Quote:
Originally Posted by OrionM42
News Flash: Another way to get a Negotiator class ship
Early in my new game (Sector 11) I was offered the opportunity to trade up to a Negotiator class ship. This caught me by surprise, because I have, to the best of my recollection, had no contact with the Unifier faction. Certainly, I have had no significant contact with them; and no sighting of a Unifier embassy up to this point. So (augmenting my prior post), apparently there is more than one way to get a Negotiator class  ...
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Once you unlock a ship during one of your games, it remains unlocked for future games and will show up for purchase occasionally. Before I unlocked any ships, I only ever saw the four starting ships for sale (Asteroid Miner, Trader, Light Explorer and Assault Scout). But after my first win, where I managed to unlock a few more ships, I now see those ships for sale too. So, since you unlocked the Negotiator in your last game, you can now buy them in your current game (and any future games you play).
Quote:
Originally Posted by OrionM42
Still, the variance I have seen between just two examples of a Negotiator class ship makes me think that the strengths and weakniesses of the various classes of ships may be much more "fluid" than I had thought. Random chance may be a bigger factor!
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The quality of ships available for sale will steadily increase as you head to higher sectors. This is true for all ship types, including the starting ships. As far as I can tell, each ship has a "base" model, which is what you get if you start a new game with that ship. Ships are characterized by the "intrinsic" devices they have (like the Shield Regenerator you mentioned) and certain other characteristics, like "large crew" or relative speed.
As you get farther, the ships available for sale will have bonuses on top of this. Early on, you'll just see that the ships have a few more crew or a few more points of armor than the basic models do. When you get very far, these bonuses get really big, which is why you found that epic Negotiator in your earlier game. Apparently when you're really far, things like ship speed also increase.
I actually haven't ever bought a new ship during one of my games, as I get attached to my starting one. But I should try it, because I was rolling in money when I won and it gives me something to spend it on.