ttcraft0

Well, well, well.
 
In this game is it all about giving the players freedom to create whatever they like, isnt that right?
 
With big factions, nations, companies will the world of DU rise and fall. Over and over again, untill DU is over and we have found us a new game to play, or we do not play PC games at all enymore. Who knows? You will very soon expirence that some players gets richer than others, that the wealth float to others hands. Then will you work, then will the nations grow, the companies, the factions! And so will desulation come. Ther will be war. And after the war. New life, new empires, through the universe!
 
But who do you think will mine all day, who do you think will take the HARD work on their backs! Who do you think will fight as soliders in the wars. Who?! Those who is not often online, they will meet up when the sound of cannons breaks the world, they would stand there and collect resources. One by one. Bit by bit. Not much as one but enourmous as one. They, and not just they will be the backs in wich the sosicity lays on.
 
I suggest that you use Both. versions
B2P and P2P in that way would we not only support those who would play all day. But also they who just needs a timebreak, huge events or just play with their friend sometimes. You say that B2P comes with people who can destroy the game. Well we all can! One by one, or in a group could you easely destroy the game for many people. But hey! How could you destroy a game where you are free to do what you want! (Yeah I see the problem with hackers, but what do we have admins for!) If you do not feel safe for griefers. Dont you see what a nation could do for you in this place. Loalty and taxses against protection and law. Booom! I just solved the problem. Ther! Ther! Do you se. It is the gold, ready to get collected. YOU GET THAT, IF I GET THIS. Thats how it works in real life. Thats how it works in minecraft kingdomes. And that how it should work in DU. I could say as much as this about it. I creats history, fun and tears.
 
I suggest that you could use B2P as an kind of option to P2P for those with money but not that much of time. I show you an exemple.
 
50-100$ for B2
X$ for P2P
 
Then those who wish to could easelly just buy the game for a high price and just have it forever with the same rights and services as they who use the P2P. In that way do we take care of everyone instead of just one faction of people. (Ok we lose the F2P guyes, but thats for another day)
 
I want realy to play with my friends on DU. Make it great. Make it shine. For this idea, is what I was aiming for the first time i looked at steam.
I found the bullet in DU.
 
Lets go and make history guyes,
And as always. Stay cool..
 
- [ ] The Titan

sorry friend, but go to ESO and take a look the desert that is inside, what makes a server alive are the players, player come to a game that is easy and welcome to join.



if server have 10k+ online the game shop will pay and be way more lucrative than subscription method, 
i hope you have read the  P2P part of my article, i know its huge, but i think the explanation is clear about why P2P don't prioritize the costumer and  are very unbalanced because of different currency's of real world, plz analyse as a company not as a player, and it turns P2W to if a player can sell those PLEX

I just saw this and...• GG for the build and the time spent to do it
• Good computer for the render distance and the shaders (it's just beautiful )
 
I want to tell you you're a pro
 
Hope we could trade in the future

[ Not to small ] Article about Monetization in MMORPG games.
 
 
Hello All
  [Prologue]
 I want express my point of view on this subject, I hope it reaches some one of Novaquark.
I will write in form of an article and  will try to not be repetitive with all of already said before. Continuing where devblog have stopped. Also will not let my personal preference as a player influence on the analysis Speaking as an analyst, I'm not a hater of any of this methods they are all ways to do business.(as player i have my preferences, since I've been in a lot of serves with different ways of monetization)

  [ The Analysis]   P2W - Serious players will never tolerate it, simply because its unfair, so i will ignore this one at this time.
Just a mention to take in consideration: P2W is a valid method and still a very lucrative one,
used in special by the mobile game developers, and yes it works for their public!


  F2P - The 1st Big MMO company to adopt a true F2P, breaking the paradigm of P2P on their games was NCSoft, that once notice that almost 50% of ppl that was playing their most successful  title "Lineage2"(P2P), were not playing on their servers, most of serious players were preferring to play on open source private servers. The main reasons: F2P, Bot-protection, faster leveling up. Some well administrated (few bugs, Not P2W, ant-cheat) international servers had about 5k+ active players on 2006. NCSoft took about 5 years of study players style and desires and learn from their mistakes, when they announce that Lineage2 would open its new version remade from scratch and complete F2P it produced a commotion on the MMO market, they delivered a game that was not only F2P but done based on players desires, and with this they got back all players and put an end to the private serves era. Now they use the same method to almost all their games. Following NCSoft, experience many companies have changed to F2P, but not all of them manage it to well. F2P can keep your game alive for long time always bringing new players to the pool,
MMO games are all about to interact with others and make friends, this new players not only replace ones that left but make the old players want to stay in, once a player reach the end-game, they get bored easily, and use to act like: "since I'm already on a nice position let me try this new game" and soon he lose the interest and move on to the new game that has new things to explore and challenges him again, specially if our game is P2P,  few ppl i know would pay for 2 games at once.
One of the things that most keep the players inside the game are the newcomers that can be one friend or relative you call to join you or a random new player that you become friend, and by helping this guy will keep the player away from get bored and leave the game.
  Conclusion:
F2P is a valid method if well implemented.
It's totally possible to run a F2P game server without  become a flat crappy or P2W.
But need an advanced administration strategy and close follow up by the dev studio, what is a hard thing do to.


