[[Discussion] DevBlog: The Mission System]

8 minutes ago, FatRillos said:

So basically it's a cheap rip off of the eve contract system. Let's stop calling them missions. 

 

Many of us do this already. Without a game mechanic. It's called discord trade channel.

1 minute ago, blazemonger said:

It's another half done copy of an EVE mechanic, yes.

 

If you want to just compare things back to other games, then Elite;Dangerous, No Mans Sky, Empyrion, Everspace and many more are just rip-offs from Eve.

Of course some games will have similar features to others. If the feature works for the game, then why not have it also? Seems like common sense to me.

As for half-done: Why would we want the exact same system that CCP uses for Eve, in DU? Do we have NPC space stations and such for the pre-set destinations? Also, player constructs usually consist of many cores, so would you list ALL the players cores in the game as pre-set destinations to choose from? Seems rather silly to me... I'm glad they are implementing a basic version and then tailoring it to DU's style that straight up copying another games setup.


Now, my question is if they will consider being able to create 'Loans' to players, so that you can help someone invest in something and they agree to pay it back (and maybe with interest) over time? Giving, say a construct they have or items as collateral...

[Dec 7 Twitch Q&A - Let's Discuss!]

Hi Naunet and the rest of the team! As you'd expect, I have some questions I would like to put forward to JC. However, as an avid tester who is always under NDA, some of my questions also follow into this category. So! I shall ask ones that are not under NDA here and ask you to PM me sometime if I am able to put forward my NDA questions that may be fine to reveal on the big day?

So in no particular order.

1) JC has previously mentioned in the stream (I believe with TwoAngryGamers) that there was a concept for Mining Drones to be able to assist players in mining resources. Is this something that NQ still intend to look into implementing / bringing back from the scrap bin?

2) In regards to PvP, ammunitions and weapons currently require tier 3 resources to make. This puts PvP access out of many basic players reach, as not every planet has the Tier 3 resources required and as the game progresses through it's development, its only natural to think Tier 3 resources will become harder to obtain. What are NQs plans to ensure that ammunition, basic weapons and PvP in general is open and accessible to all players, regardless of subscription age?

3) Its already known that NQ plan to implement other resources in the game (some of us will know from NDA more than most) but when these do come into affect, say in the next solar system, will there be provisions placed in the current solar system so that those players who have invested a lot of their personal time, energy and resources into their bases don't feel forced to then pack everything up and move to the new solar system to keep up with the games development? Essentially making the previous solar systems redundant.

4) We know that tiles will be gaining stats of their own, in regards to their power supply capabilities but also what chosen resource they will provide to automated tile miners. However, during the Beta progression, there have been issues with tiles not working as intended, with various errors and issues with them which have had to be converted over to Aphelia in the mean time. Has NQ been able to look into the cause of this issue and will these tiles be ready and able for capture when these tile stats come into play?

5) Automated tile miners have been said to be coming to the game. However, a lot of people are concerned about the word "automated" attached to them, as this goes against JC's vision to not have anything fully automated (does not require a player interaction) within the game. Is it possible to elaborate on how these automated tile miners will work to ensure that they still require player interaction from time to time, along with other possible limiting factors? Such as power consumption / internal storage capacities?

6) We have our first tick box on the login screen for the road map! Yay! But is NQ possibly getting a little ahead of themselves with this? Whilst it is nice to have salvage ships back in the game, the tick box does also state "abandoned outposts" which do not currently exist. When can we expect these to be added also and will the limit of just 100 salvage ships in the whole solar system be increased? Will they respawn?

 

7) One of the main features from the Feedback poll is Asteroid Mining and JC has referenced this himself quite often in the recent streams. Is this something that is now in the planning / design stages and will this include the update to mining via hand only; construct mining?

8] Currently the use of Antigravity ships and warp drives are in abundance. With the upcoming changes to PvP, with the nullifications and power supplies, I imagine these will put some control on these. However, the use of rockets seems to be very much under-used. Through my organisation and personal experience, we feel that rockets just aren't viable or practical. However, with the limitations to AG's, could we also see a rebalance of rockets to bring them up as a possible low power consumption alternative to Anti-Gravs?

 

9) A lot of people are worried how power supply is going to work exactly. Especially with the rather drastic changes already happening to industry. Is NQ in a position to explain more about what we can expect, in terms of similarity to other games? Such as Arks Tech Generator, which powers an area or Satisfactory's power cable design which can be placed anywhere but has to be hooked up to a limited number of units? How will tile power supply limits integrate into static construct supplies?

10) Currently, mining resources can become tedious, which results in boredom. Even with the unique way of finding resources, once found it is simply a case of point and shoot to collect them. Further down and more valuable resources just require a territory scan previously and then either trained talents or depth deposits to mine into with a resurrection node attached for quick extraction. How does NQ plan to make finding and locating resources more of a challenge and exciting? Will there ever be more rich nodes for better yields? Perhaps territory scanners could have a mini game in order to operate to some extent? And could we possibly see a connection timer to resurrection nodes, stopping them from being a quick mining op extraction mechanic?

11) We know that element skins via a cosmetic store will eventually make it into the game, which excites many but also creates caution. Is NQ happy to confirm straight out that the only things being sold via the store will be cosmetic? And will NQ consider allowing player submissions of skins to be sold in game for a cut of the sales, such as with Warframe and their TennoGen skins?


Hmm.... I'm sure there was more but my minds gone blank for now

[Industry Planning Simplified!]

Thanks for the feedback thus far. I have updated the initial post, with instructions on how to get the XML file safely and easily, whilst attachments are not working on the Forums

[Industry Planning Simplified!]

