Teufelaffe

The org Space Trade Empire has dispensers purporting to sell gold scrap, but dispense 0.10L of hydrogen. I'd recommend never buying anything from them, ever.

I feel like you're not quite meshing with what NQ appears to be creating here.  They're creating a virtual galaxy for players to do what they want in.  That's why there's no NPCs, no arbitrary limits on PvP outside of safe zones (plus plans to eliminate the safe zone around every planet outside the starting three), and eventually no market bots.  There's no "winning" or "losing" and thus no point to declaring something as "too easy."  The niche roles will happen "naturally," as not every player is going to want to interact with every possible gameplay loop.  If your Org does a lot of PvP, someone is going to have to make sure that ammo, fuel, and scrap are in plentiful supply.  BAM, there's your support role.  Not everyone is going to want to spend time designing ships that are effective in combat, so someone is going to have to do that work.  BAM, there's your "ship guy."  Will there be some Orgs that won't do that?  Of course, but Org A where everyone is doing a little bit of everything all at once is not going to have any inherent advantage over Org B who has specialists filling specific roles.  In fact, it's quite possible that Org B will have the advantage because their specialists can focus on their roles and not dilute their time, energy, and resources across multiple tasks.
 
DU is, above all, centered around "emergent gameplay".  Which means it's up to us, not NQ, to create these niches or roles.
 
As a side note, I definitely agree that territory scanners need to be nerfed in some way.  At the current rate, players are going to strip entire systems of T3+ ores before NQ can roll out the next system.  I have a couple of relatively easy fixes for that:
 
• Every active scanner within a certain range of an active scanner increases the total scan time of all scanners in range by an exponential amount.  So, sure, you can plop down your 3 scanners at a hex intersection, but instead of it taking 15 minutes to complete the scan, it's going to take more than 2 days.  The lore behind this affect can simply be that each scanner is interfering with the other and thus it takes each one much longer to sift through the "noise" generated by the other scanners.
• Just like cores, the number of active scanners you can have at once is limited, and can be expanded via talents, but there will still be a set maximum per player and org.  This will help prevent the "drop a scanner, start it, hop over a hex, drop a scanner, start it, hop over a hex..." process that people are using currently to scan hundreds of hexes a day.
 
Those two changes, which should be relatively easy to implement, would pretty much bring the current process of strip mining moons and planets to a screeching halt while still making scanners useful.

Okay, lets be real though: there's nothing casual about this much mining. Casual is the people that log in once a day and mine just enough for what they immediately need and maybe not even that. Casual miners also don't have what is, objectively, the best mining setup in the game with a triple scanner ship, let alone two, and they aren't getting any T4-T5 ore, let alone excesses of 50-100k. 
 
Mining may very well be too easy, but I think the more pressing issue is that there isn't any permanent loss of elements and there's nothing else to really do on any kind of scale except for mining, hence why everyone has so much raw ore.

Wut.
 
The safe zone may be where most of the players are, but it's a pretty small portion of the game "world".  And it will become even smaller if they start adding more star systems.
 
As for the whole "we should get rid of the safe zone" argument that folks are making, they're looking at this extremely short-sightedly.  NQ should absolutely keep the existing safe zone.  This not only ensures that new players can get a good foundation for the game, it ensures that there's actually an economy in place, because I'm pretty sure that all of the, "OMG, I just wanna blow people up!!!" crowd is not going to be contributing to anything other than the ammunition trade.  On top of that, as time goes on and NQ adds more systems, the fact that three planets and a few moons are a safe zone will become less and less relevant in regard to PvP.  As long as NQ puts something worth going to other systems for, the "I'm only happy if what I do makes someone else sad" crew can get all the PvP shenanigans they want and we get a functional economy.
 
If NQ gets rid of the safe zone, DU *WILL* lose far more players than would ever join specifically for that feature.  Despite what the PvP-obsessives tell themselves, there is almost no demand for MMOs with unrestricted PvP.  Or did y'all think it was a strange coincidence that MMOs with unrestricted PvP* rarely last more than a year?
 
If you still want to be playing DU a year or more from now, you'll want them to keep the safe zone in place indefinitely.
 
*No, EVE does not count as an unrestricted PvP MMO.  If a game has an NPC faction dedicated to blowing your ass up if you start stuff in the wrong system(s), it's not unrestricted.

