JayleBreak

The layer just completed is a quarter circle one voxel thick. To create a cone,
its neccessary to force its bottom face to conform to a circle
of a larger radius. The picture shows the initial voxel layout for layer 3 of
the plan, Layer 2 is also visible as translucent voxels. The layer 3
voxels (green and blue) border the original positions of the yellow and blue
voxels in layer 2. Since they share edges, the outer edges of layer 2
will conform to the inner edges of the neigboring voxels in layer 3 when
layer 2 is pasted on top of it.

To clear the assembly board for use with the next layer, the non-scaffolding
voxels need to be copied to the scratch area. This can be tricky,
but recalling the original position of the voxels in the plan before the
vertices were moved will guide the copy process. Using "handles" 
may be needed as it is here. The picture shows the row of lower 3 voxels
has been copied to the side, and the selection of the 3
side voxels using the handle provided by the red voxel. The
upper left voxel (red in the plan - hidden in the picture) will be copied by
itself at the end.
Once copied and saved to the scratch area, the assembly area can be cleared
using the handles at the extreme ends of the board.

Clicking on the "Build" button begins the process of creating the voxel
design. Next, exit the chair, enter build mode for the construct,
activate the "Select" tool, and face the voxel board. You should see a
pointer indicating a voxel which you should select and copy. Turning to the
assembly board you will see a pointer and a number over it. The number "0"
indicates you are pasting a "scaffolding" voxel while a number between 1
and 7 indicates a voxel that is part of the build. For these voxels, scroll
on the "Quick Access" menu to the material indicated. Then paste the voxel
at the position indicated by the tip of the pointer. Finally, activating
('F' key) the button on the pedestal below the assembly board will advance
both pointers to the next voxel. With practice you will be able to place
voxels quite quickly. When all the voxels are placed the pointers will
disappear.
 

Using vertex-drag, the original layout of voxels can be changed to a quarter
circle of radius 1.5x1.414 or 2.121 voxels. Note that each "tick" in the
vertex position is 1/8th (.125) of a voxel. So the lowest left most vertex
in the quarter circle was moved to (0,-7) and the top right most vertex was
moved to (-7,0). The blue voxel's upper left and lower right vertices were
moved by (-12,-12) - to the extreme upper left position. This limit
is what determines the steepest possible "slope" that the cone can have using
2D voxels.
The remaining vertices were adjusted "by eye" to make the "best" curve.
Note that the plan being created here is going to result in a truncated
quarter cone which will be used to make the full cone by using
copy-rotate-paste operations.

Moving the mouse pointer near the lower right corner of the red voxel, holding
the left-shift key down and left clicking allows you to "drag" the nearest
vertex to a new position. The numbers displayed are changes to the X position
(increasing X to the right), and Y position (increasing Y goes down) of the
vertex. These values range from -12 to 12 and result in the possible positions
being restricted to the transparent white square overlayed on the screen.
Releasing the left mouse button will fix the new position of the vertex.
Note that holding the left shift key down without a mouse click will result in
the current mouse position relative to the upper right vertex of the voxel it
is in being displayed as you move it around.

The terminal screen used in designing the layout of a layer
consists of the left panel with a series of color buttons that can correspond
to the materials in the Quick Access menu, or (as here) to distinguish between
different voxels in the design. The "Build" button is used to create the voxel
layer on the assembly board. The "Reset" button clears all layers permanently.
The right panel has at the top the index of the current layer; 2 in this case.
Below it are buttons for the 4 "pages" that provide access to the current layer.
A layer consists of 15 rows by 15 columns of visible voxels. Shown here is
the portion of the plan found on page 1 and has 8 rows of 8 voxels.
The right most column on page 1 will appear on the left most column of page 2.
The last row on page 1 will also appear on the first row on page 3.
Next is the "Undo" button which undoes the last action, the "Redo" button which
re-applies the action just undone, and the "Clear" button which clears the
current layer (and unlike "Reset", it can be undone). Note that there is no
hard limit on the number of actions that can be undone - it is limited by the
amount of free memory in the client. Also, the undo "stack" is cleared when
the board is deactived.
Finally, the "Help" button shows screens that give brief instructions on the
use of the planner, and "Logout" deactivates the program board.
The center panel shows the starting point for the layer 2 plan for
the truncated "cap" of the cone.
A left click on a voxel assigns it the "material" currently selected in
the left panel. Note that clicking the middle mouse button is a short-cut
for performing the "Undo" operation. The next step alters the voxels
to form a quarter circle.

