Group Queues and Solo Merc Queues?

To many, the frequency of imbalanced matches in Dust 514 at this early stage is concerning. The amount of redline matches is excessive. They see a system where poor matchmaking too often allows games that are grossly imbalanced and one sided. We've come to the conclusion that this has more to do with blending games together with casual and hardcore players than anything else. That in addition to not using a mechanic that seeks to balance teams seems to be blame for a lack of competition in these instances. One of the solutions might lie in allowing newer players and those interested in solo play a separate queue from the hardcore players itching to test out larger groups and team play. Some would argue that this is what Corp Battles are for. Unfortunately though, no one actually uses corp battles. We've sent 'reporters' out to observe no less than twenty corp matches and exactly one was coordinated well and started on time. The global nature of the playerbase and real life commitments still make online scheduling more of a crap shoot than anything else.

Developer Perspective: Mizz Smarty Pants

 Most of our readers dont have the backstory of our attempts to get an interview with former Zipper Dev Mizz Smarty Pants. Trust us when we tell you we have literally tried for years to get her to sit down with us. When she was still working for Zipper, she wouldn't budge in regards to giving us an exclusive or inside info. Having moved on to brighter pastures, she finally agreed to sit down with us to talk a little about MAG, but mostly about the forthcoming experience we call Dust 514. In this piece shares her early opinions on spawning in Dust 514, why communication and chain of command could play a more pivotal role, and how giving commanders real gameplay tools could truly revolutionize the tactics of the game.

When Death Comes Knocking...

An undertaker, in full uniform, walks into Purgatory Hall, one of many rooms in the space station.

"All rise for the execution of Sam 'DrDoom' Nero," echoes off the bulkheads, reverberating into the ear drums of the select two hundred men and women allowed to experience an undertaking of a former captain, mercenary, and brother.

12.13 Corp Power Rankings

While the history of contemporary planetary warfare is still being written, the truly elite corps appear to be rising to the top. After talking with a number of CEOs, capsuleers and witnesses to the combat simulations taking place in Morduspace we have generated the initial corporation power rankings. The New Eden community has spoken. At the moment its pretty obvious to those watching which groups are separating themselves from the rest of the pack.We used specific criteria when we ranked the corps but certain things eliminated groups from contention. While we took the communities opinions into account, we felt like raw performance in the tourney was important as well. Groups that had more defeats than victories were frowned upon a great deal. Expectations also factored in a great deal. For instance, while PRO didn't make our final rankings, few can dispute that they didnt exceed the expectations many had for them. Other groups did not perform up to expectations and their ranking suffered because of it. Without further delay, introducing the initial New Eden mercenary corp rankings.

New Modes: Prioritize Communication

 You hear that sound? Its the excited playerbase regarding new game modes [yes, even if its only for a weekend] the monotony of Ambush and Skirmish had reached a boiling point for many. The 'build fatigue' we referenced earlier was real. Now there is talk of new game modes and we couldn't be happier. These are just the kind of beta events that will keep the game fresh and the playerbase fully engaged. Bravo, CCP as this is the second event in as many weeks.

Dust 514: Various Contract Types

One of the best innovations of the contemporary shooter genre has been the number of different game modes that prevent our experiences from being the same rise and repeat of constant deathmatch. Games like MAG brought us Domination that relied not only on the ability to kill the enemy, but also showed us the benefit of progressive objectives in gameplay. SOCOM showed us the benefit of genre-changing modes like Demolition, Escort and even Extraction. Never before had we been consumed with rescuing hostages or getting VIPs out of a hot zone. The Battlefield series gave us Conquest and another progressive objective mode with Rush. We're expecting Dust 514 to push the envelope even further. As much depth as the game itself is offering, nothing will make the game more monotonous and bland than a limited amount of experiences that offer little variety. Alone, Skirmish and Ambush simply won't cut it. While 'game modes' may seem to contradict the open world, do-as-you-will style of EVE, both the fiction and gameplay can be satisfied by allowing variety in the form of different contract types. Just as important is that after the game's launch player corporations have the ability to issue contracts along with the CCP generated ones that will also be in rotation.

Dusters Video & Images Section Operational Again

The video and image section of this site have been defective for quite some time, but these sections are now fully operational; they have also been updated with the latest (NDA-safe) images and videos of Dust 514. May your eyes be entertained.

For concept art and screenshots, go here.
For videos relating to the game, go here.