Did you guys realize that this is a sandbox? It has a economy and skill system like eve, but the goals are totaly different. Dual Univere is about creating stuff. Building Worlds. While eve is simply about domination. So balancing and slow progress in eve is much more important, since there is nothing else than the "game of numbers and ranks" While in Dual Universe the economy and progression is just the foundation of the creative experience. Your Skills and Resources are the tools to build your world. Why should this essential part be locked with massive time gates or grind? If you have fun on waiting for something or doing the same thing over and over to make a tiny progress. Well, play eve. But if you want a blast of a Sandbox-Spacegame Dual Universe is the thing. Because it does NOT make you wait for the good stuff forever. Because it does NOT force you to invest hours of grind. Because you do NOT need multiple accounts and characters. All this eve madness does not exist and thats great. There is no need for Dual to be more hardcore. This game is not about competition in the first place. Its about creation.

Wut.
 
The safe zone may be where most of the players are, but it's a pretty small portion of the game "world".  And it will become even smaller if they start adding more star systems.
 
As for the whole "we should get rid of the safe zone" argument that folks are making, they're looking at this extremely short-sightedly.  NQ should absolutely keep the existing safe zone.  This not only ensures that new players can get a good foundation for the game, it ensures that there's actually an economy in place, because I'm pretty sure that all of the, "OMG, I just wanna blow people up!!!" crowd is not going to be contributing to anything other than the ammunition trade.  On top of that, as time goes on and NQ adds more systems, the fact that three planets and a few moons are a safe zone will become less and less relevant in regard to PvP.  As long as NQ puts something worth going to other systems for, the "I'm only happy if what I do makes someone else sad" crew can get all the PvP shenanigans they want and we get a functional economy.
 
If NQ gets rid of the safe zone, DU *WILL* lose far more players than would ever join specifically for that feature.  Despite what the PvP-obsessives tell themselves, there is almost no demand for MMOs with unrestricted PvP.  Or did y'all think it was a strange coincidence that MMOs with unrestricted PvP* rarely last more than a year?
 
If you still want to be playing DU a year or more from now, you'll want them to keep the safe zone in place indefinitely.
 
*No, EVE does not count as an unrestricted PvP MMO.  If a game has an NPC faction dedicated to blowing your ass up if you start stuff in the wrong system(s), it's not unrestricted.

Which, much like the "glass voxels are too hard to implement", I don't buy for a second.  If they can make a 255³ build area, and a 511³ build area, then can make one that's 256³ or 512³.
 
And before the JC groupies show up, this has nothing to do with them using dual contouring on their voxels.  Dual contouring refers to how the system calculates the surfaces of the voxels.  It's a difficult method to implement, and still hasn't been perfected, which is why we see so many odd behaviours with voxels.  Dual contouring has zero to do with the application of textures (voxel glass) or how much build space can be allocated (cores).
 
From what I've seen of NQ's work thus far, I suspect the real reason is, "we don't have a quick and easy way to do that, and we don't feel like putting in the effort, so we're just going to say it's too difficult/impossible."

Wut.
 
The safe zone may be where most of the players are, but it's a pretty small portion of the game "world".  And it will become even smaller if they start adding more star systems.
 
As for the whole "we should get rid of the safe zone" argument that folks are making, they're looking at this extremely short-sightedly.  NQ should absolutely keep the existing safe zone.  This not only ensures that new players can get a good foundation for the game, it ensures that there's actually an economy in place, because I'm pretty sure that all of the, "OMG, I just wanna blow people up!!!" crowd is not going to be contributing to anything other than the ammunition trade.  On top of that, as time goes on and NQ adds more systems, the fact that three planets and a few moons are a safe zone will become less and less relevant in regard to PvP.  As long as NQ puts something worth going to other systems for, the "I'm only happy if what I do makes someone else sad" crew can get all the PvP shenanigans they want and we get a functional economy.
 
If NQ gets rid of the safe zone, DU *WILL* lose far more players than would ever join specifically for that feature.  Despite what the PvP-obsessives tell themselves, there is almost no demand for MMOs with unrestricted PvP.  Or did y'all think it was a strange coincidence that MMOs with unrestricted PvP* rarely last more than a year?
 
If you still want to be playing DU a year or more from now, you'll want them to keep the safe zone in place indefinitely.
 
*No, EVE does not count as an unrestricted PvP MMO.  If a game has an NPC faction dedicated to blowing your ass up if you start stuff in the wrong system(s), it's not unrestricted.

Wut.
 
The safe zone may be where most of the players are, but it's a pretty small portion of the game "world".  And it will become even smaller if they start adding more star systems.
 
