rmhenn

Hi everyone.
 
Until now, we couldn’t manually manage (remove/promote) Legates in an organization easily on the administration side.
Since Yesterday, we are able to use a feature simplifying considerably the process. 
 
As we already mentioned many times in the past, we (Novaquark) don’t want to involve ourselves in the management of organizations created by players. However, we are also aware that the current (and temporary) state of the management system contains obvious flaws. You know it. We know it. As this is still “work in progress”, we hoped that organizations creators will be reasonable enough to avoid abusing the well-known flaws of the system and would wait that all the rules are implemented before trying to sabotage other organizations. 
 
So we are going to state the obvious here:
It’s ok to “play a bad guy” and use dirty tricks once all the rules are implemented. However, it’s absolutely not ok to start exploiting the flaws of a work in progress system: this is not “playing a bad guy”, this is just toxic behavior and trying to gain an advantage while not playing by the rules.
 
That’s why - despite our will of non-involvement - we will make exceptions until the full implementation of the RDMS (Rights & Duties Management System) for the Organizations.
 
Why did we decide to intervene? 
Two reasons:
1) In the current state, a Legate has much more power than in the final system, due to the minimalistic mechanisms temporarily in place. If in the current system, any Legate has the right to promote a member to Legate status by himself alone, in the final system the default rights will be completely different: promoting a legate will be done only with a vote by majority rule, or the right to promote someone will be given to specific persons and not every Legate.
2) In the current state, a Legate cannot be demoted by any mean (even by the creator of an organization). In the final system, default configurations will allow to demote a Legate with a vote by majority rule. A Legate could also be demoted by specific persons who have been given the right (most probably by the Organization founder) to do so.
 
How is this going to work?
Each organization is going to have one "wild card": if there is a problem with the Legates in an Organization, you can contact the support team at support@novaquark. However, keep in mind we (Novaquark) reserve the right to intervene (or not) on a case by case basis. 
 
Example of a case where we will intervene:
Some Legate using the flaw of the current temporary system to vandalize (or generate troubles in) an organization.
 
Example of a case where we won’t intervene:
Two organizations have merged in one, and now both creators of previous organizations want to mutually exclude each other from the organization. In this kind of case, we won’t remove anyone. We won’t favorize one creator above another. However, we will do our best to help finding a satisfying solution for both parties.
 
As a global reminder:
If someone finds a loophole in the rules in place (that may happen), and this loophole is used to generate trouble and spread a toxic behavior, we won’t stay idle watching the situation deteriorating. 
 
Best Regards,
Nyzaltar.

All right, as this topic is turning into a flame war, and there is nothing constructive left to say, it's going to be locked as well.
 
@Bleep_Bloop:
 
Having some skepticism about the game is understandable and even healthy.
We took the time to answer to your questions several times.
 
However since you started to participate on the forum, you made posts containing only:
- Negativity about the game
- Negativity about the people who endorsed the game
- Negativity about the game monetization model
- Assumptions that you know how business works in video games (while your oversimplified point of view clearly shows the contrary).
- Assumptions that you know what will be the developer decisions on critical matters (and always imagining the worst case scenario).
- Disregard towards opinions different from yours.
- Not understanding (or feigning to not understand) why people start to feel irritated by your attitude and bringing the "fanboy" or "white knight" excuse to avoid questionning your own attitude.
 
There is nothing constructive in your attitude and everything inciting to conflicts.
Again, while being a bit cautious and skeptical can be healthy, your attitude is way beyond that stage and has nothing healthy in it.
So a friendly advice: whether you make an effort of being radically less provocative and a lot more constructive, or we will start removing your posts without a warning.
 
@all:
Please don't feed the troll.
 
Thank you for your understanding.
 
Best Regards,
Nyzaltar.

Let's stay in the frame of the forum etiquette, shall we? Literally insulting your counterpart in a discussion will not make your statements any more credible, don't you think? Because when evading to alternative methods, it's more likely for people to see you as the mentally challenged.
 
