in dealing with any alien life form, for the purposes of trade, there are three cardinal rules:
- Learn the body language of the alien race
- Cover up your body scent
- Beware of Carapace concealed weapons
But there were some hints about obscure functionality - It is rumoured that the Galactic Navy are designing their own remote-controlled fighter, and will pay well for Thargoid ones to study - this could be done in the game. Also there were some hints about the possibility of capturing enemy escape capsules and then selling them as slaves.
I played the Electron version, which was even more limited, as the Electron's video chip couldn't do all the tricks the BBC Micro's could. (I think you even got some of the game memory looking like random garbage on screen. But that could have been a different game.)
They were though in an Edge Magazine article of Sep 2000 https://i.imgur.com/nV38XjA.png except the screenshot is fake.
As is the one on the back of the BBC Micro versions packs, actually! :)
Chris (erstwhile Acornsoft Publications Editor)
Also - fuck docking.