you can't become a pirate as pirates are NPCs , but you can attack anything except bases of players with low defenses . so this means when u find an empty planet(which is aquired by some player as a vessel) or a comet cloud which is taken by another player , when clicking on that comet/planet you are given the information of the player who has it or if it is empty . if it is empty its your to take , if not , another information about the player appears (ally / enemy / neutral / pirate) . if it is an enemy or a pirate , any defensive ships around will attack you . if it is an ally or a neutral you can come close to explore/pass-by . if you attack a neutral player and defeat him you may take his vessel . you can't attack an ally before breaking up the alliance between you 2 .

attacking a neutral player give you some negative points , after some number you will be put as a "wanted" player where other players are well-paid to destroy you . plus you are marked as "enemy" for that player and all of his allies ... good luck haha be careful who you attack

attacking players listed as "wanted" does not give you any negative points or mark you as their enemy !

having a bad hangover ... couldn't think about more !