Assassins - Ultimate CD Games Collection 4/Assassins 4 (1999)(Weird Science).iso/adventures_1/wraith_blaster/agt_files/manual.txt

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                             WRAITH BLASTER
                              Version 1.0

                                MANUAL

COMPUTERS AND BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED USERS

Since you are a captive audience, I'm going to get on the soapbox
for a moment.

Computer technology is opening new worlds to people with
disabilities.  For blind and visually impaired people, screen
reading software and speech synthesizers have made possible
vastly increased productivity and career options, as well as
access to the exciting world of computer gaming.  But this access
depends on the ability to read the screen in text mode.  In the
past few years the explosion of graphics has threatened to
turn back the clock for blind people just as other people with
disabilities and the DOS-command-line-frightened general public
are about to gain even greater access to computers.

(Yes, there is a screen reader for McIntosh, but it doesn't read
icons, which means someone else has to occasionally tell the
blind user what's going on.  The standard for access, as defined
by federal law, is "unassisted access".  In any case, even if
methods can be worked out for reading text presented in graphics
mode, the trend is increasingly toward entirely textless control
screens, which cannot be navigated by blind users at all.)

It's neither obvious nor greatly important to the folks who are
thrusting us headlong into the world of graphic operating
systems, DOS shells, applications programs, and games, that in
doing so, they may reverse the benefits that computer technology
has conferred on people who are blind or visually impaired.  If
any of you corporate programmers out there see this game
(particularly those at Microsoft who refuse to give the Windows
source code to those who want to adapt it for voice output), I
hope you'll put a little thought into this.  After all, the
future is likely to be voice-input-output interfaces for all
users; graphics are just a way-station on the road to this
future.

Nearly all text games being produced today are modest shareware
productions; new ones are few and far between.  With corporate
pressure to "stay current" a reality, the likelihood that blind
computer users' job security will be threatened as their
employers "upgrade" increases.  The likelihood that a blind
person with a voice adapted computer will be hired by a company
whose equipment is graphics-oriented declines with each passing
year.

ACCESS NOTES FOR BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED PLAYERS

A.  Voice Output

My information is that the majority of today's text game players
are people who are blind or visually impaired.  Being sighted, I
don't have experience with screen-reading systems in general; the
only one I've worked with is Artic.

Earlier versions of Artic required users to go into review mode
to read AGT game screens.  Since the AGT title screen disappears
after a while, the blind player never knew it was there and so
had no opportunity to learn the names of the excellent people who
invented the AGT game system, or the name of the person who wrote
the game they were playing.

The latest version of Artic works well with AGT games.  You have
two options:

1. Set Artic aptrack mode to read the output to the printer (the
Artic script function), NOT the screen.  Tell Wraith Blaster to
feed its output to the printer, by entering SCRIPT at the first
"What now?" prompt.  After you do this, Artic will automatically
read the Wraith Blaster text as it appears.  Unfortunately, you
can't do this until the title screen, the introductory text, the
offer to let you read the instructions, and the first room
description have appeared (an automatic AGT feature).  You will
need to use Artic cursor mode to read the introduction,
instructions and first room description.  Because the title
screen disappears, you won't get to read it at all, unless you
are quick with the review switch.

Fortunately, there is a way around this last problem.  Since
Artic reads text "echoed" by batch files automatically, the
Wraith Blaster batch file that starts the game (WB.BAT) has had
the AGT title screen text added to it.  Now even blind players
can give proper credit to Malmberg and Welch!

2. AGT offers the option of forcing the game's output through the
BIOS rather than writing directly to screen memory.  To do this,
you invoke the /B switch when starting the game.  If you
understand batch programming, you can add this switch to the line
in WB.BAT that says "runb wb".  Or you can bypass the batch file
by just typing in : "runb wb /B".  Either way, the latest version
of Artic will then read everything, including the title screen,
automatically.  This may also work with other screen readers.  It
does slow things down some, though.

