With the U3.00 patch, we can now manufacture goods right in our own hangars. The same upgrade also allows us to purchase goods from traders. We can, of course, still sell goods, too.

The first step in setting up your own factory is to buy a hangar. You'll notice a few new options under the "Owner Control's" Stock button.

Once you get a hangar, you need to get some manufacturing machinery and the base items needed by the machinery to produce finished goods.

Installing Manufacturing Machinery

Once you get your hangar, the next step in manufacturing is to get the machinery you need. You'll find this machinery at Central Industrial. Below is a list of the machinery they'll produce.

Munitions Machinery ($46,125) -- Make your own weapons.

Components Machinery ($31,500) -- Make your own MachParts, CompComp, Drones, and Cells.

Ore Processor ($21,375) -- Make your own Sheet Metal and ExMetal.

Distiller ($28,125) -- Turn Pure Water and Chemicals into Alcohol just like Waterfront Booze.

Narcotron ($67,000) -- Make your own Narcotics. The most profitable manufacturing on Titan.

At the beginning of the game you choices at Central Industrial are limited. Usually only Munitions Machinery is available. Later, Components Machinery becomes available. To get different machinery made, you must supply Central Industrial much like supplying Downtown Moths to produce a Moth. Central Industrial buys: CompComp, MachParts, Sheet Metal, and Plastics. They buy MachParts and Sheet Metal by the ton.

Note: There's a Distiller and Ore Processor in the God Hangar. I'd recommend snagging the Distiller for your early manufacturing experiments.

Once you have your machinery, you must go to your hangar and install it. Installing is easy. An "Install" button appears when you unload your cargo. Click it and your Machinery will be installed and ready to set up for manufacturing.

If you unload your machinery into your regular stock, you'll have to reload it in your pod to install it. You cannot install machinery from your stock. Unload the machinery only if you want to sell it.

If you want to install machinery that you have unloaded, or you've unloaded it accidentally, get in a Moth with a pod, browse you stock, and load the machinery into your pod. Now click "Unload", find the machinery in your pod, and the "Install" button will appear. Again, the machinery must be in your pod to be installed.

Now that your machinery is installed, you need to set it up. Click "Owner Controls". Now click "Stock". You'll see three options: "Manufacture", "Sales", and "Purchasing". Click "Manufacture". You'll see the items you are able to manufacture with the available machinery that's installed in your hangar. Set a "Max" limit to produce.

The Max tells your hangar how much of something to produce before diverting resources to another product. Say you have Weapons Machinery, but only want to produce Sprats and a few Swarms. You'd set the Sprats to, say, 20, and Swarms to 5.

Leave the rest of the missiles at "max 0". This tells your hangar to use resources to produce Swarms and Sprats as opposed to Groundbase and FireBurst. A priority is given to Sprats because of its higher Max.

Note: You can have more than one of a specific machine in your hangar, but it doesn't really help production. You can also have different types of production machinery in one hangar.

Getting A Narcotron - Starchild

It took a long time and lots of sheet metal - 80ish - lots of mach parts - about 60 - and a good few CompComp - about 50. They had 3 of mach parts and 3 of ore and 2 Distillers. Then finaly 1 Narcotron!

I just gave them all that they wanted at Central Industrial in full amount just use the needs/sales list then sell it to them. You know when your getting there when they have 3/3/2/ of all the machines that they sell. Last but not least, the Narcotron will come, until then just keep giving them what they want. Like i said its about 60 mach parts 80 sheet metal and a few CompComp. You should have it all in 20's. I used a Large Pod.

-- Starchild

Purchasing

You have your machinery installed in your hangar and have set your manufacturing Max's. Now all you have to do is "feed" the machinery with raw material.

If you are already familiar with trading, you pretty much will know what you need to produce. Missiles require Sheet Metal, Plastics, MachParts, and Explosives. Sprats and Swarms only need Sheet Metal and Explosives. You'll need to get these things in your hangar's stock to have missiles produced by Weapons Machinery. More weapons and other raw materials "recipies" here.

You can run out and get the needed items. This is the best way to get production started. You can also set your hangar up to purchase items from AI traders. To set up for purchasing click "Purchasing" under "Stock".

This will take you to a familiar listing of all available items on Titan. (It's a long list that requires a lot of clicking.) If you want to purchase an item, just set a Max number you want to buy and then set the price you are willing to pay.

You must set a Max above zero before you can set a price. Remember "Max before Price". The Max must also be greater than the current stock in your hangar to see the pricing. The Max refers to the maximum amount of an item you want in your hangar at any time. It refers to a maximum balance.

You may be loaded up with an item now, but your machinery may use items to produce finished goods. Pilots may buy your raw materials stock as well.

The Max works very intellegently and keeps you from having too much money invested in one item that's not selling well.

