Teaching the basics

One of the largest problems I've seen with playing D20 modern is teaching the basics to people. Almost everyone in the party has had no experience playing D&D let alone D20 modern, and I am the only person who has a detailed understanding of it. With that being said, I'm effectively teaching 5 people the basics of the game. So far I have tried to explain the wealth system but it's not exactly easy as it's an arbitrary system. I'm hoping to counter that by forcing the players to actually purchase things required for the game that they'll become more comfortable with the system.

The other thing I've been nervous about is the use of weapons. I'm very afraid that the players will not utilize cover and as a result will be gunned down in their first firefight. I have come to the realization that the only way to actually cover this is to get over my concerns and just throw them into it. Soon in the campaign, the players will have to defend themselves from a few armed thugs...