-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ocean Trader FAQ/Strategy Guide v0.33a
Written by Yomuchan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
||Table of contents||
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Introduction..........................................OC01
A crash-course to Ocean Trader........................OC02
Options...............................................OC03
Freight Runs..........................................OC04
Forward Shipping......................................OC05
The Bank..............................................OC06
The Stock Market......................................OC07
List of Cities........................................OC08
\North America........................................0C08a
\South America........................................0C08b
\Africa...............................................0C08c
\Europe...............................................0C08d
\Africa...............................................0C08e
List of Goods.........................................OC09
Random Events.........................................OC10
Warehouses!...........................................OC11
Good Trading routes...................................OC12
Types of ships........................................OC13
Hints and Tips........................................OC14
FAQ...................................................OC15
Legal Shenanigans.....................................OC16
Credits...............................................OC17
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
||Introduction.||- OC01
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Der Reeder (Ocean Trader outside German-speaking countries) is an economic
simulation brought to you by Software 2000, released in 1995. Hell, that's
almost 20 years ago. The player has been given the task to lead a shipping
company. In fact, the company's dropped out of the internet, that there is
only one fansite operating as of now. So I guess they won't mind if I slip
a download link in the FAQ... dead men tell no tales, after all... 9_6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~
||Options||- OC02
~~~~~~~~~~~
If you're too much of an eager beaver, dive right in and start a new game.
Head to section OC03 as there's nothing of interest for you here.
Otherwise, take a breather and look at the game options menu.
If the generic in-game names and logos don't fit your liking, this is where
you can customize your name, your company's name, starting port, and skill
settings.
Not only that, you can even customize for how long the game goes on, and the
goal of the game as well. If you wanted to play in easy mode, to learn how the
game's played, this also allows user-defined modes of play, which allows you
to edit how tight or generous the deadlines, tariffs, and other costs are.
Told ya hanging around would be worth it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
||A crash-course to Ocean Trader||- OC03
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you start a new game, you are greeted with a splash screen that informs
you that a Large Freighter has been constructed in your home port. After the
splash screen, the game starts for real.
The first thing you notice when you start this game is that everything costs
money. Even waiting in ports. This is why you'll need to keep earning a good
flow of money. Early on, you cannot afford to have even one trip without any
goods on board and selling them for profit.
You have some options available when you start off in-game to make a profit.
Early on, its recommended that you keep an eye on the Exports & Imports mini
menu at each of each port, and deliver as needed.
The upper-half of your display shows your ship in port. For a game from 1995
that runs on 8Mb of RAM, that's pretty good lookin' art. On the lower right,
the world map, and any available ports are displayed, and comes with a blink
marker to mark your position.
The lower left side of your screen displays some stats you need to pay goood
attention to; the maximum load of your ship, current total load, fuel loaded
and total fuel capacity. Running out of diesel fuel in the middle of the ol'
Pacific Ocean WILL kick your wallet where it hurts.
The ship's condition percentage shows how much abuse your ship has taken. It
reaches 0, and your ship suffers a critical existence failure. In the course
of your travels, it WILL go down, and the lower the condition, the events in
game get tougher on YOU. So keep your ship in... ship-shape condition.
The berthing fee is paid every day - so it's in your best interest to ensure
your stay in the port is as short as humanely possible. Last, but not least,
is the bank balance.
Keep that thing green, and you'll be able to survive. if it dips past 0, you
are in DEEP TROUBLE. Your ship could be seized (GAME OVER, MAN. GAME OVER!!)
or worse. (Shipping company will go bankrupt!)
The buttons at the bottom of the screen are the ways you will be interacting
with the game world.
Button 1: Goods Turnover
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This takes you to a screen where you will be doing most of your trading. Its
where you'll be exchanging your cargo for money, buying new cargos, and even
purchasing warehouse and oiltanks. This place is also the place where you'll
accept contracts for the lucrative Freight Runs and the even MOARR lucrative
Forward Shipping runs. To read about them, head over to the section OC04 and
OC05 respectively.
Everything except the goods transfer is pretty straightforward, so lets deal
with the goods transfer sub-menu.
Newer players sometimes confused themselves because of the button layout (it
actually happened to me, roflwaffle), so let's explain these buttons.
1) Ship-Warehouse
Moves the goods in your ship to your warehouse. Unless you have actual space
purchased at your docks, this will not aid you at all.
2) Warehouse-Ship
Moves the goods in your warehouse to your ship. And yes, you won't be using
any warehouses early on.
3) Ship-port
Sells the stuff on your ship. This is the basic way of making a profit; sellin'
cargo straight to the port. You'll only turn a profit if the selling price is
greater than the buying price.
4) Port-ship
This tells the game to start loading cargo to your ship. If the port has the
stuff you want, and if you can afford it, this is how your ship is loaded with
cargo.
5) Port-Warehouse and Warehouse-port
Much like the previous deal; if you have stored stuff in your warehouses that
you need to offload, this is the place to go. Vice versa if you want stuff in
the port delivered to your warehouse.
6) Page back and forward
This turns the pages on the goods available. It does exactly what it says on
the tin.
