Welcome to the ETARC CSD (NMS) Community, @parcival! 
Thank you for taking a minute to say Hello to everyone, in this thread.
As advised by some of our great community, DO take your time, and play it how you like (of course), and feel free to look for useful Answers in our Forum here.
Get to know the Search function [ 
at the top right corner ],
and the most direct way to find all the main forum threads by clicking the logo in the top left
(( —> 
<— )) The ATLAS CSD logo
… so you can most easily find the Answers you need, as you play through. 
A few quick links for you:
Here’s the (older) “Help a Fellow Traveller” thread..
The “current” (new-ish) “Advice, Tips, & Tricks” thread, to which regular forumite @sheralmyst has posted MANY tips so far.
… and if you experience any issues / problems with your game, try to REPORT it.
Here’s a thread with some info to help with Problem Reporting (to Hello Games’ ZenDesk).
Once again, WELCOME to the Community, Parcival.
We look forward to seeing your screenshots / progress, eventually. 