Wizardry 6: any starting advice?

I'm about to play Wizardry 6 for the very first time. The game looks rather, well, intimidating, and you get a whole lot of options thrown at you right at the start of the game. I've also heard that it is quite possible to shoot yourself in the foot when creating & advancing your party. So to avoid that:
Does anyone have any advice to a person who is just about to start his very first game of Wizardry 6? Any classes to avoid? Any skills that I absolutely should take? And when should I multiclass? I might bring my party over to Wizardry 7, though I'm not sure at this point (I might also come to the conclusion that the game is not for me and quit).

I think we actually have a thread about that already, try a search.

Ah, found it. I did a quick search yesterday, but must have missed it.