mines is exactly what you get for neutronium, gold, and raw sewage: absolutely nothing.

well, i must say uglyangel, you have accurately portrayed(and colorfully so:D) all the flaws i think the trade system has. many, many times i sat next to lpoints waiting for that pod of whatever, so i could get decent equipment for my ship. but i think they do the very specific trades so that the player loadout wont become very powerful too quickly, thats why futuretrader is nice, not only can you trade for any cargotype you want, you can get any subsims you want if you only find the right station, really makes life easier

"Faith lies in the ways of sin"