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Derek Smart is an independent software designer and Internet personality living in Florida. He is the creator of the Battlecruiser 3000AD video game series, now Universal Combat.

Game industry history

Pre-1996

Smart envisioned a space craft (Battlecruiser) simulation which would encompass various game types with features ranging from space and planatary air combat to ground combat and strategy elements. His game development efforts center on realizing this vision.

1996 - 1997

Smart's first game, Battlecruiser 3000AD which was marketed by then publisher Take Two Interactive as "The last thing you will ever desire." was released unfinished by Take Two Interactive in 1996, after a seven year developement. The prematurely released product was found to contain many bugs that made it unplayable. The initial release of the game was "a train wreck", according to analysts who later commented that "Smart consistently overrates his own products and his own abilities."

In early 1997, Smart sued Take Two in relation to their release of the game in its then unfinished form. The lawsuit was later settled out of court. In late 1998, in a statement Smart and Take Two president Ryan Brant in a statement lauding Smart's work and efforts announced that the matter had been resolved. Take Two later went public and in its SEC filings listed Smart's first game as accounting for 14.2% of its yearly earnings.

A constant stream of patches and upgrades were later released for the product over the next few months and, eventually, a final patch was released to fix some of the major bugs. Smart then later released the game for free on the Internet and hosted on the popular download sites.

1998

Over the next few years, Smart continued to work on improving his game as he originally envisioned. In 1998, a deal was announced with Interplay where it would distribute BC3K v2.0 through its Value Product Division. After its retail run, Smart also released that product on the Internet for free.

2001

Smart continued to work on selling his product and later entered into an exclusive distribution deal with Electronics Boutique for his next game, Battlecruiser Millennium, which his company 3000AD, Inc self-published and released in 2001.

Asked by the media how he landed the deal, Smart stated "I'm paying for everything. I bear all the risk. I pay for the cost of goods, including the boxes and manuals."

After its retail run, Smart also released that product on the Internet for free. He has mentioned that he intends to keep up this practice of releasing his products for free once their shell life expires.

2003 - 2004

In 2003 Smart signed a two product deal with Dreamcatcher Games for Battlecruiser Millennium Gold and Battlecruiser Generations. The latter being a brand new addition to the series, with newer technologies than its predecessors. A few months later, the publisher had discussions with Smart that resulted in a decision to change the premise to be more action-based than the Battlecruiser series had been known for. The name was changed to Universal Combat.

The game was not ready in time for the 2003 holidays and was shipped in early 2004 at half of the originally announced price. Smart took legal action against the publisher to stop shipment of the game which was still in final Beta stages as he felt that the budget price of $19.95 would be unprofitable for his company. He failed to obtain a temporary restraining order which would have prevented the publisher from releasing the game.

The game received mediocre to average reviews in several game magazine reviews. Gamespot, in their 59% review score, summarized their experience with the game by saying "This wildly ambitious simulation is torpedoed by an almost incomprehensible interface, the absence of a tutorial, numerous bugs, and many fit and finish issues, including dated production values." PC Gamer, the largest gaming magazine in the world, in their 75% review of their experience with the game said "...for the latter niche of hardcore space-simmers, Derek Smart's Battlecruiser series has been going strong for eight solid years. Over that time, the idiosyncratic space-combat franchise has transformed itself from a bug-ridden lemon to a respected genre contender. Universal Combat is the latest chapter in this reecently rebranded series (with new publisher Dreamcatcher), and though the game remains an acquired taste, its better than ever."

2005 - 2006

Despite an earlier 2005 announcement by Dreamcatcher Games to publish Smart's next sequel, Smart later terminated his publishing deal with the publisher and severed all ties with Dreamcatcher Games. Smart's 2005 game, Universal Combat: A World Apart is a full sequel to the original Universal Combat with a variety of revisions and enhancements especially to the graphics engine. Despite the enhancements, it received average to mediocre reviews.

Smart also released Universal Combat Gold in 2005. This is an updated version of the original Universal Combat with new scenarios and graphics enhancements. Both of the 2005 games can currently only be purchased via online resellers.

In late 2006 Smart released Universal Combat: Special Edition for online purchase only through retailers.

Online controversy

Derek Smart is a controversial online personality who in the past has engaged in various controversal discussions on Usenet and game forums. His notoriety for this was such that Gamespy lampooned him for it in its Daily Victim column.

In an interview about his online persona featured on the cover page of Computer Gaming World, Smart said: "Sometimes when I get online, and it's quiet, and I see something that attracts my attention, I'll post just to piss these guys off. That's why I do it. Because I'm in a good mood that day, I go in there and I start trouble." This tendency to create controversy led web site Something Awful, in their satirical "Completely Libelous review of Universal Combat" to opine: "Dr. Smart is a man so entrenched in controversy that he is unable to accomplish virtually any task without volunteering to submerge it in tomes of ridiculous lawsuits, Internet threats, and a general cesspit of idiocy."

Smart was reported to be seeking to license the Freespace IP to develop a game based on the popular space-sim previously published by the ailing Interplay.

Published games

References

1. ATI interviews Derek Smart
2. Gamespot online review of Battlecruiser 3000AD
3. History of BC3K self-editorial at Loonygames.com
4. "The 25 Dumbest Moments in Gaming" Gamespy article
5. Battlecruiser 3000AD marketed as "The last thing you will ever desire"
6. "The 25 Most Overrated Games Of All Time"
7. History of BC3K self-editorial at Loonygames.com, page 5
8. "Press Release: Interplay Value Products Division to distribute Battlecruiser 3000AD v2.0". Interplay. August 5, 1998.
9. GameSpin: Volume 2
10. GameRankings.com non-scientific aggregate review scores of Universal Combat
11. Gamespot review of Universal Combat
12. PC Gamer review of Universal Combat
13. Metacritic.com aggregate review of Universal Combat: A World Apart
14. GameRankings.com aggregate review of Universal Combat: A World Apart
15. Links to online resellers at official Battlecruiser 3000AD website
16. Links to online resellers of Universal Combat Special edition Microsoft Windows Marketplace IGN's Direct2Drive
17. Gamespy "Daily Victim" for June 27, 2001, Last accessed 16 October 2006
18. Completely Libelous Review of Universal Combat, March 3, 2004

External links

• 3000AD Inc. website
• Derek Smart's website
• Bill Huffman's Derek Smart pages at werewolves.org (Compendium of information critical of Derek Smart)
• A compilation of Derek Smart interviews
• Derek Smart appointed to the board of the South Florida IGDA chapter
• Derek Smart talks about his 2005 release at IGDA meet
• 3000AD announces several XB360 games in development
• Editorial: Why I love Derek Smart

• Computer and video game designers
• Living people