Guide (Trading)

This guide covers how to set up a landing pad, contact traders, conduct trades, and handle gases and liquids. For a full reference on which traders exist, what they sell, and what they buy, see Traders.

What You Need

Trading requires the following items connected on the same power and data network:

Landing Pad Center: the core of the landing pad; determines approach direction (follow the arrow)
Landing Pad Data and Power: connects the landing pad structure to the data/power network
Satellite Dish: tracks and contacts trader ships; must be aligned toward the trader
Computer with a Motherboard (Communication) installed: used to select a landing pad, target a dish, and initiate contact
Credit Card: required to complete any transaction
Vending Machine or Vending Machine (Refrigerated) (optional but strongly recommended for bulk trades)

Landing Pad Layout

The Landing Pad Center is the tile on which the trader ship lands. The arrow on the centerpiece indicates the approach and departure direction; nothing must block this path. Plane-type traders additionally require a clear runway extending from the pad in the approach direction.

Pad size is determined by the trader's ship type. The minimum required pad area must be fully built out around the centerpiece:

Ship Type	Min. Pad Size	Runway Required
Small Shuttle (standard or gas)	3×3	None
Medium Shuttle (standard or gas)	5×5	None
Medium Plane	7×7	15 blocks
Large Shuttle (standard or gas)	6×6	None
Large Plane	9×9	20 blocks

You can build multiple landing pads connected to the same data network. Having one pad per contact slot type allows you to trade with all available trader types simultaneously. The Computer lets you select which pad and dish to use for each contact attempt.

Satellite Dish Power and Alignment

The Satellite Dish must be pointed toward the trader ship and powered sufficiently to make contact. Each contact slot type has a minimum watt requirement; see Traders#Contact Slots for the full table.

Alignment: Perfect alignment is not required. As long as the dish meets the minimum power threshold for the target trader, some angular offset is tolerated. Small shuttle traders (3×3 pad) are more forgiving of misalignment than larger traders.

Power budget: The dish has three distinct power states:

Resolving: when the dish is aimed at a contact and has enough power to detect it, the contact automatically begins resolving. The duration scales inversely with wattage delivered to the contact: more power shortens it, less power lengthens it. A contact detected with barely enough power to appear may take a very long time to resolve. During this phase the dish draws 10% of its dial setting.
Interrogating: once a contact is resolved, pressing Interrogate begins interrogation. The dish immediately draws its full dial wattage as a continuous load for the entire interrogation period.
Idle: all other times the dish draws only its base standby power.

Plan your cable and generator capacity around the full dial setting, since that is what the dish draws the moment you press Interrogate. This is especially important for large traders, where the dish must be set to 6,000 W or higher. Be careful with the Medium and Large Satellite Dish; at maximum output they can exceed the rating of low-voltage cables, burning them out.

IC10 automation: Dish tracking can be automated with an Integrated Circuit (IC10). The IC10 can read and write the dish's Horizontal and Vertical logic variables directly to sweep the dish, and read ContactTypeId to identify which trader type is currently in range. This allows scripts to automatically scan for a specific trader, resolve the contact, and trigger Interrogate without manual input. See the IC10 Automation section of the Traders reference for the ContactTypeId values for each trader type.

Contacting a Trader

Power up all components and ensure they are connected on the same network.
At the Computer, select the target landing pad and satellite dish.
Set the dish power using the dial on the dish controls (a Labeller can set an exact value). Set it to at least the minimum wattage for the trader type you want to contact; contacts below their appearance threshold will not show up in the signal list. Once power is sufficient, any contacts in range will automatically begin resolving, drawing 10% of the dial setting. The resolve duration scales inversely with wattage delivered to the contact: more power shortens it, less power lengthens it. A contact that is barely visible due to low power or poor alignment may take considerably longer to resolve than one with strong wattage. Once a contact is resolved, its details become readable.
Align the dish toward the contact using the horizontal and vertical buttons on the dish. Alignment affects the wattage reaching the contact, which determines how quickly negotiation completes. Interacting with the adjustment buttons shows the current angle in degrees. Aim to minimise the degree offset shown in the contact details.
Once sufficient power is reaching the target through a combination of dish settings, the Interrogate button will become available. The dish immediately begins drawing its full dial wattage as a continuous power load for the duration of interogation. Interogation speed scales linearly with wattage: at the minimum required wattage the full base contact time applies; at twice the minimum it completes in half the time; and so on. Each trader visit randomizes both the minimum wattage threshold and the base contact time within the ranges below. If dish power drops below the minimum at any point, negotiation immediately cancels and progress resets to zero.
When negotiation completes, the option to request landing becomes available.
Send the landing request. The trader will arrive and dock at the designated pad.

Trader size	Min. watts to appear	Min. watts to negotiate	Base contact time
Small (Utility / Basic)	0 W	25–30 W	20–30 s
Medium	20 W	180–200 W	1–2 min
Large / Exotics	100–250 W	6,000–8,000 W	7–10 min

A trader will never leave until you click Depart in the trade window. This means you can hold a trader on the pad indefinitely. However, while a trader occupies a slot, no other trader of the same slot type will spawn, so holding one trader delays the next visit of that type.