I can absolutely see where your arguments are coming from. I was, at first, very disappointed of the seemingly poor marketing choices Novaquark had made. just what you said before was the same I had in mind as well. Almost all the subscription based games turn f2p at some point, and in general, I am in favor of b2p / f2p as well, since it definitely IS the better choice for 95% of games.
 
Sadly for you, nobody was willing to explain the foundation this communitie's opinion is based on, because we discussed it countless times before with no result, as Yamamushi said.
 
 
 
However, with time I, too, realized that there are exceptions. The games that are subscription based are different from the usual mainstream trend of games. Wonderful examples are, as you said, World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy 11 / 14 and Eve Online. All those games can survive because they provide a special service that the usual MMO-genre fails to deliver. They all deliver content on an exceptional scale, regular updates influenced by its playerbase's wishes and features that you can't find in a similar collection in different games. That's why these games' playerbase is loyal enough to return again and again and is willing to pay the subscription. 
Now if we look at Twerk's statements concerning the marketing philosophy of many eastern publishers, we can see why f2p works for these games, but wouldn't work for subscription based games. 
 
The policy of these publishers is to create cheap games, design them in a way that is easy to attract large masses of people by adding features that are well known in the genre and become genre standards (which for example tab-targeting was for many years), harvest the most out of it by creating a small, but efficiently paying group of fans and then leave the game as far as possible to itself while practivally generating money with few effort.
That's why f2p works these days, because people look for that.
What you misunderstand is that we have the problem that a f2p system is not the guarantee for attracting a large playerbase, but they attraction of a large playerbase through a game's features. And let's be realistic, we all here see that DU has tons of potential, but it's not the right game to attract a playerbase of millions in a short time. For that, DU is too unexplored, too new, too risky so to say. It does not deliver all the standard features an international community is looking for in an MMO, for example the absence of quests and NPCs. 
 
You see, Bleep_Bloop, you have it mixed up. Being able to attract a larger playerbase does not result from f2p, it's the other way around. F2p results from being able to attract a large playerbase, a larger one than you would see in a subscription game. Because why pay for one game if you can have many of the same features in another one for free? That's completely in your logic, as you said. 
But DU doesn't belong in that category. It relies on a smaller, but more loyal fanbase, similar to Wolrd of Warcraft. Imagine the millions of people that would rush in and start playing if WoW would go f2p tomorrow. But also imagine the small portion that would actually want to pay for a cash shop. And imagine all the people leaving WoW or simply not paying any longer then.
 
But in order to attract that fundamental playerbase, you need to make some compromises. Imagine if the game would actually be on cost of a AAA game. As Novaquark is a completely new studio, it can not guarantee a successful future of the game, so which larger mass of people would actually be willing to throw $60-ish at them when they can't promise anything? No, instead they decided to give you a free trial period. They decided you don't have to buy the game itself. They even chose to allow to sell the playtime for ingame money. 
 
So you have to see the advantages for you as the player from a subscription based game as well.
The devs are forced to continually improve and expand their game, or they will loose customers. They are also forced to deliver higher quality content than the regular publishers. And they are forced to act after the players' wishes. So you will get a game that is far more consistent than the average f2p, as developers can't just leave it to generate money. Additionaly, you can choose when to p(l)ay. You don't have to pay $156 at a fixed interval for as long as the game exists. Before you pay a regular b2p price for a game, you can play it for 3-4 months at minimum, presumably more since DACs can be bought with ingame money. And that's as long as many players will play it. In the end, the $/hr ratio in subscription based games is not rarely better than in b2p games. And that's also why subscriptions work.
 
 
 
I also see that you've already realized that this game can't afford to lose customers, which contradicts a bit with your last post, but only because you didn't yet reach the final conclusion. Losing customers does not equal losing money in our times. things are a bit more complex, it's 2017 after all.
 
