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GDC 2013: DUST 514's Uprising update conquers your PS3 on May 6
Although DUST 514 is still in open beta, a big update will soon deliver some significant changes to the game, changes that will bring it more in-line with the CCP's vision for this MMOFPS companion to EVE Online. During a presentation at GDC 2013, Thor Gunnarsson (VP of business development) and Halldor Fannar (CTO) shared more details about this update, dubbed Uprising after a merc revolt in the title's lore. Fannar explained that Uprising focuses on two main themes. "The first theme we are calling 'making it matter.' It's about creating a more meaningful connection between DUST 514 and EVE." While the Caldari Prime event was the first step on that journey (20,000 battles took place on the ground), the planetary conquests system in this update will introduce features that will further intertwine the two games. "The other theme is basically visual improvements," Fannar explained, "making the graphics look better, making the graphics run faster, and also adding more graphics." Players will get to see for themselves exactly how these themes play out when the updates releases on May 6th. In the meantime, enjoy our impressions from GDC.
The Firing Line: Firefall, Defiance, John Romero, and more
Dude, there was a ton of big shooter news this week! I mean, this isn't terribly unusual, particularly since the genre is expanding at a rapid rate, but when I've got to cut interesting items out of this column for length reasons, you know it's been an eventful few days. Join me after the break for a recap on everything from Firefall to Defiance to John Romero and beyond.
GDC 2012: CCP talks DUST 514 PC possibilities and World of Darkness development
GDC 2012 is now in full swing, and today we had the chance to sit down with CCP's Hilmar Petursson, Halldor Fannar, and David Reid to chat about the studio's upcoming FPS title, DUST 514. When asked about the studio's primary goal with DUST 514, the team had a simple reply: Make the best AAA free-to-play shooter possible. But is it coming to the PC? While many EVE Online players aren't thrilled with DUST 514's PlayStation 3 exclusivity, there may be hope for a PC release yet. And while the devs weren't ready to make any official statements on the spot, a bit of wink-nudging indicates that a PC release may still be in the cards. As the devs note, mouse and keyboard controls are already supported in the PS3 version of the title. "I wonder why we did that," Hilmar joked during the interview.
E3 2011: DUST 514's realtime integration with EVE Online
During Monday's Sony conference, EVE Online developer CCP Games made an appearance to announce that the company's upcoming MMOFPS DUST 514 will be exclusive to the PlayStation 3. The ambitious title aims to link the world of ground troops fighting over planets to EVE Online's universe of spaceborne conflict. EVE players will be able to hire DUST mercenaries as part of an ongoing territorial war, the concept for which we got a glimpse of in both the E3 DUST 514 trailer and the previous A Future Vision trailer in March. When DUST 514 is released in spring 2012, PC-based ship pilots will be fighting for control of industrial infrastructure, planets, star systems, and whole regions of space alongside console-based ground troops. CCP's future vision for the virtual universe of New Eden is slowly starting to become a reality, and we can only hope that both games live up to their sizable potential. We caught up with CCP at E3 to find out the details on DUST 514's gameplay and how the DUST-EVE link will work. Skip past the cut for the incredibly juicy details on DUST 514's gameplay and how DUST mercenaries will interact with the EVE universe. Before reading on, be warned that a change of underwear may be required!
EVE Online developers discuss Apocrypha expansion's impact on the game
EVE Online's recent deployment of the Apocrypha expansion brought major changes to the game. Apocrypha is the largest expansion they've released to date, incorporating wormhole exploration and modular ship designs, in addition to a new NPC race into the fabric of the game as we know it. BattleClinic, a site best known for its player-built tools, guides, and as a hub for sharing and commenting upon ship setups, caught up with CCP Games at GDC 2009. They spoke with Halldór Fannar Guðjónsson, CTO at CCP Games, and Gabe Mahoney, VP of Engineering. Given how significant Apocrypha has been from the standpoint of the players and CCP alike, the interview focuses on the expansion.
CCP Games to present at Game Developers Conference 2009
CCP Games, the developer of EVE Online, has announced that they'll have a presence at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) next month. The company's CMO, Ryan Scott Dancey (aka CCP RyanD), is slated to speak about how CCP uses social network engineering to reach out to more subscribers. Specifically, he'll describe how the company puts Tipping Point theory (about how information spreads) into action. That session is titled: "Network Marketing: Leveraging Social Networks to Grow an MMO".On the technology front, CCP's CTO Halldor Fannar will speak at GDC 2009 in a session geared more towards programmers and technical artists, "From Evolution to Revolution: Upgrading the Graphics Engine of EVE Online". Fannar will lay out the issues CCP has faced with upgrading EVE's graphics engine, and explain how their ideas went from being on paper to a shipping game. His presentation will show the tools in action that allowed them to "take the required generational leap in art production." Game Developers Conference 2009 runs from March 23-27 at the Moscone Center, San Francisco, and as we've mentioned previously, will have a lot to offer MMO fans of all genres.
EVE Fanfest presentation discusses graphics enhancements
EVE Online's Fanfest 2008 is now underway, and reports are already coming through on what's happening in Reykjavik. CCP Games held a press conference that discussed EVE's technical side, namely its server technology, but also touched upon EVE's impending graphic enhancements in 2009. EVE Online's Premium 'Trinity' graphics engine was a significant leap forward in the game. While some players felt that the graphics as they were prior to Trinity were still ahead of the curve in terms of what's expected of an MMO, the look of the game changed dramatically with Trinity. However, the Trinity deployment wasn't a complete revamp of EVE's look. Ships and stations benefited from Premium graphics, but other celestial objects did not, jump gates notwithstanding."EVE is in a state where, if you run the Premium graphics edition, half of it is done, you could say," said Chief Technologist Halldor Fannar of CCP Games, at Reykjavik's Fanfest 2008, as reported by Oli Welsh of Eurogamer. Future graphics updates will bring celestial objects in line with what's currently seen in Trinity, and may well arrive with the forthcoming Walking in Stations expansion which is slated to launch after the Quantum Rise expansion, just around the corner.
