novean dreamers almanac #1 - cities & citizens - april...

Novean Dreamers Almanac #1 - Cities & Citizens - April 2018

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Hello Dreamers!If we are all sleeping on the way to our newlife on Alioth, you must be dreaming this. Andwhy is it an Almanac? Because otherwise thestupid acronym wouldn't work. This magazineis more or less a "proof of concept": It's not anewspaper, covering recent events, it's aperiodical with in-depth looks at certain topicsconcerning the Dual Universe community. Isthere even enough to write about at the Pre-Alpha stage of the game? Surprisingly yes.This issue has the theme "Cities & Citizens",because that's something I was interested in. Italked to many people from the community.And there are many more I couldn't talk to,because Dual Universe is already far to bigfor one person to know everything andeveryone. Additionally, and by my owndesign, all of the first issue of the NoveanDreamers Almanac was done by me: I wrote,edited and illustrated it. If the feedback ispositive, I'll probably look for a team. For thetime being: Have fun reading.

Agilulf

ContentsThe Intro

pg 2

Very Important Questionspg 3

Cities of World's Desire: Buildingcommunal structures in Dual Universe

pg 4

New planet, who dis?Media and Press in Dual Universe

pg 15

The council condems in the strongestpossible terms... Intergovernmental

organizations in Dual Universepg 17

Organizations Snapshotpg 20

Editor and responsible for the content:Daniel Nusser

Munich, Germany

Dual Universe username: AgilulfDiscord username: Agilolfing#8694

This issue was released on March 30th 2018

What is Dual Universe? To quote the game's developer Novaquark:"Dual Universe is a Continuous Single-Shardsandbox MMORPG taking place in a vast Sci-fi universe, focusing on emergent gameplaywith player-driven in-game economy, politics,trade and warfare. Players can freely modifythe voxel-based universe by creatingstructures, spaceships or giant orbital stations,giving birth to empires and civilizations."You can support the game by pledging moneyand participate in the ongoing Pre-Alpha tests.

Publishing information:This is a Dual Universe fanproduction not affiliated with the game's developer Novaquark.Ingame graphics used in this publication are Pre-Alpha press pictures courtesy of Novaquark.

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https://community.dualthegame.com/accounts/profile/Agilulf

https://dualthegame.com/en/


Very Important Questions

"How should playing Dual Universe feel like interms of Sci-fi franchises?"

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Ihope it's as detailed as EVE Online and SpaceEngineers but with the excitement andadventure of Star Wars and Star Trek. If thatfails, just please don't let it be another NoMan's Sky."

FleetAdmiralCoke, Terran Union

"I would definitely say Dual Universe shouldfeel like The Expanse. Amazing show."

Cybrex, Band of Outlaws

"I would like it to be more like a Warhammer Star Trek."

ShadowLordAlpha, SilverLight Industries

"I prefer the grittier style. Something like theunderground Star Wars universe or BladeRunner. Diverse and massive in scale, usedand abused."

Kytheum, Empire

"I don't want it to become a 'Star Wars game'per say. What I want is to be able to buildships that give me the feeling that I'm pilotinga Star Destroyer or flying a Tie Fighter, allwithout the constructs actually being those."

MrStarWars, The Solar Empire

"The sense of realism of The Expanse, butwith elements of more advanced technologylike in Halo or Mass Effect. And I love BladeRunner, so I'd really enjoy exploring somerainy, neon-lit, crime infested cities."

Code24, Objective Driveyards

"Warhammer 40k space crusades would absolutely be our jam."

Zamaro de Metus, The Eldritch Nation

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Cities of World's Desire

Building communal structures in Dual Universe

French Emperor Napoleon Bonapartesupposedly once said: "If the Earth were asingle state, Constantinople would be itscapital." In the world of Dual Universe thecity of Constantinople, or Istanbul, is longgone - as is the rest of Earth. But the search

for the "city of world's desire" is very muchalive. Who will build the capital that will rivalall others and live throughout the ages? Manyorganizations have different ideas of how toachieve this. Here are some of the mostprominent examples.

Image courtesy of Novaquark

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TORTUGA

When Band of Outlaws announced ProjectTortuga in autumn of last year, they certainlymade some waves. So much so that theorganization dedicated to building the self-proclaimed community city now boasts over ahundred members and a spot in thecommunity's Top Ten. The name has a ring toit: Tortuga, the legendary 17th century piratehaven in the Caribbean, which was home to astrange mix of French, English and Dutchswashbuckling adventurers. Will it be reborn?

