Astrophil

At a fundamental level, I do not support this suggestion. While it is well-motivated, I will second points made by Croomar that especially at this stage, such a measure would appear as a cash grab to those skeptics or prospective yet borderline players. And again, this would only be a short-term fix (as Kurock said, what happens when the pledge portal closes?) that would take far more time to implement than the root problem ever appears. Consider also current organizations founded by non-backing members. Should those be removed then, or be allowed to remain, and what would be the reasoning for either decision?
 
In addition, it is worthwhile to note that, although not particularly prevalent currently, such a measure would only serve to take Dual Universe one step closer to an elitist and divided gaming community. In other words, there will exist a rift between "backers" and "non-backers" (read: elites vs. peasants) that would eventually fundamentally undermine the communal cohesion that we all currently enjoy, and that diversity is what makes Dual Universe that much more incredible.
 
So no, my two cents say no to this idea of allowing only backers to found organizations.

This will work as a short term solution but what happens once the backing portal closes? A potential long term solution that allows anyone to create organisations as well as taking it out of the Community Managers hands is to appoint Moderators that approve of an organisations creation.  Some may still slip through though, so a moderator can mark these as problems and either have the legates fix it or have the community manager put it in quarantine.
 
I am not saying this is *the* solution. But it is *a* solution.

Because leaderboard.

Amateurs. 
 
If you want some pointers on alts, just PM me!

I have “transcribed” the Q&A from the video of the conference that was held on February 28th. This is not a direct transcription; I have cut out general conversation, anything that was repeated, and just put in an overall format change to make the discussion that occurred more appropriate for reading. The idea was to isolate information. It was often difficult to hear exactly what was being said, so this was further reason not to quote the conference verbatim. I have not added anything that was not said (there were times when I was tempted to add in some of the things I know about the game, but I didn’t!). If you feel that anything is left out, or that something should be changed, then please let me know!
 
Something else that I have added in is ‘extra info’. This is stuff which was not directly asked about, but which came up in discussion and I thought appropriate to add.
 
This documentation begins around the 30 minute mark of the video (which can currently be found on their Facebook page), when the Q&A started.
 
 
How in depth will the mechanics of refining resources and creating alloys be?
There will be some pretty deep recipe networks, which will make building complex or high-end elements quite complicated, to the point where the specializations required will be so varied that some of the components will most likely have to be purchased from the market. There will be different alloys which can be created by combining different resources and materials, which can be used to create interesting materials and properties. Alloys may be something that the player can research, to allow for them to find new ways of combining different resources to achieve different properties.
 
Can you transport hover vehicles inside of larger ships; in other words, transport small ships inside of larger ships?
Definitely yes, this is the whole architecture of the game. The technology of the servers are all made for that, so yes.
 
How is in-game currency generated? Do you do missions, sell stuff, buy orders?
It is unlikely there will be missions, but this is not completely ruled out. They may be added later, but the main source will be from NPCs/bots on the market, where you can spend your money or sell your stuff. One of the issues with bots however is that they have to be designed such that they do not disrupt the economy; the economy is intended to be shaped by players. The intent is that market bots will amplify or emulate transactions that are occurring between players.
 
Will market bots be permanent, or will they come and go away after a while?
The idea is that, if there is a lot of activity by players, they should go away, but this is not final. They may be used later in the game's life to make changes to the amount of money in circulation to regulate the economy. The main thing is that the amount of money in the game should be proportional to the number of players, as well as the type of activity taking place and the amount of the respective activity.
 
Extra Info:
The name of the currency in the game will be quanta. Quanta, the plural of quantum, is a unit of energy; since the currency will sort of be the “energy” of a lot of the game, the name quanta is appropriate.
 
Does having things in your inventory increase your mass, and does that influence construct physics?
Definitely yes. If a player has a lot of things in their inventory, and they step into a ship, they might push the ship down. A ship with lots of containers may fly well with no cargo, but if the containers are filled up then the ship may not be able to fly anymore.
 