As for the whole "we should get rid of the safe zone" argument that folks are making, they're looking at this extremely short-sightedly.  NQ should absolutely keep the existing safe zone.  This not only ensures that new players can get a good foundation for the game, it ensures that there's actually an economy in place, because I'm pretty sure that all of the, "OMG, I just wanna blow people up!!!" crowd is not going to be contributing to anything other than the ammunition trade.  On top of that, as time goes on and NQ adds more systems, the fact that three planets and a few moons are a safe zone will become less and less relevant in regard to PvP.  As long as NQ puts something worth going to other systems for, the "I'm only happy if what I do makes someone else sad" crew can get all the PvP shenanigans they want and we get a functional economy.
 
If NQ gets rid of the safe zone, DU *WILL* lose far more players than would ever join specifically for that feature.  Despite what the PvP-obsessives tell themselves, there is almost no demand for MMOs with unrestricted PvP.  Or did y'all think it was a strange coincidence that MMOs with unrestricted PvP* rarely last more than a year?
 
If you still want to be playing DU a year or more from now, you'll want them to keep the safe zone in place indefinitely.
 
*No, EVE does not count as an unrestricted PvP MMO.  If a game has an NPC faction dedicated to blowing your ass up if you start stuff in the wrong system(s), it's not unrestricted.

I'm gonna throw out my .02 USD.
 
If you want a more polished PvP-centric gaming experience right now, go play Eve or Elite Dangerous. PvP isn't ready in DU.
 
STOP complaining about "carebears." Seriously. NQ wants a player driven economy, and those "carebears" will be supporting it and the war efforts so that PvPer's can kill each other. It's exactly what happens in Eve, even though there are those who would destroy all PvEer's for the sake of it (and destroy the economy along with them too, though they'll never admit it).
 
Just deal with it for now. I imagine that once there is more game content (meaning missions and other reasons to leave the "bubble") you'll get your PvP. I don't understand why some "PvPer's" want to target barely armed noobs and call it PvP. I just don't get it. But until then, deal with the fact that it's an unfinished and unoptimized game, barely out of Alpha, that's concentrating on basic building.

A non-pvp zone helps every player:
Non-PvP players know where they can safely move.
PvP players know where they find players that are (more or less) ready for PvP, which is important, because who wants to accedentially engage with another player who doesn't want any pvp?

The questions I have are:
 
Why are "PVP oriented players" so focused on being able to target those who have no counter/recourse? Are you looking for kills more than fight maybe?
 
Why is it that on a good number of occasions, a ship approaching me on an intercept course would turn tail and run as soon as I start moving in their general direction instead of staying on my intended heading? Are you afraid to actually encounter a fight maybe?
 
 
It's been well established by now that, while they may be the loudest, The player base looking for pewpew is in fact the minority. Not meant in a bad way but it is.
It appears to me that based on what many of these complain about, if the creatives and non combatant players would leave, there is nothing left for these players to do or shoot at.
 
The notion of fleets and escorts in game is not viable as there is n way for a fleet to move as a unit. Also If there were to be escorts, this would in effect do the same as using warp as you would not be interested in engaging due to the fact you may actually lose a fight and you are more interested in the kill.
 
 
Non combatant players right now choose the expensive route of Warp drives because there are no counters in the game to avoid being shot at. There is no deflection, jamming, stealth, decoys, flares, chaff. Saying "just bring friend and load guns" is not a viable options as this means losing room for cargo and generally being less cost effective than adding  a Warp Drive in the first place. And again, many "PVP players" would actually not engage if they find they may actually draw the short straw in a fight.
 
DU is not, and was never designed to be, a combat centric game. It plays a role in the game for sure, and is important as a pillar of the game, but it is not what the game is all about and anyone who has the expectation is is, should be or will be choose the wrong game to play.
 
Territory Warfare will favor the defenders versus the attackers, yes. I have no doubt NQ will implement EVE style mechanics which will prevent offline base raiding and allow for time zone co-ordination when getting into fights.
 
 
All that said, and while I personally have no interest in combat at all, I do agree that the choice to now let the existing Alioth/Madis/Thades safezone triangle in place is not good for the game and effectively creates a game within a game. It creates a whole set of new problems which I fear NQ has not considered yet and is a massive surrender of their initial vision for the game towards the creative part of the community, I think because they do not really know how to otherwise safeguard this group remaining in game. What may play into this is that NQ knows that this group is both bigger, gives them more exposure and may well be inclined to spend more money in the coming cosmetics cash shop than the PVP oriented player base which from a business POV does make sense.
 

