Hi, I am working on a new roguelike called Galaxy of Rogues (working title though I kind of like it). I wanted to get some feedback on some of my ideas.
I wont get into much detail on the setting, but it is a space game were you control a single ship and explore the galaxy. One of the key components of the game is going to be movement. During your turn, you use the movement keys to adjust your speed, but you are limited in how much you can change your velocity by your ship's acceleration. This means you will need to think about your next move or two, otherwise you may collide with an asteroid (or worse).
Velocity and heading will be very important in combat where your movement relative to enemies is vital. Most weapons will have their chance to hit based on relative motion (among other things). A ship going left to right is harder to hit than one heading directly towards you. Various types of weapons will also be impacted by your velocity. Kinetic energy weapons do more damage if you and your enemy are heading directly towards each other. Beam weapons do additional damage for each turn you consecutively hit so staying in range is important. For simplicity, all weapons will have 360 degree firing arcs so you don't have to worry about anything but you and your targets velocity vectors.
Because movement is so important, I want to make sure to get it right which is why I am asking for feedback. I have attached a little demo program so you can try it out (requires Java 7). The arrow keys adjust your velocity and the space key executes your move (note your top speed is 4 and maximum acceleration is 2. The asterisks indicate the path of your next move). There is a randomly generated asteroid field, but that is just for show. Let me know if you have any comments or suggestions. Thanks.
Jar file:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1640698/Galaxy%20of%20Rogues.jar