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BiGEdge

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  1. Like
    BiGEdge reacted to NQ-Wanderer in DEVBLOG: PRECISION IN BUILDING   
    In the upcoming 0.28 Panacea update, we will introduce the Vertex Precision Tool (VPT), which adds a whole new way of bringing detail to your creative designs.
     
    This all may sound quite complex initially, but once you get used to the tool it’s quite intuitive. If you’ve been holding back because voxelmancy seemed too complicated, now’s the time to give it a try. By allowing you to simply equip the VPT and move the vertex around on a changeable grid, the process of designing with voxels is greatly simplified and far more user-friendly.
     
    Here’s a brief demonstration of what the VPT looks like and how it’s used:
     
     
    Heads up! The information in this blog leans heavily into the extremely technical side of things. Those who are into voxelmancy will probably dive in with unfettered joy. If building isn’t your jam, you may wish to stop here and get the TL;DR from one of your builder buddies later.
     
    VOXELS DEFINED
     
    Much of what you see in Dual Universe was built by players using voxels. The term “voxel” is very generic, a shortened form of “volume element”. Voxelmancy is an advanced form of building that can be quite complex, and there has always been a gap between building with standard geometric shapes and fine-tuned designs. The VPT aims to bring a game-changing  bridge for the gap between these building styles.
     
    How exactly the voxels are implemented depends a lot on the software that’s being used. In DU, a voxel contains two things: material information and a vertex position information.
     
    The material information is pretty straightforward; it is exactly the same as in a pixelated image where there is a material (think of it as a synonym of “color“) for each little square. We use what we call a uniform grid, meaning that voxels are put next to each other in a 3D grid and all have the same size. For example, on a planet voxels are 1 meter long (1m x 1m x 1m) whereas they can be 25 centimeters long (0.25m x 0.25m x 0.25m) on a user construct. It’s exactly how pixels work in 2D images, and you may already be familiar with these kinds of voxels because they are present in games like Minecraft.
     
    VERTICES POSITIONS
     
    Let’s drill down even deeper into the well of technical stuff.
     
    As stated above, voxels contain material information and a vertex position information. The Vertex Precision Tool doesn’t touch materials, so let’s talk about vertices.
     
    3D geometry is composed of vertices, and those vertices are linked together to form faces that will be rendered on your screen. For instance, take a simple single voxel cube. It is composed of one material, but has eight vertices on the eight corners. Since our voxels in DU store both a material and a vertex position, our “single voxel” here is composed of eight voxels because it takes eight vertices to form a cube!
     
    This is where it starts getting complicated. We can consider that there are two voxel grids, one is the material grid and the other is the vertex position grid, and the two grids are shifted, dual to each other. There are eight vertices around a material, and there are eight materials (we can consider the void as a special kind of material) around a vertex.
     
    So what are we talking about when we talk about a voxel? A little bit of both, depending on the context. Confusing right? We’ll try to be specific and talk about vertices, but remember there is only one vertex per voxel, although one voxel cube is composed of eight vertices (and thus is in reality eight voxels: one with matter and seven without matter.)
     
    Take a look at this picture. It is in 2D because it’s easier to understand (and to draw), but this is the same thing in 3D. This image represents a voxel sphere (more like a circle since we are in 2D).
     

      The dotted lines are the uniform grid that represent the voxels. At the intersection of those dotted lines, you can have a blue dot, representing a material. So, we have our material grid: either emptiness or a blue material. Inside of all of those cells, there may be a vertex. There is a vertex if and only if all four corners are not the same. If one of the corners is blue and another one empty, it means we have some material change here and thus something to see. So we need a vertex to know where we see the surface. On each of those cells, we have a vertex represented. The vertices are then linked together to form the surface.
     
    POSITIONS VALUES
     
    Before the Panacea update, you could only get such a sphere with the sphere tool, but with the VTP you’ll now have the opportunity to change the vertex position manually. This raises the question: what coordinate system do we use?
     
    In theory, we could use an infinite range of values. For example, we could say that the vertex should be at one third (on a given axis) in between the two materials as shown in the grid, so its value (on this axis) could be 0.333333333. It could also be 0.1415926535, or whatever we want.
     
    However, we need to store those vertex positions, and we want to be efficient so that we don’t take too much disk usage so we encode the vertex position (on a given axis) on a single byte. This means we only have 256 different possibilities for a vertex position, but we don’t really need more. A vertex position is a coordinate with three numbers (for the three axes) where all of these numbers are integers (with a maximum 256 different possible integers).
     
    So what are those possible values? Before answering that, we need to consider where a vertex can lie. On the sphere representation drawing, you can see that vertices are inside the zone defined by the four surrounding material points. This is indeed where a vertex should be most of the time, although we may sometimes want to overflow a bit, reach a little further than the vertex is supposed to. This will encroach on the zone of the neighbor voxel, but it does not have to be a problem. We decided that a vertex could lie on its one zone, but also the zone of its direct neighbors. On the 2D schematics above, it means that a vertex can be placed anywhere on the nine squares around it.
     
    A vertex encoding actually encodes three vertice’s positions. We want to have an encoding for all the important positions, the middle of each of the three voxels and their borders. This means that we need a multiple of six. We’ll use 252 as it is very close to 256. Now let’s see this coordinate system in a picture. The picture below represents four simple cubes in voxels (yellow, red, blue and cyan).
     
    We will be talking about the vertex shared by the red and blue cubes. There are actually two of those vertices in 2D, one top and one bottom; let’s talk about the top one. We state that the position it is in in the picture will be 0 (it’s a convention, the one chosen in the Vertex Precision Tool), and above the cubes we showed all the position values this vertex could have
     
     
    So 0 is the position of a vertex in a simple voxel cube. If we move the vertex into position 42 (both the top and bottom vertex of this red-blue junction), then the red rectangle will now be 1.5 times bigger, and the blue rectangle will be half its current size. If we move the vertices to -42, it would be the other way around. Note that all the values between -42 and 42 are the values where the vertex is supposed to be without overflow. This is the zone we described earlier.
     
    If we were to move the vertices to value 84, then we would enter the territory of the vertex shared by the blue and cyan cubes. This becomes a little dangerous and could result in strange results. In this example, it would lead to the blue surface to completely disappear and be replaced by the red one. The blue voxel would still exist, it would just have a null volume.
     
    And, in the example of these four cubes, if we were to go to a value above 84, it would result in an ill-formed shape because the blue shape would have a negative volume. This would probably create visual artifacts, and we may prevent this situation in the future.
     
    ENCODING CHANGE
     
    One last note for those who are familiar with voxelmancy. In Panacea, we use an encoding of 253 positions (from -126 to 126), which is different than it has been. We used an encoding of 255 positions (it was from -128 to 128 but previous -128 = actual -126). Since there is no exact mapping between the old encoding to the new one, this means that vertices in your constructs may be shifted up to 1mm (vertices at position 0 will not move, but those at extreme values will move the most). This will probably be unnoticeable, but we wanted to err on the side of caution and share this information.
     