Button 2: Resources
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This takes you to a screen where you can refuel your ship. Watch how much it
costs, though. Some countries have highway robbery for fuel costs. This is
also where you can adjust the speed of your ship. Slow going is great when
you are doing free-lance runs, and speedy running is what you need when
you're on contract. Those deadlines can be deadly if you fail to pass'em...
Button 3: Repair
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This takes you to a screen where you can eithe repair your hull or service
your engine. Both are costly affairs; but what's even more costly is when your
ship sinks with a full hold of electronics. So keep your ship in good shape,
and your engine more so. Servicing it once a year will keep you safe.
Probably. The random event goddess is one fickle thing.
Button 4: Map
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This button takes you to a zoomed version of the world map. This is where you
can take off every zig and sail off into the wild blue yonder, or if you have
the cash to burn, wait a few days. Clicking any port anywhere gives you a
review of their main exports and imports, as well as a quick readout on the
distance of the voyage. This also places a red flag on the port. Click the flag
again to bring up a menu confirming your choice. To set sail, click yes. To
wait, click on the port you are, and then click the white flag again. You'll
be taken to a menu where you decide how long you'll take a break.
There are some buttons below. They are a list of ports in every continent.
Use it if you suck at Geography and can't locate a target port. The information
tab gets a list of goods in the target port, and warehouse stocks, if any. It's
a good way to see if you'll make a profit or not; goods that are wanted by
ports sell for more. Supply and demand - a basic tenet of economics.
Button 5: Phone
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hot diggity damn. just look at that there cellular phone. Nobody expected it to
be such a big hit almost 20 years down the line. This is how you access the
rest of the game. You can deal with the banks, dabble in stock-market trading
or even buy new ships.
1) Bank.
If you needed fast credit at huge interest rates, this is where you'll be
going. Unless you plan carefully, your credit-fuelled purchases may flop, and
you'll be left holding a bill the size of Russia. You can also place deposits
which also earn interest at a slower rate than credit; but when it comes to
depositing a million dollars for a month, the money earned by interest can
become something other than loose change.
2) Stock Market.
Another way of making a little money on the side; playing the stock market.
There are a few companies in the game, and the whole affair is still pretty
much random. If you're lucky, you can turn the fortunes of a company at
death's door and walk away with a profit. Hiring the Insider makes things
easier, but damn, he charges a lot of money per month, making him a luxury
that only a multi-millionaire can afford on a regular basis.
3) Office
This is where you can save and load game. (cue angel choir, rays of light
and sparkles). In a world where sudden ship sinkings, embargos and other
unexpected changes, you'll find yourself back here to load a saved game.
This, is the ultimate insurance scheme.
Of course, you're free to ignore it if you are playing on Nuzlocke mode
or something. The office also allows you to track how well you've been playing,
and also has a financial report where you can check your progress against your
in-game rivals. Last, but not least, this is also where you can end your
simulation if you need a break or if your whole operation just got deep six'd.
4) Insurance
Sometimes, things happen and your ship, cargo or warehouses are destroyed by
natural events or manmade events; this is when insurance kicks in and gives you
a second chance. Unless you're a save scummer, this is your only hope of having
a fighting chance or a 1up mushroom when the game decides to sink your ship. Of
course, it's costly to pay those premiums, but what's costlier is to have no
ship/lose millions of dollars worth of cargo and you must scream.
5) Shipyard
This is where you build customized ships for your use. Buying new custom ships
is a two-stage process; you must first go to the shipyard to create a new blue
print of the ship of your dreams. Make whatever adjustments to the type, engine
and other errata, pay the fee and let them get to work. A few months later, a
blueprint will be delivered, which you can use at...
6) Shipbroker
Yes, it's a market to buy and sell ships. Unless you have enough to buy a new
ship, and the money to last as you wait as it is delivered, please do not sell
your ship. You can also buy used ships in various states of disrepair for cheap
in here; but be careful - they're sold cheap for a reason. The shipbroker is
also where you use your plans from the shipyard to purchase your custom-built
ships.
That's it for the explanations of the ingame menus and concepts. Now, it's time
to get out there and make yourselves some moolah!.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
||Freight Runs||- OC04
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So you've been shipping cargo around and you think youse mister big because you
have some money saved up. What if I told you that there's a better way to earn
money?
See, like in real life - there are folks who need things moved around the world
and they don't have a big, fat boat to do it for'em. That's why they start
looking for folks with a ship to help them with their business. Good for you,
you already have a boat. Freight runs can be accessed in the goods turnover.
Just hit the button marked freight business (Not Forward business. We'll get
to that shortly).
If your ship has enough cargo room, the task will be explained to you. Deliver
a certain amount of cargo to the target port before the deadline; the kicker
here is that you're not paying for the cargo - they are. If you can manage to
deliver before the deadline, it means you can earn chunks of money much faster
than having to buy the cargo in the first place. Be warned, however - failure
to deliver at the deadline means they'll sue you instead - and early on,
suffering a loss of over 10 million dollars means you're basically sunk. So
check the deadline info carefully, and only take the contracts you know you
can deliver on. Because hey, having a 4-figure profit is better than having
a 6-figure deficit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
||Forward Shipping||- OC05
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So you have about 50 million dollars in your pocket, and you think you're
ready to enter the big league of maritime shipping. Forward shipping is a
little different from freight runs and port offloading. You are asked to
deliver a certain amount of cargo to a warehouse that you must purchase at
the target destination. Yes, this means that instead of selling the goods,
you must store them at a warehouse. This is why you need a large amount of
capital to make sure you don't go bankrupt from purchasing the goods and
warehouse space in the target city. The payout is enormous, though.
