Alright folks, let’s talk about my first week tackling Prospector Valdez. Downloaded it Tuesday night ’cause Steam kept pushing ads. Figured mining in space couldn’t be that hard. Boy, was I wrong.
The Absolute Disaster Start
Spun up my rusty starter ship with 500 credits. Mission said “find copper near asteroids.” Flew into a field, shot rocks randomly for 10 minutes. Nothing. Shields died when I scraped an asteroid. Game over in 15 minutes flat. Credit counter screamed 0. Felt like an idiot.
What Actually Worked
Reloaded fresh. This time I:
- Pressed M immediately to see scanner colors. Yellows mean copper – why didn’t I notice before?
- Pulsed scanner (hold Q) near yellow spots. Mined exact rocks it highlighted.
- Sold copper chunks directly at station instead of hoarding. Got 1,500 credits quick.
Upgrade Tinkering
Bought basic shields first. Tested by nudging asteroids gently. Shields held! Felt brilliant. Then blew 800 credits on a “better” scanner… only to realize it needed Class-2 power. My junk ship couldn’t handle it. Stuck with useless gear for 2 hours.
Lesson: Always check power requirements before buying.
Fighter Blues
Thought I could hunt pirates for cash. Zoomed toward distress signals. Found pirates alright – three ships shredding a freighter. I fired one shot. They turned and vaporized me in seconds. Should’ve bought missile countermeasures first. Or just avoided fights entirely early on.
Now? My little bucket runs copper routes smoothly. Saved enough for extra cargo space. Still can’t fight worth a damn, but beginners gotta crawl before sprinting. Go scan those rocks!
