Kurock

Thanks to all that took the time to read through the marvelous creations. I know I enjoyed my fellow writers stories as much as I enjoyed writing my own.

Can't recommend this enough. Go read it.

Imagine: A system where the community polices itself. Griefers? No problem. Put a bounty on their heads and they will see the error of their ways... Or will they? Some believe that a bounty system is a deterrent to prevent criminals from performing their nefarious deeds. But in some cases it has the opposite effect: it creates super-criminals. It may indeed lessen the number of minor criminals, but there are those that see their bounty as their degree of infamy, and by extension, how much they are "winning". The bigger the bounty the bigger the pirates ..erm... respect, after all. Trolls like to be fed and an advertised bounty board is great feed. Or is it? What do you believe a bounty hunting system should accomplish? Should it be a tool for justice? A way to show the world how badass a characters is? A way to legitimize PvP without declaring war? Further reading on bounty systems in the forums:

If by "mod shop" you mean a place you take your ship so that other players can modify it, then yes that is required first before "delta-prints (DPs)" aka schematics can even be created. The delta-prints are just a way of easily selling mods en-mass and not required for the mods themselves. (Ignore for now whether it uses factory units or whatever) If by "mod shop" you mean a prebuilt modding element that handles like GTA vehicle upgrading then forget about it.

The following clip got me thinking: What do you think are the pros and cons of sandbox and themepark MMOs? Do you agree?

Modprints, I thought, what a nice idea. It gives an answer to those that keep asking to modify already made ships. But then a question occured to me: "When does a modification stop being a modification and instead become a brand new ship?" It is a variant of the Theseus Paradox. This would be an issue if the whole ship could be blueprinted again, mods and all and then sold as a brand new ship. The OP suggests the mod is coupled to the original on a 1-to-1 basis: the original ship is required before a mod can be applied. I would go further and say the original physical ship is required, not just a blueprint of the original. Now you could say only one mod allowed per ship which means old mod must be remove before a new one is applied. But what if you want many mods? Have them combined into a special single mod. But wait, I feel like the idea of "modprints" skipped a step. They assume you can change a ship so that the "modprint" can be made in the first place. Isn't that already modding the ship except the mod cannot be printed and sold. So without the "modprints" you still arguably have all 3 positive points in the OP that the "modprints" are meant to solve. So a construct could be bought with the following permissions, each allowing more than the last: 1) No permissions - no modifying of the construct or blueprint/modprint creation allowed at all. 2) Modify only (no sharing) - the new owner of the construct can change it as the owner wishes but cannot create blueprints or modprints. 3) Mod-prints (schematics as OP calls them) - Can modify the construct and can create mod-prints for reselling. This requires the original construct to apply the mod to and it cannot be modded again (mod can be removed and replaced with another). 4) Full permissions - modify allowed and modprints/blueprints can be created. This is basically like handing out master blueprints. Effectively opensource constructs xD This could get much more complex for example allowing (or not) owners to modify LUA, voxels and elements independently, but let's ignore those for now. In summary: I like the idea. Keep them coming. Edit: Delta-print may be a more descriptive and cooler name

A hearty welcome to all the new DU supporters. Hovercraft racing in DU will be very different to its wheeled racing counterparts in the real world. Prepare for the experience. Expect an announcement soon... DICE is still looking for sponsors, judges, but most of all, Noveans that passionate about in-game games in DU. Join the community site to show your support I and come chat in our discord.

What do you call an A.I. that had their backdoor removed? Unhinged? xD Keep 'em coming

Underground bases are not a problem. Magical TU semi-safe-zone ground would be a problem. And I consider someone digging up my lawn quite offensive. (Do you know how long it too kind of grow that imported lawn?) Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that tunneling in to murder a lone gopher is not offensive and instead, by TU law, is covered by RDMS. Would it not make more sense to make rule breakers "red" for breaking a TU law instead of saying "no magical brainwashing doomajiggy says you can't dig here. But shooting? That's completely fine." Let's assume even further that no matter what, you cannot use the dig tool in any way shape or form because reasons. Guns still work and can still blow holes in the terrain. It's mining without mining. Let's take it even further, where no amount of firepower can dent the terrain (and digging is disabled). Now you have a safe haven. A place of 100% safety. A safe-zone away from the safezone and all is well. IMO this is the most unlikely scenario. That said, boasting about your impenetrable fortress of solitude is a great way to get some uninvited visitors up for the challenge. That's emergent gameplay. So no, underground bases are not a problem.

Not sure what is meant by "allowing free placement of safe-zones". Players can never create or place safe zones. Outside the arkship safezone(s) and the sanctuary moon(s) that are both placed by NQ, players can only place "timer shields" (mechanic pending) which can be brought down. A TU is not a magical "now you can't touch me" device. I would argue that a player without a TU can hide their underground base better since it's not marked on the map as claimed. Also digging cannot be prevented by a TU. Only actually gaining the resources from digging.

Who doesn't want to be a space janitor? xD

More convoluted rules: static constructs cannot be placed in the safezone in an unclaimed territory when its build area overlaps any other build area you can't build in. Course if none of these things are implemented you have the following recourse: Also it should be noted that anyone can see who owns a construct. Then the solution is call a GM. NQ can decide if they approve of trollish behavior by deleting the offending construct and/or banning the troll. Really though: park your ship in a designated parking area.

1) I understand the situation but fail to see the problem. If it's hard for enemies to get in, it's hard for the people that live there too. If the base must have ship access, well those are massive doors that can be shot down. Also (outside of the safezone) you can still destroy claimed land. No mining just means you cannot *collect* the resources from the ground. If you are worried about people defacing your grounds, you should have put up some shields. Also, most importantly, we need proper tools to flatten/restore terrain. 2) Automated Avatar Syndrome is a disease. Anyone caught with this disease should be shot then banned or the disease will spread. Quarantine the infection. I don't really have a solution for this other than don't be an AAS. 3) Outside safezone, think outside the box and action it with gunz. Inside the safezone I like the idea of "reparking" a ship that sticks around in your safe zone territory for too long. An option that moves it randomly to nearby open (unclaimed) area. The owner has no issue finding it again because it's still listed on his map. Fixes box ships and illegal parkers . If you get wheel clamped (aka boxed) in someone else's territory, it's really your own fault.

I thought we called it "storytelling" (same thing) xD

According to current lore, the arkship reaches near light speeds but does not actually surpass it.

You want to buy best dirt in Galaxy? For you, very good price. Dirt cheap. (TLDR means "too long didn't read")

For some things, like blueprints you just created, it is a good idea to delete some since you only care about the latest one. Deleting limited resources is debatable. I would prefer a trash compactor equivalent element rather than have it built into the nanoformer. I can't really blame someone for deleting dirt they just dug up, though I am sure someone out there will want mountains of dirt for their own terraforming. TLDR: I am undecided about this one.

An excellent take on AI. More please.

Turtles. It's turtles all the way down.

A big welcome to the new DU Supporters. What if I told you there is an official secret out there somewhere, waiting to be discovered? There are so many planets to in explore in DU. Come discovere with DU Wayfarers. (See original post for more information)

Don't let a few contradictions get in the way of a good story. Ultimately it is your story.

The DICE panel of judges have conveined and made a verdict. While there can only be one winner, the remaining entrants should not feel disheartened, this was a very close competition. so without further aDU, the winning entry of DICE Den 1 is Flipmaze by Ben Fargo The winner will be contacted shortly to collect his prize and Flipmaze will be created as an DICE arena game. A special thanks to this competitions sponsor: Soarnir

Due to the 3-way tie, we will now go over to our independent panel of judges to decide on the winner.

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.