As a few people know, I got very far in a project like this myself.
You WILL run into problems with Big Point, there are no doubts about that. I also believe that they would never work with anyone who is external to their organisation, for one big reason... They have absolutely no control over the game, or its revenue stream (if any).
There are three ways that Big Point would react to something like this:
1. Hire you to help write the official DarkOrbit server code. - 14.9% chance.
2. Come after you and completely ruin your life with their legal team (especially at the moment where the law is trying to make examples out of "computer criminals"). - 85% chance.
3. Completely scrap DarkOrbit and make it open source for everyone. - 0.1% chance.
If you do continue this project, I strongly advise you to keep it private (away from forums like these) and let the game spread slowly via word of mouth, in a way that you can control.
DO NOT throw your life away. You're a very clever guy, you've got a massive future ahead of you. Yes, releasing a public DO server here would get you like a million "thanks", but would those "thanks" be worth it when you've got a court bill/jail sentence thrown at you ?
If you'd like to discuss anything with me, drop me a PM; I'm more than happy to help.
~deHackerOwnz~