Massive new update adds three new tools focused on scanning resources and mining, a complete overhaul to player inventories, and the universe’s economy, as well as priority access for pre-alpha backers
June 8, 2018 – Today, developer Novaquark is excited to release the latest update for its civilization building MMO, Dual Universe, which focuses on scanning material resources, and mining them in this massive sci-fi universe, together with support for its market system. For anyone who has ever dreamt of being a space trucker or interstellar miner, this is their update. In addition to adding three new utility-focused tools for players to experiment with, a whole host of features have been added that will help to shape the future economy and infrastructure of this ambitious MMO.
Keeping in line with the update’s thematic focus on scanning, mining and materials, each of the three new tools introduced in the latest update serve a specific focus in the early stages of any building project:
Hand Scanner tool
A mid-range proximity device used to scan the user’s surroundings and give feedback about the distance to available ore veins. While its range is limited, this is the ideal tool to prospect around a given region during a mining expedition.
Directional tool
A close-range device used to detect and mark ore in a given direction as the user looks around their surroundings. Despite having a more limited range than the hand scanner tool, the detector tool offers players a more accurate way to pinpoint the location of ore, making it the perfect accompaniment to the brand new mining tool.
Mining tool
Combine with the Hand Scanner & Directional tool to dig your way beneath a planet’s surface and extract the precious ore players can use to construct buildings, ships, and much more. Simply aim at an ore deposit with this brand new tool, charge it up, and collect the extracted resources. As players find higher level materials, though, the charging and extraction process will take more time.
In addition to these new tools, Novaquark has also overhauled how land vehicles and containers function, fundamentally changing how players engage with mining. Now, instead of having infinite inventory space it will be bound in volume, and players have to consider what they’re carrying as materials occupy a certain volume. This makes transportation of resources more important than ever. Not only have Dual Universe’s transport-like hovercraft and land vehicles been given better maneuverability to account for this, but they can now be used to transport heavy loads.Novaquark also introduced the new “primary container” feature, allowing players to make any owned containers usable from a longer range so they can instantly and easily move materials from their inventory to their nearby base or decked out space truck.
This is just the start of what players can expect in the sprint towards Dual Universe’s Alpha launch later this year. With a whole host of exciting updates planned for the coming months, Novaquark is hard at work preparing this massive, single-shard universe, all the while offering pre-Alpha supporters with the ability to directly impact its development as they go hands-on with these early features.
Dual Universe is currently available now in Pre-Alpha. In addition to being the 3rd biggest worldwide video game Kickstarter of 2016, it earned over one million dollars in funding on both Kickstarter and its official website, and boasts a vibrant community of over 10,000 backers and almost 2,000 in-game organization communities. For the latest updates visit the official website, and you can also follow the game on Twitter, Facebook, Community Discord, Reddit, and YouTube.
About Dual Universe
- UNIVERSE (available in test version): The first fully editable universe made for players by players. The only limit is your imagination! Gather your friends and build on a truly epic scale, from ships, cities and space stations, to Lua scripted puzzles and interactive constructs.
- MASSIVE (available in test version): Dual Universe is the first game where potentially millions of players can interact together simultaneously, inside the same giant universe. We call it the Continuous Single Shard Cluster (CSSC) technology. This proprietary technology means no multi-server player separation, instances or loading times, just one enormous, persistent universe.
- EXPLORATION (partially available in test version): Explore & Discover new worlds with your friends, find rare resources and build the greatest place in the universe. Will you be a nomad treasure hunter, or a calculating profiteer?
- ECONOMY (work in progress): Dual Universe will have the most realistic economy system ever made in a game. From weapons and tools, to spaceships and giant space stations, build and trade everything to everyone – at your price – on your own market.
- WARFARE (work in progress): Fight for supremacy, resource control or geostrategic advantage, as you join with fellow players and create your own defense systems, build warships, cities and space stations. Will you defend yourself or lay waste to your enemies?
- POLITICS (work in progress): Be a lone wolf or choose an organization or build your own, hire new players, fight other alliances, cut deals with them or rule your own part of the Universe with this completely open political landscape, full of emergent gameplay opportunities.
Novaquark’s goal is to create the first virtual online civilization, enabling potentially millions of players to shape and share a metaverse of their own, together, at a scale never seen before. A world with meaning, where everything you do matters and has a permanent impact. Novaquark, composed of veterans from Sony, Apple, CCP Games, Epic Games and Bioware, is on a mission to bring a new generation of MMO through science, expertise and technological innovation.
