IDIOT'S GUIDE TO FED2
MAKING PROGRESS
RANKS
Ranks are important in Fed 2, not just because they are a visible indication of the progress you are making, indicating that you are superior to some people (the lower orders) but inferior to those who have climbed higher than you, but also because what you do to earn your living changes drastically when you promote.
At any stage, you can type 'RANKS' and see a list of all the ranks in the game, and be told what you need to do to promote to your next level. You can also use this command to find out the promotion requirements for other ranks. 'RANKS rankname' will give the requirements to promote from the given rank; for example, 'RANKS CAPTAIN' would tell you what you would need to do if you were a Captain.
The following sections explain all the details about how you make your living at each rank; but just to give you an overview, here is a summary.
GroundHog
The lowest of the low in Fed is the GroundHog. We all have to start out at this pitiful rank, but unless you enjoy having derision and scorn poured upon you, the Idiot's Guide recommends that you cease to be a GroundHog as soon as possible.
You will become Commander Newbod as soon as you acquire your first spaceship. This Guide contains all the information you need to drag yourself out of the squalor of GroundHogdom, so there's no excuse for not making it to Commander in pretty short order.
Commander
As you proudly display your new ship, you will soon realize that being a Commander is little improvement! You will have signed your soul over to the bank on a finance agreement and the only way to redeem it is to repay the loan. And that means working for a living. At this stage, your work consists of carrying cargo around the Solar System and being paid for the delivery. When you've done a certain number of jobs you can leave Sol, jump through hyperspace and contract for more lucrative jobs in other star systems.
After many hours of hard work, you will finally repay the loan and become a...
Captain
You are now the proud owner of your own spaceship - but not much else! You continue to do cargo jobs, but this time the bank is no longer slicing 10% off your income.
Once you make enough money, you can trade your ship in for a larger model, which allows you to carry bigger loads, which pays you more groats. At the same time, each job you do gives you hauling credits, which are important for your next promotion. Once you have completed the magic number of 850 you will become an...
Adventurer
At last you are starting to make progress! As an Adventurer, you no longer have to carry cargo; instead you are entrusted with small, valuable items to be carried between specific places on the various Sol planets.
As you do these akaturi jobs you will be awarded akaturi credits, and you need to amass 75 of those in order to qualify for your next promotion. You will also need 75,000 ig in the bank. Once you have met those targets, you need to apply for membership of the Trading Guild, by visiting their HQ on Earth. If they are satisfied that you fulfil their stringent criteria, they will admit you to their august ranks, and you will become a...
Merchant
Now you are entering the big leagues. As a Merchant, you buy commodities from trading exchanges and sell them on other planets at (hopefully) a profit.
On promotion to Merchant, you get a boost to your stats - 5 points is added to your strength, stamina and dexterity.
Each successful trade you complete will gain you two Merchant Rating points; an unsuccessful trade will lose you one point. You need 800 MR points to qualify for your next promotion. You will need to visit Messrs Trumble, Cruikshank and Bone on Earth to lodge a 400,000 ig bond and appoint them as your brokers - the command is 'DEPOSIT A BOND' - and then you will be promoted to...
Trader
As a Trader, you stop making money from buying goods, carrying them elsewhere and selling them, and switch to buying futures contracts. Your proficiency at this enterprise is measured with trading points which are awarded and taken away depending on how profitable each contract is.
Your goal as a Trader is to achieve a Trader Rating of 500, by making profits on futures contracts. Once you have done that, you are ready to promote to the next rank. The promotion will happen when you register a business of your very own.
Industrialist
Registering a business makes you an Industrialist, the CEO of a company which owns factories churning out an endless stream of commodities. On promotion to Industrialist, you get 15 extra intelligence points.
This rank is relatively free of pressures since with a private business you are the boss and the shareholders can't overrule you. You can choose when to promote; there are no requirements at all although you'd be advised to stick with it long enough to pile up some cash in your business. Whenever you choose to do it, you launch an IPO to convert your business into a company and you will become a...Manufacturer
As a Manufacturer, you have successfully undertaken an IPO to change your business into a public company. You continue to run factories, but now the training wheels are off. You don't get any say in who buys the shares, you have to cope with maintenance and shareholder disaffection, but on the plus side you can buy more shares in your company and can upgrade the facilities, and can buy more factories.
Once you have run your company for four cycles without getting in such a mess you are forced to declare bankruptcy, you can sell off all your factories and depots, and at the next reset promote to...
Financier
Financiers continue to run companies, but now they are financial instead of manufacturing companies. Your company earns groats by bidding for shares in businesses and buying shares in other companies. Financial companies can also trade in futures contracts.
Your goal as a financier is to build up a nice big company balance, so that when you promote to the next rank, Founder, you have a big float to start your planet treasury off. There's no actual requirements for that promotion - you go when you are ready, by getting your planet linked into the game, at which point you become a...
Founder
Founders are planet-owners, with their very own population to oppress. As part of the promotion to this rank you link a planet into the game - you can design it yourself, or use one of our stock planets. Then you run the economy of the planet, working with CEOs to get factories set up on your soil which will boost your economy, and with merchants to ensure goods are hauled in and out as necessary.
Building infrastructure to improve your planet will eventually allow you to be promoted. You need 30 builds, two of which must be schools, and then you can become an...
Engineer
Your planet moves up an economic level, and you have more things to worry about when running your planet, such as disaffection - but you should also be able to improve things for the sake of your populace and for your treasury. You will need to undertake more infrastructure builds because a total of 70 will be needed for your planet to advance to the next rank.
Mogul
When your planet becomes an industrial world, you promote to Mogul. At this rank you can link a second world into your star system, doubling your chance to make groats. Which you will need, because your further advancement involves even more builds. You can choose which of your two planets you want to improve the most, but you will need to achieve 125 builds on one of them to become a...
Technocrat
At this rank, you can add objects, mobiles and events to your planets in order make them really exciting for players to explore. You can even make your own puzzles. On the economic side, it's more building, building, building until your techno planet has 200 builds so you can promote to the next rank.
Gengineer
Your techno planet doesn't advance but you can link a new planet with a biological economy into your star system. To advance further, it's yet more builds - your techno planet needs to have 265 builds and then you can promote. Your bio planet won't go up a level - it always stays a bio planet, but you will become a...
Magnate
Owner of a leisure planet, this is the final PO rank. And guess what - you have to build some more, as you prepare to promote to the final rank. Your leisure planet needs to have 335 builds. Your star system must have at least two planets in it. Once you fulfil those criteria, then you can promote to...
Plutocrat
The final rank in the game is where you run a cartel, an economic grouping of star systems, in your attempt to dominate the galaxy.
Exciting stuff!
