Haunty

You can turn it on for an element by looking at the element and pressing U key. It will highlight yellow and when you place the other element it will highlight yellow when it is in the right place

You can turn it on for an element by looking at the element and pressing U key. It will highlight yellow and when you place the other element it will highlight yellow when it is in the right place

I have opposite view. Less intervention from NQ on the game market is better for long term play. Right now, after wipe, most of potential suppliers are focused on rebuilding their factories and chaines of supplies. So those who don't want to build their own factories, can only wait (or build them ofc). Be patient. Bots are simple but very lazy solution and we shouldn't ask for lazy solutions.

There is a tutorial now in Beta that walks you through the basics. I'd expect tutorial videos on youtube soon now that NDA is lifted.

Why adopt an anti-cheat system?
It’s no secret: Cheating is prevalent in many multiplayer games. It’s an even bigger problem in a Single-Shard metaverse with PvP, like Dual Universe. Therefore, we needed to put several safety measures in place to ensure a fair game for all players. Our client anti-cheat implementation is one of these measures. The main goal of the EQU8 anti-cheat system we adopted is to prevent modification of the game client as a lot of cheats rely on these modifications in order to access hidden data, automate actions, or display extra information to the cheater. For example, a "wall hack" usually reads the other players positions in the game memory and overlays these on the game’s interface. The anti-cheat system has other roles too, but we don't want to enter into too technical details here. We’re no anti-cheat experts, especially client-side. On the other hand, EQU8 has a dedicated team working on it full time. They also gather experience from other games, so it makes sense to use their solution, which is already up and running, as well as their experience and availability to help us in that regard.  
Why using a client side solution instead of securing the Server ?
 
Client-side security is usually considered a bad thing, as the computer is controlled by the player. Indeed. In an ideal world, all controls and all security measures should be server-side. 
 
However, there are two good reasons to also use a client-side anticheat:
There are controls which are difficult to implement server-side, and which we don’t have any clever solution yet, nor the time to work on for now. For example, loading the game physics for all players at the same time, and ensuring no one is passing through walls, is nearly impossible to do in real-time. In security, there is also a notion called “in depth defense”. It acknowledges a system can never be 100% secured and thus requires several layers of security. If one fails, the second prevents further escalation.  
We know a client-side anticheat cannot be 100% bullet-proof. However, it does increase the technical requirements of any client-side attack. The better the anticheat solution is, the more skills and time are required… up to the point where the effort is not worth the gain.  This means two things: less active cheats in the game, and more time for us to identify those who fall between the cracks. Of course, it does not mean we are leaving our Server unprotected; Another reason why we delegated the client-side anticheat to an external partner is that it leaves us more time to work on the Server. And just to be clear, what we’re saying is not a challenge to attract any sort of attack here ?
 