And so is the risk. You miss out on the deadline, the suing gets so
intense, even a billionaire might get cleaned out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
||The Bank||- OC06
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ah yes, the center of commerce, where lives are made... and unmade. Raising
credit is where you'll be able to borrow money from the bank. The maximum
limit of borrowing is decided by how much total assets your company has. If
you chicken out, you can pay back the loan, interest and all, too.
But the good stuff in the bank comes from investments. You can deposit a
certain amount of money in the bank and sign a contract not to take it out
until a certain date is matched; as in real life, the longer you store, the
more money you get back. Interest rates differ from 6.25% for one month, to
9.50% for 60 months. Once you have a good flow of money going, its always a
good idea to let interest line your pockets a bit. You can have up to five
investments at any given time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
||The Stock Market||- OC07
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The stock market is CLOSED on weekends!
..
Okay, so its a limited simulator, as most of the game is about shipping and
freight rather than stock market gambling; but okay, here goes. The stocks
available are all industrial corporations with extremely generic names. This
is a clever ruse to prevent small-timers from hitching onto the successful
ones.
You can buy and sell shares - buying shares carries a small fee. About 10$ per
share. You can monitor how well the share is doing by viewing the show index.
The price developments show the current prices of the shares available, while
securities deposit shows how many shares you have, and how much they're worth.
Last, but not least, you can hire a trade insider to get an idea of what's
going up and what's going down, so you can make the appropriate investments.
This is considered easy mode, and unfit for a real gambler.
"Eeeh?? Easy mode?!"
"How lame!"
"Only brats play in easy mode!"
"Kyahahahaha!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
||List of Cities||- OC08
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
North America - OC08a
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Acajutla, El Salvador
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Coffee, sugar, cotton, textiles.
Principal imports: Machinery, electrical appliances.
Corinto, Nicaragua
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Coffee, cotton, meat products, sugar, bananas.
Principal imports: Machinery, vehicles, chemical products.
Cristobal, Panama
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, bananas, fish products, sugar, cocoa.
Principal imports: chemical products, machinery, vehicles, grain, electric
appliances.
Halifax, Canada
Less important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Precious wood, grain, iron ore.
Principal imports: vehicles, iron and steel, machinery, chemical products,
electronics and computers.
Houston, USA (y'know, from 'Houston, we have a problem.')
Less important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, Cotton, Machinery, Vehicles, chemical products.
Principal imports: electrical appliances, bauxite, iron and steel, bananas,
lead and zinc.
Kingston, Jamaica (ey, mon!)
Unimportant port.
No tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, Cotton, Machinery, Vehicles, chemical products.
Principal imports: electrical appliances, bauxite, iron and steel, bananas,
lead and zinc.
Los Angeles, USA
Important port
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Electronics and computers, cotton, petroleum, machines,
tropical foods.
Principal imports: Iron and steel, aluminium, electric appliances, animal
products, cocoa.
New Orleans, USA
Important port
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, Machines, Vehicles, chemical products, iron
and steel.
Principal imports: Iron ore, Bauxite, Phosphates, Rubber, Bananas.
New York, USA
Very Important port
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Coal, Iron and Steel, Electronics and computers,
vehicles.
Principal imports: Electric appliances, iron ore, copper, phosphates,
precious woods.
Port Limon, Costa Rica
Unimportant port.
No tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Coffee, bananas, animal products, chemical products,
textiles.
Principal imports: Machinery, Iron and steel, vehicles.
Puerto Barrios, Guatemala
Unimportant port.
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, coffee, bananas, sugar, cotton.
Principal imports: Machinery, vehicles, electric appliances.
Puerto Cortes, Honduras.
Unimportant port.
No tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Coffee, bananas, precious woods, cotton, sugar.
Principal imports: Chemical products, Machinery, Vehicles.
Salina Cruz, Mexico (M00txico!)
Unimportant port.
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Textiles, cotton, coffee.
Principal imports: Machinery, vehicles.
San Francisco, USA
Very Important Port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Computers and electronics, cotton, machinery, chemical
products, vehicles.
Principal imports: Iron and steel, aluminium, electronics and appliances,
tea, tobacco
San Jose, Guatemala.
Unimportant port.
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, coffee, bananas, sugar, cotton.
Principal imports: Machinery, vehicles, electric appliances.
San Lorenzo, Honduras.
Unimportant port.
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Coffee, bananas, precious wood, cotton, sugar.
Principal imports: Chemical products, Machinery, vehicles.
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Unimportant port.
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Sugar, cocoa, tobacco, coffee.
Principal imports: Vehicles, chemical products, machinery.
Savannah, USA.
Less important port.
No tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Cotton, tobacco, grain, textiles, machinery.
Principal imports: Chemical products, electric appliances, iron and steel,
phosphates, rubber.
Tampico, Mexico (M<3<3Txico!)