You can offer to purchase anything on Titan. This doesn't mean a trader or pirate will be carrying it, but you can get hard to get stuff. Pirates will sell you Fusion Parts, Matter, and Trigger.

Selling

The next thing you need to do is set up "Sales". Click "Sales" and find the good(s) you're manufacturing. Set the price here.

Selling hasn't changed. It's still all or nothing. If your hangar is open to the public and your sales sysem is on, anything in you hangar is for sell at your specified price.

To protect stock you want to reserve for manufacturing, raise it's price to a ridiculous level. Double the default price usually does the trick.

Wrapping Up

There are a couple of other things you need to check before you are set up to manufacture something in your hangar. First, make sure your hangar is open to the public and that your sales system is "On". Otherwise, no one can get into your hangar and buy and sell stuff.

You'll also want to make sure that your hangar has enough money. At least a few thousand dollars should be in your hangar for purchasing. With the new Terminal Interface (TI), you can deposit money into your hangar from your regular account. Just enter:

deposit 10000

The above will deposit $10,000 into your hangar. You may choose any amount you have available in your regular account. Do not use currency symbos ($) or commas (,) in your amount.

Step By Step Summary

Follow the checklist below to get started in manufacturing. The first step, of course, is to buy a hangar.

1) Buy the needed production machinery.

2) Install the needed machinery. It has to be in your pod to install.

3) Click "Manufacture" and set the Max for the amount of goods you want to produce.

4) Set "Purchasing" to set Max's and prices for items you want to buy, like raw materials.

5) Set your "Sales" up by setting a price for your manufactured goods. Also set a high price for any raw materials you'll keep in stock so no one else will buy your raw materials. You make much more cash on the finished goods.

6) Check to make sure that your hangar is open to the public and that your sales system is "On".

7) Deposit some money in your hangar for purchases. A few thousand should do. Deposits are made using the Terminal Interface.

8) Turn on your repair drones. Not only will you use them, but repairs still add up to big money with no raw materials needed.

A Walk Through For Alcohol Production

Lets see what it's like to get in the Booze business in Misplaced Optimism. First we need a hangar. Downtown is a good location because there are a lot of bars around and the nearest Alcohol is at Waterfront Booze, Riverside. Looks good. Lets buy the famous Downtown 05. Now we are near a supplier of needed Pure Water and Chemicals (Sewage Control) and away from our competition (Waterfront Booze).

We need a Distiller to make Alcohol. Central Industrial probably won't have one in stock. So, we need to supply Centeral Industrial until they make one. Or, we could just go to the God Hangar and buy the one there. I'd suggest the God Hangar approach when your starting out and experimenting.

Buy the Distiller and return to your hangar. Click "Unload Cargo" and then click "Intsall" when your Distiller is displayed. Now your Distiller is installed. Click "Owner Controls", "Stock", "Manufacture". Set a Max of Alcohol you want to keep in stock. Start out with 20. Now your Distiller is up and ready to go to work.

To make Alcohol you need Pure Water and Chemicals. Before you run off to get some, set your hangar to purchase them from other pilots. Click "Purchase" under the "Stock" button and find Pure Water. Set a max of 10 or so and a price of $300. Do the same for Chemicals. If you're not sure what to pay, go to Trade Central and see view the "Needs" list to see what other businesses are paying. This is a technique worth remembering. Pay the same or a little more to encourage traders to sell to you over Downtown Components.

That's right. The traders, pirates, and scavengers are just as price sensitive as you are. They want to buy low and sell high, too. To get a trader's attention you need to buy a little higher and sell a little lower (or have an advantageous locale). Don't worry, you'll still make money if you don't price your finished stock extremely low. Manufacturing, as you can see on the raw materials page, is very profitable. Huge markups. Dickering with your prices is half the fun of the new interface.

Set up your Purchasing Max and prices followed by setting up your Sales. Remember to set your price for Alcohol (try $400) and to overprice Chemicals and Pure Water so traders won't buy your stock of raw materials.

Finally, make sure you have your hangar open to the public and that your sales system in "On". Use the Terminal Interface to deposit money in your hangar if needed.

Now run to nearby Sewage Control and buy some Chemicals and Pure Water. Unload them in your hangar and in a few seconds or so you'll have some Alcohol produced and ready for sell.

When you sell some alcohol, you'll get a message with the subject of "Sales Notification". The message tells you what's been purchased from your hangar. Keep checking your stock and hangar's cash balance to see how your sales and purchases are doing. You may have to make some price changes.

I honestly think the new production system makes Hardwar an excellent learning tool for economics and business. Don't be afraid to learn something.

To Manufacturing & Pricing Strategies >>

Getting A Hangar

Manufacuring Products In Your Hangar

Raw Materials Lists For Manufacturing

Manufacturing Strategies

Getting Pirate's Hangars

Best Hangars Map

Best Hangars Page

timski's Hangar Tips