B.  Sound Effects

A number of sound effects occur during the game.  They are there
to add interest for all players, but they are a helpful shortcut
for people who don't want to wait for the screen reader to report
frequently-appearing messages.  Unique sounds identify each of
the following occurrences:

ship shields repaired        your ship is attacked
enter orbit                  your ship is hit
dock                         sensors on
your ship destroyed          ship located
ship identified              out of fuel
fire laser                   fire missile
fire phaser                  fire photon torpedo
fire particle beam           fire disintegrator

ACCESS NOTES FOR PLAYERS WITH LIMITED DEXTERITY

A great many of the commands and words you will need to input in
Wraith Blaster have been abbreviated to save keystrokes.  Words
which are standard to AGT games, such as directional commands,
are abbreviated; they can also be entered with the cursor keys.
Several standard commands can be initiated using the function
keys.  See below for explanations.  Abbreviations for words
unique to Wraith Blaster are listed here.

Ship Controls         Trade Goods           Ship Weapons

Cargo C               electronics EL        laser LA
Dock DO               drugs DR              missile M MI
Energy EE             entertainment EN      phaser P PH
Identify ID           platinum PLA          photon torpedo T TO
Locate LO             rarities RAR          particle beam B
Orbit O                                     disintegrator DIS DI
Rank RA               Ships
Repair RE                                   Miscellaneous Items
Sensors SS            Enterprise EP
Shields SH            Kaiser KA             price-list PL
Status ST             Asimov AS             prices PL
StatusB STB           Rapier RP             bazooka BZ
StatusM STM           Clarke CK             proprietor PRO
StatusT STT           Heinlein HN
                      Burroughs BR
Miscellaneous Verbs   Sabre SA
credits CR            Kuttner KT
controls CN           Wraith WR

THE GALAXY

It is the year 2753, as reckoned by the Calendar of the Ancients.
The origin of that Calendar is not well-understood in this modern
age, though it is remembered and joked about from time to time.
Some 300 years ago, in the heyday of the One World religion, the
Calendar was taken far more seriously.  In those times belief in
the origin of humanity on the planet Earth was universal, and
rituals commemorating both the planet and the Calendar were
regular, commonplace events attended by nearly everyone.

Today the One World religion survives in mutated form on just one
planet, practiced by very xenophobic people who believe their
planet, not Earth, was the origin of humanity.

The rest of humanity, for the most part, regards the "one-planet"
theory of human genesis as a myth.  Many scientists believe the
"one-planet" theory has merit, but cite a lack of hard evidence
as to which planet it was.

As to the planet itself, Earth's location is well known, but it
is infrequently visited.  It is a backwater, underdeveloped and
dangerous to the unwary traveler.

The Galaxy today is mostly concerned with trade and with the
growing problem of space piracy.  200 years ago, the Colonial
Administration linked all the human planets and represented them
to the friendly non-human races with which humans traded.  The
Colonial Administration (CA) had the power of life and death over
the people on most of the settled planets, then colonies of a
relatively small number of densely-populated planets whose early
history has been forgotten.  The CA also maintained a huge navy
which patrolled the trade routes between planets, protecting
traders and travellers alike.

But people grew weary of the CA's authoritarian ways, and as the
colonies grew and became rich, they were able to hold the CA
increasingly at arm's length.  They stopped following CA orders
and drastically cut the level of financial support that flowed
into the CA's coffers.

The CA adopted more democratic methods, but did so too late to
turn the tide.  Without funds, it had to reduce and eventually
eliminate its navy.  Today it is primarily an exploration and
land-claim regulation service, seeking out and surveying new
planets for colonization.  It also sponsors archaeological
research and provides information to tourists and business
travelers.

As the CA declined, criminals found they could operate with
impunity in the space lanes.  A black market sprang up in ships
and ship weapons, and pirates and murderous psychopaths can now
be found lurking in close orbit around almost every inhabited
planet, waiting for victims.

Interplanetary law enforcement today is sponsored by various
vigilante societies, founded and funded by wealthy traders, some
secretly backed by the larger planetary governments, which
officially keep their hands off events outside their atmospheres.

These societies pay a bounty for the destruction of the ships of
pirates, psychopaths, and bounty hunters who don't follow their
rules.  They also pay those who cause the deaths of such
criminals when not in their own ships.  The societies have
sophisticated monitoring satellites orbiting every planet, and
these are linked to their headquarters via subspace communication
channels.  If a ship or person with a price on its/his/her head
is destroyed, they know instantly, and pay the bounty
electronically to the person responsible almost as quickly.

Despite all this enforcement activity, the likelihood that any
particular criminal will die is still very low.  The average
interplanetary crook is not afraid of death or capture, and so
the trade routes are crowded with dangerous characters who appear
suddenly and inflict death and destruction at will.

