In Feb 2015, an improved version of Universal Combat v2.0 made its debut on Steam. This was our way of testing the waters to see if there was demand for another game in our most popular and long running Battlecruiser/Universal Combat series.
Universal Combat which was first released in 2004, was the spiritual successor to the legendary Battlecruiser 3000AD series of games which made its debut in 1996. Then heralded as the most advanced capital ship space combat game, Battlecruiser 3000AD, the first title in the series, set the resulting standard for high-end capital ship combat games. You not only had control over a massive armed carrier in a vast universe with space and planetary bodies, you also had complete control over the carrier’s systems (weapons, navigation etc), support crafts (fighters, shuttles, vehicles) as well as an entire crew that moved around the ship doing various things (e.g. engaging in combat with intruders).
When Universal Combat arrived, aside from new graphics technologies, it brought along with it a host of new features which were not present in the previous Battlecruiser titles. Such features included advanced fps controls which allowed you to not only deploy your carrier crew to planets, control them in combat etc, but it also allowed you to fight alongside them
In 2007, Universal Combat Collectors Edition was released as the final title in the Battlecruiser and Universal Combat IPs.
In 2009, following the 2008 release of Galactic Command Echo Squad SE which had improved space and planetary engines, we again refreshed the Universal Combat CE game with those improved engines, then later released it as Universal Combat Collector’s Edition v2.0.
This ultimate space capital ship combat compendium spans over two decades and represents the evolution of hard core space combat sims. It contains all Commander scenarios from every game in the Battlecruiser and Universal Combat series:
- Universal Combat Special Edition (3000AD, Oct 2006)
- Universal Combat A World Apart (3000AD, Oct 2005)
- Universal Combat Gold (3000AD, Oct 2005)
- Universal Combat (Dreamcatcher Interactive, Feb 2004)
- Battlecruiser Millennium Gold (Dreamcatcher Interactive, March 2003)
- Battlecruiser Millennium (EB Games Exclusive, Nov 2001)
- Battlecruiser 3000AD v2.0 (Interplay, Dec 1998)
- Battlecruiser 3000AD (Take2, Sept. 1996)
Features
Here is a sampling of the game features, out of hundreds of things that you can do in the game; most of which you can must make up as you go along. And this list doesn’t contain any mention of the advanced game engine technologies, especially one of the most advanced AI systems you’ve ever encountered in a game.
- Command 28 capital ships including carriers, cruisers, transports.
- Command 46 support crafts including fighters, shuttles and planetary vehicles.
- Command a crew of over 100 personnel including key personnel such a Flight Officer, Navigation Officer etc.
- Use fleet command & control to create a massive fleet consisting of your ships and other AI controlled ones.
- Direct control of various ship systems including shields, reactor, engine, cloaking, tractor beam, transporters and various advanced weapon systems.
- Track your ship’s AI crew as they go about their on-board duties which include engaging hostile intruders, repairing ship systems, prepping support craft etc.
- Lead your marines into battle on planets using various weapons of mass destruction.
- Deploy an away team of (e.g. marines, engineers etc) in a shuttle, deploy them on various planetside missions; complete with advanced orders.
- Deploy probes to keep track of friendly regions as well as spy on hostile ones.
- Deploy mining drones on planets to mine for precious minerals which you can then sell for profit.
- Dock at various space stations and planetary bases to trade, repair, rearm – and of course engage the hostile ones along the way.
- Capture space stations for your alliance and use them as operational bases, including the ability to use their own fleet of support craft (cruisers, carriers, fighters etc)
- Play the freeform scenario and roam a large persistent galaxy.
- No shuttles? Don’t want to risk being shot down? Use the transporter room to deploy your combat away team directly into hostile planets.
Minimum requirements
- Windows XP SP2 (with all updates)
- DirectX 9.0c or later
- Dual Core
- 2GB RAM
- DirectX SM3.0 compliant with 512MB memory
- DirectX 9 compatible sound card
Recommended requirements
- Windows 7 SP1 (with all updates)
- Quad Core
- 4GB RAM
- DirectX SM3.0 compliant with 1GB memory
- Joystick
Multiplayer requirements
- This title does not have multiplayer
Genre
Space & Planetary Combat Simulation
ESRB rating
Not Rated
Platform
PC
Release date
Feb 2015 (Steam Only)
