fiddlybits

oh yeh, its far from a fully fleshed out idea. I just liked the thought that it gives non pvp toons a way to strike back and be a little vindictive...after all PvP should never be just one way.
Too many games think that the act of 'taking something' from a weaker person in some way entitles them to possess that thing and never bother to put in any ways for passive players to strike back. When in real life, petty revenge and good old fashioned spite are very much alive and well even among the most placid players.

This is the game design decision I still can't figure out and am hoping for more clarification in future announcements/q&a's. Prior to the industry changes I thought the game was focused on player driven content and experiences. The industry changes both slowed down player driven developments and moved players to interact more with the non-player elements of the game (ore bots, schematics, nanoformer market, etc). The balance between player driven content and non-player driven content seems off right now.

This is not true for games because money/assets frequently go out of circulation when players stop playing. Beyond that, DU has money sinks when buying from bots which remove quanta from the game.
 

I had seen this idea for restaurants but honestly I think it works for anyone who is building an experience. I'd like to see NQ sit down and make a post or a video about what does an hour or a day or even a week of gameplay look like to the average player. Be specific. How exactly in their finished product does NQ see the average player spending their time? Use that document to describe how all of these different features fit together. You could even make separate ones based on casual or hardcore play styles. 
 
That has been NQs biggest failing. They have not presented a plan to us, arguably their most important investors, about how the game is supposed to function end to end. Somehow we're getting a new solar system this year when 6 months ago we all thought that was a year or two after release. Have we contributed most of the development money? No. But the game, and NQ, live and die by the players. 

Your use of lighting and shadows here is really nice. Well done.

UPDATE: 
 
Today was an interesting day at Talemai.  But one thing is for sure, Waste Management was wise in contracting out the military operation part of the Blockade to Unexplained Atomics.   Many haulers who live in the Inner planets tried to come in or leave with stolen Talemai ore and were quickly delt with.  On top of that two separate attempts were made to attack the blockade.  This is unacceptable and will be considered an act of war.  Both were easily delt with.  The highlight was one ship looking like a box filled with guns made some sort of Kamikaze attempt and came barreling toward talemai at 29,999 km/h and as it was shot at it finally disappeared into the atmosphere where we presumed it slammed into the planet.  A salvage operation was quickly dispatched.  Make no mistake, Talemai stands firm and is under control.  The LOCKDOWN is and has been 100% successful.   The OPA will not stand for any unethical treatment of its miners, nor allow the Inners to come in and steal ore for themselves.
 
https://imgur.com/b3xrZDj
https://imgur.com/InkTCeF
https://imgur.com/n3CsZyj
https://imgur.com/gnSaUsh
https://imgur.com/qWqkHWn
https://imgur.com/eQtpXXz
https://imgur.com/wl74763
https://imgur.com/DbbMHUI
 
- JohnnyTazer
  Waste Management Consultant

First off, Great start to a game!
 
I did add something like this suggestion to https://upvote.dualuniverse.game/, but couldn't find it. Figured I'd share here and not seeing quite the same suggestion, so I hope this one is worthy.
 
I would like to see the ability to attach special dynamic movable elements that allow functional movement of elements and/or voxel 'parts'/'groups'. Things like a hinge, pistons, rotators... stuff like that.
 
