Lachenlaud

Frankly having the game be a flat fee inclusive of some type of cash shop for elements and other accessories would drive me away from this particular game only because of the fact that the developers would be spending all of their time developing more crap for players to buy in order to maintain their income and to have the funds to continue developing more crap for players to buy it is a ridiculous model and one that the industry as a whole should be ashamed of. Whole thing is a vicious circle and makes for poor player interaction and poor support because quite frankly it's designed to be a cash cow.

Speculation: What if someone just puts your 'sanctuary' under 'siege'. They can't blast you inside the zone per se... but what if they could put a flotilla above it and prevent anyone from moving in or out of it. How would you get supplies in, or people out for that matter. We can 'guess' all we want to see how it's going to work, but as a long time Eve Online player... I can assure you that if there exists a mechanic by which they can stomp on you, they'll use it if they think they can get away with it. My tactic in Eve was to make sure they either couldn't catch me with my pants down... and that meant one of several things... 1) Timing. Not being where they expected you on your own terms, 2) Superior Firepower when needed... blast your way out, or 3) Superior Speed when you needed it, and lastly, 4) Allies that would support you (typically negotiated through wheeling, dealing and diplomacy. Nothing is foolproof, because if you create something you 'think' is foolproof, a bigger fool will come along and prove you incorrect. Plan for everything you can think of.

There are many game mechanics they could employ to allow for intra and inter-system travel within the game. It's technically been stated that the world inside the game will be a contiguous shard... To speculate, they could use robotic probes to travel to other solar systems to set up 'beacons' for FLT Hyperjumps... they could use 'gates' that you fly your ships through. They could introduce space anomalies that you travel through (like wormholes in ST-DS9... wouldn't THAT be a cool effect to see if they did it right?) - or they could just intro a 'deep space scanning' methodology that lets you find stars outside the starting neighborhood on which you can get coordinates that you would have to 'warp-drive' to like in ST-TNG... so many possibilities exist (and frankly I'd like all of them please!) that it boggles the mind. They've done an amazing job so far... I'm loving the things they've told us about so far... I haven't thus far been disappointed with anything they've accomplished... and I would love to see more of it.

The second half of the year, at least on 'my' Calendar, doesn't begin until July 1.... patience. NQ shall tell us when they are ready to tell us. It has been my observation that they have been open and honest about everything they've done. Frankly if it isn't ready, I would neither be shocked nor upset considering the HUGE amount of work that goes into making a game of any kind (and they were VERY ambitious with their scheduling) an extra bit of time to put a bit of polish on some of the things they want tested during the next Alpha phase would not be unexpected in my mind. By 'my' Calendar they've got just under 26 days to tell us if Alpha 2 is going to start on schedule. Hounding them isn't going to speed that up. So... I counsel patience.

The other things you'll need to worry about with a non FTL (faster than light) voyage are things like Fuel and Navigational Accuracy. Simply pointing your ship in a given directly won't be very effective - we don't know if there will be things like gravitational anomalies that might throw you off course, and of course, carrying enough supplies on such an extended voyage could prove to be problematic. It --would-- absolutely be interesting to be able to try though I'd think you'd probably have to run things with other players in 'shifts' to keep the vehicle moving.

Introducing Golden Oak Industries! ABOUT Golden Oak Industries operates on the principal of "For the Group, by the Group!" What this means is that if you help the organization, the organization will help you! GOALS To assist every member in character and educational development, including, but not limited to; Development of Character Ship Construction and Acquisition Base Building Research and Development Mining and Industry ... and more! While we will welcome members from all walks of life, in any area of the world, our primary time zone is GMT-7. As the group grows, this will, perforce, expand. More information to come soon™! Website https://www.dualuniverse.us (still under development, but planned to include; Public and Private Blogs Public and Private Forums Member Profiles Member Blogs Messaging System Organizational Reporting Centralized Resource Management Centralized Planning Tools Instructional Video Library (as developed) ...and more! )

I agree - a recycler should break down anything put into it to its previous 'component part' BUT if you go beyond that it should be at a loss, i.e. if you try to get back to 'raw' stock you should only get a specific percentage back from it (perhaps based on a recycling skill?)

Oh I don't necessarily disagree that this would be a good thing. However, I would imaging that as someone previously stated, things like 'Doors' will be Element based, so some conformity in that regard will already happen naturally, and people who are in the same groups will see how 'some' do it and mimic that automatically. Conventions and Concepts will eventually trickle to the surface on its own based on popular design and success in utilizing it. What works for some might seem totally alien to others. Still more will fully believe that their initial design is the best only to later change it as they discover new methodologies. Drawing up a 'standard' in advance is well and good, but to develop such a thing now would find itself being iterated multiple times with changes and revisions before a final concept actually proves itself to be 'the best' as it were.

