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General Backstory/Setting


Cybrex

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I've been reading the Lore updates (which so far have been fantastic) and was curious to know when we could expect a general setting/explanation/back story of DU from where creative writers such as myself can jump in do fan-based short stories. After reading everything so far, my mind is exploding with ideas but with nothing to really guide them yet.

 

I understand things are currently in the very early developmental stages, so even a ballpark guess would quench my thirst for now. ;)

 

- Lego

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The big backstory of DU can be found on the DU website under "Backstory". Basically, the Pegasus constellation explodes,, resulting in a massive neutron star that comes hurtling towards Earth, causing its imminent demise. The UN build giant arkships (project Rebirth) to transport huge populations indefinitely until a habitable planet comes along. The trip lasts around 10,000 years, with all passengers in cryosleep, and Mr. Decker is one of those new colonists chosen to rebuild human civilization.

 

So there it is. :)

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The big backstory of DU can be found on the DU website under "Backstory". Basically, the Pegasus constellation explodes,, resulting in a massive neutron star that comes hurtling towards Earth, causing its imminent demise. The UN build giant arkships (project Rebirth) to transport huge populations indefinitely until a habitable planet comes along. The trip lasts around 10,000 years, with all passengers in cryosleep, and Mr. Decker is one of those new colonists chosen to rebuild human civilization.

 

So there it is. :)

 

I understood that portion, I guess what I meant to say, is what sort of setting will be at the initial start for DU when the game goes live. Notable powers, characters etc.

 

I understand the goal is to make it player driven, but I am certain that they will have an initial story/plot setup to kind of set the rest of the theme after they arrive to their new home.

 

- Lego

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I understood that portion, I guess what I meant to say, is what sort of setting will be at the initial start for DU when the game goes live. Notable powers, characters etc.

 

I understand the goal is to make it player driven, but I am certain that they will have an initial story/plot setup to kind of set the rest of the theme after they arrive to their new home.

 

 

Ah now I understand. Sorry for the misunderstanding :P I guess we'll just have to wait and see what NQ cooks up.

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I figure they're thinking about that. I have been pondering and extrapolating the possibilities from the bits of lore, probably some kind of reconstituted U.N. and maybe a Rogue AI hellbent on 'saving' the human race even if it means war, exploiting peoples minds and bodies by using techno-trickery to get super high efficiency out of its members.

 

Beyond the Arkship though, I'm thinking that there wont be much of any NPC factions, mostly players, and their machinations. unless they intend for PVE to become big, in which case.. maybe well see the rise of a NPC Warlord, that commands legions of pirates.

It's relatable though, at least in terms of character stories, If lore comes out that breaks or reinforces the kind of character you want to role-play it can be quite crushing or lifting.

 

Above is just my speculation, and below is my wishy-washy dreams for a player organisation but hey feel free to read into me.

 

I have high hopes of establishing an Imperial Bloc of guilds that might operate something like a imperial confederacy or even similarly the Holy Roman Empire of old.

I imagine a large player run empire trying to focus on being good guys, which often just means you're the bad guys. But defending Alioth and leaving it relatively open for newbies, while operating a empire from another planet. and each member kingdom / guild contributing to the military efforts of the empire at large, having honorable fights between each other for sparring and handling of disputes. Possibly, depending on what kind of scripting is allowed, the creation of a in game currency, or the collecting of a rare good to act as a reserve currency, and doing the other dastardly thing's empires do like designing cool ships and telling people whats right and wrong.

I started working on a draft constitution and series of bills to reinforce how it could work, but I lost focus half way through. I just feel the game is so far out that much will change by time it comes to 'empire' building.

 

Lastly, give it a shot, I think if you have a good mind and could write a reasonable concept for a faction, based on what we know. and are able to explain why or how it should work, they are fairly open to listening and there is already evidence of the team listening to the community.

there have been many instances, but a recent one in the lore part 2 it was brought up about the type of metal the arkship was made out of, and in lore part 3 they more or less explained it. 

If you have something show it off, the worst that happens is NovaQuark ignores it, and the opinion of us plebian beggars doesn't matter much right?

 

You never know, maybe one of those families that live to prepare for the apocalypse made it onto the Arkship that landed on Alioth, and they dont trust the U.N. and immediately grab some resources and run off to start crafting and pumping out guns, jeeps and riding lawnmowers to go ride to the gas station.