One example would be a dynamic 'Hinge' element that allows attaching 2 elements and/or voxel "parts" (a group of voxels considered as an 'object' - after a selection is copied and pasted, which defines 'grouping').
Elements are easy to consider an 'object' as they are. Individual voxels must be moved to the movable hinge element and separated from the rest of the construct so it can define a grouping of those voxels that will allow movement (think of it as creating a sub-group of voxels in order to define a piece that can be manipulated using movement). Dev note: This can likely be set using the copy and paste feature (I copy a selection at a certain point and when I add the 'movable' object (and it is voxels), I use paste so that it treats it as a sub-object of the entire construct)  
Workflow (Door using hinge):
User buys a Movable Hinge element User attaches the hinge to an opening in their base (the base acts as the 'locked' object) User attaches a wall piece to the unlocked side of the hinge By default, the hinge element will think the 'wall piece' can swing from start of the 'locked' hinge side all the way around to the other side - 360 degrees) User then sets the movable side of the hinge to have a 'max open' at 45 degrees from the 'locked' side of the hinge A controller can be added to use the default 'open' and 'close' functions (users could set individual stopping points as well to give it extra position options that the control could pin-point and/or cycle through). User steps back and now has very new options to how they open the entry-way of their base, the ground, a garage, etc.  
General Examples:
The first thing I thought of when this popped in my head was making an x-wing fighter. Unfortunately, I didn't proceed because I love the functionality of the actual x-wing, which are wings that will separate after you've taken off. The hinge element I described would actually be perfect for that... attached a second wing directly above another using the hinge, set the angel to like 15 degrees (you can flip and repeat to do the same thing to the other wing if you want them to open away from each other) and attach a controller that would open the wings together. The door I mentioned in the above workflow. It also opens up some other opportunity about creating very flashy entrances with interesting moving mechanisms (build whatever size Tardis you want and throw on some swing doors). Note: It may be worth while to define a 'max amount of moving elements' a person can have within a single construct. Imagine you're flying in and you are within range of a remote door at your base. You click a button and the ground separates open (using sliding door elements or possibly the hinge element), then a landing platform raises up (using piston(s)). You land, hit the button again, the landing pad lowers you into your personal hide-away and the doors above close once you're clear. Very batman-esc lol... but actually a nice plan for "pirate stashes" and  Note: The movable elements could probably support the different sizes like cores, but they should also support a max weight. That gives DU more control over what the user is trying to add to the element (ex: Max weight stops user from attaching a building to another building since that would distract from the reality of the game and doesn't line up with physics in general) (Added on 1/14) Gun force - You see a ship coming in. Looks like it's just a freighter. As it gets closer, hatches open on the sides of the ship (sliding doors or voxel doors - flip with hinge or slide open using pistons), guns slide out (pistons) and you realize it's a pirate/bounty hunter. Note: On a fun note, you could have a "camper" ship (think "Space balls")... you bring it to an event for display. When you arrive, you hit a couple of control boxes and your camper ship extends out "for show" rooms with fun and interesting decor.  
Additionally... I believe this can actually set a 'foundational' framework for "attachable constructs" where you can link one construct to another and it will move together (this one is pretty straight forward, but a really clear example would be something like a train where I have my dynamic construct at the front pulling smaller dynamic constructs). A funner example would be the Enterprise D... where I build the saucer section separate from the body. In that case, attachment allows control to be ran in different sections, but to move the 2 constructs as 1... then depending on the situation, allowing from my "Number 1" to take the helm and split off for tactical or escape advantage. It could also be a desperate move to save half your ship (perfect movie moment).
 
I've attached a draft of the hinge (more of a side view just to keep it simple). What are your thoughts?
 
 
 

If that does happen, maybe NQ should take the hint.  
 
If a majority of their players aren't interested in PvP, they at least need to make it easier to swallow. Relax industry a bit. Make blueprints a real game concept instead of a hacky item in your inventory and link them cleanly to industry.
 
Your ship got blown up? It should take almost no time to rebuild a fresh copy from a blueprint. If your factory doesn't have the required raw minerals, it shouldn't be hard to order them from the nearest market for automatic delivery or buy the right to build it from a friendly org. 
 
Industry could also be the bedrock for NPC (gasp) vessels that patrol civilized areas -- giving players more security, pirates more targets, and builders a fleet of craft to create and maintain. If a group of players keeps pirating your NPC fleet, that conflict will lead to PvP. It would also give an advantage to defenders, which they already want to do. 
 
I was surprised that they nerfed industry because I thought it would be a great foundation for actual civilization mechanics -- like quickly rebuilding vessels and building a limited fleet of NPC craft to facilitate more automation and QoL. More automation helps everyone -- you can pirate NPC haulers transporting goods or get drawn into PvP because you want to defend your org...not just because you got ganked. 
 
This insistence that there be no NPCs and that everything must be run only by players is really pointless. There's no game design justification at all, just JC's weird RP obsessions. 
 
Industry should be the bedrock for more automation, more scale, more QoL. 
 
