In a developer diary for the upcoming Dual Universe, sandbox MMO, they revealed that the game will be entering into pre-alpha testing starting September 30th. The pre-alpha version will contain most of the functioning gameplay loops, including exploration, building your ship, and mining for resources. The team, however, notes that the scanning and crafting modules are not complete yet, so they will release what they have into pre-alpha and then add on the other core components later.

The eight minute developer diary went live while the team attended this past year’s GamesCom in Cologne, Germany. The video offers gamers an update on the progress they’re making on the game so far, and what you can expect when the pre-alpha build finally goes live. You can check it out below.

The pre-alpha will contain all the basic tools for crafting and creation, and will allow you to build all the necessary vehicles in th egame, from hovercraft to capital ships and everything else in between.

He mentions in the video that procedural planet generation isn’t final, so they may have to reset the planet generation in the near future.

In preparation for the pre-alpha release, the team revamped the game’s UI and game menu. They aren’t finished with the UI development, but it’s mostly an improved placeholder for now.

Dual Universe’s inventory system has also been improved, along with the cockpit of the ships receiving an upgrade with the interaction system embedded into the graphical user interface.

They’ve also added headlights for use with constructs, so you can scour the environment at night and see where you’re going. Landing gear have been implemented for both manual and automatic deployment.

New construction materials have been added, allowing players to create more unique items and sci-fi looking objects.

The video also demonstrates some of the bizarre ships you’ll be able to create using the physics systems implemented into the game.

So far the feedback has been quite positive, and a lot of gamers are looking forward to the pre-alpha release. It’s possible to get in on the action by pledging over on the official Dual Universe website. Pledging before September 7th will grant you a lifetime subscription and access to the alpha.