On the downloading, overall the whole game is like 11 gig, you can tell it to download in the background when you are not busy via the launcher. Id do that, when you are not playing, leave the game launcher up and running and let it get the files while you sleep etc. That way if you visit other planets etc you already have them downloaded and wont have to wait for that to happen.
Sweating is a way to earn cash as well. Granted the market is not too super on cyrene I bet there are some folks here who would buy a few K sweat off you to help you get started.
As was said, once you get the hang of it, making a deposit speeds up your progress greatly in the game. Look around, play around, get a feel for it and go for it if you like it.
Also I would recommend getting a mentor but be careful. Make sure you ' click' with your mentor, and a word of caution. Anyone telling how good they would be as your mentor, or telling you why you should pick them etc etc...as your mentor, you probably want to stay away from. There are a few who just want the 'mentor' thing for the reward they get if you graduate and they really are not that good at teaching new folks properly.
A mentor who plays the same time you do generally, helps a ton.
A mentor who speaks the same language you do is a great help.
A mentor who shares the same goals in the game, is very beneficial. if If I am a hunter and don't know much about mining, and you want to be a miner for a living, I probably would not be the best person to be mentoring you.
There is no rush to get a mentor, talk to the person for a bit, see how well you two get along first, go on a few hunts etc, see how you operate with each other. Unless you sink a ton of cash into the game, the 'official' mentor / disciple relationship will last several months. If you two are at each other thoats, ie your mentor is a douche, it's not going to work well for you.
Finally, when you do get a mentor, your mentor is not an ATM card, or a slave, they are there to help you, not support you, so don't expect handouts.
Other than that, any questions you may have, ask in game in the chat channel #cyrene and generally there is almost always someone on who can help you.
Welcome to the world
sluggo