Will there be chat systems? Global, regional, planetary?
There will be some sort of local regional chat. However, regional is not easily defined in the game; for example, a planet could have hundreds of thousands of people on it, so regional is not something that is precisely defined yet. But there needs to be something at least that allows players to talk to other nearby players.
 
Will there be such a thing as ship linking; will there be docking ports?
Small ships docking inside of larger ships is definitely a planned feature. However, docking two ships of the same size together gets a little bit more messy. With that feature, large layers and chains of ships could be created. At this point, which player is controlling the physics?
 
How will construct repair work?  Will there be repair units, or will it all have to be done by hand?
It will always be possible to repair by hand, but there will be repair units that will be able to restore a ship back to what it initially was before it was damaged, provided the unit has the required resources, energy, and time. The repair unit will know what the construct it is a part of is supposed to look like, and it will have the capability of restoring a construct back to that original image if the construct is damaged.
 
How does the production of ships from blueprints work? Is it an instantaneous process, does it happen after a specific time, part by part?
It is not going to be instantaneous, it is going to take time. It will take resources and energy, and probably if it is significant then it will need to be defended in some way, unless it’s happening in the safe zone. The required time will be proportional to the size of what is being built, so mass producing battle cruisers is not something that will be able to be done overnight.
 
What happens to a flying ship when I destroy its engine in space? Does it just come to a stop or does it continue at the last known speed?
Engines are physical. So if there are two engines, one on each side of a ship, and one of the engines is destroyed, then the ship is going to spin. The core idea is that engines are physical, so if they are destroyed then that can impact how the ship moves. There is a very good chance that, given that there is no friction in space, a ship will continue to move if its engines are shut off. However, if a player were to be in a moving ship, log off, and come back three weeks later, they would find themselves in the middle of nowhere; this is not desirable.
 
Will there be cloaking?
There will be cloaking. It will probably not be around at release, but it is one of the features that seems obvious for a game like Dual Universe. This is desirable for a player than may want to log off for a while; they can cloak and lock a ship to keep it safe.
 
What methods will be available to detect constructs, and to avoid being detected?
There needs to be a way to detect others in the game. There will be ways to scan for players, whether on or below ground; and similarly there will be something like a distortion field that allows you to be hidden from sensors. But, there should never be a totally foolproof way to hide without some weakness. It will also be possible to put trackers on ships, and a corresponding countermeasure to that.
 
Extra info:
The nanoformer will be able to 3D print basic and fundamental parts and components for the player to use.
Ships can be stolen and reverse engineered; Lua scripts can be read by those who steal a ship with a script on it.
 
How are scripts shared between players; a script runs client side, but is it shared with players?
Scripts are always running on the players machine, but the text of the script is synchronized, so everybody can see it. So if there are different control units with different scripts in them, one player can start one of them and another can start the other script, and they will run in parallel. Similarly, whatever the scripts do is synchronized by the server for all players. Scripts are run on the clients computer, but several players can be simultaneously running and using different scripts which are all made by a single player (and thus running on that players computer), and all players can see the effects of the scripts. One exception is that you cannot have two players controlling the same element at the same time.
 
Can scripts be hacked?
Hacking will be a skill within the game which will allow a player to bypass RDMS systems. It will require time, and is a planned feature, but may not be present at release.
 
Extra Info:
Locations are something that can be itemized; as an example, the coordinates of a vein of ore within a planet can be “itemized” whereby it can be sold on the market.
Reputation will be a mechanic within the game, but exactly how it will work is not completely finalized.
 
Will armors for players be modular (i.e. heavy armor chestpiece type-A with legpiece type- B ), or are we looking forward to a single-piece type of armor, and in an extent, will weapons be a part of an armor or are they separate customizable entities?
Armor will be separate; that is for sure. It is likely, certainly at release and at least for a while, that player armor mechanics will remain simplified, but the concept has potential to expand.
 
