DarkTemplar

Welcome to the forums and community. Most people here are happy to answer questions about their org, and some have quite a lot to say about others. All I can say is (coughjoinVanguardcough) do your research.
 
Goodluck with whatever you choose.

This thread went fron an Edwin Starr song to debating over the Chinese?

How, what, why?! I thought I had the mastery of derailing discussions. What happened?!

God bless u meme machine, may u find peace in the dank afterlife

If a group is coming to attack you there are two scenarios that do not involve fighting: 
You can persuade them to not fight. This usually will not work, especially if you have no muscle to back it up. You can prevent them from fighting, either through espionage or propaganda. This is not always possible either, and it takes time to set up and implement so it can't do anything against surprise attacks or unknown groups.  Most of the time, the above will not work for various reasons. If those don't work, there are three possible outcomes:
You fight. You get someone else to fight for you. Either a mercenary group or allies. You die. So, my argument stands but I will expand upon it: At the end of the day, either you can defend yourself (through someone fighting), or you are helpless and have to rely on luck to not die. 

I am proud to announce that Vanguard has joined BOO (Band of Outlaws). as of the 6th of July (Yes, I know I'm late.) We will remain whole as a mercenary organization within them and plan to stay true to any deal or contracts we’ve made. With this new change we will also be changing what we require of new recruits.
 
Joining BOO opens many doors for us as a group. In return we are helping BOO get their SIG (Special Interests Groups) program up and running by being the first group to participate in it. Being a SIG does not make us a vassal of their group but instead fully integrates us and gives each of our members access to the same programs, resources, and utilities as any other BOO member. We will not accept any contracts targeting BOO members but otherwise we will still take on any other acceptable type of contract.
 
With that said, we hope to pick back up recruitment and welcome many new members into our tight-knit family. With Alpha fast approaching (but not fast enough) people are slowly emerging from hibernation and activity is picking back up.
We hope to see as many of you in the DU as possible. 
 
See you on the other side o7
~Dark

War and conflict will be especially beneficial for me/Vanguard, it will be (presumably) one of our main sources of incomes contract wise. So no conflict makes it considerably harder to thrive or earn cash. Why the war happens doesn't matter do a lot of people, only how it affects them and the outcome.

Aside from protecting, I'm really interested in the diplomacy and politics of how this game will run. So i'll be in the council room and on discords/teamspeaks talking.

Hi everyone.
 
Until now, we couldn’t manually manage (remove/promote) Legates in an organization easily on the administration side.
Since Yesterday, we are able to use a feature simplifying considerably the process. 
 
As we already mentioned many times in the past, we (Novaquark) don’t want to involve ourselves in the management of organizations created by players. However, we are also aware that the current (and temporary) state of the management system contains obvious flaws. You know it. We know it. As this is still “work in progress”, we hoped that organizations creators will be reasonable enough to avoid abusing the well-known flaws of the system and would wait that all the rules are implemented before trying to sabotage other organizations. 
 
So we are going to state the obvious here:
It’s ok to “play a bad guy” and use dirty tricks once all the rules are implemented. However, it’s absolutely not ok to start exploiting the flaws of a work in progress system: this is not “playing a bad guy”, this is just toxic behavior and trying to gain an advantage while not playing by the rules.
 
That’s why - despite our will of non-involvement - we will make exceptions until the full implementation of the RDMS (Rights & Duties Management System) for the Organizations.
 
Why did we decide to intervene? 
Two reasons:
1) In the current state, a Legate has much more power than in the final system, due to the minimalistic mechanisms temporarily in place. If in the current system, any Legate has the right to promote a member to Legate status by himself alone, in the final system the default rights will be completely different: promoting a legate will be done only with a vote by majority rule, or the right to promote someone will be given to specific persons and not every Legate.
2) In the current state, a Legate cannot be demoted by any mean (even by the creator of an organization). In the final system, default configurations will allow to demote a Legate with a vote by majority rule. A Legate could also be demoted by specific persons who have been given the right (most probably by the Organization founder) to do so.
 
How is this going to work?
Each organization is going to have one "wild card": if there is a problem with the Legates in an Organization, you can contact the support team at support@novaquark. However, keep in mind we (Novaquark) reserve the right to intervene (or not) on a case by case basis. 
 
Example of a case where we will intervene:
Some Legate using the flaw of the current temporary system to vandalize (or generate troubles in) an organization.
 
Example of a case where we won’t intervene:
Two organizations have merged in one, and now both creators of previous organizations want to mutually exclude each other from the organization. In this kind of case, we won’t remove anyone. We won’t favorize one creator above another. However, we will do our best to help finding a satisfying solution for both parties.
 
As a global reminder:
If someone finds a loophole in the rules in place (that may happen), and this loophole is used to generate trouble and spread a toxic behavior, we won’t stay idle watching the situation deteriorating. 
 
Best Regards,
Nyzaltar.

Pfft everyone knows the world is a flat disc balanced on the backs of four elephants who are, in turn, standing on the back of a sea turtle flying through space. 
 
C'mon that's basic knowledge  Death himself said it so it must be true ....