Less important port.
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, textiles, cotton, lead and zinc, chemical
products.
Principal imports: Machinery, electric appliances.
Vancouver, Canada
Very important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Precious woods, grain, petroleum, lead and zinc.
Principal imports: Vehicles, Iron and steel, bauxite, chemical products,
electronics and computers.
Veracruz, Mexico (One last time!)
Less important port.
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Textiles, cotton, chemical products, sugar.
Principal imports: Machinery, Vehicles.
South America - OC08b
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Arica, Bolivian Free Port.
Unimportant port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, lead and zinc, precious woods, coffee.
Principal imports: Machinery, Vehicles, electrical appliances.
NOTE: I don't know what they mean by Bolivian Free Port. Yet.
Belem, Brazil.
Unimportant port.
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Precious woods, cocoa, rice.
Principal imports: Coal, electrical appliances, chemical products.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Normal port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Animal products, vehicles, grain, linseed oils, chemical
products.
Principal imports: Machinery, textiles, phosphates.
Callao, Peru
Unimportant port.
No tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Fish products, lead and zinc, wool, copper.
Principal imports: Machinery, electrical appliances, vehicles,
iron and steel.
Cartagena, Columbia
Unimportant port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Coffee, petroleum, bananas, cotton.
Principal imports: Machinery, chemical products vehicles, electrical
appliances.
Charnaral, Chile
Unimportant port.
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Iron ore.
Principal imports: Machinery, vehicles.
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Unimportant port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, cocoa, fish prodycts, coffe, bananas.
Principal imports: Chemical products, machines, textiles, electrical
appliances, vehicles.
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Less important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, iron ore, cocoa, coffee, sugar.
Principal imports: Machinery, chemical products, vehicles.
Montevideo, Uruguay. (Whoever named this country has a sense of humor)
Less important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Animal Products, Rice, Wool.
Principal imports: Petroleum, chemical products, iron and steel,
vehicles, aluminium.
Paramaribo, Surinam (I didn't even know this country existed.)
Unimportant port
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Bauxite, aluminium, rice, precious woods.
Principal imports: Machinery, vehicles.
Puerto Cabello, Venezuela.
Unimportant port
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, iron ore, cocoa, coffee, sugar.
Principal imports: Machinery, chemical products, vehicles.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Coffee, iron ore, machinery, cotton, cocoa.
Principal imports: Petroleum, coal, electrical appliances, chemical
products, electronics and computers.
Salvador, Brazil
Unimportant port
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Cocoa, sugar, tobacco, rice.
Principal imports: Coal, electrical appliances, chemical
products.
Santos, Brazil
No tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Coffee, cotton, linseed oils.
Principal imports: Coal, electrical appliances, chemical
products.
Valparasio, Chile
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Copper, iro ore, coal, precious woods, wool.
Principal imports: Vehicles, electrical appliances, machinery, grain.
Africa - OC08c
~~~~~~
Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Less important port.
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Cocoa, coffee, precious woods, bananas.
Principal imports: Chemical products, textiles, machinery.
Accra, Ghana
Unimportant port.
No tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Cocoa, precious woods, bauxite, linseed oils.
Principal imports: Machinery, chemical products.
Alexandria, Egypt
Less important port.
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Cotton, petroleum, rice, linseed oils, phosphates.
Principal imports: Vehicles, machinery, chemical products, iron and
steel, electrical appliances.
Algiers, Algeria
Unimportant port.
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Lead and zinc, phosphates, grain, animal products.
Principal imports: Machinery, textiles, vehicles, electrical appliances.
Beira, Mozambique
Unimportant port.
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Cotton, textiles, tea, precious woods, iron ore.
Principal imports: Machinery, electrical appliances.
Boma, Zaire
Unimportant port.
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Copper, coffee, cocoa.
Principal imports: Vehicles, electrical appliances, Machinery, textiles,
iron and steel.
Cape Town, South Africa
Important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Wool, tropical fruits, animal products, machinery,
textiles.
Principal imports: Chemical products, electrical appliances, rubber,
electronics and computers.
Casablanca, Morocco
Less important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Tropical fruits, phosphates, lead and zinc, cotton.
Principal imports: Machinery, electrical appliance, iron and steel.
Cotonou, Benin
Unimportant port.
No tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Linseed oils, cocoa, coffee.
Principal imports: Vehicles, Machinery.
Dakar, Senegal
Important port
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Linseed oils, phosphates, animal products, fish
products.
Principal imports: Chemical products, Machinery, Vehicles.
Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
Unimportant port.
No tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Coffee, tea, cotton.
Principal imports: Machinery, Vehicles.
Douala, Cameroon
Unimportant port
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Cocoa, coffee, cotton, rubber, bananas.
Principal imports: Vehicles, electrical appliances, textiles.
Durban, South Africa
Normal port
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Copper, coal, iron ore, sugar.
Principal imports: Chemical products, electrical appliances, rubber.
Lagos, Nigeria
Normal port
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, linseed oils, cocoa, rubber, cotton.
Principal imports: Vehicles, machinery, textiles, electrical appliances.
Lome, Togo
Unimportant port.
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Phosphates, coffee, cocoa.
Principal imports: Iron and steel, Vehicles, Machinery.