From that statement, you also seem to still be ill informed, which is why I can relate to you as I was in the same position for a longer time as well, as I already said. There is nothing "premium" in this game NQ could sell you. There are no permanent assets in this game due to its own nature.
 
What you ultimately failed to realize because of that, and that's the most important point of all, is that this game is so fundamentally structured to rely on a loyal fanbase that is willing to pay the subsciption and even appreciates it as you can see from the previous posts, that it doesn't even have the choice to go f2p/b2p without completely becoming another standard MMO in the long list of quick cashgrabs.
 
 
 
If you read until here, I respect you for your effort. Please don't think ill of the community, we are just all very tired of this ongoing discussion. There are so many reasons why there is just no other way for this game to become what it aims to be, that somewhere along the way trying to fit it into words we lost the motivation because people just turn around and go as soon as they notice they don't meet like-minded people here or it's not going their way.
But here's your chance for you to be better than that. I have given you a guideline for you to think about, and with time you might also learn to trust Novaquark with their choices, just like I did when I was in your position.

Woops.

Ugh I'm American and I hate everything about the imperial system (except temperature; Fahrenheit is a good measurement for human comfort). Especially unit conversions... Freaking slugs and kips and horsepower... Like come on.
 
Anyway... They did show in the latest video that you can use html and css to create widgets with information about the construct you're in. So as far as that goes, I have a feeling you could make an option to switch between metric and imperial units, or just have widgets in imperial entirely. And ship cockpit interfaces are programmable with Lua. So I don't think you'll have much trouble interpreting things in the game as it will probably be easy to have non-hud information displayed in whatever units you like.

This has to stop some is ok but this is just...
https://community.dualthegame.com/organization/aef-counter-intelligence-agency#tab-members
 https://community.dualthegame.com/organization/the-void-republic#tab-members
https://community.dualthegame.com/organization/dual-secure-mercenaries#tab-members

Yeah dude I know exactly what the issue is.
 
You're using firefox.
 
Do yourself a favor and get chrome.

Hello everyone!
 
I, MasteredRed, would like to announce new services.
 
On inspiration from http://officialproperdies.webs.com/ and other thoughts that make no cohesive sense, I would like to announce DUA WebCake.
 
DUA WebCake is a way to bring life to your website. It allows you to start bringing fame to your organization via a web consulting service. This service offers professional suggestions like the one listed down below.
 
You may ask, why would I want this service? The answer is simple. If you can draw attention to you organization through ANY means possible, then it's worth it.
 
THE GOAL
 
As shown by some organizations, you need to gather attention in order to grow. Once.you make everyone in the forums stare at you like that awkward conversation this morning, then this has done its job
 
HOW IT WORKS
 
To get free advice, email asixthmeme@duafaction.com and get your free advice. Our sixth best meme correspondent will then respond. Take a look at the free advice that has already been provided.
 
EXAMPLES
 
Q:"How can I improve myself and my organization?"
 
A:"First, go back to the Stone Age in thinking. Second, make lots of noise. Third, write what you truly feel about politics in your organization description."
 
Q:"What is your recommendation on what I post to gain attention?"
 
A:"Post pictures of scrambled eggs on your organization home page. People will be curious."
 
Q:"is there any way to gain members now?"
 
A:"Simple! Just start posting your recruitment links in every known location and orifice possible."
 
Q:"Is this a joke?"
 
A:"Only as much as your life."
 
 
Thank you for following this launch of this service. What a wonderful way to start April.
 
*Suggestions may vary from person to person.
*Consult your legate if WebCake is right for you.
*if WebCake turns you on, please consult your family.
*if family can not help your problem, please go into that corner.
*May not work for people with chronic seriousness.
*Thank you.

No. Next question.

Last I checked you never trusted us, or really anyone aside from you and your org. And Red apologized for his honest mistake, there is no reason to hold a grudge about that anymore.

Hello Everyone! So as I mentioned back in a post in this topic, I took advantage of the files in the DualScraper repository that was released.
 
