Guide / Tutorial Looking for directions to the community as a new player?

Summary: As a new player what things that aren't in the game should I learn? Examples are Inara.cz , or the Fuel Rats etc. The sorts of things you don't know to ask about because they aren't inherent to the game itself.

The full explanation as to why I'm making this thread:

I'm new to playing and I'm starting from a mostly blank slate (I don't have friends who play, or any previous experiences with Elite Dangerous) and while experience with other games allows me to learn on my own about most things I've realized with a game that has been around this long there are a ton of things that it would be helpful to know that there isn't an easy way to know you're ignorant of if the game itself is what you're going off of. Examples I've run across in my relatively short time playing so far are things like the Fuel Rats, Inara.cz or what a Fleet Carrier is and how it is used. It's not that you can't find the answers, it's that when starting you don't know to even find out about them until you stumble on them or someone mentions them. A current example for me is someone mentions Operation Ida in another thread and I have no clue what that is.

So, both to help me and hopefully to help future players that need it I'm reaching out to the experienced people in the community. Could people give brief descriptions of things Not in the game (so especially not things covered by the Codex) that a new player should learn about. The goal is to have a thread people in the future can read through to know what to look into more. Also, this isn't just about things, it's about historical events people should know as well.

A couple of things I know could use explanations for new players are The Fuel Rats, Colonia, Community Goals, Fleet Carriers, Inara.cz. I'm sure there are other things out there. The only one I feel I know enough about to write up is Inzara.cz so I'll do that one as an example of that I mean.


Inara.cz​

A website with a high level of integration with Elite Dangerous. It's useful especially for finding where thing are at in the game. The database updates as players visit locations so keep in mind that it's not real time.
Link as of Mar 4, 2025: Inara.cz




Thanks to anyone who helps.
 
That guide is very useful, but it's not what I'm hoping this thread will do. First, it's almost entirely about playing the game. Second, it's way too long to serve as a quick reference. Not too many people will read through a guide that long as an introduction to a game. Last, it contains a lot of material that isn't what I was hoping to use this thread for. Most people can figure out mining and piracy exists just from playing the game, it's the stuff you can't figure out just by playing I want help with and was hoping to make a reference thread for.

Thanks for trying to help though, I appreciate it. It's just not what I was looking for.
 
Elite Dangerous Data Network. Inara (and other services) get their "in-game" information exclusively through players who are running one or another of the update tools in the background. So if oyu want Inara and others to keep up to date, please consider running one of the feeder apps like EDMC or EDDiscovery in the background. They also can help you with other things - EDMC is mainly geared towards trading, but plugins provide a lot more. EDDiscovery is more geared towards exploration, but also has voice output.
 
That guide is very useful, but it's not what I'm hoping this thread will do. First, it's almost entirely about playing the game. Second, it's way too long to serve as a quick reference. Not too many people will read through a guide that long as an introduction to a game. Last, it contains a lot of material that isn't what I was hoping to use this thread for. Most people can figure out mining and piracy exists just from playing the game, it's the stuff you can't figure out just by playing I want help with and was hoping to make a reference thread for.

Thanks for trying to help though, I appreciate it. It's just not what I was looking for.
A large part of the Elite experience is figuring things out oneself.

The learning curve is generally very high...

That said, there are a bunch of historical references peppered throughout the WIki: https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/Elite_Dangerous_Wiki

There is a list of out of game resources/apps here: https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/Third_Party_Tools

and here: https://edcodex.info

and also the excellent: https://edastro.com/

as well as:




 
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