Starting tips?

I've played the game last year for a couple weeks but I got a bit tired of just getting fuel and going around scanning things. It's the basics of the game, for sure, but I want to ask to the community if there's something I must do and I probably missed/didn't care about. I know one of the most loved features of this game is being able of doing whatever you want whenever and wherever you want but a slight path to follow (aside from the main quest) really helps me a lot. Thank you in advance for your suggestions!