"There will be reasons for people to come toTortuga", Alethion of Band of Outlaws, thecity's chief planer, tells us. "Resource deals,trade, mercenary work, entertainment, a placeto live... and maybe some black marketdealings. Things will become clearer." Apirate city built by a pirate organization?There might be some questions of allegiance.But Band of Outlaws keeps emphasizing, thatTortuga will be a "community created, neutralplayer hub". They only helped starting it.

"Whilst Band of Outlaws may be managingthe city, it is a community effort and eachorganization will have their say and provideservices and shops", Alethion explains. "Wedo not intend to be restrictive." Already there'san ever-growing list of partners. To name afew: Blue Moon Tavern, Dice, Vulture Corp,Himera Trade Exchange, Kraken, Vanguard,Penrose, Ark Central and Mobius Foundation.Some provide specific services, others justwant to be part of it. Everyone's welcome.

The city is supposed to be more than just atrade hub. "A pirate port was a place of safehaven to those who were avoiding restrictivegovernments and rules", Alethion says. "Andto exchange and trade their gains, have a placeto chill out, get a crew or repair things." Atsome point there might be services available,"you don't get anywhere else". The shady stuffwill exist, but Tortuga is supposed to be asecure place as well. And for that the city willprobably be built in the games safe zone.

Courtesy of Tortuga City

The Sanctuary Moon of Alioth seems to be themost likely location for Tortuga. What willemerge there is supposed to be an "organicallygrowing" city. Of course that needs planningtoo, maybe even more so. "The main concernwill be how easy it is for people to transportcargo and get in and out efficiently", Alethionexplains. "There will be main pathways forsmall vehicles to move around in, especiallywhen the city becomes bigger." Much of thatis still a matter of trial and error.

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The vision for Tortuga is quite clear however:Organizations can rent plots of lands andbuild freely. There will also be certain fees,which will be determined later. But in general,the restrictions are supposed to be minimal."There is a certain look we aim for. It is agood guideline to help create the feel, whenbuilding and living within the city" Alethionsays. "Blade Runner, Altered Carbon, Ghostin the Shell or Cyberpunk 2077 are goodsources of inspiration to pull from."

But with pirates and mercenaries being...well... pirates and mercenaries, how securewill living in the city actually be? The game'ssafe zone will certainly help, but there arealways scores that need to be settled. "VultureCorp will be assisting us regarding security ofthe city", Alethion explains. But it will also bethe task of all of the participatingorganizations to contribute to the defence ofthe city. Historically Caribbean Tortuga had todeal with the odd invasion as well.

Band of Outlaws will do its part to safeguardthe project. "The city will be governed byBOO mainly, but each organization will havea say in the development of the city", Alethiontells us. "Think of it like a council." At thestart, Alethion himself will be Tortuga'schairman. But in the future he wants it tobecome more of a "homeowners association",with everyone voting and deciding. "It will beinteresting to see the development and i amquite excited", he says.

Tortuga aims to be a true community drivenproject with freedom to explore all aspects ofthe game, be it building, trading or competingwith others as part of a big group of players.The expectations are definitely high.

Role:Location:

Inhabitants:Style:

Community citySanctuary Moon of AliothundeterminedCyberpunk

TERRAN UNION

Where Tortuga wants to invite the wholecommunity to join the fun, Terran Union has abit of a luxury problem: Their member base isalready so vast, that a single city might notsuffice. Zackd41pro, Terran Union's Ministerof Infrastructure & Regional Development,has no easy task herding a group of playersclosing in on 750. "What I see is a capital city,which will function as TU proper, and thepossibility of city states that rule under TUlaw", he tells us. Much is still up in the air.

The capital, which Zack gave the working titleTU Central, will house most of the civilsector. "Diplomatic embassies, courthouses,educational resources, building codes,political offices and possibly libraries", helists. Besides being a "informational hub", thecapital is supposed to be a normal city withtrade hubs, residential, commercial andindustrial areas. Of course those are justconcepts. Much of it will depend on what thegame will actually allow you to do with a city.

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But there are complications for Terran Unionthat are more immediate: "Because of thelanguage barrier the capital will have rulesand regulations in all languages to allow easyaccess", Zack explains. There are alreadylarge communities inside the organization thatmight have their own plans - namely the 120predominantly German players in HyperionCorporation. "If the Germans want to maketheir own city that's alright", Zack says. "It'sencouraged as long as it's setup properly."