Make Dust 514 User Friendly

It would be an understatement to say Dust 514 is one of the most complex shooters ever being offered to console players. But if Dust 514 is going to be an enjoyable experience, steps have to be taken to make the title more user friendly. This title will certainly reward users with an MMO type experience with more persistence and customization that has ever been done before, but the devs also cannot lose sight of the player who simply has 30 minutes to play two quick matches before he has to go to work, or the player who doesn't already have a corp. Some players would just like a quick way to earn some quick ISK for their corp, and their preference is to quickly and easily play will some of their corpmates. Some players will group with others if it can be done quickly and easily. Lets see these aspects facilitated in gameplay with a number of other mechanics if at all possible.

Images of Things to Come

The tournament is over, but just hours ago the last of the 5 tournament unlock image was revealed; it is the plasma cannon. Here are all the upcoming weapons to expect in Dust 514. The 5 images as well as others can be seen on the wallpapers section of the official Dust 514 website.


The Gallente plasma cannon.

Trouble in "ONS"

Note: Propaganda

In a recent Corp/Clan wide mail sent to all members of Onslaught inc. (a gaming community of 500+ members with ties to Dust and home of CEO Virgin Destroyer) abandonment and drama is reviled from within the ROFL member corp

CCP: Galvanize The Playerbase

A tiny group of players incorrectly predicted the demise of Dust 514 last week after games like Halo 4 and Black Ops 2 dramatically reduced the playerbase. While we understand that the casual shooter fan is often enamored with new, shiny, flavor of the week releases, we are still a little concerned with some shrinkage in regards to active players in closed testing. Players should be getting more excited as we inch closer to release, not less. This is a beta unlike any other but steps must be taken to excite closed beta participants a bit more. We're addressing CCP here, as we understand that there are freezing, lag, crashes and other beta issues that are beyond your control and that a new build can't be released every week, but there are still other strategies that can be used to keep people excited to play.  The best thing to consider is the ability to change, earlier builds had dominant Heavies, higher health, Swarm Launchers that were Godly against infantry and the weekly SP cap has been widely discussed. Sometimes a path that is planned has to be altered because it doesnt mesh well in gameplay. As long as the Powers That Be understand that they can keep an open mind to making better decisions Dust 514 is in good hands. Here are a few of the other things we can see being improved.

Corp Training Rooms Confirmed

CCP's Commander Wang confirmed via Twitter post that corporation training rooms are coming to Dust 514. He did not state when we can expect them to come, but only that they are planned. To see the twitter post, click here.

Suggestion: Quickly Expand Social and Non-Combat Aspects

The true potential of Dust 514 resides in its ability to create a true sandbox and allow every manner of gamer to enter the galaxy of New Eden and seek out their own enjoyable experience. Gameplay has to support the new player who simply wants to navigate the politics of hi-sec, the merchant who specializes in selling weapons at a reduced rate, the gladiator who seeks fame and fortune, the pirate and even the veteran alliance that is plotting a major campaign.

Mordu's Champion: The Imperfects

As many predicted early on, The Imperfects were able to overcome the distractions of expectations, chemistry and a late PR incident that turned public sentiment against them, to emerge as Mordu's Champion. This group never tasted defeat and if reports are true never lost a match. Along with the usual prizes, this group of mercenaries now enjoys the fame and recognition that only victory provides. Already they move to the top of the list of many corporations who need results that are guaranteed. Fame and Fortune is theirs to claim as the results of these VR combat simulations is now acknowledged by an entire galaxy of people.

Mordu's Tourney: The Final Four

 The smoke has cleared and the final group of contestants has emerged from the virtual reality training environments in Mordu Space. Each of the following corps has already earned a prize, all that remains now is which of them will be crowned the grand champion. Eliminated this weekend were The Southern Legion, SyNergy Gaming, WTF Beta and KEQ. We've decided to do a short profile on each of the remaining contestants with their odds of victory.

Closed beta to continue until 2013

According to Eurogamer, Chief Marketing Officer David Reid said Dust 514 will remain in closed beta until 2013. This means that the open beta as well as the release will likely be sometime in 2013. Read the article here.

Scrambler Rifle Concept Art

A few days ago CCP posted a new weapon concept art in their wallpaper section labeled "Testers Tournament Unlock 1/5". This may suggest that 4 more items will be revealed, and that they may be related to the Testers Tournament.
Behold the glorious majesty of the Scrambler Rifle:

Way of the Mercenary Trailer

For those of you who haven't seen it, CCP released a new Dust 514 trailer which serves as a general explanation of how the game works. Enjoy.

