Movement is based on turns that last one solar day so depending on a ship's speed, it can move a certain distance in one day. There are definitely some comparisons that can be drawn to Star Control for its fixed top down camera, but it's actually got much more like Freelancer mixed with some turn-based mechanics. Money and experience are gained through quests and actions against the Dominators and can be used to increase character stats and improve ships and equipment. How that happens is really up to the players. Players begin as meager entries into the ranks of the Rangers and work their way up in notoriety, riches, and strength. How that happens is very open for interpretation. Players will need to climb up the Ranger ranks, gain new equipment, kill lots of dominators, help research thrive, and eventually take out the three main Dominator command units. The Space Rangers are the first line of defense against these invaders and are pretty much an autonomous organization built as military and trade support. The game (released in Europe for quite some time and finally released in North America) is centered around a galactic struggle with a mechanized race known as the Dominators which showed up out of nowhere to give the five main galactic races a pounding.
Space Rangers 2 is at its basics an adventure/RPG set in space.