Novaquark announces the first Boundless MMO, Dual Universe 

From spaceships to cities to empires, everything will be player­made and customizable in this massive “continuous single­shard “ sandbox powered by cutting edge technology 

  Paris, France, May 24th 2016 ­ Paris­based game studio Novaquark has announced today                         "Dual Universe", a sandbox Sci­Fi MMORPG currently in development for PC, set within a                           continuous single­shard universe where players can freely edit the world and build any                         construction they like with no size restrictions, from space ships to cities to giant space stations.                               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.  Novaquark has also released the first screenshots of Dual Universe, which can be viewed here: 

http://www.dualthegame.com/screenshots   The concept of Dual Universe is described by Novaquark as a “Boundless MMO”: based on an                               innovative server technology called CSSC (Continuous Single­Shard 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 single­shard 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 in­game community will make the choices and create                             the content they will play in.     

   Background  Formed in 2014 by veterans from Ubisoft, Sony, Apple and Aldebaran Robotics, Novaquark now                           boasts a 25 strong team with an ambition to revitalise the MMO genre through technological                             innovation.  Novaquark’s founder is Jean­Christophe Baillie an expert in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics                       who also happens to be an avid gamer. Having worked for Sony CSL and as Chief of Science &                                     Technology at Aldebaran Robotics (creators of the Nao robot) he created Novaquark in 2014 to                             fuse his knowledge of science to the world of games.  J.C. Baillie says: “I am a huge fan of games like Eve Online and Space Engineers. I took                                   inspiration from such games to imagine what could be the future of the MMO experience: a                               continuous world with planets, huge building possibilities, social and political aspects, but                       without the boundaries that so often restrict the gameplay. This idea needs a lot of tech and                                 emergent game design that is not so far from AI and other fields I’m familiar with. So, I got a first                                         prototype working back in 2014, and Novaquark was born soon after.”  An alpha version demonstrating the unique single hard cluster (CSSC) and planetary engine                         with a preliminary set of gameplay features is planned to become available at the beginning of                               2017. Beyond its initial release, Dual Universe is set to be a long term continuous development                               project and will grow with regular updates.  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 player­made ships and constructions can be inhabited and host large crews. ● Immersive first person view in a futuristic sci­fi universe. ● Realistic in­game 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 Single­Shard 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 planet­sized 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.    

    Screenshots Downloads available from the Dual Universe website: http://www.dualthegame.com/screenshots  

 Build giant kilometer­sized constructions in space... 

 ...or buildings on the ground 

 even large cities 

 on beautiful planets to explore. 

 About Novaquark  Novaquark is a Paris­based game studio formed in 2014 by veterans from Ubisoft, Sony, Apple,                             Aldebaran Robotics, with a mission to renew the MMO genre through technological innovation.                         Dual Universe, their flagship title, fosters massively emergent gameplay in a huge continuous                         single­shard virtual world. The studio is currently hiring experienced and motivated candidates                       in various domains of expertize.  Check out the latest news  Game site: https://www.dualthegame.com Twitter:  https://twitter.com/dualuniverse Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/dualuniverse Devblog:  https://devblog.dualthegame.com Forum: https://board.dualthegame.com Music: https://soundcloud.com/dualuniverse Press Newsletter:  contact us at press@novaquark.com to subscribe.  Contact  press@novaquark.com | +33 9 67 48 04 04 (Benoît Pothier)