  B2P - Method Used by many games like ESO (and Minecraft but that's a different story)To start in the game the company can let the player insinde for about 2 weeks, just to get ride of refund requests by those that doesn't enjoy/can't run the game well on their hardware.
Most players will love this method because its the easier one for those that can afford, if one loved the game and think will have fun for a long time he will agree on purchase from about $50 to $300 since he would only pay once. For the company is a nice way to get the invested money fast and move on. Sadly this method only works for real on single player games, not for MMOs that need to be kept alive for years paying the server and crew and also finance the next game years later. There is a high chance that the server will run out of players and die fast, because no matter if you have an in-game store selling stuff for real money, since few new players will join the game from 10 months later the launch.

And obviously the players will have to face 2 obstacles just at the beginning, the price itself that its not cheap for many gamers, specially for those who depends on parents to pay for his game. And payment method that many times require and international credit card that most ppl don't have. (the so called pay wall)
  Conclusion B2P is a great method for a single player game that development ends few days after the game launch. Not for MMORPGs.



  P2P - The most classic MMO charge method of all, and still been used by some of the "big fish" like WOW and EVE.The company/studio will always love this one!!.. Because its the easiest for the company! Its like have your house rented,
The money will keep coming monthly, and for a game, its almost an automated management, The crew can focus on their specialty, develop games! Not waste their brains and time on complex marketing planing.Business administration was always one of hardest and vital jobs on any company, specially on MMOs game market where most of "Business Master Degree" professionals has zero know-how and zero experience, so how can the software house will find the right man for the job ? how to keep a game server on and fun and alive and lucrative ? the easy way is pay to play a monthly fee...
 As its notorious by reading the community posts that many players agree with this method,
because they look trough a customers optics, not  of a business:
"If the company provide a good service, and can afford for it, I'm OK on paying the price its charged". So P2P is the best and viable method to work right ?
  On a basic analysis, it seems to be, but a company must look forward and deeper. If you do study a little deeper the P2P method you start to find out why its considered obsolete and most of companies stop to use it
and the few who still using it had implemented some workarrounds technics to keep things running.
  As start, since it is a payed service it also recommended to give a free limited period to players test the game, the customer seems with good eyes and once more works to avoid lots of refund requests and some legal issues.
But lets analyze  some drawbacks of P2P method:
Players once leave the game to "test" other games  will rarely be back. Players with low budge will include the game as "superfluous" on their monthly house accounting and have unconscious inclination to think hes not suppose to be paying for the game, its not the game price itself, but it's how the mind assign priorities. Like when you pay for play at a private tennis court, when the budge get tight you stop paying and cross the city to play on public  tennis court.   The "Pay Wall":
Its way higher than it seems to be in the begging! Lets calculate. Game Companies use to charge $15 USD per month.
I heard many times the argument: "the player can chose to not go the Mc'Donalds once a week and pay for the game, so its cheap and healthy". But, Lets pretend You start to play the game today, its great! So you girl that hate you playing FPS games, just like this one because its a creative one and she seems herself more an artist than a gamer girl, and obviously your son will want to play with you and your nephew that you always had purchased games because your boring brother think games are a waste of money. ... Ops! you just notice you end up with 4 subscriptions $60 USD per month! How long you can afford for it ? I knew and still know many ppl on this situation in games like WOW and ESO when they were on P2P model .
  Second very important situation that many international game server and studios haven't notice yet! (or don't care, what i don't think so):
Not all countries have USD or EUR as currency! What brings us to some big problems described below:   1st The Price:
This time using myself as example: I live in Brazil, (that's considered one of the biggest game market in the world)
if I decide to play EVE today, i have to play $63,84 BRL for the 1 month PLEX!.  Its almost as high than my energy bill, higher than my water bill, double than my internet bill, enough to pay for 1 month cooking gas, and so on. When i start the game I will have my consciousness and my family over me every month trying to convene me to stop to play this expensive game, it will be a matter of time for me to drop out.   2nd Loneliness: When a player join a new game, he use to bring many of his friends to start a guild/company and play competitive. With this pay wall, many players will be alone inside, simply because his friends can't afford for it. (I felt that on 1st ESO year). Since MMO are all about team work and friendship, the player friends will be together playing other game, and soon he will drop out to join them.   3rd Payment Method: Many times price isn't the problem, example, Bethesda (ESO) only accept international credit card before start sell ESO on Steam, most potential players, that spend hundreds of dollars per year with games, still don't have international credit cards, nor paypal accept national cc for international purchases. Teenagers, College students, low budget workers and freelancers, rarely will be able to pay for play an international monthly fees.   4th Pay to Win: Most ppl think since a game is P2P its impossible to become P2W, that's not true IF: The player can buy items or PLEX with real money and resell inside for game money.
Its unfair and unbalanced like selling bazookas on server store! Lets use the situations above as subjects: Suppose a player living in UK pay £ 15 EUR, for his monthly fee and buy one more PLEX to sell for game money. while a Latin American player if uses Brazilian Real (BRL that is the strongest LA currency) must pay $ 55 BRL for his monthly fee and more $ 55 BLR for a PLEX to sell.  The UK player spent 30 buck while the Latin player 110 bucks. Not only Latin America currency is lower than USD and EUR, in fact may international community currency are.
  At the initial months of the game a player could sell any "Buyable-Only-For-RL-Money" item like a PLEX, Cosmetic, Pet, etc... For about 1k game money or less. but after the server achieve more than 1 year, the players will be heavy monetized one of those items can easy reach 1kk+.

