Ultimate Universe (computer game)

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Ultimate Universe is a space game developed in the mid 1990s by Garth Bigelow as TopherSoft Engineering. It is a BBS Door Game similar to Trade Wars 2002. At the time I had become very enamored of an enhanced Tradewars 2002 door called Galactic Warzone by Scott Baker. While I felt it was greatly superior to Tradewars it wasn't long before its limitations began to chaff me. Scott had added the wonderful idea of device bays, but there were only 15 devices. He had expanded the universes sectors but it was still too confining.

I had two goals in writing UU: one, the player should never be able to feel completely safe. Two, I the creator should be able to be surprised by the players. I think I achieved both objectives. As the complexity of the game grew, the learning curve became too steep for all but the most ardent fans of strategy games. Those fans however were truly fanatical.

The Internet's arrival was a death blow to BBSs and I was not in a position to convert UU over to that environment. I sold the rights in 1999 Darklock Communications, but he never finished the payments nor moved forward with the project. There has been recent talk of starting up the project, but frankly I don't expect much to come of it.

Ultimate Universe is now available for free from the Ultimate Universe site.