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Thainz

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I propose that a cad like software is put into the game so builders can build more advanced structures and ships. I think this should be done from a "cad bench" where the builder can use a cad program in game to make a blue print for a ship/structure. once the blue print is made a building robot (or robots) will then use materials to build the structure in the cad model. in the cad program the units will be in terms of Voxel size. for example if you put down a small core of 1 unit would be the side length of that core. As far as Parts, such as the core, motors... ect.. those could be elements that could be placed in the cad file as another part in an assembly. 

 

Adding cad for building would make many much more interesting structures and would be another area for players to specialize in. although cad is relatively complicated, it is not difficult to learn,  and players who do not want to learn can still use the voxel system. Cad would be like LUA is, not all players can do it, but if you learn it you can do more. 

 

As far as the difficulty and system load of a cad program, I imagine that it would not be that difficult. Onshape is an example of a low load server based cad program. It is simple and can be run off of chrome yet it is extremely powerful. 

 

Limits can be put in place for size so a player cannot make a thousand super fine lines. In addition most elements in the game are 3d files so custom 3d files may be easy enough to render. 

 

If not a full fleged cad program then possibly tools such as,  extrude, filet,  champ-fer, loft, and rotate would be nice and would add a lot.

 

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Won't be implemented, have to find the quote though first. 

 

Building and designing will take place ingame and will use ingame resources. Which makes much more sense for a MMO

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I would like to see "prototype" in a game sandbox mmo like DU then.

 

Trial and error will be a thing in DU, it make more sense and advanced for veteran.

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2 hours ago, Lethys said:

Won't be implemented, have to find the quote though first. 

 

Building and designing will take place ingame and will use ingame resources. Which makes much more sense for a MMO

@Lethys This would be in game. Similar to Lua scripting where you have a access point to code, or a computer station, there would be a cad design station where you could  make a blueprint. If you really wanted to you could build these features into the voxel building mechanism. Or just have simple cad like sketch and extrude with simple curves, or filet or loft sweep and revolve if you want to bring it to the next level. As far as resources go, the robot that builds the structure would have access to storage for the materials it would use, and like a 3D printers uses filiment, the robot would use resources.

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2 hours ago, Thainz said:

@Lethys This would be in game. Similar to Lua scripting where you have a access point to code, or a computer station, there would be a cad design station where you could  make a blueprint. If you really wanted to you could build these features into the voxel building mechanism. Or just have simple cad like sketch and extrude with simple curves, or filet or loft sweep and revolve if you want to bring it to the next level. As far as resources go, the robot that builds the structure would have access to storage for the materials it would use, and like a 3D printers uses filiment, the robot would use resources.

Yes, i know. But there's a quote from nyzaltar somewhere where He states that designing and building always use material. There is no planning/design tool planned. If you want to design/build a ship you actually have to use material for it

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@Lethys I found this in the wiki and it seems like there is a possibility of a separate simulator where blueprints and designs can be made. this makes me think that a cad like blueprinting station could be possible in game. 

  •  A Virtual Simulator or Creative Mode where builders could design constructs in a peaceful environment.[9] For flyable constructs, they would be flyable without risk of crashing or wasting resources.[9] This also would provide a safe space where constructs can be designed without using a massive amount of resources.[10]
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in addition @NQ-Nyzaltar posted in the Devlog on building, "Virtual Simulator: enabling player to enter a virtual world (call it ?inception syndrome?!). While in that virtual space, the player would be able to design any construct, in a completely peaceful setting. This would help builders to design their construct and create their blueprints safely, without being interrupted by any PvP action. For ships, it will also be possible to test their flight mode, without risking a crash or wasting resources!" 

 

So again I think that having a cad like format/drafting tool will make the creation of ships and constructs that could be immensely more complex, smooth and creative for those who wish to learn how use it. 

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we have ambigious replies from devs on that topic, i wouldn't take any of them as the truth for now.

As for the building tools/cad editor etc., as far as i know they are temporary and will be reworked for the final release, that means while we wont have an ingame cad editor we still might see the most important editing tools we know and love from cad.

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8 hours ago, vylqun said:

we have ambigious replies from devs on that topic, i wouldn't take any of them as the truth for now.

As for the building tools/cad editor etc., as far as i know they are temporary and will be reworked for the final release, that means while we wont have an ingame cad editor we still might see the most important editing tools we know and love from cad.

That would be amazing! it was chilling to see the smoothing tool used  with such remiss to try and create smooth faces. I still hold out hope that a drafting or planning station could be created. or at least a sketch and extrude tool.

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@Thainz: "CAD" functionality such as sketching, dimensioning, and measuring aren't directly compatible with a voxel engine.  You could use a CAD system (such as onshape.com, which I use) to draw up a schematic, but you'll still have to translate that into voxels yourself.  It wouldn't automatically convert in-game. Sure, if you were a NQ employee, you could use their tools to import 3D models into voxels, but that won't be available in game. 

 

However, you can certainly use an engineering schematic created in an external CAD program with measurements to be far more precise with your voxel placements to make the most precise final version possible.. 

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47 minutes ago, CodeGlitch0 said:

CAD" functionality such as sketching, dimensioning, and measuring aren't directly compatible with a voxel engine.