Underhand Aerial of Hyperion Corporationconfirms, that the organization has somethingin the works. "There is much talk about it", hesays. But since all 120 members have a say inthe planning, nothing has been decided yet.Except this: Hyperion City will be built on thesame planet as TU Central. Could this be anopportunity for friendly rivalries betweenTerran Union's cities? Maybe matchesbetween "Hyperion City F.C." and "AtlethicoCentral"? "Not impossible", we hear.

Because the size of Terran Union's memberbase forces Zack and his staff to put muchemphasis on rules and administration, thecapital city hasn't taken much of a shape yet."Hopefully to some degree the distribution ofland will work like in real life", Zack says."Our buildings will go to auction or sale andas long as the land is properly zoned, it will bebought and sold as seen fit." Once there is aproper system, he sees no reason why non-members couldn't settle there as well.

"As for architectural style we are consideringAsgardian with cyberpunk underlays", Zackexplains. At least, that is supposed to be thebasis for universal building standards, whenthe time comes. As for the cost of living in TUCentral, the minister is cautious: "I don't wantto encourage fees, but i think it's expected insome manner for a government to functionproperly." It will be a task for the city'sofficial to turn the knobs - once they areappointed or elected, that's still unsure as well.

So just how many people will eventually livein the capital? "We have not polled for that",Zack tells us. "But the people will live wherethey want." He sees Terran Union's membersspreading far and wide anyway. "I do havehope for having the ability to allow outpoststo start out as operational sites that, withproper paperwork, can also become a city",Zack explains. Of course the Minister ofInfrastructure has another troublesome taskthen: a way to reach all of those cities.

TU Central won't exist so much so as toattract people - the size of Terran Union willdo that on its own. Will the capital be a placefor foreign tourists, traders and adventurers aswell? Hopefully it will be.

Role:Location:

Inhabitants:Style:

Member cityundeterminedundeterminedMarvel's Thor, Cyberpunk

Courtesy of Terran Union

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EMPIRE

While Terran Union always is much aboutadministration, Empire is an organization thatthrives on appearance and aspiration. Muchlike the Emperor himself, Kytheum, whostakes out his claim vividly: "The Empire,being the planned nation it is, will have itsflag spread across many cities, towns andsettlements." Any colony can join thisglorious nation of his and "claim the benefits"of free trade and, of course, being under thebenevolent protection of the military.

Besides the propaganda, Kytheum and hisstaff put much thought in the planning of thecapital city. The current plan is to first build abase of operation on Alioth and gather playersand material for the grand project: A capitalcity on a yet undetermined planet. "I wouldlike it just to be known as The Capital,although I can see third parties referring to itas Imperial City", Kytheum tells us. He wantsto persuade corporations and companies tomove there and make it a centre of commerce.

"There are plans for an imperial palace withinthe capital city", the Emperor explains. "Wehope to centralise the city around this palaceand develop the streets in a pattern that canfeel like a representation of order." Plans forbuildings and districts are already worked onand Kytheum provided us with some of theconcepts. "At this rate, we have 27independent corporations looking to basethemselves within the Empire in some way",he says. A monumental task.

"We have prepared our sector to be as friendlyto corporations as possible to become theeconomic capital of Dual Universe", Kytheumemphasizes. That means, for starters, no taxesor restrictions. Instead the Empire aims to rentout "prime real-estate", as the Emperorexplains: "The price of land will be based onthe area it is in. The closer to the palace thehigher the rent cost becomes. By this theEmpire gets a stable rate of income as well asbeing able to keep the cities active."

Courtesy of Empire

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But basically The Capital is supposed to beeverything - and with a cherry on top: "Thecity itself will be as formal and beautiful asElysium, with a economy as vast and diverseas Shanghai, along with so many differentcultures and corporations that by the amountof businesses on the street and the glowingsigns advertising many products and servicesof all colours and shapes you will believe thatthe alphabet has doubled", the Emperorhumbly advertises his vision.

In more technical terms Kytheum explains,that the main region will be planned out withthe area divided into smaller pieces of landthat corporations can choose to rent out.Going outwards and reaching the edges of thecity, The Capital will eventually take a moreorganic approach. "There is a basic enforcedarea around the palace known as the capitalzone, this will last only a short while and allof the tighter laws will be dropped at the endof it", he outlines the idea.

