Dygz_Briarthorn

I'm right there with you Dhara. I imagine a lot of the time I'll be happily minding my own business, building, trading goods, services, resources and technology with fellow COP'ers, and other free spirited merchants, and probably stealing some of Kiklix's spaceships, but if someone crosses my path in the wrong way, or troubles one of my kin, then I'll gleefully turn my dark pirate side on and have a little fun.

I think of myself as Chaotic Good in real life - with the example given in D&D being Robin Hood.
One of the key elements of Chaotic is having an aversion to rules/order/law. One of the key elements of Good is high regard for life.
I typically avoid joining groups that list rules.
 
I joined COPS because I know Kiklix from Landmark, I've always admired his spaceship designs and I'm looking forward to funneling resources his way to help him create some cool ships in DU.
I'm thrilled to see so many people I know from Landmark here in the forums and glad several of them are joining or allying with COPS.
(The only person from the Landmark forums I don't consider a friend is Thrasy).
 
Labels aside, I'm pleasantly surprised to see our values aligned...
Freedom fighter, lone wolf, play by own rules...
I expect to subvert the economy by handing out a bunch of free stuff (my experience is that players are generally greedy when it comes to setting prices)
Traveling on a multi-crew ship with the members we have seems like it will be a lot of fun. 

I think of myself as Chaotic Good in real life - with the example given in D&D being Robin Hood.
One of the key elements of Chaotic is having an aversion to rules/order/law. One of the key elements of Good is high regard for life.
I typically avoid joining groups that list rules.
 
I joined COPS because I know Kiklix from Landmark, I've always admired his spaceship designs and I'm looking forward to funneling resources his way to help him create some cool ships in DU.
I'm thrilled to see so many people I know from Landmark here in the forums and glad several of them are joining or allying with COPS.
(The only person from the Landmark forums I don't consider a friend is Thrasy).
 
Labels aside, I'm pleasantly surprised to see our values aligned...
Freedom fighter, lone wolf, play by own rules...
I expect to subvert the economy by handing out a bunch of free stuff (my experience is that players are generally greedy when it comes to setting prices)
Traveling on a multi-crew ship with the members we have seems like it will be a lot of fun. 

I think of myself as Chaotic Good in real life - with the example given in D&D being Robin Hood.
One of the key elements of Chaotic is having an aversion to rules/order/law. One of the key elements of Good is high regard for life.
I typically avoid joining groups that list rules.
 
I joined COPS because I know Kiklix from Landmark, I've always admired his spaceship designs and I'm looking forward to funneling resources his way to help him create some cool ships in DU.
I'm thrilled to see so many people I know from Landmark here in the forums and glad several of them are joining or allying with COPS.
(The only person from the Landmark forums I don't consider a friend is Thrasy).
 
Labels aside, I'm pleasantly surprised to see our values aligned...
Freedom fighter, lone wolf, play by own rules...
I expect to subvert the economy by handing out a bunch of free stuff (my experience is that players are generally greedy when it comes to setting prices)
Traveling on a multi-crew ship with the members we have seems like it will be a lot of fun. 

I think of myself as Chaotic Good in real life - with the example given in D&D being Robin Hood.
One of the key elements of Chaotic is having an aversion to rules/order/law. One of the key elements of Good is high regard for life.
I typically avoid joining groups that list rules.
 
I joined COPS because I know Kiklix from Landmark, I've always admired his spaceship designs and I'm looking forward to funneling resources his way to help him create some cool ships in DU.
I'm thrilled to see so many people I know from Landmark here in the forums and glad several of them are joining or allying with COPS.
(The only person from the Landmark forums I don't consider a friend is Thrasy).
 
Labels aside, I'm pleasantly surprised to see our values aligned...
Freedom fighter, lone wolf, play by own rules...
I expect to subvert the economy by handing out a bunch of free stuff (my experience is that players are generally greedy when it comes to setting prices)
Traveling on a multi-crew ship with the members we have seems like it will be a lot of fun. 

