f13.net

So, unwilling to get the newest because of the DRM, I grabbed this thing instead. I'm pretty lost. I figured out how to move around, but I keep hearing "incoming communication" or something but I can't see any way to open comms with any but the ship I'm targeting :)

I barely understand how to read the map and radar but I can at least move around, but I can't figure how how to create waypoints for my autopilot. I did find the speed-up command and how to target stuff and fire my weapons, dock, stuff like that.

I'm probably going to go a combat route, and I want to fly a really big ship eventually, a destroyer I guess, but I don't have a lot of interest in creating a financial empire or mine in a single player game. This game is way complicated and deep, so anyone have suggestions on what's smartest to do? I will do the storyline, at first. I'm getting privateer vibes from this game.

Also, any mods you recommend? I found a few but I'm not sure what's good and/or useful.

I gave up before you did, apparently. Too much of a learning curve to bother with, although I was also trying to program my logitech pad to fly at the same time.

It's very sandboxy and the economy system is super advanced, there's an awesome game in there somewhere. However, the game is about as grindy as a Korean MMO, which is a real shame.

You can go ask questions on the egosoft boards which are generally very helpful to new players. It's actually one of the best boards I have seen.

Or you can go to www.thexuniverse.com and ask questions there.

The TheXunivese.com also hosts 2 of the better mods for the game, Xtended (which is more combat orientated) and New horizons (which expands the economy and other factors) and also hosts the Battlestar Gallactica mod.

Its not THAT grindy. If you want you can set things up so money flows into your account, though you have to spent a few days setting that up. What I did was fly around in a medium fighter capturing stuff and then setting up Universal traders (robot ships that jump around and trade for you) and factories. It can take a while for you to get enough cash for destroyers, though of course some people were complaining that the cap on your personal account was 99billion within a week of release...

Go to your personal screen and read either "Incoming Messages" or "Messages".  Initially a lot of your tutorial type messages get sent there, including some of the "You are being hailed" ones which make you think a ship is trying to tell you something.

I haven't completely figured out how to force my ship to a specific coordinate, but I know it's possible.  If you target something in your sector map, you can auto-pilot to it.  Navigation software Mk 1 and Mk 2 allows more advanced navigation commands.  A fully loaded ship can do a lot of automated commands.

Get the official mods from the Egosoft site.  They have a bundled pack, if I remember right.

The best way to make money early is to get a license ASAP and go after pirates.  Kill them improves your relations with the sector owner, and once you have a license any kills against pirates, xenon, or kha'ak give you reputation and credits.

You can capture ships.  When you manage to do a lot of damage quickly, usually along with destroying a couple of important internal systems, a pilot will bail.  You need to watch for your cursor turning blue or you'll destroy your own ship.  Once the area is safe, you can go claim the ship.  (Get close, eject, target and claim your new ship, hop back in.)  Captured ships will give you equipment, wingmen, trading vessels, or quick credits by selling at a shipyard.

If you're willing to take a hit with one of the races, you can try to capture their freighters.  (Boron Dolphins have no weapons.)  [Alternatively, get an Argon police license and freight scanner, camp the Space Fuel distillery in Home of Light, and scan all outgoing ships.  When they turn out to be smuggling, you can blast them.]  Save a couple for trading purposes, and sell the rest.  They also make handy ships to store cargo at a station.  Once you have the funds, you can get a Trade Command Software Mk 3 which turns your freighter into a completely autonomous trader.  It'll work in a single sector until the pilot is level 8, then you can set them to be universe traders.  Money will flow in while you go do whatever you want.

I like to buy satellites and drop one in each sector.  You can turn them showing up in your ship property list so they don't clutter everything up.  It'll let you see other sectors with up-to-date info, and your free-roaming trader can benefit from them.