1) Look for the S on the HUD and fly toward that.
2) When you get to the station look for the docking bay indicated by the blue triangles at the entrance.
3) Slowly approach the bay and when you are in the opening you will be given the command to dock
4) “Press the activate key” to dock
5) The dock thing with the solid blue force field is NOT the dock you enter to get into the station. It is the dock you come out of the station, NOT the dock you get into the station
There are 2 different types of jumps, in system jumps and out of system warps
These jumps are made between sectors and require 3000m of distance between your ship and any large gravitational object in the area. At the bottom of your HUD you will see a distance readout that will turn blue when you are at a safe jumping distance. Please be aware that other ships in the area won’t affect your 3000m requirements
1) Go to the Navigation map (“n” for most players)
2) Click on the sector you wish to jump into
1) When you are at 3000m select “Jump”.
2) If you are not at 3000m close the nav map and fly your ship to a spot that has 3000m of clearance.
3) You can then press the “activate key” to complete the jump
These warps are made between systems and require a wormhole and a fully charged battery. In the 'sector' section of the navigation screen, find a square with a swirly blue circle. The swirly blue circle is the symbol that indicates there is a wormhole in that sector
1) Go to the Navigation map (“n” for most players).
2) Click on the Universe Map to show the different systems.
3) Click on the system you wish to jump into.
4) Select “zoom to system”
5) Click on the sector you want to go to in the new system. The Navigation computer will automatically enter the wormhole sequence you will have to follow to reach the selected system. This will be marked for you as a moving green line on the map.
6) Jump to a sector with the proper wormhole.
7) Fly to the wormhole in the sector. The wormhole appears as crosshairs on the HUD. Under the crosshairs is a distance indicator that shows how close you are to the wormhole jump area.
8) Once you enter the warp area you will be told to press the “activate key” to complete the warp. You must have a full battery in order to complete the warp. You will be reminded if you try to warp on a discharged battery.
The bar at the bottom on the screen is a visual representation of the location of large objects around your ship. Think of a large bubble surrounding your ship. The bar shows the diameter of that bubble. When the diameter is at least 3000m it is safe for you ship to jump.
There are three things to check if you are unable to jump.
1) Are you at least 3000m away from any gravitational objects? When you reach 3000m you should have a message near the bottom of your HUD.
2) Have you selected a location to jump to? Check you navigation map to see if you have a new sector selected. You should see a flashing green line pointing to the sector you want to jump into. If there is not another sector selected check to see if you’ve already jumped into the desired sector.
3) Are you in an ion storm? If you are in an ion storm you have to reach the storm exit before you can jump out of the sector.
According to the Vendetta back story you need to be at least 3000m away from all large objects. Flying towards a dark area is usually a good idea but sometimes you will need to make several course adjustments. Remember dark asteroids blend into the background of space so what appears to be empty space may actually contain asteroids.
Ion storms are a daily hazard for all space pilots. These storms interfere with the normal operation of the engines. To jump out of a storm you must find the “storm exit” Indicated by a green “+” on your HUD.
Ion storms interfere with the jump computer and you will be notified when your ship is pulled into an ion storm. If no matter how much you fly around the meter thing reads a solid 0m you are either flying in circles around an asteroid, or you're in a storm! There will also be ions everywhere giving a rain-like effect.
Ion storms usually last for only a few hours but they can be very deadly. These storms are favorite hangouts for pirates and rogue bots.
1)
Learn
to bob and weave while flying.
2) Use turbo to get out of the storm are quickly as possible.
3) When you realize you are entering a storm prepare to orientate yourself to the storm exit (green plus on HUD) in a hurry.
4) Use the select nearest target key to alert you to approaching bots
5) Keep and eye on your radar for hostiles (red dots)
While using the Navigation
computer to plot out your course is a great connivance, the standard jump path
is the shortest distance between the two sectors. The risk of using the
standard jump path is that you often jump across storms. Pilots may avoid some
storms by using the more time consuming method of plotting a course of shorter
jumps around active storms and asteroid belts.
