Ben Fargo

Today, Lord JC hosted an Ask Me Anything event in the official community discord. Below is a transcript of the questions and answers for those of you that missed it.  ?
 
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NQ-SophonToday at 11:01 AM
hi guys! This is JC, the creative director of Dual Universe! Just wanted to come here and spend a moment with you, to celebrate the fact we now have an official discord!
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:03 AM
hey, no big announcement today, but a chance to chat, so let's go! I met some of you guys at Gamescom but I wanted to have the opportunity to talk to all of you guys online
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:05 AM
a huge thank you to the community and the discord moderators too, by the way! This discord is just amazing!
 
[N.C.] ZerroxToday at 11:05 AM
What about Alpha 1 starting in november, will you be able to stick to the roadmap?
Timing wise?
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:06 AM
@[N.C.] Zerrox so far, we are on track for the alpha in the second half of November, as planned
 
DreamcatcherToday at 11:04 AM
Well always bugged me, how long did it take for you guys to build that giant space station above alioth ?
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:06 AM
@Dreamcatcher a long time!
 
ZetamanToday at 11:07 AM
can you tell us if it will be along the same format as pre alpha or will the sessions be longer?
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:09 AM
@Zetaman no big changes in the access times so far, expect still the usual weekly access
vonboyToday at 11:07 AM
What's some random bug that's made you laugh out loud the most at it happening?
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:10 AM
@vonboy no bug makes me laugh ?
 
[N.C.] ZerroxToday at 11:08 AM
Short question: What happened to the group picture we took at the gamescom meetup? I really wanna have a copy of that!
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:12 AM
@[N.C.] Zerrox we... lost the camera in the train. Sorry about that, no pic!
 
[HYP] z0KngToday at 11:10 AM
Are Astreoids planned in deep space? And if so will they have ressources?
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:14 AM
@[HYP] z0Kng too soon for the asteroids in Nov, but definitely will be a thing at some point. Well actually, there are some asteroids already around Thades, but nothing to mine yet.
Masc™ of AvacynToday at 11:12 AM
 
@NQ-Sophon Hey JC, is there any plans for collision physics in space? (ships colliding with each other and causing voxel destruction, etc)
NQ-SophonToday at 11:16 AM
 
@Masc™ of Avacyn no destructive collision is planned. This would lead to problematic gameplay side effects.
AgecomToday at 11:12 AM
Is it going to be possible to create his own currency?
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:17 AM
@Agecom no, there is only one official currency (quanta). Stabilizing a currency that would work for commerce would be to slow a process otherwise, and we need a fully functional economy right from the start.
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:20 AM
about PvP: it's a bit too soon to go into details, we are working on the precise game mechanics.

[HYP] SkeletmasterToday at 11:18 AM
what can you say about that we get in the near future except from crafting
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:22 AM
@[HYP] Skeletmaster the crafting will most likely come as a first iteration that "gets the job done", but it still far from the integrated gameplay we have in mind.
 
hdparmToday at 11:19 AM
@JC some  players are investigating atmospheric drag. Does DU use this equation https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/drageq.html , or some other?
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:23 AM
@hdparm we use both quadratic and linear drag, but otherwise yes, it's based on this equation (for the quadratic side at least)
 
Einu VeiToday at 11:19 AM
@NQ-Sophon Will market units be synchronised with a central system/cache of resources, or will each one have an individual storage limit and market forces dictated by that storage limit?
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:24 AM
@Einu Vei markets will have their own containers attached, so how much you can trade on them will depend on the aggregated size of these containers
 
wakamaToday at 11:21 AM
Is ground combat actually going to be a thing to for example take over zones on planets?
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:25 AM
@wakama yes, territory units will be attackable, if they are not deployed at a safe zone/sanctuary moon.
 
[N.C] Infinite GamerToday at 11:17 AM
so what are the main goals you are hoping to achieve by Alpha 1?
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:28 AM
@[N.C] Infinite Gamer so far, the development is on check, but we can NEVER be sure there will be no unforeseen problem, because we are doing very innovative stuffs.
 
ChronoToday at 11:25 AM
will be there tool for mining that help to find ores over 400m ? or tool crafting for mining ?
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:28 AM
@Chrono yes, there will be more tools for mining added, at least ways to inform you better about what's in a given region.
 
