Played in first person view, Dual Universe takes place in a vast realistic universe made of millions of planets, and focuses on emergent collective gameplay based around exploration, mining, crafting, trade, politics and warfare.

The concept of Dual Universe is described by Novaquark as a “Boundless MMO”: based on an innovative server technology called CSSC (Continuous Single-Shard Cluster), the game enables everybody to play in the same world, at the same time, without any slicing of the game universe into instances or zones. In addition, for the first time in a single-shard MMO, the world is entirely modifiable and an unlimited number of players will be free to build together, cooperate or compete. The focus has been made on giving the keys back to the MMORPG fans: using the building blocks provided by the game, the in-game community will make the choices and create the content they will play in.

By using the game’s editable voxel tools, the resulting structures built by the players during the ongoing pre-alpha represent an early look at what new players can expect to encounter as they dive into this ambitious, large-scale sci-fi sandbox for the first time.

While the term “voxel” tends to evoke images of cube-shaped building blocks, Dual Universe delivers a proprietary voxel engine that affords players much more control in manipulating the world - and universe - around them. At a simple level, players can place and manipulate fully editable blocks that come in all shapes and sizes as they build canyon-filling cities or spaceship fleets. For players who want to get a little more granular, this voxel engine allows them to terraform at will, carving away at a planet’s surface, and digging complex cave systems that could one day house an organization’s base of operations.

Whether they’re building a single structure on a small scale or working together to forge an entirely new civilization on a massive scale, Dual Universe’s tools empower players to build however they want. Novaquark simply sets the rules and establishes the universe, but everything that grows, falls, is rebuilt, and shared within this universe is and will always be a community-constructed endeavor.

Traditional approaches in gaming and entertainment are based around companies spending substantial amounts of money to create content, and sell it. Most of the time, players have little influence on the value of the platform, as they passively consume the content, and then move on to another game. Novaquark aims to reverse this logic with its one-of-a-kind technology providing users with a stage to collectively create the content and share it together, at an unprecedented scale. The value of Novaquark comes entirely from its users and the material they generate, giving the power back to them instead of a centralized system.

Beyond its initial release, Dual Universe is set to be a long term continuous development project and will grow with regular updates.

At the heart of Dual Universe is a truly innovative proprietary technology, that was developed to lay the foundations of the game: the CSSC (continuous single-shard cluster) manages one single universe with potentially millions of people interacting in it at the same time, with no loading screen. Coupled with this is an innovative voxel engine enabling players to physically modify the world and foster a persistent, continuous form of reality where meaningful contributions can accumulate.

Dual Universe Gameplay Features

• Seamless co-existence: Millions of people exist together at the same time within a continuous “no-loading screen” virtual space, with the actions of one affecting the rest. Empires will form and die, and alliances and betrayals will shape the destiny of the world.
• Modifiable and evolving environment: Rather than a world that is static and scripted, Novaquark provides one that is constantly changing and progressing based on actions taken by users.
• Giant player-made ships and constructions can be inhabited and host large crews.
• Immersive first person view in a futuristic sci-fi universe.
• Space to enact a common inner desire for new beginnings: Dual Universe works around the old dream of humanity for people to have a second chance at creating a new life for themselves, in a way even bigger than life itself.
• Realistic in-game economy (based on market orders and financial tools).
• Platform for content creation: Players can use harvested materials to build anything from spaceships to cities to political and territorial systems, at any scale they want. There can be war, drama, action, conflict, all put into one giant universe for people to take control of, and that never stops.

Technological Features

• Continuous Single-Shard Cluster: the technology behind the “Boundless” MMO approach.
• Procedurally generated planets, revealed as players explore further and further.
• 25cm precision voxel technology to modify the environment or construct buildings/ships
• Unlimited LOD (Level of Detail) technology allows planet-sized construction to be built
• 64bit Planetary Engine: Smooth transitions from planet surfaces, through atmosphere and into space with no limits to how far the player can travel or see.