Planetarion
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Planetarion is a web browser-based multiplayer game. Planetarion is essentially a text-based simulation of futuristic space-conflict. Each individual controls one 'planet', each of which is grouped within a 'galaxy', which in turn is then grouped by 'cluster'. The game operates in real-time on an hourly 'tick' basis, and the objective is simple - to amass as many points as possible through taking the resources of other players. This can be achieved by membership of a leading alliance, early examples of which include Conc, Vts, Fury and F-crew (the oldest surviving alliance). Players attack planets, a strategic task (each unit has several stats), in order to steal resource producing "asteroids", of which there are three types: Metal, Crystal and Eonium. These resources are used to improve planetary defences, to research and to construct items and ships, and to power these ships to attack and defend other planets.
As of 2005, Planetarion is in its 14th round (each round the game is completely reset, restarting all the players on the same level). The game was originally free but is now only free on a trial basis. This transition resulted in large numbers of experienced players leaving the game, undermining the community to a significant extent. Ironically, on the IRC network established for Planetarion (which has since evolved into NetGamers) the channels for Bushtarion and Dawn Of Myth have exceeded Planetarion in terms of users.
Planetarion was one of the most popular browser-based games in the first few years of its life, with about 200,000 users at its peak, and has inspired hundreds of other games since then.
Players can choose 4 races in the game of Planetarion - each with its own racial advantages. Many players consider round 14 to be unbalanced - one race (Zikonian) is far too powerful, whilst another (Cathaar) is too weak. However, it still has a healthy amount of players.
External links
- Planetarion (http://www.planetarion.com/)
- [http://www.pilkara.com/ A source of very useful Round 14 Planetarion Tools
- NetGamers (http://www.netgamers.org/)
- Bushtarion, a parody (http://www.bushtarion.com/)
- Roid Racer, a Planetarion-inspired game (http://roidracer.ncs.gr/index_en.html)
- Dawn of myth an Old style parody of planetarion (http://www.dawnofmyth.com/)
- Starsphere, a successful game like Planetarion (http://www.starsphere.net/)
- StarCommand, a game like Planetarion in development (http://www.starcommand.nl/)
official Pawiki (http://www.clawofdarkness.com/pawiki/index.php/Main_Page)