NOVAQUARK! YOU BETTER PUT A FLAT PLANET! I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER IF YOU DO IT!
 
Also, the Earth isn't flat. Explain the hills and mountains. They're elevated.

I was thinking about this, although not turning a planet into a ship but if we can manipulate planets and their orbit (I assume/hope they'll have orbits). For instance you could stick a mectic butt ton of thursters onto a moon and fly it into the planet. That would be fun to see.

So basically you're against the reasonable choice of NQ to avoid feature creep (as in some other games ....) - wrong opinion though, but that's fine if you feel that way.
 
They're not releasing a not-finished game - they release a finished game and make sure every mechanic in this game works properly. THEN they work on ADDITIONAL mechanics (like stargates, bounty hunting, FTL travel,...) to expand the game. In a persistent, player run sandbox you have to make sure your basic mechanics work properly and go from there.
Besides: those additional mechanics will be delivered via PATCHES and NOT DLCs - those are different things.
So to me this sounds reasonable - not sure why you're against that.
 
And the subscription drama again:
PC Gaming is a hobby as every other hobby there is. If you're not able to spend money on it (or you don't want to) then don't do it. 10-14€ per month isn't that much money either for us lucky people who live in first world countries. If you feel like you lose money every month because you don't play and spend such a little amount of money each month, you clearly have other problems in life.
I smoke and spend 100€ per month on that - I wouldn't do it when I didn't have the money for it.
I do go climbing in the mountains too so I need to get there by car, need equipment, drinks, chalk, .... That costs money too but I'm happy to pay it because I have a great time doing it.

The last time I brought this up, the person in question was quick to show up here to try and defend themselves for leaving the subreddit in such a poor shape, but as of now that person has been suspended from Reddit and the subreddit has once again become neglected (could have predicted that...)
 
So, again, I am posting this to point people towards the better subreddit -> https://www.reddit.com/r/dualthegame/  (I'm not a mod there)
 
The other one was seemingly completely abandoned, with a 10-day old Reddit account currently "in charge" of it and a bot account put in to keep people from trying to request it from /r/redditrequest. 
 
 
 
Why am I bringing this up, again?
 
Because the success of Dual Universe depends entirely on the community and the way that it is reflected in various forms around the gaming world. It's hard to argue that Reddit doesn't have an impact on games, and there are plenty of vibrant Reddit Gaming communities out there that interact back and forth with devs and give the impression that their games are healthy (full of players) and still active.
 
If a random user were to come across /r/dualuniverse, they'd see months old posts sitting around, a completely unresponsive mod team, and a sidebar that to this day is full of incorrect information (the old mod refused to remove No Man's Sky as a related subreddit, for example). 
 
That's a disappointment because of the work that the /r/dualthegame mods put into making their subreddit active and accurate, yet because one person buried their head in the sand and refused to lift a finger for their subreddit, /r/dualuniverse is going to continue to get more traffic and subscribers regardless of how bad it is. 
 
 
So why post this? 
 
Because if we want DU to survive into the future, and to continue growing and be seen as an active community, we should do our part to continue directing people to what is the best reflection on it (and /r/dualuniverse is not it).
 
So if you're on Reddit, or you know Redditors who are into Dual Universe, point them towards /r/dualthegame. 
 
 
 
And to the person responsible for the mess that is /r/dualuniverse, you should feel ashamed of yourself for leaving this stain on the community. Plenty of people reached out to you asking you to fix the subreddit, instead you wanted to feel this imaginary power over the community, refused to do anything about the mess you left, spread a bunch of misinformation about me on the subreddit and discord, and then got yourself suspended from Reddit leaving the subreddit in the condition that it's in now. 
 
 
 
 

An artistic rendition of the five current largest orgs (TU, BOO, SI, CS, UL respectively) and how Alioth will look 24 hours after alpha launches. The small purple thing is the arkship.
 
The discussion around destructive mining practices got me thinking this. I don't speak on behalf of any org represented, this is simply an impression of these orgs that I had made based on what I've heard in discord in the past month and through recent videos posted on youtube.
 
This is a humorous take on things and meant to be in good taste. c:
 
Oh, apologies to Silverlight, I can't draw a spaceship so I did the next best thing. Enjoy.
 

Novaquark already plans extensive customization (and scripting) for HUDs in cockpits and interfaces.

Hello! I just came here with an announcement that I am starting to make custom flags for dual universe and other games as well. 
 
 
 
I am doing this totally free of charge, Just send me a DM with what colors, logo, and pattern you want
 
 
Thanks for reading, Limoriden!
 
(Examples Below)
 
http://imgur.com/GVApD1C
http://imgur.com/4j8PMTE
http://imgur.com/1BfnI43
http://imgur.com/GNQiKJ2
http://imgur.com/0GKCwxP
 
 
(Also, If you have a custom emblem you want me to put in front of a flag, send it to me as well.)
(The flags here were some of the first i created, So they are not as quality as the current ones)

Ty for having me.
Anyone feel free to contact us via pm or discord.
I'm important now \o/

Hello everyone! I am proud to announce that I have been selected to be the Head Diplomat for Band of Outlaws. As we move towards the release of the Alpha, things are going to start picking up and we are prepping for that. Working with me will be Lethys as our EU Timezone Diplomat and Wolk as our US Timezone Diplomat. We are here to handle any issues and negotiate any arrangements with other groups.
 