OMG LOOK! ZORDON IS HERE! *Looks quickly around for the Power Rangers* Amazing pics btw. Some really great ideas here by everyone who posted! I've definately gotten some good ideas looking at these.

Until recently, I would have suspected that what was at the top of the page on https://www.dualthegame.com/en/ was 'real time'. Of course, 'real' is relative. Just because the server itself is 'live' doesn't necessarily mean someone can log in to it. A multi-stage notification might be better, sort of like a 'health check'. Yes it's up... and yes you 'should' be able to log into it... Yes it's up... but players may not log in at this time.. Login server is up.. but playfield is offline. etc.

Standards... who is to say 'what' is standard....? I might like circular landing pads with a bump in the middle so my ship is more elevated... someone else may prefer that their landing pad be at a 35 degree angle. Someone else might want them to be octagonal or even triangular.... uniformity can be quite boring sometimes. Maybe MY landing pad will have partial walls extending up on the sides to make it appear that the 'wings' of my ship are supported on the ground, where someone else's ship couldn't possibly land there because their wings are at the Bottom of their ship.... Each person, org, alliance, or group is going to build the way they see fit. Heck, maybe I'll build ships that look like a banana split with a cherry on top, and it will need a 'bowl' to sit in when it lands.

Why thank you for that clarification. I didn't understand what you were saying! ::whew:: So let me re-iterate... it is, and in my opinion... should remain... the DU client. If we don't have to expend resources to develop content.. it is neither immersive nor emergent. A couple of 'features' I, and many others, are looking forward to in this particular game. An external (or somehow protected) client, removes such processes from the game, and protects the 'developers and creators' of such items from the consequences that could come along with attempting to develop such items whether they be buildings, weapons, vehicles or what have you and I absolutely hope that we -never- see such a tool with Dual Universe, and am sure that while there are some that might wish otherwise, the creators of -this- game are wise enough to see would be a BAD thing.

You're going to have such a tool... its called the DU client.

I disagree... we don't need to be play-testing with construction in an offline mode pre-launch - we need to be testing the system itself. At some point I could see the need for being able to flesh out designs and specs for various constructs using alternative methods, but the whole idea of an emergent system is for us to come up with ways to make things happen on our own, not through the intervention of the devs of the game. We will have the ability to script in lua; to what level we can code remains to be seen, but the system for development needs to come from the players of the game. Society didn't get handed a gizmo that they could allow them to plan out their future with no consequences. We had to figure it out on our own, and from what I've gathered of the concept behind this particular environ we are heading for, its supposed to be US, the players, driving the avatars within the game, who will have to come up with the tools, constructs, and devices needed to survive and succeed using the tools provided for us by the people who sent us off on the ark in the first place (if you want to avoid being OP about it.) One of the things I love and hate about Empyrion (one of the other games I play) is the fact that there IS the ability for people to whomp something up with no consequences, and then they can toss resources into that offline facility where the item is constructed, and can't be touched by other players and whip it into existence in a heartbeat to be able to utilize it at a whim. I get the idea of where you're coming from... I love to be able to build and create and learn from my mistakes, but frankly I, for one, am looking forward to being able to experience everything in-world... consequences, risk, loss, and learning from my mistakes included.

I'm not sure I like this concept - the gameplay is supposed to be emergent and immersive based on player interaction. If we can just go 'whomp' there's my starship from a blueprint we design offline, the emergent factor is removed - example: if I am designing something at my base and a band of pirates comes by to shoot up the place, then I have to drop what I'm doing and defend my base and protect my resources and construct that I'm working on... thats emergent gameplay. If I can otherwise sit in a protected offline environ ALL the time and design design design its less likely I'm going to be IN WORLD because I'll be busy elsewhere...