Courtesy of Empire

As for who can live in the city there seems tobe a clear bureaucratic path: Non-citizens ofthe Empire will be "processed" and given apassport for 1 or 2 months. "Once it expiresit's required that you obtain a citizenship",Kytheum explains. But that is supposed togive you access to a city that mightaccommodate inhabitants of "any size fromthe hundreds to the thousands". As for theGovernor of the city - they will be directlyappointed by the Emperor of course.

Courtesy of Empire

And if you see uniformed men and women inshiny boots, don't be alarmed. "The soldiers ofthe Empire are on rotation to prevent boredomfrom occurring, one of the tasks they arerotated onto is enforcement", Kytheum tellsus. "They will use their powers to keep orderand make sure the laws are followed. They arelooking to impress superiors so they will bewanting to make a good report." But isn't it asmall price to pay to be part of the "economicconquest" of Dual Universe? Surely.

The Empire has a lot planned and seems tohave the motivation to do it. If the concept artis anything to go by, The Capital might beworth a visit for the architecture alone.

Role:Location:

Inhabitants:Style:

Member city100 - 1000undeterminedElysium, Shanghai

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NEW GENESIS

With much of the city planning currentlygoing on behind closed doors, New Genesishad the distinction of being one of the onlyorganizations that actually released a citydesign to the public. But plans change a lot inPre-Alpha and newly-appointed city planerThe Silent Watcher tells us, that this specificcity layout is "no longer current". "I made itmy mission to go all out, but retaining a levelof art to it", he says. "No point making afortress that looks like garbage."

Courtesy of New Genesis / Archon Ender

The name of the city seems to be unchangedfor the time being: Eden. Much of what ishappening inside New Genesis appears to belinked with the organization's role-play andEden is a fitting name for the crusading group.But will it be a utopia? "Personally, I'd like tosee tall, futuristic white spires. Flying citiesadorning the sky like great protectors of anempire, considered to be the pinnacle ofscience and development", The Silent Watcherexplains. At least that's the dream.

On the other hand, the city planner is a realist."I have no doubt that the first cities and fortswill look and perform terribly, but I'mplanning on it to act as a learning point forfuture designs", he says. His first plan, as hetells it, was a layout with a single overlookingtower in the middle, housing theadministration, but: "I believe a building thatstands out like that would be subject to thefirst attack in the event of an invasion", TheSilent Watcher emphasizes. That's prescient.

Asked for expected number of inhabitants,most city planners we talk to don't have anyclear answers. The Silent Watcher, being thetechnocrat he is, thinks about that a lot.Maybe too much. "When I started my positionin New Genesis, I was told to expect 200players, however I fear I'm to expect 400-500", he says. On the other hand: "I'm surewhen the hype dies down we'll probably bewith 100 or less on a daily basis." Sobasically: The city will house a lot of players.Or it will not.

"I haven't settled on any architectural designsyet", The Silent Watcher explains. "Usually,when I begin building and construction, anarchitectural style will emerge and develop onits own. So far that's the plan." He's notplanning on anything "artistic", he says.Which does harken back to the now unusedcity layout New Genesis released. The thickwalls surrounding the city made it resemble afortress. He will keep the outline and workform there, The Silent Watcher says.

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According to the city planner, the military willbe tasked with defending Eden. However:"One of the major defence systems, that i planto incorporate into one of the early cities as atest, is of my own design", he adds. "I'munable to discuss anything about it or anyother plans of this nature including security."The militaristic role-play of New Genesis willdefinitely play a role. Will it also make Eden aprime target for attacks, as The Silent Watcherfears? Only time will tell.

Eden will be a city mostly for members ofNew Genesis. Besides dreams of a "perfectbalance of natural beauty and scientificwonder", as The Silent Watcher frames it, itseems to be primarily planned as a hub for theeconomic and military endeavours of theorganization. Which doesn't mean, it can'tlook good: "I would like to find a Gaia likeplanet", the city planner says. "Plenty ofgreenery to enjoy, rather than a frozenwasteland or a mined out shell of a planet."

Anything else, like taxes and fees or theelection of a city mayor, The Silent Watchergladly delegates to other members of theorganization. He's a builder and he will keeptesting and planning until the city works.Which is probably why his inspiration is theeponymous city from "Stargate Atlantis" -because that city was already built andworking, when humans found it. And itdefinitely contained "futuristic spires" andflew in the sky. Not the worst model then.

With all the meticulous planning, Eden shouldbe an interesting place. The question seems tobe, if you come as a tourist or as part of aninvasion force. New Genesis is probablyhappy either way.

