A comet is a kind of ship on the Ames network which may be quickly generated by anyone and which are virtually unlimited. They have many uses, including but not limited to:

• free identities for new users to try things out before deciding to purchase a planet.
• bots
• remaining anonymous
• testing software

Comets have nearly all the same capabilities as a planet. The restrictions they do possess are technical constraints of the system due primarily to the fact that they have no presence on Azimuth, rather than purposefully placed blockades.

• They may not change their networking keys.
• They may not spawn moons.
• They must initiate all direct messages with other ships. The last constraint has a workaround slated. If you wish to change your networking keys, we suggest generating a new comet. Moons are impossible for comets due to the structure of the address space.

Some groups on Landscape may not allow comet membership, but this is rare.

Further reading

• Creating a Comet: A guide to spinning up a comet of your own.