Storms

During a storm, regular shuttle traders (Small, Medium, Large, and their gas variants) cannot land. If you attempt to land one during a storm, the game will inform you that landing is not possible. Plane-type traders (Medium Plane and Large Plane) are not affected by storms and can land normally. All trader types can depart during a storm regardless of ship type.

Trading Interface

Interact with the Trader (or use a connected Vending Machine) to open the trade window. The interface shows:

Items the trader has for sale: click to purchase
Items the trader wants to buy: present qualifying items to sell them
A Depart button to release the trader when done

You can move with the trade window open by holding Left Alt to regain mouse control.

Multiple Vending Machines (including refrigerated variants) can be connected to the same landing pad, allowing you to pre-stock sell items or pre-configure storage space for large-volume buy orders.

Credits and Payment

A Credit Card must be accessible to your character to complete any transaction. The game searches for a credit card in this order:

Slots of your worn Uniform
Left hand
Right hand

The card does not need to be in the dedicated Credit Card slot of your uniform. However, cards stored in a Toolbelt, Backpack, or any other slot will not be found. Always keep your active credit card in your uniform or hand.

If you carry more than one Credit Card, the first card found in the above search order is used.

Important: If you sell a Credit Card to a trader, the credits stored on the card are lost. The trader pays only the item's sell price, not its balance. Avoid selling credit cards with a remaining balance.

Gas and Liquid Trading

Bulk gas and liquid trades do not place items in a vending machine; they pump directly into the Landing Pad Gas Storage via the pad's atmospheric components. You need the following additional parts for gas or liquid trading:

Landing Pad Gas Storage: holds gas and liquid on the pad (multiple tanks increase total capacity)
Landing Pad Gas Input / Landing Pad Gas Output: connect pad storage to your base gas pipework
Landing Pad Liquid Input / Landing Pad Liquid Output: connect pad storage to your base liquid pipework

Each input and output module has an integrated volume pump activated by a button on the device.

Buying Gas or Liquid

When you purchase bulk gas or liquid from a trader, it transfers into the Landing Pad Gas Storage. From there, pump it into your base pipework using the appropriate output module.

Gas and liquid share the same storage tank; take care not to mix incompatible substances. Flush the tank using the output module before switching to a different gas or liquid type.

Temperature matters: Each gas or liquid the trader sells has a specific temperature. The gas will arrive at that temperature and maintain it in the insulated storage tank. Check that your base pipework and storage can handle the incoming temperature; cryogenic liquids such as Liquid Nitrogen (−220°C) or Liquid Oxygen (−200°C) require appropriate infrastructure.

Selling Gas or Liquid

To sell gas or liquid to a trader, pump it into the Landing Pad Gas Storage before the trader arrives (or while they are docked). The trader will inspect the contents during the trade.

Temperature requirements: Each gas purchase the trader makes specifies an acceptable temperature range. Hover over the item icon in the trade window to see what temperature the trader requires. Gas that is outside the acceptable range will not be accepted. Chill or heat your gas to the required range before pumping it to the pad.

Purity: Many gas trades also require a minimum purity percentage. Gas that is diluted or contaminated may not meet the trader's conditions.

World-Specific Gas Purchases

The Gas Trader's buy list varies by world. Some gases are only purchased on specific worlds where they occur naturally in the environment:

Ice (Oxite, Nitrice, Water, Volatiles): purchased on most worlds, but not on Vulcan or Venus (where surface ice does not exist)
Methane and Hydrogen: purchased on Vulcan only
Oxygen: purchased on Europa only
Carbon Dioxide (hot): purchased on Venus only
Carbon Dioxide (cold): purchased on Mars only

Notes and Tips

Trader holdover: A trader never departs on its own. If you walk away without clicking Depart, the trader will remain docked indefinitely, blocking that contact slot.
Vending machine bug: Adding items to a Vending Machine after a trader has been requested to land (but before they arrive) can cause the trade GUI to malfunction. If the trade window fails to open, save and reload, or deconstruct the Landing Pad Data and Power to force the trader to depart, then try again.
Dish power and cable ratings: The Medium and Large Satellite Dish can draw enough power to burn low-voltage cables. Use appropriate cable types for your dish size.
Plane runway clearance: The runway for plane traders must be completely unobstructed. Even small structures in the approach path will prevent landing.

Exotics Traders and Atmosphere

The Genetics Trader and Rare Items Trader both use the Exotics contact slot, which requires 6,000–8,000 W to contact but imposes no atmosphere requirement for landing. The trader will dock at the pad regardless of what is outside.

However, once landed, the game continuously checks whether the atmosphere at the landing pad is suitable for a human trader. The ship's doors will only open (and trading will only be possible) when all of the following are true:

Pressure: Within safe human limits (not vacuum, not dangerously high)
Temperature: Between 0°C and 50°C
Toxins: Toxic gas partial pressure below the warning threshold
Oxygen: Sufficient oxygen partial pressure for breathing

If the atmosphere is not yet ready when the trader arrives, simply wait; the doors will open automatically as soon as conditions are met. If the atmosphere degrades mid-visit (e.g. due to a leak), the doors will close and trading will suspend until conditions are restored. The trader will not depart due to bad atmosphere alone.

This means you do not need to have the atmosphere ready before contacting or landing the trader, but you do need it ready before you can actually trade. A pressurized, oxygenated hangar or enclosed landing bay around the pad is the standard solution.