Luanda, Angola
Unimportant port.
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroeum, coffee, fish products, iron ore, precious
woods.
Principal imports: Electrical appliances, chemical products.
Mombasa, Kenya
Normal port
No tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Coffee, tea, animal products.
Principal imports: Machinery, chemical products, vehicles, electrical
appliances.
Monrovia, Liberia
Less important port
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Iron ore, rubber, precious woods, coffee, cocoa.
Principal imports: Machinery, chemical products.
Oran, Algeria (ORAN BERRY!!)
Unimportant port.
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, iron ore, lead and zinc, copper.
Principal imports: Machinery, vehicles.
Port Sudan, Sudan
Unimportant port.
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Cotton, linseed oils, animal products.
Principal imports: Machinery, chemical products, vehicles, grain.
Tobruk, Libya
Unimportant port.
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum.
Principal imports: Machinery, vehicles.
Tripoli, Libya
Unimportant port.
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, animal products, linseed oils.
Principal imports: Vehicles, Machinery, Iron and steel, electrical
appliances.
Tunis, Tunisia
Unimportant port.
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, textiles, phosphates, linseed oils,
grain.
Principal imports: Vehicles, chemical products, Iron and steel.
Europe - OC08d
~~~~~~
Antwerp, Belgium
Important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Iron and steel, machinery, aluminium, grain, animal
products.
Principal imports: Electric appliances, vehicles, coal, tropical fruit,
wool.
Barcelona, Spain
Less important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Vehicles, machinery, textiles, chemical products, grain.
Principal imports: Petroleum, coal, animal products, iron and steel, linseed
oils.
Barcelona, Spain
Unimportant port.
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Vehicles, machinery, animal products, Iron and steel, lead
and zinc.
Principal imports: Chemical products, coal, petroleum, iron ore, aluminium.
Bordeaux, France (Bordeaux Tapestry, anyone?)
Less important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Vehicles, grain and aluminium.
Principal imports: Electric appliances, coal, tropical fruits, bananas and
textiles.
Genoa, Italy
Important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Machinery, vehicles, textiles, chemical products, iron
and steel.
Principal imports: Petroleum, coal, iron ore, grain, aluminium.
Hamburg, Germany
Very Important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Machinery, chemical products, vehicles, electric
appliances and electronics/computers.
Principal imports: Petroleum, coal, iron ore, grain, aluminium.
Istanbul, Turkey
Unimportant port.
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Cotton, textiles, tobacco, grain.
Principal imports: Machinery, petroleum, chemical products, iron and steel,
electric appliances.
Le Havere, France
Important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Machinery, vehicles, iron and steel, grain, animal
products.
Principal imports: Electric appliances, coal, petroleum, iron ore,
phosphates.
Lisbon, Portugal
Less important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Textiles, Machinery, precious woods, animal products,
and fish products.
Principal imports: Vehicles, chemical products, petroleum, coal, iron
ore.
Liverpool, England
Normal port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Machinery, vehicles, chemical products, textiles, coal.
Principal imports: Electrical appliances, tea(I say!), aluminium, cotton,
sugar.
London, England
Important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Machinery, vehicles, chemical products, textiles, coal.
Principal imports: Electrical appliances, tea(Quite.), cotton, aluminium,
electronics and computers.
Marseilles, France
Normal port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Machinery, vehicles, Aluminium, textiles.
Principal imports: Electrical appliances, coal, petroleum, iron and steel,
electronics and computers.
Naples, Italy
Normal port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Machinery, vehicles, textiles, chemical products, iron
and steel.
Principal imports: Iron ore, aluminium, grain, coal, cotton.
Odessa, Ukraine
Unimportant port
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Iron ore, coal, grain.
Principal imports: Petrol, precious wood, machinery.
Piraeus, Greece
Unimportant port
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Textiles, grain, tobacco.
Principal imports: Machinery, chemical products, coal, vehicles, phosphates.
Porto, Portugal
Unimportant port
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Textiles, machinery, precious woods, grain, fish
products.
Principal imports: Vehicles, chemical products, coal, cotton, phosphates.
Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Very Important Port
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Machiner, chemical products, grain, animal products,
iron and steel.
Principal imports: Petroleum, coal, tobacco, tropical fruits, linseed
oils.
Asia - OC08c
~~~~
Abadan, Iran
Unimportant port
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, Cotton, Animal products, wool, rice.
Principal imports: Machinery, iron and steel.
Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, Animal products, fish products.
Principal imports: Electric appliances, machinery, vehicles, iron and
steel, textiles.
Adelaide, Australia
Less important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Animal products, grain, wool, iron ore, lead and zinc.
Principal imports: Machinery, Vehicles, chemical products, petroleum,
phosphates.
Aden, Yemen.
Unimportant port
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Coffee, animal products, fish products, cotton.
Principal imports: Chemical products, electrical appliances.
Bangkok, Thailand
Less important port.
No tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Rice, rubber, textiles, precious wood.
Principal imports: Chemical products, machines, vehicles, electrical
appliances.
Bombay, India
Important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Tea, Cotton, Textiles, Tobacco, Rice.
Principal imports: Petroleum, vehicles, chemical products, iron and
steel.
