Start Choices

"Start New Commander" screen

The Medium start (Cobra Mk I)

The Adder start! (Hard & Harder)

The Hauler start! (showing a non-beaten-up Python)

The Miner start (Transporter)

Overview

• When starting a new game, this oxp gives you some start-up choices of various difficulty. Choices make the start of the game easier or harder.
• Adder is changed to enable buying a 3 TC cargo expansion. This allows it to be fitted with a passenger berth allowing a career of Passenger Service.

The Choices

Vanilla game choices

• Normal Start. Start the game the way it has been started from the year 1984 - with a Cobra Mk III, tank full of fuel, pulse laser, 3 missiles and 100 credits.
• Easy Start. Start at Zaonce with 1,000₢ instead
• Tutorial
• Strict Mode. Oolite's take on Classic Elite. No oxp's

You still get the better graphics, the new vanilla game equipment, the contracts, etc. Note that this basic game is still very sophisticated (eg you develop a reputation which affects how different NPC's respond to you, their combat is more intelligent, etc.) - much more so than Classic Elite was.

Fast-track

Easy start for the impatient. Skip the slow start - and jump right into the action with a Cobra Mk III, fuel scoops, witchspace fuel injectors, a tank full of fuel, pulse laser, 3 missiles and 100 credits. With the fuel scoops you can go straight into mining or scavenging - and the fuel injectors will help you escape the pirates and clear the mass locks.

Medium

Cobra Mk I start: If you don't want to start the game with the best all-around ship, the Cobra Mk III, then start the game with a Cobra Mk I. Earn credits and then buy the Cobra Mk III. You will value it a lot more when you have to purchase it yourself. Your Cobra Mk I will have a tank full of fuel, a pulse laser, 1 missile and 100 credits.

Hard

Adder start: If you want to start from the bottom, then your choice is an Adder, the cheapest player flyable vessel in the game. Be prepared for a long game though, it will take a while to collect enough credits for a Cobra Mk I and eventually a Cobra Mk III. You don't have to go out there empty handed though, your Adder will be equipped with a pulse laser, 1 missile and a tank full of fuel. On top of that, you get 100 credits. Ain't that a deal or what?

Harder

Adder start: Want to go hard core? Then this game start is for you. An adder, a pulse laser, no missiles and no credits. It doesn't get any harder. On the other hand, it doesn't get much more rewarding either. When you finally have enough credits for that Cobra Mk III, it will feel that you've really earned it!

Note: in Strangers World, if you try this with Hard Way running, you will die! No fuel means you have almost no time after launching until your ship explodes! And you need to earn enough in that time to pay for a full tank of fuel and dock again!

Hauler

Want to start hauling cargo right away? Then start your game in a beat-up Python. The Python is in a pretty bad shape though, you might want to prioritize the maintenance overhaul over other upgrades.

Miner

Want to start the game with a ship that has no hyperspace capabilities? Then this is your choice. Mining Transporter, a mining laser, fuel scoops, witchdrive injectors and 100 credits. Want to change system? Hitchhike! After your first launch, an Anaconda trader with escorts launches and jumps to Zaonce. You might want to follow...

To make mining less dull and a viable career choice, you might want to check these oxps:

Asteroid Tweaks - tweaks the number of asteroids

Mineral Store Reset - sell more minerals at the orbital station

Mining Contracts OXP

Ore Processor - process your own splinters

Cmdr Cheyd on the "Adder Start" (Hard/Harder)

Want some fun? Try playing an Ironman game, but alter it so you start with an Adder. Oh, and you have to have Deep Space Pirates loaded too. Makes for a HELLUVA rough start. Escape Pod is worth more to you than that Beam Laser, I promise. And fuel scoops? (ROFL) I'll take Fuel Injectors thanks. Docking computer - Nope, better go for that extra energy unit so you can actually fire a laser AND hit the ECM within the same 5 minute period...

How do I know? You're looking at the proud captain of "The Briar Rabbit".

5 Kills, and proud of every damned one. Let those hot shot Jamesons drink in the zero G bars, running around in their new Cobra Mk III's... They'll be flotsam bouncing off your hull in a month. Me- I say you meet trouble, you RUN! Taking 17 tc of furs into an unstable multi-goverment rich industrial in this girl, and you'll know what white-knuckle flying is....

There's a reason I named the ship "The Briar Rabbit". I tend to run more than fight by a significant margin. And while the extra energy unit helps, if you're under 50% energy, recharge is SLOW. Recharge from 0 energy is OMG-SLOW. Had to do that one last night. It was rough as my opponent was still alive. I had to lock in on his 6 and NOT let go.

Broke Adder start (Fiction)

I tell you what, I must be the luckiest son of a gun there is. Today was the first day I got to fly in space on my own ship. Oh wait, don't leave yet! There's more to this story than a wide eyed young boy looking for adventure among the stars. No, this is a tale of luck and woe.