If you have reached the “storm exit” but are unable to leave the storm check is your navigation map. If the storm is in your final destination sector the navigation computer will not let you jump out of the sector. Selecting a new destination sector should correct this problem.
You can actually fight while backing up. You must be in "physics mode" (use the ‘ key to toggle modes) and decelerate (the s key on keyboard). This is generally called "backpedaling". You can't turbo in reverse. This maneuver is impossible in "arcade mode".
Use the strafe keys and roll keys to avoid getting hit. The default keys are “a&d” for left/right, “r&f” for up/down and “q&e” for left /right rolls
1) Buy
low, sell high. Learn what really is a good price for your
cargo. Keep track of what you paid for the cargo and how much the
station is willing to pay to buy it.
2) Know
your customers. Mining stations produce plenty of ores but lack creature
comforts. Research stations need technology and refined materials for their
projects. Military stations use technology to create weapons and ships.
3) Don’t
saturate the market. The rarer the item the more it is worth. Items that
haven’t been sold to the station in a long time will have a higher price.
All stations will buy items, however making a profit is another thing.
1) Mining stations often want creature comforts (textiles, consumer electronics, luxury goods etc)
2) Manufacturing stations often want ores and some products (plastics, steel, wood, chemicals, dyes, etc)
3) Research stations often want some products and technology (iron cores, cooling system, microtech replicator, etc)
4) Military Barracks stations often want weapons components (targeting systems, cooling systems, etc) and other technology
Also check the NEWS SYSTEM for daily trade reports and
ITEMS IN DEMAND postings.
YES!
PvP is possible at anytime in
Vendetta. However there are some areas
in space where firing weapons and attacking other players is not such a good
idea. Attacking pilots near stations is not allowed and will be severely
reprimanded. Strike forces will be deployed to destroy aggressors in station
monitored space. Be aware that killing pilots without consent may alter your
faction standing. If your faction standing drops too low you will be labeled
If a pilot wanders away from their nation’s monitored space they are running the risk of being engaged in PvP. These pilots should be prepared to fight or flee any time they leave monitored space. Pilots are encouraged to form coveys or fly in groups for protection when traveling in unmonitored space.
GRAY SPACE IS
DANGEROUS! Pirates love to fight in GRAY SPACE!
No, not really. The name of the game is Vendetta and this is a 1st person shooter game. That said there are several things a player should know about the Vendetta Universe.
1) If you want to reduce your chances of PvP choose an Itani or Serco character and STAY CLOSE TO THE CAPITOL SYSTEM. These systems are located in the center of their respective territories and it is difficult for aggressive players to penetrate enemy space.
2) UIT systems are great for trading because they have access to many different systems. However these borders could be considered a blessing or a curse depending on how you look at it. The UIT has many different trade factions and are some on the best traders in the universe. This also means that the UIT must protect many more wormholes against hostile invaders and most systems are only two wormholes away from enemy space. Pilots are often attacked by enemies in UIT space because it has such open borders so new players make get killed often.
3) GRAY SPACE is DANGEROUS! Gray Space is the region of systems colored gray on the system map. These systems are not allied with the 3 major nations (Itani, Serco or UIT) and are known pirate hangouts. Odia system has the Capitol Station of the pirate faction, Corvus.
4) Know who you are shooting. If you shot at anyone expect them to return fire.
If you want to practice your PvP without having to find someone of a different faction you can request a duel. To duel you need to use the /duel command.
Select the ship you want to shoot by pressing ‘x’ to target the closest ship that is considered hostile (red dots), or use ‘b’ to target what your aiming reticule is pointing at (does not matter if it is hostile or friendly). Note that some players may actually be hostile and still show up as green on your radar, and will not be targeted when you press ‘x’.
There are advantages to working in a group. First, groups have a special chat box just for their group so you can have secret discussions. Second, group members are able to see the health of other members so you can help each other out. Third, groups have special missions they can take.
You can get help on how to create & join groups by typing “/group” by itself (without the quotes).
