Hello! I am currently working on a space game, where you control a ship and engage in battles with other players. Alright so I have come a long way in developing my game. I have support for multiple players through winsock tcp/ip programming, most of the collision detection done, code for shooting missiles and bullets, code for moving the players, and a cloaking ability to hide your ship from other players. Yet obviously, these things alone do not make a great game. I would like to know what kinds of abilities or weapons people who like to play these kinds of games would like to see implemented. I am thinking of maybe letting players create special weapons or abilities through the use of scripts, just a thought. My game has alot of room for improvement in that I'd gladly implement features if any of you would like a space game with certain features. I am not new to programming, but this would be my first complete game, and any help would be much appreciated. I have more info on my site, which I will be updating soon and more often as my game gets closer and closer to the public testing stage.

The link isn't working for me. I'll try to help you out just as long as I can get a better idea of your gameplay.

Thank you! :) I do not know why the link isn't working for you, maybe my host was doing maintenance? Anyway I am coding some more pages for my web site right now. The game is called Vivid War (©2004 Joel A. Bruce) and the controls are standard w, a, s, d, space to fire primary cannon, and ctrl for the cloaking ability. Left arrow key turns ship left, and right arrow key turns ship right.

I have downloads available for older versions of my game. My newest build fixes some bugs that only seemed to occur (sometimes) when more than two players joined a game, and it also now uses XML. This version is not on the site yet.

Any more questions? I will gladly tell you all I can about my game :)

Okay site is loading now but I'm having trouble finding what i'm looking for. Here's what I would think is important to get an Idea from your game:

How do you control your ship?
(controls mechanics excetera)

Have you thought about any backstory?
(using a story as a base is a great way to create gameplay features that are consistent, cohesive, and fun)

How do you handle multiplayer?
(death-match style, defend/destroy, capture the flag, ect)

Answer these and we'll get started[wink]

[edit - forget to mention that your site is loading now]

Rough Storyline
Set in the future, human morality has drastically declined. Life to the majority is boring, greatly due to the fact that we have gained much of what we have worked for. For many, entertainment is found in battles fought by ships of vast power.

style of Gameplay
The game will be using a top down old school 2-d engine, similar to the 1942 games. Certain power-ups (such as health restore, and armor boosts) will float around the playing field.

Currently the game only supports search and destroy mode, you find a player and blow him away before he blows you away. I would like to implement a trade mode where players could trade special wepaons they have created/found. I am also considering tournaments. Examples would be teams of ships engaging in combat (similar to clan fighting on alot of games), races where a player could try to obliterate another if he/she was in the player's way.

I would think that weapon stealing would be more fun and fit better then weapon trading in a seek and destroy competition. Maybe you could create some sort of stun weapon that would freeze an enemy for a given time. While the enemy was frozen, a player who makes contact with him automatically steals his weapons. You would have to make the duration of the freeze short though, or it would kill the action and make it too easy to steal.

What do ya think?

A steal weapon might be a fun idea! It would have to be limited to a mode where players know that their weapons could be stolen hehehe. You brought up an idea also, what about a special weapon/ability that would let you "learn" a weapon, that way the other player doesn't lose his original weapons? Or do you think it would be more fun to steal your enemy's weapons and have him powerless?

As far as a stun weapon, I think that would be very fun ;)

Thats a good question that is completely up to you. If you want to make it so you can 'learn' a weapon, you are adding an RPG element to your game. If you want to make it so that all weapons can be stolen then I would say you are making it more of an Action game. So which way to go is really personal preference.

Well that is something I will consider. I kind of want a nice blend between a space shooter and a rpg.

I am not discounting your idea of stunning an enemy and stealing his weapon, I could easily see how that could be fun. I am just trying to figure out what would be "the most fun for the most people." More bang for your buck ;) Maybe that could be a game mode even? First person to steal everyone else's weapons wins?

In alot of space shooters I remember you would destroy enemies and a power-up would hover around. Would it be cool to steal the weapon(s)/abilities of defeated ships? That would stay in touch with that genre more closely. Maybe even give a looting option to pick one weapon/ability from a ship you destroy?

In RPGs, character/party development along side with a great story was paramount for a successful game. Yes I know great graphics, music, and sound effects help, but I am more focused on gameplay ;)

Alot of people play a shooters for a quick fix. Many don't care about a background story. While RPG players tend to like the depth and character customization.

I would like your thoughts on this though :)