​Cops has been disbanded. Sorry for wasting your time. This was a lone decision by Kiklix and does not reflect the other legate lady astrum nor the members.
 
 
​The following are the answers to why COPS has been disbanded.
 
Drama:  Certain populous organizations and their legate have been concocting rumors about COPS. Legates from other some what populous organizations have made assumptions about COPS and presented these as facts. In every case these people are wrong and only serve to create drama. There is no reason for all the hate I have received and COPS has received. I am done 'playing' with a community full of children.
 
​EDIT: Removed this section due to clarification by Novaquark.
​
​​I would like to thank everyone who made the decision to join cops. I am sorry it could not pan out. I wish you all well, I wish Novaquark the best.
 

 
 
 
COPS - Coalition Of Pirates & Smugglers.   The arkships landed. We woke anew, scared, unsure. Groups formed, factions aligned. Power corrupted. For all the efforts to save our species, the millennia we traveled, we reverted almost instantly back to that old human nature. Not even extinction could change our habits, our instinct.   We have all been there. Watching and witnessing the mega-corporations metastasize and feed off the livelihood of the less fortunate. Class warfare, poverty, slavery...being forced to work by some clown sitting at the top of his ivory tower barking commands. I’ve had enough of it, most likely so have you. It’s time to break from those chains and live a free life. It ain’t easy, ain’t too much glory, but it’s honest (for the most part) and fair.  We are a coalition, a collaboration,  a consortium, a conspiracy, a communion,  a clan, a crew, a club, a confederation, a confederacy collecting cohorts connected, conjoined, combining efforts to be a free people, free from tyranny, terror and totalitarianism.       WHAT IT'S LIKE:   Ever want to pilot the Millenium Falcon? Ever dream to have a crew who works together like Firefly? You want to be that solo guy who searches for bounties like Boba Fett and his Slave I?   This is how we dream to play and we intend to play this way. However Dual may require efforts from a  larger group. If this is true, we just want to have a system in place so that people can come together to fullfill their visions. We want solo play, but under the safety net of a larger organization.     WHAT WE ARE NOT:   ​We are NOT GRIFERS. COPS are pirates, smugglers, outcasts, ninjas, mercenaries in the ROLE play sense, NOT in the griefing sense.  
THE BREAKDOWN:   • Enrollment: Some will get invited, some will inquire. If you want to be part of a free alliance just ask.
• Primary language: English and gibberish.
• Timezone: Only mega corps keep up with time.
• Goal:  Solo or co-op gameplay within a larger group. We all like to do our own thing, but somtimes you need to be part of something larger or you will get left behind.  
COPS is an organization created and designed to bring together like minded people who prefer to play solo without constraints of typical guild requirements (be here on X day, at Y time to raid Z...ya its tiresome).  We realize people have limited time to play and that real life takes place first. That being said, Dual Universe looks like this might be a game where cooperation and collaberation are keys to success. If we find this to be true, there might be more expected collaborative gamplay required. We don’t want to force anything on anyone, but just ask people to step up if it is required to do so.  In the end it’s not about making a large guild rich, its about making sure your needs are met, our mutal needs are met. We endevor to create an enviroment where co-op game play is actually fun and rewarding.    
SO WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?   • Security: Safety in numbers.
• Community: A network of people to work together with if so desired.
• Freedom: Free to play your way but with the undertanding that freedom requires effort and work. There will be times we need to work together, its the only way to keep an alliance strong.
• A Trade network. Not sure how Dual is going to work with trade, but within a group there will be communication lines. We will be able to trade with each other and help keep our alliance strong.
• Veteran ship builders: We have members who have crafted some of the finest voxel ships to ever exist.  Our fleet will impress, this I can promise.
• Veteran home builders: We have members who have crafted some of the finest voxel sci-fi mega structures to exist. Our home world wont look like a cut rate hostel.
• PVP: Lets face it, even if you only care for PVE, PVP might and will happen at some point. If you intend to fly in a ship, once you are out of the ark safe zone, pvp will happen. We intend to create smart ship designs that will help to ensure pvp victories, but you will need to know how to fly it.
• PVE: We know some people have no interest in PVP. Hopefully we can get a civilization started with trade, harvesters, crafters etc. It’s good to have folks who specialize in these categories.
• Exploring: It’s at the heart of Dual Universe, of course we will explore!
• If i can be done in Dual, we intend on experiencing that content in one way or another.  
GOVERNMENT:   Don’t really intend on having some massive over inflated group of power hungry people running the show. I have no interest in that, however there does need to be a head or some form. Castles have kings, homes have breadwinners. Even a pack of wolves looks to their Alpha. I intend on holding the main key of power or have it distributed among a very close group of friends. Those who know me know I fight tooth and nail for the little guy, for honesty and integrity. I have no intent on telling you how to play or what to do...but internal conflicts will occur and those will need to be resolved. We want everyone to be happy and to play together...its the best recipe for success. 
   