Einu VeiToday at 11:26 AM
@NQ-Sophon Does that mean the prices of those items will vary from market unit to market unit, depending on how much is stored in the containers, or will the market price system be centralised while the inventory system is distributed, aka a hybrid system?(edited)
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:30 AM
@Einu Vei the market system is very similar to Eve Online, so no fixed prices, and local market equilibrium are possible

wakamaToday at 11:26 AM
Also if all players spawn at one planet how will you make sure the terrain won’t end up totally messed up.  Will it respawn or something?
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:30 AM
@wakama the areas around the Arkship spawn point will not be editable (up to a distance we are still discussing)

[N.C.] ZerroxToday at 11:27 AM
@NQ-Sophon , will there be renewable energy? Can you make a base self-sufficient?
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:31 AM
@[N.C.] Zerrox too soon to talk about energy, but energy will be a thing, yes
 
DestrinToday at 11:29 AM
@NQ-Sophon any ETA on anti-grav 
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:32 AM
@Destrin antigrav for Alpha!
 
[HYP] meigrafdToday at 11:31 AM
JC when your planning to add organisations into the game itself?

NQ-SophonToday at 11:33 AM
@[HYP] meigrafd https://www.dualthegame.com/en/news/2018/08/08/release-roadmap-alpha-launch-announcement/
 
hdparmToday at 11:32 AM
@NQ-Sophon last week's patch broke a few lua scripts (due to some functions being moved from one element to another). In the future, could changes like these be announced in advance, so that we can prepare our scripts before the test?
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:35 AM
@hdparm sorry about the LUA change, it should not really happen again, or else we will add a retrocompatibility layer. We mostly add stuff now.
 
CostaniusToday at 11:30 AM
@NQ-Sophon  JC, what tech or feature or accomplishment are You especially proud of so far?
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:36 AM
@Costanius I'm extremely proud of our server tech and voxel tech, and especially proud of our team!
 
[HYP] meigrafdToday at 11:36 AM
JC how tall is the chance to get any kind of move-/rotate- able elements controlled over lua, after release?
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:38 AM
@[HYP] meigrafd I would love to, but it won't happen for now, definitely not in alpha
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:39 AM
guys, let's take a last question, as I've got to go for today!
 
[PRF] MegadddToday at 11:40 AM
@JC I've seen what happens to Minecraft servers with populations of 100-200 people where they are allowed to excavate everything. Absolutely every surface feature is decimated for kilometers from the starting area within weeks. It is conservative to say the DU launch will be orders of magnitude more populated, and mining in DU is much more powerful than in minecraft. Will you implement automatic surface restoration (erosion) algorithms? Suffice to say natural terrain that looks like it was carpet bombed everywhere would not be pleasing new player experience.
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:42 AM
@[PRF] Megaddd it's still in discussion, but we certainly don't want "ore fountains" that are infinite sources of wealth. And damage done to the surface of the planet should be minimal as most ore are deep underground. But we need to test this, and probably come up with many ideas to make it work!
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:43 AM
that's it guys! It was great exchanging with you today!
 
NQ-SophonToday at 11:43 AM
Thanks everyone!

:O, I see your point. The camera is traveling too at that speed. 

Well If  is implemented as I have said it will easy but unacurate in a sense. But implementing it hte other way has masive consecuences so is virtually imposible.

Hey Everyone!  A few of us are doing some work on the lore for our own group, New Genesis.  Were not professional writers lol but we would like some feedback from the community.  It's pretty short and mostly in line with the lore of Dual Universe but if you guys can give some suggestions we could use it.  It covers the creation of New Genesis & "The Holy Order" (which is our fictitious religion) but not the origin of our Gods, which will be covered in another segment at another time.
 
(Edit - Added Video)
 
The Creation of New Genesis:
 
[2027]
It was a time of extreme changes in ideologies and way of life for the entirety of the human race. Scientists discovered a doomsday Neutron Star that would impact Earth in roughly 500 years.  This neutron star was named the Star Kiss of Death, or SKiD for short.
_________________________________________________________________________
 
[2049]
As the years went by a massive change in humanic and theological views began.  Most, if not all modern religions took a blow as a result of the socio-economic breakdown due in part of the “no future” movement that was created.  During this breakdown, a predominantly extremist faction firmly believed that the earth would be destroyed and that there was nothing anyone could do about it.  This movement came to be despite all of the world’s leaders working together to create a so called “United Earth Federation” to ensure that each country would work together towards the survival of the Human race.  The main goal of the UEF was to analyze possible responses and escape strategies for the SKiD.
 
[2100]
During this time, humanity moved away from hard labor due to the advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence.  The general population had little of importance to do. This lead to many people questioning their faith and role in society.  Over the years people started yearning for something new. A few select individuals started to come to the realisation that current religions at that time seemed to be failing us.  These select few analyzed current religions, deemed them fictitious, hateful and the main cause of humanity’s reluctant effort in advancing in technology. This lead to the creation of a new faith called “The Holy Order” which promoted science and religion hand in hand.
 
