MEDIC! CORPSMAN! DOC! NURSE!

So, I read and commented on KG's article, 'Can CCP Break the Cycle,' and promptly decided to dedicate a full article to the medic. Or just the people who want to be the prototypical medic aka heal people and get them back into the fight. Here's to the FPS healers (as oppposed to RPG healers in MMO's).

"People don't yell, "MEDIC!" because they're having a great day." - Rapp, CMC Corpsman

Expansion (throwing out ideas)

When I first heard about Dust 514, one of my biggest concerns was variety of planet environments the player would be able to fight in; I was hoping for a massive amount of planetary environments, like permanently dark and stormy environment with lots of lightning, harsh deserst, volcanic, arctic, predominantly liquid (doesn't have to be water, could be liquid methane, or other possible liquids), various levels of gravity, and various atmospheric lighting, and sky colors. Killzone, however flawed it is, has spoiled me with its environments. An interview with Halldor Fannar (the CEO CTO of CCP) revealed that the majority of the battles would be fought on temperate planets, and battles on more extreme planets would be rare. Furthermore, those extreme planets would require the player to purchase special suits to fight in (which makes sense).

Dust Dev Blog: Scaling the Universe

A new Dust 514 Developer Blog has been introduced, and it describes some of the ways they'll be handling battles, sharing the same back-end with EVE and hosting conflict all over the globe. Dedicated Multi-Core Servers FTW!

Scaling the Universe

Can CCP Break the Cycle?

Much of what we've heard about Dust 514 has been music to the ears of fans of "shooters with depth." So many of us are tired of the same-old, same-old tired aspects, tactics and exploits when it comes to shooters. Many of the elements that current shooters contain are outdated, poorly done and only remain because many developers refuse to innovate. One of the real ways CCP can grab the attention of shooter fans is by eliminating many of the time-worn, sacred cows of first person shooters. We've decided to list some of these for your viewing pleasure.

Coming to Dust? RND

Next up: RND. While this Valor clan may have done much of its damage after what is largely considered MAG's "prime", they are well-known for their teamwork and their staunch dedication to larger game modes like Domination (where they still average 40 per night). Their leader YDubbs81 is a frequent forum contributor and they reportedly already have elements within EVE. They are also rumored to be considering an alliance with the likes of V-C and KEQ.

Do you know any other clans or notable players making the exodus to Dust 514? Let us know regardless of games or console so we can highlight some of the colorful personalities we'll be seeing soon in our Coming to Dust series. Email our blog at magww@live.com

Develop article on dust 514

Another great writeup on the importance of Dust to the PS3, and to the emerging Persistent Shooter genre as a whole. Well written, and we totally agree. Its time for a paradigm shift within MMOFPS. The same old, same old is tired, stale and just wont cut it any more. Check out the article below.

Dust Article

Copy of a psycho (Dust 514-based story)

Part 1| Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

As I lay in a pool of my own blood wearing shattered armor, I stare at the sky above and watch what looks like a star flash above me. The light was so beautiful that it shifted my attention from the pain, and the bullets that are quickly causing the collapse of my vital organs. I try to remember the mission, what we're fighting for... and more importantly what I'm fighting for on this planet, but none of that seemed to matter now as I watch what looked like a bright star smash down causing massive casualties.

Coming to Dust? OSG

OSG, better known as Old School Gamers, is a MAG clan famous for being a SVER stalwart. Easily one of SVER's best clans since launch, this clan maintained its status as one of MAG's best throughout the heyday of MAG. Notables members included DV8Hitman, StevoP80, Ensane and AndrewDoc21. Notable events included almost flawless defense of SVER territory, being virtually the only SVER clan to participitate in TTT Weekend and the high profile expulsion of Alyoyo.

Do you know any other clans or notable players making the exodus to Dust 514? Let us know regardless of games or console so we can highlight some of the colorful personalities we'll be seeing soon in our Coming to Dust series. Email our blog at magww@live.com

Necessary: Real Assets

Another one of the real benefits of true tactical gameplay concerns friendly and enemy military assets. In many games these assets are static, repairable, not to mention easily recognizable and located. This hurts tactical gameplay in a number of ways, we'd like to see real assets, but we'd also like to see more variety in regards to them.

Layoffs hit CCP

Times are hard all over. We regretfully learned this morning that CCP is one of the many companies being forced to layoff employees. Below is a link to the article.