Instead....NQ has opted to make the game even slower and more arduous. It's like they know that their off-the-shelf engine and off-the-shelf servers won't actually support the cities and civilization they pitched, so now they need to make sure the game is "slow" enough so that getting the stuff to make civilization is a grind fest. 

One of the things I noticed in my first days getting into industry is that though I can place certain equipment like the assembly line (XS, S, M) add what talent will allow use of this into the item's description. I spent a while trying to figure out which talent I needed, and had a bunch queued, but when I was able to use it I was not sure which of the talents allowed me to utilize the equipment.

I also want to let you all know that while I always poke the team about the tickets you bring to me, I can't fast track them. I also can't guarantee that a representative from another team will come to the forums or Discord to speak to issues you're having. Occasionally they're able to fill me in on a situation and I'm permitted to bring some information back to you all, but that's the most I'm able to offer. Those are the boundaries of my role.  
 
(I think the above goes without saying, but I feel compelled to make it clear just in case.)
 
Thanks again for all of your understanding and feedback, though. You know I'm passing it along!  

https://imgur.com/zo6YVQD
 
Another player without a permit.

Your use of lighting and shadows here is really nice. Well done.

Most of my people are playing other games.
If Novequark doesn't turn this game around and make PvP, discovery/exploration, mining and events fun and truly worth enjoying with:
- less effort
- Less tedium
- Less ridiculous mechanics that make people want run their hands through a wood chipper
 
then there will be less of the following:

 

 
Please NQ please please please...
 
Don't push out patches that kill your own game
LISTEN to your ATV people, they're telling you what the community wants and enjoys
Quit listening to the carebears when there's literally thousands of people willing to PvP but not willing to subscribe to a game that feels like work.
 
Some suggestions (Don't be mad, these are some suggestions based on conversations I've had with hundreds of people who barely play or are waiting for NQ to turn this game around):
Make more Events ( you may not want to but in the end you're going to have to make engagable NPCs in order to drive activity in this game pre-launch, otherwise this game will stagnate because there's little enjoyment in the game's PVP and very few people enjoy industry mining and markets) Make Asteroids span the entire circumference of the current DU solar system or Make them randomly generate in space GIVE US THE ABILITY TO DO DEEP SPACE SCANNING so we can actually DISCOVER stuff in the game. Don't just expect us to travel endlessly in this game with a 2su view and think "This is a great idea, they'll definitely find something with that range!" GIVE US: TRACTOR BEAMS HARPOONS Interdiction fields  
For AvA:
I personally say DO NOT DO LOCK AND FIRE however, if you believe that's the only route then I'd highly suggest making it auto-lock and the firing part is done by the player... you know.. like how a normal 1st person shooter is. The chance to hit could be based on where your cross-hairs  are focused on the person you're auto-locked on to. The auto-lock can change based on how close or far away you move your cross-hairs to/from the target. This will give the closest simulated feel of 1st person shooter using the lock-fire approach. DO NOT add in some ridiculous mechanic timer such as the "You are being targeted" feature with ships. It's probably the quickest way to permanently turning all Eve and other PvPers away from your game.  
for grenades: Lock and fire just won't be optimal. This SHOULD be done in a way where a person doesn't have to be locked onto anyone to throw a grenade. The server can do all the little calculations it needs to if at all to simulate the arching and explosion and even the object bouncing off the wall and/or bouncing next to the intended area to be detonated.
Think about it this way.
 
Sometimes you don't always mean to shoot to kill. Sometimes you shoot to suppress the enemy and stop them from moving. Sometimes you toss a grenade (or flashbang) to disorient any targets in a nearby area.
 
Above all else... DO NOT:
Produce AvA WITH A UI THINKING ITS GOING TO BRING PEOPLE BACK INTO THE GAME. Produce AvA with some time-delayed targeting mechanic thinking it's a great idea Produce more limitations to either slowing people down or turning them away from either PvP or the game over all Make AvA more of a drain on energy and resources than necessary. There's been some valuable lessons to be learned from EVERY patch and update since alpha 1. Basically... EVERY time you've put out a new update with severe extreme resource, time and energy demands on people, you lost a sizable portion of your community either immediately or overtime. LEARN from your mistakes and stop repeating history. There are a lot of extremely talented people who have walked away from this game because the mechanics that have been added since .23, please seriously listen to the ATV and others who know what people are willing to spend their money on. There are those who are holding out for hope and we're rooting for you, but when you push patches that have overzealous features because it's "too easy" then you'll get a mass exodus and bad word of mouth resulting in less people signing up & logging on.
 
