The new player experience in Starsector is a work in progress (campaign tutorial only got added in 0.
. The game's difficulty is front-loaded, certain mechanics that appear low key (logistics and sensor mechanics) can make the game dramatically harder for the new player, and there isn't a difficulty-gated safe shallow area of the sandbox for new players to get their feet wet in.
The game
should probably teach players at least the stuff in
HELMUT's tutorial, which is up to date and offers a collection of very helpful guidelines to make the beginning of the game and learning the ropes in the campaign smoother.
Starter tips:
To add to Thaago's list, the newbie mistakes I notice most often from people posting on the Discord:
- Weak grasp on how combat mechanics function and which parts of them are extremely important. I'm surprised how many new players don't know the difference between soft and hard flux, which may be one of the most important distinctions in the game, along with what kinetic/HE/energy damage types mean.
- Mismanagement of logistics will creep up on you. It's very easy to grow your fleet too fast and bankrupt yourself.
- Not understanding the crucial role of transponder and terrain in determining when enemies can see you. Keeping transponder switched off when jumping into hyperspace or while in hyperspace alone increases survivability by a ton.
- Not knowing what to do after starting the game. The game should hint to players that salvaging/exploration is the easiest and least risky, bounty hunting is the most lucrative, trading is slow and not very profitable to just buy high/sell low when you factor in fuel cost, you have to look for shortages/crises or delivery missions.