Series of space simulation games developed by Derek Smart. The player commands a large starship in a semi-persistent universe. This command process is sufficiently complex that the game can be regarded as strategic, rather than simply combat based. The series is possibly more famous for its development history and developer, than for the actual software. This category deals with both elements of the 'game'.
Sites listed in Battlecruiser_Series/ are concerned with more than one title in the series, or the series as a whole.
Sites submitted here must either directly relate to the flame war and/or be anti-fan sites. Both sides of the flame war may be represented here, however sites that relate to both the flame war and a series title should be submitted to the parent category.
The Battlecruiser flame war has its roots in the release of Battlecruiser 3000AD in 1996. Discussions took place on AOL and Compuserve forum involving 'fans' and the game's developer, Derek Smart. The discussions migrated onto usenet, and have subsequently started to move onto world wide web based gaming forum. These discussions developed into possibly the biggest, longest running flame war in internet history, with around 50,000 archived usenet posts.
Many of the participants in the flame war regard the war as a game in the Battlecruiser series. Those against the developer are often referred to as 'detractors', those for the developer are sometimes known as the 'bright' side.
Sites listed here may provide information or views on the flame war, contain fan fiction, art, or software directly inspired by the flame war, or relate to anti-fandom of the series.
Sites submitted here must either directly relate to the flame war and/or be anti-fan sites. Both sides of the flame war may be represented here, however sites that relate to both the flame war and a series title should be submitted to the parent category.
Battlecruiser 3000AD is the first title in the series. The game was developed and refined over a period of ten years. During this time the game had six different publishers. The game was originally released for PC in the United States in 1996. This was followed by a series of patches, legal action against the publisher, and usenet flamewars. Version 2.0 was released at the end of 1998, which added many of the planned features and software stability that had been omitted from the first release version.
Universal Combat is the third (or fifth, depending on how you count them - both 3000AD and Millennium have extensions/re-releases) game in the Battlecruiser series. It was originally titled Battlecruiser Generations. The game was published by Dreamcatcher Interactive for Windows. Universal Combat was eventually released at the start of 2004 at a discounted price, leading to legal action by the developer.