FinalStrigon wrote:
I wouldn't say the Dust was created with the purpose to change their physiology. It was more like they accidentally created it while trying to help an aquatic race live in a non-aquatic setting. Then they realized what all they could do with the nanobots, and kept on expanding and experimenting from there.



Like the man who invented the microwave. He was doing experiments with the recently developed magnetron, realized that aside from what he was doing, things were heated up, and it branched off in an unintended way. Though, I'd hesitate to say the microwave is multi-useful as Dust.

There's some awesome pieces of lore in the design discussion forum :

/#/endless-space/forum/29-archives/thread/13132-the-universe

This strange substance that came to dominate the Endless culture had relatively mundane origins; scientists driven by the problems of the Eaür developed increasingly miniaturized machines in order to handle the biophysics of adaptation

Alderbranch wrote:
And we also have this post by slowhands on the matter of dust.

...

Given I can't view the original post I assume that's in a moderator specific forum, right?



I've added a section to explain how the devs came up with the idea.

PaulAtreides wrote:
i see dust as spice (from 1984 film Dune)

Just, no. Nope.

i see dust as spice (from 1984 film Dune)

Id say first join the church of alderbranch and read about true origins of dust even though the devs try to deny it (its part of the conspiracy, they are part of the church)



And we also have this post by slowhands on the matter of dust.

Slowhands wrote:
Okay, guys, it looks like I better explain things (especially since I invented the stuff).



1. It is not ingested via the nose (though I suppose someone out there might do it that way; the galaxy is pretty big and pretty weird...) and it is not produced by Bolivian peasants...

2. You do not need it to navigate.

3. It is, indeed, the major remnant of the Endless civilization.





The background of Dust is tied in with the way we developed the universe. Because it's a strategy game, way back when we first started working on the universe we (mostly SpaceTroll & I) had a bunch of different criteria:

- a universe that felt familiar but had a cool 'twist'

- a sense of epic history

- a universe that was vast and limitless, but not empty (not a big dark void with little bits of life here and there)

- a physical resource that was of strategic value to everybody (like tiberium, vespene gas, etc.).



From this set of constraints we came up with the Endless (and their tragic history) as well as Dust, which is the remains of this once-godlike civilization. The basic concept of Dust is that it consists of self-organizing, self-replicating nano-machines that ended up being the 'glue' that held the Endless civilization together. As it was used to create computers, communication systems, 'smart' objects, etc., it became part of their ships, buildings, clothes, tools, roads, windows, etc. etc. It was everywhere in their civilization, and when that and the power sources that fed it finally died the Dust turned (mostly) inert and lost its purpose. So it is of great value itself, and can be used to augment and enhance almost anything.



Hopefully that clears up some of those nasty rumors...

After I read about dust and what it actually is, it reminds me of the song "Reprogrammed to hate" by Whitechapel.



The troops of a fallen race, are revived and reprogrammed to hate! Well in the hands of the Cravers anyway

Or is it, who the Dust controls, controls the universe?



Simply because I remember getting a few events where the Dust decided to develop a consciousness and destroy my ship/fleet speeds and sight range...I never get the positive game events >_<

He who controls the Dust, controls the universe!

But I like magical cheese bits... nom nom

Fanoffi wrote:
Well atleast it's a bit more realistic than magical cheese bits. Credits to the writers for this unique idea, which is extremely fantastic just to imagine in the real world. Well done.

So much good feedback, nice!

Immediately worked a little bit to make it more comprehensive and answered the question why there isn't an Infinite amount of Dust in the first post.

Personally I also think that Dust is an simply great idea. Not just do the devs let us take part in their creation, they even have unique and awesome ideas themselves. One of the reason I (and probably everyone else here) love Endless Space. If you think there is still something the first post doesn't answer sufficiently feel free to ask or give me hint to improve something.



Oh just noticed that the links I included in the post should probably have another color to make them more visible, or people might not even notice that I put them in there at all.

The long story is really interesting (but it may be because I like writing, even in the usual 4x game)

VieuxChat wrote:
There's some awesome pieces of lore in the design discussion forum :

/#/endless-space/forum/29-archives/thread/13132-the-universe

Yeah, that's what I was referencing, as well as the topic creator. That was just how I interpreted it.

Well it's only the short story

Introduction:

By now we all know the greatest achievement of the Endless was Dust. We know it's kind of everywhere, it's valuable and has lots of effects and uses. But there are many misconceptions around on the forum, and it seems the question "WTF is Dust?" should be answered to avoid even more threads going offtopic. Since the devs do have a good plan of what Dust is and there are detailed posts around, all the necessary details are there. So I decided to make a topic dedicated only to what Dust exactly is. Without unnecessary amounts of detail, but detailed enough to understand all important aspects.



Where did it came from?:

I don't want to put too much detail into this section, because it really belongs into the lore more. But roughly explained Dust has been created by Endless scientists as an effective way to adapt the Eaür to living outside of the water. Look here for more details.



What is Dust?:

What we call Dust here are actually dormant nanobots, microscopic machines, too small to see them unless you collect a significant amount of Dust. These nanobots derive their energy from the outside, primarily in form of radiation. Dust is able to compute and Dust can form networks, hence a big enough amount of Dust can build intelligent structures. Dust is able to use energy and given resources to build stuff, as well as replicating itself.