@Miamato Welcome to DU! You raise some valid points regarding the game-play that is to come in the near future and have some very good questions about the dynamics of the game. I'm only going to throw in my two cents on two of your questions; The play field, from what I gather, is going to be vast, but we do not yet know how populated the game will be, or how popular it will be. I suspect Very in both cases. Like many other Multi-Player games, I suspect that your interaction with other players will not only be dictated by how 'remote' you can push yourself, but by the necessities of gathering and obtaining certain resources and materials necessary for you to function on your own. With all the possible scenarios within the game, it may well be that you will need to interact quite a bit with others at first simply to survive and progress at a pace that will allow you to function at all. Remember, not all the tools in the game will be static at first, and different dynamics of how the game can and will be played will likely change considerably as time progresses. The Devs of the game will learn from how people play what is and is not good as far as game play is concerned and will adapt various systems and functions of the interface we use to manipulate the game as time progresses, thus things could change. As the game is barely in its nascent stages of fruition and folks are just getting their hands on it for the first time and being allowed to explore all that the Devs have already come up with, I suspect that the feedback provided may change or alter the way things work in game quite rapidly. Whether or not being a 'nomad' in the game is possible right now has yet to be determined, and to be honest, for all I -can- tell you I'm looking forward to finding out just what is and isn't possible. Almost every game I've played has given some concept or ability to be able to 'turtle up' and 'go to sleep' for a while, with few exceptions. Whether or not the devs have something like that in mind for players is not something I'm sure of, but in other voxel based survival games I've played, where you create what you need to survive, there comes a point where if you don't 'check in' once in a while to make sure things you've created are still 'running' that they begin to degrade over time. In one such game I play if you don't do so your base runs out of power and shuts down. In a game where you very well might be living on a space station, that could be a bad thing. Logging in to no oxygen or power and no resources on hand to replenish them, might just end up with you finding yourself dead and possibly naked and alone on a hostile play-field with no way to get back to supplies or the comforts of home without a leg up from someone else. We have yet to see how this will play out. There is the chance that the Devs could incorporate a 'banking' or 'storage' system for people who want to take a vacation from the game, but there is an equally likely chance they'll leave you to your own devices on that. We shall have to wait and see. Perhaps some enterprising individual will develop such a system using in-game tools on behalf of the players... tis what 'emergent' game-play is all about. Whatever the case, I wish you well in your experiences in the game and look forward to discovering what is yet to come.

ROFL Eyup!

NovUber? NovLyft?

It's here:

I think you missed the boat there... The 'point' of 'my' analogy was that no technological device that can be created should lead to a shortcut in acquiring skills to DO things (You are of course entitled to Your own opinion) that I would otherwise have to learn within the conventional mechanics of the game. If I can simply plug some sort of implant in and gain a skill or talent that I couldn't previously USE or Exercise without it (or develop without it) and it was something that could be marketed and/or traded on the in-game market it would become a 'pay-to-win' situation which it would appear many are against having in DU. To boil it down to its simplest terms for you - if its a shortcut that bypasses the learning mechanics of the game to achieve something simply because someone makes it and I can BUY it if I have enough in-game 'credits' (or they decide to 'give' it to me because I'm their 'friend' or 'ally') then it's something that quite a few people do -not- want to see happen. I'll reference you to the commentary I made in section #9 of THIS post to reference my commentary on 'NPCs' someone suggested.... The hope is that the game is going to present the SAME challenges to everyone equally... not make it so you can easily hand your successes off to someone else later without at least the possibility of such having to face the same said challenges. As a tool enhancement, I'm all for implants... as a bypass to skills and learning, I think they'd be a very BAD idea... and that is My Opinion. It doesn't make yours or mine have any less merit, but your opinion would would appear to lead to a game that would eventually present fewer and fewer challenges for those that come later on (which sounds all too much like I'm repeating myself again.) Essentially it would have to be a system that was balanced in such a way so as to not present a 'shortcut' to someone that would give an unfair advantage if someone else didn't have it... something that 'changes' game-play (I did get what your original concept was) but while simplifying one aspect of said game-play, it would have to alter the remaining path enough so that everyone is on equal ground. Ah well... carry on.

Oh I get what it's aiming for... I read the original material too Personally I voted for 'Colonist' in your poll... I was just exercising my right to be a skootch. There's going to be all kinds of 'names' applied to people once the universe is available to us... (prolly some not so nice...LOL!) I think your poll is admirable, and a great way to pass the time while we wait for things to unfold.

Really? http://www.macworld.com/article/2923022/checking-your-mac-for-viruses-wait-what.html

I would have to say I agree here... It wouldn't be unreasonable to have an implant addition that first requires some skill to be trained/learned to use that might enable a theoretical interface with a particular type of armor, or the ability to use a specific kind of tool or resource, but one that totally bypasses the need to learn a particular skill or ability would be a bit of a stretch... For example... If I had an implant that allowed me to not have to carry a slide-rule and a scientific calculator and I could then do the calculations for quantum equations without having to use my hands and just sort of operate the calculator and slide rule functions of the implant without the use of my hands... that would be splendid.... BUT - I would still have to have an understanding of quantum equations (i.e. know the math and how it works) FIRST before being able to use said implant in exchange for the standard calculator and slide-rule....

Well I knew it was an "A" name.... LOL So Aliothians then!