    You may wonder, why 253? It is for the reasons explained before, to have those nice -126, -84, -42, 0, 42, 84 and 126 values. The 255 system did not allow for that. We could have chosen 193, so that you could split a voxel in 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64, but that would have meant a huge loss in precision and significantly deformed most constructs. So 253 it is, and you can now split a voxel in 42!
     
    USING THE VPT
     
    There are exactly 253 positions on a single axis including zero that a vertex can be in due to it being divisible over three voxels. Negative 126, 0, and positive 126. As such, the width of one voxel is exactly 84 positions. And each vertex can be moved exactly 1.5 voxel away from the center position.
     
    Thus, the grid on which a vertex is moved is adjustable to a size that covers 1, 2, 4, 7, 14, 21 or 42 positions, 42 being the size of half a voxel. This allows the accurate placement to the finest detail or to quickly scale up and move a vertex by a half, a quarter, a sixth, or a twelfth of a voxel.
     
    See the image below to get an idea of the different size grids available to the VPT.
     
     
    Once selected, the vertex cursor can then be moved with:
    The up, down, left arrow and right Arrow keys for the x- and y-axis.
    The Page Up and Page Down for the z-axis.
    The Home key to send the cursor to the current position of the vertex.
    The End key to send your cursor to the last confirmed coordinates.
    (This also happens by default when you change vertices.)
    The Alt+Home key combination to send the cursor to the centered 0,0,0 coordinates.
    Holding Control+Scroll will adjust the grid size between the available sizes.
    Left-click confirms the placement and moves the selected vertex to the cursor.
     
    The VPT will give you the finest precision possible, no more complex voxelmancy of copy-pasting things around to get a specific shape. You may not use this tool all the time, but when you do you’ll find it exceptionally helpful for fine-tuning.
     
    WHEW, THAT’S A LOTTA INFO!
     
    Still with us? We know there’s a lot of information to process, but we felt it was worthwhile to share the details with our voxelating community members that would appreciate seeing how the sausage is made (so to speak).
     
    We can’t wait to see the cool new stuff Noveans build with the Vertex Precision Tool. As always, we encourage everyone to join the conversation on the forum in this thread. If you have questions about the VPT or want to share your thoughts and tips about voxelmancy in general, that’s the place to go.
     
     
  2. Like
    BiGEdge reacted to NQ-Nyzaltar in DEVBLOG: PANACEA 'REMEDIES' ON THE WAY   
    Dual Universe’s Panacea update is right around the corner, bringing with it a sizable variety of changes based on feedback from our community. 
    Ahead of the update, however, we are immediately introducing revisions to territory upkeep and mining units. 
     
    Read on for the full scoop! 
     
    GOING INTO EFFECT ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 25th
     
    Taxes will be effective again starting Wednesday, January 26th.
    The day before, we are going to deploy three adjustments to address the issues mentioned in the Community Feedback regarding Territory Upkeep.
     
    Territory Upkeep Reduction: 1 MM --> 500k.

    Territory Upkeep was first introduced in the November 2021 Demeter update. After reviewing community feedback, we announced that territory upkeep payments would be postponed for two weeks to allow the Design team time to dig deep into the metrics and fine-tune the system accordingly. 

    The upkeep rate per territory will be reduced by 50%, from 1MM to 500k quanta. Player feedback indicated that people felt they were having to sell ore too frequently to generate the funds needed to pay upkeep. In halving the upkeep costs, we will relieve the pressure to make frequent trips to the market as well as the need to sell large quantities of ore.
      Calibrations Charges:
    Base calibration charge slots increase : 5 --> 25.
    Talent calibration charge slots increase : 1/level --> 5/level.

    Also introduced in the Demeter update, mining units were designed as an alternative to digging endless tunnels underground for ore. To keep them producing at their peak capacity requires occasional calibration; however, initial feedback from the community told us that further tweaks were needed for the calibration process. To this end, we’ve made the two changes mentioned above.

    This will change the total amount of stored charges from 10 (5 base + 5 max talents) to 50 (25 base + 25 max talents).

    The intention behind the charge cap was not to force a behavior in which you felt like you needed to spend charges in order not to “lose out” on charges by hitting the cap and wasting your recharge. 

    In view of that, both the base and the talent bonus are drastically going up. This will not only allow you to store more charges in general, but specifically allow you to store a much longer period of time in charge recharge time, giving you much more breathing room to store charges and not waste charge recharge time.
      Calibration grace period: 48h --> 72h
      The calibration grace period is the amount of time during which a mining unit does not lose calibration. Similarly to charge slots, the intention was not to aggressively require you to calibrate mining units every 2-3 days. In our initial calculations our goal was more to hit the 5 to 6 day mark depending on what efficiency curve the player selected, and how many mining units the player was trying to maintain.
     
    We are changing the calibration grace period from 48-hours to 72-hours. 
     
    This change should bring us closer to the initial values we were looking for and give players more breathing room to calibrate when their mining units seem to be producing less than usual, indicating that calibration is needed.
     
    CHANGES COMING WITH PANACEA UPATE (0.28) LAUNCH
     
    Using industry units on offline tiles

    The intention of requiring online territories for industry units was not to negatively impact industry units on planets. We initially saw it as further incentive to pay for taxes, but it was not a core requirement. This is also why industry units on Ssanctuary and space cores were left untouched.

    We understand from player feedback that requiring you to operate mining units on a territory in order to not run industry units at a loss on that territory was an annoyance and many players did not want to run their industry units on the same territories as their mining units.

    In view of the preferences expressed, we have decided to allow the operation of industry units on all offline territories. In combination with HQ territories, this will allow you to effectively run industry units on offline territories for extended periods of time.
      Faster extraction animations
      We are also addressing the feedback we’ve received regarding the time it takes to complete a calibration minigame, specifically the frustration from the long loading animations when calibrating a number of mining units.
     
    An option has been added in the mining unit UI (tick box) that will let you significantly reduce the time these animations take, drastically reducing the period of time the animations run.
     
    Additionally, a number of mining unit mini-game animations have been slightly reduced in duration, thus allowing a faster minigame completion.
     
    New talents for surface harvesting
      In order to further incentivize harvesting surface rocks, and to be able to specialize in it, we are adding four talents linked to surface harvesting that will touch on harvesting speed and output.
     
    The main goal is to create some surface harvesting specialization for those players who enjoy it, giving them the capability to harvest better and faster, and for longer periods of time.
     
    CHANGES COMING POST-PANACEA
     
    New surface harvesting controls
      To further address surface harvesting issues, we are working on quality of life-type improvements that will allow a degree of auto-harvesting similar to normal mining as well as other changes to reduce control and UX-based frustrations during surface harvesting. 
    Watch for additional details as we refine our plans!
     
     New mining unit surface harvesting, rocks spawning behavior
     
    Lastly, we are looking for a solution to simplify the process of gathering rocks. This is in direct response to player requests to eliminate the hassle of having to comb their territories after calibrating a number of mining units. 
     
    While this is still in relatively early stages, the solution we are looking at is to spawn the rocks right under the mining unit beam, where the beam hits the ground. Players would then be able to rapidly harvest surface rocks. 
     
    BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE
     
    Don’t forget that there’s a lot more to Panacea than the changes and tweaks discussed above. It’s also got some cool new stuff, like the Vertex Precision Tool which we’ll be talking about in the next devblog! 
     
