This game is all about resources.
Don’t keep changing Ships. It always cost a chunk of your profit which was hard won. Aim for a 48 (or near enough) Slot Hauler (any class). I found mine crashed and rebuilt it 1-3 slots at a time. What you would loose in exchanging will buy a lot of slots. My ship had 15 slots and the Hauler had 15 working slots so no loss at all.
Get a Terrain Manipulator as soon as possible. Ignore anyone who says they are useless & resource hungry. Only if you are ready to build a lunatic base. Even used creatively to defeat Predators/Hazards resources are not really that bad.
A TM will get you out of so many dangerous situations and solve many puzzles. Even though I have an Alien 24 Slot S Class MT I still use the TM (only less often).
Choose your planet by what you need to grow most so you do not need base resources to grow it.
When on a planet with few Nanite sources shooting Sentinels is a good alternative. I was on a single planet system with a rare item at the Space Station. Only solution.
Don’t just leave your first planet because the game tells you to. If the world is really hostile i.e. Hot/Cold/Killer Rain then obviously go to a more temperate world nearby. As a rule Star Bulb & Island worlds offer some respite. You are going to have to come to terms with Killer Creatures soon anyway.
Definitely Run. You can outrun Predators, get to shelter from weather quicker. If at night definitely use the torch or you will run into caves.
Exocraft are really pretty useless except as storage and you will run over tons of innocent creatures. They have one big use. FUN. On a Fauna free planet, especially one with trees & snow the Nomad is the best skiing game ever.
Try to avoid missions except those by the Contractor & his team. The mission board & Polo/Nada just make you do what will turn up anyway, including Black Holes. Not only did I either have what they would offer but I almost always had what they wanted. This even applied to the Farmer & the Armourer where i usually stepped back 3 paces then stepped forward to be congratulated for my herculean efforts.
Don’t waste time on Buggy Missions. The last Armourer mission was a bust but only gave cash anyway & not much of that.
Ignore Green Resource Symbols. Hard to locate & seems to be resources in an unusual form without the quantity. Try it once & see what I mean.
With a larger Hauler load up lots of resources for crafting later… I loaded up 3000 Fungal Mould and didn’t use it for ages but I needed all and more later to kit out Starships.
To be honest the game was more exiting when I only had a B Class Hauler & B Class MT so do not make it a priority to go S Class.