Mordu's Tourney: Round 1 Roundup

 Many misconceptions were dispelled this weekend regarding the perceptions in New Eden. When the virtual dust cleared only the strong survived. It seems many of us underestimated certain groups and overestimated a myriad of others. While some are still baffled by the absence of groups like STB, Tritan Industries and Betamax in the competition. While one can hardly blame CONCORD for limiting the contest to 16 contestants, some felt differently. We reached out to Quickgloves of STB who took the opportunity to bash the decision to include two ROFL groups into the tourney. "CONCORD did not properly screen the event. This tournament was a flop. Some corps couldnt even field the full 16 needed. ROFL House had to play its own team KEQ Cmon man really how do u lose that match !! LOL ... My comment to ROFL is this DUMB MOVE NOT ONLY DO U LOOK BAD ONCE WHEN U GET STEAM ROLLED BY REAL CORPS BUT U GET TO LOOK BAD TWICE GJ!! YOU ARE SO SMART! To the guys like Betamax and Tritan that got left out its really a shame."

Mordu's Tournament: The Sweet 16

Less than an hour ago, officials from Mordu's Legion in cooperation from elements from CONCORD, announced the sixteen corps that have gained entry into the highly publicized contest between some of the best corporations currently training in Morduspace. The participant list is a virtual who's who of early training engagements. From groups like SI, WTF, Zion TCD, SyN, PRO, Shadow Company, ROFL House, OSG and of course The Imperfects, who many consider the front-runner, who have recently added members of Global Conflict to their roster.

Report: Imperfects and Global Conflict Merger?

 To those in the know apparently this was a merger in the making for some time now, but it took the rest of the corps training in Mordu space by surprise. The Imperfects, a group with ties to Betamax and reportedly veteran New Eden corporations as well. Global Conflict, the infamous battle-hardened veterans of the MAG border skirmishes of the past linked to the anarchist led 'Burn New Eden' movement.

Which Corp will be crowned Mordu's Champion?

Old addages often tell us that even in the worst of circumstances the cream will rise to the top. In the case of the Muryia Mordu sponsored Corp Wargames, this may prove to be the truth. Yesterday his legion announced that the training area countless corporations are currently using for combat exercises, will hold a series of graded VR battle simulations where months of training will finally be put to the test. Before the announcement was an hour old veteran New Eden corps were already wagering millions of credits on who the winner would be. Next, more than twenty of them donated currency and other assets to an escrow that would be held for the winner. A little over twelve hours ago it was announced that the amount garnered for the winner of the event had grown to 250 million credits, a kings ransom.

Cerebral Wolf: Goon Leadership or Lackey?

“He who knows not and knows not that he knows not: is a fool - shun him." - Proverbs

Less than a week ago representatives from our blog were approached by someone claiming to be a member of GSF. The man referred to as Cerebral Wolf had answered questions for us previously in regards to our Corp Power Rankings series, but seemed almost too happy to do it, much like a subordinate just a little too eager to give his credentials. "Me! Me! Look at me i'm a Goon!" was what the skilled observer would have seen. Shame on us for not knowing better.

A Look Inside the Betamax Transcripts!

It seems that on top of leadership not informing membership as a whole regarding the "restructuring" there have been other concerns not addressed by leadership that have brought [BETAMAX] to this point. An inside source gave us a look inside their forum for some of the details.

The Fall of Betamax?

The Fall of Betamax

 One of the top corps in the leaderboards of The DUST 514 known as Betamax is almost no more. This has just been revealed in a recent post on the DUST 514 closed Beta forums. A member of TCD asked the question Betamax? In the title of his post and here are the responses.

Power Rankings #5: Shadow Company

The #5 Corporation on our list is no other than the notables known as Shadow Company. In this piece they discuss being a "community", their impressions of the training going on in Mordu Space and some of their goals in New Eden.

Link between Faux GNN and EON Discovered?

In this exclusive, our source inside the EON Alliance supplies us with private discussions from within the group where leadership discusses the reputations of current alliances, avoiding the missteps of corps like STB, and most importantly an instance where they openly discuss using the Faux GNN [no relation to us] as a disinformation tool. Keep reading for full access to the transcripts!

Interview: virgindestroyer7

After some time, we finally get to sit down with virgindestroyer7 of Onslaught, Inc. In this interview she talks about the structure of Onslaught, why they chose an alliance and how important the social aspect will be in Dust 514.