If you need to contact BOO about diplomatic matters, we are the ones you want to talk to.
 
 
As a side note and separate announcement: A group of TU ministers have left the TU and formed a group known as Soul Nebula. They contacted us and requested neutrality between them and BOO. We like their policy of avoiding drama and infighting, and as such have agreed to neutrality. BOO is now neutral towards Soul Nebula and holds no hostile intentions against them. 

Hi there,
 
I'm writing this post on behalf of the DUHS (Dual Universe Historical Society)
 
We just came up with an idea:
 
As we know, every account can have three characters. What would you do with the other 2 alts?
 
We were thinking of maybe an alt like: DUHS-Writer Lethys
 
Here a few prerequisites:
 
- Such an alt would only be skilled to fly the most basic ship (later on maybe the most basic FTL ship)
- No weapon / AVA / CVC skills allowed
- No defensive (to be seen....) skills allowed
- No weapons on person or on that ship
- No trespassing of territory
- Only approved members of DUHS (maybe a public list with main character names too)
- be polite, ask before doing/recording stuff,... - don't be a jerk
- You're not allowed to use such an alt in any other way than recording stuff for DUHS (so you can't get access to a market hub your main char is banned from)
- No usage of devices which could be used to spy on others (like scanners)
- IF there is an API or something for skills, such alts have to make this API publicly available so that others can look up their skills in order to control them
 
So such an alt would only be used to record an ongoing battle for example as bystander. Or make a live-stream and comment on it (as players may be widely spread later on and can't participate if they wish). You could also record/showcase the latest model of a ship or city (let's say ODY will be very famous and are the first ones to build a deathstar for example). You could do interviews with people who witnessed something while walking through their city. Stuff like that - I think you get the idea.
 
Ofc an org would only give such alts the clearance to access their more or less public spaces - maybe later, once the reputation and trust is built, certain members get access to more restricted areas where special projects are highlighted, new techs are revealed, whatever - not a must though.
 
This is not about spying and infiltrating (as you don't get access to anything secret anyway), it's solely about recording the history of DU.
 
Let us hear your thoughts on this one

Username checks out. Welcome to the Forums, GimmeMyGold

Welcome to the community, GimmeMyGold.
Here are a few things you should know before having an epic journey and destroying the economy chit-chatting on the forums:
 
Take everything with a light-heart. Here, we are all about humour and slowly waiting for the Alpha.
Cybrex is known for being suspected of creating alts, so make sure to meme about him.
Terran Union is the biggest corporation and nobody actually knows what the Union is about.
Follow all the rules (because I mean some civility is needed)
Make sure to research aerodynamics, physics, economics, EVE Online, and various organs in order to know what CaptainTwerkMotor is talking about. No, seriously. You should really research it because Twerk is like a person who worships science.
 
Enjoy your stay, and stay Cheeki Breeki.

Continuation of Part 1. 

Part 2 : Advanced Melee  ( or a very good reason to build narrow corridors )
1. Intro
 
1)  The mechanic in question as demonstrated in Part 1 is expanded with Skill Training, giving access to more elaboraate Melee Actions - or macrocommands of actions.
 
2) Weapory involved : From Swords - or knives we don't judge here - to Pistol-Whiping to Bayonets and Power Fists - cause sometimes, punching a guy solves all your problems? I guess?. The Melee Action of your choice, can be suited for YOUR specific playstyle, and your macrocommand melee action, could transform you from toast-on-reload to Close Quarters murdermachine, if you play your hand right - and have the training for it. 
 
3) Defensive Weaponry : Yeah, unless in DU Futurespace people lost all sense of reasoning, Ballistic Shields are still a thing and so would be things like portable EM-Screens ( cause if they took the liberty of making laser rifles or plasma guns, so would the need for portable EM-Screens would arise). Why "Defensive Weaponry" ? Cause we are going to use Shield Slams via the magic of skill training - cause nothing says "I love you" like a ballistic shield to the face.
 
4) Martial Arts Skill Training - cause why not. Bonus points to NQ if the avatar in-game speaks "I know Kung Fu" when they reach 5/5 training.
2. Weapon Skill Training - Expanding your Melee Action.
 
A. Combos and training.

By default, the Melee Action you have selected, has a cooldown and energy cost associated with it. With the basic Skill Training, you get both a reduction in Cooldown and Energy Cost, up to a 25% reduction with maxed out 5/5 Melee Training performed. At Melee Training III, you unlock CQC Training.

With CQC, you unlock the ability to expand your Melee Action from a Punch or a Kick, to a combination of both with one level of training into CQC, with each level adding one more action into the chain, before the whole melee action goes into a cooldown, which is proportional to 25% of the total actions chained.

