Interstellar Travel

Disclaimer
"While all of the features on this page are confirmed game content that will released eventually, it is important to note that some or all of these features may be intentionally delayed by the developers for gameplay reasons until several years after release . While no specific timeline or details have been given, we (the wiki editors) do not want anyone to feel as though they were mislead or misinformed about the features and nature of the game."

There are two primary methods of Interstellar Travel: Faster Than Light (FTL) engines, and Stargates. Both of these methods are complex systems, requiring their own advanced technology and skills to operate, and multiple elements are needed for each to function properly.

Faster Than Light Travel
Ships can be equipped with special Faster-Than-Light Warp Drives that allow them to travel at supra-light speeds. These engines require Warp Cells, Which is an expensive item that depletes when warping. Ships with Warp Drives will be able to travel to any solar system in the galaxy, though the massive distances between stars means that those journeys will still take significant amounts of time, on the order of days, if not weeks. As a result, Warp Drives will mostly be used for in-system travel and trips to previously unexplored systems.

Stargates
Stargates provide the fastest possible means of traveling between solar systems in Dual Universe. A stargate will allow players to travel almost instantaneously to any other star system that has a stargate within its broadcast range, which is determined by the level of the broadcasting stargate.

Building a functioning stargate network first requires building a stargate in the player's current system. Then, once this gate is complete, it can send out a single probe at FTL speed to the desired destination system. Once the probe arrives, which will take days, if not weeks, depending on the distance to the target system, it will allow the player to make a single jump to its location, presumably while carrying enough resources to construct another stargate in that system. Once the second stargate is completed and activated, players can begin jumping between the two gates at will. Alternatively, players can manually FTL to another system and build the original stargate there.

The downside of stargates is that building and maintaining them will be extremely expensive, and they are vulnerable to destruction by other players. The fuel upkeep of stargates will be high, and the time involved in constructing a working pair will make expansion relatively slow. However, the owners of stargates will be able to regulate who is allowed to use them, and they may force players to pay a tax every time they use the gate.

The Expanding Reach of Players
Because Dual Universe is designed to simulate the growth and expansion of a player-created universe, the game experience for a player on Day 1 will be very different from the game experience of a player joining several months after the game has launched, and both may be very different from the experience of a player entering the game two years after launch. In the early days of the game there will be no stargates or FTL drives, and even basic spaceships will be exorbitantly expensive and rare. Not because those features wont be in the game, but because the players will start with no skills, markets, resources, or infrastructure; and acquiring resources will be difficult. In the beginning, building a construct capable of flying to a moon of the starting planet Alioth will be a significant achievement. However, as the player base expands, the economy grows, and new infrastructure is built, the game will advance to the point where FTL travel is commonplace, and stargates are plentiful.