You will start by reading a brief intro about a Loan Broker you are borrowing from, he will grant you the credits after you enter your first and last name at the bottom. This can be any name you like, fictional or non-fictional.
The loan you are given will be payed in a percentage of the total, every time you land on a planet or jump to a location. Paying off this loan should be your main objective.
After you leave the Loan Broker's office, you will choose one of the three space ships presented to you at the Shipyard. You will have the option to choose a Transporter, Light Freighter, or Interceptor. You may view and compare each ship's stats by selecting one. Once you have found the ship you want, press the buy button at the bottom right corner. If you made a mistake, you can still sell the ship back at market value, but once you leave the shipyard you will not get the full amount for the ship.
You will be approached by an old man who tells you, "Nothing quite like buying your very first starship." You will be given three options to respond with:
1. "Yeah, I'm still kind of in shock over how much money I spent." Selecting this option leads you to another dialog. The old man offers to show you "The ropes" in exchange for a trip and cash. This is considered a "passenger" mission.
a. "Sure, where are you trying to get to?" He tells you where he needs to go and offers to mark it on your map. You have two more dialog options:
a1. "Sounds good!" This will lead to an in-game tutorial. You can abort the tutorial at anytime by opening your Map (M key), then selecting the mission at the top right corner and pressing the Abort button in the description at the bottom.
a2. "How much will you pay me?" This makes him remark that it was a rude question but tells you 10,000 credits. You can respond:
a2-1. "That's really generous, thank you." (This leads to the same dialog ending as "a1".)
a2-2. "You're treating me like a charity case? No, thanks." (ends tutorial.)
b. "Sorry, I'd rather figure things out on my own." (self explanatory...)
2. "Well, I don't plan to get too attached to this one. I'll be flying something much nicer before long." This makes the old man respond with the same dialog as Option 1 where he offers money for a ride. You will be given the same dialog responses as "a" and "b", ultimately leading to the same conclusions.
3. "Beat it, old-timer, I've got more important things to do than chat with you." This ends the encounter and you will be left to figure out what to do and go on your own.
If you chose to do the tutorial, just follow the in-game instructions. It will show you how to complete a mission, start a new mission, and trade goods.
If you told the old man off, you will start on the planet Rutilicus, shown on your Heads Up Display (HUD) at the top right above the Date and your current credits.
You can start off by doing some missions in the Job Board. Find one you think you can do or are able to do. There are different types of missions in the Job Board such as:
Bulk Delivery - Generally large amounts of cargo ranging from 30 to 200 tons that require a larger ship that can haul it. Typically a freighter, but any ship can be outfitted with extra cargo space in the Outfitters. (Highest cargo and high 100,000+/- pay.)
Delivery - A more managable amount of cargo ranging from 10 to 50 tons. (Low cargo, 50,000+/- decent pay.)
Escort - Help another captain reach their destination. A ship with firepower and decent defense is recommended as there may be a few run-ins with pirates. (Battle experience or evasion skills needed, 30,000+/- moderate pay.)
Passengers - Bunk space needs to be considered and shows on your ship's stats. (Low bunk space, moderate 15,000 to high 75,000 pay, easy to do and no time limit. You can stack different orders if you have the space for larger payouts.)
Rush Delivery - Timed transport to a location. The date it needs to be delivered by is in the description. You can do a little math by comparing the current date to the finish line. Keep in mind, each time you jump or land takes at least a day away. Small ships take one day, medium size = 2, Large = 3 per jump but landing only takes a day for any. Add up how many jumps it will take by selecting the destination on the map, it will show your shortest route, then multiply it by the size of your ship = the amount of days. If your destination is 6 jumps away but your ship can only do 4 (fuel tank size is shown in stats as well, 100 fuel = 1 jump), you will need to land once adding another day. If there is a grey planet (no dock) on the 4th jump and you do not have a Ramscoop installed to collect fuel, it is best to land at the 3rd jump or you will be stranded. You can ask for help from the local ships passing by or a local military ship by hailing them with the "T" key. It may take about a minute or less real time before they reach you depending on distance. It is recommended you stay "parked" while they fill you up. (Low to high cargo, high 40,000 to very high 125,000 pay.)
Urgent Delivery - Same as Rush but shorter deadline and twice the pay. Using a smaller and faster ship outfitted with cargo expansions is key. Not wise to accept two or more of these at once since they rarely go to the same planet.
Transport Workers - Almost identical to the passenger missions in capacity and pay.
You will most likely be doing these missions until you save up for a better ship. You should check the Spaceport Bar on each planet you visit for a chance to do a story mission. Story missions unlock new outfits for your ship and new ships only available from that faction.
You can find out more at the Endless Sky official Wiki at:
https://github.com/endless-sky/endless-sky/wiki
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