We believe in you, straighten up and fly right NQ!!!!!!

Two points on this - Firstly that 10x E-XL's does make sense for ship activites such as mega node or multi-supernode mining; so you don't have to hop up and empty 10 L's every couple hours.

Second, more geared towards NQ - I'd sugges replacing the "Expanded " idea with "Improved {XS S M L XL}"  - which have the similar size v. mass-volume nerf mentioned by @Warlander, but allow for 1 output channel al-la Transfer Unit behavior (Like it has a built-in TU set to always pull from it's own contents, which is 'taking up' up a chunk of it's space) to allow for enanced inventory flow on ships.
 
Just food for thought.

I don't agree with the claim of abuse, but there is 100% a relationship between devs and the player base for any game that has ongoing development. An example of this is how players react to changes and bugs in the game. Players that trust the developers' vision are more willing to deal with bugs and negative changes because they believe the game will end up better in the long run. Players that have a more negative relationship with the developers and have less trust are more likely to be frustrated and leave the game.
 
This is one reason transparency and communication between the developers and the players is valuable. It strengthens the relationship between them.

Ok, we're investigating now. More news tomorrow.  

I haven't tried, but you should be able to do this with LUA. The engines thrust level and on/off status can be controlled through scripts.

I think there should be tiered travel options in between slow boating and the current warp cells which provide a cost vs. safety trade off. The current warp cells are not that expensive and offer perfect safety while the only other alternative requires several hours and is more dangerous. How about tiers for fast travel that allow players to reach planets more quickly at a lower cost, but provide a greater amount of risk? The perfect safety option would still exist, but be more of a luxury item. This would provide lower cost travel options for players, encourage more PVP and provide more game play trade-offs in how you choose to travel depending on your cargo.
 
An implementation idea for this would be different types of warp cells (basic, advanced, rare, etc) that have an accuracy component for how closely they can get you to your target destination.

This is an interesting idea for earning money. Similar to professional board members in corporations. Build a set of skills and connections in game that orgs would find valuable and get paid to just be a Legate for the org.

I am maxed on my org skills if anyone needs a legate for rent.

Hi, 
 
Is there a list anywhere of talents that are not working as intended? 
 
I'd fed up of putting talents in a queue, going to work, coming home, and finding I've wasted a day's training on talents that do nothing, or in some cases, work backwards (making something harder). 
 
Yes, it would be lovely to know when NQ plan to fix these data entry errors / bugs, and we all know it's a beta and bugs are a part of that, but it would be a real help to customers if we knew what to avoid so we don't waste valuable training time. 
 
cheers
 
 

Shadow is great IMO.. DU runs fine on it but responsiveness does depend on your ping to the datacenter obviously. I like being able to spin up DU on my phone or tablet when I am away from the computer and need to check on something.

Shadow is not a cloud gaming service, it provides a gaming capable VM platform to their users.
EQU8 runs fine on a Windows Guest OS under VMware..
 

The Library is now Providing DRM FREE BP's  available for all players to take ONE (as in one lifetime freebie per dispenser) via a publicly accessible Dispenser associated with each exhibit

One thing that I noticed since 0.23 is a psychological change to how I view parts of the game. I started a few weeks before the patch, I did not lose a large factory or a big investment. What I lost was an aspect of the game that provided motivation for the other areas of game play. As a new player, designing a factory and building elements for my own ships was fun and provided a challenge. I wanted to mine and discover ores on other planets because it let me build something new. The accessible industry provided motivation to explore and play the game. After the schematic changes it turned mining into a wage labor proposition. I was just raising quanta to buy stuff. It reminds me of a job where your working on an exciting project you're invested in compared to a job your working at just for a paycheck. I'm still enjoying the other aspects of the game, but I have a far greater sense of having to spend some of my time "going to work."