Hotwingz

Hello everyone, in case you missed the tweet Hrafnkell Oskarsson has joined the NQ team to work on Dual Universe. His LinkedIn says his new job is Executive Producer at NQ. 
 
Some might recognize his name from EVE Online. If I understand it correctly this man was an original game designer for EVE. 
 
I think this is very exciting news for DU. 
 
 

Hi all, I have made another video for you guys, it covers what Dual Universe is. As such it is really deigned for new players who have''t played in the pre-alpha yet, or players who are looking at getting into the game soon. Hope you guys enjoy xD
 
 
 
   

Even cosmetic micro transactions are a step too far from a traditionalist perspective. 
 
Just a fact that the cash shop cosmetics must have a visual edge or nobody would buy them. All of a sudden the coolest stuff is restricted to a cash shop. So even cosmetics remove content from the actual game. 
 
Unfortunately it's 2018 and we are way past that discussion. 
 
But fortunately for us what NQ has said on the subject is reasonable. 

Even cosmetic micro transactions are a step too far from a traditionalist perspective. 
 
Just a fact that the cash shop cosmetics must have a visual edge or nobody would buy them. All of a sudden the coolest stuff is restricted to a cash shop. So even cosmetics remove content from the actual game. 
 
Unfortunately it's 2018 and we are way past that discussion. 
 
But fortunately for us what NQ has said on the subject is reasonable. 

Yes. 
Yes it does. 

Servers cost money. 
Developing new content costs money. 
Paying people a decent wage to maintain and operate a mmorpg costs money. 
Saving a character state is just a small part of the overall picture. 
 
NQ has said on multiple occasions that the expansions will be free. So I don't get why you seem to think player generated content means that after the initial development NQ's job is done. Even if no new content is developed operating and maintaining servers cost money. 
 
I could write an endless post about why p2p is a more honest business model, why it's cheaper for the player who is invested and why "f2p" was invented and packaged as being "for the player" but I'm not sure if that would advance the discussion. 
 
I do think I answered your question. 

Please do, I'm sure you'd get plenty of readers and more point of discussion on the topic for future reference is always a good thing!
People were paid, but that's not the point, you don't just drop 10k on someone's head and expect them to work with you for a few months. Sure they have investors, but they're building a game with, as my mom likes to put it, "newfangled technology I can't understand".
 
Game development is one thing, but actually maintaining the game and plucking the bugs as the popup is completely different.
 
As far as the server costs, please cite your source on that. Keep in mind that those servers must be able to accept a lot of bandwidth, crunch numbers really really good, be able to store a lot of data, be supplied with power, have proper heating, cooling, and airflow, insurance in case everything goes kaputz, physical storage for those very servers because we all know that isn't free...
 
Workspace for the employees, their equipment, heating, cooling and airflow for a productive work environment,  sprinkler systems and water in case their building catches on fire, building rent (again because it's so egregious...), decent parking space for employees to park their personal transportation, sewage, and garbage disposal costs, amenities so the employees are actually happy and a bunch bunch of other stuff...
 
Oh, on top of all this, everything has to be kept secure. The building they work in to keep the bad guys out in addition to DDoS and other internet related protection. 
 
My point is, there's a lot more to the expenses than just renting out a server for, by your estimate, 14.95. That's just the start too, someone else could easily cover the expenditures I forgot.
 
As much as I would love for this game to be a free-to-play game, the cost of a weekend Starbucks keeps a lot of... bad stuff out of the community. This particularly has been hashed and rehashed so I won't go over it.
No.

hi and welcome to the forum,
 
the most basic weapon you have is your nanoformer. Not much is known about the exact PVP system as of now (and I can't break the NDA too) so the only hard facts are:
- weapons won't be customizable (every weapon will be a predefined element)
- no swords for release (but maybe later)
- there will be different kind of weapons
- it's NO fps combat - it's a lock on fire method as in eve online or ESO (I think? ). No simulated bullets and no reflex based stuff - hit chance and dmg are "simple" formulas

"A poster for the Heimera Trade Xchange.
You have desires, Novean?
 
 
Spirits, Lavender or Onyx? 
 
Take that Step.
"

Skills - what we know so far is that there are skills related to certain activities. You train those over time. 5 hours to train X. 10 hours to train Y. And so forth. You are not locked to a specific class, you can train into different activities when ever you want. The training over time continues even when you are offline. It only needs an active subscription. 
 
Ships - Yes, there will be construct vs construct combat. We don't have much info beyond that. But the core idea is that for every move there is a counter move. This is of course subject to change. 
 
Characters - no fps combat. It's a lock and fire system as a trade of for the other features of the game. Guns will be part of the game. 
 
Tutorials - no comment. 
 
Organizations - there is the Arkship Pub for that and the community portal. 

I think the major thing you must keep in mind is that DU is a MMORPG. 
 
Empyrion and others like it are single player games or small scale multiplayer. If you come at DU from a single player game mindset then there are many areas you can look at and decide that it's underwhelming. 
 