After extracting the data.json file, I split it off into two sections. One for the organizations and one for the users. I then built a python script that could analyze the data files and give you a approximation on how many alts are in any given organization. This means that it detects if the accounts joined the organization on the same day that they were created and they have no pledge status. 
 
I could not detect profile picture, bio, location, and other stuff to help give a better reading, but it should be understandable that these figures are an estimate.
 
That being said, it reveals some information(that I will not discuss due to it being, well, risky for me to say in nature) and can really help us out in later times.
 
 
Now with that being said, there are a couple things that I want to mention about my process of going about this in the first place.
 
Foremost, this is a python script that I wrote in my spare time. It is built for Python3 and should be fairly bugless in nature. Secondly, it is using the data.json from the DualScraper project. Third, I did not scrape the data or use data that was scraped, besides the data.json file included on the repository(I tried. I have a feeling it's my environment setup.)
 
Finally, I should mention that Scraping data off the community site is against the TOS and should not be done. From discussions I've had with NQ though, as long as the data is public, it's presumably fine(but don't take that as a one way ticket out of penalties for scraping. I'm not in charge of the site.)
 
Now you may be asking "but wait? can't I just use the data from http://www.du-stats.com/devtools?"
The answer to that is no. I looked through the data and it does not include join dates. Not to mention it's saved in a csv format.
 
If you want to download the project, go ahead and do it here.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bzoy2iv0ves2h5o/AltFinder.rar?dl=0
I can't wait to see the information that you find.
 
http://www.du-stats.com/devtools/
https://github.com/malignantz/DualScraper/
https://board.dualthegame.com/index.php?/topic/10974-so-many-organisations/?p=48636
 
Declarations:
In no way have I accused any organization of anything, nor do I take responsibility for the accusations to be made because of this. I just provided the tool.
I as well in no way claim that this will find an alt or is the alt finder. It only allows you to make your own conclusions.
I as well did not scrape the data for this project myself(I tried. Again, my environment needs to be cleaned before I can even try)
I do not endorse nor do I defend the practice of scraping. It is against the TOS and should not be done if you can avoid it.

Addition of The Solar Empire
 
Hello Everyone! I would like to inform you that we are adding another organization to the current service. If you would be so kind as to welcome The Solar Empire!
 
https://duafaction.com/tse/
 
Why we are adding them?
 
The Solar Empire is one of the organizations that we contacted before we launched the DUA Services. I have been working with their leader(MrStarWars) in order to determine if they would have valid interest and if they qualified. After running our tests to determine if they were a candidate, we found that they were such. 
 
Their member base is also fairly large, and they did not have a website(Nor is there any plans for one), making them a very interesting example of an organization that can benefit from our services. 
 
Due to their main appeal being roleplay, they did not need as much for their development, relying on their community in part. While I would not go for their approach(obviously. I started this service after all), I am happy to welcome them on-board.
 
Thank you for your interest,
MasteredRed of the Diverse Unified Accord

Hello Everyone!
 
I'd like to welcome you to this topic today to announce the project that the DUA has been working on for a couple weeks now.
 
This service will allow you to have an organization website without the hassle of setting it up yourself. Think of it as a way to create something interesting but not have to have all the worries of updating it and maintaining it that would normally be involved. While this service is by no means complete, it will showcase some early features that we are looking to provide you.
 
https://duafaction.com/vms/
 
https://duafaction.com/tse/
 
Now some of you may ask the purpose. Let me direct you to the below paragraph. 
 
Our Purpose
 
We decided when we began the Diverse Unified Alliance(Now Diverse Unified Accord) that we wanted to help organizations get on stable grounds in Dual Universe and really thrive. In order to do that, we have proposed a number of services in order to find out if they will be able to help organizations. While we can not nearly implement them all at the moment without access to the game, we can add a number of them now. This is the start of those services.
 
We hold our ability to deliver upon these services high and hope that you will find a place for them in your organization.
 