Now imagine that End-Game TOP PVP gear that can wipe entire planets, are you afraid?! A new player starting today with $ 1000,00 USD to spend can start the game today, buy a lot of items/PLEX on the game store and resell ingame becoming an instant millionary and full heavy equipped, Overpowering many hard work players and unbalancing the game like in any other P2W game server.
  At same time other MMO economic phenomenon (that must times is worse than overpowers heavy cached players).  Is, that ALL ingame market will be balanced in real world money, bringing big advantage for strong currency and rich players, the best items will be priced in real money even when only could be purchased from other players by game money.   Sell items for real money that can be resold inside the game is a very well known technic used by private server owners to mask the P2W unbalanced situation of his game. The store and website says: "We don't sell items that interfere on game competitively"  but once you start to play the game you will notice that all powerful ingame items are overpriced and referenced on real world money like: The top weapon cost 1 billion, or 10 items that can only be purchased with real money. Normally no one can get this 1 billion with out buy items and resell them ingame. Also a big black market use to grow fast selling game  items and weapons out of the game for real money, in sites around the web what makes the game more P2W.   I could tell more details but is enough for now.
  Short Answer:
P2P its viable and easy for the software studio manage, but is the worse method for the players, so that's why its obsolete.
It goes against the modern business paradigm where the company to become successful in the market MUST take the customer satisfaction as main priority, in this case the players are the customers and the service is entertainment and fun play time.
 
 
 
 
 
 
[My Personal Opinion]
  I don't know the gold formula, but pondering about what was posted at developers blog, and my own analysis about many game companies.
  The best monetization method is a Mix of smart use of many technics at once, that as any other company must be well administrated and followed closely. What will not work is any method that company turn ON and think it will work as a static wheel.
  To play the game players must buy a "coin" (as COIN read: pass, Access Level, token, etc..)
That will be available in different types and prices. Coins can be purchased and sent as Gift to an other account but once received its untradable.

My Example of modern MMO monetization system:
Free "Coin":
This allow the player join the game for real, not a 2 weeks demo. The free player can enjoy the game with restrictions, this restrictions MUST be well explained, in a video, not in small font inside an EULA, know exactly how nice are the features they are missing will make them want to buy the payed coin every time they have the money to spend. Many free players will spend a lot of money on the game when they have it in hand, and also will fell safe and well satisfied in the months they can only pay for their internet.
  Free players also will keep the server full and alive, and always recycling, there is not worse than a ghost server for a new player, if you join Bethesda ESO today, you have a big chance to close and ask for refund. They created a state of art game, beautiful and hand made in every single detail, but as its an expensive B2P, there is almost no one there to see their work, all the players are at end-game zones and unless you are expecting a single player game you will find yourself running from one ghost city to an other populated only for NPCs. Its notorious that what makes a game alive for years is a fun and populated server it will keep the old players and attract new ones, its a circle.
  About the restrictions: Free player can have less inventory slots, less space to protect for his base, less access fast mining tools, no automated mining / crafting equipment while they are off line, no access to the (untradable) engine fuel for fast travel on the same system taking half an hour to reach a place that could be reached in 2 minutes with that engine that can only be purchased at game shop, no free warp drive to a free player could only warp to other side of the universe trough warp gates ruled by other players and charged by ingame money. Also free players can be asked to watch a full advertisements before login and fill surveys sometimes and other off game methods of publicity to keep their free access and bring more player for the game.
  Low price "Coin" (something around 5 to 10 bucks) For the casual players and low budgets, it will simply give access to more game features, faster mining, use of local auction system to sell items while his off line, more area to protect for safe base creation, and very few credits to buy untradable items on game shop like cosmetics, pets, slots, fast engine fuels etc. If a player purchase this "coin" 2x during 30 days he wins a bonus color/mark/medal/hat/ship-logo  etc... and few more credits to expend.
 