The most nefarious and notorious have acquired sufficient wealth
and skill to be the owners and pilots of Wraiths, the fastest,
deadliest ships in the galaxy.  An encounter with one of these is
likely to be fatal to the novice.  In fact, a Wraith cannot even
be detected with the standard equipment on most ships; they will
appear, destroy, and be gone without the hapless trader knowing
what hit him/her.  Even the most experienced and well-equipped
fighter may have trouble if several of them appear at once.

Occasionally there appears in the space lanes a young adventurer
with the will, the guts, and the luck to live long enough to
become a threat to the Wraiths.  It is only these few and
courageous fighters who can keep the galaxy's worst criminals at
bay and offer some measure of protection to travellers and
traders.  It is a dangerous calling, but perhaps the most
honorable and heroic career in the galaxy.

YOUR PLACE IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS

You have grown up on the prosperous planet of Akron, one of the
so-called "original" planets of the galaxy, which later colonized
other planets and helped give birth to the Colonial
Administration.

Living near the spaceport as you do, from your earliest days, you
have been surrounded by the excitement of interplanetary commerce
and adventure.  You have seen the wealthy traders flashing their
precious metals and jewelry, and heard their tales of adventure,
combat, and the finding of rare treasures and unknown places.

For as long as you can remember, you have wanted to be like them.
In your heart of hearts, you have harbored a secret desire to go
up against a Wraith and show what you are made of.  Today, you
will have your chance.

Fresh out of the Akron School of Interplanetary Commerce, from
which you graduated with honors, you have been judged a good risk
by the financiers.  They granted you a loan sufficient to
purchase a modestly-equipped trading vessel, and you have 200
credits left over in your electronic account, with which to
purchase trade goods and begin the long journey to wealth and
power.

Basically, what you learned in the Akron School is to buy cheap
and sell dear, and how to pilot a spaceship.  You have spoken to
several traders, and while they are always happy to regale you
with tales of encounters with death and the exotic, they are
jealous of their secrets and will tell you nothing of importance
about trade routes.

Accordingly, you have a healthy respect for the dangers that
await you, but little idea of where to go.  You realize you need
to find a relatively safe trade route that is profitable, and
build up your funds so you can improve your ship's weaponry
before presuming to challenge the space criminals.  You know that
to do otherwise is likely to result in premature death.

Save your position frequently!

HOW THE GAME WORKS

The game operates in two modes, Ship and Planet.  As the game
begins, your ship is in space dock on a space station; you are in
a spaceport on a planet.  There are places to go and things to do
on nearly every planet.  You should go everywhere and examine
everything you find carefully.  Most items you find will be of
some value to you somewhere in the game.  Some items you will be
able to sell; others will get you out of a jam if used correctly.
(NOTE:  Each time you start a new game of Wraith Blaster, many of
these items are randomly distributed around the galaxy.  You will
not necessarily find them in the same places from game to game!)

If the planet has a trading post, you can buy or sell items for
trade with other planets.  Be careful!  Prices vary; a good deal
on one planet is a rip-off somewhere else.

You can beam up to any planet's space station when you are in its
spaceport; just enter "UP".  If the space station has a Ship
Improvement Shop, you can upgrade your ship's weapons both
offensive and defensive, as well as buy fuel and other ship
improvements.  Beam down to the planet by entering "DOWN".

While on board your ship, you can travel from planet system to
planet system, and encounter and do battle with other ships.
This takes fuel!  Keep an eye on your ENERGY level; you could get
permanently stranded.

WINNING THE GAME

Trading with other planets will increase your wealth.  Becoming
an experienced pilot and space fighter will increase your rank.
Eventually, though, you will find you have achieved all your
goals and will want to retire.  In order to win, you must:

    have at least 30,000 credits (IMPORTANT: see "MONEY", below)
    have achieved the rank of "Master"
    find the right place to retire

VOCABULARY

Wraith Blaster understands many basic commands found in most
adventure games.  In addition to the basic vocabulary, this game
understands the following verbs or commands (with abbreviations):

ORBIT (O)           GIVE               SELL
DOCK (DO)           HAND               CARGO (C)
STATUS (ST)         PAY                INFLATE
LOCATE (LO)         SENSORS (SS)       ENERGY (EE)
IDENTIFY (ID)       FLEE
BUY                 REPAIR (RE)
PURCHASE            SHIELDS (SH)
CREDITS (CR)        RANK (RA)
SHOW

There are also a few more specialized commands.

