Foreword - 2025-12-11
Just a few days after publishing the previous translation patch, the pics of manual was sent to me by the very person who created the MobyGames page that ironically started me on this project.
I've attempted to recreate the official manual as best I can, bar some images and the generic support page at the back.
I've also included a map and a planet list, based on the physical copies that come with the box.
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Thank you everyone, and enjoy once again.

Foreword - 2025-11-25
This translation was started on September 22nd, and just after two months later it is finally playable from start to end (and some in between).
I've documented as much of the controls and gameplay as I could, but there's definitely elements that are missing due to not having the full picture of the game's functionality.
Finding the actual manual would make this process a lot easier, but so far no copies have been digitised.
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This patch has been uploaded to romhack.ing with a backup on my own website (bonoko.dev), feel free to re-upload wherever you see fit.
I've also included a separate document on my translation notes should anyone wish to make changes in the future or translate to other languages.
All I ask is that any modifications be added to the changes list using YYYY-MM-DD formatting and add yourself to the credits.
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Enjoy.

Changes
- 2025-12-11
  - grammar and spelling corrections
  - more Magus tips translated
  - Kenihhi changed to Keni'hi (requires new game to take effect)
  - Magus' surname changed from Fairwell to Farewell to match the official manual
  - character names kept as-is despite official English translations being provided in the official manual
  - "Pilot" changed to "Helm" for the crew screen
  - crew screen roles padded for better alignment
  - "Researcher" ship type changed to "Explorer"
- 2025-11-25
  - most of the main dialogue, general dialogue, and menus have been translated
  - untranslated dialogue is either unused, baked into an image (coming in a later update), or I was unable to reach them after three full playthroughs

Credits
- BNK - main translation
- grundo1561 - for creating the MobyGames page I stumbled upon this game through, and taking pics of the manual for translation
- Magnvs - for the blog post that gave me further details on to this game after I stumbled upon it
- BabaJeanmel - for sending me to the PC-98 Discord and sending me to the right people when I hit hurdles
- Alpharobo - for figuring out the character formatting and modifying the text input to allow half-width Latin characters

Disclaimer:
Partial non-LLM machine translation was used for more obscure terminology and robot characters that speak with a broken Japanese dialect.
Every other translation was done by a human with a dictionary aid.