There are times when our concerns about gameplay and entertainment seem petty when compared to people losing their livelihood. THIS IS ONE OF THEM. We wish the people displaced from their jobs Godspeed and Good Luck. We hope they land on their feet soon.

http://tinyurl.com/6fo5s3u

Dust Preview by VGNetwork.it

Recently we stumbled onto another Dust 514 preview, this one done by popular game reviewer VGNetwork.IT. Be sure to check the interview out after the break.

English Snake, The Lost Interview [MAG]

For all of you who have played, or are currently still playing MAG, this interview will bring back memories. Memories of both the online PMC wars, and the true spirit of MAG players during the game's prime.

Necessary: Grids and "Painting" targets

Many shooters today that profess to call themselves "tactical" don't give their players the proper tools to implement strategy. While we still live in the days of "Watch out! we got Two bad guys over by the barricade." we really shouldn't. One of the next steps in improving tactical gameplay is developing a grid system that will allow us to show our allies a precise location instead of generalizing a location that we can see. Think of the possibilities it will add to bombing runs, sniper targets and pointing out the locations of enemy forces in general. The days of  "We got a sniper by the tree." should be long gone.

Dust Mythos Episode 2

Letters to the Creators: Part 1

Transmission: 87D:001.168.9
CMCPROTOCOL: //UNCLASSIFIED//privatecom//
ALPHA loc: //CLASSIFIED//
OMEGA loc: //UNCLASSIFIED//home//

Player Interviews: Spkr4TheDead

Our next interviewee is no other than MAG luminary, Spkr4TheDead. In our latest interview he chimes in on holding grudges, the Stranded Series and why MAG has a command structure CCP should consider emulating.

Five things CCP can learn from the BF3 Beta

We're certainly eagerly anticipating Dust 514, but we still love a great shooter. No current shooter offers the depth that Dust 514 is hinting at, but we recently played the BF3 Beta and although we were a little underwhelmed, there are plenty of lessons CCP can take from DICE's recent plan of action with their flagship franchise.

The Collection

A new Dust 514 Chronicle by CCP Headfirst titled, The Collection was just released. Its a new chapter in the mythology of Dust 514 that follows the enlisted soldier Cennet as he and his unit start their attack on an unnamed planet. Following yesterdays interview with Brandon Laurino, the descriptions of the molten terrain on this distant planet excite us, as we now know the terrains and geography of planet will be various. Its something we look forward to--along with the strange detachment DUST Mercs view death with. Use the link below for the full excerpt.

The Collection

IGN: Dust 514 a Game-Changer

Its seems the excitement behind Dust 514 is spreading to all corners of the internet. An IGN article released today describes many of the ambitious methods being used to tie the game to EVE and the consequential but-still-accessible nature of the game. It goes as far to suggest the Persistent Shooter genre its creating may very well be the future of console gaming. Use the link below for the entire article.

IGN Article

CCP Developer: "We'll Change Shooters FOREVER."

In a recent interview on the Playstation Blog, CCP Executive Developer Brandon Laurino went into depth about Beta Info, breaking into the console market, connecting EVE and DUST and changing shooters FOREVER. There's a lot of good info in this interview, and we have some new video footage to look at as well.

CCP Interview 

Player Interviews: Zeigfryd

1.  Our next interview features Zeigfryd of the SI. We were fortunate enough to get some of his opinions on the politics of DUST, why CCP should be careful not to over-balance the game and how the game should deal with Griefers.

DUST 514: A Possible Fear

A Pessimistic Analysis

As revolutionary as the concept of Dust 514 is, I fear there are many factors that could hold the game back from being the success that it deserves to be.

One of these factors is that this is a PS3 exclusive shooter. I'm not simply talking about the obvious fact that being on more platforms will increase sales, but specifically the problems of PS3 platform. I love my PS3, but I have a theory about why Xbox360 shooters do better than PS3 shooters in sales. The theory is basically this; PS3 has so many exclusive shooters that the sales get really divided among the many titles, so none of the PS3 shooters get nearly as much individual sales as any to Xbox360 shooters.

Player Interviews: Zothike of Caldari Prime

Our next EVE/DUST interview is with Zothike of Caldari Prime. A veteran EVE player who has been keeping a close eye on the DUST 514 development. Keep reading for his full interview.