 
What you can expect
 
As we announce this new implementation of our services, let me tell you what you can expect from them:
 
-A custom designed webpage to feature the content you want on there
-Certification for organizations that meet the DUA's standards
-Ability to track the number of visitors to your webpage.
 
As of now, we have implemented these features. For future reference, let me point you to what we plan to add.
 
-Organization management panel
-Tracking of organization statistics
-Multi-page organization hosting
 
We aim to pave the way for organizations to host their own content. While we can not reveal all our plans, I will go down to the details below.
 
Cyrule Certification 
 
Cyrule Certification is a service for the individual member that allows them to vet whether the organization they are looking at is a valid and proper organization. In the future, such things may become a problem. As this services implies, Cyrule of the Diverse Unified Accord will examine each organization to ensure that they follow the standards below:
 
-Does not contain Alternative Accounts(Alts)
-Does not scam members
-Does not engage in malicious practices
-Looks to provide a worthwhile experience to its members
 
If your organization abides by the standards above, then it is likely to be certified by our Cyrule branch.
 
Requirements
There are requirements for entry into this service. This is in part due to the fact that I'm not going to pay for large scale server hosting(like NQ). nor do I want to make a product that would eventually cause problems on a community scale(Needing to put your organization on multiple sites to attract attention).
 
So, because of such, the following requirements are involved for your organization to be selected as a candidate or for you to apply for these services:
 
-Does not contain many Alternative Accounts
-Does have good standing with the community
-Does look to gain a website
-Does not tick me angry(ie. enemy)
 
Additions to the above aforementioned requirements, the following does help your case of your organization's ability to join this service:
 
-Is a friend of the DUA
-Is a friend of CSYN
-Is lead by a 'community leader'
-Is small in size and looking for assistance
-Is getting backing by some people or other organizations
 
Conclusion
 
These services are still under heavy development and will need more time to branch out. However, we offer early adopters a chance to be engaged in the early design process and give them an opportunity to make something great of this service.
 
My name is MasteredRed of the Diverse Unified Accord. I thank you for your time.

I don't even know how to respond to this

That explains a lot.

That explains a lot.

That explains a lot.

As some of you already pointed out, the "Intergalactic Banking Federation" (IBF) had an extremly high growth in the last days. Founded on the 1st of march, they already have 65 members. Nearly all those accounts were created in the last 5 days. There were 26 new members in one day. That's more than 1317 orgs got in their whole time of existance. I'd like to ask NQ to either delete this whole organization or the fake members. This is a problem that many online games have but we should start fighting against it as soon as possible.

Are you the next Jack Sparrow or Blackbeard? Do you reek of rum and have a peg-leg fetish? Are you 60% water? Is your sign Virgo with Leo as your horoscope. Congratulations, you are eligible to apply for a figurehead position in Cybrex's ship, the Majestic Honeybadger.
 
Please, send 1 paragraph application letter to Cybrex (or any of his 192 alts). Tell us why you think you are eligible to be the figurehead of the Majestic Honeybadger, and your take on the Development of Affordable Housing in Third World Countries, as well a thesis on the increasing scarcity of peg-legs for aspiring pirates.
 
You may ask youself "why is Cybrex not making an alt and then hiring his alt as a figurehead", the answer to that, is diabetes, as we coat our ships in the candy we stole from babies and his foot-long beard has ended diabetic after devouring one too many doughnuts.
 
How did he achieve a foot-long beard? It's simple, he used the souls of the damned trapped in Davy Jone's chest to will it out of his face.
 
You can find Cybrex in your local pirate hideout, in Discord, or - most likely - in a hair salon, where he gets his beard combed.
 
If you want to make a donation of acids (like vitriol) please contact the Chief of Toxic Waste Handling and Enviromental Polution Initiative overseer, CaptainTwerkmotor.