The beginner combat mission is designed to help you build basic flying and combat skills. In this mission you are given a choice of bot to hunt down and kill. You will earn bonus XP for killing multiple bots in a row. The more bots you kill in a row the greater the bonuses. When you earn a new license level the bots you have to kill to earn XP will get harder. Play attention to the names of the bots on the combat list to get the most bonus XP.
The mission can be ended at any time by pressing “m” and following the directions. You can repeat the mission as many times as you want until you reach level 3 combat.
After combat license level 3 pilots are assigned to the advanced combat mission. You are given a list of assault and guardian bots to find and destroy. You can kill any bot on the list and as many of each bot you want. You will earn bonus XP for killing multiple bots (it starts at 4 bots). The size of your bonus is based on the difficulty of the bots you killed.
There are many different approaches to hunting and destroying the advanced bots. Here are some suggestions from seasoned pilots
1) Try out different ship/weapons combos.
2) Remember, the greater the ship mass, the lower the maneuverability.
3) Don’t assume Apu-5’s are the easiest bots to kill. Try a TyCorp Assault.
4) Watch for bots that come in pairs. Make sure you know where each bot is and don’t end up in a bot sandwich.
5) Don't fight fair. Sneak up on bots and blast them from behind.
6) Lure bots out to >3000m and set a destination, allowing you to run if things turn bad
7) Strafe in a random pattern instead of just one direction. Turn off flight assist
8) Match the size of your battery and the energy use of your weapons.
9) Practice your skills in a DUEL
10) ASK FOR A
Vendetta is a twitch based game so the best ship is the one flown by the best pilot. Higher levels enable your character to buy better ships and weapons, and also take more interesting missions, but a skilled lower level player could still easily kill a higher level non-skilled player. This is due to the combat system of Vendetta, ie. real-time "twitch" based, rather than “dice rolling” based combat system. Combat is a large part of the Vendetta universe, but it is still possible to play as a trader, (almost) avoiding combat altogether
As you demonstrate your skill as a pilot and trader you will be granted licenses to more complex and powerful equipment.
The missions specialize so one type of ship does have an advantage over another. There are small, agile ships that work well in combat and huge, lumbering cargo ships for traders with a wide range in between.
Pilots have choices: they can choose to specialize in one style of fighting and ship which may limit the missions they can complete, or a pilot could own an assortment of ships and try to match the ship to the task at hand. A player may decide to avoid certain missions all together because they don't match that pilot's flying style.
As an untested pilot you are only eligible for an EC-88 or an EC-98 with a basic energy weapon. Unfortunately, when you start you have no credits and the EC-98 costs credits so the EC-88 is the only choice.
There is a color-picker that allows you to choose the color of your ship and is located down at your bottom right. Choose the color you want and then click the 'buy' button
Equipment and ships available to pilots holding the next license level will be shown in the “BUY” menu. Equipment and trade goods are in the main “BUY” menu. Ships are in a secondary menu, “Buy Ship” button on lower right side of the main “BUY”menu.
You need to earn experience to prove you can handle the more complex and powerful equipment. Different experience is required for different equipment. For example to get a ship with a large cargo hold you need to demonstrate you have experience in trading. To get a stronger battery you need to demonstrate you have combat experience.
You can buy ship equipment anytime you have the required licenses and enough credits (note that not all stations sell all equipment). However, you need to equip the new equipment to use it. If you do not equip something after you buy it, it will remain in the station hold where you bought it.
All ships come with a powercell port but the number of S-ports and L-ports varies.
To check the port availability on your ship:
1) Click on the “ship” tab in the station interface.
2) Select any weapon you might have equipped that you want to replace.
3) Click the "unequip" button below the equipment inventory window. The weapon slot you selected should now read "EMPTY
4) Go to the “buy” tab in the station interface and buy the equipment you want to add. If you have the credits and proper license you will purchase the equipment and it will be automatically installed in your ship.
1) Select the weapon that you want to replace.
2) Select the equipment in the equipment inventory window you want to swap in.
