RightBigToe

Pre-alpha window is this Saturday, the 30th, from 9am to 6pm US EST.
 
As for redacted, well Novaquark didn't think ATV could keep their mouths shut I guess, so they created an AI that automatically removes all info and details about the game from posts.

First things first, you should take a look at the Builder Guide on the wiki, we've spent considerable time refining it from the information we know now.
Link to Wiki
 
I wouldn't think of it as being given creative mode, but rather that to make testing things simpler, you will be skipping the mining and refining steps of the gameplay for the Pre-Alpha.
 
As far as how collecting resources will work, it seems that it will be more of a simple sphere, and maybe other shapes to dig into the ground, but you will have some tools like smoothing to round off edges and such while terraforming.  There is another whole type of voxel interaction which is building.  This involves editing a construct as defined by a construct.  This is where you will have a grid (if you want), and more precise tools.  
 
As far as the tools involved, it seems to just be this detached style of mining where you are shown the area that will be mined and click a button to mine it.  There is no implementation of a personal drill to directly mine out the ground/resources at this time.  
 
There will not be ship-based mining for balancing reasons.
 
How much mining for a small ship?  It depends on what materials you want to use to construct it.  There will be many options to use as the body (voxels) of a ship and that's not to mention the materials necessary for all of the elements involved.  In theory each of those resources would need to be scanned down, dug out, and refined into usable materials.  How long all of that takes is really yet to be truly determined as they refine the mechanics.
 
For a death star, remember that the entire volume of something you build has to be mined, and JC previously gave us a value of something like 52 m^3/s (check Twitter for actual number, not that it's final anyways).  Doing the math, it would take a rediculous amount of time for even hundreds of players to mine, refine, transport to orbit, and construct such a structure.  Imagine years most likely (for a 1:1 scale).
 
For refining of my materials, as I've mentioned above you absolutely have to refine the materials you mine out of the ground into something useable in a construct.  This mechanic has not been really defined, but imagine that it will involve inputting resources into a container that a refining element pulls from and dumps into another container.  This whole process would require power to run, and may only be possible on a static construct (TBD).  We created a list of known ores and refined materials here: https://dualuniverse.gamepedia.com/Resources
 
For questions about inventory stuff, check out this post: 
 

First things first, you should take a look at the Builder Guide on the wiki, we've spent considerable time refining it from the information we know now.
Link to Wiki
 
I wouldn't think of it as being given creative mode, but rather that to make testing things simpler, you will be skipping the mining and refining steps of the gameplay for the Pre-Alpha.
 
As far as how collecting resources will work, it seems that it will be more of a simple sphere, and maybe other shapes to dig into the ground, but you will have some tools like smoothing to round off edges and such while terraforming.  There is another whole type of voxel interaction which is building.  This involves editing a construct as defined by a construct.  This is where you will have a grid (if you want), and more precise tools.  
 
As far as the tools involved, it seems to just be this detached style of mining where you are shown the area that will be mined and click a button to mine it.  There is no implementation of a personal drill to directly mine out the ground/resources at this time.  
 
There will not be ship-based mining for balancing reasons.
 
How much mining for a small ship?  It depends on what materials you want to use to construct it.  There will be many options to use as the body (voxels) of a ship and that's not to mention the materials necessary for all of the elements involved.  In theory each of those resources would need to be scanned down, dug out, and refined into usable materials.  How long all of that takes is really yet to be truly determined as they refine the mechanics.
 
For a death star, remember that the entire volume of something you build has to be mined, and JC previously gave us a value of something like 52 m^3/s (check Twitter for actual number, not that it's final anyways).  Doing the math, it would take a rediculous amount of time for even hundreds of players to mine, refine, transport to orbit, and construct such a structure.  Imagine years most likely (for a 1:1 scale).
 
For refining of my materials, as I've mentioned above you absolutely have to refine the materials you mine out of the ground into something useable in a construct.  This mechanic has not been really defined, but imagine that it will involve inputting resources into a container that a refining element pulls from and dumps into another container.  This whole process would require power to run, and may only be possible on a static construct (TBD).  We created a list of known ores and refined materials here: https://dualuniverse.gamepedia.com/Resources
 
For questions about inventory stuff, check out this post: 
 

I do not think that they have really delved into the topic in the details you are looking for unfortunately.  From what we've filled in on the wiki (dualuniverse.gamepedia.com), I would say that what you should look for is to have a reasonable amount of space to keep items mined (or whatever) in your inventory as it has special compression technology.  There is definitely special cargo elements that you will deposit items into as a separate inventory, rather than a physical location.  
 