Can a solo player fly a warship with many weapons, or does each weapon need a player?
There needs to be a player for every weapon; that is the requirement. This is for several reasons, one being that the game is an MMO intended to have players working together, another that it doesn’t make sense for one person to single-handedly control a huge warship.
 
Have you considered how you are going to do the updates?
There will be expansions every ~6-12 months. Updates with new features will come out at regular intervals.
 
If you claim two territories next to each other, do they fuse together as one big one?
There will be ways to link territory units. Players will also have the option of having lots of little territory units, or one big territory unit that links everything. This gives the option of having one large easily defended tile which covers a huge area, or lots of distributed and less easily defendable tiles which only allow access to the local territory. One mechanic which may be present is that a claimed territory tile cannot be attacked if it is surrounded by other claimed territory tiles, provided they all have the same owner.
 
Will players ever need food?
The question of food is linked to survival gameplay. There probably will not be survival gameplay at the beginning, because it requires so much work to be functional, but it is something that has the potential to be added later.
 
Extra Info:
A bowl of rice is 8 dollars in San Francisco.

Illiterate leaders are the best leaders.

I frequently get asked about how I make the ODY blueprints and what programs I use, so I made a short video showcasing my design process. Enjoy!
 


 
If you'd like to see more from us in the future (game play, promos, live streams?) then subscribe to the channel. 

I was thinking more like...mad scientist's supersoldier breeding facility. Basically the same thing though.

How exactly does a player play as a non-player character?

Novaquark will not be hosting a black tie sit down dinner with JC Baillie and your favorite Novaquark employees in the street outside Novaquark headquarters in Paris.
 
We do not request the pleasure of your company.
 
Where: Not on the street outside Novaquark headquarters in Paris.
When: Not on 1 April 2017, 19:00
Catering: The three course meal will not be catered for by Olivier Amestoy and his talented chefs from the nearby Auxria Restaurant.
RSVP: Do not RSVP.
 
 
Instead of paying for the ticket to this dinner, the cost of renting/buying formal wear, and the cost of travel and potentially an hotel for one night (shared or not), consider purchasing a Dual Universe pledge of equal value here: https://community.dualthegame.com/pledge

The first iteration, of an ODY hovercraft concept. Lifted by 4 hover engines, it is intended primarily for racing, recon, and exploration.
 
To explore the full collection of ODY concepts, click here.
 
 

What wretched soul decided to bring this sad excuse of a thread back to life?
 
My poor "New Content" list is absolutely congested.

What wretched soul decided to bring this sad excuse of a thread back to life?
 
My poor "New Content" list is absolutely congested.

Definitely a mix of biomes.
 
A really nice and warm tropical island chain but where the mainland also has some gorgeous, beautiful mountains and expansive countryside. A good place to build those enchanting French chateaus and Greek villas.

Un*official

Un*official

If i could chose my "home"-planet would have a mix of mountain chains, lakes, dense forests and large grass plains. Partly snowy.

Definitely a mix of biomes.
 
A really nice and warm tropical island chain but where the mainland also has some gorgeous, beautiful mountains and expansive countryside. A good place to build those enchanting French chateaus and Greek villas.

I think this goes into a deeper question of, what is the role of government in Dual Universe?
 
Obviously the purpose of government in-game is going to be much different than real-world government, which isn't an easy distinction to make because there is endless debate about what the purpose of government should be.
 
 
Personally, I subscribe to Murray Rothbard's school of thought as laid out in "Anatomy of The State", which I recommend anyone interested in the topic read (available for free here: https://mises.org/sites/default/files/Anatomy%20of%20the%20State_3.pdf ). It's a short read at ~60 pages in large font, but the fundamentals of what the purpose of government should be in a free and open society are laid out quite succinctly. 
 
 
I believe the purpose of government in real-life should be to protect free trade, and in doing so that involves protecting the rights (civil/property/etc) of the people. That does not involve taxation on income, rather taxation on the production of goods and services and imports/exports. That also precludes any censorship that might arise in the field of free trade, as I don't necessarily believe it's the government's purpose to dictate what people can and can't purchase with their own money. Money also doesn't really have true value if you're limited in how you can use it. 
 