@CodeGlitch0 why could these functions not be achieved in a voxel based engine? If applied to standard building a single unit would be the same as a the side length of the core it is attached to. 

 

In addition, I was thinking of something more similar to the lua functionality in dual universe, where there is a lua control panel where people can utilize advanced codeing. Instead of a control panel for code, there would be a cad station where you could use a cad program to create more specialized ships, then export them as blueprints, to be built by manufacturing units. Elements (Rockets, cockpits, etc....)  would be put into the ship through an assembly feature as another part, (just like Onshape) and then exported as part of the ship.

 

by the way I love Onshape!

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"Directly" being the operative word, I guess. Voxel structures aren't based on edges and vertices like most 3D models. Edges and vertices for display are derived from voxel data.

 

That doesn't mean it can't be done, it requires something to do the conversion. In fact, the NQ team did just that to import models into the game for demo videos, etc. But, by nature of the gameplay, that won't be available to the general player. We'll have to manipulate the voxels the old fashioned way.

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Voxel engines can convert meshes into voxels and vice verca, because they are rendering them as meshes and not voxels.

 

So creating a model in any CAD or direct modeller (CAD systems doesn't work with edges and vertices like direct modellers do) and importing the mesh into the game would be possible, however NQ has sad, that you won't be able to do that.

 

 

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On 5/8/2018 at 6:43 PM, Thainz said:

I propose that a cad like software is put into the game so builders can build more advanced structures and ships. I think this should be done from a "cad bench" where the builder can use a cad program in game to make a blue print for a ship/structure. once the blue print is made a building robot (or robots) will then use materials to build the structure in the cad model. in the cad program the units will be in terms of Voxel size. for example if you put down a small core of 1 unit would be the side length of that core. As far as Parts, such as the core, motors... ect.. those could be elements that could be placed in the cad file as another part in an assembly. 

 

Adding cad for building would make many much more interesting structures and would be another area for players to specialize in. although cad is relatively complicated, it is not difficult to learn,  and players who do not want to learn can still use the voxel system. Cad would be like LUA is, not all players can do it, but if you learn it you can do more. 

 

As far as the difficulty and system load of a cad program, I imagine that it would not be that difficult. Onshape is an example of a low load server based cad program. It is simple and can be run off of chrome yet it is extremely powerful. 

 

Limits can be put in place for size so a player cannot make a thousand super fine lines. In addition most elements in the game are 3d files so custom 3d files may be easy enough to render. 

 

If not a full fleged cad program then possibly tools such as,  extrude, filet,  champ-fer, loft, and rotate would be nice and would add a lot.

 

That would be great to have! Maybe have some zip file to download all the most used elements, and then a zip file for each category or something. 

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@QueejonInstead of having to use a separate Cad program dual should have an in game program accessible via an in game “cad bench”, in this bench you would have the ability to use a simple cad program (similar to Onshape) to create ships and structures. The assembly tab of said “cad bench” is where you would insert elements such as the gyro, engines, cockpit, etc...

 

sadly dual has said they will not allow imports to the game so an in game “cad bench” would be one of the few ways to create more complex, persice and dynamic structures and ships. An even better way to specialize in building.

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6 hours ago, Lethys said:

 

I doubt we will ever See such a thing

Thanks. Just read through the thread, and I think a creative mode would work better than a CAD import or Bench, simply because the in game building mechanics are the way they are for many reasons. The creative mode also gives more options like testing resources needed or how well it handles, while Cad imports would have to have their program running the same physics engine as DU. The chances of that is unimaginably small. As for the Cad Bench, I think it would be pointless to make another building system to the game when we already have a pretty great one. It puts more stress on the developers than I think any of us want to see, because this undertaking would be like starting the game again. This option would delay other features for months possibly. 

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27 minutes ago, Queejon said:

Thanks. Just read through the thread, and I think a creative mode would work better than a CAD import or Bench, simply because the in game building mechanics are the way they are for many reasons. The creative mode also gives more options like testing resources needed or how well it handles, while Cad imports would have to have their program running the same physics engine as DU. The chances of that is unimaginably small. As for the Cad Bench, I think it would be pointless to make another building system to the game when we already have a pretty great one. It puts more stress on the developers than I think any of us want to see, because this undertaking would be like starting the game again. This option would delay other features for months possibly. 

Just keep in mind that there won't be a creative mode for a long time and it won't be a single player instance or something nor will it be using free resources (as stated there). It's a delicate subject which needs to be implemented carefully (NQ certainly doesn't want to kill the game by giving everyone free and unlimited resources to  play with) - and we might see it in some patch, or not at all. 

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On 5/26/2018 at 9:31 AM, Lethys said:

Just keep in mind that there won't be a creative mode for a long time and it won't be a single player instance or something nor will it be using free resources (as stated there). It's a delicate subject which needs to be implemented carefully (NQ certainly doesn't want to kill the game by giving everyone free and unlimited resources to  play with) - and we might see it in some patch, or not at all. 

Actually he said it won't give free resources in the real game.  So it will have free resources, but they will only be usable for prototyping.  

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  • 5 weeks later...

I feel as though this would be over kill. Using a free CAD designer online before actually doing it in game is a great idea, but there is no reason it needs to be in game. Just pre-plan, pick your resource type and build away. You'll see if it works, or doesn't and if it doesn't then back to the drawing board. It's a part of the design process. 

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