Sorry to break it to you all, but DU is fundamentally made to be a building game more then it is a PvP game.
And the problem with building vs destroying is that when it takes 5 minutes to destroy months of work, builders leave the game.

Flash the offending elements(s), display a wireframe of its bounding box, highlight it...just something that shows me exactly what is colliding with the element I'm trying to place so I don't have to play a guessing game and start moving bunches of other elements around until I stumble upon the one that's in the way.

Step 1: Start the repair process by holding the mouse button down.
Step 2: While still holding the mouse button, alt-tab out of the game. You can then let go of the mouse button.
Step 3: Surf the web, watch netflix, browse the forums, etc while the repairs continue in game until you alt-tab back in.

[CITATION NEEDED]
 
80% digging, 10% building, 10% AFK auto piloting

I will say that some of these suggestions are actually really creative and interesting! I think they could absolutely be implemented in the long-term to add some spice to the game. But long-term is the operative phrase here. Adding any of these in right now when mining is essentially the only PvE experience (other than, you know, gravity) will most likely just make people hate it even more.
 
However, I think moving forward it would be cool to see new planets that incorporate some hazards like these to add some extra challenge. Of course, hazards of any kind should also yield more significant rewards, such as rarer ores in larger quantities, valuable artifacts, you know, cool stuff like that. As ever, one of the key aspects to engaging players is balancing risk and reward. If you were to simply add these challenges to the experience without adjusting the rewards, most people will loathe them, myself included.
 
Also, as an addendum, let's agree to never add anything to the game that interferes with the scanner too much. Most of your ideas are pretty cool, but the idea of worthless ore giving false readings to throw people off seems like a nightmare of tedium to me.

The moment JC said that they scrapped the planet update and the needed wipe for that because the existing planet looked "good enough", I figured something was up and pressure from players who have the ear of NQ/JC pretty much had been able to manipulate the way NQ develops the game. That in itself is a worrying thought.
 
The planets are not "good enough" when you know you have something better. "Good Enough" does not set you apart, it does not differentiate.
 
I can see and would agree that a blanket wipe would not be good. A wipe where blueprints are preserved (without materials included) and talent tree points are returned to the pool so we can respec at least once and to bring in planet improvements at the moment the game is more balanced and some of the current exploits and loopholes are patched is IMO not at all a bad thing.
 
 

For whom?
 
That only a minority even knew to try to find.
 
 
The plot of RPO revolves around solving a puzzle - the fact that the puzzle is hilariously vain is a sperate issue. (Although you know the whole JC's castle thing having a part of the puzzle is a bit...vain.)
 
Why? If anything this event shows, is that it's a complete waste of my time to even try to partake in these events that will be dominated by 200-300 man orgs with extensive alpha knowledge.

The creator of the oasis was a power-hungry eccentric that didn't remotely care about humanity. The easter egg was a selfish, irresponsible vanity that was all about Halliday's narcissism and ego.
 
Even on his deathbed, he couldn't summon enough moral fiber to consider how his creation affects others! Instead, he wanted to make a contest that of course favored the powerful players that could afford virtual currencies...people that crave this sort of attention even in death are the worst sort of evil.
 
The point of RPO is not "the oasis is so neat". 
 
Halliday is the villain, not the hero. 
 
If you want to mold a digital society, you should probably be able to understand the theme of a fairly one-dimensional pop-fiction book... ?‍♂️

If they wipe talent progress, I would be unhappy but probably not leave.
If they wipe blueprints, I would cancel my sub, uninstall the game, and use an "eraser" program to ensure that not a single bit of DU remained on my computer.  I would then hit myself in the head with a hammer until I forgot DU ever existed.

If they wipe talent progress, I would be unhappy but probably not leave.
If they wipe blueprints, I would cancel my sub, uninstall the game, and use an "eraser" program to ensure that not a single bit of DU remained on my computer.  I would then hit myself in the head with a hammer until I forgot DU ever existed.

There's no need to have two separate tools for deploying BPs and ground elements.  Just one "deploy" tool that activates the appropriate functionality depending on whether you select a BP or an element.

There's no need to have two separate tools for deploying BPs and ground elements.  Just one "deploy" tool that activates the appropriate functionality depending on whether you select a BP or an element.

I have to agree, it would be nice to consolidate this function.