RX1334

Wow, a lot of people replied to this post. Anyway. As for the argument of, "so be it", I worry about the growth of the game. You see, DU is a single shard MMORPG. A game of this genre faces the challenge of remaining a viable choice for newer players after the official release; if a game becomes too sophisticated or advanced or out of reach for a new player simply due to how much it has progressed or how much control the players already in the game have, that game will die. There needs to be a certain balance maintaining the playability of the game for new players. Who would want to play a game where everything, from resources to economy to gameplay, is controlled by in-game organizations? Sure, you can argue lots MMORPGs are like that; it is well known that games such as Guild Wars and World of Warcraft have had tremendous success despite having huge guilds. They have storylines, DU does not. Storylines and quests allow more advanced players to move on into further stages where they will not be of huge influence to newer players. DU is a sandbox game; everything we will have is run by us. (Even in EVE, there is CONCORD and NPC marketplaces for newer players) Imagine logging into DU only to be faced by constructs and marketplaces built and run by Large Organizations and the be told that there is no in-game system for your protection; stepping outside the ark ship, you see no way of guaranteeing your own growth aside from joining an organization. Maybe that was how it was meant to be.

I believe that this argument applies more to the official game launch or the beta; I understand that the alpha is more building oriented. Interesting thoughts, though.

I have already conceded that, in the event where any of said assumptions are to be false, which you seem to have failed to notice, then the argument presented would be invalid. You also seemed to have ignored the statement that TUs, in the current stage of development, have no use to Larger Organizations. If you were to argue that it would officially claim a territory, then I will tell you that, with the most certainty, that the larger organizations will develop TUs faster so as to nullify the possibility of their lands being claimed by individuals or smaller groups. However, what is the purpose of having a TU on a valuable piece of land without the manpower or resources to protect it against the larger corporations? Now, you say that there will be enough resources to allow the general population of participants to achieve orbital flight, where is your logic or evidence or source? Logically, that makes no sense. Why would the devs allow the game to progress so quickly during the early phases of the game? Then again, one simply does not build a space ship out of sticks and stones; surely it would require rare resources to compose the engines necessary to go into orbit. I personally have not heard of such evidence and nor do I know of a source that confirms your claim. Finally, even if Larger Organizations do not have the intention to trap newer players, what have you to say about the highly possible monopoly which will occur when a said group discovers, occupies, and begins collection of a certain rare resource. I see no possibility of the present Orgs presenting charitable behavior during the initiation phase of such a competitive game. Please keep in mind the assumptions made specifically for the post's argument.

The effect of TUs on larger Organizations can be described as negligible if one considers the manpower, resources, and potential of said groups. What is a TU really but a flag planted on a hill signifying that you own it? If anything, a TU is just an organizer for information and a warning system for trespassers; an essentially useless piece of equipment for those Organizations with the capability of constantly posting men in their "claimed" territories. There are no rules preventing the Organizations from taking on a shoot-to-kill policy on all foreigners in any given region; there are no restraints. The presence, or necessity, of a TU in early stages of the game is void. Think of it this way - unless some miraculous discovery is made, there is no method which my mind can concoct so as to allow a smaller group to develop a TU faster than a larger one. Thus there is no competition except with other larger organizations. Given the limited amount of larger organizations currently present and the sheer size of the starting planet, I fear the possibility of Larger Orgs monopolizing unique resources and destabilizing the game. Also, what is there to limit the "ring surrounding the safe zone prohibiting expansion"? What is there to prevent early domination in a world where no advanced technology exists to balance the difference in manpower?

Question: Assuming the immediate availability of the necessary resources to depart the 20-kilometer safe zone and begin development in hostile, unexplored area, how should the initial expansion frenzy be regulated? Assumptions: that starting items include Weapons of some sort (Carbines, Assault Rifles, Pistols) Viable form of transportation (or the materials to build them) Basic resources (Rations, Ammunition, etc.) that the safe zone can be exited immediately that PvP will be enabled immediately outside the safe zone that all constructs necessary are craftable and do not require purchase Reasoning: Acknowledging the existence of already potent organizations in the Dual Universe Community, one simply cannot ignore the possibility of highly organized and efficient efforts to immediately expand outwards and claim territories advantageous to the development of said groups. Given that the assumptions, which, in my opinion, are entirely plausible given that the spawn point is an advanced colonial spacecraft likely equipped for all but the worst scenarios, are to be true, such efforts are inevitable. Furthermore, the relations between said groups cannot possibly be peaceful as they are essentially colonial corporations comparable to those of the American Colonial era (French and Indian War, Fall of New Amsterdam, Queen Annes War, etc.); they will invariably go into conflict upon meeting each other in locations of strategic importance. Those said conflicts will occur in very early stages of the game and may be disruptive to a healthy, paced progression in gameplay. One may ask the incentive of immediate expansion and exploration. Well, it is simple. What could an organization want more than a piece of rich land with unique resources and of strategic value on a planet which is unexplored? To find such a location would accelerate the rate of development of said group tremendously and would also create a temporary monopoly on said resource. Assuming that market prices at the beginning, which will be dictated by NPCs until the maturing of the player base, will fluctuate according to supply and demand, such a monopoly would generate funds immeasurably valuable to the said group in the long term. Also, in the event where all constructs necessary to the full development of a corporation can be readily crafted provided the correct resources, there is no need to be in the presence of large population center or the spawn point; there are no restrictions on the expansion or construction of organization forward bases. Of course, if any of the provided assumptions above are to be false, then the argument provided above shall be invalid and can be ignored.