About a year ago, I wrote the 2D Voxel Planner now found on "dual.sh". I'm
now introducing a fully in-game construct that combines an enhanced 2D voxel
planner with an integrated voxel board.
Free blueprints for the planner/builder can be obtained at the Objective
Driveyards shipyards. The entrance is at ::pos{0,2,23.4393,73.7082,3.5773}
The blueprint is labled "2Dplus Voxel Planner Builder"
The "plus" refers to the support for multiple (12) "layers" of 2 dimensional
voxel plans. These layers can be stacked together to produce 3 dimensional
objects. In the picture, on the right, is a voxel board that is the source
of voxels placed on the assembly board on the left. In the center is the
planning terminal with a "scratch" voxel board behind it.
To illustrate how things work, I will walk through the creation of a truncated
cone. The process begins by sitting in the provided chair and activating the
program board. Note that your plan is saved in a databank on program board
deactivation, change of layer, or change of page. The plans for up to 3
different avatars are seperately tracked (the number can be increased by adding
additional databanks).

About a year ago, I wrote the 2D Voxel Planner now found on "dual.sh". I'm
now introducing a fully in-game construct that combines an enhanced 2D voxel
planner with an integrated voxel board.
Free blueprints for the planner/builder can be obtained at the Objective
Driveyards shipyards. The entrance is at ::pos{0,2,23.4393,73.7082,3.5773}
The blueprint is labled "2Dplus Voxel Planner Builder"
The "plus" refers to the support for multiple (12) "layers" of 2 dimensional
voxel plans. These layers can be stacked together to produce 3 dimensional
objects. In the picture, on the right, is a voxel board that is the source
of voxels placed on the assembly board on the left. In the center is the
planning terminal with a "scratch" voxel board behind it.
To illustrate how things work, I will walk through the creation of a truncated
cone. The process begins by sitting in the provided chair and activating the
program board. Note that your plan is saved in a databank on program board
deactivation, change of layer, or change of page. The plans for up to 3
different avatars are seperately tracked (the number can be increased by adding
additional databanks).

You should be able to get the files here: https://gitlab.com/JayleBreak/dualuniverse/-/tree/master/DUflightfiles/autoconf/custom

There is a new element I've never seen before (on a ship with a small space engine but its NOT the small engine): 
Element class: SpaceEngineSmallGroup
getFuelRate : function: 000001AEB273EEA0
getSignalIn : function: 000001AEB273EC00
toggle : function: 000001AFD57776A0
isOutOfFuel : function: 000001AEB273EBD0
getObstructionFactor : function: 000001AEB273F2C0
getDataId : function: 000001AFD576FF00
getMass : function: 000001AFD57716D0
activate : function: 000001AFD5771E20
unit : table: 000001AEF8256710
distance : function: 000001AEB273EDE0
setThrust : function: 000001AFD5777580
getMaxThrust : function: 000001AFD57777F0
getMinThrust : function: 000001AFD57794A0
getIntegrity : function: 000001AFD5770260
show : function: 000001AFD576FC30
hide : function: 000001AFD576FE70
torqueAxis : function: 000001AEB273F200
getThrust : function: 000001AEB273F110
getData : function: 000001AFD5770110
load : function: 000001AEB273F230
getMaxHitPoints : function: 000001AFD57702F0
setSignalIn : function: 000001AEB273F1D0
getFuelConsumption : function: 000001AEB273F1A0
setTags : function: 000001AEB273ED50
hasBrokenFuelTank : function: 000001AEB273F3E0
getElementClass : function: 000001AFD57718B0
getT50 : function: 000001AEB273EE40
export : table: 000001AEF82561D0
getTags : function: 000001AEB273F170
getState : function: 000001AFD5777430
isObstructed : function: 000001AEB273F140
getFuelRateEfficiency : function: 000001AEB273F380
thrustAxis : function: 000001AEB273F320
getHitPoints : function: 000001AFD5770290
getId : function: 000001AFD5771640
getWidgetType : function: 000001AFD5770590
getCurrentFuelRate : function: 000001AEB273ED20
getMaxThrustEfficiency : function: 000001AFD5779D40
getMaxThrustBase : function: 000001AFD57777C0
deactivate : function: 000001AFD5777E50
I'm guessing this is an aggregate of all space engines (my setup had only one). Sadly, it disappears if there is no link to the engine.