In the real-world, governments need to raise money to pay for militaries, social services and the operation of the bureaucracies that make them up. They do this by levying taxes on income and trade, and all areas of the economy. All of this done under the guise of the "social contract", which I'm not particularly a proponent of. 
 
 
 
In Dual Universe I see government filling one of many purposes:
 
Protecting Free Trade Protecting property rights Providing infrastructural services (everything from energy grids to traffic control for spaceships)  
I think anything else that a government would do in DU could fit into one of those three things, and I don't necessarily believe that governments should be responsible entirely for the third on that list (hence the old anarchist joke, "who will build the roads?"). 
 
That will all likely lead into a debate amongst governments and those they govern about what services they should provide for their people. Should governments provide healthcare (in the form of respawn modules), should governments provide universal income, should they provide raw materials to their people? 
 
Which in turn gets into another question of, are all of the people living in a governed area employees? Will these governments allow for citizens to live in their territories without necessarily having to do work for them? Or are all of the citizens of a particular government state employees? 
 
 
 
All of those questions are going to dictate how any particular government raises money to pay for its existence.
 
Another driving philosophy is going to be whether a particular organization sees its government as an entity in of itself, or if they recognize that governments are amorphous entities composed of people. 
 
 
Personally, I would favor a tax based on the use of markets in territories. If you're trading in a heavily defended area, you should expect to pay more for that government-backed service. Alternatively, if the tax rates are low, that may bring in more trade, however, it will come with the downside of not getting all of the perks that you'd otherwise pay for. Although, that doesn't necessarily mean that every heavily taxed territory would be more protected.
 
 
- I'm stepping away but I will finish my thoughts in a follow up post - 

https://discord.gg/Dcsue8N
 
The word ‘tuemen’ is Mongolian and the name of the 10,000-man division that formed the core of the Mongol Army under Chingis Haan. Likewise, the Tuemen Foundation is the central resource for the study of military art and warfare in Alioth. It is an independent organization and holds firmly to a neutral stance to all other organizations in or originated from Alioth.
 
Our purpose is to record and study the conduct of warfare among combatants, and the composition and effectiveness of their forces. In this way we hope to provide the means of avoiding military disaster and reducing death and destruction of property. We are analysts of war and historians of warfare from the earliest times on Earth to the present era of Alioth.
 
Hiya, folks. Seemed like a good idea to put together an org focused on warfare and military history for Dual Universe. It's an academic organization that caters to no one and provides a forum for those of like mind, where they can discuss and debate on military trends or theories pertaining to the world of Alioth and its environs. If interested please feel free to submit an application to join the org. 
 
If you enjoy discussing topics like military history and the military arts this may be an organization you'll enjoy.
 
Bayarlalaa!

Hi everyone!   So it seems we will have no last minute participants in the end (sadly Anonymous didn't make it in time but kudos to him nonetheless, to have finished his lengthy fan fiction!).  "The Last Arkship" will be considered as a participation but won't be eligible for any prize, as the text didn't reach the required 5000 words.   @Temerian: First text added (it wasn't displayed in the first time, it was already taken into account) and typo fixed for the title of the second text.   So here is the final list of eligible fan fictions for a prize (a total of 14, made by 13 authors):   "Crossing lives" by Ashteron "Yellow Submarine" by Temerian "Everyday life of an agent" by Zamarus "The Space Trix" by Rrovall "Blood and Ice" by Rockerboy2020 "Experiment Alpha" by Kurock "That Bright Dawn" by Aetherios "Pis Aller" by Velenka "The Sleeper" by Peregrin "Left Behind" by Devious_T "First Contact" by Arkanos "Rebirth" by Temerian "Memories of a pirate" by Lethys "Parting Gifts" by BenFargo   Participation Prize: all participants will get a DAC for their participation (independently of having won a prize or not).    
Not necessarily. It will be decided on a case by case basis by the Novaquark team, depending also strongly about the amount of work a participant will have to provide to a contest. We don't want it to become an incentive to participate with no real motivation and minimal effort, just in order to get the participation reward.    
Yes, it may be possible. Including a fan fiction in the official lore is something completely independant from the Novawrimo Contest. For more information, read this topic.   Best regards, Nyzaltar.