But DU is an MMO and so the discussion changes. In a time where MMO's became smaller in scope, less persistent and far less ambitious DU is truly trying to be groundbreaking in its design. In context of its own genre DU is quite revolutionary. 
 
DU was never sold as a survival game. Or designed to give players ultimate control over the creation of worlds. It's not because 1 game does something that everyone else should copy it. And since this is an MMORPG with a persistent world some sacrifices have to be made from a technical point of view. Like water physics and such. 
 
You seem to downplay the single shard element. It's not my idea to change your mind but if you take what DU does on the scale it does with the potential amount of players it can host you fundamentally change the player experience. 
 
The experience changes in ways that a small scale multiplayer just can't provide. 
 
Apples and oranges. 

So we will be able to make blueprints, which can be sold by other players.  You may not have to build at all, however, it could become costly.  Similarly, if you have a friend who is good at building... they might throw some blueprints your way
 
Basically blueprints allow you to build something with just the resources.  Someone might have to confirm that this information is still correct... I'm pretty sure we are going to be able to sell blueprints, but I'm not 100% that's still the plan.

Skills - what we know so far is that there are skills related to certain activities. You train those over time. 5 hours to train X. 10 hours to train Y. And so forth. You are not locked to a specific class, you can train into different activities when ever you want. The training over time continues even when you are offline. It only needs an active subscription. 
 
Ships - Yes, there will be construct vs construct combat. We don't have much info beyond that. But the core idea is that for every move there is a counter move. This is of course subject to change. 
 
Characters - no fps combat. It's a lock and fire system as a trade of for the other features of the game. Guns will be part of the game. 
 
Tutorials - no comment. 
 
Organizations - there is the Arkship Pub for that and the community portal. 

No problem. 
If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask. 

Skills - what we know so far is that there are skills related to certain activities. You train those over time. 5 hours to train X. 10 hours to train Y. And so forth. You are not locked to a specific class, you can train into different activities when ever you want. The training over time continues even when you are offline. It only needs an active subscription. 
 
Ships - Yes, there will be construct vs construct combat. We don't have much info beyond that. But the core idea is that for every move there is a counter move. This is of course subject to change. 
 
Characters - no fps combat. It's a lock and fire system as a trade of for the other features of the game. Guns will be part of the game. 
 
Tutorials - no comment. 
 
Organizations - there is the Arkship Pub for that and the community portal. 

Skills - what we know so far is that there are skills related to certain activities. You train those over time. 5 hours to train X. 10 hours to train Y. And so forth. You are not locked to a specific class, you can train into different activities when ever you want. The training over time continues even when you are offline. It only needs an active subscription. 
 
Ships - Yes, there will be construct vs construct combat. We don't have much info beyond that. But the core idea is that for every move there is a counter move. This is of course subject to change. 
 
Characters - no fps combat. It's a lock and fire system as a trade of for the other features of the game. Guns will be part of the game. 
 
Tutorials - no comment. 
 
Organizations - there is the Arkship Pub for that and the community portal. 

I can really see what you are saying there.
 
But it's an MMO so for the MMO player it's extremely interesting. It's like how The Witcher was very exciting to RPG players but less interesting to an FPS player. 
 
You raise some interesting thoughts. But concidering the success of the Kickstarter and the ongoing supporter packs it does seem there is a big desire for a game like DU. 
 
 
 
 

This kind of misses the point. This is an sandbox MMO.  The "end goal" is what you decide it to be.  Many people can't/won't/prefer not to decide that for themselves which is why theme-park MMO's exist.
The people that build the sandcastles are not necessarily the same people that kick them over. If a place can be attacked it will be.  (Allowance has been made for those builders that  just want to build their own buildings on sanctuary moons and safe zones, but these areas have no resources so someone still has got to go out there.)
And that is fine. DU is *not* for everyone.  If someone says a specific game is for everyone I will show you a liar. Perhaps you prefer tough survival games like the Stalker series.  DU won't scratch that itch.  Others may like fast-paced FPS games.  DU won't scratch that itch to the same degree either. I could start pointing at all the features in DU that don't exist in EGS but this is futile if those features are not what you are looking for.
 
What DU offers, among others, is exploration, mining, manufacture, construction, PvP combat, trade, politics and boat loads of voxels all in a neat single shard MMO box.
 
My point is, look at what DU is and decide for yourself whether this is the game you are looking for. No one on some forums can decide for you.
 
Edit: Forgot trade. Mustn't forget trade.

There is no set end goal; most (end) goals are subjective either way. In short, it is what people make out of it. I think the big hype is just that: People being in control of their (and others) destinies. You struggle and get to a point, then try to hold it and work from there. Or you lose things and rinse and repeat.
 
Just like in life there is no real "end goal". You just do things (or try to) until you perish. The big key difference here to some or many other games is that you are not limited in your approaches or in scale. That's the general "benefit" of sandbox games on average: You can build anything you can imagine while interacting with others with the same powers. Other games end eventually in their respective plots or things you can do. This, of course, also has subjective cons. The sheer size or possibilities are "too much" for certain people, and there are no "scripted" events or very scripted plots with lots of action and storytelling, like in a movie.
 