Or some Fascist Radicals, or whatever.. some Communist workers. a Rich Oil and energy Tycoon bought his way onboard and wants to establish 'democracy'. Or Susan the pastry chef won a lotto ticket giving her a seat on the arkship...

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I figure they're thinking about that. I have been pondering and extrapolating the possibilities from the bits of lore, probably some kind of reconstituted U.N. and maybe a Rogue AI hellbent on 'saving' the human race even if it means war, exploiting peoples minds and bodies by using techno-trickery to get super high efficiency out of its members.

 

Beyond the Arkship though, I'm thinking that there wont be much of any NPC factions, mostly players, and their machinations. unless they intend for PVE to become big, in which case.. maybe well see the rise of a NPC Warlord, that commands legions of pirates.

It's relatable though, at least in terms of character stories, If lore comes out that breaks or reinforces the kind of character you want to role-play it can be quite crushing or lifting.

 

Above is just my speculation, and below is my wishy-washy dreams for a player organisation but hey feel free to read into me.

 

I have high hopes of establishing an Imperial Bloc of guilds that might operate something like a imperial confederacy or even similarly the Holy Roman Empire of old.

I imagine a large player run empire trying to focus on being good guys, which often just means you're the bad guys. But defending Alioth and leaving it relatively open for newbies, while operating a empire from another planet. and each member kingdom / guild contributing to the military efforts of the empire at large, having honorable fights between each other for sparring and handling of disputes. Possibly, depending on what kind of scripting is allowed, the creation of a in game currency, or the collecting of a rare good to act as a reserve currency, and doing the other dastardly thing's empires do like designing cool ships and telling people whats right and wrong.

I started working on a draft constitution and series of bills to reinforce how it could work, but I lost focus half way through. I just feel the game is so far out that much will change by time it comes to 'empire' building.

 

Lastly, give it a shot, I think if you have a good mind and could write a reasonable concept for a faction, based on what we know. and are able to explain why or how it should work, they are fairly open to listening and there is already evidence of the team listening to the community.

there have been many instances, but a recent one in the lore part 2 it was brought up about the type of metal the arkship was made out of, and in lore part 3 they more or less explained it. 

If you have something show it off, the worst that happens is NovaQuark ignores it, and the opinion of us plebian beggars doesn't matter much right?

 

You never know, maybe one of those families that live to prepare for the apocalypse made it onto the Arkship that landed on Alioth, and they dont trust the U.N. and immediately grab some resources and run off to start crafting and pumping out guns, jeeps and riding lawnmowers to go ride to the gas station.

Or some Fascist Radicals, or whatever.. some Communist workers. a Rich Oil and energy Tycoon bought his way onboard and wants to establish 'democracy'. Or Susan the pastry chef won a lotto ticket giving her a seat on the arkship...

 

Well spoken Saffi!

 

And your idea for your own organization is quite intriguing. I hope to read more about that later on. ;)

 

Since I began reading in to DU, my mind was brainstorming ideas before I even realized it. I feel that there will be somewhat of a trick to DU's canon and universe. I myself have been a story writer and RPer for several years, but for the most part, it was all handheld int he way it was still driven by the actual owners of whatever IP I chose to build from. I have a feeling Novaquark have a different vision, which is pretty evident just from what we know so far. They certainly pull some inspiration from Eve Online, and its way of the players creating the history for their universe. I very much see that same intention here, and with more potential sprinkled in.

 

I would however like to see some PvE element, if not only to add in some core canon for the universe. As I'm typing, I can already envision some of the pioneers have less than honorable intentions when they wake up, or find their new found freedom as an escape for their inner demons. Or, perhaps the idea of starting from scratch isn't so enticing anymore now that they made it, and go mad, perhaps trying to drive the humans back to Earth even though it's already been destroyed. ;) People can do crazy things when their reality doesn't seem to match up with whats real. :D

 

Oh boy, the ideas I have right now I great! Haha, I'll do some outlining for my own ideas, and just wait until NQ come out with some more pieces. As you said, it is a bit early to be trying to plan out stories and ideas ahead given how little we know.

 

- Lego

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Perhaps not everything is revealed or even planned out at first. NQ may set up a basic exposition, but not develop the entire storyline yet, and slowly write out the rest as the game expands as well. Kind of a procedurally generated emergent storyline. Appropriate, considering the nature of DU.

 

Take Warframe again as an example. In the very beginning during the starting tutorial players are introduced to an unknown guiding figure known as the Lotus. Later on as more updates were released, gradually the entire playerbase learned about the Sentients, the Technocyte Virus, conflict between the factions, and most recently Update 17, which I won't spoil just in case. So maybe, all you creative writers could potentially be writing a long, drawn-out, continually changing story that changes with the lore of DU.