Role:Location:

Inhabitants:Style:

Member cityundetermined100 - 500Stargate Atlantis

HORIZON

As a matter of fact, Eden isn't even the onlycity project New Genesis is involved in.While Tortuga enjoys much of the limelight,there is another community city in the works.The project might not have the big publicityof the pirate haven, but nonetheless boasts aimpressive list of involved organizations:SilverLight Industries, New Genesis, SectorProtectorate and Chromion Industrial, to namethe big ones. Their cooperation in the AeonianFederation includes the foundation of a city.

The project was actually birthed in the days ofthe Cinderfall Syndicate, where the city wascalled "Emberstone". To distance themselvesfrom the past, the Aeonian Federation decidedto rename it Horizon. But it still is acommunity effort. "Each will play theirunique role within the Federation and it'sentirely up to them as to how and what theywill contribute", Lord Kittishima tells us. Ofcourse he expects each member organizationto bring their specific skills to the table.

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Courtesy of Aeonian Federation

According to Lord Kittishima, Horizon willindeed be similar to the other community city,Tortuga, in a lot of ways. "It's by the people,for the people and everyone is welcome toenter, trade and purchase things", he says. Butit will be policed and kept tidy with rules andregulations. On the one hand the city'smission is to provide a safe and welcomingenvironment for all players, but on the otherhand it's supposed to reflect positively on theAeonian Federation too - a "gleaming gem".

"Horizon won't just be a city either, it willserve more private roles for the memberorganizations", Lord Kittishima explains. Thecity will very much be open for everyone, somuch so that it will be constructed as close tothe spawn zone as possible to "lure in newplayers and traders". But the Grand Assemblyof Aeonian Federation has control over therules and the development of Horizon. Themember organizations get their own landinside the city and distribute the rest.

Dunco of Silverlight Industries is tasked withworking out the layout of Horizon, LordKittishima says. The Development Executivewill have the last say, but there are alreadymany ideas being thrown around: "The centraltile will be occupied by a very largeadministrative tower surrounded by openspace and plazas", Kittishima explains."Horizon will feature a lot, like a colosseumand underground facilities, as well as a rapidtransit system for ease of use."

"There will be a few mandatory taxes placed,but only to keep Horizon self sufficient",Kittishima says. "The Federation is not abusiness, but more of an organism ofcorporate entities." He mentions things like alow land ownership tax and fees for trading inthe city. "But they will be minimal to ensurethat the people who come to Horizon aren'tdeterred." The question of who can own orrent land inside the city will be decided by theGrand Assembly as well.

As for the policing of the city, the details arestill unclear at this early state of the game,"because we can't determine what will needpolicing in the traditional sense", LordKittishima explains. It could be a job for themilitary, monitoring the streets of Horizonwith small squads. Or there might be aseparate police force. "We are always open forsuggestions", the representative says. Exactlyhow many inhabitants will the security forceshave to keep safe? The plan is: a lot.

But how will the city look like? "The overalltheme and style of Horizon will be veryrelatable to Roman architecture, mixed withmodern elements", Lord Kittishima tells us."We want it to be functional and elegant."That at least would make Horizon stand outamong the cyberpunk and futuristic designs ofother cities. "Horizon will have vast marketsand residential real estate", Kittishimadescribes his vision. A flourishing anddynamic metropolis.

Horizon wants to position itself as the firststop for players on Alioth - which means thecity will have competition. But with severalbig organization backing it, it should work.

Role:Location:

Inhabitants:Style:

Community cityAliothundeterminedRoman Empire

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THE CLUSTER

When we ask the different organizations,where they want to build their cities, mostdon't have an answer this early in the game.Luckily that's not something we need to askNovarkian of The Cluster, because his idea ofa city isn't something stationary. "The Clusteris a group of spacefaring people living on aperpetually growing City Ship", theorganization explains on their communitypage. "The Cluster travels from system tosystem to gather resources and wealth."

The Cluster is surely not the only "nomadic"group of Dual Universe, but the concept of theCluster, a sprawling chaotic structure flyingthrough space, has found some friends. Ofcourse much of the realization depends onhow the game will handle something like this."I did not do much planning beyond how itwill physically work in game", Novarkiansays. His vision is a chaotic mix of designstyles, almost organically grown. "I hope thatwill still be possible", he admits.