In theory, there is also nothing stopping you from dropping a bunch of resources voxels on the floor of a ship that a large room you could call a cargohold.  I've heard different things about what you can and cannot redeploy and how from your inventory into the world outside of a construct. 
 
What you could also do in theory is somehow build a small refining plant where you are mining, refine the resources, and then add them to your ship as voxels.
 
From a pruely opinion standpoint, I would imagine your inventory would go from empty to full in 10-20 minutes of mining.  While you cannot directly mine using constructs (ie ships), that wouldnt stop anyone from parking a ship behind you and filling it's cargohold up as you go along.  Alternatively you can also imagine a basic EVE-style mining op where you have multiple miners, and one or more haulers taking the resources back and forth between the mine and a base of operations.

I would think it would take a good deal of time to determine a method for compiling and storing all of this information, as it would be fairly extensive.  It is certainly possible unless there is something weird with the procedural generation, just not simple.

Hello, all!
I am proposing a project for a rather massive structure, gargantuan in scale, design, and function. This project, at its core, is to complete a large, multipurpose space station designed for public utility and financial success. It is, on a higher level, more than a structure, as it is intended to be a realistic effort at achieving a realization of our ideas and projects for grand structures in DU.
 
In keeping with the same spirit of fairness that is displayed by Novaquark with the game itself, the decisions of this space station's purpose/function, as well as its economic produce, will lie in the hands of those who brought it to being: Its builders and investors (hereafter referred to as shareholders). The net profit of the entire station after its completion will be split among its shareholders, either equally or according to merit, with percentages depending on the number of people who end up getting involved, whilst allocating away 10% of the net profit to leave room for future investors and expansions of the station.
 
In regards to the station's architecture: the aesthetic design of the station will be ultimately decided by a consensus of its shareholders, as ideas in this area are not lacking. Certain aspects, such as material availability, cost, and architectural practicality, however, may prevent some design proposals from being possible.
 
Financially, the station will survive on taxes, rent, payments, and/or fees. None of these are requirements, the only requirement being the profit needed for the station's upkeep and the profit desired by its shareholders. The station will allocate 40% gross profit towards physical security (shields, ships, etc), 5% gross profit towards maintenance/repair, and 10% gross profit towards salaries for those who run, guard, and maintain the station, with the remaining 45% being net profit. (These numbers are not final; they only reflect the general idea: security first, then dish out the rest)
 
While the ultimate goals of this station are to be left up to its shareholders, a few key principles accompany this proposal, namely:
 - The Station must remain politically independent
 - The Station must not act as a military factory for any one organization
 - The Station must not provide refuge for trolls or griefers
A few important distinctions: Political independence is not neutrality, the station can not side with any one org in a conflict but very well may militarily aid multiple orgs. A difference has been assumed between pirates and troll/griefers. Whether the station will be unconditionally neutral or politically active, aid many orgs militarily (through manufacturing, supply, and hangar space) or aid none, or provide political sanctuary with no questions asked, is, of course, left up to the consensus of the shareholders. 
 
The name of this station has also been left undecided, as this really is a project for everyone. The decision for naming will be put to a vote.
 
Of course, everyone has many ideas for grand things they want to see in the game. Therein lies the problem: it is very unlikely we will all get opportunities to have our own huge stations and ideas realized and even more unlikely that we will get them exactly as we want. Ultimately, I too want to see some very beautiful and magnificent creations in DU, and I hope that each person or organization who climbs aboard this project can contribute a few of his/her best and most passionate ideas and we can create something that, out of compromise of personal opinion of perfection and mutual contribution of effort, will make future DU players gape at in awe and behold with wonder. I hope we can impress NQ, inspire the rest of the DU community, and fulfill some of our craziest personal space nerd dreams.
 
My role in this project will be to facilitate the discussion (should anyone take interest) and guide the consensus toward practical options if necessary, as well as manage the upkeep of the physical structure upon completion. This project may be my idea, but the idea of this project is to realize ideas from everyone. The economic and political control of the station will remain with the shareholders.
 