Why EQU8?
It’s less intrusive than other, similar third-party solutions, and aims to respect players' privacy.
For example, EQU8 only gathers information when the game is running (and few personal data altogether). They also insisted to not get any personal data from us (like players emails or username); we only send an anonymous player identifier. You can check their FAQ at https://equ8.com/faq, and their privacy policy at https://equ8.com/assets/privacy.pdf for more details. It has low performance impact (actually, it’s almost imperceivable) and good reputation regarding false positives and potential crashes. The EQU8 team is very responsive and engaged. This is a big strength of theirs, and we greatly appreciate their unconditional support! The solution is very flexible and configurable, which is important because Dual Universe is a complex game that often requires specific tuning. Oh, and the most important: it detects cheaters efficiently. ?  
Launcher changes
The anti-cheat needs to install a Windows service on its first run to work properly. This requires administrator privileges, which is why the launcher requests them. This service only runs with the game. If the game is stopped, so does the service. Please also keep in mind that stopping the service on purpose triggers a kick, as it’s interpreted as a cheating attempt. The launcher currently requests administrator privileges on each launch. This is a bug which will be fixed soon. With the introduction of the anticheat, the client will refuse to start if run directly from the binary (Dual.exe). This is expected and is a technical constraint. You need to start the game from the launcher every time.  
What is authorized or forbidden
Modifying the game files is forbidden, (except for the "Game/data/lua" folder (this is the only location where you can add or modify files). Modifying the game cache is forbidden (by default it is located in the directory C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\NQ\DualUniverse\) ; Reading or modifying the game memory is forbidden. Disabling, modifying, or attempting to evade the anti-cheat in any way is forbidden. Playing at the same time with two or more accounts is authorized, but please note, that any form of automating multiple accounts is forbidden Helping someone, or driving someone, to do forbidden actions is obviously forbidden too. Discovering or knowing an issue, bug, or exploit and benefiting from it instead of reporting it to Novaquark is forbidden. Sharing accounts between different people is forbidden. Any action performed on your account is the responsibility of its owner. The Customer Support team won’t be able to help regarding any issues happening due to account sharing. The owner is responsible for any action made with the account. Trying to degrade the game performances of other players for any reason is forbidden. Creating new Lua files for debugging purposes is authorized as long as these are new files imported from in game scripts. In this case, you should put the files in the Game\data\lua\ folder to be able to import them. Using macro programs (like AutoHotKey) or similar hardware tools is authorized as long as you don’t automate gameplay. We consider gameplay as automated (and, thus, forbidden) when the macro or script:
- Takes decisions based on game feedback
- Executes actions for more than a few seconds
- Executes without any user input or when not actively playing the game.
For example, using a macro to keep a button pushed instead of maintaining it is authorized. But using a macro to send a message every hour is forbidden, especially if you are not even in front of your screen.  
What happens to cheaters ?
Our policy is to not issue automatic bans. There is always a human review when the anti-cheat system detects any unauthorized behaviour. Nonetheless, you may temporarily be kicked out of the game if the anti-cheat cannot initialize correctly. Sanctions include (at the discretion of the Novaquark team):
- Removing access to the game, temporarily or permanently (aka ban),
- In case of recurring offenses, the player may get a hardware ban (in this case, the player won’t be able to play the game with any current or future account, even if those accounts were never used for cheating).
- Plus any action required to revert any change made to the game world (removing Quantas or items, restoring constructs state, etc.).
- This list is not exhaustive and may be updated by Novaquark as the team sees fit.  
Why is it forbidden to modify Lua files or import custom DLL ?
 
We know some players or organizations have used local libraries (aka. DLLs) with great success and with good intentions. 
However, this option gives unfair advantages compared to pure in-game scripts (extra CPU capabilities, the ability to execute Internet requests or load/store data on the computer disk for example).
 
Moreover, we don't want players to massively share and use these custom libraries because it has severe security and privacy implications that we cannot control and we want to protect our players (for example, a player in an organization would need to install the organization library to use its scripts and constructs, but this library may as well read all his/her files without his/her knowledge nor consent on the disk, and send them to the author or do almost anything on the computer). Keep in mind that libraries could contain malware too. You don’t want that.
 
Finally, adding or modifying a DLL allows users to modify the game behavior in an arbitrary way, which directly leads to heavy cheating. For example, it allows access to the game’s memory and to escape the anti-cheat verification. We can't secure this at all, so player-made libraries are clearly a no-go security wise.
 
Therefore, after careful examination, we decided to forbid any modification to the game files. This restriction also includes the local Lua files as they contain security measures to ensure the game integrity and players privacy (for example, you could load a library by editing the global.lua file; this file is also responsible to make sure in-game scripts cannot read personal documents on your computer). The exception to this rule are files found in: "Game/data/lua" folder (this is the only location where you can add or modify files
 
Developers may still create new Lua files for debugging purposes if they want to (these files will be under control because global.lua is loaded first and sets up safeguards for any file loaded after itself).
 
 
Could player-made libraries be integrated after NQ’s validation ?
 
Having a process to submit, review, and integrate libraries looks good on the paper. However, code review is a tedious process. It is a lot harder than checking an image. There would be technical challenges to integrate them into the game too. Also note that we don't want to transform Lua scripts into full-fledged operating systems. They are simply supposed to be lightweight scripts, not full-fledged operating systems. ?️
 
Thus, we don't want to engage this process, at least in the near future. We simply don’t have the time or resources for this at the moment.
 