    Meanwhile, please join the conversation on the forum here to tell us what you think about revisions we’ve presented in this Devblog.
    We’d love to hear from you! 
     
    ---

    The Novaquark team
  3. Like
    BiGEdge reacted to PotatoMart in PANACEA UPDATE ADDED TO ROADMAP - discussion thread   
    Pls Keep the Taxes as they are its good for economy and land claiming, don´t listen to whiners.
    Make Taxes paying for longer time 1/2 a year would be good if someone wants to take a break.
     
    And pls do automated Paying from Corp Wallets, and automated Corp Taxes if the corp wants money from members.
  4. Like
    BiGEdge reacted to NQ-Wanderer in PANACEA UPDATE ADDED TO ROADMAP - discussion thread   
    Hello Noveans,
     
    We would like to hear your feedback on the addition of PANACEA to the roadmap!
  5. Like
    BiGEdge reacted to NQ-Wanderer in PANACEA UPDATE ADDED TO ROADMAP   
    The Dual Universe roadmap has been expanded with the Panacea update, which is currently in production and brings with it a plethora of new features, tools, and improvements that will be particularly interesting for builders, scavengers, and Lua aficionados.
     
    WHAT’S IN IT
     
    A follow-up to the changes introduced in the Selene and Demeter updates, the Vertex Precision Tool will provide a powerful, intuitive way to fine-tune your builds. Particularly for those who are new to voxelmancy, this tool will be invaluable. Watch this video to get a taste of what it can do.
     
    The introduction of shipwrecks in space will open a variety of lucrative opportunities for players who seek them out. Sell them as-is, salvage them for parts, create missions for other players to bring you the ship or its parts, or simply fetch a handsome price by selling the location information.
     
    Other new features and improvements include: 
    Camera Lua API: get access to information about the in-game camera Talents UI improvements: a more efficient way to view Talents RDMS UI polish: a cleaner interface for the management of RDMS  
    To reduce clutter and keep Alioth beautiful, we are implementing inactive constructs requisitioning, an automated system for the abandonment of constructs owned by unsubscribed players and organizations to aid in keeping overcrowded public market areas clear.
    Organization construct ownership (construct slots): a new way of assigning available construct limits to organizations. Disabling element stacking or overlapping: the final step in preventing the element stacking exploit.  
    WHAT’S IN A NAME
     
    Choosing the name for this update, Panacea, the goddess of remedy, is a reference to our renewed dedication to taking player feedback into greater consideration.
     
    In reflecting on the aftermath of the Demeter release, we recognized that we fell short in this area. We read your feedback but did not make the adjustments we could and should have. We pledge to be better about working hand-in-hand with the community by implementing a plan to increase two-way communication and making some important tweaks and balancing to the game that will address some of the pain points as much as we’re able.
     
    As a first step, beginning January 12th, we will postpone the next territory upkeep pay period for two weeks. This will allow the Design team time to revisit the tax rate, which many community members said was too steep. The purpose and functions of the upkeep system go beyond limiting “landgrabbing” and are more complex than they may appear on the surface. Many factors and interdependencies need to be taken into consideration.
     
    WHAT’S NEXT
     
    A series of devblogs will be published soon to reveal more information about the Panacea update. Additionally, we will be sharing a new roadmap soon. We hope that you’ll like what you see, and we encourage you to share your constructive feedback about our ideas as you read each article. 
    Let’s chat! 
  6. Like
    BiGEdge reacted to NQ-Deckard in 2021 Roadmap   
    Earlier this year, we presented our plans for the future of Dual Universe, following player feedback from the beta. Along with these plans, we had an internal roadmap, which we thought needed further refinement before being able to share it publicly, as we want to be able to give our community a reliable view of our plans. We now feel that this time has come, so here is the roadmap for the remainder of 2021. 
     
    A few important things to note: 
    This is a work in progress.  Dates may shift.  Features may be added or removed.  
    Please also note that there is more further down the line, past 2021. We just want to be realistic about content and timings and start with delivering what we think is important for 2021. We hope to be working with you, our community, to deliver fun and interesting new features and improvements, thanks to our “new” release process, which includes the PTS, and to your ongoing feedback.
     
    Which features on the roadmap are you most excited about? 
     

  7. Like
    BiGEdge reacted to NQ-Deckard in Play DU on any computer on GeForce NOW!   
    Novaquark is pleased to announce its partnership with NVIDIA GeForce NOW to make Dual Universe as accessible as possible to our players. GeForce NOW is NVIDIA's cloud game streaming service that instantly transforms nearly any PC, Mac or Chromebook into a powerful PC gaming rig.
     
    If your PC specs are below the minimum requirements for DU, this is for you!
     
    Dual Universe has been thoroughly tested to ensure the experience is optimal on GeForce NOW. You can now play DU at its best, in all its graphical magnificence.
     
    To do so, you will first need a subscription to Dual Universe. Then, simply head to the GeForce NOW website. GeForce NOW offers two membership options: Free and Priority.
     
    Anyone can sign-up for a Free membership, and start playing instantly. If you would like to upgrade your membership to experience the best of GeForce NOW, including priority access to game servers and extended session lengths, you can upgrade to the GeForce NOW Priority membership.
     
    Dual Universe awaits you, Novean!
     
  8. Like
    BiGEdge reacted to NQ-Deckard in NEW VISUAL EFFECTS IN DUAL UNIVERSE   
    We recently introduced the first wave of an ongoing effort to enhance the visual effects (VFX) in Dual Universe, thanks to the integration of PopcornFX, a middleware solution for creating stunning particle effects. 
     
    Players celebrated the difference when the first VFX improvements debuted as part of the 0.25.8 Hermes update on June 18th. This video showcases just some of the cool new effects, from ‘sparklier’ particle explosions to ‘glowier’ holograms. 
     
     
    The Novaquark Art and Rendering teams took a few moments away from their visual ventures to talk a bit about the PopcornFX implementation and what it means for the DU community. 
     
    Q: How will Dual Universe players benefit from the new visual effects? 
    Our primary goals have been to improve immersion and increase the wow factor. Being an MMO, immersion is key, a layer of life added to our game. For that reason, we are always exploring different ways to improve graphics to make the world more believable and give it a sense of spectacle. Our new VFX are made with PopcornFX Editor. It gives us full control and makes it easy to experiment and iterate new versions that will improve the player experience.
     
    Q: Why did Novaquark choose PopcornFX?
    Dual Universe is being developed with Unigine, which we like since it allows us to do heavy modifications to achieve the desired results; however, those modifications have also prevented us from being able to benefit from Unigine’s latest visual improvements. PopcornFX is the perfect solution to fill that gap. It has exactly what we need technically for its implementation, top-notch visuals, and excellent performance results. (We promise they didn’t pay us to say this!)
     