If COPS sounds like a style of gamplay that you find appealing, speak to Kiklix or LadyAstrum.
 

I like to think of myself as a Privateer in a coalition of like-minded individuals.  Our role (as I see it) is to keep balance in the Universe acting as independent operators smuggling goods, and providing services when needed, and "distributing" the wealth when it becomes too concentrated in for form of piracy (like futuristic Robin Hoods).
 
The beauty of this idea is that within this cooperative people can play the game any way they want, and even change roles without abandoning the core principals of the group.  Tell me if I'm wrong... 

"However, rebuilding after destruction is costly, as neither the materials nor the time required by the auto-rebuilder can be avoided. It would be better to lose a bit of time and money, rather than losing your magnificent neo-renaissance imperial castle on top of the mountain."
 
I do not believe anyone here has issues with spending the cost or time to build things, the topic at hand is more about the time required to destroy that item. Given all the other stats being balanced, skills, etc, we are seeking a balance of construction vs destruction when the creation skill and destruction skill is on the same level. If that balance is not there, the builders side of the game will be more likely to leave because it isn't worth their effort to waste their time. This game will not be much of a game, especially when the devs keeps using "Minecraft" in their promotions and all you have is trigger-happy PvP players.
 
EG: If it takes a player 40 hours to build a building that is rated at 100 armor, it should take just as long for an attacker with 100 armor destruction power to take that building down, not 5 mins, 1 hour, or 5 hours. 

Exactly, there has to be a delicate balance. People will want to form settlements, cities, stations, and NQ recognise these things will take time, so in order for civilisation to take effective root in game, there has to be a balance between pvp and building.

The same cannot be said for the attacker because both Builders and Fighters will have to spend time acquiring gear and upgrading skills.
If it takes Builders 40 hours to build contstructs and Fighters 5 minutes to destroy those contrsucts - Builders will stop building. It's not worth the effort.
Blatantly unfair for Fighters to have their fun in a handful of minutes while it takes builders tens of hours to have their fun.
The devs will definitely balance that since they've stated that Dual Universe is as much a building game as it is a PvP combat game.

That devblog actually mentions two times that we will need food.
But, as I said elsewhere, I don't think it's going to be minute-to-minute like a survival game.

Will there be a short list of planet types like this?
 

I'd imagine there will be food that's high in energy, and going by other aspects of the game, it won't be easy to make or come by. I don't forsee food being such a hindrance as to divert from anything. Energy, making important equipment will be time consuming and challenging, I think it will all fit together nicely in a way that makes sense. 
 
I really appreciate a game that has depth. It seems there are so few games out there these days with real heart and soul, real meaning and depth of gameplay. So much of it is surface, superficial.
 
Truly I look forward to a game that feels gritty, and sometimes even difficult, with surmountable obstacles. Having to eat, and not just that, but having the necessary technology necessary to grow the food, farm it, process it...all adds to the complexity of gameplay.
 