 

Or you could always write your own story and speculate, whether it be about Mr. Decker or another colonist onboard the arkships, or something different entirely.

 

I'm actually just rambling and writing down whatever comes into my head cuzz I'm super tire right now.

 

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 cuzz I'm super tire right now. 

 

SUPER TIRE

 

Yes, I as well transcend from my simple human form, and become a super tire as well at times.  :lol:

 

You make valid points Astro. For now, at least personally, I'll be holding on committing to any stories and write ups of my own until more concrete canon is released, and oh how I can't wait.

 

- Lego

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Hi everyone! 

 

About the general backstory settings:

It's a bit difficult to talk about it right now. It will be easier to talk about it at least when the short story will be completely published.

Two parts remain (part 4 and 5) so we could start a discussion on this subject at the end of the month ;)

 

What we can already say:

Currently we want to keep the Lore as light as possible, to avoid putting limits/restraints on fan-based short stories.

When we say we aim for a player-driven experience, we mean it: we want to give as much freedom as possible on this aspect as well.

However, we're totally open to your feedback. If you think more will be needed like political and or religious factions emerging right from the start in the backstory, just let us know. We have some unpolished ideas for the time being. So we don't know yet whether we will integrate them or not. On the NPC side, you can expect Mr. Decker and the AI to play a role. Maybe a few more alpha team colonists ? who knows...

 

You can continue to give us your opinion, comments, critics for the time being and we will begin the "real" discussion in two weeks (taking into account your feedback on the matter)! :)

 

Best regards,

Nyzaltar.

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Hi everyone! 

 

About the general backstory settings:

It's a bit difficult to talk about it right now. It will be easier to talk about it at least when the short story will be completely published.

Two parts remain (part 4 and 5) so we could start a discussion on this subject at the end of the month ;)

 

What we can already say:

Currently we want to keep the Lore as light as possible, to avoid putting limits/restraints on fan-based short stories.

When we say we aim for a player-driven experience, we mean it: we want to give as much freedom as possible on this aspect as well.

However, we're totally open to your feedback. If you think more will be needed like political and or religious factions emerging right from the start in the backstory, just let us know. We have some unpolished ideas for the time being. So we don't know yet whether we will integrate them or not. On the NPC side, you can expect Mr. Decker and the AI to play a role. Maybe a few more alpha team colonists ? who knows...

 

You can continue to give us your opinion, comments, critics for the time being and we will begin the "real" discussion in two weeks (taking into account your feedback on the matter)! :)

 

Best regards,

Nyzaltar.

I'll hold any of my opinions and what not until after said "real" discussion really takes place. Not much to discuss until then right? :D

 

Thanks, Nyz.

 

- Lego

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  • 3 weeks later...

As the short story has been completely released now, time to reopen this discussion:

 

What do you think would be more helpful to start building your own player stories? 

- Several additional Non Player Characters as archetype references?

- Developping factions existing before the Grand Exodus? 

- Other things?

 

Let us know! :)

 

Best regards,

Nyzaltar.

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I like the thought of factions before the Exodus, such as Eurasian Alliance or the Indochina pact something along those lines that the character can choose to side with if they wanted to. A player could be completely neutral if they wanted to but having alliances before the Exodus would help players find new people especially in the beginning, those with like minded allegiances to the previous factions would band together creating their own new faction but the old ones would be very good for getting new groups together. This is probably not feasible but what if instead of factions you had mindsets, what I mean by that is that everyone takes a personality quiz at the beginning to see how they think and then they are categorized into a group. Of course should they choose to they can make it private or just completely ignore it but say someone is walking down the street and hey look over there is another person who thinks like me they will probably be a good asset to my group and then they two people start working together. I don't even know if it is legal to gather that much data on peoples personalities and I think the system would be exploited if a person say wants to seem better than they are they would just lie in the quiz to get a better result but if none of the personality types were negative I don't think people would have a reason to cheat the system. Also it would serve as a nice reference point say I see someone with a tag that shows that they are hardworking then I could understand there actions a bit better or if I saw someone with the leader tag I would know that they would be good at organizing people, plz tell me what you think of this idea I am really interested in getting some feedback on it, also if you think it is ridiculous don't hesitate to say so I don't mind some criticism and yes I do realize how overly complicated this would be but I think it would add a whole extra dimension of human interaction to the game

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- State of science and existing technologies

- Pre-Exodus Factions

- Possible mindsets

 

Duly noted!

