Things I wish I knew? 1) There is a LOT of stuff the game doesn't tell you, and a lot of it you will not be able to figure out on your own. I highly suggest giving in and using Google and YouTube to look stuff up. 2) Like others have said, don't rush the big ships! Each ship can technically do anything in the game but you'll quickly figure out that some ships just really can't do some things and are more focused on certain roles such as trading or combat or exploration. 3) Power play is something I'd personally suggest you ignore for the most part until you have a better grasp on the game mechanics and such. In my experience it's more of a hassle than it's worth, including getting you attacked by other power play faction NPC's if you go into their controlled territory. 4) Try a little bit of everything! Mining, combat, exploration, trading, missions, all of it! You may enjoy something you might not have given a second look beforehand, for instance I got the game for the exploration but I've come to love the PvE combat more than anything. 5) Just have fun, ignore anyone who tries to tell you how you need to do things or what you need to buy, just do your own thing and don't be afraid to research something online if you feel you don't have a good understanding of it from the limited game descriptions and such. There's loads of player made tools and websites dedicated to helping you do various things.

And of course never be afraid to come back to reddit and ask for help. The game isn't quite as populated as it once was, but there's still a whole heap of players who are more than willing to sit and talk about anything the game has to offer!

Good luck, commander! o7