Playing the Market as a Strategy?

from Offworld Forums

Is it possible to win by strictly playing the market?

I've only clocked about 7 hours in the game so far, so am still trying to understand the mechanics.

It doesn't seem like a "market only" strategy is very viable (meaning focus on buying and selling, not on production; buy low, sell high).

I guess the issue, from my perspective, is that whenever you purchase a resource, the price hikes, and whenever you sell, it drops.

So if I see a stock at $1, and I buy a pile of it -- say 1000 units -- I didn't just spend $1000, and probably spent a lot more, because the price hiked as I purchased.

And then, when I sell, I don't think i am able to sell everything at the current market high price... seems like price drops as I sell, so my 1,000 units at $100 would not actually net me $100,000 by the time I sell out.

 

Similarly, it doesn't seem like you can make much money purchasing competitor stocks. If I but at $20, and the stock increases to $23, I don't think I'm going to make too much money on the sale. The variations in competitor stock pricing don't seem to be "enough" to generate a level of profit comparable to production.

 

So, yeah, I'm curious if anyone actually attempts this notion of a "trading only" tactic, and pulls it off effectively.

 

Let me know. 

 

 

35,256 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from Offworld Forums Top

Would be pretty cool if something like this could be made to work, as an alternate path to victory ("day trading" path). 

 

I like the concept of being able to ride on the back of someone else's success, and leverage it FTW.

 

But... I suspect this would probably require an overhaul to certain aspects of the existing engine, and would probably cause a lot of other problems.

 

Curious to hear what others think -- and whether anyone has actually tried and mastered this.

Reply #2 from Offworld Forums Top

One idea wold be to create some secondary non-resource stocks (truly stocks, as opposed to purchasable/produceable/consumable resources).

 

The secondary stock prices could be affected by the base resource prices...

 

The secondary prices could actually be reflective of resource constellations (ex. a robotics stock, which is simultaneously influenced by variations in fuel, metals, electronics, etc.)

 

And then let players focus on trading the secondary stocks for a more significant level of profit than a player could otherwise make from trading on resources alone (due to mechanics described in OP)....  

  

Just a thought.

 

Call it the Stellar Stock Market, or something. 

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Reply #3 from Offworld Forums Top

Actually, it's quite possible to play the market, but it's best used as a supplement to your existing production rather than a substitute. You have to know what you're doing. When a resource is being consumed but not produced (such as the constant demand of life support) then you know the price will rise and it is wise to stockpile. When a resource is being overproduced (such as when you're competing in the same market as your opponents) then the price is falling and it is wise to autosell. It's something that's best done throughout the course of the game while you grow, and is important to high level gameplay.

For example, in my tournament game against Blackmagic I saw my opponent had 3 glass kilns that were consuming 3 silicon/second while only producing 1 silicon/second. I mutinied his silicon quarry, bought up silicon to the point where glass kilns stopped being profitable, and then network virused his glass kilns so he couldn't shut them off. His forced demand forced silicon prices higher an higher, making my large stockpile more and more valuable, while producing at a loss. At one point he was losing something like $500/second in silicon consumption, while making my existing stockpile rise in value.

Another thing you can do to play with the market is using a hacker array. Hacker arrays are hard to use effectively, but increase the value of your stockpiled resources by increasing the price. They also increase the value of your production.  

Also, your stock idea is awful because it would either be random or fixed. It's not like resource investments where you can predict changes in prices by watching or deliberately manipulating the market.

Reply #4 from Offworld Forums Top

Quoting Duban, reply 3

It's not like resource investments where you can predict changes in prices by watching or deliberately manipulating the market.
End of Duban's quote

Uh.. maybe was not clear...

Idea would be to index-link price changes in stocks to constellations of resources...

So if relevant combination of resources collectively go up.... same with stocks.

And if the relevant combination of resources collectively go down... same with stocks.

And if some up and some down... then result for stocks is somewhere in between based on whatever calculation.

So not sure why you are saying it wouldn't be possible to predict, influence, or control.

Just more complex, due to fact that you would be dealing with constellations, rather than individual resources.

Again, is just a thought. 

 

And then while they're at it, incorporate futures trading. :)

 

Point would be to enable alternative stream of profit (creating another valid tactic to victory).

 

 

Reply #5 from Offworld Forums Top

Quoting fantstc1, reply 4

Idea would be to index-link price changes in stocks to constellations of resources...
End of fantstc1's quote

 

My mistake. I misunderstood. What would be the benefit of doing that over just buying up those resources in whatever proportions you want to invest in, though? If you're thinking buying the stock doesn't affect the price than that would be kind of op as the only balancing factor in the hacker array is that as you buy more the prices goes up and the value gained per $ spent tapers off.

Reply #6 from Offworld Forums Top

The point of the constellation is that it could separate the stocks by a degree or two form the resources.

 

This would allow the stock to vary independently.

 

While the stock prices would be index linked to the resource constellations, I guess I was assuming that the constellation stocks could vary a little more aggressively than individual stocks -- so their swings would be more exaggerated.

 

This would enable players to make more of a profit, but perhaps at a potentially higher risk. 

 

The hacker array would only have a modest affect on the constellation stock.. would "flow through" from the individual resource to the constellation, but it would only be influencing one stock in the constellation, and thus the affect would be limited.

 

Just ideas.