    Q: Considering the proprietary technology behind DU, implementing off-the-shelf technologies can be tricky. What technical difficulties had to be overcome with this integration?
    It required several iterations and cross-team collaboration to ensure that integration was working properly so that it would be in an acceptable state for rollout to players. It first took the effort of the Rendering team to have the main pipeline working, from loading an effect file, launching the particle simulation, getting the buffer data back, and directing them to the right places and the right shaders. We’ve been able to build onto this and support more and more features requested by the Art team. We also worked with the Gameplay and Tool teams to supply a clean integration with variables from the game to provide a deep connection between the effects and the game itself by exposing all the parameters VFX artists can use.
     
    Q: Which VFX are we currently focusing on and what is the roll-out plan for future VFX updates?
    Our most recent update, Hermes, included a long list of our first PopcornFX-generated graphics. 
     
    Tools: harvest, mining, directional detector, scanners, deploy ground element, refuel, maneuver, flatten, build mode tools. Industries: assembly lines, refiners, electronics, chemical, refiner, glass furnace, smelter, honeycomb refiner, printer, metalwork.  Decorative constructs: plants, holograms. Miscellaneous: Arkship effects, elevators, an element explosion.  
    Our goal regarding VFX is to apply them in almost every aspect of the game; sometimes they may be quite noticeable and others may be so subtle they are almost imperceivable. The layering is what adds that necessary depth of flavor to be well-rounded. 
    We will continue to introduce new VFX to enhance the gameplay experience, for example the piloting experience and the PVP experience, and to breathe more life into some older elements that need it while introducing new elements along the way, too. We’ll also give some motion to the HUD and our complex interface that we know can really improve the immersion.
     
    Q: In addition to the VFX improvements, what other visual enhancements can players look for in the coming months? 
    Since we began using PopcornFX, we've been seeing the game world through a new lens, brainstorming the possibilities and prioritizing all the improvements we want to make. The stellar views within the universe will be even more stellar as our ‘biome beautification’ efforts continue. The compliments we’ve been receiving from the community have been inspiring and encouraged us to take DU’s visuals to the next level. 
     
  9. Like
    BiGEdge reacted to NQ-Deckard in Upcoming Organization Changes   
    We’re making some changes to the way organizations work. 
     
    Currently, organizations can cascade within themselves thus making it possible to create a near-infinite multitude of sub-organizations. This poses a problem from both a design and cost perspective as it removes any form of scaling limit to the amount of constructs and organization that can be in the game. It also leaves the door open for various ways to circumvent limitations needed for balancing. 
     
    These changes will address these issues as well as clear up a number of anomalies that are affecting some existing organizations. They will be included in the 0.26 update, which gives you more than a month to reorganize as needed. 
     
    New regulations for organizations will be:
    Each organization must have a player as its super legate. An account can only be the super legate of one organization. Nested organizations will still be possible but will require a player as super legate of that organization, and that player cannot also be the super legate of the parent organization.
      To ensure a smooth transition and have things set up the way you prefer, we encourage you to restructure your org(s) accordingly. Organizations that have not been updated will undergo an automated modification process. This will be done in a prioritized order as described below. 
     
    For players that are the super legate of multiple organizations:
    One organization will be selected as the player’s primary organization according to the following parameters: The number of players in the organization. The number of constructs in the organization. The age of the organization. The player will become a designated legate for any other orgs to which they belong.
      To address situations where an organization is nested within another so that there is no player designated as super legate, these are the solutions we’ll pursue: 
    The legate with the most seniority that is not already a super legate of an organization and has connected over the past month at the time of the change is promoted to super legate. If no legates exist, the oldest member that is not already a super legate of an organization and has played within the past month at the time of the change is promoted to super legate. The oldest legate that is not already a super legate of an organization is promoted to super legate. The oldest member that is not already a super legate of an organization is promoted to super legate. If none of the above apply, the organization will be disbanded.
      Constructs and territories for any properly structured organizations or organizations that are assigned a new super legate will be unaffected and remain in ownership of that organization. The constructs and territories of disbanded orgs will be reassigned to the first former super legate in the chain of organization parenting. Any other construct will be abandoned, and territories will be unclaimed.

     
  10. Like
    BiGEdge reacted to NQ-Deckard in The 0.25 update available now   
    We’re pleased to announce that the first of a number of 0.25 updates has been deployed. As with the 0.24 updates, the full content of the 0.25 branch will be released incrementally. Features coming later include the Mission System and Challenges. 
     
    This is an important patch that focuses on some of the performance and database storage improvements mentioned in The Future of Dual Universe: Under the Hood, the second of a three-part devblog series. 
     
    The most significant elements of this update are: 
    Voxel compression - We’ve implemented large, fundamental changes in how voxels are stored server-side, optimizing and improving player bandwidth usage going forward. Constructs LOD - Level of detail (LOD) improvements mean that ships and bases in the distance will now load and display a lower resolution version. This should improve framerate in some places and allow for faster loading times overall.  
    We remain steadfast in our pledge to continue bringing performance improvements. Although this isn’t a “magic bullet” update that promises to fix everything in one fell swoop, many players should now enjoy a smoother performance. 

    Full release notes are available in the launcher and on the forums.
     
  11. Like
    BiGEdge reacted to NQ-Deckard in DEVBLOG: DOCKING AND BOARDING REVAMP   
    Space can be lonely, and, if some adages are to be believed, no one can hear you scream out there. You may want to bring along some friends, maybe not so much for the screaming but for sharing fuel and good times. That’s where docking and boarding comes in. 
     
    Previously referred to with the blanket term “parenting”, breaking them off as boarding and docking clarifies what they are and what they do. Just as the name implies, boarding allows passengers to come aboard your ship. Docking makes it possible to have ships connected to other ships, even when both are moving. This boarding/docking relationship basically has the same functionality and behaviour as before but with the added benefit of rights management.
     
    In its original design, boarding or docking a construct was not consensual. Neither the player who owned the construct being boarded/docked nor the player whose construct was being attached to another could decline. They may not have even been aware it had happened in some cases, it simply occurred due to their proximity. 
     
    This was a problem for a few reasons, most notably that it opened the door for bugs and exploits. In addition to negating those, revisiting the feature also gives us the opportunity to make it more intuitive and purposeful. 
     
    ASSIGNING RIGHTS
    Owners can use the Rights & Duties Management System (RDMS) to assign Right to Board or Right to Dock to their constructs that will let others board or dock, or to forbid such requests. 
     
    Dynamic constructs have the ability to move, as opposed to static constructs - like buildings - that are immobile. With the necessary rights, avatars will be able to board dynamic constructs, and smaller dynamic constructs (let’s call them shuttles) will be able to dock with bigger ones (aka carriers). When boarded or docked, the player or the shuttle moves with the carrier, and their mass is added to the carrier’s physics. 
     
    A player or a shuttle will need to be near the carrier in order to board or dock, it can’t be done from a distance. The distance is commiserate with the size of the target vessel, the minimum distance being 32m and 128m being the maximum. 
     
    BOARDING
    Players are able to board any inactive dynamic construct. This makes it possible for them to tour constructs on display in a marketplace or the like. The construct will go into the “active” state when the owner or someone else with piloting rights jumps into the driver’s seat, and unauthorized passengers will be automatically ejected.
     
    If a player enters a dynamic construct with the proper rights or when the construct is inactive, they will become boarded and can move freely around the construct. 
     
