Mata-question - are the guides in the guides to the guides all up to date?

[derbius]

I am just starting off (feeling somewhat crushed and overwhelmed!) and before I start reading through a load of stuff and watching more I want to make sure that the guides from 2014 and 2015 I am seeing listed are likely to still contain valid advice...

[SirHoraceHarkness]

The last update to the game was the dwu release in 2014 which combined all the previous versions and patches into one install so as long as the guide was made after that and is for the final dwu release then they should be relevant.

[stuart3]

I am just starting off (feeling somewhat crushed and overwhelmed!)

The easiest way to get into the game is to reduce the complexity. Try starting off by playing a pre-warp game. You will begin with few enough assets for them to be manageable and will probably notice some ship behaviors that are not so readily apparent in more cluttered setups. Set Pirates to None or Very Few and Pirate Strength to Very Weak. As you get more experienced you can increase these very gradually, but be warned that it doesn't take much upgrading before the pirates become overwhelming.

before I start reading through a load of stuff and watching more I want to make sure that the guides from 2014 and 2015 I am seeing listed are likely to still contain valid advice...

There are very many parameters that can be varied in a custom game. When you read the advice in the forum, be aware that some of it may be fairly universal, but much will be good advice for the settings that the writer was using, but perhaps not be so appropriate for other combinations of parameters.