Calcutta, India
Normal port.
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Textiles, machinery, Tea, Rice, iron ore.
Principal imports: Petroleum, vehicles, chemical products, bauxite.
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Unimportant port
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Tea, rubber, cocoa.
Principal imports: Machinery, Electrical appliances, vehicles,
chemical compounds.
Doha, Qatar
Unimportant port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum.
Principal imports: Chemical products, machinery, vehicles, electrical
appliances.
Dubai, Saudi Arabia
Unimportant port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, animal products, wool.
Principal imports: Electrical appliances, machinery, vehicles,
iron and steel, chemical products.
Fremantle, Australia
Less important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Iron ore, grain, animal products, wool, bauxite.
Principal imports: Machinery, vehicles, chemical products, phosphates,
Hong Kong, Great Britain. (I guess they didn't expect what happened in
1997, eh?)
Very Important Port
No tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Textiles, Chemical products, electrical appliances.
Principal imports: Machinery, vehicles.
Jarkarta, Indonesia. (Another case of translation blues? It shows up as
Jakart, in game.)
Less important port.
Has tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Petroleum, copper, rubber, bauxite, coffee.
Principal imports: Machinery, chemical products, electrical appliances.
Karachi, Pakistan.
Normal port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Rice, cotton, textiles, animal products, chemical
products.
Principal imports: Electrical appliances, Machinery, Vehicles.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (MAH LAZOR)
Less important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Rubber, Petroleum, Linseed oils, iron ores, bauxite.
Principal imports: Electrical appliances, Machinery, Vehicles, chemical
compounds.
Madras, India.
Less important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Tea, machines, textiles, tobacco, rice.
Principal imports: Petroleum, Vehicles, Chemical products, Iron and
Steel.
Manila, Phillipines.
Less important port.
No tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Electrical appliances, Linseed oil, tobacco, copper.
Principal imports: Machines, Vehicles, chemical compounds, rice, iron
and steel.
Melbourne, Australia.
Important port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Chemical compounds, grain, animal products, wool,
copper.
Principal imports: Machinery, vehicles, petroleum, iron and steel,
electronics and computers.
Port Moresby, New Guinea.
Unimportant port.
No tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Copper, coffee, cocoa, rubber, precious wood.
Principal imports: Machinery, vehicles.
Shanghai, China.
Normal Port.
No tanker terminal. No container transshipment.
Principal exports: Rice, textiles, machines, tobacco.
Principal imports: Grain, vehicles, sugar, iron and steel. Rubber.
Singapore, Singapore.
Normal Port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Electronic appliances, textiles, iron and steel.
Principal imports: Chemical products, Machinery, vehicles.
Sydney, Australia. (Look, there's Nemo's dad!)
Very Important Port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Machinery, vehicles, coal, sugar.
Principal imports: Chemical compounds, petroleum, iron and steel,
electronics and computers, linseed oils.
Tokyo, Japan
Very Important Port.
Has tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Machinery, electronic appliances, electronics
and computers, iron and steel, vehicles.
Principal imports: Petroleum, coal, iron ores, textiles, linseed
oils.
Wellington, New Zealand.
Less important port.
No tanker terminal. Has container transshipment.
Principal exports: Animal products, wool, preciousssssss wood, fish
products.
Principal imports: Chemical products, Machinery, Vehicles, Textiles,
Iron Ore.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
||List of Goods||- OC09
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ballast
Cheap, useless material best used as ballast. Most likely waste that
no one else wants. You could buy 12000 tonnes for about 30000$. Only
trade these in at unimportant ports if you're REALLY hard-up for the
money.
You know what ballast does? Reduce the damage from storms. That's
actually pretty cool if you ask me.
Grain
Wheat, barley, that sorta thang.
Tropical Fruits
For when you need some good, nutritional food or when you want to
throw a samba party!
Bananas
Fresh off the banana republic!
Tobacco
Makes cancer sticks and cuban cigars.
Cocoa
CHOOOCKLAAAAAAAAAATE!!!111
Coffee
The top-ranking favourite among hipsters, philosophers, artists,
etc.
Tea
A vital ingredient for British Gentlemen. There's always a
market for this stuff at the ports of the UK.
Rice
No rice, no life. Poorer ports will always take these off your
hands for a profit.
Linseed Oil
It's sunflower seed oil. Real obscure stuff.
Sugar
A vital ingredient in the manufacture of sugar water.
Animal products
You need a refrigerator ship to haul goodass steak around.
Wool
It's warm.
Cotton
"Gone are the days when my heart was young and gay,
Gone are my friends from the cotton fields away...
Gone from the earth to a better land I know..."
Precious wood
MY PRECIOUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Rubber
Makes tires and stuff.
Fish products
You need a refrigerator ship for this too. You dont
want to haul around rotting fish, do ya?
Coal
Ye Olde power source.
Petroleum
Modern fuel. You need a fuel tanker to haul this
stuff.
Iron ore
Unrefined iron. Its cheap, but in high demand.
Copper
A good sell at any industrial nation.
Bauxite
In case you didn't know, this is unprocessed aluminium ore.
Lead and Zinc
Used to make electronics.
Phosphates
Fertilizer!!!.
Textiles
Pretty clothes.