Necessary: Friendly Fire ON

 Recently it was acknowledged that some areas of space [high-sec and low-sec] may be 'friendly fire off' zones as far as Dust 514 is concerned. We can't imagine a worse decision for CCP to make. Throughout gaming, similar decisions have been made that have had horrible results on the hardcore fanbases of shooter titles. We take a look back at the long history of the debacles that friendly fire OFF has caused.

EVE Formed vs Community Formed (The Mittani Explains)

The Mittani (Leader of GoonSwarm FED)

The Mittani is interviewed on Lost in Conversation #13 (a branch of Lost in EVE). He speaks about leadership and EVE Born vs Community Born Corps. To complement the Cast we are adding the original TenTonHammer post created back in Feb of 2012.

 In the cast recording, the subject matter is brought up at the 28min mark.

   Lost in Conversation - Episode 13 by Nameless514

Corp Rankings: #6 What the French

The next corp on our list is not only a group of FPS veterans but also a group that represents a specific

national community. Many have heard of What The French but we sat down with CEO and early 

Dust notable, Cazaderon for  a chat about his group of mercs. 
 

What is MT246?

Its roots seem to point to some secret group or organization with a purpose. Five characters that hold some hidden meaning. Code words that represent commands or initiate plans have a long history in New Eden, is MT246 the command that starts some manner of mobilization? No one will forget how the word 'Nicole' was the impetus that preceded the assassination of Ubiqua Seraph Corp's Mirial by the Guiding Hand Social Club.

EON Insider Leaks Secret Transcripts!

A week ago we weren't even aware of the EON alliance, but its been a busy couple of days for the GNN. After being contacted by an unknown member of EON for a short interview early in the week, now intel has started pouring in about the alliance that has been secret until now. Now it seems an inside source has betrayed the group and provided us with secured chat transcripts from inside EON.

Read below for chats between the notorious Hivemind and EON leader Mavado Noriega, hints at an association for a coordinated attack on ROFL, and even discussions about betraying the EV after achieving their goals.

A Secret Power Forming?

Is there a growing, secret power in the galaxy? Apparently So. Imagine the looks on the faces of our staff when we were contacted (apparently without the clearance of their leadership) a representative from an alliance we had no clue even existed. While their ability to stay hidden should concern many, so should their roster. Admittedly a little top-heavy with groups like CBK and R*S, the full roster is respectable. For only the second time ever, we conducted a live interview by a person that would only identify themselves as Agent M. Below is the interview that followed.

"DUST is just an Add-on" (an opinion from GoonSwarm)

By: Nameless514

CourtHouse 

GoonWaffe Director, CFC Maneger and GoonSwarm Fed Diplo

You would say that “you have to learn to walk before you learn to fly”, but with the DUST 514//EVE Universe it is flipped to “learn to fly before you learn to walk.” EVE online open to PC gamers back in late 2003 and introduced them to a Sandbox set in space with starship’s and pod's filled with immortal clones. This one-shared universe riddled with Crime, Corruption, Grieving, Scamming, Politics, Alliances, Corporation that number in the thousand and all based around an economy fueled by Conflict. 10 years later one Alliance has brought itself to stand above them all and they are known as Goon.

Power Rankings: #7 Tritan Industries

 The #7 Corporation on our list is one that makes it their mission is to provide the best in planetary management services.  To accomplish that mission, Tritan Industries is made up of specialists from all walks of life that can shoot, communicate, and move.  They shun mindless drones and only recruit motivated and dedicated personalities. We took a minute with a group from their membership to highlight some of their core beliefs and motivations.

Power Rankings: #8 Bounty Hunterz

The #8 Corporation on our list is one that needs no introduction. BHZ or The Bounty Hunterz, is an organization at the early forefront of large scale alliances. The lead dog in the rather large ROFL Alliance, the influence that BHZ wields is unquestioned. While many would contend that ROFL is a collection of corporations with average talent, few dispute their level of organization and attention to detail as one of the first collections of affiliated capsuleers and ground forces in New Eden.

Power Rankings: #9 Tactical Combat and Defense

  

The #9 Corporation on our list is no other than TCD (Tactical Combat and Defense) an organization at the early forefront of the politics between capsuleers and mercs. They have shown themselves an early entity to be reckoned with. The TCD and their CEO ZionShad has also been one of the driving forces behind many of the hi-level closed corp meetings that have taken places outside of space owned by Mordu's Legion.

