User:Sm8900/game-info

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Starships!

Developer(s) Rabid Panda
Designer(s) Rabid Panda
Platform(s) Web browser
Release date August, 2004
Genre(s) Science Fiction MMORPG
Mode(s) Multiplayer

Starships! is an HTML/text-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by Rabid Panda Ranch. Starships is a free multiplayer game about high adventure in space. Players can be in a fleet, mine for valuable and exotic materials, trade items, and explore unknown regions of space.

The game uses the typical "action point" mechanic which limits the amount of actions a character can take in a single day of real time. The game costs nothing to play.

Starships! went live in September 2004 and has over 100,000 registered players as of April 2007.

The Starships community consists of dozens of independent fan, roleplay, and support sites. The game has received reviews (both positive and negative) on dozens of review sites in several languages. For other examples of this type of game, see the list of browser games.


Contents

[edit] Gameplay

The game begins in a tiny mining vessel, and the player spends a considerable amount of time simply blasting asteroids (which don't fight back), and avoiding larger adversaries. Daily trips to Outpost One will keep the player supplied. As the player's ship grows and is outfitted with ever more powerful items, it will be able to defeat more and more powerful adversaries, ranging from pirate scouts to attack bases.

A screenshot of the outpost 1 area, where players start.
A screenshot of the outpost 1 area, where players start.

Starships receive a steady trickle of fuel from their engines, which are used up any time they move, fight, or undertake any other sort of activity. Depending on the power of your engines, the starship may receive as much as 900 fuel per day. When a starship's fuel is gone, that starship is unable to do anything until they have accumulated some fuel again. The use of Fuel Points as a realtime limit on character actions is similar to the systems of several other free MMORPGs.

As players damage their opponents or perform certain other actions, their command points increase. Command points determine your rank in the game, which can be anything from a Cadet to Galactic Overlord.

Several starships can band together and form a fleet. Fleets can offer their members many special advantages, such as discount items, or the ability to dock at the fleet base free from being attacked.

Some players and groups on all sides have also set their own distinct goals, many of which are set for purely role-playing purposes.

Not everything in the game can be bought for credits (the in-game currency), some things must be obtained by doing various missions. Also, there are many side adventures that may be played (off plot play), for example there is a restaurant at the Gy Casino base called the "Le Cafe Humian" which caters to humans. Unfortunately the cook there has no idea what human food is supposed to look like or taste like, and the results are hilarious. Do not be surprised if you get a scoop of sauerkraut on your ice-cream sundae. There are also a lot of side missions which one may accept, as well as a lot of plots involving other players.

[edit] Fleets

Fleets in Starships! function in much the same way that clans in other games do. Not only does a fleet provide a format for many starships to work together for a common cause, but it allows for the use of specialized ships for specialized tasks. A large starships may now have a number of support ships. There are also other benefits to joining (or starting) a fleet, such as the ability to dock at the fleet base for protection. (Starships! is played in a persistent universe) Fleet bases may also grow in power and size, developing a wonderland of banks, stores, repair shops, etc.

[edit] Supporters

Those who choose to support the game with real money do not receive anything that cannot be obtained in-game. This is one of the draws to the game. Some of the most powerful starships in the game belong to non-supporters. Supporters of the game are thanked by being given a supporter page which allows the player to showcase themselves and their starship. They can put virtually anything they like on their supporter page, and functions a bit like a personal webpage or blog with a game slant. It is also possible to purchase a sub-space radio which is basically an in-game chat engine. there are things that can only be obtained by real money and cannot be bought by game credits. this is the fineprint truth.

[edit] External links

[edit] Reviews

[edit] Bibliography

  • The Legend of the Syndicate: A History of Online Gaming’s Premier Guild, (by World of Warcraft) ISBN 1933770023. To be released in the August 2007.