History VideoGame / SpaceRangers

** Fragment and energy weapons can fire until they break. [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with missile weapons, which have finite ammo and require reloading at a station/planet.

* GlobalCurrencyException: Several text quests that track money will use a distinct currency from credits, so as to prevent from breaking the intended balance by using your vast bank account to buy everything you need. A few will give you a way to convert credits to local currency, but with a ridiculous exchange rate.

* BottomlessMagazines: Fragment and energy weapons can fire until they break. [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with missile weapons, which have finite ammo and require reloading at a station/planet.

* PayEvilIntoEvil: Encouraged against independent pirates, as there's little punishment for attacking and robbing them (even Peleng planets will care only if you blow them up), except for pissing off other independent pirates (but not Clan pirates). If you're in the Coalition, you'll even gain promotion points for killing them.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Yes, pirates are bad... but they are still part of the Coalition and they still protect systems in case of Klissan/Dominator attack. For this reason, it is strongly recommended not to kill Ranger-pirates on higher difficulties.

** Pirates will destroy every installation that isn't theirs when they conquer systems. With the notable exception of Medical stations as even they need good healthcare.

* ExplosiveOverclocking: Some hulls have access to afterburn, which significantly boost the ship's speed, but causes the engine to break within a matter of days. As such, it's typically used in order to get away from enemies, and only for a day or two at a time.

* SpaceTrucker: The transport fill this role, with human transports even being referred to as truckers

* AnarchyIsChaos: While [[AvertedTrope averted]] with Coalition planets in the state of anarchy (as they still function just fine), any system taken over by the pirate clan will be plunged into anarchy, while the planet's background and the government official make it clear that corruption and violent crime are commonplace.

* TheCanKickedHim: One of possible endings of the Prison quest involves other prisoner sticking your head into the toilet until you suffocate.

**

* MedalOfDishonor: Failing quests and destroying innocent ships will lead to you being given special medals for it, all of them meant to shame you for your behavior.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:The ending where you kill both the pirate baron and the Coalition admiral (thus returning the pirates back to the old days of doing what they please), and then defeat the Dominators. Because the pirates aren't properly organized, the whole galaxy falls into complete chaos with the planetary governments fighting each other. In the end, history will know you as galaxy's least succesful hero.]]

** One of the assassination quests involves neutralizing a ship that pretended to be a Dominator in order to steal form a city. The ship's name is "Labean", which is backwards for "Naebal", a swear word that can be translated in the context as "(I) fucking scammed (you)". It's also a [[RefugeInAudacity common name in Russia for organizations created for the sole purpose of performing a scam]].

* MookCommander: Bertors serve in this role for the Dominators, with their field giving a buff to any nearby Dominator ship (damage for Blazeroids, repair for Terronoids, and shields for Keller).

* ExclusiveEnemyEquipment: The Dominators in the second game carry their own set of items that's roughly equivalent to what you can buy in stores at that point in the game. Dominator equipment has its own benefits and drawbacks though -- most notable being that while these items might not cost anything initially, and have no racial restriction on micromodules, upgrading and repairing them costs nodes, which can only be acquired by shooting down more Dominators. These items are also typically less reliable than normal store-bought items.

* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Any player who plays an Anti-dominator pirate suffers from this. Everyone -- as in '''everyone''' -- will consider you a good source of loot: Pirates, Dominators, Rangers, and even traders will find you a decent opportunity for profit. For endgame players, however, this trope can also be played in an [[InvertedTrope inverted fashion]].

* SpacePirates: Two kinds; regular criminals who go around attacking ships, and Space Rangers who choose this way of life. The player can be a pirate too.

** Many text quests allow for the possibility of dying, though this is mitigated by the game always autosaving before you start one. In an even more non-standard way, a few text quests also give you a game over if the quest's events make it impossible for you to continue being a ranger.

* OutOfGenreExperience: Most of the game's text quests tend to either be light-hearted through entirety, or have some breather room and comic relief. The "Cybermind" quest, however, is a full-blown [[AiIsACrapshoot "AI gone bad"]] horror that never lets up and contrasts greatly with the usual tone of the game.

* PressStartToGameOver: Nearly every text quest will give you the option to immediately chicken out from the very moment it starts, with a quite few killing you for that (due to the people giving you the briefing taking the refusal really badly). Some also have opportunities to die right from the start, such as if you attempt escape while being transported to prison, only to get shot by the guards.

