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[forsaken1111]

You could use the Adjusted Sector mod to make it bigger https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=17331.0

Or the Beyond The Sector mod to explore a bit more after you've done certain events. https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=20845.0

[AzyWng]

The exploration is fun though. Kind of limited by the sector size, but fun. Can't help but think it'd be much better if it were an isekai sort of situation, when the sector outside of the core worlds periodically shifts and becomes something else, with stars moving, disappearing, or appearing anew over time.

As much as I like this idea, it sounds like that precludes the ability to set up colonies outside the core worlds.

[Dostoevsky]

The Beyond the Sector mod mentioned above sort of does that, where for a large fuel cost you can visit (but not revisit) randomized systems. There's also a New Game Plus mod of sorts that attempts to do that somewhat via sort of straddling two runs together (though I haven't actually tried that one).

[Scoops Novel]

Quick question; do the NPC's have personalities?

And is this much good as a story generator?

[AzyWng]

Not sure how much good a story generator this is, but I don't believe the NPCs quite have personalities. Officers in battle have different personalities ranging from Timid (avoids combat if at all possible) to Reckless (Will always be attacking the enemy all the time), but that only applies in combat, not in the larger map screen actions.

[forsaken1111]

NPCs express personalities in dialog but outside of the storyline they are pretty generic.

[Dostoevsky]

Yeah, pretty much no. There are various randomly-generated contacts you can get missions from, but (outside a storyline one) don't have unique dialogue. Storyline NPCs do have a lot of character (they're written well, in my opinion) but that's mainly inside mission text and the like.

There's a mod, Combat Chatter, that adds more in-battle chatter, and as part of it will assign each of your officers a personality / set of chatter lines that are remembered (so their personality is the same across battles), but that's still just the realm of in-combat chatter.

[AlStar]

Late to the party, but I just picked this up the other day - played through what appears to be the end of the tutorial (restored the system you start in to the rest of the galaxy). Picked up 100 marines, took them back to the starting system, raided several hundred units of supplies from the pirate base there. Felt good.

I guess my question is where I should be looking to go from here - my fleet is currently just the starting ships, plus most of the derelicts that the tutorial leads you to. We've actually been doing pretty well - won all fights we've been in so far, although it's all just been (very) low-tech pirates.

Should I be looking to glom every wreck that doesn't require a story point into my fleet until I hit the maximum fleet size (I assume there must be one)? Save up a couple hundred thousand credits to buy some of the capital ships I'm seeing in the black markets now that I'm out of the tutorial?

I realize that the game's a sandbox, so the answer is probably "whatever you want" - but, without getting too min-max'ing about it, what are some good (or very bad) ways to start out in the universe?

Edit: also - what should I be doing with all these weapon systems I'm picking up? Is there an easy way to tell what would be upgrades for my fleet, or do I need to individually check each one against each ship mount on the entire fleet?

[Dostoevsky]

Should I be looking to glom every wreck that doesn't require a story point into my fleet until I hit the maximum fleet size (I assume there must be one)? Save up a couple hundred thousand credits to buy some of the capital ships I'm seeing in the black markets now that I'm out of the tutorial?

There is a fleet size cap of 30 ships - you can go over, but get pretty hefty penalties for doing so. While capital ships are tactically powerful, they're also likely to slow down your fleet a lot (slow burn speed) and can be pretty expensive (and resource hungry) to maintain and thus strategically not a sure thing. I'd advise sticking to cruisers and below for a while, ideally trying to keep your burn speed relatively high so you can hunt down other fleets effectively (and be able to avoid being hunted yourself). I try to keep it at least 8 or 9, though 7 isn't terrible.

I realize that the game's a sandbox, so the answer is probably "whatever you want" - but, without getting too min-max'ing about it, what are some good (or very bad) ways to start out in the universe?

The latest version does have a main storyline/plot:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Visit Galatia Academy to get that started.

The storyline does include a set of RNG/repeatable quests and is not time sensitive, so feel free to dip your feet in a little for some initial employment opportunities.

Outside that, you may want to pick up a commission for steady income, though your employer's conflicts will affect your own hostilities as well and so can be liability. Colonies require a significant investment but will provide a very solid base of operations, so doing at least some exploration for good candidates is a good idea. They also take a while to get running, so starting one earlier rather than later isn't a bad idea to get that population growth going. Doing that exploration as part of a mission (e.g. scanning a derelict or the like) will help keep things more profitable.

Colonies also offer free storage, which is nice - there are a few scattered locations in the core that can also serve this purpose, though.

One of the more popular mods, Nexerelin, changes the relatively static map into something closer to a 4x conflict - I wouldn't suggest it for your first game, but it's a great addition for a subsequent play.

Edit: also - what should I be doing with all these weapon systems I'm picking up? Is there an easy way to tell what would be upgrades for my fleet, or do I need to individually check each one against each ship mount on the entire fleet?

Latter, pretty much. There is an autofit feature you can use, but it's not 100% reliable. Over time you'll get a good sense of which weapons are useful and which aren't, and which ships are doing decently v. which aren't, but it takes time. E.g. railguns are really good, and ideally should be replacing autocannons if the ship's OP can support it.

One minor tip on that point: while the simulator is good for testing duels, one-on-one combats are only a small slice of things. (The simulator will let you use your other ships as allies, but that's still a relatively limited slice.)

[Mephansteras]

Suggestion for Colonies: Try to save up around a million before starting one. While they eventually turn into money printing machines, they take a heavy initial investment. And pirates like to raid them, so you have to have money to invest in defenses (like star bases) or spend lots of time patrolling your system instead of running around making money.

[George_Chickens]

Suggestion for Colonies: Try to save up around a million before starting one. While they eventually turn into money printing machines, they take a heavy initial investment. And pirates like to raid them, so you have to have money to invest in defenses (like star bases) or spend lots of time patrolling your system instead of running around making money.

I recommend 1.5 million. You're going to need that 500K to cover early running costs and unforseen events.

[forsaken1111]

I usually wait for 3, because an early mistake or bad raid/pirate activity can really kill your income.

[Mephansteras]

I find that to be less of an issue as long as you have a commission to make up for it. But I'm clearly on the more aggressive side for colony starts.

[forsaken1111]

I don't generally do commissions so maybe that is the difference.

[Mephansteras]

I also mostly do Nexerilan, where commissions are pretty much the default. But, yeah, usually the money from my commission will make up for any shortfalls in income from colonies until they get self-sufficient. Which lets me get the colonies going pretty early so they have lots of time to grow.