CONFIRMED: 3rd Person Social Areas

 Make no mistake about it, we're excited. In their newest devblog the minds behind DUST 514 have confirmed that they have 3rd person social areas. Why is this great news? In a game as deep as DUST we know the ability to upgrade and customize our characters will be extensive, but in an FPS we usually don't get to appreciate how our characters "look" per se. With the addition of these Social Areas we'll not only have the ability to appreciate the look of our characters, but also the ability to interact with 31 other people in the War Room as well. Think about it as an FPS with the beauty of third person at times. If you'll remember we thought that a PS Home/PMC HQ mechanic in MAG would have given us a great space to be social/plan/strategize when we weren't shooting people. Here's what we wrote a few months ago:

PMC HQ -What could add more to the game's social aspect than a non-combat area that we can explore via our avatars and interact with others like a smaller version of Playstation Home? The ability to tour the Barracks/Clan Areas, recruit players, purchase weapons and gear, share screenshots, talk to others via proximity or group chat, test new weapons, interact via an in-game PMC message board and shoot on practice ranges? a PMC area that expands the game and provides a great place to frequent before we deploy would be epic.

The other thing that excites us is the mention of other "Social Spaces" (The War Room is the first) because this could be truly game-changing if done well. Deep and Immersive gameplay is about more than just shooting people, gloating and looking at leaderboards. We can only imagine how much a well-done Bar-Style area, Casino-Style resort or Neutral Marketplace would add to gameplay. We look forward to it.