I would say that average "life" in DU would be more drawn out, with lots of politics or business and a slower pace - until notable wars happen.
 
I also doubt people will later passively sit around all the time, there will be enough power struggles between groups due to ideology, indifferences, simple mistakes that turned into rivalries, influence, more power (in terms of claimed areas and / or resources) and a lot more.
 
Will it be "grindy"? Depending on what people classify grindy as, sure. But that's the thing: It's like life again. You go through chores and hard work or tough events and circumstances, or sometimes plain repetitive, boring, monotone ones, and on the other hand there are usually special moments in life, accomplishments, victories, achievements, progress, meeting new people, having a good times. You may obtain certain skills, positions, reputations - or lose them.
 
It can really be a like a second life or a very interactive, unscripted game in an online environment where the players are the driving factor. Some like it, some dislike it. Some find it very exciting or special, others just shrug.
 
No matter what your stance is:
 
 
There will be a lot to DU.
 
Other than that, time will tell if people can motivate themselves in larger projects or long-term strategy over the span of years. I suppose this works in EvE, so I think we will see similar things happen in DU.

Welcome,
 
I think by the end of development you'll have a lot of game to play with DU. 

Skills - what we know so far is that there are skills related to certain activities. You train those over time. 5 hours to train X. 10 hours to train Y. And so forth. You are not locked to a specific class, you can train into different activities when ever you want. The training over time continues even when you are offline. It only needs an active subscription. 
 
Ships - Yes, there will be construct vs construct combat. We don't have much info beyond that. But the core idea is that for every move there is a counter move. This is of course subject to change. 
 
Characters - no fps combat. It's a lock and fire system as a trade of for the other features of the game. Guns will be part of the game. 
 
Tutorials - no comment. 
 
Organizations - there is the Arkship Pub for that and the community portal. 

Is DU really that "highly rendered graphics"? I don't think so. It's already an area of sacrifice. What's quite impressive is the LOD seeing stuff in the distance: I want to book my space tourism ticket already. Look at SC, it's ridiculous how much like a movie it looks in comparison.
 
Yeah there's no water particles or collision, those are trade-offs: Performance, granularity of detail trade off for a scaled mmo and gameplay: These were discussed in the forums somewhere with some input from NQ.
 
As to which is a better approach? Lots of servers with smaller populations but more realism and granularity (survival stuff is in this category) or a single shard. Personally, the bigger single shard population of players is a bigger pull. I think the shared story makes the story more interesting.
 
Planets are proc gen atm and they use an algorithm for generating the correct type of resources and proportions. It's an area they can iterate on over time. Again they've managed size, so extras eg animals or some such, it's a future consideration. Given how much voxel terraforming there is and construct design, it's not a big issue.
 
I do agree, I would love interesting biome parameters for more biological representation in the game...
 
It'll be DIFFERENT from most of what is out. Too many games are made these days according to the established tropes of an established genre: People seem to expect a certain formula when it's been done a thousand times... Games originally arose not to become like previous games but to represent something we could experience or imagine and how that might be represented creatively using computers: The latter is a more interesting way of developing games. Instead "build a platformer"... *sigh*. This is what I like about the simulation dream. Could we represent worlds and how do we do that and what's the essential stuff to make if feel right: So much more interesting. Today's mmorpgs are all the former and it shows (bar a few exceptions).

I think the major thing you must keep in mind is that DU is a MMORPG. 
 
Empyrion and others like it are single player games or small scale multiplayer. If you come at DU from a single player game mindset then there are many areas you can look at and decide that it's underwhelming. 
 
But DU is an MMO and so the discussion changes. In a time where MMO's became smaller in scope, less persistent and far less ambitious DU is truly trying to be groundbreaking in its design. In context of its own genre DU is quite revolutionary. 
 
DU was never sold as a survival game. Or designed to give players ultimate control over the creation of worlds. It's not because 1 game does something that everyone else should copy it. And since this is an MMORPG with a persistent world some sacrifices have to be made from a technical point of view. Like water physics and such. 
 
You seem to downplay the single shard element. It's not my idea to change your mind but if you take what DU does on the scale it does with the potential amount of players it can host you fundamentally change the player experience. 
 
The experience changes in ways that a small scale multiplayer just can't provide. 
 
Apples and oranges. 

Minor correction, star citizens server structure does not even compare to DU. It splits the world in instances, with a maximum of 40 players per instance. I'm not sure if this is currently in the game or still on their to do list. This might improve over time but they can't do what DU will do or what EVE does. 
 
 
 

A MMO game and no update forever ... what a nightmare.

How can you live with a online game which keep like that for the whole life of the game.

New content, new fix bug, new optimize, new function,... very much a lot of thing they want to add in game, but now they dont have time, only priority now is which they have promised in kickstart. Then after launch they will get new expansion for the game.