Diplomacy

Diplomacy is the art of talking to others, even alien races, without making them go hostile immediately. It's also the art of swallowing insults regarding the appearance of your ship or your general shape as a simian sapient species.

Overview
The diplomatic interface allows you to interrogate aliens and learn new things about the greater galaxy. The goal is to ally Earth with as many aliens as possible, so that the Scryve don't kill everyone back home. Star Control would like that, as would billions of people who live on our little backwater planet.

Trading
Whether at a starbase, outpost or Star Control itself there are plenty of opportunities to trade in the wider spur. No matter what you buy or sell you will be using Resource Units or RUs for short. The main way you get RUs is through selling rare elements you can collect from different worlds, as a reward from exploring or accomplishing something, or by trading in modules you do not want or need anymore.

You can buy fuel and landers, ships for your fleet, new technologies and even new modules for your Vindicator-class flagship. Be aware that once you install a new module swapping out an old one you will still keep the old module in storage unless you sell it off.