 
EQU8 is not compatible with Linux / consoles
 
Unfortunately, EQU8 does not work under Linux, even with Wine. This is due to the Windows functions it uses to protect the game’s integrity, which are different from other operating systems. This is a trade-off we had to make between having a fair game (without cheats) and compatibility.
 
Most players and games are on Windows. Thus, very few anti-cheat solutions support Linux (even less with good support). Because of this, we did not find an anticheat solution which works on Linux and suits our needs. However, please note that this decision doesn't prevent us from adding an alternative anti-cheat solution in the future, in case we decide to officially support Linux systems or consoles later on. Nothing prevents us from having a different anti-cheat for each platform. ?
 
We hope you found this FAQ about anti-cheats useful and helped to understand better why we chose EQU8.
 
Best Regards,
The Novaquark team
 
Last updated: October 5, 2020

Hey all, I been a fan of this game from the start, however was not involved in it Alpha period. But as we are coming up to Beta, thought maybe it time to introduce myself.
  Ex-EVE player (suspect there a few of us on here!) been playing MMOs since the days of Anarchy Online. Haven't really played MMOs for quite a while as I just grew tired of the slog that I kept bumping into, and personal life was interrupting quite a lot at the time. Looking to make a fresh start and enjoy my gaming again with this game.
  My goals in this game is to enjoy and find my niche. Having not actually played it myself, im planning to just enjoy the first couple of weeks or months possibly just exploring the possibilties, take stock of the rewards I gotten from my pledges that will be available to me, and then decide what I want out of this game and what direction I want to take.
  In EVE I was mostly on the Mining side, expanding into exploring through wormholes and just in general going exploring anywhere. I probably, unless something else catches my eye, will continue in this vein.
  So I hope to see some of you guys around (or not if you are a goon) and fly safe people!

I'm interested in creating an organization made of solo players to have a place to share ideas, information, trade resources, and maybe find somewhere to call home without having to adhere to strict regulations of traditional organizations.
 
I'm interested in creating a board of directors to oversee direction of the organization and to put the call out to members of Solos End to volunteer in fulfilling the directions of the board. By no means does this suggest that board members or myself would not contribute to the construction of our community. We would not and should not direct the activities of individual members. We are here to have fun and develop individual skills while contributing and sharing ideas, skills, and resources.
 
If you're interested,  please send a PM to me, Aaminuz in game, and we'll build a Freemans Empire together.

They're like jolly pirates, but also pro-community? Like Eve it's the NBSI orgs or specialized gankers you really have to worry about.

They're like jolly pirates, but also pro-community? Like Eve it's the NBSI orgs or specialized gankers you really have to worry about.

Maybe a blessing, you didn't have to wait years ?

I'd love to see something like a navball/attitude indicator popup for space flight, something that can visualize your pitch, yaw, and roll. I know there is the gyroscope, but it seems it lists out that info in x, y grid coordinates. I think the navball/attitude indicator would aid in feeling like you're more in flight/piloting a craft. 

DU is going to do the same kind of thing with reinforcement timers and offline notification, etc. ?

Lots of creators have been doing that for years, and there was no announcement forbidding it, so I'd assume it's not an issue.

No you only need one form of access at a time, either pledge, subscription, or key. Pledge includes both alpha and beta access, keys are just for you to give away

About $21 USD for 3 months (can only buy 3 months at a time minimum during beta). More infos here: https://www.dualthegame.com/en/news/2020/07/06/du-beta-arrives-august-27-at-6-99-accessible-subscription/

Discord is the only place they put most announcements, and this is not NDA forum so we can't say what it is here.
And yeah making plans for testing a release candidate can be risky.

Was thinking about how mining in its current state could get some more depth.
 