At this point we're shooting in the dark, but I don't equate food with a survival game. Dual houses many aspects, and it is essentially about surviving, but it's not at its core a survival game. We'll need to survive temperature, as mentioned in another blog, attacks from other players, we'll have to master travel and improving technology, obtaining and using fuel supplies. There's going to be so much we need to do, it feels deep, meaningful and purposeful when all elements are put together.

It's only fair that if ships need fuel, so do the players. I mean, humans are just complex machines of flesh and blood
 
-- and if you ask about me in particular, I'm 99% salt at this point in time.
 
Hmm, though I wonder if food can be in the game, how many people will DO actually go and build a shack in the middle of nowhere and roleplay a crazy hermit. O_o
 
 
I know Yamamushi is gona roleplay a priest of Cthulu or something. I wonder if he goes up to a guy RPing a hermit saying :
 
"Hello there sir, may I interest you in the word of our Lord and Savior, Cthulu of R'Yieh."
 
 
"Get off my lawn!"
 
So immersive

That devblog actually mentions two times that we will need food.
But, as I said elsewhere, I don't think it's going to be minute-to-minute like a survival game.

I was reading through the devblogs earlier, and had either forgotten about, or hadn't processed this part before: 
 
So we will need food it seems, which I am glad about, it just depends on how it will be implemented. 
 
From this devblog: https://devblog.dualthegame.com/2014/08/17/about-the-alpha-gameplay/
 
Edit: Seems Halo381's post above partially answers that.

If we have implants, I'd love for them to be visible on our avatars - like cyber-tattoos.

I don't understand the need for currency and banking. Why would anyone trade one item for another when all they have to do is take what they want?

1: The devblog specifically states we will be able to build in safe zones. That's the primary reason for having safe zones. Two of the options for the safe zones are open world. One of the safe zone options is to build in a virtual sim.
Can't design without building. It's possible that the constructs built in the virtual sim won't be able to leave the virtual sim, but that's really meaningless when we're talking about ships. Just need to have the resources and the blueprint.
 
2: Your usage of "best" appears to be "cookie-cutter, flavor of the month". But that is still subjective... even if there is a majority consensus. 
Your cosmetic example is completely irrelevant. Parameters which will effect perceptions of "best" will include weapons, shielding, speed, fuel-efficiency, engineering, life-support, scanning/communications, cloaking, etc. And those will be based on a variety of parameters, such as advanced character skills and discoveries of new elements - as well as player LUA scripting. Different orgs are going to be more interested in some systems than others. Orgs focused on exploration may have weapons lowest on their hierarchy and upgrade weapons by trading or purchasing them from other orgs rather than designing weapons systems themselves. Exploration orgs may also develop or discover the best designs for cloaking and scanning. While battle-focused orgs develop and discover the best designs for weapons and shielding.
 
So, it's not really about the "best" ships. The best systems will be objective. Some org will have designs for the most powerful weapons or the strongest shielding. But some other org may have the designs for most fuel-efficient engines, most powerful scanners or most powerful cloaking devices. That's what people will be buying and selling - along with ships and designs that have a variety of configurations of those systems.
It may also be that we will discover designs from a variety of alien races that people will want put on the market. Seems likely since there will be alien ruins.
 
a} Many people don't care enough about rock, paper, scissors for that to be a factor determining what is best. If they love rocks, rocks will always be best. That's an aspect of roleplaying that is different than competitive gaming. For instance, my Ice Wizard in NWO only uses Ice spells. Doesn't matter if a particular Repel spell is more powerful than a particular Ice spell because Ice fits my character's theme, interests and personality while Repel doesn't. Roleplaying always trumps combat, so in that case Ice spells are always better than Repel spells. Repel spells have no value for that character.
 
b}  If a character in DU is a peacenik, carebear who refuses to use weapons, weapons have no value for that character. A ship with no weapons will always be better than a ship with weapons.
But the examples that will be more common is those peacenik explorers for whom weapons have had low value may find them selves in a predicament where they suddenly want/need to upgrade their weapons and they don't have anyone in the org who has sufficient weapon skills to build those upgrades.
Likewise, an org that had a low value on stealth may find themselves in a predicament where they have to rely on cloaking to successfully maneuver through a hostile solar system, but they don't have Builders with sufficient skills in cloaking to provide the needed cloaking devices.
 