The blueprint for the station will (hopefully) be completed before release and I plan to take full advantage of the god mode building in pre-alpha as I'm sure some of you do as well.
 
Let me know what you think of the idea and if you potentially would like to help make it happen! 
 
Thanks for reading it all
 - Sir_Rat
 
 
Outside of the proposal, I personally would love to see the station to serve multiple purposes including, but not limited to, manufacturing, refuge from space pirates for newbies, personal material and ship storage, residential/luxury housing, trading and market hubs, refueling, and hangar space for imperial class vessels, military fleets, and industrial haulers and freighters.
 

This sounds interesting, I am imagining the massive space station shown in the kickstarter campaign as a concept image.
 
I would be interesting to help throw ideas around, and the Novark Power Corporation would be interested in helping develop, operate, and maintain the station's power/energy system.

You guys should always check the official wiki at https://dualuniverse.gamepedia.com first for questions like this, we have compiled a lot of information.
 
 
Previously Nyzaltar has stated that importing 3D designs from third-party software is something NQ does not plan on allowing/implementing.
 
Wiki: https://dualuniverse.gamepedia.com/Builder_Guide#Combat_Protection
Original Source: 
 
 

One key thing that has not been mentioned is that NQ is seriously looking at the ability to take with you blueprints of constructs you have made across wipes, either local or otherwise.  Still a work in progress, but they understand that people are going to spend considerable time designing things in the alpha and beta.  
 
They are trying to balance an unfair advantage come release for those in Alpha/Beta if there was no wipe against not completely disregarding the many hours and days people will be putting into creating things during these periods.   
 
Also as mentioned above, have to reiterate that the nature of the Alpha and Beta require wipes in some situations to make changes to how the mechanics, servers, etc function.
 
Expect to hear more as we approach the change over to Alpha from the Pre-Alpha (or maybe even in the upcoming devdiary, as wipes should be expected in the Pre-Alpha).

One key thing that has not been mentioned is that NQ is seriously looking at the ability to take with you blueprints of constructs you have made across wipes, either local or otherwise.  Still a work in progress, but they understand that people are going to spend considerable time designing things in the alpha and beta.  
 
They are trying to balance an unfair advantage come release for those in Alpha/Beta if there was no wipe against not completely disregarding the many hours and days people will be putting into creating things during these periods.   
 
Also as mentioned above, have to reiterate that the nature of the Alpha and Beta require wipes in some situations to make changes to how the mechanics, servers, etc function.
 
Expect to hear more as we approach the change over to Alpha from the Pre-Alpha (or maybe even in the upcoming devdiary, as wipes should be expected in the Pre-Alpha).

One key thing that has not been mentioned is that NQ is seriously looking at the ability to take with you blueprints of constructs you have made across wipes, either local or otherwise.  Still a work in progress, but they understand that people are going to spend considerable time designing things in the alpha and beta.  
 
They are trying to balance an unfair advantage come release for those in Alpha/Beta if there was no wipe against not completely disregarding the many hours and days people will be putting into creating things during these periods.   
 
Also as mentioned above, have to reiterate that the nature of the Alpha and Beta require wipes in some situations to make changes to how the mechanics, servers, etc function.
 
Expect to hear more as we approach the change over to Alpha from the Pre-Alpha (or maybe even in the upcoming devdiary, as wipes should be expected in the Pre-Alpha).

Novark Power Corporation
https://community.dualthegame.com/organization/novark-power-corporation
 
In my capacity as the owner of the Novark Power Corporation (NPC), I am posting this solicitation for a partner to help plan, design, and construct a utility network throughout the Novark Safe Zone (NSZ).   
 
The expectation is to collaborate on:
Developing conceptual sketches and drawings. Constructing test scenarios and trials in-game during Pre-Alpha & beyond. Planning a system of underground connections, wireless substations, and connected networks. Designing & Constructing a series of standard components for the above system.  
Feel free to ask questions below, or message me here or on Discord (Right Big Toe#4567).

Novark Power Corporation
https://community.dualthegame.com/organization/novark-power-corporation
 
In my capacity as the owner of the Novark Power Corporation (NPC), I am posting this solicitation for a partner to help plan, design, and construct a utility network throughout the Novark Safe Zone (NSZ).   
 