What about a "Timing-Minigame" which needs you to release the mouse button (or click a second time) when the mining sphere reached its max size (Maybe a tiny threshold).
Once you timed good you get a buff which lasts like 3 seconds and will give your next mining sphere in its first second of growing a tiny boost like 10%. A tiny start boost of growth could already feel satisfying and make you feel you are in the flow
 
That minigame could be indicated by i circular loading bar which makes a satisfing "blink" in its neutral white color when you timed good. But it should not appear red if you dont since the player shouldnt be punished if he doesnt care about it.

it doesn't really matter if or when it's implemented - it's still a bad idea imho
wdym by infinite resistance? Even IF you have a rez-node nearby to attack someone, you don't automatically have infinite resources. You need guns, ammo, armor,... which you might lose when you die (AVA mechanics aren't a thing yet and haven't been talked about much)
Don't really see this neccessary for ransoms - you can still ask ransoms for bases, territory and ships. No need to punish players with a useless mechanic which only hinders them from playing the game they actually pay for

I then pay for a game on a monthly basis and not be able to play. Sounds like a very good business model to burn down and kill this game 

Looking forward to trying out this game.  Just signed up.  See you all there. 

Jolan Tru everyone, glad to be here and all  (and of course I'm a Trekkie).
 
Few things about myself of course, I'm a sci-fi nerd, I like anything with Star in it (whether it be Star Wars, Stargate, Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica etc) and well versed in my Fantasy novels. I have of course travelled to these reaches of space as part of my Organisations expansion into this game and really look forward in meeting you all in game.
 
Edit: Just a few more tidbits of course:
 
Favourite class of ship: Imperial II-class Star Destroyer
Favourite named ship: USS Excelsior NCC-2000 (a ship is after all only as good as her captain)
Favourite Sci-fi hand held weapon: Zatnikatel 
Favourite Sci-fi Race: Romulans
And of course favourite Starfighter: B-Wing
 
(You can probably tell by my spelling I'm British).

Weekly Update - May 4th - 2020
 
Only one rescue was made this weekend, that's 46 rescues for alpha 3 and 102 overall.
 
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Ardescar assisted @Rudi0043 after they crashed on Thades, you can probably guess why.  ?
 
Outside of rescues, most of our focus this weekend was on the Alioth Areospace Expo! From what I've been told, it's a biannual in-game event that showcases all the creativity the community has to offer. After some of the team expressed interest we had decided that instead of setting up right on the showroom floor that we would create our own private showroom just off to the side. The construction process was complete in a day but it wasn't without its hurdles. 
 
For starters, everything was done on the fly without any pre-planning aside from a basic idea of what I wanted. Initially I thought we were just going to do what we did last year with a flat slab of land, but this years events proved more put together by the AAE which was why the showroom was suggested by one of the team. A structure with smaller craft on the inside on a presentation floor, and a larger construct displayed on the roof. Everyone involved brought along some basic materials to get us started and from there I was left building while the rest of the team flew back and forth to their respective outposts to gather needed materials on demand. Aside from a few symmetry errors early on, I'd say everything came together fairly well for the little time and effort that was put into it. I didn't get to do everything I wished but that was mostly all little details, in the end, everything looked presentable which was the ultimate purpose.
 
In all, five constructs were displayed by @Ardes, @Haunty, and @WolfPilot. A big thanks to all three of you for your presentations as well as the logistics work you did to make this a success for Eyes & Ears. Finally, credit and thanks to @Geo for hosting the event.
 
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Outside the game, a bit of diplomacy is being done. I'll be sure to update you on this hopefully after the next test which starts in 10 days from now. In the meantime, a scheduled wipe will be taking place so everyone will be starting fresh.
 
That's all for now, until next time, fly safe everyone!
 
- DarkHorizon

Hi all, new to DU, but have been lurking for a long time. Seems like the right time to jump in... Except for the 10 day offline period. Joined yesterday and played long enough to get hooked and am really excited to see where this goes. Caught up on the podcast and like what is to come. Excited to be a part of this-
 
Happy to help however I can. My gf and I will be working together as we figure things out. Look forward to meeting some of you.