[2475]
The Holy Order begat a large following of a couple hundred thousand over the past few centuries and eventually became a force to be reckoned with. So many of their deities either had concrete evidence of existing or the theology behind them had so many ideals that made them fit with everyday real life that many people began to join the organization as it was difficult to argue against what The Holy Order stood for. People questioning the current global leadership also abetted in the aid of loyalty towards The Holy Order.
 
[2482]
The Holy Order finally decided that a leader would have to be chosen to guide the people once humanity reached the new world and that a new government would have to be made.  A child was born to one of the high priestesses of The Holy Order and was chosen to be groomed as the leader of this new frontier. The Holy Order would later go on to call this new leader “The Master Architect.” He was named king of this new government by all leadership in the Holy Order at that time and was entrusted with the responsibility of carving a path for the people.

 
[2503]
All of the leaders in The Holy Order came to the conclusion that The Master Architect was ready to take charge. One of his first decisions was that there should be a high council to aid and advise him in all matters.  This became known as the “Council of Archons.” Each Archon were to rule over different segments of the new government and were responsible for ensuring that the people were well taken care of.  Since there were multiple Arkships being made by the UEF that were going to other parts of the galaxy, The Master Architect decided to delegate several members of The Holy Order to take lead in the Arkships that he was not going on and for them to create their own hierarchy.
 
[2504]
Quickly, The Master Architect became a loving figure among his people and known for his firm but fair hand.  To not believe in The Holy Order was considered heresy of the highest degree for which The Master Architect held nothing back when it came to punishing this crime.  Though there were a lucky few that only met the fate of being exiled, other punishments could not be described in words and if they could, it would not be pleasant to have them included in this historical document.
 
[2507]
Years after the council of Archons was created, other departments and divisions were created so that the current global “regime” could be replaced with a system that made a lot more sense.  This was to create a more stable economy in the new world with no discrimination between what were once known as “classes.” The Master Architect, the council of Archons & the newly created departments saw very quickly to the end of the class system and made sure that every individual was valued on their input to society and not on the amount of money that they earn.
 
[2509]
Over the years this group of people came to be known as New Genesis, meaning “new beginning” which is what most people wanted and needed.  It was hoped that moving to a new planet and galaxy would enable New Genesis to achieve its righteous goals.
 
[2510]
The UEF begins its first mission in sending humans across the galaxy.  The Master Architect and a good portion of New Genesis board one of Arkships that were created by the UEF, the Novark.  It heads towards the Scutum-Centaurus arm…
 

I disagree with that.  We do not observe the character.  We observe a virtual world from the point of view of the character.  Since the player is observing from the point of view of the character, if the character is moving at relativistic speeds, time in the virtual world should appear to pass normally for the player, but actually be at a different rate than other players.  That is why people are saying this suggestion is impossible.  Of course, the player is not actually in the virtual world, but saying the player should see the world slow down because of that is like saying the view on the screen should not move when the character moves because the player is not actually moving.

Please read up on what fair use is. It is only applicable if a judge rules it is, you can't use the term upfront as an excuse for using copyright material. You can certainly be sued and be on trial for this. It is upto a judge to determine if fair use applies or not.
 
https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/four-factors/
 
While this article relates to US law, it is the same in Europe.
 

RDMS seems like something they will be continuously improving on after Alpha 2, as it seems necessary for the socialization features they are planning for Alpha 3.
 
I also can't imagine we could possibly have player nations in Beta without it.
 
 

Hi there,
 
To clarify things, here's an official statement from Novaquark:
- Xsolla Capital has not invested in Dual Universe so far.
- Xsolla is just the current payment partner of Novaquark, handling financial transactions related to pledges. Nothing more, nothing less.
 
In addition, here are some facts:
- Lockethot made a statement without linking to clear, unambiguous sources.
- Even the links he refers to do not prove anything (for example, https://xsollacapital.com/ proves that Xsolla Capital has invested in "Life is Feudal", not "Dual Universe").
- Just to give the whole context: it might be a coincidence but "Lockethot" is one of the two pseudonyms used to start a smearing campaign toward Dual Universe on Reddit and YouTube, posting fake IGN reviews (without - of course - any link to the original source), that has been moderated since then. The current topic being not aggressive, we will give the benefit of the doubt and gives a chance to  "Lockethot", as long as he respects the forum rules.
 
@Lockethot
While not aggressive, this topic is full of misinformation.
Here is a first warning as spreading misinformation is not accepted. There won't be a second one. 
For the same reason, this topic is going to be locked.
 