There is a new element I've never seen before (on a ship with a small space engine but its NOT the small engine): 
Element class: SpaceEngineSmallGroup
getFuelRate : function: 000001AEB273EEA0
getSignalIn : function: 000001AEB273EC00
toggle : function: 000001AFD57776A0
isOutOfFuel : function: 000001AEB273EBD0
getObstructionFactor : function: 000001AEB273F2C0
getDataId : function: 000001AFD576FF00
getMass : function: 000001AFD57716D0
activate : function: 000001AFD5771E20
unit : table: 000001AEF8256710
distance : function: 000001AEB273EDE0
setThrust : function: 000001AFD5777580
getMaxThrust : function: 000001AFD57777F0
getMinThrust : function: 000001AFD57794A0
getIntegrity : function: 000001AFD5770260
show : function: 000001AFD576FC30
hide : function: 000001AFD576FE70
torqueAxis : function: 000001AEB273F200
getThrust : function: 000001AEB273F110
getData : function: 000001AFD5770110
load : function: 000001AEB273F230
getMaxHitPoints : function: 000001AFD57702F0
setSignalIn : function: 000001AEB273F1D0
getFuelConsumption : function: 000001AEB273F1A0
setTags : function: 000001AEB273ED50
hasBrokenFuelTank : function: 000001AEB273F3E0
getElementClass : function: 000001AFD57718B0
getT50 : function: 000001AEB273EE40
export : table: 000001AEF82561D0
getTags : function: 000001AEB273F170
getState : function: 000001AFD5777430
isObstructed : function: 000001AEB273F140
getFuelRateEfficiency : function: 000001AEB273F380
thrustAxis : function: 000001AEB273F320
getHitPoints : function: 000001AFD5770290
getId : function: 000001AFD5771640
getWidgetType : function: 000001AFD5770590
getCurrentFuelRate : function: 000001AEB273ED20
getMaxThrustEfficiency : function: 000001AFD5779D40
getMaxThrustBase : function: 000001AFD57777C0
deactivate : function: 000001AFD5777E50
I'm guessing this is an aggregate of all space engines (my setup had only one). Sadly, it disappears if there is no link to the engine.

Dear Community Members,
 
We have some very exciting news to share. Many of you who have been here for a long time probably already know Yamamushi. As one of the co-founders of the official community Discord and an early Kickstarter backer, Yamamushi has been around as a very active and well known community member for almost 4 years now. 
 
We are excited to have him joining the team. With him coming on board, a few important things are going to change and we wanted to be transparent about this with you all.  We have always valued neutrality for our employees and we try to avoid any conflict of interests. Like all other employees he is bound to some important communication restrictions. Yamamushi must discontinue being a community figure while he is employed with Novaquark. This means stepping down as a moderator on Discord and our public forums, while retaining some limited administrative rights (precisely to maintain the DU Bot). He is also bound by an internal NDA contract and won’t be able to share everything as a Novaquark employee. For those who are friends with him, we ask you to avoid attempting to get behind-the-scene information from him, regarding the game or the company. 
 
He won’t be able to communicate or play anymore as Yamamushi, but his love for the community is strong and he will continue to follow the community from the Dev side. He will also not be permitted to be a part of a player-run organization. We know this can be hard to face for such an integral part of our community and this has been a hard decision that may feel frustrating (at least it is for us and for him) but a necessary step to avoid any suspicion of favorizing any group of players in the community.
 
We would also like to take this opportunity to explain what are our internal rules when a member of our community becomes a Novaquark employee:
 
His/her personal accounts are suspended for the time he/she is a Novaquark employee.
  He/she is given an anonymous player account so he/she could still continue to play the game, however, some specific rules apply to such an account:
  a. The Novaquark employee behind should not reveal his/her real identity and/or he’s part of the company. 
  b. He/she shouldn’t join a player-run organization with this account either, for neutrality reasons.
  He/she is given a NQ account, mostly to test things, and occasionally to communicate with the community in-game (if such opportunity arises). Nothing done on this account (coming usually with more powers/rights than a player account) will be transferred on any personal account.
  Thank you for taking the time to read this, please join us in welcoming Yamamushi to the team here!
 
Best Regards,
The Novaquark Team.

