How to Start?

[thrin]

I'm about to start playing and am in the process of going through the forums, reading the stickies, learning about factions, and getting a sense of the community.

The one thing that has struck me that is completely missing: How does a brand new player who has never played freelancer on a server start?

What is the best course of action for a first pilot personality?

Should someone start as a freelancer? Should they start as a trader?

Should they try and find a 'newbie friendly' faction? Are there any that exist?

Should we mess with our mod settings when it comes to the pilot graphic? If we do that, can we get in trouble for picking a model that is totally incorrect for the role we wind up playing?

What should the first step be?

Essentially, there's a wealth of information here... but it is overwhelming. Could someone please write up a 'Newbie's Guide to Discovery' and sticky it?

That would be so incredibly useful and would assist those of us who want to dive right in but won't until we know what we should be doing.

Thanks for tolerating a newbie:)

[Guest]

Well...

I THINK the wiki page should help about that.

http://discoveryfl.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

[jammi]

Most factions claim to be fairly newbie friendly, but some are... friendlier than others. I'd recommend starting somewhere quiet at first where you can set out roots. I'd also recommend looking towards what you already know, so if you have any knowledge of Asia, Kusari might be a place to look at, but if you're from England or America, Bretonia and Liberty respectively might be a good idea.

Yeah, well anyway, most factions will set you up with starting funds to get you your first VHF/Bomber/Transport depending on your chosen faction. From that viewpoint factions are good for getting started because you don't have to go through the whole mining silver in Colorado stage.

From personal experience, I can say that the Benitez de-nubified me, but when I started the Lonlicrons, more specifically Gamma, was a bit more quiet. Needless to say, Gamma is now a cesspit. I mainly hang around in Bretonia now, and it's a nice place. Active enough not to be boring, but quiet enough not to be a lag inducing/overpopulated nightmare that degrades the general gameplay experience (*cough* New York *cough*).

If you decide that faction play isn't for you and you want to go it alone, you can always do the old 'mine silver in Colorado - sell at Manhattan' thing. But that's boring, eh?;)

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[tazuras]

Here's a thread for rookies that may help http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8574 .

EDIT: But yeah, I don't think that's what you're looking for. I dont know if anything like that exists, wouldnt be a bad idea, but could be tough as everyone may have different questions. Maybe I'll start a new faction in New York, n00b academy, the character that runs it, of course, will be named n00b.

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[jammi]

There's a faction called the Angels for that.

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[farmerman]

There's a lot to get through, that's for sure. Personally, I found joining some factions helped me along as there were people to both serve as an example and help with specifics. Depending on what sorts of things you're interested in, I'd suggest the BPA or IMG and learning by doing.

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Faction info links: Samura Heavy Industries : LWB : Watchers

[tazuras]

There's a faction called the Angels for that.

The last time I saw an angel on was 3 weeks ago. Do they have a thread somewhere maybe? It would be even better if it was easy to find, or easy to find who they were because obviously Thrin didnt.

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[thrin]

The last time I saw an angel on was 3 weeks ago. Do they have a thread somewhere maybe? It would be even better if it was easy to find, or easy to find who they were because obviously Thrin didnt.

I've looked through the factions forum and didn't pick up on the Angels being newbie friendly.

As for the wiki - thank you for that link. That's another one I hadn't noticed. I've read what's there as part of the starting out page but it still doesn't really cover what it's like to make a character for the first time, what kinds of decisions you should make, and how to just... get going. :)

Is the general consensus to meet up with a faction in advance of starting a character or building a character designed to join a faction? Ie, PM them here or send an email or even use some sort of instant messenger.

Or would it be better to just log in, make a character with a generic background, generic but RP-valid name, and fly around a bit to get familiarized?

I'm leaning towards the latter. I think I may chronicle my first foray onto the server and post it here at some point.

Thanks to everyone for being helpful and supportive. That really does make a huge difference. :)

[SigCorps]

I've looked through the factions forum and didn't pick up on the Angels being newbie friendly.

As for the wiki - thank you for that link. That's another one I hadn't noticed. I've read what's there as part of the starting out page but it still doesn't really cover what it's like to make a character for the first time, what kinds of decisions you should make, and how to just... get going. :)

Is the general consensus to meet up with a faction in advance of starting a character or building a character designed to join a faction? Ie, PM them here or send an email or even use some sort of instant messenger.

Or would it be better to just log in, make a character with a generic background, generic but RP-valid name, and fly around a bit to get familiarized?

I'm leaning towards the latter. I think I may chronicle my first foray onto the server and post it here at some point.

Thanks to everyone for being helpful and supportive. That really does make a huge difference. :)

I would definatly do the later. Start out doing your own thing and then see where you fit. See what you like to do, some folks hate trading, others love it, some like being bounty hunters, others are atracted to the more illegal endvours. Find out where you fit and what you like then select a faction that fits you. We have many to choose from.

edit: dang spelling errors

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Formerly Sam Nichols, creator of OSI

[tazuras]

I would definatly do the later. Start out doing your own thing and then see where you fit. See what you like to do, some folks hate trading, others love it, some like being bounty hunters, others are attacked to the more illegal endvours. Find out where you fit and what you like then select a faction that fits you. We have many to choose from.

/signed

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