3) Click on “equip”
The availability of equipment varies depending on your license levels, faction standing and the station you are docked at. Different stations will stock different types of equipment.
Combat ships- military bases and barracks tend to carry the best selection of combat ships and weapons
Trade ships- manufacturing stations tend to carry the best selection of ships with large cargo holds.
In certain unaligned systems the stations there are not as strict about license levels when selling weapons and equipment. It is possible to go to these stations and purchase weapons you are usually ineligible for in your home system. Corvus Prime is known for its black-market weapons and batteries. However, be prepared to pay a high cost for these items and if you die to not get the item replaced. Also flying into the unaligned systems can be very dangerous so beware of the pirates!
To get more missiles you need to dock at a station. Then choose the ammo menu and buy additional missiles.
Your HUD will give you a visual indicator of the stats of your ship. When your ship is damaged you have to return to a station before you can make repairs. When dock at a station your ship is automatically repaired..
The mass of your ship together with the thrust provided by your engines determines your acceleration. Higher thrust and/or lower mass results in greater acceleration, which allows you to increase or decrease your speed, or change the direction you are moving in less time.
Missions and general combat
The basic combat mission is good for earning combat, light weapon and heavy weapon experience. However you do need to run the mission for a long time because you need to kill over 50 bots in a row, without dying, to earn the maximum experience bonuses.
The cargo transport and reconnaissance/spy missions are good for earning trade experience. These are on a mission tree so completing different missions will open up different opportunities for future missions.
The prospecting missions are good for earning mining experience. These are also on a mission tree, which if you complete awards you with a special badge
Missions are not the only source of skill points. Pilots can also earn Light weapon or Heavy weapon experience by killing bots outside of a mission. You also get Combat experience for killing players with equal or higher level than yourself. You can also gain trading experience by selling a trade good to a station that does not produce that item. Mining various types of ores rewards you with different amounts of mining experience.
1) You have to dock at a station and then click on the mission menu.
2) Chose the type of mission you are interested in completing
3) click on the mission title to select.
4) After the mission is selected click on “info” to read more information about
the requirements of the mission.
5) Accept the mission to start. Decline the mission if you don’t want it.
6) Once you have accepted a mission, only that mission will appear on the missions menu of stations. You will need to complete it or abort it before other missions will become available again. You can only work on one mission at a time.
Different missions will offer different types and amounts of experience. You
will have to try out the missions for yourself.
The notation 0/0/0/0/0 is the shorthand for your current license levels. It is in the form of: Combat / Light Weapons /Heavy Weapons /Trading & Commerce/Mining. For example a 4/3/2/1/0 means you have a level 4 combat license, level 3 light weapon license, level 2 heavy weapon license, a level 1 trade license, and a level 0 mining license.
For example when you see -/1/-/-/- in the required license area it represents the minimum license levels you need in each area to purchase the item. The dash (-) means there's no minimum requirement, or you already meet the minimum requirement. A number means you need to have at least that level. So in this example (-/1/-/-/-) you only need a level 1 in light combat to purchase the item.
Once you have earned enough experience points you automatically receive the next license level. You can check how much experience you have earned by looking at the character info screen “k”.
For example: Combat Piloting License: 0 (240/1000)
0 = Your current license level
240 = Your current "score" in the combat pilot category
1000 = The "score" required to achieve the next highest level
You will automatically earn the license for the next level when you have enough XP.
You can check it out in your character info, k for out of station, character info button in the character info tab for in station. There will be some information like this"
Combat 0 (1234/2000)
Left is the skill and current level. The left number of the right thing is your current experience, the right number is the experience needed for your next level.
When flying in space you can use “k” to find out information about yourself and other pilots. If you want to see your personal statistics you have to make sure you have nothing targeted then press “k”. If you want to see information about another player you can target them with “b” and then press “k” to see their information.
When in a station you can check your information buy clicking on the character info menu. You will be given a listing of your inventory at the current station and all cargo and ships stored in other stations. On the lower right side is a small button “char info” click on that to see your personal statistics.