Yama don't be mean. lol

Yama don't be mean. lol

Yama don't be mean. lol

​Acknowledgement and Apology
 
 
Hello everyone, I am making this post to ackowledge that I was in the wrong from the start. I want to appoligize for my past comments and behavior towards the community. It all started with the spam issue, and everything errupted from there. I am sorry how I did not take the advice as I should have. We have made many mistakes, and I sincerely am sorry for how everything has turned out because of these mistakes. For example, we messaged too many users to help promote our organization. Also, we did not take the advice given with the amount of respect it deserved. Yes, we failed to generate good relations with many organizations. I am extremely sorry-
 
    And would like to say I am now working on my attitude towards the community. I will show more effort into taking advice. I will learn from the mistakes I have made in the past, and show all the effort I can to fix our damage. We have done a lot wrong, and have treated the community in ways that are not okay. As you can tell a lot of mistakes have been made. That is now in the past, as I will do everything I can to improve our relations, and not repeat the mistakes.
 
    As I will try my very best, I am asking everyone to also be a bit more peaceful towards us. Start fresh, and speak about the future. If we can all make an effort to fix the past mistakes and start fresh, I see an amazing future. Also, I have taken all of the advice in the past into consideration now. I am using it to help fix this reputation.
 
I am sincerely sorry for everything that has happened. And am sorry how the relations played out in return.
 
Let's try our best to be more open, and give me one last chance. Yes, I should earn my relations back, but also don't make it so tough that it is not worth it..
​Thank you all for the advice, as I will try my best to improve everything. I will change in attitude and work hard to remain in peace.
 
Shout out to:
- The Solar Empire -
- Cinderfall Cindicate -
- Terran Union -
- DUA -
- ODY -
- BOO -
- Alpha academy -
- The Aether -
- VMS -
- Chuckling Casket -
- CI -
 
 
 
 
- Thanks, - The Ruler, - mmtheboss - The Void Republic -

For some parts of the world, the holidays are coming up for most of us. Just want to take the time to remind everyone to reach out to old friends, loved ones, and even strangers. Tell them you appreciate them and love them. Holidays are the worst time of the year for suicides, and sometimes all it takes is a phone call to remind someone that others love them.
 
Besides the sappy stuff, get drunk, party, kick your cat, and crap in your family members stockings. Share the love, be safe while traveling, and always bring your towel with you. 
 
PS: Call your mom.
 
Thanks,
Cybrex
 
 

Hi there,
 
Just to clarify a few things, to avoid any misunderstanding.
We don't want to enforce a strong censorship.
 
The idea of playing a character with a journalistic role, intending to unravel the dark side of some organizations is very nice and can bring a lot to the community. However, to make it work (meaning: to be accepted by other players), there should be a few rules. One of the most important rule is to avoid mixing "in character" and "out of character" information, to avoid mixing "roleplay" and "IRL".
 
The problem lies in some grey areas:
What is said on Discord is often said "out of Character" (OOC). It's not in-game and it's often not roleplay. The moment "out of character" information is taken into account in a "in character" dialog or text, conflicts between players will rise: It won't be seen as roleplay anymore, but as an attempt to undermine or even discredit players, because it involves what the players say, not what their character say.
 
It's the same as aiming at becoming the most infamous pirate in the game:
To play the most hated scum of the galaxy doesn't mean you need to be rude with other players when talking to them "Out of Character", on a forum or any other media. Be courteous IRL, Be ruthless and rude in-game, and you will get your infamous reputation and be able to cultivate it. Be rude everywhere, and a majority of players won't even want to interact with you. 
 
All in all: 
- We hope to see journalist characters revealing the bad side of organizations in-game.
- We hope to see infamous pirates causing troubles in-game.
- However, we don't want to see unnecessary drama spreading on the forum or fueling them through the forum by using "Out of Character" stuff.
Regarding the forum, except for the section about the Lore and Roleplay, the other sections should be considered "Out of Character".
 
P.S: as it might not be obvious for non-native english speakers, "Out of Character" is used in the message above with the first definition described here in mind:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=out%20of%20character
 
Best regards, 
Nyzaltar.