I was thinking of making a singleplayer php-based text-based game (with some image representation).. and I was wondering what your opinions of this were... I could even use a little help if anyone has some free time and has some knowledge of html and php:
In space raider, you are in command of your own "Raider" class vessel. It is a small ship with two parellel guns on either side of her. Your task is to navigate through space, attempting to locate rival pirates and merchant trader ships. Police vessels constantly patrol between planet and systems, you can attack them, negotiate, or just make a run for it. When you attack a vessel, it may attack back, flee, or surrender. Only when it surrenders can you raid it. Destroying a ship accidentally (or on purpose) will just put a higher bounty on your head, and more vessels (pirate and police) will attempt to intercept you. As you gain credits from raiding vessels, you can buy equipment and ships. Equipment ranges from weapons, shields, even subspace inverters. Each of the three forces in the game (Raiders, Police, Traders) have a unique ship capable of holding a certain amount, and type of weapon. Each vessel also has a unique capability. Ships are expensive, but a more powerful vessel can do a great deal more for your status and power. Ultimately you want to gather enough resources to construct the greatest ship, and become the dominate force in the galaxy!
Vessels consist of the following classes. Class is ranked in order of power and size, starting from the weakest, and proceeding to the mightiest.
Class: Pirate (You / Hostile to all)
Raider, Turanic, Renegade, Thief, Assassin, Warbird, Hellscream, Dominator, War Cruiser.
Class: Police (Hostile to Pirates, Friendly to most Traders)
Patroller, Cruiser, Enforcer, Suppressor, Regulator, Punisher, Controller, War Frigate, Dreadnought.
Class: Traders (Neutral on contact of Pirates, Mostly Friendly to Police)
Ant, Tug, Hauler, Wasp, Diplomat, Heavy Freighter, Turtle, Armored Transport, Starship.
You move from system-to-system, with encounters along the way. Usually an encounter starts with a battle, but under certain situations, an alternative may be presented. During battle, you have a certain number of warheads, different level of guns, and a special ability. The enemy has the same options (but completly at random, im not planning a one-on-one option anytime soon).
Special Abilities range anywhere from Repulsor Shields which deflect shots back at your opponent, to guns that take several rounds of devoting your turn to charging the cannon.
Ship-damage representation is demonstrated by a simple image of the ship, and a visual image of what the ship looks (perfectly fine to falling apart). A light blue glow around the ship informs you of shields. The ultimate goal of a battle is to force your enemy to surrender. However, some ships will attempt to flee at first, and allowing a ship to flee by not pursuing it could have rewards on its own (status with other pirates, favors, etc).
Again, all playing of this game is through a browser-based environment with no fancy applets, ActiveX (including flash), or other animated presentations. Just Some text, a few small images, and a web-form to make decisions from. Hopefully by preloading all images into the browser before the game, even users with slow-modems can enjoy a fast page-reload time.
I'm interested in your thoughts, and anyone who would like to help. (This project is not in anyway a part of Full Circle).
edit: Minor spelling/grammer corrections