c} "Simple enough" is unlikely to really be a thing.
People are going to want better systems that support their interests.
"Good enough" will very likely be a thing. As in some people will think that a ship with maximum speed, maximum cloaking and minimal weapons is "good enough for now". And good enough that it actually is considered to be best for now, especially if they are peacenik, carebears.
Some people will think that superfast, fuel-efficient solo scout ships are the best - some people will think that battlecruisers with the most powerful weapons are the best.
Rather than rock, paper, scissors - it will generally be the arms race of better rock, better rock, better rock (where the rock is a specific system like weapons or engines)
 
3: There really is no "meta" for "good" ship. What there is in many MMOs is a consensus of a cookie-cutter, flavor-of-the-month, best-in-slot build (for combat). I don't believe that really applies in voxel games. And won't apply with the kinds of designs we'll have from players and devs in Dual Universe.
But, even so... you may tell me that you have a ship available that is good because it has the most powerful weapons, heavy-duty shields, decent speed, decent fuel-efficiency but no cloaking.
If I'm a peacenik, carebear explorer who refuses to use weapons and who relies on maximum speed and the most powerful cloaking to survive, your ship is not a good ship from my perspective. Because what I value as good is different than what you value as good.
 
Where your org is focused on the most glorious military battles and my org is focused on the most knowledgeable exploration, our Builders will very likely have very different skill sets. As unpredictable challenges arise, we may need to rely on each other in order to meet that challenge. 
 
Bottom line is: there will be ample opportunity for people to buy and sell and trade - because there will be a constant flow of new discoveries from different individuals and different orgs. And those discoveries will have significant impact on how we navigate through the game... as opposed to simply building constructs that look nice, but don't actually do anything.
 
 
And...I'm done.
You can have the last word if you want.

There's no need for that. People will just take a single item/resource, and that will be their currency. Since is a resource that can be used in crafting or building, that would still have a value by itself. As you can see in various games, like Path Of Exile for example, that works. 
 
Let's just say we will have 1 resource in the game, that is not so easy to find, and you can find it in little quantities.
That resource has an important use in the game, like for crafting core units, the first element placed to craft a ship. This way it will never lose it's value.
Now suppose you can take an ingot of that material, and with a crafting recipe, you can divide that ingot in 100 pieces. You'd be able to revert that, crafting back your ingot. So those small pieces will have a value = 1/100 ingot each.
 
That material would be always precious, since ships will always be an important part of the game. The small pieces are useful to trade stuff that are worth less than a single ingot. That material would take space in your inventory, so you'd need to store it. When you want to buy something extremely expensive, you'd connect a container with a pipe to transfer the material (so the market unit would have the appropriate port), because player inventory size wouldnt be enough to carry all the payment in one single run. The gameplay of the game would be so much more interesting with this kind of system (security transport systems for banks, markets would need a proper conveyor system to manage the huge amount of cash that a single market unit wouldn't be able to store, ....)

1: It is relevant to what you were saying. You stated that we cannot build in safe zones. The devblogs state that we will be able to build in safe zones - the safe zones are specifically for Builders to be able to build without being interrupted by pvp. Constructs will remain in the safe zones until the Builders move them out of the safe zone... or until the safe zone is deactivated. Builders are unlikely to remain in safe zones forever - they will likely want to travel to other locations for advanced resources, etc. And, whenever they move to a new location, they will have to create a new safe zone. Yes.
 
2: Best is still going to be relative. 10 blocks may be perceived as best to some and not best to others - 2 thrusters and 1 pilot seat do not indicate "best". That just indicates personal preference. You may prefer to pilot alone, I may prefer to co-pilot. But, again, those cosmetic designs won't be what determines "best" for individuals. Personal interests will be what determines "best" in terms of ship design and those will be subjective.
Some people may perceive speed to be "best" while others perceive fuel efficiency to be "best". The Builders who are great at maximizing speed in their designs may not be in the same org as the Builders who excel at maximizing fuel efficiency.
 