Just now, Sambo726 said:

Works great. One issue I did find is your xml file will only work with the online version. Desktop version doesn't load your custom legend.

Yes, I have heard this from several sources now... not sure why this is though. The xml is made with the use of the website itself, as its the scratchpad feature. Maybe because I made it on the website? Might not like the app? I'm not sure... I may have to download the app and see if I can figure out why and if there's anything I can do to correct this.

[Industry Planning Simplified!]

57 minutes ago, Sambo726 said:

Attachment unavailable. DU forum attachments are bugged at the moment.

Yup, in the mean time people can freely PM me on Discord for the xml file. It will also be available in the Discord run by Juvenious also and kept up to date there too. Still waiting on invite link for it

[Industry Planning Simplified!]

With Beta now out for several weeks, I have been inundated with requests about my simple way to plan factory production lines, that I had shown off during the games Alpha.

Needless to say, since the Beta release, I have been hard at work as a Community Helper and also as the Super Legate of my Guild. But alas, I have finally found some free time to sit down and share a way to make the Industry designing of DU go from Hellish to Simple!

First off:

Firstly I just want to say that this method I will be sharing does NOT replace building calculators, but instead works in tangent with them. A crafting calculator may well tell you all the numbers you need, but it doesn't help organise it all. That is where this will come in to play.

Also it is important that I credit Juvenious, who initially inspired me to make this and showcase it off in Alpha, which garnered more attention than I ever thought possible, and would like to thank him for his encouragement and help in laying out the ground work. Be sure to visit his Discord *HERE* where he is collecting / making up further standards to help simplify tasks.

 

So what is it?

 

The idea was to create a unique set of shapes, that represent one of the industrial factory units in the game, whilst keeping them simple, elegant and familiar in some way to their related task. Then they are placed into a Legend, something that shows you their representation, along with other information as how to interpret the diagrams fully and easily.

 

In essence, we get this, the SL Factory Standard Legend:


As you can see, a lot of the shapes will either look like a basic silhouette of the industry unit they represent or have some other relation to their purpose. The colour coding is also a massive addition to helping keep things simple, as it then allows you to categorise the industrial units together, helping you keep track of the production line in game, with the colours & their order chosen to mimic that of popular MMO games item grades.

* Please note: The Tier system for the Standard is different to that of the one shown in game. Simply put, the differences are:
- In DU, the level of components and subcomponents is broken down into: Intermediary -> Complex -> Functional -> Exceptional. With there being Basic, Uncommon, Advanced, Rare & Exotic tiers.
- In the Standard, it is broken down simply by what the requirements are of the component. i.e. Al-Fe Alloy would be Tier 1, as it requires just Pure to make, which is Tier 0. A Warp Cell would be Tier 5, as the highest tier subcomponent needed to make them, is a Tier 4. Basic, Uncommon etc can be seen as a Grade of item, but does not hold any weight in the Legend or diagrams.

 

This is all very well, but how can I get it?

So to get started, you will want to head over to https://diagrams.net which is completely free and does not need an account. All your documents are saved in real time, to your Google Drive.

The other thing you will need is a copy of the Standard Legend I have created. Luckily, I can easily share this with you on here through an XML file that can be imported into the website, allowing you full access to all the shapes and their formatting that I use. The Legend has gone under several updates already and may change to improve functionality so do keep checking back.

 

SL Standard 1.5.xml

* There is currently an issue with downloading attachments on Forums. You can PM me or visit:
Novean Institute of Standards discord
Planet DU

To upload the XML file, you will want to follow this image below:


(Please note: Select Device if you downloaded the XML file)

This is all great, but how do you use it, exactly?

 

Once you have the XML file uploaded, a blank page waiting for you to start populating, the next thing you're going to want to do is start putting down the relevant icons needed for each individual, unique blueprint that is required, and group them into the Tier colouring system. Once this is done, simply link the icons together, to show where they need to feed into.

This may sound simple... But it could still be absolutely hell, with a plate of spaghetti in the middle. So here's an example:

 

So as you can see above, this is how anyone without talents would want to make TCUs for themselves. For individuals, you could simply remove one of the Assembly Line M units and half the numbers to be able to make 1 TCU for your personal endeavours.

There are some simple, but profound guidelines I follow when making diagrams which I can share with you. These are:
1) Never cross over any lines. If you find yourself boxed in, put the supply in later on, with the containers name for reference to the source. i.e. "Tier 1C"
2) Ensure that your lines always feed from left to right. This will stop any confusion in what is feeding into where. An exception can be seen in the image above, where a feed is coming from Tier 3A, up and looping into the Uncommon Power Transformer, which is fine as the only other connections its joining onto are from other containers, which a container cannot feed into another container without the help of a transfer unit. And we can see there is no transfer unit on the diagram.
3) Always name your containers and keep track of how many links they need to output to. If you find you are over the limit of 10 links out, look into either splitting up your base production to feed into a 2nd container, use a transfer unit for a 2nd container and/or increase your talents to reduce the build times, resulting in needing less industry units for efficiency.

So? What are you waiting for? Get drawing!

Practice makes perfect, after all  And speaking of such, if you have any feedback or issues with this post, the XML file itself or have any other concerns or questions, please post them here without reservation!

-Soulinks

[Website & Program Updates]

Better to delay and get it done right, than release shoddy and incomplete features.

 

Thank you for the clear and concise information involving these decisions made and we hope all works out well in the end.

 

We look forward to the completed vision of Dual Universe!