I think the computation overhead caused by user designed oddly shaped ships, and large number of potential objects (and other contributions to server lag -e.g. internet) makes anything involving collision detection in combat a losing proposition. And as mentioned in one of NQ videos, orbital strikes were rejected because it wouldn't be "fair" - meaning people shouldn't be subject to death without any warning that danger is near or was inescapable.

As someone that's been playing games since he was 6, has tried everything, then studied game development for 4 years, I'd like to pitch into this.
 
There are different kinds of audiences in the game industry like every other industry of course, in the gaming industry you have these audiences (from my perspective):
Action
Achievers
Chill
Competitive
Roleplayers
 
Action players are into fast-paced games that give you as much to do in as little time as possible. Achievers want to try and 100% the games they play or grind for everything in an MMO. Chill players just want to relax and be in the game. Competitive players want to be the best and usually master the mechanics of a game. Roleplayers try to recreate a story or character in a game from something else or their own creativity.
 
If you look from the perspective of each one of these audience members, then what they see as "winning" in a game like this is different. Action players see winning as getting into combat and getting out of it alive, mastering the mechanics, or getting the highest score; basically short term wins. Achievers only win when they 100% a game, which is difficult if the game constantly updates adding new content. Chill players don't really care about winning a game, I guess they see winning as finding the best way to chill in a game, so if the game has constant distractions and annoyances, then they've lost. Competitive players obviously want to be the number one player, so a scoring and/or rule system that places players in a skill hierarchy is important for them to decide this, that way they can use it to find out who is truly "number one". Roleplayers usually see winning as completing their character's life I suppose, game mechanics like a progression system with skills, levels, etc. can help simulate character development, completing the development of their character and/or completing a campaign they've made or the game has made for their character is usually seen as a win.
 
I can go even more in depth, but this is just a summary for each audience. Overall though, it depends on the kind of person you are and what you are content with being the last thing you ever need to do in a game, being that making it to the number one player spot, or just building a massive castle.

Hi everyone!
 
With the Alpha 3 deployment around the corner and the RDMS implementation, we had to make significant changes in the background by connecting organizations data available on the Community Portal to the organizations data that will be available in-game. As it is a "Work in Progress", the Community Portal will switch in "Read Only" mode for the time being, to limit the probability of technical issues.
 
During this transitional period, All management actions for the organizations will be done in-game.
You will also note that the number of legates per organizations isn't displayed anymore.
We are aware the situation isn't ideal, but it's a temporary and necessary step.
 
Update: Wednesday, January 22th, 16:15 UTC
 
What's the current situation?
To be clear:
- Posting/Editing News have been deactivated on the Community Portal.
- It will still be possible to post/edit News on the Community Portal through the in-game User Interface (assuming you have the proper rights to do such thing).
- Posting/Editing News will remain in a minimal state for the time being (only simple text. HTML code for formating options and image insertion will came back later).
- Posting/Editing News directly through the Community Portal should come back at a later stage.
- The "Join Organization / Accept application" feature remains active.
- The applications pending before the maintenance today should still be there after.
- Features such promoting or demoting a member will now exclusively in-game (as the process may now involve other game mechanics).
- Displaying the number of legates on the Organization Ranking page has been deactivated (as an intermediary step of the coming changes in the future).
 
What's coming in the future?
(please keep in mind that the features described below are work in progress and might change before their release)
 
Organization Ranking by the number of Active Members.
As the Community Portal will evolve, we plan to display the number "Active Members" and the number "Honorary Members" for each organization in the future.
The Organization Ranking will be done by the number of Active Members in decreasing order.
 
What will be "Active Members" and "Honorary Members"?
"Honorary Members" accounts will be accounts that have joined an organization on the Community Portal but haven't access to the game.
"Active Members" accounts will be accounts that have joined an organization on the Community Portal and have access to the game.
Accounts joining an organization directly in-game will be automatically validated as "Active Members" in an organization.
Only "Active Members" will be eligible to legate status, as most organization management actions will be only possible in-game.
 
Why planning this?
This is planned for two reasons:
1) To give a better visibility for newcomers regarding the activity potential of each organization (which can impact the decision of joining one organization or another).
2) To discourage unfair practices such as creating ghost accounts and making them join an org to inflate artificially its size (and get undeserved visibility).
 
Best Regards,
The Novaquark Team.
 