Combos work with the concept, that your final attack, if every other connects (refer to Part 1 for info on how an attack connects) you get a more powerful version "finisher" move. For the sake of hilarity, I would suggest making the final kick or punch, into a roundhouse kick or an uppercut, which will gain a bonus on its Weight of Medium factor - which is going to be explained thorougly in later on - thus earning a higher chance for that sweet sweet 200% Hit status, that can vary from attack type to attack type and giving a lightweigh target, a means to combat a much heavier target if they keep their distance and keep going for the "heavy" attacks by sprinting and striking. 

Note : The less the hits, the lesser the finisher's damage is. If you thought "I will put two combos in the combo and just have quick finishers, this is NOT it. The Finisher will treat as having only 1 hit connected in a list of 6 hits, thus being a weak finisher. Also, a combo's finisher can be chosen from a list when creating your combo sequence. Finishers later on with Specialisation into martial arts, can procur your Disarming of the opponent (debuff disarm, not actua disarm). Equipping and unequipping a weapon sents the combo on a cooldown - no cheating with gear shuffling.

At CQC Training 3/5, you gain access to Combat Technique Training. This is where the real specialisation begins. Every level of it, gives you the ability for an extra Melee Action sequence to be set - thus, switching between melee actions you preset, is a thing now, one goes into cooldown, then default to another - up to a maximum of 5. This need for more than one Melee Action, is needed, given the Hit Status formula in Part 1. Your attack medium (kick or punch) has a different animation and damage / weight behind it. Your Arm is lighter than your leg, thus a kick could be used to kick a lighter target or a "staggered" target away easily, while your punch attack is more prone to dealing more damage for its weight.

This also keeps in format with how actual martial arts are practised. A fighter has a sequence of actions they go through - figuring it out, is also what can make or break a fighter's pace. From Jeet Kune Do, to Fencing, everyone has a rythm they dance to.

In the book Human Body Dynamics: Classical Mechanics and Human Movement the average human leg is 15.9 % of the total body weight - make it 16% - while the arm in total is 4.96% - make it 5% - of the total body weight. These values are not universal, just average across the board, but they are values that can be CONSTANTS in the equation. Your armor is getting heavier, but your leg is still 16% of your armor's total weight. That being said, the Kick costs more energy than the Punch to execute, so a combo of 6 punches, could end up costing less energy, than a combo of 6 Kicks - far less in fact. Which is why you need the different Melee Actions to switch between - you need options.

Like CQC Training 3/5, the skill training Combat Technique 3/5, unlocks you a new skill training. This is where specialised weaponry comes in. No, up until now you were Batman, now you are going full on... well, Ben Affleck's Batman.

B. Weapon of Choice - Running out of bullets is not a game over.

Past Combat Technique 3/5, you earn the skill training of Armed CQC. Each skill training, gives you access to more specialised and more "tricky" weaponry. Each rank into CQC, reduces energy cost for performign an attack with a weapon, as your weapons morph your Punch Melee Action

Armed CQC 1/5 : Basic Weaponry.[/b]

Knives - both hand-held and bayonet style which is how the armies use them nowadays. Ginves 0.15 meters of extra range.

Knuckles : lowers the surface area of a punch = direct damage increase (don't question the Pascals involved :V ).

Riot Shields : Can be equipped on the off-hand and with a one handed gun or melee weapon. Transforms your Punch Melee Action into a shield bash and vastly improves your Defense Bonus when double-tapping S (look Part 1 for more info). They provide minor defense bonuses, cheap to make.

Gun Bashing :

Pistol Whipping : Handguns now can be used as a weapon, adding its weight to your arm's weight, transforming your punch to a Pistol-Whip . The application area is the weapon's grip's bottom.
Your two-handed ranged weaponry (rifles, carbines, shotguns) now use BOTH hands + weapon weight , and your weapon's stock or your elbow (if for some reason you don't use a weapon with stock and / or removed it ).

Armed CQC 2/5 : Advanced Weaponry.

Swords : 1 meter reach bonus (will explain later how it fits), thinner smaller surface area of application of force.
 
Baton : Blunt Instrument. Low energy cost, low cooldown on Melee Action. 0.5 meters reach bonus. Eh, instead of punching a person, use this.
 
Ballistic Shields : Heavier but sturdier than a Riot Shield. Bonus to armor defense stats. Cost more to make, weight impaires a speed reduction. Dobule-tapping S (read part 1) places the shield in front of the user for 3 second, providing a boost to m.1 AND m.2 in the hit-chance calculation and reducing your speed to match your added "mass", also acting as a "screen" for people behind you. This mass increase + slow down, is to emulate "putting your weight behind it".

Bayonets : Barrel attachment to your weapon. Transforms your Punch to a Bayonet Thrust. Treat's weapon length + Bayonet as reach extension.

Armed CQC 3/5 : 

Taser Baton : Specialty weaponry, drains energy from you to recharge its taser, can temporarily stun an opponent, hurts shields, half a meter reach bonus. When its taser is on, you get a bonus to Hit Status (+20%).

Hand-held EM Screens : More defense stats that ballistic shield, at less the weight, making you easier to be pushed back compared to a ballistic shield. Drains energy to operate, lack of singificant weight provides a better speed than using a Ballistic Shield. Large Profile when activated with Double-tapped S makes people behind you avoid damage as your shield acts as a giant hitbox.

