I've just come back to the game after a FAR TOOOOO LOOOONG layoff .... and seem to have acquired myself some goods of a .... errrm ... welll .... rather "dubious" nature. So I look around for a nearby Black Market emporium to sell them ... only to find that ALL Black Markets appear to be disabled! Is there a reason for this that I might have missed?
ALL Black Markets appear to be disabled! Reason???
- Thread starter Skyfire
- Start date
might be good to give specific examples.
things like powerplay can impact black markets, but i don't think they have been universally disabled in any of the recent update regressions.
things like powerplay can impact black markets, but i don't think they have been universally disabled in any of the recent update regressions.
I'm using the Galaxy Map to find systems that have a black market at a station somewhere in the system. Every one I've checked where a black market option against the Facilities list, it is shown as disabled. I haven't gone to all, but so far this has proved to be correct. Some systems showing Black Markets (all show as disabled when you look at the station listing) are:
Momoirent : Kotov Dock, Jahn Dock
Azaladshu : Eratosthenes Ring
Kanati : Yegorov Gateway
Laifangyi : Johnson Hub
Pangluya : Wang Market
.... these are just a few examples of the places I've either looked on the map and/or visited to find the Black Market facility is disabled at all of them! If anyone knows where I can find an active Black Market I would love to know!
Momoirent : Kotov Dock, Jahn Dock
Azaladshu : Eratosthenes Ring
Kanati : Yegorov Gateway
Laifangyi : Johnson Hub
Pangluya : Wang Market
.... these are just a few examples of the places I've either looked on the map and/or visited to find the Black Market facility is disabled at all of them! If anyone knows where I can find an active Black Market I would love to know!
Go to Rowley Port | LHS 277 its still open..
Looks like nearly all the systems you checked were corporate governments. Even the one in a confederate controlled system, you went to the corporate controlled station.
Try an anarchy, communist, cooperative or democracy.
Try an anarchy, communist, cooperative or democracy.
It's worth noting... being Corporate does not preclude a Black Market being enabled (a-la a Dictatorship, which will shut down any BM, if one would normally be available). Corporates are my favourite targets for BM runs. (EDDB shows 727 corporate-owned stations with Black Markets)
I think (with Odyssey?) came a change where instead of only listing black markets where they would normally exist, but were disabled, it now lists it as a disabled facility at any station, whether one would normally be there or not. I suspect that might be what's going on here... that all these stations don't actually have Black Markets under any conditions (except for Anarchy control?) but because it shows up as disabled, it's more in your face.
Black markets matters. (not really anymore)
I think I heard something similar somewhere... oh wait. Something... it was err... US & A political correction, something something....
I better shut up, before some galnet activicts will destroy me, my career and my fleet carrier. (not like I own one)
Apperantly Black Market phobist are getting killed on sight if they admit this in galnet. Beaware!
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Did they not make a change recently where they said BM's no longer give a reduced price for stolen goods?
I'm not sure but does anyone else remember that?
I'm not sure but does anyone else remember that?
Sort of. The issue was that illegal goods were attracting the stolen goods price debuff, so it was virtually impossible to make a profit from most smuggling.
The change removed that price debuff for goods that are illegal, or illegal and stolen. Just stolen goods will correctly have the debuff.
There's debate whether that was intentional or not, but most people agree it isn't as big a deal, if at all, compared to the previous situation. The consensus being that if goods are illegal in a system, their status of being stolen is unlikely to perturb the consumer, as possession is a crime whether stolen or not.
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So it was a double whammy bug type thing they fixed?
It's always been a bit weird to me that players didn't get value for their piracy or picking up stolen stuff.
I guess that hasn't changed.
I'm all for a space laundry and a piracy/smuggler progression tree. Then there may be some value to it.
A price debuff on stolen goods makes sense, because they're free (i.e 0- cost) items... unlike illegal- only items which are purchased, and therefore worked with a debuff of your profit margins were more than 25% of the purchase price... and even then the profits were marginal, in the hundreds of cr/t only.
I have more broad criticism of stolen/ pirated goods value in general, and the economy more broadly, but that's off topic.
I have more broad criticism for the BM trading negatively affecting the faction controlling the station... may be it's ok for the security, but the trading effect on influence should be removed or just considered as for "normal" trading (i.e. +INF at profit/-INF at loss). First because it offers for free a negative INF lever against anarchies and second because it appears to be designed like a "+ perk" whilst actually anarchies and other factions may end up shooting in their legs because of BM presence.
Yea, i remember some of it and evolved by now but i doubt that's easy fixed.
I think some of the problem i mentioned is hatch breaking exploits but maybe by adding complexity to it may put some off. Too much hassle basically but viable if just doing the do.
I dunno though, just thoughts.
The fact it's currently affecting anarchies negatively in terms of influence is definitely a bug... that needs to be fixed... but it should negatively affect influence of lawful factions.
I would generally agree that creates a potential imbalance between different faction types (particularly social, purely in the context of black markets, assuming the -ve INF for anarchies gets fixed), but the BGS doesn't need to be balanced. If it is, i have a laundry list of issues that make -ve influence from BM trading look like proverbial in the river.
More generally, i think there should be an accessible BM at every station unless it's faction is in lockdown, with vastly scaling difficulties and incentives based on security level, contingent on a wholesale redesign of system security and BGS effects making smuggling/ fencing post off the list in high security systems, with a high security authoritarian system in lockdown being virtual suicide for anyone trying.
Being "lawful" is a subjective concept in Elite
It's not only factions, there's also the powerplay side impacting control/exploited systems, and hence the factions in the system, which even if favourable may be positively or negatively impacted by BM perks... like ALD (+5% bonus), Grom (BM closed), Antal (+10% bonus), Delaine (+10% bonus, +opening of BMs if not present).
In terms of gameplay, the description appear to be as a perk/positive effect (also by following the power "lore") but actually damages it indirectly because these negatively affect the faction(s) controlling the asset(s). Factions which are in most of cases "favourable" for the power... and it does look a nonsense to me. Apart for Grom, who does actually take it as benefit...