I did a quick "SR24 getting started guide" on the basic screen, options, and some basic gameplay tips.
No storyline stuff, no terrible spoilers (a few minor hints); mostly a general idea of what every button does.
Might help if you're starting out, likely useless for anyone who has played for a while already.
Nice starter guide, without giving too much away.
I'd add / make some adjustments though; suggestions below. Can trim it if it feels too wordy.
Explanations may help new players that don't understand the mechanics.
Player Skills - Computer / Electronics / Mechanics - do note, you get some player XP on these skills when you "work". The rates seem to be quite random, and which skills get points is also random; but the numbers here can be quite good. This may be faster overall than doing repairs, as repair XP is heavily tied to how much (% integrity) you actually repair. Just costs a lot of AP (min 3 AP per time slot, excl. night).
Bot Skills - actually, referencing an earlier thread I saw debating this, note that the player can train until the bot's skill is at least one grade higher than his current skill (i.e., if player has "D" social, can train up through "D", up to "C"). This means that 1) you only really need up to "A" skill on the 5 primary skills you can train bots on, to get them to "S"; and 2) it is entirely possible to get lucky at low skill levels and jump clear over the player's reference point (e.g., a player at "E" sex skill, can optimize parts to get a very large single training / event that pushes a bot starting at "E" or less, up to "D", "C", or even "B" depending on the RNG numbers). Perhaps more important than the total XP references for "A" grade, important to know that the threshold to hit "C" grade on skills is around ~8k-9k XP or so. "B" is around ~20k.
Flea Market / Bots - I believe on rare occasions, it is possible to get a "B" grade chassis. You'll notice it usually because of the price (usually offered at around $40-50k). Side note: the bot selection spread isn't actually based on the bot's grade, but on the loot tag instead.
If using a modded game, this might increase / decrease the frequency of "B" tier bots. *Errata: confirm per Squirrel's reply below, vanilla SR24 doesn't have "B" tier "cheap" bots.
Last, on the "getting started" portion, some items to add/clarify.
- Gray Market BBS - I'd highly recommend new players spend time with this, getting familiar with the different offers and requirements there. Worth pointing out to new players, since it's kind of buried (the actual request board is 4 screens away from the "home" screen). Even on easier difficulties, getting ANYWHERE without being savvy on this feature (or trying to play the game without it), makes the game extremely tough.
--- Most important bit about the BBS, interactions here don't cost you AP. This is a big deal, especially early game, as this is a limited resource.
--- It's entirely possible (and profitable) to "flip parts" (e.g., buy a part on one request, and sell it on another). Good early game tactic. Standard part buy opps will buy grades B-E, and there is a price cap. Pristine parts are worth a lot more (try checking the price diff between an 80% part and a 100% part). Not recommended for CPUs and powercores due to higher player "buy" prices.
--- Though I don't like the powercore "trade" post, early on it is worth checking to see if they are offering the tier "C" core. Have a couple Atlas i2 ("D" tier) processors to trade for them. Skip the other core offers.
--- It's also really important to know what kinds of attributes are desired on the "bot buy" requests, as these are the fastest ticket to real money gains (and getting better bots / upgrading your shop). For new players, need to know that it's almost impossible in game to see a bot BBS request, and then try to make the bot for it, before the listing disappears; so you kind of have to pre-make the bots for when the requests show up. Can be frustrating if you're constantly chasing requests, just to never make the deadline.
- MANAGE YOUR AP. It's a limited resource; and you'll never have enough. Don't waste it if you can.
--- Leaving the Shop - make sure to plan your trips out. Early on, the 1 AP cost just to leave the shop, adds up real fast if you make a lot of small trips, for one-off transactions.
--- Swapping Parts on Bots - do note, it takes 1 AP to swap a part on a bot. Try not to do this casually, as this can add up fast.
--- Look for ways to get "free AP": either literally extra AP, or free functions that generate advantage. Housekeepers, workouts, master techies, capsule upgrades, and more, are all strong suggestions.
--- Under ideal conditions, in-game max is 56 AP per day.
----- 14 AP per time slot max. 4 time slots in a day (morn/after/even/night).
----- Breaks down into 5 AP base, 5 AP housekeep, and 4 AP workout. Shows as 14/9 on counter (housekeeping counts as overage).
- Salvage Yard - this is the overall best place to just "get stuff", since it doesn't cost you any money, just AP; and it is possible to get REALLY good stuff here too.
--- At least on the base game, you can literally get anything - any tier part, and any tier bot. You can salvage bots with skills on rare occasions.
--- Any bot coming out of the salvage yard will be "broken" (at least one piece at 0% integrity). Sometimes really broken. You will need to have spare parts to fix these.
--- You don't need capsule space to pull bots from salvage, just storage rack space. The text prompt in-game doesn't clarify this; so if you keep salvaging once your capsules are full (but storage racks have space), you'll continue to find bots as well. Racks cost 3 AP and $5000 for 6 bot slots. Good deal, especially early on.
--- Though it breaks my heart to do this, early game, you may want to shred a few salvaged chassis to get some bulk spare parts. Salvaging a chassis, and then dismantling it, costs just 2 AP total; this can yield a decent haul of parts (as many as 7+). Unfortunately, there's no way to just remove a part, so you can't quite "strip" a good chassis of its good parts and replace them later. You can also do this to a cheap flea market bot or two if you just want excess parts for swaps.
- Bots and Roles - plan on having bots around to help you do things. While selling bots is important for making cash, you don't want to sell every last working bot that passes into your shop.
--- Housekeeper bots are a big deal at all points in the game, as they offer extra AP. May require some maintenance (i.e., stability).
--- Bedroom Toy - make sure to have at least one of these, as this helps player mood and sex XP.
--- Techies - make sure you have at least one here, as they help give better rates to your parts repairs; and they have a chance to gain elec / mech XP too.
--- Master Techies - Added as of 0.6.1, these are extremely useful. Depending on stats, will perform 1-3 repairs on bots in capsules (not storage) each time slot (except night). This includes: repairing part integrity, removing part defects, and fixing part slots if damaged. High requirement threshold to get online though.
--- Shopkeepers - passive income by running your shop for you. They can sell parts too (although I don't like using this feature, since the parts sold are randomly chosen, up to a certain tier).
- Workouts - this is a feature added by Squirrel in SR24. Some have previously debated whether this is useful or not. By my math, and confirming against the code, there's no question - this is ABSOLUTELY WORTH the cost. However, you need to understand HOW the mechanic works to get the best payout for investment here.
--- Working out introduces some new stats to the game, Strength and Stamina. The stats themselves aren't that important, other than that you want them to level up. They follow the same skill XP scale as the others.
--- You NEED to buy/invest in the workout equipment to get anywhere with this. Make sure you have extra money for this.
--- Early game, other than the initial use to unlock the equipment sales (*do this early), you don't need to pour AP into the actual workouts; early game payout is super low. Definitely don't double-workout early on. However, by about the 3rd or 4th week, and after you have some equipment, make sure to start building this up. Each piece of workout equip you buy increases your XP gain multiplier; so the more gear you have, the faster you gain XP. And, once you start, don't skip days. Once a day is good enough.
--- Once you purchase the home gym, the workout AP cost goes up to 2 AP per session. Just be aware of this.
--- The overall reward for building up the workout feature is more AP - you can get up to +4 AP per time period (so up to +16 AP per day) once maxed. Bonus AP is dependent on your current STR + STA grades. Even the first bonus level more than pays for the workout "maintenance cost" each day, with +4 AP per day.
Hope this helps.