The following is an introduction to the game sourced from the VGA Planets
Homepage
VGA Planets is a graphical, multi-player, play by electronic
mail, space war game. This game simulates combat in space between galactic scale
empires. The game emphasizes colonization of space and the development of the
planets that you will find, colonize and/or conquer. How well you develop these
resources will determine what kind of starships (freighters and capital ships)
you will be able to produce and how well you will be able to defend your space
and attack your neighbors.
This game is designed to be a strategic and
tactical game of warfare, but you will also need to be able to build an economy
and service your empire. With a well developed strong economic base you will
have a greater potential for winning the game.
As the leader of your
empire you are responsible for all of the decisions that effect your growth and
production (excluding, of course, being attacked by your neighbor). You will
decide how to best develop your planets with the resources available to you. You
will decide what type of starship(s) to be built at your starbase(s). You are
the mastermind behind your race and you are in a race to see which empire can
first conqueror the universe.
At the start of the game you are left with
a homeworld, a low tech starbase, and two low tech starships. These are the only
things left of your former empire since the nastiest Ion Storm ever recorded hit
the Echo Cluster. You will need to manage your planets population, money,
minerals and other resources very wisely, for these are your only sources of
production early in the game. If you manage them well you will be able to expand
quickly expand and broaden your economic and mineral base quickly, while still
keeping a wary eye on your potentially dangerous neighbors. Remember while you
are growing and becoming stronger so are your neighbors.
VGA Planets is designed to be able to handle from two to eleven players in a play by mail
(electronic mail) game format. The game is designed to be played as a Net or Bulletin Board System (BBS) game (as long
as file transfers are permitted and available), although it can be played solely
on one computer. Many of the Net players are playing using
E-mail.
WINPLAN is the latest version of the VGA Planets Player Client.
WINPLAN offers the users of VGAP a lot of integrated functions that were
formerly taken care of by external utilities. WINPLAN offers
auto-plotting of minefields (based on mine sweep messages), plotting of Ion
Storms, Explosions and a whole lot more.