INTERACTING WITH CHARACTERS

There are several people in the game with whom you may interact.
Most of these interactions will be limited.  It will often be
useful to SHOW (an item in your possession) TO (a trading post)
PROPRIETOR.  It may also be necessary to SHOOT (someone) WITH
(some weapon).

COMMON COMMANDS

The function keys control the most common nondirectional commands
in the game.  Pushing a function key causes the command to appear
on the screen.  If you need to input a noun, the game will wait
until you do so and press enter before continuing.  A command
which does not require a noun, such as "LOOK", will be obeyed
immediately.  You don't need to hit enter.

Function Key                 Command

  F 1                         GET
  F 2                         DROP
  F 3                         EXAMINE
  F 4                         READ
  F 5                         OPEN
  F 6                         CLOSE
  F 7                         INVENTORY
  F 8                         LOOK

MOVING

You can move in the eight most common compass directions, as well
as up and down.  You don't need, and can't use, such words as
"GO", "WALK", "ENTER", or "EXIT".  To move in any direction,
enter the direction you wish to take.  All of these can be
abbreviated to one or two letters:

NORTH N       SOUTH S       EAST E        WEST W
NORTHEAST NE  NORTHWEST NW  SOUTHEAST SE  SOUTHWEST SW

You can also control direction by using the cursor keys as though
the little arrows pointed to the four cardinal directions on a
map.  The other directions can be controlled as follows:

HOME     northwest
PAGEUP   northeast
PAGEDOWN southeast
END      southwest
"-"      up
"+"      down

If you are unsure of where to go at any time, you can enter "LIST
EXITS" and the game will give you the options for your current
location.  (NOTE:  Experienced AGT game players:  Because the
verb "show" is used for other purposes in this game, "SHOW EXITS"
will not work as it does in other AGT games.)

REPEATING COMMANDS

AGT saves your last command and allows you to repeat it, assuming
you haven't entered anything else, without retyping it.  To do
this, enter "AGAIN" or "G".

CHAINING COMMANDS

You can type in several valid commands in a row, separated by
commas, and the game will execute them one at a time.  Of course,
if the results of a command in the chain alters the situation
significantly, the rest of the commands that follow may no longer
be valid.

For example, you can type:

GET CUP, EXAMINE IT, DROP IT, NORTHEAST

Each command will be evaluated and the appropriate response will
occur before the game goes on to the next command in the list.
If dropping the cup causes an explosion and blows you to kingdom
come, you may not be able to go northeast, even though you
entered the command.

AVOID putting "AGAIN" or "G" more than once in a chain of
commands!  Since AGAIN repeats the last command, and the last
command only, something like:

BUY CUP, AGAIN, AGAIN

can produce an endless chain of repeated commands, and your only
escape will be to reset the computer.

BRIEF AND VERBOSE

In the normal course of the game, every time you enter a location
you will get a full description of that location.  This can get
to be pretty boring if you've been to the same place several
times.  (Access Note:  it can be excruciatingly boring to listen
to with the typical screen reader.)  If you enter "BRIEF", you
will only get the full description the first time you enter a new
location.  Each subsequent time you go there, you will only get
the name of the room.

To go back to the full description every time, enter "VERBOSE".

SAVING AND RESTORING

You can save your position at any point in the game.  Just enter
"SAVE"; the game will prompt you for a file name.  To restore a
previously-saved position, just enter "RESTORE"; the game will
list the available save files and ask you to choose one.

SHIP CONTROLS

Once in orbit, the cursor keys and home, end, page up, and page
down control the ship's movement through space.  (Or you can type
in the direction.)

Cargo (C)

This command gives tells you three things:  your cargo bay
capacity; how many units of trade goods you are carrying whether
in the cargo bay or held outside the ship by a tractor array; how
many units of each kind of trade good item you are carrying.

Controls (CN)

This command gives you a list of the ship's controls, with
abbreviations, and describes their functions.

Dock (DO)

This command is used to dock the ship when you are in orbit.

Energy (EE)

You can check your fuel level with this command.  A full charge
of fuel may be purchased at ship improvement shops for 50
credits.  While you may purchase a new charge without having
exhausted the last one, partial charges are not available.

