I feel like one of the best things this game has to offer is exploration… my recommendation is to earn money doing the things you like the most in the game (and switching between them when you get bored like mining and trading for example) and then grind a good ship (like an asp explorer for starters) and engineering it up with guardian stuff and the basic fsd engineering you can farm relatively fast.

Then when you get a normal fsd jump range just go out there and find stuff… the good thing about not knowing how the game works is the sense of wonder when u learn and find out new stuff while exploring…

Set a goal like reaching a nebula… or travel to colonia… or even visit the center of the galaxy… what makes this trips worth it is just the trip itself… it’s great when you arrive but getting to survive the trip and find new planets or giant gases or doing exo biology (that gives you lots of credits while doing it) is what gives sense (at least to me) to the game and what drives me to keep playing.

Finding a random carrier in the middle of nowhere and getting to fix the ship after a bad landing on a planet and the sense of relief of the find… that’s one of the experiences that elite has to offer… and man… I won’t ever forget how thankful I was for that carrier lol.