Controls
- General
  - LMB - action
  - RMB - change action (interact, look, talk)
- Landed
  - interacting with a label will "enter" its "room"
  - looking at a planet or station will trigger an exploration prompt, only works on uninhabited planets
  - interacting with the arrow at the top of the window will leave the planet or station
  - leaving a planet or station passes time by one day
- Room
  - interacting with the arrow at the bottom of the window will "leave" the "room"
    - some rooms have further rooms depending on context
  - interacting with the environment on certain spots will trigger its action
  - looking at the environment will on certain spots trigger a dialogue response
  - looking at a character will display their portrait, with no additional responses
  - talking to a character will trigger a dialogue response, the type will vary depending on the context
    - rumours, these progress the story or provide a hint as to where to go next
    - tips, these include market info and wanted criminals in the area
    - generic, random dialogue that has no bearing on the story or the region
    - special, dialogue for a character that has some relation to a member in your crew
- Space
  - interacting when the cursor is an arrow will move the shuttle in that general direction indefinitely
  - moving passes time by one day every couple of seconds
  - interacting with the shuttle will trigger the wait prompt
  - looking at the shuttle will show its stats
  - interacting with a planet or station will trigger the autopilot prompt
    - some planets can't be jumped to and must be approached first, the Japanese dialogue refers to these planets as "stars" and landing on them was probably unintended
  - passing too close to a planet or station will trigger the same prompt, but larger planets will also trigger a gravity well warning that will damage the ship if not careful
  - looking at a planet or station will tell you any facilities it might have, but only if you've already visited it
  - looking at a station will tell you its facilities as well as which systems it links to and which systems you have access to, regardless of whether you've already visited it or not
  - interacting with a shuttle will prompt the auto-follow prompt, if you manage to catch up then you'll be prompted if you want engage in combat
  - looking at a shuttle will tell you its specs, as well its pilot if you've already met them
  - talking to a shuttle will trigger a comms prompt
  - RMB - cancel action
- System Map
  - interacting with a planet or station will trigger the autopilot prompt, asking if you want to use the hyperdrive unit to jump instantly or engage standard propulsion
    - note that jumping risks ending up at the wrong location and damage is incurred each time it's attempted, but the fuel cost is smaller than propulsion in a lot of cases
  - looking at a planet or station will tell you any facilities it might have, but only if you've already visited it
  - looking at a station will tell you its facilities as well as which systems it links to and which systems you have access to, regardless of whether you've already visited it or not
  - interacting with a shuttle in radar range will prompt the auto-follow prompt, , asking if you want to use the hyperdrive unit to jump instantly or engage standard propulsion
    - note that jumping risks ending up at the wrong location and damage is incurred each time it's attempted, but it's usually the only way to catch up to ships in the early game
    - if you manage to catch up then you'll be prompted if you want engage in combat
  - looking at a shuttle in radar range will tell you its specs, as well its pilot if you've already met them
  - talking to a shuttle in radar range will trigger a comms prompt
- Star Chart
  - looking at a system will tell you its planets and stations, as well as which goods are illegal to own during a stop and search
- Foot Combat
  - LMB - shoot
- Space Combat
  - combat involves deploying ships and having them whittle down the enemy ships and reaching their shuttle
  - the only winning condition is defeating the enemy shuttle, the only losing condition is having your shuttle defeated
    - note that defeating the enemy shuttle also counts as capturing the captain with regards to police bounties
  - upon entering the battle, Magus will prompt you to select a strategy
  - strategies have 4 options
    - Midway, a balanced approach where ships will move forward to meet the enemy ships, the shuttle will take this role if there are no ships scrambled
    - Def., a defensive approach where ships will stay close to the shuttle until enemy ships approach it, the shuttle will take this role if there are no ships scrambled
    - Off., an offensive approach where ships will move forward to meet the enemy ships, joined by the shuttle
    - Flee, a retreating approach where the shuttle will attempt to flee the battlefield
  - you'll then be prompted to scramble up to 6 ships per field to support the shuttle, there are 4 types of ship
    - Researcher, used for finding ore veins, cannot be used in combat
    - Fighter, an dog-fighter ship that can slip through enemy defences easier, cannot attack shuttles
    - Attacker, a defence-based ship with high defence, can attack shuttles
    - Interceptor, an all-around ship, can attack shuttles
  - at this point you can begin the battle, but you can change the strategy if you wish
  - there are 4 orders you can issue to individual ships by talking to them
    - Rush, ship will slip through enemy defences after defeating its facing enemy ship, continuing the attack to the enemy ship or enemy shuttle on the other side
    - Cover Fire, ship will be attacked first if an enemy ship or enemy shuttle attempt to target it
    - Target, ship will prioritise attacking a specific enemy ship, attacking a facing enemy ship first if necessary and slipping through enemy defences
    - Flee, ship will attempt to return to the shuttle while defending itself from enemy fire, ideal to use with the Flee strategy to give the shuttle time to flee against faster enemy shuttles
    - Abort, ship will ignore previous order
  - if a ship gets too damaged it may ask to pull back, it may stay in the fight and slowly repair itself while fighting but agreeing to the request will have it slowly retreat to the shuttle
  - if a ship evades it will retreat to the shuttle immediately
  - talking to the enemy captain will present 4 options
    - Demand, ask for money for their surrender
    - Give Up, surrender yourself in exchange for money
    - Truce, both parties agree to end the battle with nothing lost and nothing gained
  - right-clicking at the end of each round will pause the battle and allow a change in strategy and orders, as well as scrambling new ships
    - note that this is hard to trigger, tapping it repeatedly is the easiest way to do it

Gameplay
- trading jobs can be accepted from the Job Center
- bounty hunting can be carried out by engaging the target in combat
  - you can find targets by checking Police Office wanted board
  - the comms officer will sometimes give an update on new bounties sent out over broadcasts
  - bartenders will sometimes give an update on new bounties that have visited their bar recently
- travel between systems can be done through most stations (marked with the ST prefix) using their HD Port
  - stations can only access 6 systems at once
  - systems with two stations will give access to different lanes
  - lane access can be purchased from an appropriate P-Counter
- uninhabited planets can be explored with a survey ship (I have never had this result in something, so I don't know what happens after this other than knowing it's mining-related)
  - mining rights can be purchased from a P-Counter
  - mining requires a large ship
- trade can be conducted at markets, M-markets, or black markets
  - the stock exchange and goods news can also be viewed at markets and M-markets
  - the comms officer will sometimes give an update on market changes sent out over broadcasts
  - each system has its own banned goods
  - being inspected by a Federation shuttle with any of them will result in a small-large fine or being let go on rare occasions
- shuttles, ships, weapons, and equipment can be acquired in different ways
  - most can be purchased from Gramen INC
  - more powerful ships can be pillaged from enemy Federation shuttles
  - shuttles can be upgraded from a Dock
- passing shuttles can be contacted or battled
  - attacking Rocka Bats shuttles unprompted will draw unwanted attention
  - attacking Federation shuttles may incur a bounty (this is unconfirmed and very difficult to test)
- combat can be practiced after buying a membership card at the bar on Alley Road in Dizet, I recommend enabling mouse rapid for the third course
- an exclusive market can be found on Ponam in the Ghost system (the trigger to access them have not been found) unknown where, presumed to be the UCPO Bases on some stations or the membership-only market in Ghost but )
- visiting locations will sometimes prompt a special event, with varying outcomes
  - at least one will recruit a new crewmate
  - at least one will give a unique item
  - a hyperdrive can be acquired from the Dock on Aquas after step [10]
  - visiting the bar on Aquas after step [10] will prompt a bar fight with Rocka Bats
  - visiting the bar on ST Acacia will prompt you to visit the bar on Platina Palace to buy military mining rights, this is a missable event that costs 200,000 credits
- taking too long between story points will prompt Magus to remind you of your current task
- if you can't find an NPC to progress the story from a bar, wandering around will prompt Magus to remind you of your task which guarantees the next bar you visit will have an NPC to progress

