Newcomer / Intro Getting started: I'm in over my head.

Scal · Apr 18, 2015

hawkenfox said:
Currently [exploring is] not very fun... scan repeat scan repeat scan ... it's repeatitive.

That's highly subjective - I enjoy exploring. I'm learning a lot about astrophysics and astronomy, figuring out habitable zones from looking at system maps, knowing which bodies are worth scanning because they look terraformable, or may host water or ammonia based life. Also, trying to figure out the most efficient route to scan a system, taking into account acceleration / deceleration, orbits and gravity wells. Then there are the sights - black holes, egg shaped gas giants, ringed earth-likes, spectacular nebulae and so on. Sure, it's a slow game, but that doesn't mean it's not fun

Exploring is also a reasonable way to make some initial cash - I would think slightly better than trading in a sidey even before you can afford a DSS.

Berty Dastard · Apr 18, 2015

We all forget what it's like in the original Sidey.

Make some money just going to another system, target things and scan them (bind scanner to a fire key), go to another. Spend first profits to upgrade your jump distance with a better Frame Shift Drive. Get a fuel scoop to avoid having to dock so much. Know what things are worth scanning and what you can scoop. Learn about something every time you have a question. It all adds up

http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Explorer

Read and search the forum a lot

Axium · Apr 18, 2015

So I've scanned a few planets and stars, but for some reason can't seem to sell the data. It's just red when I go to the tab to sell it.

Berty Dastard · Apr 18, 2015

You have to travel over 20 ly to sell the data

kilvenny · Apr 18, 2015

Sidewinder is a great little ship - I am still flying one albeit slightly modified. It's great for hopping to Nav Beacons or Res and picking targets, its quick enough to be able to escape if you hit trouble and the starter one is free to replace. So you can practice combat, landing, make some money and believe me very quickly you will have several hundred thousand credits. Then you can decided on your ship progression.

Nikonthenet · Apr 18, 2015

My points may have been mentioned before, but here goes!

1. Don't be cautious about Open mode, the danger is great fun once you have the hang of things. Solo mode is there too so use it until you have the basics down.
2. Cash is easy to earn once you have the basics down. Ships over 5million will be a bit of effort tho.
3. Don't undock is you can't afford the insurance on your ship. Check this by viewing the info pannel on the right.
4. To escape interdictions, immediately submit by throttle to zero, drop out of super cruise(SC), and your Hyperdrive will charge much faster for the fastest exit.
5. When approaching stations, to not overshoot: watch the timer next to the target reticule, when it hits '7' set your throttle to the centre of the green band around the middle. Your ship will automatically adjust speed until you are close enough to drop out of SC. When you've got that, you can try at '6' but must be much sharper on the controls. If you see '5' gravity has you and your going to over shoot -pull away 90', throttle back and line up again.

Good Luck CMDR

Ben Ryder · Apr 18, 2015

CMDR Skallagrimm said:
Play the training missions.
Play the training missions.
play the training missions.

Do this untill...

a. Youre comfortable flying.
b. You have your controls set up how you want them.
c. You can dock without crashing, you can fly thru asteroid belts without crashing, you can manage and balance your power grid, you can blow other ships up.

Dont rush to trade up your sidewinder. Fly this and lose it a few times. Get creds in the bank. Keep flying your sidewinder and losing it.

You will find that you probably tweak your controls and your flystyle to suit.

Do not rush into trading up. The sidewinder is a perfectly capable ship to train and lose multiple times.

Google is your friend.

Fly Safe

Yup. Do the training missions until you can do them with not too much effort

Krait_79 · Apr 18, 2015

Axium said:
So I just picked up the game a couple of hours ago, and really like what I've seen so far. As of right now, I've only completed one mission. There's still so much I don't understand. There's still so much I need to learn before I can start getting my feet wet, it seems. If you were to give any bits of advice too a 100% newbie that knows next to nothing about the game outside of knowing how to fly from place-to-place, what would you tell them? Any protips are welcomed and appreciated.

The number one rule is to always make sure you can cover the cost of insurance. Good money can be made from bounty hunting USS. They are a good way to ease yourself into the combat side of things and i tend to find i make more money from them then than i do nav beacons.

Exploring makes good money as well so get out there and see what you can find!

Troa Barton · Apr 18, 2015

Axium said:
So I just picked up the game a couple of hours ago, and really like what I've seen so far. As of right now, I've only completed one mission. There's still so much I don't understand. There's still so much I need to learn before I can start getting my feet wet, it seems. If you were to give any bits of advice too a 100% newbie that knows next to nothing about the game outside of knowing how to fly from place-to-place, what would you tell them? Any protips are welcomed and appreciated.

Check out my video on getting started
https://youtu.be/8rtajDGnqAo

clouddancer · Apr 18, 2015

Do you don't have a joystick get one, even a cheap one. The game will be more fun.

Astronut57 · Apr 18, 2015

Don't go to Lave - it is a silly place.

huwthomas · Apr 18, 2015

I'm going to go against some of the previous advice and say not to obsess about the training missions, if I'd forced myself to complete Incursion before playing, I'd still be at it

magot · Apr 18, 2015

Surly_Badger said:
Best advice I can give you: for any problem you encounter, google
site:forums.frontier.co.uk term term term
the forum search engine is mediocre at best. And there are lots of threads explaining more or less every issue. There are lots of good youtube walkthroughs demonstrating the basics, too.

Good luck!! There's a learning curve; once you've been playing a couple days it'll be second nature to you.

he said everything you need to hear here , tutorials + google , good videos and instructions you ll find. take it slow and enjoy ! :_)

Uncle Bert · Apr 19, 2015

Move about! Get out of the start system as soon as possible. Pick a direction and go. Before I upgraded to a ship with a decent cargo hold I earned much more money from exploring than combat or trading. When you arrive in a system scan the stars for easy cash.