You can affordably master languages if you follow this technique. First, acquire around 200 Carbon. Next, find a space station. Enter the regular door and chat with the alien you find waiting there. Each brief conversation costs 20 Carbon, but every second chat will offer the chance to learn a new word. Continue talking with the alien. Once you know enough words, other available options will appear and you can receive either an Isotope or Fuel for using them. Typically, these can be turned into 56 Carbon, a nice return on the 40 you had to spend. After a certain point, you're essentially gaining resources instead of spending them as you master the local language.
Easy Credits From Bypass Chips
Through at least Patch 1.0.3, you can earn easy money. To do so, first farm Iron and Plutonium, which form in stacks of 250. Next, combine those stacks to form Bypass Chips. For each such combination, you will receive 25 Bypass Chips (each individual chip is comprised of 10 Iron and 10 Plutonium). You can sell your Bypass Chips for around 3100 credits apiece at a Galactic Terminal. The market price varies from terminal to terminal, but you should expect to receive around 775,000 credits in exchange for a stack of 250 Bypass Chips.
Easy Money Tips
Tip 1: Shoot asteroids near a space station to mine their elements, return to the space station, sell everything, and repeat as many times as desired. This is the fastest and easiest method to getting money -- and it works anywhere at any time. There are infinite asteroids. Some of them even contain rare metals that sell for much higher prices, but mostly you will find thamium. It is not worth much, but the fact that you can get 100 of them in one second is worth the trouble (100 thamium is worth 2,000 units). You also do not have to wander off too far from the space station since there are asteroids everywhere. This is best done in a solar system with high thamium prices. Make sure you have a clean inventory in your ship and suit.
Tip 2: Make lots of Bypass Chips and sell them. They only cost 10 plutonium and 10 iron to make, and the blueprint is unlocked from the start. They are the two most common elements. While 10 of these elements are worth almost nothing, a bypass chip is worth 3,500 units. Obtain a lot of iron and plutonium, go to a space station, craft bypass chips, and sell them until you run out of resources. Then, repeat the process. You will make 35,000 units from 100 plutonium and 100 iron (selling the elements alone would give you only 5,000 units).
Tip 3: Visit Atlas Interfaces (formerly Atlas Stations) and get the Atlas Stones. They sell for 70k units (after patch 1.03). Before the patch they sold for 270k. - Stack up on rare metals (gold, titanium, etc.). All the elements with a green background color are worth a lot. Gold is the best one. Some planets have a lot of gold. This is random, but if you find such a planet, you should take advantage of it. Gold usually comes in the form of giant rocks. You can find a lot of it on radioactive planets.
Tip 4: Everything you discover can be uploaded (and renamed) when connected to the game servers. You will get money for doing this. This is helpful for getting things going early in the game. When the current space station does not offer a good price for your stuff, sell it at the next station.
Faster swimming
To swim very fast, you must be moving really fast before hitting the water, and cannot bump into any objects in your trajectory once under water. The best way to do this is to fall from a really high height. Go to the shore, perform a Melee Dash with the Jetpack Jump and keep going up until your jetpack runs out, then keep holding forward once you hit the water. You can then turn and pitch your camera into any direction to maintain your falling velocity underwater. If you are in an underground cave and cannot get a lot of height, use sprint and Melee Dash into a bunnyhop to build up a lot of velocity before you hit the water, then point your camera into the trajectory you want to go once you are underwater.
Free ship skins
In any space station, enter and exit your ship twice to create two identical save points. Purchase the desired ship. Then, enter the options screen and reload your previous save to get your money back, have the same exact inventory slots and upgrades as your previous ship, but it will look like the one you bought. Note: This exploit/glitch was performed on Patch 1.03 of the game. It will eventually get patched. To avoid not being able to use this exploit, either do not install new patches before using this exploit or delete the patches. You can avoid patches being installed by disconnecting from the internet until you are ready for the game to install new patches.
Getting Atlas Stones
Atlas Stones are a very valuable item. You can find them at Atlas Interfaces (formerly Atlas Stations). Talk to the large orb inside the station to get one Atlas Stone. You can get one Atlas Stone at every Atlas Interface you visit. They are worth 70k units after patch 1.03 (before the patch they were worth 270k). Other than selling them for money, they have no use in the game. A nice benefit of Atlas Interfaces is that they also give you two Warp Cells, teach you new alien words, and give you Exosuit blueprints.
