Paris-based game studio Novaquark announced today the launch of a Kickstarter campaign for Dual Universe, a continuous Single-Shard sandbox MMORPG taking place in a vast Sci-Fi universe, focusing on emergent gameplay and building with player-driven in-game economy, politics, trade and warfare. Developed for the PC platform, the game is scheduled for an alpha release in 2017 and designed from the ground-up on a proprietary technology leading to the genesis of one unique world, shared by all players at the same time, with no instances, no zones and no transitions. In Dual Universe, players can also freely modify the voxel-based world by creating structures, spaceships or giant orbital stations, giving birth to empires and civilisations.
“Because with innovation comes risk, most publishers don’t take the chance to support creative projects like Dual Universe. The game is a revolutionary take on the MMO genre, enough to make it difficult to finance by conventional means. For the past three years we have been funded privately, keeping our independence to develop ground-breaking technology”, says Jean-Christophe Baillie, founder and president of Novaquark. “To complete our vision, we need the community’s support for Dual Universe, in order to remain independent and move forward in the direction of the game we all want to make. The more backing we will have, the stronger we will be, and the more independent we can remain.”
Novaquark is seeking an initial target of more than $500,000 to add to its own investment in order to complete the development of Dual Universe. In exchange for pledging to the project, backers can gain access to a variety of rewards including access to Alpha or Beta, highly discounted monthly subscription coupons, original soundtrack and art book.
For more details about the rewards and information about the kickstarter visit www.dualthegame.com/
Dual Universe Gameplay Features
● Boundless Massively Multiplayer Game: potentially millions of players can share the same universe at the same time. One world, no boundaries, no zones, no instances.
● Rich emergent gameplay mechanisms enable players to create their own societies.
● Fully editable world: dig, deploy, craft, create and shape almost everything.
● Giant player-made ships and constructions can be inhabited and host large crews.
● Immersive first person view in a futuristic sci-fi universe.
● Realistic in-game economy (based on market orders and financial tools).
● Scriptable constructions (ships, buildings, etc.) using LUA: players can build their own piloting, AI or factory automation.
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.