Fire (Shoot)

This command fires the weapon.  You must SHOOT (ship name) WITH
(weapon name).  You will be told whether you have hit or missed.
If hit by a strong enough weapon, the ship is destroyed.  If hit
by a weaker weapon, the ship may be damaged or not.  To do this,
you must know the name of the ship (see below).

Flee

This command causes your ship to dock at the nearest space
station.  It is best used when under attack by large numbers of
ships.  While not foolproof, you have a better chance of
surviving if you FLEE than if you just DOCK.

Identify (ID)

This command will state the class of an uncloaked ship that has
been located.

Locate (LO)

This command allows one to locate a ship that is not cloaked,
once the sensors are on.

Orbit (O)

This command puts you in orbit around the current planet.

Repair (RE)

When in space dock, this command restores your shield strength.
Each repair job costs 30 credits.

Sensors (SS)

This command turns on the ship's sensors and must be used to
locate and identify ships.

Shields (SH)

This command gives you a report of your shield strength.

Status (ST)

This command will tell you whether the ship is docked or in orbit
and at which station or around which planet.

SPACE COMBAT

You may or may not encounter other ships during orbit.  Ships may
be hostile (must be destroyed before they destroy you) or
friendly (will not harm you unless attacked).  Your Early Warning
System will tell you if another ship is nearby.  You must then
gather information about it before you can decide whether to
attack it.

Destroying the ships of pirates or criminals will pay a bounty.
In addition, sometimes a passenger ship contains a criminal.  If
such a ship is destroyed, a bounty is paid.  Finally, one can
purchase a tractor array that recovers cargo.  If you destroy a
cargo ship and there was cargo aboard, the tractor array will
recover the cargo automatically.  The tractor array can hold an
unlimited number of objects OUTSIDE the ship.  Units of trade
goods picked up by the tractor array therefore are not affected
by your cargo bay capacity.  These are reported as item units and
added to the total number of units you are carrying.  They can be
sold at trading posts like other items.

Rank

Destroying certain ships also increases one's rank.  The more
dangerous or aggressive the ships destroyed, the faster your rank
increases.  One's rank affects weapon accuracy; the higher your
rank the less frequently you will miss with a particular weapon.

You can determine your rank at any time in the game by entering
the command "RANK" or "RA".

ATTACK STRATEGY TIPS

To destroy a hostile ship, the pilot must first locate it using
the ship's sensors and determine what kind of ship it is.  Then
the appropriate weapon must be fired.

Certain types of weapons are required to destroy certain types of
ships.  If a player has not yet purchased the weapon and meets a
hostile ship that requires it, the player must flee or die.

Different planets have different levels of ship traffic.
Dangerous ships are more likely to hang around some planets than
others.

ARMOR vs. SHIELDS

The force shield is a ship's first line of defense against
attack.  A direct hit with any weapon will reduce shield
strength.  Different types of weapons reduce shield strength by
different amounts.  Once shield strength is 0, the next accurate
shot will hit the ship's armor directly.  The strength of the
armor determines whether actual damage will occur to the ship
from such a hit.  The more powerful a weapon, the better chance
it has of damaging or destroying an unshielded ship.

YOUR SHIP

Your ship is initially equipped with a laser and 5 missiles.  It
has weak armor and a class 1 shield (Shield1).  You can upgrade
your weapons and shields, but your armor, being a structural
element of the ship, cannot be improved.

OTHER SHIPS

There are ten ship classes in use in the galaxy.  These are
detailed in Jane's Guide to Spaceships, which you may be able to
purchase at some point in the game.  Jane's gives detailed
information on each ship's weaponry, both offensive and
defensive, as well as the strategy employed by the typical pilot
of each class of ship.

Unlike your ship, other ships have varying strengths of armor,
but no shields.  Passenger and freight vessels, and some armed
vessels, are not aggressive and therefore do not fear attack
under ordinary circumstances.  Aggressive armed vessels are
outlaws not permitted to purchase weapons or ship improvements on
the open market.  They can obtain weapons, cloaking devices and
cloaked detectors on the black market, and these items are easily
installed by amateurs.  Shields, however, are very high-tech,
complex equipment which can only be installed in registered Ship
Improvement Shops.

Aggressive ships are actively wanted by the vigilantes; their
destruction pays a bounty calculated according to the
aggressiveness and dangerousness of the ship.

