This is a site made by a CMDR it's updated hourly on some stations by other cmdrs in the bubble it's a huge DB. Works great you can search by distance, commodities to buy or sell, list highest profit between stations. We can use it as a guide or if you want to locate an item fast. You don't need to register to use it.
I don't update prices in it, but use it on occasion when pressed for time.
http://elitetradingtool.co.uk/
I'd also recommend just using Thruds (elitetradingtool.co.uk) if you want to record commodity prices, otherwise you're just duplicating the efforts.
I don't tend to use external trading tools, as I can quickly identify where to find things by using the GalMap (I only trade at CGs anyway), but I've got a high ranking (deadly) on Thrud's from when I used to fill things in lots during the Beta. If you fill in the latest prices at the stations in our systems you'll be able to quickly identify which our best internal trades are (and how to damage our enemies economies).
Yes, please people by all means use these tools to check trading information if you want! I totally forgot to mention them because I don't use them!
However, for those of you purist -like me- that want to find the trading routes by yourselves, the CMDR's Log is one of the best tools around. There is a trader's computer for in game too that seems to be good but and I haven't tried it yet, mainly because it is superposed on your HUD in game... not sure about it but will give it a try.
The reason behind not using any external market website is because it adds to the game's spirit: the idea is that you go around an area and find out about the markets, or use the Galmap to figure these things out. There is a reason why you can't just simply access market's pricing from the Galmap, and is precisely to promote exploring systems around looking for good trades. When you use this external sites is like someone just tipped you off, you basically didn't "solve" the puzzle, somebody else -thousands of people indeed- did it for you and simply gave you the answer.
Again, I am a purist and I roll like that when it comes to trading, but I also understand that for more pew pew oriented, impatient or time constrained CMDR's this is probably not a practical option. I, myself used those tools very early in the game until I figured I could do it by myself and that there were tools to help me out with that. I still have them bookmarked in my browser and visit sometimes specially while at work or afk to check things out.
With that being said, the only thing I also request is not to feed into them. Let them figure us out if they want to, let's not give them the answers to our "puzzle". If they want it, come and get it in our stations. Plus more often than not, this contributes to careless traffic, and one that is hard to even recruit or sway around. Just my opinion, not that I would ever be checking if that happened or not. Just sharing my stance.
I've had a chance to catch up on the BGS thread this morning and everyone there seems to be experiencing the same kinds of problems (only tiny, less than 1% influence movements since the 7th).
_Flin_ has started a bug report thread here:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=198422, perhaps one of us could add to it? If I get online today, it won't be for at least 12 hours from now.
I do wish that someone at FD would properly test these BGS fixes before they release them, this seems to be a worse situation than it was before! At least expansion was working before.
I added my post to that thread.
As for this morning, some directions here:
-Not knowing what is going to happen with today's tick, is hard to take decisions. I think the war shouldn't be fought any longer for now, as we have clearly cashed lots of bonds and the influence numbers do not justify it. When the BGS comes back to senses, it should resolve the war immediately and ended it, probably handing us off Bradshaw Outpost as a result.
-Instead, lets go back to a water down version of Operation Tidally Lock, and run missions and trades as planned. The sway in influence was meager -only 2.30% that friday we ran the operation- but yet, it moved in the right direction and yet, it was the biggest swing in comparison to all of the other systems! Which means that it is moving to the right direction! So let's keep the effort there.
-Same goes for ELEU, where the EEC is still holding over 50% of influence while we are entangled in an already won war with the COOE. Let's go for our real enemy here and run missions against them.
-While completing the Economic data, I already could see the Tobacco Route from Finney being in place. Seems like our new citizens in Mechet like their good tobacco...let them smoke...Eleu Tobacco Growers Association has been pushing us to promote it after the 6 months prohibition during the Fed's occupation.
-General approach, is to take this and any other task with lots of patience and rather laid back...I don't expect the BGS to be moving again until the end of this week, probably next.
-EDIT:
Very Important: For those of you in the U.K. please check the Systems Map hourly, specially after 15hrs whereas possible, and check for
influence changes from yesterday!! We want to pinpoint the tick for each one of the 4 systems and see what it does! Just report back the time when it happens -e.g. after 16hrs, bet. 17 and 18hrs, etc-, nothing else, I get to the numbers when I get home, but knowing the time will help us for following days! Thanks!!
/Kancro Out.