Iron and Steel
A finished product.
Aluminium
Planes!
Machinery
Engines and stuff.
Vehicles
Cars, trucks, automobiles and more.
Electrical appliances
Washing machines, and stuff.
Electronics and computers
Very expensive.
Chemical products
Toxins? Cleaning supplies? We may never know...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
||Random Events||- OC10
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sea is a cruel place. Some events can end your game instantly. Others
may cause you to smirk, and others may have you screaming "WHAT THE HELL,
UN?!". Your best defense against these unexpected terrors of the deep...
is to expect them.
Rescue a shipwrecked sailor
Positive event: Your company's image/reputation goes up by 1.
Hurricane!
Negative event: Your ship takes 5% to 10% damage.
Typhoon!
Negative event: Your ship takes 5% to 10% damage.
Collision!
Negative event: Your ship takes 15% to 25% damage.
Collision!!
Negative event: Your ship takes 25% to 50% damage.
Collision!!!
Negative event: Your ship is destroyed. No questions asked.
Hasta la vista, baby.
Fire! (in the disco!)
A warehouse burns down in a random port. This does not affect you unless
you had stocks stored in that port. May the gods show mercy on your soul
if you had almost completed a Forward Shipping run...
Caught dumping illegal waste!
You'll be fined about 250,000$-500,000$.
Engine break down:
Your ship will be transported to the nearest port, and you will be
billed for the tug service. YOU SHALL NOT PASS unless you fix your
engine.
Strike!
A port will not accept items or let you buy stuff.
Embargo!
A port will not allow you to unload your goods.
Quarantine!
Some sort of disease has broken out, so your ship
will stay put in a port until the disease is dead.
These are the random events I have experienced so far. I'll add more as
I find'em.
---------------
||Warehouses!||-OC11
---------------
The translation did not go well on this part, so I'll make things easy.
Looking at the text marked 'daily storage cost', you think buying ware
houses is an expensive thing, only for Big Corporations, right? Wrong.
The warehouses are GREAT way to make money!.
Because it works a little differently than you are led to believe.
When you are in any port you can see two values:
The price of 1 ton warehouse is: x (from 8$ in Sudan to 55$ in Tokyo)
This is how much it costs to buy said warehouse.
The daily storage cost is: y (from 0.01$ in Sudan to 0.15 in Tokyo)
Now here's where things go up the crazy tree. The text marked 'daily
storage cost' is is the value that you will be EARNING each day per
1 ton of your's EMPTY warehouse. But be alert, before you go off
buying ALL the warehouses, here's some things you should know!
Buying good warehouse is not easy because cost/profit are DIFFRENT
in every Port.
The value of cost/profit is always somewhere between: 366 and 450.
The usuall average is about around 390. The trick is to buy the ware
houses with the lowest cost/profit ratio.
Examples:
Barcelona:
The price of 1 ton warehouse is: 40$
The daily storage cost is: 0.1$
cost/profit= 40$/0.1$ = 400 [Bad place to buy warehouse]
Dar-Es-Salam:
The price of 1 ton warehouse is: 11$
The daily storage cost is: 0.03$
cost/profit= 11$/0.03$ = 366 [Fair ratio. You'll turn a profit
soon.]
Tokyo:
The price of 1 ton warehouse is: 55$
The daily storage cost is: 0.25$
cost/profit= 55$/0.25$ = 220 [Very low ratio, good warehouse to
buy]
Hamburg
The price of 1 ton warehouse is: 65$
The daily storage cost is: 0.75$
cost/profit= 55$/0.75$ = 87 [THE ULTIMATE BUY!]
Not only that; Warehouses allow you to engage in the extremely
lucrative forward shipping runs. If you have purchased
warehouses in the target city, you'll have more money to
buy what you need!
You can probably see that this gig alone is going to pay for
the berthing charges now, innit? Heck, you could just sell
all your ships, and stay in port while the money rolls in
with this. (I'm going to try this in version 0.66b)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
||Good Trading routes||- OC12
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dancing with Typhoons - Start off at Tokyo, Japan. Buy every ton of
machinery you can manage, and head off into Hong Kong. Sell all your
machinery, and buy electrical appliances. Your next stop is Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia. After offloading your electrical appliances, buy
a shipload of rubber, and sail to Shanghai, China. You can sell your
rubbers here for a good price. With that done, buy all the rice you
can handle, and set sail to Manila, Philipphines. Sell the rice and
buy... dananana, machinery! Back to Hong Kong you go! By the time
this cycle starts over, you should have 5 to 8 million extra money.
Real Men Drink Tea - Sri Lanka and India produce tea. Take
this stuff to any port in the UK. I recommend slow sailing to save
fuel and money. You'll probably get a 2+million dollars per run.
Oil Money - You need a tanker/supertanker for this. Offload all your
petroleum at very important ports that have petroleum in thir
imports slot.
More trading routes will be added as I discover'em.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
||Types of Ships||- OC13
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coastal freighter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Small ships designed to sail short distances. Comes cheap, with a real
cramped storage level. Get one of these if you're bankrupt/lost your
ship. Not worth it otherwise.
All freighters cannot carry bananas, animal products, fish products
and petroleum.