The (IMHO) idiotic thread about PTW, did raise a question in my mind. What defines "winning" in DU?  In chess, you lose if you are checkmated or decide to resign. In poker, you are a winner if you walk away with more money than you came in with (even if you were "down" for most of the time you played). In a FPS, you "win" if you are the last man standing, or with the most "kills" at the end of the game.  But what about a game with no end? Perhaps its being at the top of the "leader" board in kills, have the most money, most territories owned, rank in your organisation, builder of the biggest construct etc? Frankly, I don't see any of those as defining a winner.
The only way I can see myself as a winner in DU is if I have fun playing and participating in the community.  I start by not defining my self worth on the basis of games won, rank in leader boards etc. More people should try this, they might find they like it.

The (IMHO) idiotic thread about PTW, did raise a question in my mind. What defines "winning" in DU?  In chess, you lose if you are checkmated or decide to resign. In poker, you are a winner if you walk away with more money than you came in with (even if you were "down" for most of the time you played). In a FPS, you "win" if you are the last man standing, or with the most "kills" at the end of the game.  But what about a game with no end? Perhaps its being at the top of the "leader" board in kills, have the most money, most territories owned, rank in your organisation, builder of the biggest construct etc? Frankly, I don't see any of those as defining a winner.
The only way I can see myself as a winner in DU is if I have fun playing and participating in the community.  I start by not defining my self worth on the basis of games won, rank in leader boards etc. More people should try this, they might find they like it.

I hate to bring up the comparison (again) but like in EVE there is no end game in DU.. You win by uninstalling the game
 
I honestly believe that banter aside, sometimes heated, we are all here for one reason and that is to have fun. As long as we all keep that in mind, we and the game will be fine and succeed.
 

The (IMHO) idiotic thread about PTW, did raise a question in my mind. What defines "winning" in DU?  In chess, you lose if you are checkmated or decide to resign. In poker, you are a winner if you walk away with more money than you came in with (even if you were "down" for most of the time you played). In a FPS, you "win" if you are the last man standing, or with the most "kills" at the end of the game.  But what about a game with no end? Perhaps its being at the top of the "leader" board in kills, have the most money, most territories owned, rank in your organisation, builder of the biggest construct etc? Frankly, I don't see any of those as defining a winner.
The only way I can see myself as a winner in DU is if I have fun playing and participating in the community.  I start by not defining my self worth on the basis of games won, rank in leader boards etc. More people should try this, they might find they like it.

The (IMHO) idiotic thread about PTW, did raise a question in my mind. What defines "winning" in DU?  In chess, you lose if you are checkmated or decide to resign. In poker, you are a winner if you walk away with more money than you came in with (even if you were "down" for most of the time you played). In a FPS, you "win" if you are the last man standing, or with the most "kills" at the end of the game.  But what about a game with no end? Perhaps its being at the top of the "leader" board in kills, have the most money, most territories owned, rank in your organisation, builder of the biggest construct etc? Frankly, I don't see any of those as defining a winner.
The only way I can see myself as a winner in DU is if I have fun playing and participating in the community.  I start by not defining my self worth on the basis of games won, rank in leader boards etc. More people should try this, they might find they like it.

Was bored, so I took some notes of all the curious and interesting stuff I heard during the podcast in the latest news update. If you don't want to listen through the whole hour and forty-six minutes, feel free to read everything I skimmed off and enjoy. Also, feel free to post or message me if you got something I should add to the OP.
 
Here's a quick rundown on what I got.
 
PVP Social Features Piloting Revamp Industry Changes Surface Gathering Territory Units Visual improvements UI Roadmap Update Player Questions NDA Lift  
PVP ===
CVC is on track for January.
 
First version of CVC:
Large -temporary- arena in space only Will be expanded to atmospheres, then the entire game world. More versions in the future?  
Pillars of CVC:
Lock+Target - operating at long range, one way of dealing with lag Destruction - piece by piece, physical holes Multi-crew - No battleships controlled by one person  
Future Improvements to CVC:
Repair Units - Rebuild your ship at 'last snapshot', Shipyards Separation between PVP space and safe zones.  
Construct vs Avatar: 
If a player is hiding behind a wall and you shoot the wall, the player will die because of the blast radius. Explicit player targeting will come later (if needed).  
 
 
Social Features ===
Some features may be coming sooner.
 