Getting Heridium
Heridium is a Silicate element, commodity, and crafting material in the game. It is used to craft Antimatter and some upgrades. It can be found on planets and mined from tall rocks. These are quite common. You can fly close to the surface with your starship to spot them. They give hundreds of Heridium per rock. It can also be bought at any space station from the trade terminal and merchants. They usually sell twenty to fifity Heridium (you need fifty for crafting Antimatter).
Getting the Atlas Pass V1 and finding a Space Anomaly
In the third solar system (after warping two times), you must use your ship's scanner to locate an Alien Monolith. The monolith will be marked with a purple icon on one of the planets. This is after you have learned how to craft the antimatter and warped to the next star. Interact with the Alien Monolith to mark an Atlas Interface on your map. Warp to the Atlas Interface. In the Atlas Interface, you must talk to the large orb and choose to "Concent." Do not refuse the orb. When you pick the correct option, it will give you an Atlas Stone. Space Anomalies will now randomly appear when you travel to new solar systems. You may have to warp many times before finding one. It is random and one will eventually appear. It is recommended you stay on the path the game gives you. When you reach a new system, always use your scanner. If a Space Anomaly is nearby, it should get marked with a purple icon. Inside is an Alien scientist. Talk to him to get the Atlas Pass V1 crafting formula. Then, craft it for 25 x Iron + 10 x Heridium. The Atlas Pass gives you access to the side rooms of Space Stations. These contain upgrades for your multi-tool and exo suit. Some locked boxes can also be opened with it that contain rare materials such as Suspension Fluid, Electron Vapour, Antimatter, and Warp Cells. Note: It does not matter which path you choose at the beginning of the game (or if you choose one at all). The directions above are the same regardless.
Getting to galaxy center quickly
The ultimate goal in the game is to reach the center of the galaxy. Early in the game you will encounter a Space Anomaly. It looks like a smaller version of a space station with a spinning machine around it. They appear randomly as you fly through space. Inside is an alien. Talk to it to be presented with three paths: Go for the center (follow black holes), go for atlas (follow atlas stations for money), explore as you desire. Select
the path to the center choice to automatically locate a black hole on your map. Then, complete the following steps:
1.Upgrade your Hyperdrive to warp 300 LY instead of 100. Even more is possible with a second upgrade.
2.Use a black hole. They will teleport you 2,000 light years closer to the center. This is by far the quickest way to travel.
3.Warp to Atlas Interface and collect the two Warp Cells and Atlas Stone. Every Atlas Interface has two free Warp Cells -- so you do not have to craft them.
4.Repeat steps 2 and 3. Collect the two warp cells from Atlas Interface, use them to get to a black hole, and repeat.
Later when you have the Atlaspass V3, you can find fuel resources (Suspension Fluid, Electron Vapour, Antimatter, Warp Cells) in the back room of space stations. The V3 pass is only available when you are much further into the game. Once you have it, this basically gives infinite warp cells. You would buy Zinc and Heridium from the station, open the locked canisters in the backroom for fuel ingredients, and craft them together
into a Warp Cell (Plutonium is also found in the backroom; you must get Thamium yourself by shooting a few asteroids). Additionally, keep stacks of Plutonim, Heridium, Zinc, and Thamium in your inventory. They are needed to craft fuel related items. Note: If you want to get to the center even quicker, delete the patches and play Version 1.00 of the game. You will start only 40,000 lightyears away from the center (with the patch installed you start 175,000 lightyears away). Also, you do not need the Atlaspass V3 in the unpatched version to get unlimited fuel resources.
Heridium
Heridium is a Silicate element, commodity, and crafting material in the game. It is used to craft Antimatter and some upgrades. It can be found on planets and mined from tall rocks. These are quite common. You can fly close to the surface with your starship to spot them. They give hundreds of Heridium per rock. It can also be bought at any space station from the trade terminal and merchants. They usually sell 20-50 Heridium (you need 50 for crafting Antimatter).
Infinite money and Warp Cells
This exploit/glitch allows you to duplicate anything for unlimited money and Warp Cells. You can make millions of units in just a few minutes by duplicating stacks of Gold, Emeril, or other expensive resources. First, create a backup of your saved game in case something goes wrong or it gets corrupted. Then, complete the following steps:
Step 1: Place the item(s) you want to duplicate in your ship's inventory. Everything you put in your ship will be duplicated -- allowing you to duplicate multiple items at once. Everything you do not want to duplicate can go in the exo suit or be sold.
Step 2: Get in and out of your starship two times in a row. This will create two save points. Check manually under "Options" in the pause menu to confirm that it shows both saves with the same timestamp.
Step 3: Get yourself killed while flying your ship. This is best done by attacking a space station.
Step 4: When you respawn, reload your previously saved game in the options. This will put your item(s) back in your inventory and your grave will still be there as well. The grave has a duplication of your ship's inventory.