Amred CQC 4/5 & 5/5 provide Tech-2 variants of previous unlocks. Case in point, Knuckles are now
 
Power Fists - multiplier on mass to emulate "amplified strength".

Swords get thinner cutting edges and / or reach. No lightsabers. Those are more hazard than worthing their salt in battle.

Taser Batons become more powerful (more Hit Status flat bonus for active effect).

Note : Each Weapon comes with its own finisher combo move + 200% Hit Status effect. Sharp weaponry come with bleed (slashing and only applies if the enemy's armor is very low on HP)  and punctunring effects (damage resistance reduction / Sunder Armor ), blunt instruments come with brusing (minor speed impairment), taser variants come with E-War Short-Circuitng (minor electronics E-War capability / target jamming for guns), perfect for using Taser Batons as station security on people who refuse to stop spamming the chat with scams  .


In Part 1's Hit Status Formula , we have

{ [ ( LV.2 - Trv.1 + MAs ) * m.2 ] / Surface Area of Striking Medium } / { [  (  G.V.1 _ AV.1 + 1)  * m.1  ] / Volume Factor }
 

Where [MAs], is the Melee Action speed, the default range of the action. 2 meters minimum range which means 2 m/s minimum speed of an attack.
With a weapon, this range can be increased. In the case of a sword, it's +1, thus a minimum of 2 meters of minimum +1, thus a 3 m/s minimum speed bonus and 3 meters of Melee Action range. This is done due to simplifying the equation server side and putting weapon reach into the formula.

Note : The equation compares Newtons behind each action, to wage the Hit Status of a melee action. This is done out of pure neccessity to keep the algorithm behind the Hit Status fluid and dynamic in a lock-on based system.

Next up, is the surface area of a weapon and its mass. This is tricky to explain, as we don't have the weight of an avatar for DU, thus we cannot determine the arm's weight behind a swing. However, that being said, the theoretical number behind the sword's strike (as the cemter of mass is projected down the blade with the swing) would be [Arm-Weight] + [Weapon Weight].

The sword's application area also increases the damage potential of the Hit Status, as the blade edge is far smaller in surface area than a fist's knuckle. An Arming Sword, the only best sword ever - sorry katana fanbois - has a surface area on an edge of 0.01 square meter (100 square centimeter). Thins number may seem odd, until you realise this covers the whole cutting edge of a sword and for the sake of keeping this simple, only the slashing motion surface will be measured.
 
From the get-go, our damage and range has increased significantly by using a melee weapon.

Likewise for a shield though, the Shield Slam should apply [Army-Weight] + [Weapon Weight]? But this is not the case. See, anyone who has done HEMA, knows that a shield Slam uses the WHOLE body behind the bash - it's the reason Tower Shields are so legendary, as a knight in full plate, weighted around 140 Kg alone, adding 15 Kg of a Tower Shield on top of that, could easily send back anyone who was not in full plate armor back with one solid push. Tower Shields, are the precursors of modern day Riot and Ballistic Shields.

So, a Shield, would use [Full-Weight] + [shield-Weight] as its measurement. But wait, shields have more surface. A average Police Ballistic Shield weights 15 Kg and has a surface area of 0.95 meters. But the Arming Sword is barely 1.1 Kg.

At this point, I should not have to point out, that if you want to use a Shield + Sword + Light Armor, you ARE free to do so, just don't expect any reasonable "dps" potential out of it, not agaisnt a target than can outrun you - as the shield's weight slows YOU down as well. A Shield is meant to be used by bipedal MBTs, people who go into a narrow corridor and drain all the fire, people who don't have the privilege of switching guns and will slowlly, but steadily, eventually reach their targets.

To the unfamiliar, this may seem as "Shields are Bad" or "Swords are OP". The reality is one is oriented for protection and Poise (to resist and mitigate the Hit Status of an attack), the other for assault (increasing the damage). And by virtue of CQC training, you CAN chain a combo, where you can use a Shield Slam AND a Sword Strike at the saem time, as part of a combo.
 
 
 
Trigger Warning : Contains Speculatory Numbers. I know the weight between a man and a woman is not the same, but for the sake of equality in a video game world, we will take a man's and a woman's weight as being the same.
 
 
 
 
If a person does the math, they can see that

{ [ ( LV.2 - Trv.1 + MAs ) * m.2 ] / Surface Area of Striking Medium } / { [  (  G.V.1 _ AV.1 + 1)  * m.1  ] / Volume Factor }
 

For a person weighing 80 Kg with a 15 Kg shield if attacking from 1 meters distance without any built speed and an enemy who's 80 Kg and idle ( G.V.1 = 9.8 m/s as of the velocity of the gravity in a 1G enviroment and a 0 m/s Transversal Velocity  and zero angular velocity), the Hit Status Effect is 190 / 864 - these are Newton Values - we get a 20% Hit Status Effect (parry or block in the Hit Status formula.

But you didn't notice the wording of the attack with a shield. It's Shield SLAM (refer to Part 1 for what a Slam is).
 