You need to be docked at a station to join a mission. Click on the mission menu to see the missions currently available to you at that station. You will see a list with the titles of the missions on the left side. Click on the title of the mission you are interesting in joining and then click on the “info” button. Read the details of the mission and click on either the “accept” if you want that mission or “decline” if you don’t want the mission.
Use the mission chat to message the mission bot, the computer who controls your mission. You can message the mission bot two different ways. First you can go to the navigation map and click on the mission tab to activate the mission chat. Type in a question on the line and the mission bot should respond to you. Usually the bot will offer to remind you of the mission goals or let you end the mission. The second way is to use @ (shift-2) to open the mission chat.
You can abort a mission by pressing ‘m’ to talk to the mission computer. The computer will list several options including ending the mission. Be aware that aborting some missions (trade) may require you to pay a fine, return cargo or lose faction standing points.
1) First of all, before taking the mission you it is best to have an EMPTY S-PORT slot on your ship. Go to the "ship" tab in the station interface and select any weapon you might have equipped on an S-port (if you are using a bus it will be the only weapon you have equipped).
2) Click the "unequip" button below the equipment inventory window. The weapon slot you selected should now read "EMPTY."
3) Now go to the "missions" tab and take the prospecting mission. A special scanner will automatically be loaded into your vacant s-port.
If you accepted the mission before having an empty s-port you have to go to the ship tab to get the scanner and manually equip it.
4) To use the scanner get to within 500m of an asteroid and
click your primary fire button. A message will appear under your
When doing a prospecting mission you are asked to find asteroids containing a specific ore. Hints for finding the correct asteroids: Be sure to have the mission chat open when you scan the asteroids because it will let you know if you are close enough to scan the asteroid and the results of the scan. The physical appearance of the asteroid is a good indicator of the ore found inside. Look at the ore icon in the buy menu before prospecting to help you identify the asteroids faster.
In the 3 main territories, Itani, Serco and Neutral, the bots in the systems are monitored and each sector will give a report on the types of bots in that sector. In the unaligned systems the bots are not monitored so you have to hunt the bots and make your own records.
The easiest bots are ORUN COLLECTORS. If you are still learning, try to find a sector that only has COLLECTOR bots. They're easy bots with weak weapons and little desire to kill pilots so they usually only attack one at a time. However once you've hit them they'll never give up, so don't hit a second bot until you've finished off the first one or are ready for the second.
The are differences between the collector bots with the DENTEK, KANNIK and ARTEMIS COLLECTORS being more aggressive and better fighters
You first have to install the scanner. Then you go to the sector the mission tells you to go to. When you enter the sector look for a group of named bots, fly in range of each of these bots and scanner them to find the CEO. When you find the CEO the mission computer will tell you and you may return to the station.
Scrap metal is dropped by all bots when they are destroyed. You can sell the scrap to a station right away to earn some credits, or stockpile them at a station and turn them in as part of a scrap metal mission to earn faction standing points.
To mine ore you need to purchase a mining beam. This equipment allows you to extract ore from asteroids. Select an asteroid by pressing “b”. You will get information about the temperature of the asteroid and the distance to the asteroid. When you get close to the asteroid, under 100m, activate your mining beams. You will see a bar on the center of your HUD. This shows the progression of the ore extraction. When the bar is completely filled you will have 1 crate of ore placed into your cargo hold. The mining beams will automatically shut off when your cargo hold is full.
There are 6 different types of chat available in Vendetta. From the most public to the most private: channel, sector, bar, guild, group, and private message. The seventh is chatting with the message bot.
You can up to 32 different channels selected at a time, but you can only have one channel active. The text for the active channel will appear light blue, the text for the inactive channels will appear dark blue.
1) To chat to a channel press “t”. Note that older versions of the default configuration used “T”. To select a channel you need to use the /join command.
2) To chat to the sector press “T”. Note that older versions of the default configuration used “t”.