Hi everyone,
 
While we can understand some behavior are not acceptable, the official forum is not a place where screenshots from external media (like Discord and such) can be posted without the agreement of all involved parts. Posting links to external websites just to display discussions from Discord fall in the same category. This forum is not meant to be a place to settle your score with anyone (even if there are good reasons to do so). This thread will now be closed to avoid any further outburst.
 
Thank you in advance for your understanding.
 
Best regards,
Nyzaltar.

AEONIAN FEDERATION
 
 
The Aeonian Federation is an intergalactic umbrella organization comprising both sovereign Member Organizations and Individual Citizens who share a common vested interest in progress and prosperity. But what is it, really?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
•••Too Long, Didn't Read•••
 
 
 
 
 
Enrollment: Accepting citizens and organizations - enjoy the privileges of Aeoniancitizenship.
 
 
 
 
 
Timezones: Global
 
 
 
 
 
Primary language: English
 
 
 
 
 
Focus: To promote progress and prosperity among our members.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
•••The Pillars of the Federation•••
 
 
 
 
 
A Military Alliance
 
 
The universe is a treacherous place. We at the Federation hold the belief that military strength and solidarity are critical to our members’ interests in the face of those who seek to violate them. Our Non-Aggression Pact and military cooperation are only part of Aeonian’s firm dedication to security.
 
 
 
 
 
An Economic Syndicate
 
 
Operating an advanced and wide-reaching network of markets across the universe, the Aeonian Federation is a key player in the galactic economy. With additional banking and investment options available to members, the Federation unlocks the path to prosperity and financial security.
 
 
 
 
 
A Visionary Pioneer
 
 
As a progressive, forward-thinking organization, the Aeonian Federation is always striving to do what has never been done before. We challenge the traditional “guild alliance” paradigm and emphasize the importance of member and organization sovereignty. We push the technical limits of what Dual Universe represents, undertaking bold enterprises such as Project Emberstone. Rest assured: there’s no such thing as “boring” at the Federation.
 
 
 
 
 
A Community and Family
 
 
The Federation isn’t the typical dictatorship guild. Although we may appear large, we’re also a tight-knit family dedicated to player cohesion. With our revolutionary Nexus hubs (the ultimate social network) and frequent game nights, the Aeonian Federation offers the best of both worlds: the friendship of a small community and the security of a large, established organization.
 
 
 
 
 
•••The Administration•••
 
 
 
 
 
In order to keep AFED running smoothly and its members happy and safe, the Syndicate employs a variety of structural techniques and facilities to ensure the integrity and continued existence of the Federation. These make up the Administration of the Aeonian Federation. Take a look below:
 
 
 
 
 
Directorate
 
 
The legates of the Federation, there to maintain the integrity of the entire system.
 
 
 
 
 
Magistratum
 
 
The legislative and judicial division, there to resolve internal conflicts/disputes, create internal policy, and oversee diplomatic relations.
 
 
 
 
 
Grand Assembly
 
 
The collective assembly of the Aeonian Federation. Composed of representatives from each member organization as well as individual citizens, the Grand Assembly is a place of discussion between the members of the Federation, where actions and resolutions can be diplomatically discussed.
 
 
 
 
 
Administration
 
 
All of the various other departments necessary to make the Federation function. Many valuable teams and departments are part of the Administration, including our Development Department, design teams, Defense Department, and Communications Department.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
•••The Verdict•••
 
 
 
 
 
Aeonian is a choice. Your choice.
 
 
Let your dreams take flight.
 

With thanks to Atlas5