I imagine it would be a pain in the ass.  But hey, who wouldn't want portable UQM?  

My PDA has Palm OS, with a 320x320 screen.  Basically, it can fit the full resolution of UQM, and then some.  The programmer would have to do a lot of work to get the graphics to fit on 160x160 screens.

If the source were in C++, it would be easier to modify in order to cater to the Palm and PocketPC SDKs.  However, it is in the structured C language, one that some computer science students don't even bother to learn anymore.

Then there are the controls.  If you're lucky enough to have a five-way navigation or mini keyboard, go you.  Otherwise, you're restricted to only four buttons for a game that requires five (or in the case of the campaign, seven or eight).

Despite these technical issues, the port should still be doable.  The more I think about what sort of programs could run on a PDA, the more I want to learn how to program for them.

On a single terminal, key jamming would be intense.

That's why man created game controllers.    If you have the USB variety, you can plug in four of them no sweat.

No qualms here.  After all, the most important thing is getting the original game fully functional.

Another post-1.0 add-on I'd like to see is a 4-player battle royale mode (on a single terminal, possibly also over the net).  My friends and I would get a kick out of it.  

I have a suggestion that may help get UQM online.

http://www.zsnes.com

SNES games were never programmed with the Internet in mind.  Yet, this SNES Emulator allows two people to play together over the Internet via TCP/IP.  It's not the greatest Internet feature in the world, but it works.

What's to say the same type of connection couldn't be made between two people running UQM?  Maybe the developers could get a look at the source for ZSNES.  I haven't seen whether it's coded in C or C++, though.

I hope this helps out.  

I'd like to keep the top-down perspective, but with 3d-rendered models.

I like this idea.  So much can be done with lighting effects, and all that other spiffy goodness.  In addition, there wouldn't be much problem rendering the graphics, as there will typically be two models on screen, and each one will only be so complex.

Alternatively, you can keep it 2-dimensional sprites and scale the graphics down from 1600x1200 to whatever resolution you select.  This way, higher resolution = better quality, NOT smaller viewable area.

On a related note, I wondered to myself earlier today how much work would be required to convert the graphics in Super Melee! to true 640x480, possibly in add-on form.

My mistake.  Turns out this is a later save than the one I had in mind.  Disregard this unofficial report of mine.

Still, I appreciate the work done by the folks bringing this game back.  You guys rock!  

I just resumed a game, where I was on an autopilot path to 639.5 : 231.2, home of the Mycon's secret lava planet.  I had saved with autopilot on, just before leaving the Beta Aurigae system.  The game resumes with me still heading out from the system, but without an Auto-Pilot plan.

If the game's not supposed to save the Auto-Pilot coordinates, it damn well should.  Just my opinion.

By the way, thanks for bringing back Star Con-- er, The Ur-Quan Masters!  I've enjoyed this completely awesome classic since 1992, and have since lost the 5-1/4" floppies it came on. At most, all it needs to be up to today's standards is a cosmetic refresh and 4-player melee.