Best Regards,
Nyzaltar.

I can only speculate since we're both in the same boat.
 
I would think that they would be different entities. Player groups, say you have a group of flying buddies that you like to go on looting runs with. You can select that group, see where they all are, blast a message saying you want to go out and smash a convoy, then go do it.
 
On the other hand maybe it could be used as a filter of sorts for grouping people into... groups! You know a bunch of people who are good at making constructs, add their name to a group and you can easily start up a private group conversation in the game. It could also be a feature of organizations like, for example, you put your organization's industrialists in one group, and miners in another, but then again you wouldn't need to be a part of an organization to do that, it's just another tool of sorts on the players tool belt.
 
Can't be of much help on the second question here. I don't know about the RDMS system too much beyond the blogs (which I don't know if the old ones were deleted in the move) and dev diary. It could be staggered as you suggest or even added after release. Then again, maybe they forgot to add it in.

First, I would like to thank Novaquark for preparing the roadmap.  I have been looking forward to seeing it.  The sequence in which the features will be implemented seems very sensible.
I have two questions about the features in the roadmap.
 
1. Social Features, which mentions grouping, is under Alpha 3 and Player Nations is under Beta.  Does this mean player groups and player nations will be different kinds of entities in the game or will they still both be organizations with some features of organizations introduced later than others?
 
2. When will the RDMS be introduced?  I did not see it mentioned specifically in the roadmap.  Does this mean it will be implemented gradually as the other features require it?
 
 
 

First, I would like to thank Novaquark for preparing the roadmap.  I have been looking forward to seeing it.  The sequence in which the features will be implemented seems very sensible.
I have two questions about the features in the roadmap.
 
1. Social Features, which mentions grouping, is under Alpha 3 and Player Nations is under Beta.  Does this mean player groups and player nations will be different kinds of entities in the game or will they still both be organizations with some features of organizations introduced later than others?
 
2. When will the RDMS be introduced?  I did not see it mentioned specifically in the roadmap.  Does this mean it will be implemented gradually as the other features require it?
 
 
 

First, I would like to thank Novaquark for preparing the roadmap.  I have been looking forward to seeing it.  The sequence in which the features will be implemented seems very sensible.
I have two questions about the features in the roadmap.
 
1. Social Features, which mentions grouping, is under Alpha 3 and Player Nations is under Beta.  Does this mean player groups and player nations will be different kinds of entities in the game or will they still both be organizations with some features of organizations introduced later than others?
 
2. When will the RDMS be introduced?  I did not see it mentioned specifically in the roadmap.  Does this mean it will be implemented gradually as the other features require it?
 
 
 

Ay ay ay! More *fascinating* developments (both NQ and otherwise) this month (July!).
 
Get your popcorn ready.

 
 
 

The following info can be found in the Sep 24, 2016 Kickstarter AMA Event Video: (Without getting into the whole biased PVP/PVE off topic debate I'll just give you the answers that came straight from JC)

 
 

Answer at 9:56 into the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efu_129hI9o&t=596s

Question: Damage: "What will the damage model be like? Will collisions damage ships? Will weapons blast holes in the voxel structure or will ships just have a health percentage?

Answer: That way damage is gonna be implemented most likely in construct vs construct, is that we'll use the fact that every voxel is editable, so you could actually "edit" a hole in it. "an area of destruction." So we will implement a way to select the place where you want to shoot, then you shoot. Based on stats and other skills and the type of weapon damage that you use and the types of protections and the type of materials and all sort of things, there we'll be an amount of damage that happens to the ship. We may try to aggregate the overall level of destruction to give you a visual feedback so that you have an idea of a percentage of destruction, but it would be purely informative. 

Things will actually be destroyed, or things will be deactivated if you loose an engine or if you loose a certain weapon. It will just cease to be operational in your construct. So this is aiming to being very realistic. 

What we want to have is that collisions between constructs will actually create damage, we could do it technically, but the idea that in terms of gameplay, we don't want people to build some kind of torpedo ship and just slam ships over each other and I don't think this is going to be a great addition to the gameplay but it will certainly be a great addition to the load on the servers, so we favor, rather than that, we favor missiles that will formally be implemented and that will not actually involve physical objects flying. But again the usual "lock and fire" mechanism with the stats behind the scenes."
 

See @supermega's answer above. 

HI Ben, I removed that comment 45 min ago as I read the new info (and I dont have access to pre-alpha either).
 
Cheers

Oh you can apply RDMS rules unto strangers like giving them access to terminals for example or storage. No org would allow strangers access to such  things  though, because ppl would just Take everything out of that storage.
 
