Ranks and Leveling...clarification.
I would just like to get some clarification on how ranks work. So I join this MP server. I have my starter ship. I pick up consumer goods at Bush and start exploring the different locations. I checked out around 38 dockable bases that buy/sell commodities in and around Cortez, Magellan, Liberty and Bretonia. I am level/rank 1. I make a few small runs and make enough to get a rhino. I make a nice run to LD-14 and make some boo-koo bucks. I make a run from LD-14 and make more cash. I jumped from rank 1 to rank 14, then 14 to 17. How exactly do the ranks work. I purchased a baracuda I think it was, spent some cash on equipping it and then dropped to rank 16 or 15. Just curious how it determines your rank and how/why rank changes so quickly. I take it this is the part where everyone was talking about how easy the MP portion of the game is?