A Shield Slam Melee Action is 100% damage ( damage math will be covered in part 3, my case of Scottish Liquid Fire has not yet arrived ), and the 20% bonus is on TOP of the 100%. Your target is now Dazed (penalty to angular velocity, thus less Newtons applied, as they are "out of balance"). You consecutive attacks now will be even MORE powerful in the equation.
 
Note : The Double-Tapped S bonus to weight, when using shields can provide a buffer do damage. This is to counter-act the shield's weight and associated weight of the heavy armror it SHOULD be used with. This is to keep the playing field balanced mobility to dps to tanking triangle.


But what about the Arming Sword in the same scenario? Glad you asked stranger.
 
With 
 
{ [ ( LV.2 - Trv.1 + MAs ) * m.2 ] / Surface Area of Striking Medium } / { [  (  G.V.1 _ AV.1 + 1)  * m.1  ] / Volume Factor }
 
and the aforementioned added factors to MAs (sword gives range) and m.2 (sword has mass added onto your arm's inate weight) we got roughly a 115% Hit Status on an idle target of the same weight and wearing a Light Armor (Volume Factor of 1).
This makes the Arming Sword's - and best sword in the world - opening strike, to an idle and unsuspected target, a Slam attack. But it's a sword. Used in conjuction with a shield or attacking a target as they walk or with high speed, is going to guarantee the attack is a daze, as the attacker's movement makes them less "rooted".

Note : Weapons that use BOTH arms, taking as an m.2 value twice the value of one arm (which is 5% of the total body mass, thus 10% + sword weight). If you were to use a sword witH BOTH hands, the effects would be much more slice and dice, espeically if you are wearing a mobile + beefier armor, like a medium armor.

3. Martial Arts - Train it, mix it and become a living weapon.

CQC Training 5/5 plus Combat Technique 5/5 plus Armed CQC 5/5 , you unlock deeper specialisations with your fighting styles. Now, you can learn how to apply different types of a Punch with Wing Chun, quicker hits that recover faster thus netting you a short Combo[/b] cooldown, or train heavier, more brutal strikes via Boxing or Muai Thai or Kick-Boxing. Each style, has its own 5 rank skill trianing, each rank providing a deeper bonus when using these attacks you unlocked compared to the traditional punch.

Train enough of them, and mix them all together in one glorious Mixed Martial Arts combo. As you noticed earlier, you can't have a weapon and a punching Melee Action, but now, you can have a knee-kick . All martial arts unlock unique combo finishers, from grapples, to machinegun barrage punches. You can't also have a Martial Art's finisher and have a gun equipped.
 
Of course, this very skill training, is meant to make YOU a living weapon. You no longer need a melee weapon - as long as you do not miss their Combo Finisher effects.

This is the end of Part 2. On Part 3, we'll look into how we can amp a hit's strength, by mixing armor equipment - the heavier you are, the stronger you are. But what if I want to be faster, paper-tanky and strong? Well then, we gonna talk about artificial muscles and magnetic servos, and a way for using modules that can help with a gun's accuracy and stability to be used for melee combat - just don't expect to survive. You can't be agile, armored and strong. You can either choose to excel in one field, or Okay in two ofthem and shit at the third, or be an average armor guy. Specialising an armor comes with a price. You can be a rogue / mage , just accept the fact you have the glass cannon power of one with the sneakiness and near zero dps tanking of the other.

Cheers

Let's get the cat out of the bag. There's no possible way NQ can make a realistic "Jade Empire" style real time combat, or ]Insert Realistic Sowrdplay Combat] game here - not in the sense of physically based blocks, parries and dodges.

But what if the system was not about reaction but approach, keeping melee about tactics, and reading your opponent's attacks, rather than spam spam WoW autoattacks?

Here's the idea, step by step, from Basics, to Advanced, to Dedicated Space Ninjas.

This is gonan be split to 3 parts, cause the amount of alcohol I got readily availab,e is not enough to fuel me past the Basics.


Part 1 : Basic Melee Combat - Hand-to-Hand OR Foot-to-Groin - don't believe the hype, honour is thrown out of the window when your DACs are on the line.

1. The mechanic should be reliant on things NQ already has figured out. Momentum, inertia, mass and angular velocity. 

2. The mechanic is lock-on. This is not, by any means, any differnet than the shooting combat, it's only "very close" range. And it comes with a caveat - telegraphed attacks. But hey, if the enemy can't see you, they can't see the telegraph #No-Honour. 

3. Melee is situational, it's Close Quarters Combat. So if, you want to act like a rabid zombie chasing after people for fistycuffing them, you are shit outta luck son. But in the close confinements of a spaceship's corridor? If you get the drop on someone, you can kick their ass. Which is what CQC is all about. This is not, by any means, spam autoattacking. This is about patience, tactic and bluffs.

4. The mechanics proposed for advanced melee are something that can easily be pushed for a later release, but the basic part is something I think is needed in the game, as it can make people less "trigger happy" or "invasive" of a person's home base. It also makes frigging sense :| 

A brief commentary , this combat system is from one of the best melee combat games I ever played that has lock-on combat melee and reactive commands when it comes to dodging in a Dice Roll system. That game is Age of Conan. 