    The UI display may look something like this: 

    This is a sample of the UI that is still in progress 
     
    If the construct is active and the player attempting to board does not have the necessary right to board, they will be repulsed. The effect is similar to hitting an impassable barrier with no damage taken. The UI display may look something like this:

     
    DOCKING
    Once shuttle pilots with the necessary rights are within range, they can manually dock to a carrier. This is done through a contextual menu that is accessed via right-click. The shuttle will then be invisibly tethered to the exterior of the carrier. 

     
    Without that clearance, the shuttle will be repulsed.

     
    Authorized shuttle pilots will receive an opt-in confirmation to signal when they are within docking range. 

     
    The “Docking” widget in the piloting UI informs the pilot of the shuttle when they are in docking range through this small open chain link icon.
     

    This is a sample of the UI report to show a shuttle’s docking status.
     
    PARENTING ADVICE
    The owner of the carrier is considered the parent, and those who are granted boarding or docking rights are children.   
    Just as real-world moms and dads, construct owners can give their “kids” the old heave-ho when it’s time for them to leave the nest and fly solo. This is done in a Build Helper’s submenu where all boarded players and docked shuttles are listed.
     

     
    Buh-bye! Boarded avatars can be ejected at any time directly through the carrier’s Build Helper interface. 
     
    This results in ejected players suddenly finding themselves adrift, possibly in deep space. Here, they have two options. Jetpack to a safe place. Depending on the distance, this could take quite a while; however, it’s safe (they can’t be attacked) and they will arrive with the inventory in their nanopack. The second option, suicide, will get them on terra firma faster, but they will lose whatever they were carrying. Probably a good idea to stay on the good side of the carrier captain to avoid being in this predicament. 
     

     
    With a few simple clicks, the carrier pilot can easily de-dock shuttles, too. 
     

     
    TAKE IT FOR A SPIN
    These changes will be featured in an upcoming release on the public test server (PTS). We highly encourage our community to explore it when it’s available, then let us know what you think about the ease of use and convenience. Until then, feel free to join the discussion on our forums.
     
  12. Like
    BiGEdge reacted to NQ-Deckard in Changes to Lua screen units   
    Hello Noveans!

    Currently, screen unit content is an HTML page. We synchronize screen unit content between players by sending the whole HTML; however, screen unit HTML content can be pretty big and uses a lot of bandwidth and frame time to render when updated every frame by a programming board or control unit. This has a significant impact on client performance for players, especially when a lot of screen units are in the same area. 
    Performance improvement is of paramount importance to us and an ongoing request we get from players. Consequently, it is something we will continually work to achieve. 
     
    To address this, we are bringing a possible solution to PTS so that players can try it out. This prototype involves using a new API to draw screen units with a dedicated Lua script. This will use simple drawing commands like
    drawRectangle(a,b,c,d) drawText(“Hello DU”) Simple actions like setTextContent will not be affected. 

    In addition to performance improvements, this new tech also allows for some unprecedented possibilities to create even better screen displays than before. Check out this video to get a taste of what it can do! 
     

    We realize that this change will mean that players won’t be able to use SVGs on screens anymore, and that SVGs are easier and more flexible than uploading static images. It’s important to note that the new Lua system will still allow you to draw complex images. You don't really need any Lua knowledge, and it’s easier than the DPU system.

    Additionally, we added an option to deactivate HTML screen units for players who experience the worse framerate. We expect this to bring significant performance improvements in markets and parking areas.
    Once the change is fine-tuned, thanks to your feedback after trying it on the PTS, we will announce a transition period to allow players time to switch over to the new API before we disable support for HTML-based screen units. We will continue to support both techs during this transition period.

    We strongly encourage everyone to check out this change when it’s available on PTS and share your constructive feedback with us on the forum. 
     
  13. Like
    BiGEdge reacted to NQ-Naerais in A letter to our players   
    Dear Noveans,
     
    We would like to address the recent speculations that have arisen in our community, and openly disclose some changes that are happening at Novaquark.
     
    First and foremost, Novaquark continues to be supported by its long term investors to allow it to launch Dual Universe in line with its original vision. It also puts us in a position to attract experienced talent to complement the team that’s already in place so that we can continue to improve the game.
     
    Next week, we will share with you what we think our priorities should be for Dual Universe and how we hope to approach the development of the game with improved processes going forward.
     
    An important change to note is that Jean-Christophe, the founder of Novaquark, has transitioned from the day-to-day management of the team to better focus on his position as a board member. Over the years since the creation of Novaquark, JC designed and set the standards for the structural and conceptual foundation of the game, and he feels now that a solid base is there for him to move forward as a strategic advisor. The recent changes in the administrative presidency of the company only reflect the transition of JC to his new role. We’re excited to have the team he has built deliver on his vision for the game.
     
    Rest assured that Novaquark’s future is in good hands, and there is a strong partnership between our long-term investors and our team. We believe that the future is bright for the game and for the company, and we cannot wait to tell you where we want to take Dual Universe.
     
    With our warmest regards,
    The Novaquark team
  14. Like
    BiGEdge got a reaction from Orlimoros in nach 5 unfassbar schlimmen Stunden...   
    Wie wäre es denn, wenn du schon ein MMO (=Spiel was mit sehr vielen Spielern gespielt wird) anfängst, 
    dann mal andere im Ingamechat oder DU discord fragst was als nächstes zu tun ist, oder ob es eine gute Idee ist "force Respawn" zu drücken oder 
    ob es nicht ne Art Taxi gibt welches dich für einen Teil deines Startgeldes irgend wo hinbringt.
    Das Tutorial hat dir sicher ebenfalls erklärt wie du Kontakte zu anderen Spielern knüpfen kannst, einer Organisation beitrittst oder einen Chat benutzt.
    Soviel zum MMO.
    Und dann ist es ja auch noch in einer Persistenten Welt. Sprich alles was dort geschieht, gebaut oder gelöscht wird ist halt persistent und ist nicht umzukehren.
    Genau das macht ja den Reiz aus, weil es kaum Spiele gibt die diesen Anspruch haben.

    Aber nungut besserwisserei bei Seite... Ähnliches hab ich nur schon sehr oft gehört/gelesen.
    Meistens von Leuten, die auch viel anderes Spielen.
    Jetzt bin ich mir nicht sicher ob ich dafür dem Entwickler nen Strick drehen würde, weil es Leute gibt, die nicht wissen was für eine Art Spiel sie gestartet haben.
    Aber auch nicht den Einsteigern, die das alles noch gar nicht wissen und mit jeder sich von anderen Spielen ankonditionierten Aktion, einen Fehler machen können und es 
    kein Zurück mehr gibt.
    Die Frage ist nun, wie kann man es ändern, ohne dass DU am Ende wieder wie jedes 0815-Game ist, was es ja nicht will?
    Wie kann man neue Spieler dazu bringen, sich mit anderen Spielern zusammen zu tun um von ihnen zu lernen anstatt von tutorials oder Suchmaschienen?
    Die Grundannahme war, dass Menschen Soziale Wesen sind... das scheint nicht mehr zu gelten bei konditionierten Gamern.