3) To chat with the Bar you need to dock in a station and click on the “bar” tab.
4) To chat to your Guild press “G”. You must be a member of a guild to use this chat
5) To chat with your group press ‘g’. You must be a member of a guild to use this chat
6) To chat with the mission bot you press “m”. You must have an active mission for the bot to respond
To send a private message use /msg ”name” with the player’s name in quotes. If you press “TAB” in an empty chat line, it will automatically fill in a private message addressed to the last player that sent you a private message.
You can change chat tab by going to the navigation menu and clicking on the tab you want. You can also use the keyboard shortcuts “!” to switch to the General tab, “@” to switch to the Mission tab. Pressing “t”, “T”, and “m” to chat with a channel, the sector, or the mission bot will also switch to the appropriate tab.
You can hail a player by selecting them and pressing “h”. Many NPCs will talk back to you when you hail them. You can set a personal hail in the options menu.
The most commonly used channels are listed. Players can choose any channel they wish to chat on up to 1,000,000. However most players use the following channels and form a private channel on an unused channel.
1 : Player Help Channel
11 : Nation chat (you can only see the text from members of you nation)
69 : Planetside players channel
70 : German chat
97 : Windows Users Channel
98 : Linux Users Channel
99 : Apple Macintosh Users Channel
100 : General Chat
101 : French Chat
102 : Russian Chat
103 : Spanish Chat
104 : Dutch chat channel
111 : Player Help Channel (incase channel 1 is overloaded)
201 : Itani Convoy Transmissions
(not for chat)- this channel broadcasts the departure of the Itani cargo convoy so players know when the next cargo
battle begins
202 : Serco Convoy Transmissions
(not for chat)- this channel broadcasts the departure of the Serco cargo convoy so players know when the next cargo
battle begins
300 : In-character Role Playing Chat.
700 : Political (
701 : Platform wars!
911 : Emergency Channel
1313: Elite guild recruitment and info channel (public)
1337 : Off-topic chat channel
As part of their war effort, both the Serco and Itani nations attempt to produce the Neutron Blaster Mk3, generally considered to be the best weapon in the game. In order to produce the N3, the nations need a supply of a specially processed "Purified Xithricite". Capture the Cargo (CtC) is a weekly competition to disrupt the opposing nation's shipments of Purified Xithricite, by capturing the enemy's cargo and returning it to your own nation, while also defending your own nations convoys from attacks. Only the nation that has the highest amount of Purified Xithricite at the end of the CtC round is able to produce the Neutron Blaster Mk3 throughout the next round.
Listen to channels 201 for Itani CtC announcements, and 202 for Serco CtC announcements. These announcements will include a five minute warning before a convoy leaves, a notice that the convoy is leaving, updates on the convoy's location, notices of any attacks on the convoy, and announcements of any deliveries made.
Itani convoys leave from Bractus Watch (Bractus C5), travel through Pelatus, Edras, Jallik, and deliver to Coranis Watch (Divinia M14). Serco convoys leave from Daltas Hold (Sedina L2), travel through Latos, Ukari, Initros, and deliver to Catequil Outpost (Pyronis L6). Convoys take the most direct route, attempting to jump from wormhole to wormhole, and may be caught by Ion Storms.
The same place the convoys deliver to, Coranis Watch (Divinia M14) for Itani, Catequil Outpost (Pyronis L6) for Serco.
As the UIT nation is officially not engaged in the war, they do not produce Neutron Blaster Mk3s, and so do not have convoys delivering Purified Xithricite. UIT players can choose to not participate in CtC, to aid one of the warring nations (boosts faction standing with that nation, but drops standing with the other), to aid both nations (anyone know how faction standings work out if a UIT player aids both factions equally? I would hope for a small net gain with both, but I'm not sure), or capturing cargo without delivering it (faction standing drops). Note that currently, UIT players never have access to the Neutron Blaster Mk3, regardless of any participation in CtC.