His organization is still small currently,probably too small to get the project goingand then attract more players with it. "Thisinitial build would require a sizeable workcrew to construct", the Cluster's leaderexplains. "It's possible, but I may have tooutsource it to a shipyard even." The core, the"Seed Ship", will probably have to be built onthe ground, Novarkian says. Will there reallybe a growing city travelling the stars? Thatdepends on a lot of uncertainties at this point.

"A carrier design, right now, would be farsimpler and actually works", Novarkianexplains. But of course that takes away a lotof the appeal of the Cluster. The original ideasaw paying customers as well as temporaryinhabitants travelling with the city ship fromplanet to planet. "Attachment and detachmentmay prove to be too difficult", the leader says."But that remains to be seen." His vision willprobably have to change. One idea arespecially designed pods for passengers.

On The Cluster's community page was eventalk about the City Ship becoming a marauder,that visits different worlds to plunder. Theremight be just a few to many stumbling blocksfor realizing that idea. Admittedly Novarkian'sinspirations came from the chaoticUnicomplex space city of "Star Trek's" Borg.But: "Just the artwork of their city gave meinspiration, not their conquering desires", hetells us. The space nomad stays confident: "Ihope my original ideas can come true."

The Cluster has no easy task. Meeting thechaotic city ship while traveling DualUniverse would be pretty cool. If it willhappen is another question. Let's hope.

Role:Location:

Inhabitants:Style:

Member citySomewhere in spaceundeterminedThe Borg

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Of course there are many more city projects totalk about: There's The Collective, anothercommunity city, planned by GLSU and ofcourse we have myriads of capitals, that mostof the big organizations are probably workingon. But this article was just supposed to givean impression of the plans and visions at thisearly stage of the game. Much will depend onwhat functionality cities will have in the gameand how feasible it even is, to build a bigmetropolis for hundreds of players.

Nevertheless many of the organizations dreambig and that is what counts. Travelling theplanets of Dual Universe will certainly be anadventure. And the "city of world's desire"might just be around the corner.


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New planet, who dis?Media and Press in Dual Universe

The Dual Universe community has grown toan impressive size and like with all bigcommunities it has already fractured. Thingsare happening in the forum, on the communitypage and on hundreds of Discord channels. Alot of diplomacy even takes place in privatechannels and never gets released to the public.Luckily there are some organizations andgroups that try to gather as much informationas possible from different sources. Let's talkabout "the Press" of Dual Universe.

For those who love reading more in-deptharticles and interviews about Dual Universe,there's Outpost Zebra. The website wasstarted a while ago by a team of dedicatedwriters and releases on average two articlesper month. It's less a news site and more acollection of editorials about persistent topicsof the game. While Outpost Zebra is affiliatedwith Heimera Trade Xchange, they areofficially neutral. Creative people are alwayswelcome to contribute.

First and foremost, there's Dual Universe'smost notable "news station": Ark Centralwas founded by Astrophil, who already starteda similar project back in the CinderfallSyndicate. The organization has prominentcontributors from several big organizations.Ark Central presents game and communitynews in a quick and entertaining fashion,using pleasant production quality. There'susually a new episode released every monthon YouTube, presented by FancyVader.

On DU Sleepers, Peregrin publishes shortupdates about the development of DualUniverse and events in the community almostdaily. It's called a "Log" and that's as basic asit looks. But the wall of text does containinteresting information and chronicles most ofthe YouTube videos released about DualUniverse. Peregrin tends to give shortpersonal comments about the rise and fall oforganizations, so it's not exactly neutral, butentertaining nonetheless.

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http://dusleepers.fr/

https://www.youtube.com/c/arkcentral

https://community.dualthegame.com/organization/ark-central

https://www.outpostzebra.com/


It's always a bit unclear what EMP Gaming isplanning. The tight-knit gaming communityhas done Q&A sessions with Dual Universeorganizations and community news videos onYouTube and leader Fullsend had started theshort-lived news channel "Phase News". Butrecently the focus has gone back to justproducing video content for EMP Gaming'sDual Universe organization Enzone Dawn.The old content is still there to watch andPhase News is supposed to come back later.

Work in Progress

The Alioth Broadcasting Corporation aimsto do radio and TV. Currently there's a 24/7radio station called DUFM, that plays music.Talk-shows and other segments are planned,but there isn't anything of that kind beingbroadcast yet (or at least it is not advertised).

The Alioth Media Group wants be a propernews agency in Dual Universe. The goal is toestablish a network of well-informed contactsand representatives from organizations anduse it to report on ongoing in-game events. Atthe moment, the project is still underconstruction and hasn't released anything yet.