3: You may not be comparing fighters with exploration ships; but organizations will be. If the org decides they want some of their fighters to have greater speed than what their Builders are capable of creating, they will have to find some means to obtain those designs. They may have to people outside of their org.
If the Builders who maximize speed demand payment for their designs.
 
4: Well, hopefully, the engineers will need to have some player understanding of how to fit the conduit elements together and advanced character engineering skills. Perhaps a bit of LUA knowledge and perhaps a decent amount of voxelmancy.

1: It is relevant to what you were saying. You stated that we cannot build in safe zones. The devblogs state that we will be able to build in safe zones - the safe zones are specifically for Builders to be able to build without being interrupted by pvp. Constructs will remain in the safe zones until the Builders move them out of the safe zone... or until the safe zone is deactivated. Builders are unlikely to remain in safe zones forever - they will likely want to travel to other locations for advanced resources, etc. And, whenever they move to a new location, they will have to create a new safe zone. Yes.
 
2: Best is still going to be relative. 10 blocks may be perceived as best to some and not best to others - 2 thrusters and 1 pilot seat do not indicate "best". That just indicates personal preference. You may prefer to pilot alone, I may prefer to co-pilot. But, again, those cosmetic designs won't be what determines "best" for individuals. Personal interests will be what determines "best" in terms of ship design and those will be subjective.
Some people may perceive speed to be "best" while others perceive fuel efficiency to be "best". The Builders who are great at maximizing speed in their designs may not be in the same org as the Builders who excel at maximizing fuel efficiency.
 
3: You may not be comparing fighters with exploration ships; but organizations will be. If the org decides they want some of their fighters to have greater speed than what their Builders are capable of creating, they will have to find some means to obtain those designs. They may have to people outside of their org.
If the Builders who maximize speed demand payment for their designs.
 
4: Well, hopefully, the engineers will need to have some player understanding of how to fit the conduit elements together and advanced character engineering skills. Perhaps a bit of LUA knowledge and perhaps a decent amount of voxelmancy.

1: It is relevant to what you were saying. You stated that we cannot build in safe zones. The devblogs state that we will be able to build in safe zones - the safe zones are specifically for Builders to be able to build without being interrupted by pvp. Constructs will remain in the safe zones until the Builders move them out of the safe zone... or until the safe zone is deactivated. Builders are unlikely to remain in safe zones forever - they will likely want to travel to other locations for advanced resources, etc. And, whenever they move to a new location, they will have to create a new safe zone. Yes.
 
2: Best is still going to be relative. 10 blocks may be perceived as best to some and not best to others - 2 thrusters and 1 pilot seat do not indicate "best". That just indicates personal preference. You may prefer to pilot alone, I may prefer to co-pilot. But, again, those cosmetic designs won't be what determines "best" for individuals. Personal interests will be what determines "best" in terms of ship design and those will be subjective.
Some people may perceive speed to be "best" while others perceive fuel efficiency to be "best". The Builders who are great at maximizing speed in their designs may not be in the same org as the Builders who excel at maximizing fuel efficiency.
 
3: You may not be comparing fighters with exploration ships; but organizations will be. If the org decides they want some of their fighters to have greater speed than what their Builders are capable of creating, they will have to find some means to obtain those designs. They may have to people outside of their org.
If the Builders who maximize speed demand payment for their designs.
 
4: Well, hopefully, the engineers will need to have some player understanding of how to fit the conduit elements together and advanced character engineering skills. Perhaps a bit of LUA knowledge and perhaps a decent amount of voxelmancy.

Sounds cool but it is not my friend

Nope, there is a respawn mechanic, I would go as far as to say it is a core mechanic, and a top tier trade good. Here is the blog post:  https://devblog.dualthegame.com/2014/07/06/quantum-immortality/