    Nunja... trotzallem empfehl ich dir DU weiter zu machen...
    Dich hier im Forum zu melden war schonmal ein Schritt in die richtige Richtung, wie ich finde.
    Jetzt vllt noch auf dem DU discord Server vorbei schauen und mit deinem DU Profil hier auf der Seite verknüpfen.
    Warum ich dir als programmierer empfehle weiter zu machen?
    Mit deinen progging und scripting Fähigkeiten kannst du uU ziemlich erfolgreich in DU werden, was dir kaum ein anderes Game bietet.
    Mit Lua, html, CSS, SVG und den logikellementen im Spiel könntest du teils großartige Dinge erschaffen, was nicht viele können und diese dann sogar verkaufen für Quanta.
    Ich biete dir sogar an dich abzuholen und die 15km aus den geclaimten Zonen zu fliegen.
    Die Frage ist jedoch was bringt dir das dann? Und brauchst du das wirklich? Und ausserdem, was versprichtst du dir von DU?
    Bisher scheint sich ja kaum eine deiner Erwartungen erfüllt zu haben, weil du etwas anderes erwartet hattest, als das Spiel erfüllen wollte.

    Hofe ich konnte dir erst mal etwas weiter helfen 

    Greez o/
  15. Like
    BiGEdge got a reaction from RudiGaterau in nach 5 unfassbar schlimmen Stunden...   
    Wie wäre es denn, wenn du schon ein MMO (=Spiel was mit sehr vielen Spielern gespielt wird) anfängst, 
    dann mal andere im Ingamechat oder DU discord fragst was als nächstes zu tun ist, oder ob es eine gute Idee ist "force Respawn" zu drücken oder 
    ob es nicht ne Art Taxi gibt welches dich für einen Teil deines Startgeldes irgend wo hinbringt.
    Das Tutorial hat dir sicher ebenfalls erklärt wie du Kontakte zu anderen Spielern knüpfen kannst, einer Organisation beitrittst oder einen Chat benutzt.
    Soviel zum MMO.
    Und dann ist es ja auch noch in einer Persistenten Welt. Sprich alles was dort geschieht, gebaut oder gelöscht wird ist halt persistent und ist nicht umzukehren.
    Genau das macht ja den Reiz aus, weil es kaum Spiele gibt die diesen Anspruch haben.

    Aber nungut besserwisserei bei Seite... Ähnliches hab ich nur schon sehr oft gehört/gelesen.
    Meistens von Leuten, die auch viel anderes Spielen.
    Jetzt bin ich mir nicht sicher ob ich dafür dem Entwickler nen Strick drehen würde, weil es Leute gibt, die nicht wissen was für eine Art Spiel sie gestartet haben.
    Aber auch nicht den Einsteigern, die das alles noch gar nicht wissen und mit jeder sich von anderen Spielen ankonditionierten Aktion, einen Fehler machen können und es 
    kein Zurück mehr gibt.
    Die Frage ist nun, wie kann man es ändern, ohne dass DU am Ende wieder wie jedes 0815-Game ist, was es ja nicht will?
    Wie kann man neue Spieler dazu bringen, sich mit anderen Spielern zusammen zu tun um von ihnen zu lernen anstatt von tutorials oder Suchmaschienen?
    Die Grundannahme war, dass Menschen Soziale Wesen sind... das scheint nicht mehr zu gelten bei konditionierten Gamern.

    Nunja... trotzallem empfehl ich dir DU weiter zu machen...
    Dich hier im Forum zu melden war schonmal ein Schritt in die richtige Richtung, wie ich finde.
    Jetzt vllt noch auf dem DU discord Server vorbei schauen und mit deinem DU Profil hier auf der Seite verknüpfen.
    Warum ich dir als programmierer empfehle weiter zu machen?
    Mit deinen progging und scripting Fähigkeiten kannst du uU ziemlich erfolgreich in DU werden, was dir kaum ein anderes Game bietet.
    Mit Lua, html, CSS, SVG und den logikellementen im Spiel könntest du teils großartige Dinge erschaffen, was nicht viele können und diese dann sogar verkaufen für Quanta.
    Ich biete dir sogar an dich abzuholen und die 15km aus den geclaimten Zonen zu fliegen.
    Die Frage ist jedoch was bringt dir das dann? Und brauchst du das wirklich? Und ausserdem, was versprichtst du dir von DU?
    Bisher scheint sich ja kaum eine deiner Erwartungen erfüllt zu haben, weil du etwas anderes erwartet hattest, als das Spiel erfüllen wollte.

    Hofe ich konnte dir erst mal etwas weiter helfen 

    Greez o/
  16. Like
    BiGEdge got a reaction from huschhusch in nach 5 unfassbar schlimmen Stunden...   
    Wie wäre es denn, wenn du schon ein MMO (=Spiel was mit sehr vielen Spielern gespielt wird) anfängst, 
    dann mal andere im Ingamechat oder DU discord fragst was als nächstes zu tun ist, oder ob es eine gute Idee ist "force Respawn" zu drücken oder 
    ob es nicht ne Art Taxi gibt welches dich für einen Teil deines Startgeldes irgend wo hinbringt.
    Das Tutorial hat dir sicher ebenfalls erklärt wie du Kontakte zu anderen Spielern knüpfen kannst, einer Organisation beitrittst oder einen Chat benutzt.
    Soviel zum MMO.
    Und dann ist es ja auch noch in einer Persistenten Welt. Sprich alles was dort geschieht, gebaut oder gelöscht wird ist halt persistent und ist nicht umzukehren.
    Genau das macht ja den Reiz aus, weil es kaum Spiele gibt die diesen Anspruch haben.

    Aber nungut besserwisserei bei Seite... Ähnliches hab ich nur schon sehr oft gehört/gelesen.
    Meistens von Leuten, die auch viel anderes Spielen.
    Jetzt bin ich mir nicht sicher ob ich dafür dem Entwickler nen Strick drehen würde, weil es Leute gibt, die nicht wissen was für eine Art Spiel sie gestartet haben.
    Aber auch nicht den Einsteigern, die das alles noch gar nicht wissen und mit jeder sich von anderen Spielen ankonditionierten Aktion, einen Fehler machen können und es 
    kein Zurück mehr gibt.
    Die Frage ist nun, wie kann man es ändern, ohne dass DU am Ende wieder wie jedes 0815-Game ist, was es ja nicht will?
    Wie kann man neue Spieler dazu bringen, sich mit anderen Spielern zusammen zu tun um von ihnen zu lernen anstatt von tutorials oder Suchmaschienen?
    Die Grundannahme war, dass Menschen Soziale Wesen sind... das scheint nicht mehr zu gelten bei konditionierten Gamern.