Walkthrough
1. Go to Island
2. Go to Ghastgul
3. Go to Grass Valley
4. Travel to Prison
5. Go to Platina Palace
6. Travel to Area R1
7. Ask around for rumours
8. Leave orbit
9. Ask around for rumours
10. Travel to Alms
11. Go to Easy Money
12. Go to the ST Camellia
13. Visit the HD Port
14. Leave orbit
15. Travel to R3
16. Ask around at for rumours
17. Go to Wetter
18. Go to Diesels Stern
19. Maze route - ULUU
20. Wander around for Magus to mention a news article
21. Find a database
22. Travel to Gold
23. Visit First Prize
24. Travel to Area R3
25. Visit Diesels Stern
26. Travel to New Frontier
27. Visit Dry Seven
28. Visit Sachs
29. Travel to Gold
30. Visit First Prize
31. Wander around for 10 days (Magus will not mention when the time has passed)
32. Return to First Prize
33. Travel to Alms
34. Visit Valencia
34.5. Rocka Bats will begin chasing you from this point on; these fights can be won but are extremely hard, either avoid or flee if you can
    - Scorpio R is the fastest
    - Bridge travels at about the same speed as the player
    - Yael travels the slowest, and the only one you encounter wandering different systems before this step in the game
    - Divac usually tries to flee the player unless they're badly damaged, in my experience
    - other Rocka Bats members like Rat and Big Ed can be found in different systems at random
35. Travel to Area R3
36. Go to Diesels Stern
37. Travel to Gold
38. Visit First Prize
39. Travel to Area R2
40. Ask around for rumours
41. Leave the planet to pass one day
42. Land again, and ask around for rumours
43. Go to Mamie
44. Travel to Area R1
45. Go to Grass Valley
46. Travel to Gold
47. Visit First Prize
47.5. If you need a B-16-D type shuttle, they're available in Silver
48. Travel to New Frontier
49. Visit WAP NEO
50. Wander around for 10 days (Magus will remind you a few days after this in case you don't notice)
51. Travel to Gold
52. Visit First Prize
53. Visit Aquarium
53.5. Rocka Bats will continue to follow you into this system, be careful
54. Maze route - LRFRF
55. Backtrack to split after activating indent
56. Go left
57. Warp to Gold
58. Visit First Prize
59. Travel / Warp to Area R2
59.5. Bridge will start to supersede Scorpio R as the main threat so long as Ron is on board; his regular speed remains the same, but he now has a chance of warping on top of the player
60. Visit Mamie
61. Travel / Warp to Gold
62. Visit First Prize
63. Find a database
64. Travel / Warp to New Frontier
65. Visit WAP NEO
66. Travel / Warp to Dizet
67. Visit RP030D
68. Wander around for 10 days (Magus will remind you a few days after this in case you don't notice)
69. Travel / Warp to New Frontier
70. Visit WAP NEO
71. Warp to D.23
72. Visit Allert
73. Warp to Gold then visit First Prize for lore details, or skip to step [74]
74. Warp to Area R3
75. Visit Diesels Stern
76. Travel to Gold
77. Visit First Prize
78. Travel to Paradia
--- The Endgame ---
78.5. Make any final preparations before continuing from this point onwards.
79. Visit Arcadia
80. Visit Allert
81. You should have 10 of any (A) type ship, good luck cause this is semi-random and I've never been able to find a consistent pattern to winning the fight