Freighter
~~~~~~~~~
This is the standard ship you start off with. A jack-of-all-trades,
and does what is needed; too bad it cannot carry animal/fish products
and petroleum.
All freighters cannot carry bananas, animal products, fish products
and petroleum.
Large Freighter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You'll be loving the profits this big ship can get for you; the large
cargo space means you can roll in the Freight runs, forward shipping
and miscellaneous trade faster and better than a standard freighter.
All freighters cannot carry bananas, animal products, fish products
and petroleum.
Refrigerator ship
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the sort of ship you'll be wanting to have if lugging animal
products and fish products is your business. It also can store stuff
like bananas, cocoa, tobacco, tropical fruit and coffee and tea!
Too bad you can't take anything else, though...
Bulk goods freighter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seems like a massive upgrade from a freighter-class, but comes with
a small problem. It cannot transport some kinds of cargo.
Darn shame, but here's the list of cargo it can't haul around.
Tobacco
Cotton
Tea
Rubber
Precious woods
Textiles
Iron and Steel
Aluminium
Machinery
Vehicles
Electrical appliances
Computers and Electronics
.. okay, make that a BIG problem.
Container ship
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A container ship is something like a freighter, with a limited
scale of things it can load.
Coal, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lead and zinc, copper,
phosphates cannot be transported with this ship. To offset
that, this ship can transport perishables like bananas,
animal products and fish products!
Tanker
~~~~~~
Only hauls petroleum and nothing but petroleum. Large, slow and if
you know your trade routes, you can always plink in a profit by
sticking to the oil routes.
I usually use Abu Dhabi~India, or Kuala Lumpur~Tokyo.
Be warned, however... when you buy your first tanker, make sure
the hold of the ship is larger than, say, 50000 tons. The
profit margin on petroleum is at around 90$ per tonne (regular
ports), so the quantity has to be large, before it is worthwhile.
It is always a good idea to refuel your ship in the port you are
buying oil, as the fuel (of course) is very cheap here. Go slow
and you wont have to deal with refueling every stop.
Supertanker
~~~~~~~~~~~
Think a Tanker, then make it mega fat. You now have a supertanker.
More hauling power, but since it's so xbox huge, it needs to land
in ports that only have proper facilities.
Passenger Ship
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A really expensive ship. It does not accept any form of cargo;
instead has people. Fancy passenger liners earn a LOT of money.
The important ports have richer itty bitty babies who will enjoy
riding on your itty bitty boat. The more important your
destination, the more people joins your cruise. MONEY!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
||Hints and Tips||- OC14
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cruise slow to save fuel when not on contract. You'll even get in a bit
more range. The only time you'll need to kick to 100% engine output is
when you're rushing to deliver cargo.
Be sure to read the fine print on contracts - take only the contracts
you KNOW you can succeed.
Remember to save often. Sometimes, the random goddess of the ocean may
want to ruin your life for her own amusement.
For advanced/gutsy players, terminate all insurance; this will prevent
you from having to splurge on those premiums; but if your ship is
destroyed and you dont have enough moolah to buy another ship, it's
curtains for you.
Cocoa is named caocao in this game. Don't get confused! I looked it up </pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
and Kaokao is how cocoa is written in German. A little translator
bungleup, but it doesn't really mess with the gameplay.
Having at least 2-3 ships (1 for Americas, 1 for Europe/Africa and
1 for Asia) will allow you to complete shipping runs and allow you to
make more profit per turn!
Beware - the larger the ship, the more it costs to berth at a port,
slip through canals and such. Watch your budget when you have a big ship!
Keep spare money in the bank! Not only its a source of good interest-based
income, it also keeps those meddling fools from the tax office lookin'
scratchy!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~
||F.A.Q.||- OC15
~~~~~~~~~~
Q: Why u do this...
A: Because I wanted to.
Q: Where can I get this game?
A: Try Abandonia... or even Google Search.
Q: Where else can I find this FAQ/Strategy Guide?
A: I upload copies of my works to the Walkthrough Section on
www.forkheads.net/index.php. You'll most likely find the latest
edition there.
Q: STOP RIGHT THERE, CRIMINAL SCUM!
A: Ohshi-
Q: WIll you be updating this Strategy Guide after completion?
A: If I find new methods and aspects of play, then, yes.
Q: Can I post this guide on my site?
A: Sure!
Q: Do I have to pay royalties to post this work on my site?
A: No.
Q: But, a free guide? What is this? Don't you want credit? Fame? $$?
A: Such things are irrelevant to me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
||Legal shenanigans||- OC16
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This FAQ/Strategy guide is freeware. You can post it on your site, as long
as you don't mess with the info and don't change the credits. If you find
errors, please email me and I'll do my best to correct it. This game is
abandonware - the company that made this game filed for bankruptcy in 2002.
Feels bad, man.
If you _really_ want to steal this guide, feel free to do so. I'll just
laugh at you. A freeware FAQ/Strategy guide for an abandonware game.
Fitting, eh?
~~~~~~~~~~~
||Credits||- OC17
~~~~~~~~~~~
Software 2000 may be bankrupt, but kudo to'em anyway. They still entertain
20 years later.
Some information borrowed from german wikipedia.
You, for reading this.
