Greetings everyone As mentioned on our last meeting on saturday here's an information dump about Dual Universe, which I have picked up roughly a month ago and am so far enjoying very much. Dual Universe is a single shard (meaning all ~420k players play concurrently in the same environment) MMORPG (don't get tricked by the catigorization, it is most definetly not comparable to WoW, SW:TOR, GuildWars, etc.) taking place across a persistent solar system made up of 12 (respectably large) planets and countless moons, as well as the space in between. Another system is expected to be added the coming year. The central idea that the devs are building this game around is emergent gameplay. Everything in Dual Universe is produced, distributed and handled by the players, ranging from ship blueprints to market orders and the items that are sold within them (said items also being produced exclusively by players). Because of that I see great potential for the Borg to shape this growing universe. Two of the next additions to the game will be a mission/quest system (so that players and organizations can issue missions) and player markets (at which time the currently existing, dev-built markets will be removed). The building for ships and static constructs is voxelbased (combined with dev-built elements, like engines, for functionality). The scale and complexity of the industry is comparable with Satisfactory and Factorio, though the mining is much more intricate and is an actual, worthwhile game mechanic. The Physics engine as I have experienced it so far is pretty impressive for a game of this scale. The max speed is currently set at 30000 km/h. Gravity is increasing seamlessly from 9.8 m/s² to 0 the further you get away from a planet. Orbits around planets are fully implemented and result naturally from having a certain speed at a certain hight exactly as e.g. in Kerbal Space Program. Drag and heat damage from excessive speeds while in atmosphere are also a thing, comparable to Kerbal Spce though maybe not quite as detailed. In Dual Universe, there is something to do what ever catches your fancy. You can make a career and get rich and famous by becoming a Miner, Ore Prospector, Hauler, Trader, Salvager, Industrialist, Ship Designer, City Builder, Convoy Escort Fighter Pilot, Gunship Captain, Hover Tank Commander, Soldier, Marine, Mercenary, Pirate, Space Sherrif, Politician, Diplomat, Siege Engineer, Corporate Overlord or Glorious Leader of a Nation State. This is not an exhaustive list. Be advised though: This game is still in development, it entered public beta about 2 months ago. So far my experiences have been very well and stable, but there obviously still are glitches and bugs to be expected. As for technology demonstrations, I have found articles about a 30000 concurrent entity simulation that the network seems to have handled pretty well a few years ago. https://www.dualuniverse.game/ If the above has at all sparked your interest, come join us at Arkon Heavy Industries (a 4 player micro corporation founded by me) and help us take over the system.
DU is hitting open beta finally, but honestly it is still rough around the edges. I recommend waiting until more gameplay mechanics get fleshed out. Very impressive for what it is though