1st Annual Dust Corp Power Rankings

We'd like to announce our newest venture: The Dust 514 Corporation Power Rankings. As time passes in New Eden, we believe it is important to gauge the power and influence of Dust Corps. We intend to track the ebbs and flows that follows power in the New Eden galaxy. And while we did the initial corp rankings, its our intent to use the opinions and votes of New Eden luminaries in the future.

Beware of Imposters

While its sad that we have to address the silly business of Imposters in this day and age, sometimes we do what we must. It has happened to Google, McDonalds and countless websites and now apparently our blog as well. Apparently we've arrived, as imitation is said to be the purest form of flattery. The GNN can be contacted through our correspondence emails here: magww@live.com and here: magworldwide@gmail.com. Our Twitter feed is @NewEdenGNN. These are the only three methods. Its recently come to our attention that a former writer from our MAG period has made the decision to not only copy our format (which is fine we dont own the rights to Dust fiction or New Eden news stories) but also is attempting to steal our very moniker and name by calling itself the Galactic News Network to catch people unaware when we are in no way affiliated. While this is more amusing, sad and pitiful than anything else, after an interviewee mistook them for us we felt it needed to be addressed.

While we wish all former affiliates the best when they use their own ORIGINAL CONTENT, we simply have to address imitators and copycats who are in no way affiliated with the GNN or the DustMercs Blog in any way.

Again, The GNN is not affiliated in any way with "Josh Morris" or any email account not listed above.

A price on the head of Bad Furry?

Members of an corp who chooses not to be named are not happy with one of the long-time veterans of Mordu's Private Trials. Apparently a merc by the name of Bad Furry has rubbed some powerful people the wrong way. GNN Reports are piling in about a contract being taken out on his life. The contract stipulates that the contractor provide visual evidence of Bad Furry's multiple slain clones.

We Want Your FeedBack!

Our team of writers has been hard at work for the last 30 days not only testing Dust 514 but also listening to many of you in-game regarding your likes and things you would like to see done differently. We've also been compiling a list of the top suggestions for making Dust 514 better from the player's POV that we'll release when the NDA is lifted. While we have plenty of great feedback from our team, we know this list can''t be complete without input from you, THE PLAYERS.

We invite you to send your suggestions, no matter how long, short or intricate to our blog at magww@live.com we'll add the best to our already massive list so that we can make a sincere effort to get the Devs and the Community on the same page in relation to the direction of this could-be great title.

We look forward to hearing from you.

And So It Begins...

This weekend marks a seminal event in New Eden history as Dust corporations will for the first time have the ability to bid on and acquire/fulfill contracts and fight for their faction/race. This is no small feat, we've seen some exciting things recently, like better gameplay, improved visuals...orbital strikes. Its been nice, but nothing trumps the ability for organizations to group together to achieve goals.

The Importance of Social

Its often the most overlooked aspect of FPS but when the FPS contains MMO elements, the social aspects simply cannot be understated. While the beta has only been released to a small number of players, one look at the number of active players on the weekends is evidence of how much players want to play with those they are familiar with. While several members of our blog have been able to play together a great deal by queue-synching on many of the euro servers, it simply isn't the same as being able to form groups.

IGN Players chime in on Dust 514

 We've spent the last few weeks getting opinions from players from the IGN community in-game and out, regarding Dust 514. These players recently got beta access from a number of different avenues and are important because they represent a more mainstream gamer. As a matter of fact, its our opinion that if the game is able to retain the massive amount of FPS players in the gamerverse, and it can, in addition to the more hardcore gamers, these are the kinds of players that it will also have to enjoy CCP's efforts.

The DUST and Slay Connection

It is no accident that CCP has had people playing Slay at E3 and in PSN Home to win Beta access to DUST. The game of Slay is still going on strong today in EVENT HORIZON (CCP Space in Home) granting people DUST Dropsuits for their avatars in Home. But is there something more to this small little game then just winning cool stuff? I believe there is.

Five minutes with BullyBoutya

Some say it was only a matter of time before it happened, but recently we sat down with a former member of the EV and BHD officer who is now at odds with the alliance and his former corp.

New Eden's Deadliest Mercenaries

After Action Reports obtained from the training area dubbed Mordu's Private Trials, by corporation spies have identified what would seem to be a list of New Eden's deadliest mercenaries. The following mercs have excelled in the art of killing.