Just a question: what does being at the end of the universe contribute to the setting of the game? For some reason, the 'end of the universe' associates within my weird brain with anxiety and sadness. Kind of the emptiness of everything -- implying there's nothing there, nothing rich to explore anymore, everything that could be has been, and all possibilities are lost in time, together with all the dead nations/people. I hated the Dr Who episodes that took place at the end of the universe for that reason. It all feels very nihilistic to me.
So I'm just wondering -- what is it that made you choose this setting, and what does it bring to the game?
Not Chris so I can't speak for him, but I figured that was the entire point! How many creative works have immortals in them? Lots of fantasy, some sci-fi. How many games deal with what happens to them when the universe starts running down? Doctor Who and uh... not much else. What's there is kind of grim. But it shouldn't have to be!
Consider the Hydral himself: billions of years old, his life's work certainly gone by this point, the aliens around him are so incredibly, well,
alien that the best he can do is steal parts and get away from their wars, and he's still the last Hydral in the universe. And yet even with that weight to carry on top of the approaching end, there's still mercenary work to do, civilizations to destroy, opportunities for (time) travel, aliens to Federate, ships to repair and places to be. Only the last two are relevant to the game (for now >D), but the fact that he's still plugging away should indicate that there's value in living at the end. Perhaps it's fatalist, but it shouldn't feel nihilist.
Put another way: it's the end of the universe as we know it, but it's fine.
EDIT: And for the record, Chris picked the name, I voted a slightly different direction.