This is your post.
[quote author=Jo Jo link=topic=22541.msg338975#msg338975 date=1629648108]
[quote author=SCC link=topic=22541.msg338968#msg338968 date=1629645127]
You can trade on the blackmarket even with the transponder on, you just get minor reputation hits for that and get scanned sometimes, you don't have to sneak in everywhere. And no independent patrols should be checking you for transponders anyway. Besides that, there's also Magec, Mayasura, Al Gebbar and Kumari Kandam where no one should be asking about transponders (though pathers will exort you a lot).
(Are you aware you can switch which market you are in by clicking on the market buttons in the trading menu, the ones saying their names?)
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Thanks! I'm going to check out those four places!
[quote author=Jo Jo link=topic=22541.msg338964#msg338964 date=1629641686]
Once a patrol sees you at the last second, you can dock but you lose access to the black market because "a patrol is looking for you."?[/quote]
Wait, what? I never had that happen. Whenever patrol wants to scan me, the planet won't trade with me at all.
[/quote] --LOL! Not an HTML guru and don't know why this worked the first time and not in the second quote. :)
Please see the screen shots below. This is how I have experienced things. I could not get the screenshots to show in the forum preview of this response, so I used Dropbox. Please see the links below.
This is what I see the second a patrol spots you, and I even get the docking warning (screen shot link #2) before the description on the pursuing fleet changes. In other words I see "Friendly. Patrolling." on the tool tip over the fleet, then I dock and get the second message. I'm guessing the patrolling fleet changes their stance during the simulated docking procedure.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/l0et469ammtj97g/Screenshot%20%28310%29.png?dl=0
Once they see my ship and change their stance to "pursuing your fleet", then the military stations I have found so far will present you with this message.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/jp97hpjvsc96hb6/Screenshot%20%28311%29.png?dl=0
[quote author=Jo Jo link=topic=22541.msg338964#msg338964 date=1629641686]
3. Was I correct in assuming that Galatia Academy missions that are 30 light years away are best handled with a skeleton fleet as I mentioned in the intro, assuming they are "find this", or "survey here"?
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It's better to take fewer combat ships and more logistic ships, so you can explore more systems in one go. Assuming you want to explore systems along the way and aren't only gunning for the mission objectives...
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Makes perfect sense. Thanks!
[quote author=Jo Jo link=topic=22541.msg338964#msg338964 date=1629641686]
5. What's the upside to joining the Hegemony as fighting with them? Is that a good way for a new player to get new ships and make money or it is more lucrative to take the random bounties that show up on the mission list, as long as they are close and don't require a lot of fuel / supplies to locate the target?
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A faction commission will get you some monthly paycheck (I honestly don't know, I'm averse to taking on commissions), bounty payout for destroying the faction's enemies for any reason, much greater access to their military markets (better ships and weapons) and that faction won't send expeditions at you (please be aware AI Inspections are not expeditions). The downsides are that other factions can become hostile to you at anytime, instantly, and that for every time that happens, your standing with that faction after you resign the commission will be decreased by 10 (so if you get a commission with a faction, it declares war on another faction, then you resign the commmission, your standing with another faction will be returned to what it was previously, minus ten).
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Good to know. I'm guessing that once your standing reaches a certain point that they start coming after you and won't allow you to dock at their stations?
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This is the bit I copied and pasted every time I quoted something in your post to mark it's from your post. It's also the first line in the previous code block.
[quote author=Jo Jo link=topic=22541.msg338975#msg338975 date=1629648108]
If you get it now, great. If not, it's hardly necessary to do it that way and you can simply use
every time you quote someone. Code blocks on this new forum version is so abominable...