SHIP WEAPONS

Offensive Weapons

You must have a weapon powerful enough to destroy a particular
ship.  A more powerful weapon can kill a weaker ship, but a weak
weapon can't destroy a more powerful ship.

A laser, missile launcher and 5 missiles are standard equipment
on your ship.

The following additional offensive ship weapons are available:

   Weapon                    Price

missiles                      5 for 250
phaser                        2000
photon torpedoes              5 for 1200
particle beam                 5500
beam recharge (50 shots)      500
disintegrator                 8000
cloaked detector              8000

When you have a weapon which must be reloaded, you can enter a
command to learn how many shots you have used.  These commands
are:

Missiles:          STATUSM (STM)
Photon Torpedoes:  STATUST (STT)
Particle Beam:     STATUSB (STB)

Defensive Weapons

The standard class 1 ship shield is rated 100.  Other defensive
ship weapons available include:

    Weapon                  Price

class 2 shield2 (150)        750
class 3 shield3 (250)        2500
class 4 shield4 (400)        5000
cloaking device              10,000

PERSONAL WEAPONS

You will need hand weapons to survive a number of situations on
various planets.  You will have to look sharp to find the right
weapon.

MONEY

You start out with 200 credits.  All money transactions are
handled electronically; you never have any cash in hand.  Trading
posts and ship improvement shops are always honest and will buy
and sell for the posted prices.  Other folks may not be so
reliable, but you have no choice.

VERY IMPORTANT!! - - - - - - - - VERY IMPORTANT!!

YOU CANNOT HAVE MORE THAN 32,767 CREDITS.  Here's why:

Computers, surprisingly enough, have problems with large numbers.
The amount of memory needed to manipulate numbers with lots of
zeros is prohibitive.  The alternative is to express large
numbers in ways that don't use so much memory.  This is usually
done with "scientific" or "exponential" notation.  For example,
the "integer" 50,000 can be expressed exponentially as 50 times
10 to the third power, or, in computer language, as 50*(10^3).

For reasons I don't understand, the range of numbers which a
computer can handle when expressed as an integers is -32,767 to
32,767.  Numbers above or below this range must be expressed
exponentially.  If this is not done, the computer will take your
number and do a computation on it to put it back into the
acceptable range.  it doesn't care whether this new number is
positive or negative, so long as it's in the range.

So, computers CAN handle large numbers when expressed properly.
Unfortunately, AGT games CAN'T, at least when they are written by
people who aren't programmers.  The AGT system doesn't understand
exponential notation.  It can only use integers within that range
of -32,767 to 32,767.

In Wraith Blaster, therefore, if you sell something that ought to
raise your total above 32,767 credits, you will suddenly find
yourself with LESS THAN 0 credits.  A LOT less.  The computer's
computation will give you somewhere around -32,000 credits.  If
that happens, even if you have an extended cargo bay full of
rarities and manage to sell them at the highest price, you will
still have less than 0 credits.  In other words, you'll have to
restart or restore, because you won't even be able to buy fuel.

You need, among other things, at least 30,000 credits to win.  If
you have that much, concentrate on reaching Master rank and
finding the right retirement spot so you can win.  You will need
to destroy ships to increase your rank, and doing so will bring
in bounty credits.  Watch your credits carefully!  Buy and sell
just enough to keep your energy up, your weapons loaded, and your
total just over 30,000.

TRADE

Certain planets have trade opportunities.  You can purchase goods
at some planets and sell them at others.  Different planets sell
and buy at different rates.

Trade items are purchased and sold in standard units for each
type of item, one unit at a time.  The amount of goods you can
buy depends on the state of your bank account and on the size of
your cargo area.  Your ship's standard cargo space hold 20 units,
and you can add an extra cargo bay.

PLANETS

Most planets are inhabitable.  Some are hostile to human life but
can be explored if you have the right equipment (which you will
probably find sooner or later).  The inhabited planets are at
various degrees of development.  Some have Trading Posts on their
surfaces.  Others have Ship Improvement Shops on their space
stations.  A very few have both.

All planets are worth exploring.  You may find profitable trade
markets.  Or you may find valuable treasures for which the
proprietors of certain trading posts will pay handsomely.  Or you
may find the equipment you need to explore previously fatal or
inaccessible places.

Any planet can be dangerous if you don't have the right weapons
or protection.

Good luck!