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.

Novaquark have released the latest update to their sci-fi MMO Dual Universe. The Alpha 3, entitled 'Shattered Alliances', is packed with new features and enhancements, and stays true to the scheduled release roadmap of the game.

One of the most significant highlights is the arrival of PvP combat, the first of its iterations in Dual Universe. Future updates will include new combat types, added features, and balancing to build upon the Alpha 3 version. In this update, players can take to the skies and duke it out between constructs, whether it’s small skirmishes or large-scale warfare between organizations. 

And speaking of organizations, they’ve officially been included in-game in this latest release. Players can join forces and build anything from clubs to widespread factions, using the game’s deep organization system, which includes the ability to assign roles to individual members and manage the group’s shared assets to key players with the rights and duties management system (RDMS).

There have also been a host of new changes to the game’s market and economy, the inclusion of surface gathering which allows players to harvest basic elements from rocks, and improvements to piloting, among other things. “These are some of the most impressive features we’ve added to Dual Universe,” said CEO Jean-Christophe Baillie. “The way we handle organizations is way more advanced than traditional MMO guilds, especially with the RDMS system. And we’re very excited to finally release combat for the first time.” 

With the arrival of construct-vs.-construct PvP and in-game organizations, the last of Dual Universe’s fundamental gameplay pillars — building, exploration, social, economy, RPG elements, and PvP — have been launched. After adding these core building blocks to Dual Universe, the team can now focus on improving the overall player experience, polishing the game’s mechanics, and preparing for this year’s Beta 1 release.

“With this Alpha, we’re one step closer to fulfilling our goal of creating a metaverse,” said Baillie. “As we continue to deliver more and more features, we’re providing players with tools to create amazing experiences. This is a fantastic start to 2020, and looking at what’s ahead, the Dual Universe community has a lot to be excited about.”

Sci-fi fans can jump right into the Dual Universe experience now for $60 USD/60 Euros. Pledge packs and more information can be found on the Dual Universe website. Dual Universe’s Beta 1 launch is expected this summer, with the full game releasing in 2021.

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

• 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.
• Technological Features
  • 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.

Dual Universe is scheduled to launch in 2021