There are probably other projects planned orstarting up. These are usually announced onDual Universe's "The Arkship Pub" forum.

Another paused project: The organizationGSLU did produce a Dual Universe round-table discussion called Q-Cast for quite sometime, but recently stopped for the time being.With the host Glory being on hiatus from thegame for personal reasons, it is unclear if andwhen the YouTube show will return.

The Dual Universe Historical Society is nopress or news organization and doesn't want tobe. But it is an invaluable resource ofhistorical information, that's why it needs amention in this overview. The DUHS recordscommunity events to keep for posterity. Thatusually happens in a dedicated channel on theorganizations Discord channel, but every fewmonths, Kurock releases a "Dual UniverseState of Affairs" on Outpost Zebra, where hesummarizes past events. It's a good read.

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https://www.outpostzebra.com/dual-universe-state-of-affairs-pre-alpha-part-2/

https://www.outpostzebra.com/dual-universe-state-of-affairs-pre-alpha-part-2/

https://discord.gg/ecErPae

https://community.dualthegame.com/organization/dual-universe-historical-society

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRxoqJdUuyfhsVKt7TlURgQ

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRxoqJdUuyfhsVKt7TlURgQ

https://board.dualthegame.com/index.php?/forum/7-the-arkship-pub/

https://community.dualthegame.com/organization/alioth-media-group

http://du-radio.com/

https://community.dualthegame.com/organization/alioth-broadcasting-corporation

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt-J1CLGdftI75AnVMsG8gQ

https://www.youtube.com/user/Minecraftlazerproduc/

https://www.youtube.com/user/Minecraftlazerproduc/


The council condemnsin the strongest

possible terms... Intergovernmental organizations in Dual Universe

Years before Dual Universe even started itsfirst Pre-Alpha test, the community hadalready formed countless big player groups:Corporations, empires, military orders andeverything else imaginable. With the adventof the community page and a more formalizedapproach to the organizations format, therecame talk of intergovernmental cooperation.Before there were even game characters orbuildings or spaceships, the community ofDual Universe wanted a "United Nations".

At its foundation the "umbrella alliance"Cinderfall Syndicate, or short: CSYN, alreadycomprised of many big organizations: TerranUnion, SilverLight Industries and ObjectiveDriveyards were among the first members,others like the Solar Empire joined later. "Atthe peak of its influence, Cinderfall itself wasa top three organization with over 800members across all member organizations",former official Astrophil tells us. But ofcourse, the problems were mounting.


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In summer of 2017 Terran Union left theCSYN, other organizations followed shortlyafter. All those "break-ups" were amicable,but it dealt heavy blows to Cinderfall. Thealliance lost more and more influence. "Thefailure of the Syndicate cannot be attributed toany single event, person, or chance of fate",Astrophil says. There were conflicts ofinterest among members, but also dramaticdifferences in size between the organizations.Reaching compromises became too hard.

While Astrophil contributes the failure ofCSYN primarily to administration issues andmissing staff, Zamaro de Metus of EldritchNation has a different view of the situation.Back then, he was one of the officials inTerran Union and a staunch critic of theCinderfall Syndicate. He had problems withseveral members of the alliance's top brass."They were a bit like the unelected Eurocratsin Brussels when it comes to the EU", he tellsus. He didn't see a future in CSYN.

"Naturally having laws and rules in analliance isn't a big deal, until someone tries toabuse it", Zamaro says. He especially opposeda planned charter of the alliance, which to hisunderstanding would have given theadministration of CSYN "extended powersover the member organizations" and even letthem "meddle in their private businesses anddiplomacy". That draft was shot down, but itsreplacement was problematic too. Zamaro gotTerran Union to leave Cinderfall.

Whatever actuated the collapse of CSYN -and leaked documents seem to have played arole in it, as well as dorky internal sabotage -the result was devastating: More and moreorganizations left the alliance and autumn of2017 saw the end of Cinderfall Syndicate. Theremaining members reformed under thebanner of Aeonian Federation, cutting all tieswith the old administration. Astrophil went onto found the media organization Ark Central,having much success producing news shows.

"The Cinderfall Syndicate was an interestingand worthwhile political experiment in a gamethat is itself a social experiment, yet it simplylacked the right combination of elements tomaintain its standing", Astrophil gives hisview of the events. "Though Cinderfall mayno longer exist, I do believe it has left acertain impression on the community andinfluenced the political culture of DualUniverse in ways that will last beyond simplythe Cinderfall legacy."