2. The Mechanics.

A. The Default Melee.

For default, people who have one simple move - a kick OR a punch - in a thing called "Reflex Action". Yes, a kick or a punch. That should be the default "melee move", a Melee Action. Punches can recover faster, but Kicks can deal more damage. Arkers never skip on Leg Day :V .

The Melee Action in question can only be executed within a 2 meters window, in which you "wind up for the attack with a punch or jump and kick, and upon connecting, you perform apply the melee effect. Fancier moves will be theorised on Part 2. Damage Numbers will be theorycrafted on Part 2 as well. This is the basics and a suggestion.


B. A Method and an Intent.
 
Your avatar locks another avatar upon reaching "close range", instnatly locking on them and allowing you strafe left or right while keeping the target in the center of your POV. 
 
This may be reminescent of Dark Souls and it's actually, I got inspiration from there as well. But the inspriation ends there, everything else is EVE's math-based combat adapted for Melee, with Age of Conan mechnaics.
 
 
 
This affects of a melee attack, are compared between the Attack's Strnegth and the Defender's Poise, depending on your Melee Action of choice. No worries, I will explain the Poise and Attack Strength factors and how they differ later on, with the math involved.
If you sprint and have Kick as your Melee Action, your character will "dash" a short distance and - more or less - Dropkick the enemy. 

If you sprint and have Punch as your Melee Action, your character will "Wind Up" and attack.

The difference between the two, will become apparent soon.

Now, depending on the values involved, your attack, like any attack with a rifle, can have 3 outcomes - the final one depending on your Reflex Action. Slam, Daze, Stagger, Stun,  Knock Away / Back  

Depending on the percentage your attack strength overcame the enemy's Poise, they suffer the most punishing of the 5 outcomes.

Slam : 100% to 120% stronger than the enemy's Poise. You deal damage and distabise them, ttacking a small window of opportunity for an angular velocity penalty, giving them a small window of before being able to fire back at you or retaliate with a melee of their own.

Daze : 120% to 140% stronger Attack to Poise. Your target suffers a tempraorary loss of accuracy as you pretty much sucker punched them or drop kicked them hard enough to make them see birdies. They also suffer a angulr velocity penalty.

Stagger : 140% to 160% : Target loses balance, reducing the opponent's Angular Velocity - when idle, the target wis going to be open for a MUCH harder Hit Status effect from a consequent attack.

Stun : 160% to 180% : Your attack totally thrown off the enemy. Minor concussion makes them lose control for a moment. Staggering effect applies after the stun.

Knock Away : Kick maximum outcome. 180% to 200% : You kicked the guy so hard, he flew in the direction you were heading (your angular momentum), knocking them down on their back or on the side.

Knock Back : Punch maximum outcome : 180% to 200% : Catching the enemy off guard, you cause a super staggering effect, sending the enemy stumbling backwards a few feet.

The victim suffers all the effects after they recover from the most punishing effect you inflicted. A Knocked Away / Back victim, will suffer penatlies on accuracy and or poise if you open them with a very strong attack/

This means, that you need to know who you go up against. You see a person in a Heavy Armor? Your light armor won't give you much in the way of weight behind your attack. You may get a good hit on them, but you are better off keeping distance. And god forbid you go up against a Power ARmor tank. You won't even damage them, as yoir attack will be less that their poise They might as well Kick you back, you'll fly off..

However, this very system, means that if a target is heading AWAY from you, and you attack them from behind, your attack has MORE strength, as you use their own speed against them.


C. Reflex Action.

This is the point we discuss Defensivee Actions - or more likely Reflex Actions, cause any defense is 99% reflex.

Like choosing your Melee Action, you can choose your Reflex Action, only they are tied to your keyboard input.

Double-tapping a directional key, should give you the ability to perform a dart, dash or even dive - the dsitance gained may vary from armor weight to armor weight.

Double-tapping W, will help you dart, able to help a soldier on the fiield to reach cover while dodging shots with a small bonus to the soldier's all three velocities. A reflect action that can be used defesively and offensively.

Double-tapping A or D , makes you dash, making you push yourself left or right, able to get in the path of something - or someone. Speed "boost" may vary on the actino with skill training.

Double-tapping S[/s], makes you ready to block an attack, giving you bonus to body mass as a Defender, to emulate you "standing your ground" for a few seconds, making you more tolerable of an attack. When using a Shield weapon, it raises the shield and keeps the shield raised until reactivated. It provides a Transversal bonus as well, which may sound right, but makes sure attacks from BEHIND YOU, cause more Hit Status effect (the formula at the end).

These can provide you with a sudden burst of speed, in the case you realise you are being attacked. Someone lunges at you with a punch and you see them rushing at you? Test your luck perhaps, rush them down with your attack, your combined speeds will lead to your attacks clashing.


Thisi s the point we discuss what happens if an attack is below 100% rate between attacker and defender.

Dodged / Blocked : 0% to 20% Attack to Defense Ratio.. Nothing. Depends on if the attacker was slower or the defender was actively working to block the attack, by rushing and then blocking, gaining a bonus on force behind their wait and gaining MORE inertia by actively blocking. on a Block, you stagger the opponent momentarily, ending i na loss of angular velocity depednign on the weight difference between the two.