High cost "Coin" (about 15 bucks) This coin is the P2P method under other skin! And suppose to have the same price of a P2P subscription, this coin technically unlock all features of the game, automated mining, off line sells, few more credits to buy on game shop, probably a anti-material fuel that only runs out 'mysteriously' when the player pass more than 30 days with out buy this coin, than the player must buy his fuel with his left credit on the game shop. This player can use his credits to buy exclusive untradable cosmetics that others cant.
Also this Coin if purchased every month, could allow the player create one warp gate and set an ingame fee for those who want to cross, and one more portal each 3 months eh keep buying this. In other words, if you like P2P this is your method !  
  Special coin (about 50 bucks) This coin is for those who works hard to have a stable budget but no time to waste on farming and mining. The player gain the same benefits of "high cost coin" and also lots of raw mats and some tier 1 parts, probably a free combat ship (that he will destroy in battle). Special Pet at 3rd time the player purchases this. Exclusive cosmetic and ship parts also possible. Experience multiplicators fast leveling skills also possible to. What the dev studio must be aware all time is that this IS NOT a P2W coin, so it can give a free ship, but never with simple mid-game weapons and equips, One thing must be clear while defining the kit of advantages of this coin, focus on make things fast but never stronger the normal players.
    Credit coin (5 bucks) This coin gives no advantages, it only brings ingame credits to use as currency on game shop. this must also be untradable ingame as all coins are. Many players including the free players will be buying a lot of this type of coin every month.

  The Game Store (where player can spend the credit they get when buy coins) you can sell all kinds of items that not impact on game balance, like the cosmetics and character modifications, fast engine fuels, space ship visual 3D parts, pets, ships and vehicle with no default weapons. The Key here is sell many different consumables, good ones so players will purchase them many times and always need more. Like: Fuel, best mining tool that breaks after mining a determined mass amount, energy packs, medicines, buffs and potions for the player character, shield generator for ships that breaks after determined amount of damage received, scanner with limited time of use and not rechargeable etc.. As many consumables as possible must be available, they must have ingame craftable versions but the one you purchase on the store must always be strong and last longer than its craftable versions. like any one can craft a tier 1 shield generator for his ships, but the game store shield generator absorbs 10% more damage and take 300% more before it breaks. the 10% its not to much to unbalance a fight and the durability makes you don't need to expend hours on mining and crafting a lot of shields for one PVP day.
  Also the store must provide limited period items, and promotions that will make the players behave like "Black Friday" customers. Also random 3 hours discounts that will make the players always want to buy coins have some credit on hands to don't lose good consumables at cheap prices.   IMPORTANT not a single Item of the game shop can be tradable ingame or it will unbalance the economy.
Most of them are account bound others are character bound.

  OFF Game Market This is a website where players can sell the items that they craft ingame for Real money and Game money. It works with a license system, a player that buys a "low price coin" will gain a low level access license to sell his items on the site for other players for game money only, a player that brought the "high price coin" will gain a high level access license and can sell for game money and real money. All transactions are taxed by the intergalactic game studio developers the ones with game money have low tax (10~20%) and send the gold back for the player in 24 hours after the transaction, the item goes to the buyer account as a package delivery instantly, but money must have a configurable delay. Transaction with real money have heavy taxes (40~60%) and the money only goes to the player twice per month via pay pall account. this works like a PlayStore. If game modding are present modders can also sell their mods here following the same rules.
The dev studio can add some off game items to sell here to, like T-shirts, hats, plush pets, 3d printed ships models, and all other geek gamer stuff relates the the game.

  [Final Consideration]
  In this long article provided some personal research of monetization with a different point of view that i think can be interesting for any dev team or server administrator, but also i hope serve as instructive reading for any one that want understand more about game monetization.
  I also hope I can help the Novaquark managers to refine their strategy because I really believe that they are developing a great game for us all to have fun.

    I also want to thank you very much for your time reading this very long and not perfect text. And home the Big text don't makes forum ppl hate me. See yah!

 

-W. Lynkx

Plz let me introduce myself...

My name is Lynkx,
 
since i just joined this community of this great game i think ppl should know a little about me,
 
i do love:
RPGs, i use to play a lot of traditional table RPGs Like D&D, WoD, Gurps and Pathfinder.
books, fantasy, si-fy, mystery, magic, adventures, philosophy.....
to do Art, traditional or digital, painting, model, sculp etc...
like to work with IT and computer related stuff. Or nautical stuff.
 
