I've played a half-dozen or so games at this point (not counting false starts), and have gotten as far as a system or three past the first battle arena before deciding to give up and start over. I tend to become frustrated with that one system that's full of enemy bases and a huge asteroid belt, because there are a lot of spawns to deal with and by that time, fuel usage is an issue. That's all right though, since this game is essentially a roguelike.
I've gone ahead and installed the Captain's Log and Ore Scanner mods. Mining without an ore-scanning mod gets really old really fast, and people fib when they say you only have to shoot an asteroid "a few times" to see if it has ore.
![Razz :P](./images/smilies/icon_razz.gif)
Here's how I usually start the game: I find solar panel arrays absolutely indispensable early on, so I restart until I see that the Commonwealth Station in Starton Eridani is selling one. I know this is a bit cheap, but I've gone past the first battle arena and found none for sale anywhere before, which is rather annoying. Once I get a 100 MW generator, a good weapon and powerful shields (for that point in the game), the ship slurps up fuel like a starving herd of elephants, and a couple of solar panels really help out quite a bit.
Anyway, I always choose the Sapphire yacht at this point. I do missions, blow up Centauri stations and sell Centauri rice until I can afford a mining cargo hold, mining laser and ore scanner, then mine as much ore as possible (hoarding it in a destroyed station for max resale value). With that cash I buy the solar panel array and upgrade to a 50 MW generator, monopole shield, slightly better armor and some type of 6-7 MW weapon.
My biggest question is, where can I store my extra crap? I figured out quickly that Commonwealth stations and corporate enclaves offer diminishing returns when selling them stuff, which naturally makes me want to hoard ore until I can sell it in bulk. I've been using destroyed Centauri stations to store ore (and illegal goods, etc.) in, but I have a strong feeling those scavenger Nomads might come along and clean them out, so I assume it's risky. I've seen people mention "Mule Autons," but I have yet to see one for sale within the first half-dozen systems or so.
I guess I don't have much more to say, except to fish for general tips for beginners. I know I need to bulk up my offense and defense a bit more in the beginning to get further than I already have (at least without a lot of frustration), but ore is my main source of income other than lucky drops, and storing and selling it can be a real pain.
Also, something I find amusing: Every time I deactivate my shields to save fuel while mining, enemies spawn nearby. I'm starting to think this might be hardcoded.
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)