Graze / Parry : 20% to 40% : likewise with 0% to 20%. If the you move too fast, the attack will barely graze you, if your block was not enough, Parrying the blow will suffice. Yes, Parrying CAN happen with whien block with a shield or an arm, parrying is about deflecting an attack.  You take minute damage. On a Parry, you have a chance of disamring an opponent (debuff, not actual physical object removal from an avatar's equipment), depending on mass differential betwen each oponent's weapon medium. Does not apply on unarmed combat.

​Bounce Off : 40% to 60% : double the parry damage.

Glancing Blow : 60% to 80% : double Bounce Off damage.

Direct Hit : 80% to 100% : You hit the target for full damage. 

At this point, I should explain this damage you deal with your attack is MITIGATED by the opponent's armor, mainly, via kinetic resistance. The arguement can be made for "taser knuckles" or "electric batons" (salute to Nightwing fans) or - let's face it - lightsabers or Plasma Swords, that would deal thermal damage. But since this is about BASICS, this will be in Advanced Melee, Part 2 of 3, sponsored by my old friend, whiskey.

Case in point, a person wearing a nanoweave armor, are much durable against any and all kinetic attacks. They are still stunnable, but they won't feel much of your punches when it comes to damage. HOWEVER, if you were to use a taser knuckle, they will be TOAST, as carbon nanotubes LOVE conducting electricity. So, the rule of "use the proper tool for the job", still applies. This is not "spam autoattacks" this is about thinking and bluffing the enemy.
 
 
Any attack percentage resulting in negative values, results in an attack missing.
 
D. The Ruthless Calculus ( I could not resist the allegory ) 


This part is left non-specific numbers wise, due to the lack of inforamtion of solid numbers and the dynamci nature of the Angular Velocity of the victim. Idle, a person is not with 0 Angular Velocity, but with a constant one downwards, so for the sake of simplicity and to not make the formula 3 pages long, it's a meters per second value at the moment of the attack.


Melee Attack Hit Status.

AV.1 : G in meters per second for the moment of the attack + Angular Velocity in regards to the distance from the attacker Won't even explain. It's going to be in meters per second. 
 
Trv.1  : Transversal Velocity . Simple trigonometry.  The speed you need to have to connect with the target. If negative the target's heading towards you , thus using their speed against them.
 
m.1 : mass of the victim in kg.

LV.2 : Linear Velocity of the attacker.

m.2 : mass of the attacker's "weapon" of choice in Kg. 

MAs : Melee Action Speed : the charge up to an opponent (think Skyrim's melee style) 1 meters minimum range, performing the attack animation in 1 second. Thus if the victim has an Angular Velocity more than your minimum 2 m/s, they will avoid or mitigate significantly the attack. If the victim is out of reach, the hit is a miss.

{ [ ( LV.2 - Trv.1 + MAs ) * m.2 ] / Surface Area of Striking Medium } / { [  (  G.V.1 _ AV.1 + 1)  * m.1  ] / Volume Factor }

It's that simple. Yes, we can put into numbers those things. In this model of combat, a Punch is DPS oriented, but a double drop-kick can procure a better "stun". The 200% debuff, will only apply on the FIRST strike - unlees you cosntantly run back and charge your opponent, again and again. After the opening strike, the victim can block - with the method suggested - or flee.

Yes, there is a chart for a punch's surface area. 

The above image, can be seen as "Further Specialisation", of reducing your surface area of attacking a target. It also shows us that a bigger targets, takes much more force to be moved. You need to be either Heavyweight to fight a Heavyweight, or be a really skileld Lightweight. This would not be any different.


This would be all about timing, juking attacks by dodging left and right and tricking your ooponent into wastin stamina until they are open for an attack - like actual martial arts. No, actual martial arts are not Bayonetta. :|



Cheers.


P.S. : Boy, I can't wait for people to point out how wrong I am for providing an actual solution for melee cobmat that's not WoW or unreasonable.


P.S. : Thanks to Lethys for shouting my ears off to change the equation to be more dynamic.
 
P.S : This equation is not representative of anything. It's a demosntration cause the actua lmath would take quite a while to figure out and quite frankly, I do this out of hobby xD .

The main focus of the game is player interactions. NovaQuark is building this game with tons of awesome features that favor a system run and controlled by players. As such, NPCs (at least things besides creatures or nimals) will be very limited. There won't be stereotypical "quest givers" or anything like that, the whole point of the game is to be different than all others and to be a true sandbox, and it is being built as such.
 
The NPCs that will be in the game will be limited most likely entirely to entities dedicated to regulating the economy. After all, with the way the game is set up, it will emulate real world economies; so you cannot keep adding money to the system. It's delocated, and must be controlled. You don't want too much money floating around, but you don't want too little money either, so it must be regulated.
 
The way things look as of now (though of course stuff like this is always unpredictable), NPCs will be be limited to market bots, perhaps giving money in exchange for materials or something, and will then eventually fade out of existence as the player-to-player economy gets going.
 
Also, if you would like to read what the devs have said about this, give the internet a search; particularly the wiki, as it has all of the devs comments archived.
 
https://dualuniverse.gamepedia.com/Archive