Legates:
Legates will have the right to decide who should do what in an organization. A voting system for Legates You can have other organizations among Legates Someone in an organization can be chosen as a representative - A Super Legate  
Ownership: Everything in the game has an owner.
Will be expanded to individual items in the player's inventory. An engine belonging to a specific player can be held in another player's inventory. New filters will be applicable. Organizations can now own constructs. Players can formally trade and transfer construct rights between each other and organizations.  
Partial revamp of RDMS:
New types of rights introduced Legates will have rights to manage an organizations RDMS Three specific groups: Actors: Groups of people put together to define people. Miners, pilots, etc Rights: Construct based, territory-based, item-based, and more. Tags: Ability to tag items, constructs, territories, etc, to target a policy Chat system being worked on. A solution will be made for people in organizations that are non-testers.  
 
 
Piloting Revamp ===
All changes will be given a dedicated dev blog, this is just some of them
Wings will be able to cause torque
Script generation in control units redone
Flight with mouse
Autoconfig script will need to be run on A3 release
"G" will trigger gears without the need for scripting.
Cruise control will control your ship with velocity instead of thrust
 Different 'mode'  Easier to control ship  Easier for new players in space, more feedback, easier to understand what you're doing  Not a 'better way' Balancing
 Space engines unbalanced, very overpowered  Rocket booster fuel cost and materials adjusted  Player specialization will start to increase  
 
Industry Changes ===
New Modes:
Maintain - Indy linked to out container, will attempt to keep a number set of whatever the unit is building (always maintaining a set 30 ore then stopping) Set Number - Indy will make a specific number of parts, then stop. Recipes revamped, will now make sense, parts will have actual names, "burner", "case housing", etc
Ore distribution altered
New Specialized Indy Units: Glass, metal, etc
New Indy designs, animations soon.
 
 
 
Surface Gathering ===
Extension of existing game play
Collect surface resources, fairly low value
Resources may, depending on where they are, but not always regenerate
Intended to be a more casual experience and help new players
Rocks, crystals, trees
Initial seeding will be done, then more refined over time
New Tool: Surface Gathering Tool
Walk up to a surface element, activate the tool, charge up, gather resource  
 
 
Territory Units ===
Making a comeback
Who has rights to mine, build, etc
 
 
 
Visual improvements ===
Space lighting 'too dark'
Nebula added to brighten things
Will be able to see other ships at a distance in space

 
UI ===
Not all UI elements will be changed in A3, all however will be improved over time.
Entire revamp planned for more consistent interfaces
 
 
 
Roadmap Update ===
Consolidation and stabilization will be focused on after A3
Some beta features may be postponed New things will still be added User Experience
Ensuring things work well Information provided when the player needs it Onboarding process further polished Beta 2
Need to introduce features really important to coherence for all gameplay pillars Release will be an acknowledgment of the maturation of the game, not necessarily addressing more issues. This was done with the unannounced 'pre-alpha' stage.  
Fast Travel Options:
Visit a place once, unlock a 'fast travel' option. Planets moved closer together. Speed limit increased. Other ideas open to player feedback  
Planet Revamp: Exploring in DU gives a sense of wonder. Well underway. Destined for alpha 3 but was pushed back. Biome design, more realistic textures. How things look today are still considered placeholders. Ongoing effort. The geometry of planets will not be changed after the beta, no wipe, no regeneration. It will be the final version of where mountains, forests are, etc.
 
Mining: Bigger variety of mining veins. From mega veins over multiple territories, to tiny pebbles, regular nodes, etc.
 
Territory Warfare: Design not completely set. Claim enough territories around a territory you own, one in the center becomes a 'temporary safe zone'. Destroy the territory unit to claim it for your own. Evolution of combat V2. Expanded to the whole system, not just the PVP arena.
 
Mission System: Nothing more than a player given quest system allowing players or orgs to design missions for others to complete for rewards. Will help address the need for things for new players to do, mine ore for an organization, etc. Exploring 'NPC type' missions that only new players can do (TBD).
 
Release and Post Release: An indication of what NQ wants for release with some features coming after release. Some features might be ready earlier. 
Player-owned markets were pushed back due to challenges; what happens if you store your market in your inventory, destruction occurs, having player owned markets be in PVP areas or not. Energy management will come with specific challenges. Create groups of people who are not parts of the same organization to work, play, fight together.  
 
 
Player Questions ===
Will Beta be feature complete:
What is 'feature complete'? It's really hard to say for a game like DU. What do we need to make a release ready game? We have our priorities for release. As company size increases, we'll be able to do more things. Things will get better the more successes occur for the game.
 
