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Hands-on with DUST 514 on the cusp of open beta
Less than a week before DUST 514's January 22nd open beta launch, CCP invited Massively and other publications to attend an orbital bombardment event in San Francisco. We've been regularly reporting on the progress of the orbital bombardment system, but this time we witnessed the process in action. We also got a preview of the larger implications and long-term expectations of metagame elements that will exist between DUST and its sibling sandbox, EVE Online.
DUST 514 connects to EVE Online in upcoming closed beta test
CCP Games Executive Producer Brandon Laurino opened up on the features coming to DUST 514's closed beta "precursor" release, which begins August 21st. It will be during this closed beta that DUST 514 and EVE Online will finally meet and shake hands (or try to strangle each other for profit). The team will put DUST 514 on EVE's test server Singularity to see how the games interact in a live environment for the first time. Best part? All EVE Online subscribers now get access to DUST's beta. "We can't wait to see what happens when these games collide in the same shared universe," Laurino wrote. With this move, the team will also be testing out orbital strikes on the battlefield. Players will be able to call down powerful attacks from space onto the heads of their enemies. For right now, the orbital strikes will come from computer-controlled barges, but eventually EVE players will be able to fill the role. Another future feature will be the ability for groundpounders to use orbital artillery to fire on ships in return. The August 21st build of the game will also include new matchmaking features, plenty of additional environments, keyboard and mouse implementation for PlayStation 3 users, and lots of polish. The team says that its Vita companion app, DUST 514: Neocom, is going live at the same time. [Source: CCP Games press release]
DUST 514 Vita version is companion app, not full game
If you were hoping to play a mobile version of CCP's upcoming DUST 514 shooter, you might want to adjust your expectations just a bit. The EVE Online-inspired MMOFPS will be making an appearance on Sony's PlayStation Vita device... but as a companion app rather than a full-blown game. CCP's Brandon Laurino explained the details to Eurogamer in an interview over the weekend. "At the most basic level, you can do transactions on the market, equip and customize your character, your vehicles, set up strategies with your friends and corporation members -- all of these sort of companion functions on the go," he says. Laurino also says that the DUST Vita launch date has yet to be determined but that gamers should keep an eye out for further iterations of the app after its initial release. "As we continue to explore what the possibilities are between Vita and PS3, of which there are many, we'll keep updating the app with stuff like that over time," he explained.
DUST 514 will be F2P and free to download
CCP may not be jumping on the free-to-play bandwagon with EVE Online, but the company has told Eurogamer that it is making use of the new payment model for its EVE-based MMOFPS called DUST 514. If you're scratching your head because you thought this had been announced already, here's the skinny: The firm initially intended to charge between $10 and 20$ to download DUST over the PlayStation network. There was some sort of confusing payment scheme in the works by which the original cover charge would be converted to in-game credits that could then be spent in the cash shop. Now, though, DUST will be fully free-to-play (and download), with optional microtransactions on the side. CCP executive producer Brandon Laurino tells Eurogamer that DUST isn't cut from the standard pay-to-win cloth, either. "It's the classic microtransaction dynamic of 'I can pay and get this item' or 'I can invest my time and get this item.' But neither of those options will give me an unfair advantage over the other," he explains. There's more to the article, including some bits about the types of cash shop items on offer. Head to Eurogamer for the full report.
