The Moth Producers

Downtown Moths - You'll be dealing with these guys if you want a Police L2000 or Swallow fast.

There are three non-faction Moth producers on Titan: Downtown Moths (pictured above), Bargain Moths, and Highrise Motors. Downtown Moths is the dealer of choice when you want to have an exotic moth built.

Bargain Moths, Downtown, will only produce Silver-Ys. Highrise Motors, in Highrise, will make all of the Moths just like Downtown Motors, but can be a little tough to get to. It makes for long trade runs and more time for pirates to target you.

For convenience and reliability, Downtown Moths is your best pick to build your dream Moth. It's located Downtown between the entrance to Highrise and Resevoir tunnels. It is in a complex with Downtown Components, Downtown Munitions, and Downtown Chemicals. All important places to get to know.

The Moth Production Process

Moth production has changed with various patches of the game. This article refers to UIM 4 and up. I don't think Swallows could be built when they were first introduced in U2.04 (you had to steal one). I'm not sure about this, so someone out there give it a try and write me.

Downtown Moths will begin producing Moths when you begin to supply them with their needs. That's really the big trick. Just supply Downtown Moths with what it needs. They'll produce a new Moth in "Bay 4". Stop trading and buy the new Moth. Then check to see if yet another Moth is built. Production happens in spurts. Just keep trading until a Moth is built and then stop trading and start buying Moths until you get what you want. Note: You can use bought Moths as trade-ins on new Moths. You don't have to keep them all!

We have dyar1 and Nar Sluke to thank for figuring out the original recipes for making a Police Moth and getting this whole bit started.

We'll look at how to trade with Downtown Moths in the next 3 sections. Downtown Moths will begin producing Moths in pairs in the following order:

* 2 Death's Heads

* 2 Silver-Ys

* 2 Police L2000s

* 2 Swallows

Once the first pair of Swallows is produced, more Swallows will follow until the cycle begins again.

You have very little control over the process other than to supply Downtown Moths properly so they'll go through their production cycle. In older versions, you could get a Police Moth built quicker if you only supplied Cell #3s and starved Downtown Moths of Cell #1s. *This no longer works*. The production cycle must follow the order above. Both Cells #1 and #3 must be supplied in equal amounts.

Hording Supplies

Good news here, fellow pilots! The same supplies are needed to make Moths, but in far less quantity than was used in the unpatched game.

It is still recommended that you pirate or purchase what you'll need ahead of time and store the items in your hangar, which is preferrably located near Downtown Moths. Then you can make large consistent trade runs to make everything go smoother.

The items needed to have Downtown Moths go through it's entire production cycle are:

* 6 Cell #1s

* 6 Cell #3s

* 8 Laser

* 8 Ore

* 10 CompComp

* 20 Sheet Metal

* 20 Plastics

* 20 MachParts

That's it, folks! It's much less than the old system and you'll find that you'll only need to make three runs! This is due to the fact that the patches give Downtown Moths far more cash than it used to have and starts out better stocked.

Stage One

Before you start trading, double check that you have a full stock of the items above. You don't want to detour too often while making trade runs and buying Moths.

For the first trade run load up:

* 4 Cell #1s

* 4 Cell #3s

* 8 Laser

Yep, that's all the Lasers and most of the Cells. Run this to Downtown Moths and sell it to them. This is all that's needed to begin production. Just exit the hangar and give them a couple of minutes. Check back and you'll see the first Death's Head in Bay 4.

Go back to your hangar and get a taxi to shuttle you over to Downtown Moths. Get out of the taxi and buy the Death's Head and fly back to your hangar. Remove the laser from the Death's Head in your hangar and fly back to Downtown Moths. There will be another Death's Head waiting for you. Now buy the new Death's Head, fly home, and strip its laser.

A Silver-Y will be waiting for you. You can either fly back in the Death's Head, or, if you want to keep the Death's Head, call a taxi. When you get to Downtown Moths, buy the Silver-Y. Fly the new Y home and remove its laser. Now fly the new Y right back to Downtown Moths to buy the second Silver-Y. Fly home, strip the second Y's laser, get out of the Moth and get ready for Stage 2.

