ORIGINAL: swainscheps
I'm not a complete rookie, I've worked through the Coral Sea scenario about 25 times trying to learn 1 thing each time and still feel very lost. The biggest problem you will run into - or at least the most frustrating - is with the manual. The manual tells you HOW to do things, but doesn't tell you a damn thing about WHY you should do them, or under what circumstances. Some stuff is easy to figure out, but a gigantic proportion of it is shrouded in mystery. And while the forums are helpful, they're crowded with Fleet Admirals who largely speak with a vocabulary I can't yet follow. You'll be able to divine some helpful hints here and there, but what would be really useful is an Ensigns' forum, where people like us congregate and talk about basic stuff that would bore the experts. Maybe it's out there and I just haven't found it....of course, having said that, almost everyone is happy to help with even the most basic questions, so don't be shy about asking.
One thing that has me baffled right now is the whole extended map thing and the mod community in general. Do most experienced players play with the basic game (1.804) or is it pretty common for 'everyone' to use an 'unofficial' extended map?
(And there seems to be some modded artwork floating around too for units....but I'll save that for another day.)
Simple enough solution. Ask whatever questions here you want, and somebody will help you. A lot of somebodies actually. I have never seen somebody "made fun of" for 'stupid questions'. Everybody here was clueless at one point also. Unfortunately for me, I had to figure out a lot of it on my own because I never even looked at the forums. I wish I had though....