I wholly agree with Stanny about patching and modding SC, it is like having a new game and no harder to play.
I diverge with him as I tried with and without auto-crew and found it easier to learn with them. Simply different strokes for different folks-You can learn a lot from this site, subgroup, and others-tips, hints, and lots of user generated missions.
Don't hesitate to ask questions if you have any, everyone is great about rsponding, and seldom are there any negatives. Most of us do not believe that there are any dumb question, just dumb answers.
Good hunting and have fun,
Ron Banks MMCM(SS), USN(Ret)