So, my parents were poor and were forced to live on the wrong side of town. You probably know how the story goes, mom gets accosted, dad gets shot, mom gets shot, robber gets away, I'm left an orphan. Well, you'd be mostly right, but my grandparents lived on a fairly nice farm out of town. They'd been saving up money for years, hoping to have an inheritance to pass down to my mom and dad. Well, the police were kind enough to give me a lift to my grandparents place after they found out what happened. I lived with them until I was 21. Then, my grandfather revealed a big secret.

"Son, I've got a surprise for you today," my grandfather said. "Oh, what is it?" I replied.

"Tickets, to the space station. You're going to get to go to space today!" "Oh my gosh! I can't believe it! You're the best grandparents ever!"

The trip was marvelous, and we three had a ball up there. Then my grandfather told me he had another secret. "I know that you've dreamed of going to space for years, son. And of course commanding your own ship. Well, today you got to go to space, and today you get to have your own ship too. I talked to an old contact of mine and he said he had a ship that he's been trying to get rid of for years. I wish I could do better by you, but well, it's still a ship. If nothing else you can sell it and start your own life back on the planet. Or...perhaps you'll find your luck among the stars."

I was nearly jumping up and down with excitement. That was, until I saw the ship. It was an adder. Oh, and not just any adder. It was a broken down adder that had it's quirium fuel and single missile stripped from it. Oh, quite a few of the inner parts had been stripped from it as well, so it could only hold two tonne cannisters. The Squirt of Lave, it was called. I nearly wilted...but then I grinned. It was still MY ship, and I was going to at least take it for a spin.

"Thanks grandfather. You know how much this means to me." "Yes, well, do us proud son. And if you can, write to us." "I promise, I will!"

So, after double checking all the controls, I requested to launch and off I went.

Space! It's so beautiful while riding in your own ship. Despite how beaten up it was, it still handled quite well. It was, of course, quite slow, but still.

So, I knew that with no credits to my name and with no fuel, I needed to find a way to make some money (or perhaps hitch a ride. The least I could do for my grandparents would be to find a job on Zaonce or Leesti after selling the ship for scrap). Well, I started blasting astroids. Made just enough credits from them all to fill up the tank and to get two tonnes of food. And off I went, to Leesti!

When I arrived I realized that I might have made a mistake. Sure, I was going to make a profit from selling the food. But even if I blasted all of the astroids in the system, I wasn't going to be able to purchase anything from the market that would sell at Diso or Lave. Computers and Luxuries were simply far too expensive.

Again, I nearly lost all hope and headed towards the space station, intending upon scrapping the hunk of metal. But then I thought: what if I got enough credits just to jump to Diso and have a few credits left over? I might be able to purchase something at diso that I could sell at Lave or Leesti, right? There was no way I was giving up this easily! So I took my time, tore apart what astroids I could find and then headed towards the space station on the torus drive (thankfully at least that worked).

And then disaster struck! My scanner showed a thargoid heading my way! I panicked, and tried to run, but the thing was ridiculously fast. I then got angry. "If I'm going down, you're going with me!" I shouted over the broadcast. I had heard that thargoids loved to launch little remote controlled ships and that they had powerful shields and advanced laser weaponry. So, honestly, I didn't think I was going to live. I'd be lucky if I could take down a single drone, let alone the mother ship, right? Well, that thargoid must have been drinking some serious alchohol, because he couldn't have hit the broadside of a space station! I parked my ship and just targeted the mothership, keeping my laser plinking away. The darn thing almost didn't even launch its drones before it was spewing gobs of plasma. And then it exploded! I couldn't believe my luck! I just earned my first kill and had acquired 100 credits from the bounty! So, I then raced back to the space station and sold my food, allowing me to get fuel and two tonnes of computers! I am now set, ready to face the galaxy!------

"Sonny, you didn't say whether or not you destroyed the little thargoid drones after killing the mothership. You do know that the cooperative offers 50 credits per drone destroyed, right?" Tales from the spacelanes... (Falcon777, 2014).

Requirements

Oolite v.1.80

Credits

• Compatibility fix for gsagostinho Adder variants by phkb
• Adder cargo tweak and difficulty definitions are from Switeck's Shipping OXP
• Fix for Oolite v.1.79 by Norby
• Miner start choice is greatly based on Zeke Mining Transporter oxp by Captain Patrick

Download

• Download the latest version from the in-game Expansions Manager.
• Download version 1.5.1 (for Oolite 1.77.1) from the box.

Links

• Career Options
• New Start Up Ideas (2018): Bounty Hunter, Smuggler & Navy Recruit.
• Realism
• Oolite hard mode? (2013) has tips for making the game much harder

First Finance OXP

Other start oxp's

• Adder start (from 2010 or earlier) - not as good as this oxp
• Start Choices Addenda (adds expeditor & advanced miner starts)
• First Finance OXP (start with a loan which paid for your new ship!)
• Hermitage (start with your very own Rock Hermit!)
• SOTL Exploration (start a quite different exploration game!)
• SOTL Altmap (start in a new Ooniverse with unpopulated systems)

Quick Facts

Version	Released	License	Features	Category	Author(s)	Feedback
1.8.2	2019-03-02	CC BY-NC-SA 4.0	Mechanics	Mechanics OXPs	Spara	Oolite BB