The expectation is to collaborate on:
Developing conceptual sketches and drawings. Constructing test scenarios and trials in-game during Pre-Alpha & beyond. Planning a system of underground connections, wireless substations, and connected networks. Designing & Constructing a series of standard components for the above system.  
Feel free to ask questions below, or message me here or on Discord (Right Big Toe#4567).

Novark Power Corporation
https://community.dualthegame.com/organization/novark-power-corporation
 
In my capacity as the owner of the Novark Power Corporation (NPC), I am posting this solicitation for a partner to help plan, design, and construct a utility network throughout the Novark Safe Zone (NSZ).   
 
The expectation is to collaborate on:
Developing conceptual sketches and drawings. Constructing test scenarios and trials in-game during Pre-Alpha & beyond. Planning a system of underground connections, wireless substations, and connected networks. Designing & Constructing a series of standard components for the above system.  
Feel free to ask questions below, or message me here or on Discord (Right Big Toe#4567).

Novark Power Corporation
https://community.dualthegame.com/organization/novark-power-corporation
 
In my capacity as the owner of the Novark Power Corporation (NPC), I am posting this solicitation for a partner to help plan, design, and construct a utility network throughout the Novark Safe Zone (NSZ).   
 
The expectation is to collaborate on:
Developing conceptual sketches and drawings. Constructing test scenarios and trials in-game during Pre-Alpha & beyond. Planning a system of underground connections, wireless substations, and connected networks. Designing & Constructing a series of standard components for the above system.  
Feel free to ask questions below, or message me here or on Discord (Right Big Toe#4567).

Novark Power Corporation
https://community.dualthegame.com/organization/novark-power-corporation
 
In my capacity as the owner of the Novark Power Corporation (NPC), I am posting this solicitation for a partner to help plan, design, and construct a utility network throughout the Novark Safe Zone (NSZ).   
 
The expectation is to collaborate on:
Developing conceptual sketches and drawings. Constructing test scenarios and trials in-game during Pre-Alpha & beyond. Planning a system of underground connections, wireless substations, and connected networks. Designing & Constructing a series of standard components for the above system.  
Feel free to ask questions below, or message me here or on Discord (Right Big Toe#4567).

Novark Power Corporation
https://community.dualthegame.com/organization/novark-power-corporation
 
In my capacity as the owner of the Novark Power Corporation (NPC), I am posting this solicitation for a partner to help plan, design, and construct a utility network throughout the Novark Safe Zone (NSZ).   
 
The expectation is to collaborate on:
Developing conceptual sketches and drawings. Constructing test scenarios and trials in-game during Pre-Alpha & beyond. Planning a system of underground connections, wireless substations, and connected networks. Designing & Constructing a series of standard components for the above system.  
Feel free to ask questions below, or message me here or on Discord (Right Big Toe#4567).

Novark Power Corporation
https://community.dualthegame.com/organization/novark-power-corporation
 
In my capacity as the owner of the Novark Power Corporation (NPC), I am posting this solicitation for a partner to help plan, design, and construct a utility network throughout the Novark Safe Zone (NSZ).   
 
The expectation is to collaborate on:
Developing conceptual sketches and drawings. Constructing test scenarios and trials in-game during Pre-Alpha & beyond. Planning a system of underground connections, wireless substations, and connected networks. Designing & Constructing a series of standard components for the above system.  
Feel free to ask questions below, or message me here or on Discord (Right Big Toe#4567).

Would be pretty cool if the arkship was eclipsed daily

It has sounded in the past as if they think that intra-system stargates are desirable, so you would just have to (presumably) leave the gravitational pull of the planet to travel to another, once the stargate is built.  Remember, the spread of civilization is built in to be slow, and preventing the immediate colonization of the solar system leaves time for the development of inter-system mechanics and is more realistic.

Would be pretty cool if the arkship was eclipsed daily

@RightBigToe unfortunately construct shadows are limited to a few 100 meters, and will probably not be visible from orbit.
 
But if I remember correctly at Gamescom planetoids do obscure the sunlight on a global scale.
I think I actually saw an eclipse where the moon of Alioth was shaded by the planet while the sun passed behind Alioth!
 
