Shadow

Hello there,
 
I've written a short fan fiction about ATV that I would like to share: https://goo.gl/QaDnT4.
I tried to keep things in line with all the lore and with ATV discussions while still pushing a bit of  my own imagination in it.
I hope you will like it :).
 
Special thanks to Comrademoco, Lethys, Kurock and Halo381 for their inestimable help in proof reading the different versions of the story. Your suggestions were really appreciated.
 
Regards,
Shadow

Hello there,
 
I've written a short fan fiction about ATV that I would like to share: https://goo.gl/QaDnT4.
I tried to keep things in line with all the lore and with ATV discussions while still pushing a bit of  my own imagination in it.
I hope you will like it :).
 
Special thanks to Comrademoco, Lethys, Kurock and Halo381 for their inestimable help in proof reading the different versions of the story. Your suggestions were really appreciated.
 
Regards,
Shadow

"
Argh! Zebra's got some pirate news from DU to deliver!
...fixing the hook...
 
...fitting the hat...
 
...waiting for the Parrot...
 
...searching for rum...
 
...no rum!
 
...spotting merchant galley...
 
...attacking for the booty...
 
Arrgh!
"

Hello there,
 
I've written a short fan fiction about ATV that I would like to share: https://goo.gl/QaDnT4.
I tried to keep things in line with all the lore and with ATV discussions while still pushing a bit of  my own imagination in it.
I hope you will like it :).
 
Special thanks to Comrademoco, Lethys, Kurock and Halo381 for their inestimable help in proof reading the different versions of the story. Your suggestions were really appreciated.
 
Regards,
Shadow

Nice and neat.
Thanks Yamamushi.
 
Regards,
Shadow

I had to get a new phone yesterday, and I felt it could use some DU'ing... So here's a few phone wallpapers that were put together at my request:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello there,
 
Nice and clean website, good job.
 
I'm just going to report a little bug: when you haver the menu, the text goes black and so has no contrast with the background.
(tested on Chrome, last version)
 
Regards,
Shadow

A city draws people in because of services and because it is cheaper. Services that require many people to be supported can only be in major cities as people have the easiest access to them. Typically in real world cities the first service any town is able to support is a bar (rough population 75-150) and a small town may have two before even a gas station. Bigger services that have more coverage such as lawyers, accountants, specialized dealers all must serve a larger number of people and area in order to stay in business. 
The threshold is the minimum number of customers the market or service needs to remain in business; where as, the range is the maximum distance a customer is willing to travel for a market or service.
 
you wouldn't drive 30 miles to go to a McDonalds, but you would to go to a lawyer
 
Its really nice when you actually get to use what you learned in AP Human Geography.

Thank you.
 
Regards,
Shadow.

1. There was a Devblog about scanning already with relevant information. They'll be blobs of voxels; the size and depth of the blob will be different for different resources. I'll let the table from the blog speak for itself:
 

 
 
2. There hasn't been any clear-cut information in regards to this, but given the nature of the game and what it is aiming to be, my speculation is that voxels cannot ever be completely destroyed. You can fill a cargo container with tons of useless dirt and launch it into open space, but I don't think there will be some little red X that you can click on to magically delete stuff.
 
One reason for that is that it is simply unrealistic. It's just the nature of the game; everything is physical and tangible, you want ore from the guy the next system over, it has to be physically transported. Another reason is that someone could delete all of their valuables in a hurry if they knew they would be lost, or to troll. If you have a base filled with rare stuff, someone might be able to break in and delete it all, even if they have no way out. Or, after having your ship disabled by pirates, you could delete all of your stuff, making their endeavors worthless.
 
While dirt and rock aren't really valuable, I don't think they'll get exceptions and be deletable. They're physical, they gotta go somewhere!

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
 

Stealth systems, or some kind of "silent running" mode, are often depicted in sifi as a kind of tactical art form. For example, in Elite Dangerous, dog fighting while in Silent Running to throw off your opponent's targeting requires a carefully control of heat levels. Meanwhile, in Space Engineers you can build a stealth ship simply by painting it to blend in with the skybox or an asteroid. In The Expanse, stealth ships are covered in an advanced, sensor-resistant composite material. Either way, effective stealth requires skilled engineering and piloting to achieve. 
 
Why not combine all of these aspects in Dual so that stealth is very difficult to achieve (so it is not OP,) but very powerful as a strategic asset.
In my mind there are two kinds of stealth: 
Active - protects from active detection, I.e. bouncing a sensor beam off of your ship.
Passive - protects from passive detection, I.e. emissions by your ship that could be detected.
 
Materials
I envision stealth-enhancing hull coatings or plates being lightweight, delicate, and extremely difficult to manufacture. They would also, to fit the balance I am describing, not be very effective. 
Stealth materials would do two major things:
First, they would partially absorb active scans, reducing your sensor signature.
Second, they would reduce the amount of heat radiated into space by your hull.
 
Camouflage
Simply painting your ship to blend into a given environment. Perhaps some kind of adaptive coating could be possible, that changes to blend in with different surroundings as needed. Also, fewer windows.
Reduces chance of visual detection at extreme close range.
 