And you can't force them to leave or force them to do stuff. Nor can you restrict weapons use afaik. 

More then a year ago, me and some other members of the community including @yamamushi made an organization committed to push the limits of Dual Universe,  formerly known as Hyper Endeavor Foundation. However, nothing really much happened. School started and the DU hype train has slowed down considerably with the NDA still in place. But fear not, as I am still alive! Looking back, I thought HEF sounded kinda cringy so I rebranded the organization. Now, we are ready for re-launch!
 
Community Page
Discord Server

Hello everyone, you can follow this link to read our latest interview. This time I had the opportunity to talk with The Eldritch Nation. 
 
Feel free to reach out to us if you have an idea for an article or if you want to talk about your organization. 
 
Until next time. 

Flipmaze
 
A Flipmaze playfield is a surface divided into eighty one squares, arranged in nine rows and nine columns.  On the ground between each square is a force field emitter, which can be activated to prevent movement between two adjacent squares.  This means each square (except those on the outer edge) is surrounded by four emitters.  The squares in the corners have two emitters and are open on the other two sides.  These serve as the entrances to the playfield.  The other squares on the outside have three emitters and a wall on the fourth side.
 
Each square is in either an open or a closed state.  If an emitter is between two closed squares or between one open and one closed square, it is activated.  If both squares are open, the emitter goes off and players can move between the squares.  Changing a square from either open to closed or from closed to open is called flipping it.
 
There are two teams of three players.  Two of the players on each team are mazerunners.  The mazerunners start at the corners and try to reach the square in the middle.  The third player is the flipper.  The flippers operate a control panel overlooking the playfield.  They push buttons to flip squares, to let their mazerunners reach the middle and to block the mazerunners on the other team.
 
The control panel has eighteen switches, one for each row and one for each column.  When the flipper hits a switch, it flips all of the squares in the corresponding row or column.  Note that it is the squares that flip, not the emitters.  If an emitter is between an open and a closed square and both flip, the emitter will remain activated.
 
The game starts with all of the squares closed.  As the flippers hit the switches, some of the squares will flip.  The mazerunners move through open squares, trying to reach the center square.  The center square contains a button.  The first team to push this button wins the game.
 
A nine by nine playfield seems like a good size, big enough to be interesting but not overwhelming.  However, when the game is actually played, we may find a different size is better.

Killboards in eve are the worst thing. I get the original Intention, but that derived into smth worse. Pls no

I hope not. Kill boards advertise that the game is all about killing. If there are kill boards then there should also be "best build" boards, exploration boards, manufacturer boards, and mining boards.
 
DU is not EVE. It should being DUing it's own thing, not making an EVE 2.0.

'The last of the staff opinion pieces on the lootable v. 'unlootable' has been published on Outpost Zebra. The writer is a bit notorious for long and descriptive pieces, but I hope you will bear with us as he tries to consider the stance of both sides, the interests of the game and his own opinion on the discussion. You may spot some common arguments in the article and if any sentence sounds eerily like your own...jinx. 
 
You can read the article here: To loot or not to loot? That is the question. 
 
Oz Team.'

Outside of the safe zones, guns solve this problem.
 
Inside the safe zones, that is not an option and covering offenders in dirt leaves unsightly dirt piles. A "kick" option, to randomly move the offending ship out of your territory may be the simplest solution imo. Though I would be happy with sticking it in an underground hanger with a huge wheel clamp and a massive fine

I disagree with this.
 
If you really wanted the land you would have claimed the territory for yourself.
 
In DU you take the chance of losing everything on that land if you dont.
 
The mechanism isnt a weapon at all, but if you take the risk of not claiming the land you are on, and someone else claims it, then you just lucked out.
 
You take your chances, you roll the dice, and see what unfolds.
 
Naturally, you can always setup in a safe zone where nobody can touch you - problem solved.
 
 
 

Hi everyone,
 
Preventing a construct to enter a specific space is a sensible topic as it could be abused the other way (like imprisoning constructs).
While we are aware  that giving total freedom on landing anywhere could lead to griefing behavior (especially in Safe Zones where it won't be possible to destroy Constructs having for sole/main purpose to annoy other players, due to the "no PVP" rule), we don't think preventing a Construct to enter a specific space is the right approach. We are currently considering less extreme alternatives that would discourage griefing behavior. These alternatives could define in which case countermeasures can be triggered if visitors don't abide by the rules set on said territory. This will be most likely tied to Territory Units. This topic will be developed further at a later stage of the game development.
 
Best Regards,
Nyzaltar.
 
 

Want to know more about DICE?
 
Read about it in Issue 2 of spaceshipdrama.com