However since all planetoids are static, eclipses should happen at exactly the same time every day! It would be actually a very unique and pretty feature to have on a planet. xD

The DU gameplay at Gamescom was really amazing. I learned so many new things from talking to JC and actually playing the game that I would like to share them with you.
I’m very surprised no one else started a topic about the Gamescom jet, as there were people who spend much more time at the NQ booth then me…
 
Disclamer: None of this information is official! It’s just my interpretation of the conversation I had with JC. Also none of the features are final! I got the impression that a lot of details are not fully thought out and will be changed during development.

I hope we can freely discuss features “as seen in the Gamescom” without violating any pre-alpha NDA… I just think this will be interesting for those who were not there.
 
Orbital mechanics:
In space there are actual physics calculations like in Kerbal Space Program! I managed to catapult my ship into orbit with atmospheric engines, but it was pulled back in a parabolic curve by the gravity.
JC said that atmospheric engines are actually a bit overpowered, as you could reach escape velocity with them and fly straight into space… without any control… because the engines only work in atmosphere… xD
I have to say that I really liked the atmospheric flight mechanics; they felt very realistic just like a real airplane.
 
Damaging system:
Functional parts get damaged on impact and are supposed to lose their function until they get repaired by hand. (currently tweaked as it’s a little bugy)
 
Lua Scripting:
We already know about the minigames you can create in DU, but what about the multiplayer capabilities? Interestingly enough it’s already possible to connect multiple programming units together by just using global variables, which are shared inside one core unit.
Thereby multiple sup-components on a big ship can be interconnected and exchange information between each other.
In theory it could also be possible to communicate to another construct using the same mechanic, but with a growing distance the update rate of the data would be decrease…
They are thinking about creating a component that can be accessed “globally” by any programming unit in range… but the whole topic about distributed systems will be another milestone that has not been considered jet.
Another thing I asked was if we could use an external IDE for programming, as the ingame one was kind of limited… JC said in theory you could import an external library in the ingame interface, which should access the Lua scripts directly from your PCs hard drive.(not sure about the Lua limitations inside DU though)
Or you just copy the code over to the game for testing.
The Lua development is also tied to the ingame IDE as each connected component actually provides predefined event-function-blocks that are triggered by certain events (e.g. a switch has an on, and an off block) and you have to place Lua code in the corresponding function blocks.
I’m sure in the long run NQ will develop a fully fledged IDE for the game, so this will become no issue at all….
The breakout minigame was also simply some code executed in the “start” function that was able to receive keyboard inputs and generated svgs that were displayed on the screen-unit.
 
Rendering/Performance:
Ok, the game is not the prettiest rendering wise.
All vegetation and functional components get only rendered up to a certain distance (few 100 meters) than they get de-spawned. Also all lighting and shadows are only active up to this distance.
Further away voxels also get simplified a lot… I honestly don’t care about the visuals that much, but I’ll admit the space station looked kind of squashed from far away.  But JC said they are working hard on improving the rendering.
On the flip side flying around was very smooth! In god-mode I flew to the moon of Alioth in 2 seconds without any noticeable frame drops!
 
 
So, that’s all that was new/interesting about the game for me. Maybe most of this was already known, but it wouldn’t hurt to share it here…
I actually did not have enough time to cover all my questions. But others are probably able to share a lot more insights from Gamescom, so feel free to post them to the rest of the community!

Assuming that lighting and shadows works perfectly, noting ATMLVE's comments...
 
My understanding was that there will be no orbital mechanics for the solar systems (ie no planetary movement around other bodies like planets around the sun).
 
Therefore, all you would have to do is build a station that's as wide or wider than the width of the sun's rays that affect a specific point on the planet.  Now if the planets don't move around the sun this becomes a very simple calculation, even if the planet itself rotates, you could specifically target a location to place in a partial or total solar eclipse.
 

Assuming that lighting and shadows works perfectly, noting ATMLVE's comments...
 
My understanding was that there will be no orbital mechanics for the solar systems (ie no planetary movement around other bodies like planets around the sun).
 
Therefore, all you would have to do is build a station that's as wide or wider than the width of the sun's rays that affect a specific point on the planet.  Now if the planets don't move around the sun this becomes a very simple calculation, even if the planet itself rotates, you could specifically target a location to place in a partial or total solar eclipse.