Will gameplay look much different after release from alpha? Crafting times, recipes, talent costs, space station placement, restrictions, and so on. When will we see these changes before release:
Balancing things will always be occurring, new things will always be here to fix for changes to old features and after introducing new ones. As much balance will be pushed as needed to keep the health of the game where it needs to be.
We try not to revisit things that we consider are 'in a good state'. How many features we need vs how many we want. When there is a feature that is pretty good or where it needs to be, great, let's shelve it and work on other features that need help. Loopback if we need to.
 
Preception of less communication in NQ since Kickstarter ended:
It's been busy, the team hasn't exactly been happy with this lack of communication. Dev diaries reintroduced, would like to do one every month, but we need to gather high enough quality footage for these videos, this is why we introduced the podcasts, we're still trying to find the tone and type of content for podcasts, but the idea was to have a forum where we can speak to the community, talk about the game, give them an inside look at what we're doing, give them access to the developers. 
 
We've had a great reception, this is something we'd like to do more frequently. Hopefully all this we've been putting out to answer more questions from the community. We have a second podcast, we're planning an AMA, all to reinitiate that communication. Hopefully, this is something we'll be doing in the next few months as we head into another incredible year. Maybe as a reassurance, we spend quite a bit of time reading the forums, maybe we don't respond always, but when we think about new features and are balancing things, we spend quite a lot of time on the forums seeing what you're thinking and saying. As often as we can, we make changes to act positively to what you're saying.
 
Our ticket system is carefully monitored and various things are given priorities where everything will be handled at some point. The problem is the limit of how much we can do in a given time so sometimes it might take a lot of time to fix something you think would be easy to fix, that's not the problem. The problem is other things need to be done before this because we've judged there are more needing. Think of it as a hospital, you deal with the most urgent first so even though you are in pain, you're not going to die, you're not first.
 
Not just on the forums, we also spend time reading YouTube and Discord, something I can say and I'm going to give them credit, we have a team of community managers who are advocates for the players inside the company. They are extremely vocal about making sure the community and its concerns are heard, and you can be assured they have your best interests at heart. 
 
NQ-Nomad is one of them, he works on this podcast. I want to thank them and close this podcast by thanking the community for helping us move forward and for their support. We put that in every video and communication, we want you to know that we mean it and its not just a gimmick. This is something we all believe in, starting with JC and that culture of 'community first'. The community is our most precious asset as what this game and vision are based on, and this is distilled to all employees at NovaQuark.
 
Nothing pleases me more than reading Discord on release days. Sometimes the feedback is good, sometimes bad, but as someone who works on the game, when players get their hands on what you've been working on and just break it instantly, we expect that, I just love reading everyone talking about the features and things I've had my hands on for a while.
 
 
 
More community questions will be answered later in the second podcast along with the AMA.
 
 
 
NDA Lift ===
Will come next year when the game is ready, closer to early March after A3 is released. We need to make sure people outside the community are ready to enter the game. Stabilizing everything, improving user experience. These new players won't spend as much time as Alpha players understanding the development process and will just jump in and judge the game by its current state.
 
Need to polish performance, visuals, improve onboarding, etc. This needs to happen before beta which creates a hard limit. We hope to be able to do this in March but it is hard to say if we will be able to meet this deadline.

 

(Update: November 12th, 2019: detailing the content that will be released before the end of the year)

Dear Community, 
 
We heard your feedback regarding our communication that wasn't as regular during the past months than it was before, in addition of a few miscommunication incidents. That's why we decided to plan several events to catch up and address that topic before the end of the year:
 
For those who have questions (or concerns) about Dual Universe or Novaquark, we've just opened a dedicated thread here (as many questions may be related to subjects under NDA, and we can't check beforehand, we had to put the forum thread in a section under NDA. If you're not a backer and you have questions on topics that aren't under NDA, feel free to contact NQ-Nomad and/or NQ-Nyzaltar by private message on the forum, and they wil transmit them to the team). No question is taboo. Although we can't promise to give a clear and detailed answer for each question, we will try our best to reply as much as we can.
  Here is the content related to communication we plan to release before the end of the year:
- a video presenting the updated roadmap.
- a Dev Diary video showing the recent progress on the game development
- a PodCast where we will try to answer the most pressing matters (based on the questions posted in the dedicated thread).
- an AMA event where we will try to answer to the remaining questions.
- a Kickstarter update.
  We can't give specific dates for all of this content yet, but all will be released before the end of the year.
 
Best Regards,
The Novaquark Team.