    Nunja... trotzallem empfehl ich dir DU weiter zu machen...
    Dich hier im Forum zu melden war schonmal ein Schritt in die richtige Richtung, wie ich finde.
    Jetzt vllt noch auf dem DU discord Server vorbei schauen und mit deinem DU Profil hier auf der Seite verknüpfen.
    Warum ich dir als programmierer empfehle weiter zu machen?
    Mit deinen progging und scripting Fähigkeiten kannst du uU ziemlich erfolgreich in DU werden, was dir kaum ein anderes Game bietet.
    Mit Lua, html, CSS, SVG und den logikellementen im Spiel könntest du teils großartige Dinge erschaffen, was nicht viele können und diese dann sogar verkaufen für Quanta.
    Ich biete dir sogar an dich abzuholen und die 15km aus den geclaimten Zonen zu fliegen.
    Die Frage ist jedoch was bringt dir das dann? Und brauchst du das wirklich? Und ausserdem, was versprichtst du dir von DU?
    Bisher scheint sich ja kaum eine deiner Erwartungen erfüllt zu haben, weil du etwas anderes erwartet hattest, als das Spiel erfüllen wollte.

    Hofe ich konnte dir erst mal etwas weiter helfen 

    Greez o/
  17. Like
    BiGEdge got a reaction from RudiGaterau in [Discuss] We've Heard You!   
    All those statements are allmost exact same statements i gave to the german discod chat and some communitys who know me well...

    A lot of people were upset about the 0.23 and named it as the "Downfall" of DU.
    Cooperation over creativity is not theyr cup of cake and they havnt yet appreciated the possibilitys of a singleshard-server.

    Many others see this as a major step towards the goal on what DU should be like.
    DU as a playerdriven virtual civilization needs to have most of the challenges not be reachable without others.

    What we got with 0.23 is not yet what has been needed to force a kickstart to this virtual civilization, but its a good Start.
    And i know some who see DU still as a game like many others and not as an oppurtunity to have something completely different.
    Something thats gonna less longer than any other game or hype.
    Something that evolves with every step towards its goal, but where the devs have allways the goal in mind.
    Build us the biggest virtual singleshard civilization game... Not just another Sandbox, but a virtual World.

    Thank you NQ, that you allways keep course towards that goal.
    Sometimes with learning or experience curves and sometimes ways some dont understand.
    But heavyly focussed towards the goal.
    If you ask me... i guess i undstood what the game can be.
    I see the Vision behind it.

    And even if im wrong i wouldnt let this project down.
    You DU an awesome job NQ

    Just DU it

    Greez your #FanboyNr1 ^^
  18. Like
    BiGEdge got a reaction from Mornington in [Discuss] We've Heard You!   
    All those statements are allmost exact same statements i gave to the german discod chat and some communitys who know me well...

    A lot of people were upset about the 0.23 and named it as the "Downfall" of DU.
    Cooperation over creativity is not theyr cup of cake and they havnt yet appreciated the possibilitys of a singleshard-server.

    Many others see this as a major step towards the goal on what DU should be like.
    DU as a playerdriven virtual civilization needs to have most of the challenges not be reachable without others.

    What we got with 0.23 is not yet what has been needed to force a kickstart to this virtual civilization, but its a good Start.
    And i know some who see DU still as a game like many others and not as an oppurtunity to have something completely different.
    Something thats gonna less longer than any other game or hype.
    Something that evolves with every step towards its goal, but where the devs have allways the goal in mind.
    Build us the biggest virtual singleshard civilization game... Not just another Sandbox, but a virtual World.

    Thank you NQ, that you allways keep course towards that goal.
    Sometimes with learning or experience curves and sometimes ways some dont understand.
    But heavyly focussed towards the goal.
    If you ask me... i guess i undstood what the game can be.
    I see the Vision behind it.

    And even if im wrong i wouldnt let this project down.
    You DU an awesome job NQ

    Just DU it

    Greez your #FanboyNr1 ^^
  19. Like
    BiGEdge got a reaction from Kingstonian in [Discuss] We've Heard You!   
    All those statements are allmost exact same statements i gave to the german discod chat and some communitys who know me well...

    A lot of people were upset about the 0.23 and named it as the "Downfall" of DU.
    Cooperation over creativity is not theyr cup of cake and they havnt yet appreciated the possibilitys of a singleshard-server.

    Many others see this as a major step towards the goal on what DU should be like.
    DU as a playerdriven virtual civilization needs to have most of the challenges not be reachable without others.

    What we got with 0.23 is not yet what has been needed to force a kickstart to this virtual civilization, but its a good Start.
    And i know some who see DU still as a game like many others and not as an oppurtunity to have something completely different.
    Something thats gonna less longer than any other game or hype.
    Something that evolves with every step towards its goal, but where the devs have allways the goal in mind.
    Build us the biggest virtual singleshard civilization game... Not just another Sandbox, but a virtual World.

    Thank you NQ, that you allways keep course towards that goal.
    Sometimes with learning or experience curves and sometimes ways some dont understand.
    But heavyly focussed towards the goal.
    If you ask me... i guess i undstood what the game can be.
    I see the Vision behind it.

    And even if im wrong i wouldnt let this project down.
    You DU an awesome job NQ

    Just DU it

    Greez your #FanboyNr1 ^^
  20. Like
    BiGEdge got a reaction from Haunty in [Discuss] We've Heard You!   
    All those statements are allmost exact same statements i gave to the german discod chat and some communitys who know me well...

    A lot of people were upset about the 0.23 and named it as the "Downfall" of DU.
    Cooperation over creativity is not theyr cup of cake and they havnt yet appreciated the possibilitys of a singleshard-server.

    Many others see this as a major step towards the goal on what DU should be like.
    DU as a playerdriven virtual civilization needs to have most of the challenges not be reachable without others.

    What we got with 0.23 is not yet what has been needed to force a kickstart to this virtual civilization, but its a good Start.
    And i know some who see DU still as a game like many others and not as an oppurtunity to have something completely different.
    Something thats gonna less longer than any other game or hype.
    Something that evolves with every step towards its goal, but where the devs have allways the goal in mind.
    Build us the biggest virtual singleshard civilization game... Not just another Sandbox, but a virtual World.

    Thank you NQ, that you allways keep course towards that goal.
    Sometimes with learning or experience curves and sometimes ways some dont understand.
    But heavyly focussed towards the goal.
    If you ask me... i guess i undstood what the game can be.
    I see the Vision behind it.

    And even if im wrong i wouldnt let this project down.
    You DU an awesome job NQ

    Just DU it

    Greez your #FanboyNr1 ^^
  21. Like
    BiGEdge reacted to Haunty in [Discuss] We've Heard You!   
    Good to see NQ sticking to the core vision instead of being pulled apart in different directions by divisive players.
  22. Like
    BiGEdge reacted to NQ-Naunet in We've Heard You!   
    0.23 and What We Learned

    In reading through the reactions from our community regarding the recent 0.23 update, we’ve gained some valuable insights. 

    Before we talk about the changes we’ll make in our processes going forward, let’s get back to the fundamental reason behind the update itself. What we did in 0.23 is at the heart of the vision for a game where a society of players is interacting directly or indirectly with each other through an elaborate network of exchanges, cooperation, competition and markets.
     
    As it was, the current state of the game consisted mostly of isolated islands of players playing in almost full autonomy. A single-player game where players happened to share the same game world but with little interactions.
     
    It’s hard to imagine how the appeal could last for more than several months for most players once they feel they have “finished” the game. It is also a missed opportunity to try something of larger proportion, a society of players growing in a fully persistent virtual world. For this to work, you need more than isolated gameplay. Players need to have viable reasons to interact and need each other.
     
