I know people come to this board and constantly nag you for your help, with zero idea of what they are doing. Sorry about that. I have been researching for days, without any success. Hopefully some kind soul here can offer advice to a total noob.

I need a free or cheap text based RPG engine, that can do the following:

1) Handle combat with 3 attributes, multiple players, multiple skills and multiple monsters (in a single combat instance)
2) Have ZERO graphical output, only text like farmville but less lame
3) Handle inventory and items that contribute to combat
4) Is not a MUD, instead all players are co-op together
5) Is usable for commercial applications (can be sold for profit without royalties)
6) The final product will be web based, served on a website, for mobile consumption

For a different game, a recommendation for an engine for a fast paced action RPG like Gauntlet, but:

1) is good, with skill trees
2) is 3d with forced 2d perspective
3) does not have too high of production values, because of #4
4) can display vast areas at once, with many active monsters
5) with the capability to display HUGE actors and effects, like dragons, fireballs, and giants *100 or even *1000 the size of the players
6) The final product will be multiplatform, for both consoles and PC
7) is for same screen multiplayer co-op
8) is also free or cheap and is usable for commercial applications (can be sold for profit without royalties)

Any guidance you guys can give me for either project is greatly appreciated! Starting from scratch with no direction at all is getting me nowhere.

Looks like you guys are right on both accounts. Unity looks awesome, and I can't wait to check it out.

Building the RPG system also looks like it is the right decision. How long do you think it would take an experienced code jockey to create a system from scratch? Do you have any language recommendations?

Thanks in advance for your help. And for the help you already offered: Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you... you get the idea. This has been a big help, you guys rock, I look forward to becoming a contributing member of the unity store and of this forum.

I don't know any languages at all. I plan on finding help to code this portion. I can seek help that is proficient in an optimal language.

The only graphics will be stylish buttons with text on them. I don't think that counts as graphical UI, please correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks again,

Mike

If you can develop in Unity, you probably should from what little I have seen since you recommended it. Have you seen Union? They are talking about collective bargaining and porting games made by all Unity developers to hard to reach platforms that would normally require a single developer to have a large library of finished games. It is like a Union for indie developers. Love the idea, gives greater reach for almost zero extra effort on a bitchin open source platform.

Thank you again for the recommendation. I skipped right over the description in Wikipedia, and it would have never gained my attention if you didnt point it out.

If a Realtor/entrepreneur with strong creative problem solving, RPG skill tree generation, and project management/organizational abilities in LA can ever be of service to you, just ask.

-Michael Gentile