* YourMindMakesItReal: The "Testing" quest has you testing a VR game so that it can be tuned to your race's brain, with the waiver you're signing mentioning the possibility of pseudodeath. Indeed, if you die in the game, you'll die for real.

* HumansAreWhite: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] - while the government/station officials and most portraits for humans are clearly of European descent, there's one that appears East Asian, and a few AmbiguouslyBrown ones.

** Diplomatic ships have a tendency to carry weapons and drugs, even if they're illegal on the planet they're arriving at.

* BadassPacifist: The player can be this in the second game. Each dominator boss has a way of defeating them without actually fighting them. [[note]]Convince Keller to search somewhere else for his creators and make him SomebodyElsesProblem; Hack Blazer and make him land somewhere [[AndIMustScream where he can't escape]]; and trick Terronoid into trying to assimilate a star [[TechnicalPacifist which is more than what his body can survive]].[[/note]] There is even an achievement for finishing the game without destroying a single ship -- Dominator or otherwise.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:The ending where you kill both the pirate baron and the Coalition admiral (thus returning the pirates back to the old days of doing what they please), and then defeat the dominators. Because the pirates aren't properly organized, the whole galaxy falls into complete chaos with the planetary governments fighting each other. In the end, history will know you as galaxy's least succesful hero.]]

* ElectionDayEpisode: One of the text quests require you to become elected leader of the planet. The loser [[spoiler:gets blasted by security guards, due to an existing law]]. Within the following seven days, you organize advertisements, press conferences, and try to convince citizens to vote for you.
* EncounterBait: The Transfactor Beacon, an artifact that causes the star system to be attacked by [[ForScience Kelleroid]] dominators -- useful both for LevelGrinding (until a [[ObviousRulePatch certain patch]], at least) and for causing EnemyCivilWar.

* TheFellowshipHasEnded: Since the Ranger corps exists only during the time of a great crisis, it is understood that it will be disbanded after you deal with the current threats to the galaxy. [[spoiler:The Coalition ending of HD where you only defeat the dominators makes it more clear, as most of the rangers return back to a peaceful life. You do, however, manage to hire a few ex-rangers into your own security agency.]]

** Defeat the dominators for the Coalition: [[spoiler:After becoming a LivingLegend, you reject going into politics. Once the Ranger corps has been disbanded (since the pirates were defeated), you end up founding an elite security agency with your ex-Ranger buddies, which wins fame across the entire galaxy for it's combat prowess. In the end, you retire as a well-respected person.]]

** Defeat both the pirates and the dominators: [[spoiler:Same as the above ending, but your retirement only happens after an assassination attempt.]]

** [[spoiler:Downloading Terron into your brain, which leads to you either dying on the spot or becoming a dominator. Either way, your game ends.]]

* SequelHook: In the HD edition, [[spoiler:the ending where you defeat the pirates results in you finding a Ranger recruitment ad, even if you've defeated the dominators, hinting that a new threat to the galaxy has emerged]]. Unfortunately, since SNK has been disbanded, there's no hope of a sequel coming out.
* ScaryDogmaticAliens: The Dominators in the second game.

** One of the assassination quests involves neutralizing a ship that pretended to be a dominator in order to steal form a city. The ship's name is "Labean", which is backwards for "Naebal", a swear word that can be translated in the context as "(I) fucking scammed (you)". It also used to be a common name in Russia for organizations created for the sole purpose of performing a scam.

* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: Indulging too much in violent crime will eventually result in an [[WhatTheHellPlayer angered message]] that causes you to lose experience, along with the possibility of receiving [[MedalDishonor bad medals]] for doing so. If you're part of the Coalition, you'll also lose points towards progressing to the next rank.

* CriticalEncumbranceFailure: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]], as extra weight (including that of the hull itself) does ''slightly'' slow down your ship. That said, just one unit of excess cargo and [[SpaceFriction your ship isn't going anywhere]].

* AndTheAdventureContinues: [[spoiler:In the endings of HD where the pirates are defeated, the PlayerCharacter, having [[FakingTheDead faked their death]] and [[StartingANewLife starting a new life]], ultimately ends up signing back as a ranger after seeing a recruitment ad.]]