Hello, Noveans!

You can find below some answers to questions about upcoming features in update 1.4, which will be coming soon to Dual Universe. We know you have many questions, and to make it easier for you to stay informed, we wanted to summarize what was shared.

Stay tuned, more is coming soon!

PvE
We are excited to add PvE Combat missions in update 1.4, where players participate in missions against NPCs using familiar PvP mechanics. Here's an overview of what to expect in PvE Missions:

Difficulty Levels: Missions will have various difficulty levels, from very easy to very hard. Players can solo the lower tiers, but as the difficulty increases, players will need to team up to complete the missions using ships with a crew equipped with multiple sets of guns.

Challenging Gameplay: Even for experienced players, the higher-difficulty missions will be tough. Players will need to strategize and optimize their ships to achieve victory.

Customizable Mission Ships: Players must build their own mission ships within the parameters set by each mission. Restrictions may apply, such as not allowing large battleships in easy missions. Players can choose their preferred weapons, shields, and variants for their ships.

Instanced Battles: Missions will be instanced, using similar technology as VR challenges. However, players can now bring their own ships and enter the same instance alongside multiple other players. You must also supply your own ammunition, scrap, and fuel; any lost elements during the mission will be your loss.

Rewards: Completing missions will earn players quanta, addressing feedback requesting more ways to make in-game currency. PvE Combat provides an alternative method for players to fund their gameplay, similar to hauling missions.

Scaling Difficulty: The intention is for very easy missions to be accessible to new players with a few days of talents without requiring perfect equipment. As players progress to higher difficulties, missions become more demanding and require precise strategies.

Loss Consequences: We are still finalizing what happens when players lose a mission, with the goal of not being overly punishing. One possibility is allowing players to salvage their ships if they fail a mission.

Mission Retreat: If players find a mission too difficult, they can retreat to the entry point to save their ship and resources. Completing the mission isn’t needed to escape.

More information about PvE Missions, including specifics on the consequences of losing a mission, will be provided as we develop and refine the feature.

PvP Changes
We are implementing significant changes to our PvP mechanics, including:

We’re changing the tracking formula that runs hit or miss calculations, especially the impact of ship cross-sections on the formula. We expect this to shift the meta away from lighter ships with small cross-sections by removing the protection they currently enjoy from the low probability of being hit by medium and large guns.

We’re also adjusting most parts of PvP, with changes to systems such as base weapon stats and removing debuffs from weapon variants.

Shield venting is also being changed, and stasis weapons are being buffed to make them more powerful and relevant to their role, for instance, in tackling small ships that get caught.

We are also investigating server issues and lag in PvP. To help us address these problems, please submit detailed reports with player names, ship names, times, and any other relevant information when lag occurs. These issues are difficult for us to replicate on our end, and being specific in your reports will enable us to analyze our logs better.

Planets
In Update 1.4, we will be reintroducing two planets, each with exciting new features and locations:

Sicari: Retaining its original feel but visually enhanced with more interesting elements and a new location.

Sinnen: Completely reworked from the ground up and placed in a new location.

Following player feedback, we are experimenting with closer positioning for the new planets. Stay tuned for upcoming images showcasing these planets in the coming weeks.

Additionally, Update 1.4 will introduce three new Alien Core Units, enabling access to all types of plasma in the game.

LUA Changes
We are implementing several updates to the Lua system, which may cause temporary disruptions but are essential for long-term improvements. Some changes include:

Update Lua version to 5.4.4
Slightly improve the syntax highlighting
Fixed the boolean type to return 'true' or 'false' instead of 1 or 0.
Seeking faster solutions for JSON encoding and decoding.
We've taken the opportunity to introduce some minor changes to radar to help filter signals.

Find more info about the LUA upgrades here.

Joystick Support
This feature has taken significantly more resources than we had anticipated, but it does look like we’ll have full joystick support in update 1.4! If you want to know more, you can find more info here.

We'll be back very soon with more info!

Thanks for reading, Noveans!

The Novaquark Team