"UNDEROCEAN TRADING"

Under the ocean are trade shops that can only be reached by using giant
fae snail drawn sealed underocean freight vessels. These are a type of
freight that when on land act as a WAGON TRAIN but can also go right under
the ocean.

- They can only be purchased initially at an underocean trade shop.
- They will not swim out into open water and only move on the bottom or
  when adjacent to under ocean land like mountains and ridges.
- When under the ocean these snails no longer act like a wagon train and
  you do not automatically follow your leader.
- Trades from land to the underocean and underocean to the land give an
  additional 50% payout.
- If you and the formation leader is mounted on a seahorse the command NN
  moves you towards the leader, changing your direction as needed.
- If you use a Kraken's Bladder you can 'stick' to the bottom after doing
  a 'DD' command. When stuck to the bottom you can go N, S, W, and EAST
  and you automatically go UP or DOWN the required amount. The limit is 6
  up or down.
- You will need an Aquoderm's lung to breathe under the ocean via the
  'Breathe Water' spell.
- There are no roads under the ocean, it is all cross country, with no
  directions.
- To enter or exit the underocean the road must be adjacent to the ocean,
  simply walk in or out.
- There are thousands of UNDEROCEAN VENTS which players can own, thus
  'taming' the land and turning it into TOWNLAND
- In tame and untamed land at depths less than 100 just a few bottom
  feeders will be found that will slow down trading.
- In untamed land at depths greater than 243 bottom feeders are
  everywhere. They make trading along the bottom nearly impossible. The
  WWW site's map area has maps showing the underocean topography and also
  a colored underocean clantown vent map.
- There are five trade shops, each located on one of the mysterious
  symbols found on the map mentioned above. The trade shops can be found
  on-top of a 10 story pilar somewhere on each symbol mountain range.
- There are broken ridge 'highways' running all around the under ocean
  linking the symbols. These can be seen on the map mentioned above. These
  are all the same depth and at that depth you can move very fast and very
  rarely will a MOBFACTION bother you.
- FLY FREIGHT will fly you to directly above your freight over the ocean,
  then FLY DROP and head down. Remember DD goes down 10 at a time.
- FREIGHT command directs you to your freight and under the ocean it also
  tells you how far below or above your freight may be.
- MOBFACTIONS will SCARE your freight which then will not move until the
  local underocean MOBFACTIONS have been defeated.
- MOBFACTIONS have no name markers on the right of the display like the
  underocean LIFEFORMS have. They are seen on the display as letters of
  increasing letters depending on total level in the room just like other
  lifeforms, just no markers telling you what they are.
- To find the MOBFACTIONS make sure to turn around a lot via 4 EE or 4 WW
  commands. Always be turning and looking in all directions for good
  tactical awareness.

The rest of this topic is....

Vryce's Underocean Trading Tips!

Trading under the ocean is about as strange an experience can become in a
text game, and for that reason it is not for everyone. Playing a game in
textual 3d space will test your mind. It is a magical, hard, and twisted
experience. I highly suggest all experienced players give it a go.

There is much to know. Read HELP UNDEROCEAN and HELP UNDEROCEAN TRADING

I would not try trading until you have spent time under the ocean fighting
the common ocean life, HELP OCEANLIFE That is a very cool feature, use
GAMEINFO OCEANRECORDS or 'GA O' to see the current oceanlife record
holders.

You can move really fast trading under the ocean, it is like you are Flash
sometimes, assuming you are doing it right. Seahorses go fast so I always
mount one.

The DD command when using a Kraken's bladder is the only way to trade. It
sticks you to the bottom and automatically makes the needed up and down
movements required. Note that it does not work well near the surface.

When formed and mounted on a seahorse the NN command moves you towards the
form leader, which is incredibly handy.

'But Vryce, the mobfactions load so often!'

Use the highways! Not just because you can move so fast on them but
because mobfactions will not load there. The WWW has a map:

http://www.medievia.com/images/livemaps/underoceantopography.gif

The highways are the long disjointed lines surrounding the world and
heading into the Sea of Infinity.

Now know the number 230, why? Because for now mobfactions will not load
above that depth. You need to plan your route to stay away from that depth
as much as possible. Hug the continental coast, which slowly recedes down
into the depth, for as long as possible. Go from highway to highway once
you do have to get into the deep. Again, stay above 230 as much as
possible.

While you want to stay above 230, you also want to stay below 100! Above
this depth, in tamed or untamed land a few bottom feeder critters will be
found and they will slow you down.

So ideally you are below 100 and above 230 as much as possible.

Do mobfactions load too often? Yes below 230 depth they will load every
120-200 moves on average. On land that is not so often, but under the
ocean you move so fast that is not a long time. For this reason underocean
trading is about moving fast above 230, but knowing the time you need to
be below that depth will be filled with fighting mobfactions. It creates a
different experience, which as stated above was my mission statement when
designing the underocean.

Now to the mobfactions. Each is different and require a different strategy
but one tactic is key to it all. I would put this in caps but I do not
want to scream. Imagine I am screaming, 'Flee early, to make sure you get
away' Then use UU to get away from the area. Heal and rest fast, which is
damn easy and fast that far down. DD down and attack..

Go read that again as if I really want it to sink in.

Ok so the help for the mobfactions, seapiranha, babyfaezilla, baby
faeclams, and faecuda gives about as many hints as I can stomach giving.

The zilla is a bitch if you do not get 10+ away before it's roar fires. It
gives 4 ever more dire warnings. Notice them and live, forget about it and
die. The clams are as stupid and as predictable as haunted forests and
they don't destroy your freight. The piranha are easy alone, hard when
they swarm you, figure out what to do about that and they become easy. The
faecudas represent a challenge, no question. They are really smart and may
require a patient Boom and Zoom strategy, especially when solo. Boom and
Zoom is a common warplane strategy, boom down from above attack, and zoom
away. UU and DD commands do this with ease, as stated above. The trick is
don't die, be patient, flee when needed, understand what is around you.

What else, let me say to turn around a lot. I EE EE EE EE or WW WW WW WW
all the time, spinning around so I know what is around in all directions.
This is especially true when trying to track down singular sea piranhas.

I notice many of you move sideways when trading, which gives a scrolling
side view of the 3d space. I like going forward, mostly doing N to go
forward then using E and W and EE and WW to turn as needed. I suggest
using both ways so that your incredible human brain learns what I have
done to represent 3d space using colors in a text game. Once your brain
gets it you get jacked in down there and it becomes an experience that is
more magical and more fun. Some of you always move backwards, which is a
strange look like you are in the back of a car looking backwards. Some of
you are stranger than the stuff I make here!

Lastly note that on the right of the underocean display are name markers
listing the ocean life that the display shows to the left as letters. Now
note that it shows nothing on the right for mobfaction mobs, you just get
the letters on the display. The ocean life that appears makes it all more
difficult, but know that that is the plan and part of its charm.

Sum up:
- stay above 230 and below 100 when possible.
- dd attack flee uu heal, and keep using this boom and zoom strategy.

Good luck, feel free to email me at vryce@medievia.com with additions you
would like to see in this tips section.

Read help for FAECUDA SEAPIRANHA BABY FAECLAMS and FAEZILLA

See Also: TRADING UNDEROCEAN OCEANLIFE FREIGHT