I use to play MMOs since Early days of Ultima Online,
In MMOs I play more with craters and engineers than with fighters,
I like cute characters and beautiful landscapes like on ESO
Before a I use to play as leader of big clans, today i play more out of spots
I'm a natural creative and love create things, in games or RL
 
And that's enough i will grab some wine cause this place is a Pub btw....


As soon as the party starts I will be crafting and sell the best ships of the known part of the galaxy !!!
take a look at some samples:


MC Enterprise : Journey Class

TK JetFloat 1.5 : Class Personal Luxury
 
 
 
See yah!  Space Cowboys ^ . ^


 

I'd like to talk about how a player or group of player can share "locations" in game with other players.
 
I feel like a "bookmark system" is required from a player perspective in order to store and access some "Point Of Interest" that we may have saved before. Let say I find a nice place to create a house and want to come back later, "/savepos future house" could create a POI in my "datapad" that I could rename and send to another player via mail/chat or even using voice by spelling the coordinates.
Ideally, this POI could be "enabled/disabled" as a waypoint in my HUD.
 
Obviously, after quite some time in the game, a player can have visited a fair number of planet and location. Having a planetary map can help dealing with sorting issues, like it was the case in SWG.
 
 
 
In DU, such a map can be used to visualize your POIs, but also display Territorial boundaries and related informations.
Maybe this map could be obstructed by a "fog of war" like in a RTS game minimap. You could share/sell map data and waypoints with other players in order to gain time in your explorations.
As a city mayor it may become possible to "broadcast" your city position via IFF/beacon for all player able to receive the broadcast.
The POI get automatically sorted under the City folder as the IFF/beacon is setup with a variable "type=city". The same can be applied to space station and all.
Maybe we can envision a sort of element to broadcast this type specifically. This element could be obtained in the "Politician" skill tree.
 
User reviews could be attached to those POI for all to read and comment if their experience there, or the services rendered are good or a scam.
 
I think it is important for the player to feel the vastness of the planet, and to be able to navigate efficiently trough it at some points.
 
That was for planets, but in space with the scale of a solar system, it may require a dedicated 3D map.

I just read the first post and just wanted to express my opinion. After having played subscription games like World of Warcraft and then turning to buy to play games like Guild Wars 2 - I just cannot support subscription games any longer. I understand the difficulties in keeping a game running but there's good ways and bad ways to go about it. I urge you to look at Guild Wars 2's payment model.

They started out as buy to play and they have excellent aesthetic/convenience only store. They even have a currency exchange system where you can use real money to buy gems in exchange for in-game currency and vice versa but you don't need to do so if you don't want to. It doesn't affect the game experience at all. It's the most player friendly payment model I've ever encountered and it really helps keep players happy and more likely to invest in buying the store items because they aren't required to do so to play.

Since the expansion came out they made the base game free to play and the expansion buy to play allowing access to a lot of new players that were on the fence or wouldn't have even looked at it before who might then buy the game eventually. They put in a lot of good systems to keep the paying player base protected. I wish all games used their system, it works so well and the game is both high quality and active without burdening the player which feels punishing.

I'd rather pay a one time high fee and then have optional store items than subscribe to gain access which just feels bad to me. It feels like you then HAVE to play or its a waste of money and then when you stop playing for a while but then want to play again for a weekend you then have to pay for a whole month, that's more like a job contract.

It's not just me. More and more, people are turned off by subscription models. New games that come out with it nowadays don't last on this model for long. To me, when a company still tries to use subscriptions required to play system they just appear to put themselves unto a pedestal like they believe they're so much better than all those other pretty decent games that tried but crashed and burned.

The higher the pedestal the higher the expectations and I just don't believe that's a realistic standard to set for yourself unless you have the kind of money Blizzard does. Especially with how ambitious this game in particular already is, it's already less likely to fully deliver or be perfectly polished and if you're going to use subscriptions you're going to be under a microscope even more so.

It's better to have your player base on your team to start with and then maybe adding a VIP/optional type subscription system at a later date or at least not make it a requirement to play, the buy to play option is better, you could just do a combination of all payment models. One that players would feel good about supporting. The investment shouldn't end at launch but maybe a few months/year after the game launched so you can establish a foundation that people would be willing to invest in. People have lost faith in promises and are tired of feeling like they're being sucked out of every last penny before even seeing the product fully materialize and settle down into a more bug free experience.