Thanks for the suggestions, Vylqun and Jared! :)

 

@Jared: Your idea is far from being ridiculous.

Believe it or not, we have started to discuss about social tools enabling players to search for similar mindsets & centers of interest in-game,  to have easier ways for players to find organisations that meet their expectations. That's not exactly what you described in your suggestions, but there are a lot of similarities. And speaking of possible abuses, if such tool is implemented, this kind of information will possible to set on "private/non shared" to prevent this. However, keep in mind this social tool idea isn't validated yet, it's still in early discussion. More will be explained if the idea becomes a planned feature ;)

 

Best regards,

Nyzaltar.

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- State of science and existing technologies

- Pre-Exodus Factions

- Possible mindsets

 

Duly noted!

Thanks for the suggestions, Vylqun and Jared! :)

 

@Jared: Your idea is far from being ridiculous.

Believe it or not, we have started to discuss about social tools enabling players to search for similar mindsets & centers of interest in-game,  to have easier ways for players to find organisations that meet their expectations. That's not exactly what you described in your suggestions, but there are a lot of similarities. And speaking of possible abuses, if such tool is implemented, this kind of information will possible to set on "private/non shared" to prevent this. However, keep in mind this social tool idea isn't validated yet, it's still in early discussion. More will be explained if the idea becomes a planned feature ;)

 

Best regards,

Nyzaltar.

 

I like the direction though, that you going with the social tool you guys have cooking up. One of the most common downfalls of any MMO game is a lack of a group finder (Which is what I think you're basically describing). Having a functioning, diverse, and fluid group finder on launch would be gold. 

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yes,please let me look for a group of people with the goal to create a super ai which will eradicate all of us and the whole dual universe will be played by bots afterwards ;D

 

Skynet? Is that you?!

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I like the direction though, that you going with the social tool you guys have cooking up. One of the most common downfalls of any MMO game is a lack of a group finder (Which is what I think you're basically describing). Having a functioning, diverse, and fluid group finder on launch would be gold. 

 

Not mentioning "Group Finder" or "LFG" feature was intentional, as it will give an incorrect pre-established idea about how we see the feature if it's validated.

Group finders nowadays (when the involved MMO has one) is almost always about gathering people based on technical parameters, not social parameters.

 

Like in this basic example: "to enter this dungeon you need to be 5 peoples, 1 tank, 3 dps, 1 healer."

This way of gathering people is completely ignoring how the players want to live this game experience:

  • Some want just to rush the dungeons in record time to get max loot, max tokens, etc. They don't want to waste time in talking.
  • Some want to go slow, because they are here to discover the dungeon for the first time and need advices from experienced players.
  • Some want to go slow, just to take their time, appreciating to discuss casually on a voice chat with friends at the same time.
  • Some are just here to complete some achievements.
  • Some might event want to visit/explore the dungeon in a roleplay manner.

 

Of course, not all group finders revolve around dungeons. There are other types of group finder.

But the main point is, no one (from our current knowledge) take in account players expectations from this group experience.

 

Because current group finders completely ignore the mindset in which each player gathered is in, the feature has been seen by many as toxic and socially disruptive (while it should be the other way around!). It's clear that putting together players who might have so different expectations about grouping doesn't end well a lot of time. We think that is also why so many players gave up to even try socializing in groups formed through group finder.

 

That's why we're trying to approach the thing differently. 

It's a big challenge, as nobody has found the perfect solution yet.

We can't say we have a viable one at the moment, but we are discussing about it.

And we will try, if possible, to find a way to fix that aspect lacking in current MMOs.

Having this kind of feature for the official release would be ideal, but we need to see first if it's feasible.

 

If you think you have some ideas to shape the feature, while we have already some directions about how to design it, we're still open to any suggestion:

The more brains on it, the best chance we will have to create the most solid feature on the subject! ;)

 

Best regards,

Nyzaltar.

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I find NQ to be strangely considerate and thoughtful of players and how you all seem to develop this game from the player's point of view. It just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and I'm so glad that at least one dev team has finally prioritized in the players' best interest unlike those ubiquitous profit hungry KMMORPGS. Honestly I'm so very tired of medieval worlds and cash shops and P2W games.

 

Thank you for all your lovely work and time and effort. We'll help out as best we can. :)

 

Viva la Novaquark!

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