If any of you are interested in a browser space-game about being a pirate, you can check out:
http://www.starpirates.net/register.php?referer=5379

(Or just http://www.starpirates.net).

Basically, the Earth has been destroyed! The remnants of the Human race are hanging out on Mars and planets further from the sun, and are, well, pirates. With a bit of mining and destruction of AI-controlled-ships thrown in on the side.

It's a somewhat neat game to burn time on, though it doesn't have as many options as some of the others (like Popomundo). They do a fair bit of tweaking on a regular basis, it's free to play, and so on. I find it pretty fun to burn a bit of time on, at least.

They're running a referral "contest" at the moment, so if you want to use the first link, I get some points. Or you can just use the second and sign up to check it out on your own-- either way, if you do, feel free to let me know and I can toss you some armour. Early-on, the stats don't matter a whole lot, so the armour gives a fair bit of an edge over the other ships you'll be vying against. There's also a useful Wiki, http://spwiki.maeyanie.com/index.php?title=Main_Page , which you can get some decent information out of (or even look over to see if you find the thing interesting).

:: Clicks the second link. ::

Thanks, Xenthos. I hope it's as fun as you say.

Fancy! I clicked your referral link!

You have some armour now. Go ahead and equip it!

At least, assuming that level 1 is you.

Some other little tips: Make sure that you bank your cargo (up on the top left, you can click the Bank or Cargo areas, or you can click the Mars Station link, Galactic Bank, and then deposit).

If you have the cash out, when you lose, you lose 10% of what you had on hand. However, if it's in the bank, it's safe.

Yep, that's me. I installed the armor, thanks!

I can also probably toss a weapon or something your way once you've upgraded to the sloop mark 3 (and that goes for Myrkr as well).

Money-making tips: You can play the slots every day, and it's reset at 8pm EST (20:00 server time). It costs 50 to play, and you either win nothing, $500, or $1000 (so, really, always play the slots). You can also do an hourly debris search (Station, and in the Living Quarters, "Pick through Space Debris"), which gives you cash and chances of finding really good items. Then there's the space-link on the left side, which you can use to explore the asteroids, or the Foray link which lets you burn up fuel on certain missions (for cash and exp). Further, if you see someone lost in space, you can try to rescue them (works better with more engines, and if you succeed you get half the spent-fuel back as well as cash and exp. If you fail, you might get lost in space yourself!)

Also, don't forget to research every time you get maximum energy and research units. The more you research, the better off you'll be. As you upgrade ships (and get levels), your research gets MUCH better. Especially with the first few ship upgrades. That's because research is based off of how much research you currently have-- it's better to research when research is full, than when it's at half (even if your maximum energy doesn't burn up half your research points).

I installed the armor, did some space-searching. I have $100 on me and $2131 in the back. This is a lot of fun.

My hull is at 45 current, energy at 5/10, and research at 1/11.

I plan on learning more soon. It's a shame I'm going out in an hour. This is fun.

Next tip: Attacking!

You can use the search link on the left. As a level one, you'll probably want to search for other level 1 ships. All of them will have about the same research total as you, so it'll be a test of "who can stay alive longest". Since you have armour, you should be able to easily take out any of the sloops that just have 20hp.

As a note, attacking people when they're "online" is generally considered a no-no as a community rule when you have no reason (there's lots of off-line folks to hit for exp, and you can be a pirate by using the raid feature, which I'll explain later if someone's interested in that), so you might want to set the timeout search to 10 minutes (the minimum) or maybe something longer (I personally use 25).

Just click on the names you find, check their health, and then click attack! It burns up 20% energy every time, though it requires that you have at least 23%.

My fuel max is 5, but they told me I need at least 6 to pull a raid...

Well, for raiding, you need 6 fuel (not energy). Raiding takes 5% of the cash from the person you attack, and you get 4% of it (so 1% is "lost in the destruction"). You can only raid once every 5 seconds, which gives the target some time to try to bank their cargo. Online raiding DOES have a few issues, though: If you raid a target who can destroy you, don't be surprised if they do. Pirates aren't all that fond of being stolen from! But offline attacking for experience generation is perfectly fine, and online raiding works as long as you understand that there may be (significant) consequences depending on who you hit.

Raiding has a 97% chance to succeed, as well, which is why pirates like to use it. Attacking only gets you cash if you actually win the fight, while raiding doesn't check current stats.

Oh, and since you edited: Every level you gain, you get +1 energy/fuel/research points. If that helps!

Woohoo!

But... but how do I level? I get experience, but I don't see any way to tell how much experience I have, or how much is left to the next level.

Edit: Never mind, found it. Index page ftw.

Clicked! Let's see if this is any fun.

And you have some armour now, too.

Yay! <3

That was fast, thank you.

Have fun!