I know that you need to make money to keep developing but I just wanted to say to be careful about how you implement things. I would be sad to see that happen to this game. There has to be a better way. Just whatever you do, don't copy Archeage, it's the most abysmal model I've ever had the misfortune dealing with and please don't make subscriptions required to play.

i would love for this game to be a b2p. i know some people cant fork out a lot of money at once. b2p could work in 2 ways one straight up buying the game to play and 2 a loan like system where you pay installments each month for those people who can not just give a load of money out at once.
 
in short i feel that we as the players should be paying for content. if there is nothing new why should we pay you ( yes i know server upkeep and support ). i just think DLC and cosmetic buys would be the better way to go for the player while still giving the devs financial support.
 
i love the concept to this game game and the way it is looking and i would hate for the payment method of the game to put me off.

I have an intense interest in this game, and I'd like to play it as soon as possible, but let me just say right now that I will not play it if it is Pay to Play. I much prefer the pay once model. It's simple, direct, and I don't feel like I'm being nickle'd and dime'd out of my money.
 
My suggestion would be to use either a buy to play system as I would personally prefer as I like being able to have an option to pay once and then be done with it. Or a free to play system wherein players can use real money to buy ships from the market place (verses direct purchase of resources which would give players with money an unfair advantage) and as far as responsibilizing players I would suggest using a system where players have certain features locked until they reach a certain level or spend enough time in the game that way trouble-making players can't do that much damage and if they keep returning blocking their mac address is usually an option and let me just say that I can think of good examples of anti-cheating in both the free to play model and the pay to play model as to the free to play model I would suggest looking at the game Planetside 2, they have an exceptional anti-cheat system despite being pay to play mostly due to the extremely vigilant community. Pay to play ruins games for me, because it take them from being something I do for fun and turns them into something I'm obliged to do, if I have to reach a certain cash quota every month just so I can keep playing, it stops feeling like a game and instead becomes a chore, I want to be able to enjoy myself, and do what I want to do, without having to worry about whether or not I can keep playing for another month.
 
And as I said I am very interested in this game and if you can deliver on half the stuff you've promised at launch I will be willing to pay 60$ for this game, however I would not be willing to pay a monthly subscription. Simply doing the basic math shows that one is easier on my wallet than the other. For example, let's say I pay 60$ at launch, well now I own a game that I can play whenever I want for the life of that game (let's say 4+ years), so I've payed for 60$ for 4+ years of game. Now let's take the same example and apply it to the pay to play model, let's say for arguments sake the subscription cost is 5$ (any more and you'll be decimating your player base) if over the course of 1 year I've spent 5$ a month during that year I've spent 60$ which means I'm spending 60$ a year on this game, so basically I'm paying 4+n times as much as I would have if I had the option to just buy it in the first place. To put it in math terms (60(1) = g) or ((5*12)*(4+n) = g) So arguable you're actually making the paywall harder to overcome, not lessening it. I'm saying this as someone who live of of a very tight budget (I don't know when I'm going to have cash to spend from one day to another) to me it is far easier to pay once for something and then simply have it than it is to continue paying for that thing, if I really want it I can save up for it, but if I have to put it into my budget, than there's a good chance I simply can't afford it.
 
As to customer support the quality really depends on the team and I'd like to point out that a subscription model is more likely to lead to real money item trading which in turn will lead to far more customer support claims. As for generating enough revenue to keep customer support going I would suggest some sort of small cash shop that sells non-exclusive items which with a large enough player base should be able to generate enough revenue to keep customer support paid. Alternatively, you can stick a "tax" onto the player market and give the option to buy items with real money on it in order to generate continuous revenue without building your game around the need to do such a thing as you would with a free to play model.
 
I'd like to point out that in recent years the pay to play model has dropped in popularity due to the simple fact that it doesn't work as well as the other two in 2014, 4 of the top 5 grossing MMOs were free to play. Ultimately the biggest factor in the success of an MMORPG is the size of the player base, and the subscription model tends to limit that base far more than the other two. Free to play will generate more revenue and subscription will give better game-play and I think the best middle ground is a buy once system. It also occurs to me that you are trying to model your monetization system after Eve-Online when you really should be looking at (and forgive me for saying this) Second Life or (again forgive me) Roblox due to the creative nature of your game I believe that the most objective monetization system to implement would be the option to purchase ship blueprints with real cash thereby generating some small amount of revenue however if you combine this with a large player base that small revenue can become large quickly. I however am still in support of the Buy to play model as I believe that will produce the most balanced results for both both game play and player accessibility.
 
Finally let me just say that it seemed to me as if you had decide on the Pay to Play model already and then made that post to try and justify it to yourself and the community. This is not a criticism it is simply the impression I got from reading you post. I urge you not to use a pay to play model as it will keep dedicated players like myself from enjoying your game.

I think I'll help if you need

I think I'll help if you need

True story this. I once helped a friend of mine set up a Minecraft server for his RP/Fantasy Minecraft theme. He was one of the most reknown for his designs of spawn areas in the minecraft community in europe, until real life got in the way. Anywho, when I shown him DUAL and how it would work, he was like 
 
"So James... I get to build spaceships out of voxels... and then I can program them... and they won't have to look like cartons of milk... when's the Alpha starting you said?"
 