    In many single-player space games, you have ways to make money, and the game then offers you ways to convert this money into whatever you need in the game to progress, mostly via markets. This is the state in which we should end up for Dual Universe once all the necessary ingredients are in place, You get into the game, you farm a bit of money in fun ways, and you buy more and more powerful ships, equipment, weapons, etc., to help your character grow. The difference is that here, the ships or equipment you buy have been made by other players, instead of the game company. On the surface and during the first hours of gameplay, to a new player it would look similar to any of those other space games, but it would in fact reveal itself to be much deeper once you spend a bit of time in the game. Everything you would do would be part of another player’s or organization’s plan, everything would have a meaning. And soon you would realize that you too could be part of the content creation and, somehow, drive the game in the direction you want.
     
    In its current beta stage, DU doesn’t have enough ways for people to make money because we haven’t yet had the opportunity to implement all of the necessary features. There’s mining, of course. Trading is not as good as it will eventually be because markets are not really used to their full potential. As a consequence, players rightfully turned to a solo or small org autonomous game mode. 
     
    We tried to nudge people out of this with the changes introduced in 0.23. While necessary, many players expressed that the changes of 0.23 came too soon because it lacked a variety of lucrative ways for people to make money outside of mining.

    What We’ll Do Now
     
    The vision expressed above still holds. We want people to consider going through the industry specialization only if they intend to become industrialists and not necessarily to sustain their individual needs; however, we understand that it’s too soon to press for intense specialized gameplay considering the lack of sources to earn money. 
     
    Here’s our plan for now. We will modify the formula of the schematic prices to make it considerably more affordable for Tier 1 and still challenging and worth a commitment but less intense for anything Tier 2 or above. 
     
    This will allow most factories focused on T1 to resume their activities rapidly while keeping an interesting challenge for higher tiers, spawning dedicated industrial facilities aiming at producing to sell on the markets. We will also reimburse players who have bought high-priced schematics since the launch of 0.23 (please give us some time since it may take a few days as we go through the logs).
     
    We will keep monitoring the price of schematics to see if it makes sense to increase or decrease the costs. The right approach to set such a price would be to evaluate how much time it takes to recoup your investment by selling the products that the schematics allow to produce. It should be a few months so that the investment is a real commitment and it makes sense to plan for it.  We currently lack the metrics to properly assess this return on investment time. We need a player-driven market price for the components and a market price for the products to assess the profit made by each run of a schematic. This will come when the markets start to work as intended, and we can gather more data about them. 
     
    Feedback and Testing

    The release of 0.23 also taught us that we need improved ways to test new features, both internally and with community participation. The Upvote feature on the website was a good start, but it’s not enough. 
     
    To address this, we have two courses of action that will be taken. The first will be to set up an open public test server, hopefully with shorter release cycles, for players to try out new features. This will also allow us to explore ideas and be more iterative. If all goes according to plan, this test server should be introduced for 0.24, the next release. It will mirror the content of the production server with regular updates to sync it. 
     
    The second important initiative is to revise the role of the Alpha Team Vanguard (ATV), getting them more involved in early discussions about new features and the evolution of the game. We are still defining the framework, so more information will be released as available. 

    What is to Come
     
    In the short term, we will push a few corrections to improve 0.23, which include:
     
    Ships will now stop (be frozen) when their core is destroyed in PvP, making them easier to catch. Element destruction will impact the restoration count only when it occurs through PvP, at least for now (not when the ship is colliding/falling as we want to avoid having players penalized simply for crashing their ships because they’re learning how to maneuver them, for example). Recycling of un-restorable elements through a recycler that will take an element as input and grant a small amount of the schematics required components as output.
    The next major release is already in the making and will be about the mission system, a first step toward giving players more fun ways to earn quantas. We will reveal about it shortly so that we can get as much feedback as possible.
     
    We also want to reassure you that the mission system is not the only answer to offering more varied ways to earn revenue in Dual Universe. Things like asteroid mining and mining units will be introduced in the next few months. 

    This list is by no means complete, but should be a good jumping off point that gives players reasons to fight and to explore, opportunities for pirates, new ways of making money, and a plethora of other activities our creative community will think of even if we didn’t. 

    That’s it for now! We want to thank you again for your support and patience as we progress along this beta road! See you soon in Dual Universe!

    Want to discuss this announcement? Visit the thread linked below:
     
     
  23. Like
    BiGEdge got a reaction from NQ-Naunet in [Discussion] DevBlog: Rebalancing the Universe   
    Finally thank you NQ...
    finally you start to put some love into the balancing to fit the goal you promissed years ago.

    Make anything you DU ingame more valuable by putting more time into it.
    Defining profession and give em more to DU.
    And finally, this patch could help boost the economy in the game.
    Please stick to it, to a point ehere there are players not see a reason to be an industrialist, and we can start building emergence and not so that every player does the same.

    Good work so far, keep it up NQ
  24. Like
    BiGEdge got a reaction from FireDemon in [Discussion] DevBlog: Rebalancing the Universe   
    Finally thank you NQ...
    finally you start to put some love into the balancing to fit the goal you promissed years ago.

    Make anything you DU ingame more valuable by putting more time into it.
    Defining profession and give em more to DU.
    And finally, this patch could help boost the economy in the game.
    Please stick to it, to a point ehere there are players not see a reason to be an industrialist, and we can start building emergence and not so that every player does the same.

    Good work so far, keep it up NQ
  25. Like
    BiGEdge got a reaction from OrionSteed in [Discussion] DevBlog: Rebalancing the Universe   
    I find thats an awesome statement, with some very constructive criticism. Like from here +1
    But it seems you havnt understood yet what the course of the game was intentionally was.
    It was allways intended that people are not needed to go mining, but its just one of many sources to make money.
    This patch helps to boost the Trading, so that people trade more and mine less.
    In my over 3 years with allmost 4000 hours of playing DU, the beta had the worst experience so far, because everyone was forced to go mining.
    The markets are not used much rn, because trading ores give the best profit.
    Not many people were trading Elements or Honeycomb, because Ore gave the most money and everyone had theyr own industry to produce anything on theyr own within a month or two.
    With this patch you will see allmost empty markets at first, because everyone will buy anything they can, befor the prizes will rise to never seen hights.
    So this is your chance to make a lot of Quanta you will need after the patch. Not for buying ore, but for buying Elements others produce.
    After the patch the markets will fill again with very high prizes at first, but then the market will regulate itself to a very low prize again for Elements for a short time until they are all sold and even big orgs have sold anything from theyr storage to get any quanta they can.
    Even components will get a value on the markets, because not everyone will be able to produce final products.
    Then it depends on your trading skills, how many money you can get out of it by being active and fast on the markets.
    This patch helps to balance the economy without a wipe.
    Its far from done, and we will see even more so called "nerfs"... but as i see it as an economist in reallife, that this patch was really needed to make trading more interresting and mining less neccessarry.
    Quanta gets much more viable and solo megafactorys within a month without making any profit out of it gets busted.
    If you need any trading tips, to get rich, way better than with mining or as an industrialist, just PM me ^^
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