Courtesy of Cinderfall Syndicate

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With the end of CSYN, there was no otherorganization that attempted anything at thescale of the "umbrella alliance". The ideas ofintergovernmental cooperation became morerefined. The Aeonian Federation still existedas a trimmed down alliance, GLSU aimed atbuilding a network of smaller groups and thejuggernauts Terran Union and Band ofOutlaws had their own programs of fosteringcooperation and weld together "divisions" and"special interest groups".

But some of the big organizations wentanother way: If Cinderfall was the "UnitedNations", SEN is the "Security Council" ofDual Universe - as effective or ineffective asits real-life counterpart. "SEN isn't an alliance.It's a place for organizations to discusspossible cooperation", Zamaro de Metus says.But SEN does indeed have actual members:Terran Union, SilverLight Industries, Empire,Solar Empire and The Eldritch Nation. Namesthat have some weight in the community.

"There's nothing more than a couple of rulesmutually agreed on when it was created",Zamaro says. "To join it, you need a minimumamount of members. All participation isvoluntary and it has no administrative side toit whatsoever. Everyone is only there todiscuss projects." SEN doesn't even have anofficial speaker. Whatever Zamaro tells us, ishis own view. But if everything is voluntaryand no one has any obligations, what is thepoint of having this "permanent summit"?

"What is done here is: Representatives canmotion a proposal for a project or deal",Zamaro says. Organizations can veto thoseproposals, if it would affect them negatively.But that apparently hasn't happened much,because proposals themselves aren't reallyused this early in the game. Zamaro doesn'tthink there's any danger: "The only way itwould stop functioning is, if a memberactively vetoes every proposition made, nomatter if they participate or not", he explains.

"I'm not entirely sure SEN is still relevant",Astrophil gives his own comment. "Even as arepresentative to SEN during my time as headdiplomat for the Terran Union, I fell under theimpression that each member organization didnot believe itself to be a part of any sort offormal alliance." Without an effective form ofenforcement of inter-organizational policies,Astrophil doesn't see SEN as a facilitator ofcooperation and diplomacy. He calls it a"watered down version of the UN".

Notably absent from the SEN is Band ofOutlaws. Of the top five organizations in DualUniverse only they choose to stay out of it."We are always willing to cooperate withother organizations, but it is too early for us tocommit to something so formal", Lord Void,BOOs chief diplomat, tells us. "Having seenseveral such groups come and go we prefer towait and see how things play out." Some say,the important thing is to get people talking.And that is exactly what is happening in SEN.

As it stands, Cinderfall Syndicate didn't workout. SEN has yet to prove, if it works underpressure. And the game isn't even out of Pre-Alpha yet. The political landscape of DualUniverse could still change immensely. "A bigfactor in this is the fact, that there's multipleEVE Online corporations monitoring thisgame to see if its worth jumping on", Zamarode Metus says. That potential influx of playerscould require a whole new system ofcommunication and cooperation.

"I do not see a new 'League of Nations' work,if they do exactly like CSYN", Zamaro tellsus. "They would have to change how it'slead." For Astrophil, the ghost of the"umbrella alliance" is still very much alive inother, smaller projects. "It remains to be seenhow successful Aeonian Federation will becompared to Cinderfall", he says. Maybe thethunderstorm of the birth of Dual Universe'scommunity has settled down a bit. Probablyit's only the calm before the next storm.

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Organizations Snapshot[March 30th 2018]

Organization Tag Members Affiliated with

Terran Union TU 734 SEN TU

Band of Outlaws BOO 310 Tortuga

SilverLight Industries SLI 267 SEN AFED

Empire EMPIRE 264 SEN

The Solar Empire TSE 166 SEN

Soul Nebula SN 159

New Genesis NG 154 AFED

Hyperion Corporation HYP 120 TU

The Eldritch Nation TEN 114 SEN

Tortuga City - 114 Tortuga

DU Explorers - 112

FrogSwarm FROG 95

Alpha Academy - 95

Objective Driveyards ODY 83

Stargate Command SC 78 TU

GLSU GLSU 78 GLSU

The Blue Moon Tavern - 77 Tortuga

Enzone Dawn EMP 76

The Opean Federation TOF 72

Polestria 67

SEN SEN council

Tortuga Tortuga City

TU Terran Union & associates

GLSU GLSU & associates

AFED Aeonian Federation

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