Hull design
Designing a ship's hull to have as small a profile and conceal it's drive plume as much as possible. Placement of thrusters and radiators to minimize unnecessary emissions.
Makes the ship a smaller target and thus a smaller blip on sensors.
Reduces thermal signature and reduces the angle you must thrust at relative to a target to avoid detection.
 
These are just a few basic concepts to make stealth possible but challenging: an art form for sneaky pilots. 
 
Thoughts?
 

Well, if can suggest an update, I would only keep the too triangle (putting them on the foreground) and the central sphere. The rest is a bit crowdy.
 
Regards,
Shadow

That's an interesting idea. I like the concept of naming planets by the first explorer. I also has the advantage for developers to easily name things as they don't do it themselves (especially in procedurately generated universe, that usually becomes a headhacke).
 
But in the other hand, it removes the feeling of exploration and finding "new" planets. If someone just fly by a planet and name it, it's still not explored and there are a lot to discover on the surface. If that planet is named by another player, you lose a bit of the feeling: "Oh! Look at the planet. Someone already found it and name it... but let's check if there is something valuable.".
 
All in all, I guess that you can still build an obelisk or something with your name on the planet or in orbit if you really want to leave your mark. 
 
Regards,
Shadow

If that's a concern, there are ways to "store" data on the browser cache in order to keep bandwidth to an acceptable level.
 
I think that the consensus here is "Why not ? But keep it simple and opt-in".
I guess that NQ could integrate a SoundCloud player quite easily with a play button (and, by the way, it means that music will be loaded from SoundCloud).
 
But it's clearly not a priority.
Maybe once NQ will start some kind of publicity for the game, it'll be a good idea.
 
Regards,
Shadow

That's indeed pretty clear. My bad.
 
Regards,
Shadow

That's my opinion too: developing, testing, discussing, reading guides will always gives you power (knowledge is power ), but this advantage should stay in people mind where everyone can catch up and I don't want to see buildings or other things when server starts, especially in a sandbox. Game should be new and clean.
 
Blueprints are a bit in the middle: you can recreate them fast anyway and you are nearly the only one affected (except maybe because you can sell it, but this is just worrying for the first few days). So I don't really mind about them.
 
So far, we know that alpha testers will have a different environnement from launch: different starter pack, skills / technologies already unlocked, and so on...
Also, taking developments, bugs, etc., I'm pretty sure there will be wiped (probably several times) during alpha and beta.
 
Regards,
Shadow

Hi Zander,
 
Nyzaltar stated a few times that physics properties like gravity is very unlikely due to technical restrictions. Not sure if it includes suspension, but I guess momentum won't be implemented either.
You can check Space Engineers if you want a game which implement most of that. But it's clearly not massively multiplayer.
 
Regards,
Shadow

We didn't get anything yet. There was just a thread about giving titles or specific in game items for people deeply involved.
If I remember correctly, the main idea pushing out was that people were not looking for specific reward... except an exceptional game .
 
Regards,
Shadow

Please, no. That causes a lot of problems like extra loading time, lack of volume adjustment, and so on...
Plus, I guess that it's not really the most important thing to spare time on at the moment .
 
If you really want to, put a Jukebox or a player, but please, don't start playing or download automatically.
 
Regards,
Shadow

I enjoy watching from the shadows, how the times have changed on these forums from a few stragglers and now mighty factions are coming to the front.
 
soon though Ill have to play my hand, a firm.. iron grip, to show the people the proper path, far from the light shone by these self righteous democracies, for you know democracy is the cousin of anarchy...
 
 /maniacal laugh/
 
Best of luck, truly.

Republic and empire. That's going to be interesting.
Try not to burn everything in between your respective spheres of influence .
 
Regards,
Shadow

Hello there,
 
For a time, I disagree with you Nyzaltar as there is already a powerful weapon you can use in this case: kinetic projectiles (also known as "ships", or "rockets") .
Just throw a bunch of them on your target and it will most probably not like the collision.
 
Regards,
Ryanis

Hello dual explorers,
 
Alpha testers just want to make the game better (or, at least, they should).
 
So, in my opinion, best rewards would be to :
Listen to them and give them the tools and opportunities to make positive and negative critics. Maybe let them chose some of the universe names like planets, items, or maybe become backstory characters ? I'm sure some of us would love to write our own stories . Also, quick idea: it may be a good idea to organize some open discussions with game designers over TS/mumble/Skype. Looking at the number of alpha testers, it is still manageable.
 
Regards,
Shadow
 

Hello dual explorers,
 
Alpha testers just want to make the game better (or, at least, they should).
 
So, in my opinion, best rewards would be to :
Listen to them and give them the tools and opportunities to make positive and negative critics. Maybe let them chose some of the universe names like planets, items, or maybe become backstory characters ? I'm sure some of us would love to write our own stories . Also, quick idea: it may be a good idea to organize some open discussions with game designers over TS/mumble/Skype. Looking at the number of alpha testers, it is still manageable.
 
Regards,
Shadow