Stage Two

There will be a stoppage in the production cycle after the second Silver-Y. The overall stocks of Downtown Moths are low. You'll be curing this with your next two runs.

Load up everything you've got horded except the remaining Cells and Laser. This would be:

* 8 Ore

* 10 CompComp

* 20 Sheet Metal

* 20 MachParts

* 20 Plastics

You can get all of this crammed into a small pod if you load it up in your hangar. Run the whole thing over to Downtown Moths and sell it all. They won't run out of money. They've got your money for four moths.

Note: If you get to Downtown Moths and they've produced a Moth in Bay 4, don't sell them anything. Just go back to your hangar with your cargo and come back to buy the new Moth. This hasn't happened to me in 20 games, but it's always possible. Don't re-start trading until they quit making Moths.

Generally there won't be a Moth in Bay 4, so sell off your huge cargo and go back to your hangar. Load up the remaning Cells (2 Cell #1s and 2 Cell #3s) and Laser (4 stripped from your first four Moths). Run these over to Downtown Moths, leave, and wait a couple of minutes. When you check back, you'll have a Police L2000 in Bay 4.

Go back to you hangar and either fly or taxi over to buy the new Moth. Bring it home, strip its laser (for profit, not trade), and fly back to Downtown Moths to buy the second Police Moth that will be waiting for you. Fly this Moth back to your hangar, strip the laser. Now fly back in something to check to see if a Swallow has been built. It will be there, but it pays to check before taking a taxi.

Once a Swallow is built, buy it and its twin which will be produced a few minutes after you buy the first one.

There you have it. You have to buy a lot of Moths and I suggest you don't start this procedure unless you have $100,000. You'll make money from selling the items to Downtown Moths, but it won't be enough to buy all of the Moths you'll need to buy.

Handling Problems

Extra Silver-Ys -- This problem occurs between the Police Moths and Swallows. An extra pair of Silver-Ys is made. This doesn't mean they're not going to make a Swallow. It means that they have more than enough Cell #1s. Just buy the Silver-Ys and stay on track. Just remember that you don't need to sale them more than in the list above. The problem is too much stuff, not a shortage.

I'm Broke -- I've been there. Mostly when I've started trading and only have some $20,000. I'll won't be able to get the first Death's Head even after selling the first Cell/Laser run. Don't worry. Just let the Moth you want to buy sit there. It will wait for you forever. Now make some cash and come back to buy it. Pick up where you left off.

Pirates -- Pirates are far more aggressive and better armed in the UIM patches. They can make your big runs miserable. Here are some tips:

1) Make a "clearing run" before a trade run. Check out the area around your hangar and Downtown Moths and kill all the pirates you see. This will clear them out for a couple of minutes.

2) Don't begin trading until the "nuclear ships" are out. These are the gang ships that run Bodyparts to the Port tunnel. These guys will keep the pirates busy and off your tail. They really make a big difference. Make sure to run the *Decoy Required* mission so the gang ships will begin to run.

3) Since you only have 3 runs to make, think defensively. Just make your runs and use flares to divert any missiles. Don't get into a dogfight with a big load. Just get the run done. Kill the pirate after you've sold your cargo.

4) Afterburner. This is a good time to consider using an Afterburner. I recently developed an affection for the Afterburner. They make pirate problems just go away. They can also save your life if things get too hairy and you start taking real damage. You can just blast to a tunnel and then fly back to your hangar. Make sure to keep your cell charged if you use and Afterburner and don't have a Fusion Cell. They eat up the energy.

It's all screwed up! -- You get a trade run wrong or suddenly DT Moths has sold a Moon Moth or is otherwise off norm. In this case, get resupplied and wait three days and begin again from scratch. The only problem that may come up is extra Silver-Ys.

I sold all my stuff and production won't continue -- While parked in Downtown Moths, you can open the "Terminal Interface" using the "O" (letter "O", not zero) key. Type in "goods" and a display will appear showing what items Downtown Moths has in stock. See what they are lacking and get them small (5-10 units) amounts of their needs. Keep checking the Terminal Interface and supplying accordingly. Here are some details.

Also remember it takes a couple of real-time minutes for production to occur.It also screws things up if you hang around. Get out of the hangar and fly around. Give it a couple of minutes and check back in.