All of these factors together turn Dust into an extremely versatile resource, useful for nearly every kind of possible application. That also involves applications for war, whether in various weapon types or when instructed to deconstruct and disintegrate materials as a weapon itself.



Why isn't there an infinite amount of Dust?:

Dust may be versatile and pretty much everywhere, but has fallen dormant with the extinction of the Endless, who created it and thus obviously were the only ones able to fully control it. Species which find Dust at the beginning of the game either have no clue at all or only roughly know what they are dealing with. Control over the Dust increases during the game and allows the species far more advanced projects involving Dust, eventually at some point leading to a complete revival of the self-replicating ability.



Where exactly do you find Dust?:

Thanks to the expansion of the Endless, throughout the entire galaxy. On planets, in stellar formations, between the stars, in derelict Endless ships... Basically everywhere. But you won't just find huge amounts of Dust everywhere, amassing a significant amount of Dust isn't easy, after all we're talking about nanobots. Collecting Dust is hard work because it's so small, and while Dust is everywhere in the galaxy, there are barely any structures or places with amounts big enough to be seen with the bare eye of a human.

Slowhands wrote:
When we say that Dust is "relatively easy to find", it doesn't mean that it's lying on the ground and all you need is a broom. Noooooo!

Why is Dust the currency in Endless Space?:

Because it is so versatile as explained above. Dust is the only resource each and every species throughout the galaxy can use, and it is available throughout the entire galaxy as well. Hence Dust works like a translator between the local currencies of the factions. For a more detailed view and maybe some laughs refer to the post from which the quote above comes.



How does Dust affect lifeforms?:

First it depends on the amount of Dust. Living on a planet with Dust is probably not going to have any effect at all because there's virtually no way to "collect" enough Dust for any effects by just living normal.

In case an individual is exposed to a significant amount of Dust several things can happen. Being contaminated by Dust is a huge strain on the individual, especially on the mind; most people will end up dead or insane.

However there are certain individuals who possess a mind which is strong and clear enough to survive the Dust contamination and obtain control over the Dust. Those are the ones we call heroes.



What made the devs come up with Dust?:

I'll just use a quote to sum this up.

Slowhands wrote:
The background of Dust is tied in with the way we developed the universe. Because it's a strategy game, way back when we first started working on the universe we (mostly SpaceTroll & I) had a bunch of different criteria:

- a universe that felt familiar but had a cool 'twist'

- a sense of epic history

- a universe that was vast and limitless, but not empty (not a big dark void with little bits of life here and there)

- a physical resource that was of strategic value to everybody (like tiberium, vespene gas, etc.).



From this set of constraints we came up with the Endless (and their tragic history) as well as Dust, which is the remains of this once-godlike civilization. The basic concept of Dust is that it consists of self-organizing, self-replicating nano-machines that ended up being the 'glue' that held the Endless civilization together. As it was used to create computers, communication systems, 'smart' objects, etc., it became part of their ships, buildings, clothes, tools, roads, windows, etc. etc. It was everywhere in their civilization, and when that and the power sources that fed it finally died the Dust turned (mostly) inert and lost its purpose. So it is of great value itself, and can be used to augment and enhance almost anything.

If you have something to improve please give me some feedback. If you have any ideas, or unanswered questions feel free to post them as well.

I wouldn't say the Dust was created with the purpose to change their physiology. It was more like they accidentally created it while trying to help an aquatic race live in a non-aquatic setting. Then they realized what all they could do with the nanobots, and kept on expanding and experimenting from there.



Like the man who invented the microwave. He was doing experiments with the recently developed magnetron, realized that aside from what he was doing, things were heated up, and it branched off in an unintended way. Though, I'd hesitate to say the microwave is multi-useful as Dust.

So the short story is this; Dust are nanobots created by the Endless, with a purpose to change their entire physiology to a more adaptive one. Depending on the environment of course. It existed everywhere in the blossoming empire which spanded all across the universe. The Endless eventually died and became extinct (except from the planned hero) And so the Dust became dormant..



As other races developed and rose to the stars. They too eventually discovered the Dust and then used it as an intergalactic valuta.



End of story..





Well atleast it's a bit more realistic than magical cheese bits. Credits to the writers for this unique idea, which is extremely fantastic just to imagine in the real world. Well done.

VieuxChat wrote:
I think that as writers, the invention of Dust is the real masterpiece of the devs.

I definitely agree. Dust is certainly something unique. They could have taken the easy way out and simply made a typical inter-galactic currency (like the "credits" in Mass Effect, Star Wars, and so on), but they didn't.

Dust is stuff.

Ah, that explains some things, thanks. It might be useful to always use the phrase "dormant nanobots" instead of just nanobots when explaining what Dust is, because self-replication is always assumed for nanotech. That's the whole point. And obviously, anything that serves as currency in a game has to be non self-replicating (except under special circumstances with Heroes, I guess).

I think that as writers, the invention of Dust is the real masterpiece of the devs.

Alright, that makes sense. I didn't consider it was a control issue. I just assumed that the Dust, with this possible "consciousness" it has, just...replicated itself.