If an avid and borderline fanatic minecrafter like him that called Landmark a "wannabe" (when it was not a corporate cashgrab that is), said something like that, I can't see lesser fans of minecraft not swarming towards DUAL. IT's like Minecraft servers merging into one, super-server.

I must admit, I'm a little confused.

Novaquark released the in-game pre-alpha footage. It looked awesome, it was smooth, it conveyed all of the tech they promised and it showed how it was possible to have the vision they have.

Yet, when I went on the subreddit, 133 subscribed.

I come on the forums, and there are just a couple dozen active people.

WHAT is HAPPENING. I feel like I've gone insane.
 
How can this game not have a larger following? We've been griping as a community for a game like this for years. Years and years. Practically every day there are posts in Space Engineers of people wishing for a larger scope, more multiplayer. Every day on the No Mans Sky reddit about wishing for multiplayer and more customization. Every day in modded minecraft about something new and progressive but somehow keeps that emergent game-play.

These are very different games, every one of them, and yet the ideals they dream for are almost all contained in Dual Universe.

There are so many broken promises out there, Unsung Story, Broken Age, Areal, Sticks and Starships, Planet Explorers, on and on. Games that never even made it to the stage that Dual Universe is showing as a PRE Alpha.

I'm telling all of my friends. I'm sharing photos and videos like a 35 year old woman who just got her third cat. And I hope you are all doing the same.

This is a game we have all been waiting for for a long time. Let's make sure they know it.

yes organizations can join - as well as retain full autonomy from ACS - I will try to explain a little more in depth later tomorrow. 

For those interested this is the best Sci-Fi ship chart I have ever seen. Or link here.
 
 
 

Hi everyone,
 
Just a few ideas about the nanoformer tool in particular. I figured that this topic would make much more sense in the Builder's Corner than in the Idea Box, as it is specific to the game's building tool.
 
This post is also partly in reaction of the devlogs I've read about it. Its lore, the way it works, etc.
 
So, in short, the nanoformer tool is able to deconstruct, store and reconstruct matter in the desired shape, at will. A few ideas has been thrown on how it could be powered (solar, bio-heating, etc), how it would be explained, etc. Nothing is set in stone of course, but it is not really satisfying either. So, I came to bring some ideas, I hope you will like them!
 
DISCLAIMER: I am no scientist, but I've read a few things, and here is my theory about actually what would it take for such a tool to exist.
 
First, we would need a complete control over matter, down to at least the atomic level. This means being able to manipulate at will each atom, even when part of a molecule. As you may know, breaking down atoms themselves is a really powerful (a destructive) process, and can lead to catastrophic event if a chain reaction is created (i.e. atomic bomb). And so is, to a lower extent, the breaking down of a molecule.
 
This leads to my first conclusion: the nanoformer tool would require enough power to maintain a complete control over atoms, independently from their surrounding (and atomic bounding mechanism), as well as being able to channel the huge power of their rearrangement, while preventing destruction to happen. Good luck with body heating and solar panels to harness such power!
 
Second, the only plausible technology currently existing, allowing some sort of "control in space" over matter, is the creation of a really powerful magnetic field, allowing the atoms to be "liberated" from another colossal power: gravity. This is, at the moment, only possible within the inside of a huge magnetic field generator, and in no way can actually be broadcast, even a few centimeters away from the center of the magnetic field generator. But man, we are doing science-fiction here! So let's imagine which technology could evolve from this. To my opinion, a few branches could appear in the future from this technology, leading to the creation of a nanoformer tool:
 
Tech 1 - a magnetic field generator with the capacity to broadcast its magnetic power: this would allow sustenance of matter in front of the wearer (Half-Life 2 style).
 
Tech 2 - a sort of pinpointing magnetic laser, allowing the control of matter at the atomic level withing the magnetic field (similar in some ways to the inner carving of a cube of glass using lasers).
 
Tech 3 - some sort of super coolant magnetic beam, allowing the surplus of energy created by the destruction of molecules, to be controlled and redirected elsewhere to prevent explosion (read the great sci-fi book "Uplift" to have an idea).
 
Which leads to my second conclusion: these three futuristic inventions would explain nicely the nanoformer tool technology, while anchoring it in our present scientific "knowledge", with only a sci-fi credible twist. Plus, this could lead to nice in-game skills and upgrades. For example, the Tech 1 could be expended to a macro level, to allow repairs in space. The Tech 2 could be improved to deconstruct more complex entities, such as molecules, for the creation of more advanced things, or to a DNA level, for the creation of bio-technologies. I really think we've got something here!
 
