Indie studio Novaquark is working on Dual Universe, a very ambitious science-fiction MMO set in a persistent, seamless single-shard universe, powered by Unreal Engine 4 and compatible with the Oculus Rift. In this game you'll get to travel in the deep space but also explore thousands of procedurally generated planets, something that reminds us of the highly anticipated No Man's Sky. But the ambition doesn't stop there – thanks to the mighty voxels, players are free to build gigantic cities, space ships or orbital stations. Dual Universe will be played in a first-person view but the team is hoping to add a third-person option if time allows.
As for the business model, the studio is going for something of a hybrid structure initially based on buying coupons (somewhat like a subscription) to extend your game time. Veteran players will be able to earn in-game money that they can trade for these coupons, so at this stage the game becomes free – we're just not too sure how free it will be. While it's open for interpretation, the studio says it like this: “It’s another way to look at “Free to play” models: it’s free as soon as you are veteran enough to earn it.”
A playable alpha is planned for 2016 and you can read the FAQ here. Now for the bad news – there's no gameplay trailer or screenshots in sight, just concepts and 3D renders.
Do you think this is sounding too ambitious for its own good?
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