As far as I can tell, convoy departure times are semi-random, with some constraints. Convoy departures are more frequent during peak hours (and during peak hours each transport carries more cargo, and the convoys include more & stronger defenders). Convoy departures usually alternate between Itani and Serco, but I'm pretty sure I have on occasion seen multiple departures from one nation without any from the other (of course that could have just been me not paying enough attention). I'm also fairly certain there is never more than one convoy at a time for a nation (could someone who's on more during peak hours confirm this?).
The Capture-the-Cargo Stats page contains four tables: a nation stats table, and a Participants table for each nation.
The nation stats table has two rows, one for Itani and one for Serco, and two groups of columns, Deliveries and Cargo. The columns under Deliveries show a breakdown of the number of units delivered by players of that row's nation, UIT players, and that nation's convoys. The columns under Cargo are Itani, Serco, Surplus, and Total. The Itani column shows the number of units from Itani convoys that were delivered to that row's nation. The Serco column likewise shows the number of units from Serco convoys. The surplus shows the number of units awarded to the previous round's losing nation. The total is self-explanatory.
The participants tables contain a row for each player that has participated in CtC. The columns show the players Nation, Name, and a breakdown of how they have participated in CtC. CTC Kills shows the number of times the player has killed a CtC transport (anyone know if PKs of players carrying the cargo also counts here?). Kill Assists shows the number of times the player has damaged a CtC transport, but someone else destroyed it. Cargo Assists shows the number of times (or is it units?) the player carried cargo, but someone else delivered it. Cargo Recoveries shows the number of units the player delivered that came from his/her own nation's transports. Cargo Captures shows the number of units delivered from the enemy nation's transports.
Total Cargo Deliveries is the total number of units the player delivered. For UIT participants, rather than Cargo Recoveries and Cargo Captures columns, it has columns Itani Deliveries and Serco Deliveries, and each cell in these columns has two numbers, a blue and a red. The columns show which nation the player delivered to, and the color shows which nation's convoy the units came from (blue Itani, red Serco).
No. However, note that if you are a low level character, you normally have protection against being killed by higher level players, as they would receive a significant Combat XP penalty. Once you have participated in CtC, you are no longer protected by this, so do not engage in CtC until you are ready for Player vs. Player.
The traditional modes of piracy work like these:
Scenario 1:
Pirate: YAR!! Drop ye cargo or be destroyed ye lilly livered roid farmer!!
Trader: Go screw yourself!
Pirate: AVAST!!
*Rockets fly, trader blows up, pirate takes cargo.*
Trader: Fsck!
Pirate: Ye were warned!!
Scenario 2:
Pirate: YAR!! Drop ye cargo or be destroyed ye lilly livered roid farmer!!
Trader: Whatever you say pirate sir.
*Jetissons cargo, pirate takes what he can fit. Trader goes on his merry way.*
Pirate: Pleasure doin' business with ye.
Trader: *mutters*Go screw yourself.*mutters*
Scenario 3:
Pirate: YAR!! Drop ye cargo or be destroyed ye lilly livered roid farmer!!
Trader: Make me.
Pirate: Yar!
*Rockets fly, pirate ship goes boom.*
Trader: Ha ha!
Scenario 4:
Pirate: <silence>
*Afterburners engaged, Rockets flying
Trader: WTF is tha.....
*trader blows up, pirate takes cargo.*
Trader: You suck!
As far as profit goes, piracy is not very good. It takes a very smart and patient pirate to actually make a profit from it, and even then it pales in comparison to what a good trader can get. You have to choose your targets wisely and pick the fights you know you can win.
When you are mass producing an item to be given away to people you often have to sacrifice quality for quantity. For the beginning pilot the EC class ships offer the chance to learn from your mistakes without spending a fortune. If your ship explodes you can get a free replacement. However, as soon as you earn a combat license you will have access to better looking and performing ships.
Not at this time. However it you have the graphics up high you can see the surface of the planets slowly rotate.
You technically cannot reach the edges because they sectors are infinitely large. You could keep on flying forever but there is nothing to see out there. There is no reason to go out that far unless you are a true hermit.