Third, such technologies would require a huge amount of power. And how could we actually pack such power, in something big as, let's say, a portable battery? Atomic fusion of course! The power of the stars! First it is freaking cool, second it is really the only known source of power, which is actually under research (4th generation of nuclear reactor) as we speak, that could provide enough energy. If I remember correctly, you can, with this technology, power up a whole city for one year with a bunch of sugar cubes!
 
Which leads to my third conclusion: the battery that we should use in Dual-Universe, at least for our nanoformer tools, could be atomic fusion batteries. They would require really specific and expensive factories to be built, but a bunch of dirt to be powered on. So on top of the cool role-play-real explanation, it would be perfect to implement in the game.
 
Well, that is it guys. I hope you got the vibe! Magnetic fields, fusion atomic batteries, cooling and pinpointing lasers: I wait for your comments!
 
Cheers,
 
Dociel

Pokemon themed ships?
 
Sold. I'll buy them just for the name alone. 

B2P is my preference. P2P is okayish. The Game-time token worked really nicely in Wildstar, but what happens when one of those people who can't do a subscription (me) runs out of game time? Is it game over for them?
 
Run a P2P with an expensive lifetime sub would be my input. I can fork out a large amount in one go. I just don't believe in subscriptions.

EDIT - This is what I was talking about earlier in regards to some fans coming together and creating a soundtrack. Would love to see something like this here in our community!

https://soundcloud.com/ashton-etheredge/memories
 
I made this, dunno what to put it up to though. Maybe drifting in space, or in orbit of a planet?

I had started a thread in the Arkship pub forum about this, but in hindsight I realize that was the wrong place for the topic.
 
Rather than repost everything, I'll just link that thread here: https://board.dualthegame.com/index.php?/topic/976-collaborating-on-fanmade-music/
 
 
Here is some ambient music I was playing around with tonight in Ableton, set to the flight footage from the latest gameplay video:
 
 

 
 
 
I'm eager to find anyone who wants to work together on some more fanmade music :-) 

This is a "General Knowledge" thread to help provide newcomers with a list of hot topics, answers, FAQs, videos, and other miscellaneous information that pertains to Dual Universe. This thread will not contain everything about DU, but merely help to point you in the right direction. I have done my best over the years to keep this thread up to date for newcomers, so if there is something you think is missing and should be added, just private message me with the information and sourcing.
 
You are also encouraged to join the Official Community Discord for Dual Universe if you have questions, or just want to be involved in the community. 
 
PSA: Use the SEARCH FUNCTION in the forums before making a thread if you are new. Chances are, it has already been discussed and beaten to death.  
 
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
 
-> Release Roadmap & Alpha Announcement <-
 
Official Links:
 
• FAQ from the Main Website
 
• Trello Community Suggestions
 
• DU Gamepedia (wiki)
 
• Developer Blog
 
• Kickstarter Page
 
• Youtube Page
 
          • DU Community Discord
                • Official Discord FAQ (Forum Link)
 
          • Soundcloud/Soundtracks
 
          • DU Reddit
 
 
Forum Links:
 
• "Ask Us Anything" Thread by NQ-Nyzaltar
 
• Forum Rules thread by NQ-Nyzaltar
 
• Pre-Alpha FAQ and Rules by NQ-Nyzaltar
 
• DU DevDiary Video Guide by Shockeray
 
 
Other (Non-Official) Media:
 
• Dual Universe Explorers (Podcast)
 
• Ark Central (Community News)
 
• Dual Insider (Community News)
 
• Dual Universe Sleepers (Fansite/Blog)
 
• Outpost Zebra (Blog)
 
• Community Org/Player Map (Community Tool)
 
 
Common Topics: (NOTE: All information below is subject to change at any time. Official responses from the developers, and sources, have been linked to each subject.)
 
• Price Model will be Pay To Play
 
 
 
• "Virtual Simulator" for builders to build in peace
 
 
• "The Economy"
 
 
• "Scripting" Dual Universe will utilize LUA Scripting and Distributed Processing Units  
 
• "FTL Travel" answered by NQ-Nyzaltar in the Ask Us Anything thread
 
  • "Unigine 2" Dual Universe will be running off of the Unigine 2 Game Engine
 
 
• "Single Shard Server" In Dual Universe, all players will be playing in the same server
• (Video) Server Technology review by JC Baillie
 
 
• "Active Lock On Targeting" In Dual Universe, combat will not be twitched base
 
 
• "Character Progression" There will be no character levels in Dual Universe
 
 
• "Survival Gameplay" Currently NovaQuark are still considering adding survival elements
 
 
• "Territory Control" In Dual Universe, you will be able to own pieces of land
 
 
• "Rights And Duties Management System" Sophisticated system for managed roles in your organization
 
 
• "Stealth Technology" Stealth tech is currently being considered by NovaQuark
 

Welcome !

Hello compatriote
 
best of luck