Step 5: Collect your grave to get your duplicated item(s).
Repeat this as many times as desired. The more duplicates you have in your inventory, the faster it will go. You can do this to get lots of Warp Cells and reach the center of the galaxy very quickly. You can also duplicate Gold and Emeril to get millions of units in just a few minutes. The larger your ship's inventory, the more effective it will be. So make sure to reinvest your money in a larger ship at first. This exploit will also help you to get "The Diamond Age" (have 2 million units) and "A Space Odyssey" (warped 60 times) gold trophies. Note: This exploit/glitch was performed on Patch 1.03 of the game. It will eventually get patched. To avoid not being able to use this exploit, either do not install new patches before using this exploit or delete the patches. You can avoid patches being installed by disconnecting from the internet until you are ready for the game to install new patches.
Prioritize Exosuit Upgrades
As you wander the various planets throughout the galaxy, you'll quickly find that you need more inventory slots in order to make better use of your time. You can upgrade your storage capacity by raiding Shelter locations. You can upgrade your inventory for free the first time around, but after that, each subsequent upgrade will increase in price by 10,000 credits.
Upgrade Your Scanner
Throughout the game, you'll rely on your scanner to find Elements, as well as relays that point the way to Colony Bases, Manufacturing Facilities, and other such destinations. Therefore, it makes sense to start looking for ways to upgrade your scanning capabilities immediately. Typically, you can find scanner Blueprints in Colony Bases and Manufacturing Facilities, secreted in wall terminals. Obtain the blueprint and then the required components and get to upgrading. It will make everything that comes after that moment go more smoothly.
Upgrading Hyperdrive (FTL Warp Drive)
The Hyperdrive allows you to jump from one solar system to the next. The following two strategies are the best ways to upgrade it. While exploring planets, you will notice smoking drop pods (Damaged Machinery). They usually contain upgrades for your ship. If you are lucky, you can get an upgrade for the Hyperdrive. Fly close to the surface and watch out for black smoke and blue blinking machinery on the ground. Also, talk to the alien at every space station you visit. The weirder the conversation and the higher your standing with a faction, the better the possible reward. For example, on the right wing of a space station you could meet an alien from the Korvax Race. During the multiple choice dialogue, you can select whether to let him extract some of your brain cells or not (for his research). If you agree, which temporarily depletes your shield, you will be rewarded with the "Warp Reactor V1" upgrade. When you have dialogues with really weird (or life threatening) options, it is recommended to agree to the most risky requests since these options give the best rewards. Unfortunately, there is no 100% full proof method to get the upgrade right away. It will take some time and comes down to luck. Try to give the correct answer in all alien dialogues. This will increase your standing with them and lead to better rewards.
Various Steam Achievements
Complete the indicated task to unlock the achievement.
Achievement
How to unlock
A Scanner Darkly
Attain 'Naturalist' status in Planet Zoology Scanned.
A Space Odyssey
Attain 'Discoverer' status in Space Exploration.
Babel-17
Attain 'Confused' status in Words Collected.
Citizen of the Galaxy
Attain 'Babelfish' status in Words Collected.
Contact
Attain 'Known' status in Alien Colonist Encounters.
Foundation
Attain 'Entrepreneur' status in Most Units Accrued.
Galapagos
Attain 'Encyclopedia' status in Planet Zoology Scanned.
Have Spacesuit - Will Travel
Attain 'Adventurer' status in On-foot Exploration.
Pattern for Conquest
Attain 'Notorious' status in Ships Destroyed.
Stranger in a Strange Land
Attain 'Robust' status in Extreme Survival.
Symphony For A Lost Traveler
Attain 'Nomad' status in On-foot Exploration.
The Diamond Age
Attain 'Magnate' status in Most Units Accrued.
The Forever War
Attain 'Legend' status in Ships Destroyed.
The Languages of Pao
Attain 'Interpreter' status in Words Collected.
The Longest Voyage
Attain 'Pioneer' status in Space Exploration.
The Sentinel
Attain 'Everlasting' status in Extreme Survival.
The Space Merchants
Attain 'Trader' status in Most Units Accrued.
The Star Beast
Attain 'Archivist' status in Planet Zoology Scanned.
The Stars, Like Dust
Attain 'Trailblazer' status in Space Exploration.
Use of Weapons
Attain 'Novice' status in Ships Destroyed.
What Mad Universe
Attain 'Ambassador' status in Alien Colonist Encounters.
Who Goes There?
Attain 'Diplomat' status in Alien Colonist Encounters.