egosoft.com

Hi there,
Just picked up this game, mainly because x4 is beyond my system specs.
Doing the campaign now and I am kinda stuck on the mission in which you have to hack a station to broadcast anti-miningcorp propaganda.
1. I have to buy a few drones. The hacking drone costs 440k, which is about 10 times the money I have. Where am I supposed to get the money from?
2. I am not stupid, so I hacked my way into the savegames instead and bought the drones.
3. I had to ask directions to the drone dealer, and now the mission directions were gone. I started hacking those hack points anyway, and after 10 fails a slightly disappointed dude said the message was broadcasted but they started deleting it already.
4. Now I get new points to go to, but they lead me in a loop, and I get the message "get into drone" again.

Uhhh.... Wassup with this? How can you go back to mission directions if they are gone, I guess that's where the problem started.

That's the real problem with using save edits to progress plots and missions. If and when they go wrong, we have no idea whether there is an actual issue in the plot/mission (which would also see complaints from many other players) or if that's a side-effect of the edits and shortcuts missing an important step or sequence in the plot/mission.

OK, but I can go back on that one. How am I supposed to buy a 440 K drone with the amount of cash you get during the campaign, though?

You take a plot holiday and do other things that earn you credits before going back to it. You even get prompted to do that now and again by Yisha; usually between major mission sequences.

Alternatively, set up some autonomous money-earning operations working in parallel while you do the plot.

But I have never played an X game and I am rather clueless about what to do to be honest. I thought the campaign was more or less teaching you stuff. I guess the only way is the hard way?
I did manage to get a drone, though. Unfortunately I didn't know I have to pick it up after use, and now I need a new one within 10 minutes. You do need to deal with a bit of frustration, apparently.

Drones tend to get stuck if left on autopilot when the wrong side of, or too close to, obstacles in their route. Pilot the drone back reasonably close to (but not right against) the stationary Skunk and release the control goggles. The drone docks itself and you get a message when it has. Then you can reuse it if necessary. I only ever needed one of a type.

Yes the plot is a tutorial, but you don't have to do it all in one continuous go. You put the bits you have already learned to use and so start to create your budding empire as you go along. If you don't then you might find some of the mid to late plot too daunting for your current commercial and military progress. I think that is already happening in your case.