Seems like 1 million credits is the point where the player can set up a colony that is guaranteed to becomes profitable as soon as all buildings are completed, this also includes the cost of all the colonists, supplies, heavy machinery, and transport ships. As commonly acknowledged on the forums, as soon as a profitable colony is set up, the game as is as good as won. So, let’s speculate on how to get to that point the fastest.
So let’s brainstorm some ideas to reach 1 million credits from a Normal/Normal start by the earliest game date, barring finding an nanofores in one of the core world ruins, as that is dependent purely on luck.
My guess of the speed run “build order”, rather disorganized at the moment:
Pick the Wayfarer/Shepherd start get get some cargo capacity, install Safety Override-Unstable injector to escape from pursue enemies.
Go to Galatia to salvage wrecks, repair to 100% and scuttle all of them to obtain heavy machinery and supplies
Buy insulated engines modspec as soon as found to avoid patrols and pirates
Buying up Cerberus and Hounds and using them to smuggle supplies/fuel/drugs/organs/weapons from Hyperbasil to Qaras, and bring crew/volatiles/organics
Buy Augmented Drive Field and install onto speed 10 cargo frigates so nobody can pursue you, as soon as able
As soon as you get 120k credits, buy 500 marines and a transport and taid the space port of Qaras or Chalcedon to increase prices, then sell the marines again to buy more trade goods
Should get to 1M within two or three runs of conducting the raid.
I always go the peaceful route at the start, but if you are a really good pilot, might it be a good idea to get a faction commission and jump straight into combat and collect bounties?
Or maybe do shipwreck scanning missions? But that depends a lot on luck, if you get several scan targets close together you can do in a single run or not.