The Rippling Effect of Revolution

History has shown us that revolutions spread. The American Revolution inspired the French Revolution. The communist revolutions of Russia spread to China, Korea, Vietnam, South America, and various other places. What started as a revolution in Tunisia has spread to Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, and various other nations in the Middle East. Though a gaming revolution is something very different, and has much less in stake, the effect of a successful one will echo throughout the world of gaming, and lead to some big changes that will effect generations to come.

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Looting or "No Soup For You!!"

"Looting (Hindi lūṭ, akin to Sanskrit luṭhati, [he] steals; also Latin latro, latronis "thief")—also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war,[1] natural disaster,[2] or rioting" --Wikipedia

We've all been there. You bite it. The cause is insignificant. One less ticket. If it's bad, you might get the old frank and beans on the forehead from some overzealous assailant. If it's REALLY bad it might come with a side of prox chat and vague references to certain family members.

Interesting Fanfest Images

During some Fanfest presentations, certain images were shown to give us an idea of how certain things will work, and what is to come later. These images include planet diagrams, terrain, rogue drones, and MTAC (mech), and a vehicle on a lava planet. Enjoy

Dust 514 Overload (updated!)

This past weekend was a time to rejoice for fans of Dust 514. Between Fanfest and the Dust 514 PS Home event there was a virtual smorgasboard of information released. We've got most of the articles, fanfest roundtables. tournament vids and even a breakdown by yours truly. ENJOY.

New Info, and New Screenshots Released

On Dust514.org CCP released new information regarding the game; this includes character role information, a suggestion of raising the player cap, and new information about the PVE (player vs enemy AI) mode.

Free Fanfest Link!

In today's 24-hour news cycle we still have to be thankful for free options. Here's your link to the free Fanfest link CCP has setup for us to appreciate the event from afar. ENJOY.

http://t.co/W6GOKcAD

PS Home Dust 514 Event

This Thursday, March 22nd marks one of the most useful applications of PS Home to date, streaming Dust 514 footage from CCP's annual event FanFest. We've always been big fans of using Home as a better application to advertise and promote games and their content. This could be the start of a solid advertising campaign for Dust.

Could there be a better way to introduce the first glimpse of Dust than by tons of gameplay? In addition, there will also be a Q&A session afterwards where using the #dust514 Twitter hashtag gets your many questions straight to the Devs. Hopefully we'll see your avatars at the event and/or your questions on Twitter.

Until Thursday!

PS Blog Link

What CCP can learn from the StarHawk Beta

Recently we had the chance to get some extended time inside the PS3's Starhawk beta and while the gameplay was solid and strangely addictive, we were actually more impressed with how well the beta itself was done. We only hope that the Dust 514 beta will be as organized and well-executed. Many people's first experience's in Dust will be in the beta period and so it has to show potential, solid gameplay and the ability to tune gameplay elements that may not be polished. Here are some of the things we noticed in the Starhawk beta that we'd like to see CCP do well.

IGN Intro great template for Tutorials

Recently IGN did a great mash-up of what we can expect to see in Dust 514, and to be honest it creates a great template for a method that CCP can use to introduce casual players to "how to be successful" in New Eden. It's always been our opinion that the time is NOW to start educating potential players. People tend to tune out and focus on KDR when the bullets start flying--so it couldn't be a better time to start showing potential players how much depth Dust will offer in addition to game mechanics, tactics, and other pointers. Semi-casual players who may have heard of the game but that read game media will quickly pick-up on the short and informative vids that detail how a capacitor works, the benefits of the MCC in addition to the Pros and Cons of things like the Heavy Dropsuit. Now is a much better time than waiting until gamers have a joystick in their hands and are clicking through as fast as they can to get to shoot something.

These same videos can be used as a teaching tool in a mandatory Tutorial Section for the game. These will be geared towards the casual never-heard-of-dust players who will be undoubtedly exposed to New Eden thanks to the F2P model CCP wisely chose. Much like the Terms and Conditions prompts we often see, it would be an advantage to the game as a whole to have videos that have to be viewed before they leap into gameplay as residents of one of the most deep, complex and enjoyable experiences ever to grace the console. Combined with an involved tutorial section where they experience New Eden history, game controls, hack terminals and even try nanohives for the first time, we can't see a better way of helping them get quickly up to speed.

IGN Link

WARNING: Say No to Unlimited Sub Accounts

Be careful not to shoot the messenger, but we now appear before you with a warning you should consider and a potential Tale of Woe. Many potential Dust 514 players that are veterans of the PS3 have voiced their concerns with the prospect of unlimited alternate accounts with good reason, they have seen their devastating negative effects up close. Doubt this at your peril. With the recent F2P announcement (which was great news, by the way) there simply has to be a system where accounts are not only regulated and managed, but possibly also tied to a Master (the first account setup for Dust) that can be revealed online by running a simple search via a web application similar to what API keys in EVE Online offer.

In a F2P world extras cost you, and let's face it they should. Allowing unlimited alt accounts is almost stealing if you consider the model, you've already gotten game access and a single account for free. Users that want more should have to pay for it. Sometimes complete and total freedom isn't freedom at all, sometimes its CHAOS.

A Closer look at Tutorials

So now Dust 514 is F2P. Its interesting how much how games have changed...and stayed the same. I can remember back in the day, long before the web, long before video games were a household word, where a "video game" consisted of two pages of BASIC text that could be found in a monthly "computer" magazine. You bought the magazine, cuz you were a nerd, and you took the magazine home and you jumped on your Commodore 64 or your TI99 and you TYPED IT IN! YOURSELF! Two pages of standard text spaced lines of basic code that you input into your computer line by line and hit "run". And if you typed it right?...You had a video game!! If you made an error? Well then you went and found it and fixed it. Today's digital watches have more power then the computers these games were played on. Graphics? Pffft...ascii graphics!! Or sprites if you were REALLY cutting edge.

"Horde mode-like battles" reported, and more

The video game news site GameInformer.com reports in this article that Dust 514 will have a "horde mode-like battles against AI-controlled enemies" for players to "hone their skills". This could be a form of training mode that we all would welcome, though this does not sound like the sufficient tutorial we have been hoping for to help players unfamiliar to the complexities of Dust 514 understand so they won't quit out of overwhelming confusion. The races, the corporations, the alliances, manufacturing, the economy, the planets, the persistence, the contracts, the EVE connections/interactions, all of this information about how the game works needs to be available within the game to those who wish to learn. If this article is true I am grateful, but more than this is required for the maximization of success for this game, and possibly the survival of this game.

Certain parts of the article makes me raise questions about the validity of the writer's understanding of Dust 514. First, he desn't seem to know that Dust 514 players will be able to join the same corporations and alliance as EVE players, and secondly he claims "While your stats and customized Drop Suit persist from death to death, your weapons, items, and vehicles don’t." Nothing previously revealed has suggested that dropsuits that that are worn during a death remain, in fact various sources mentioned that everything one carries, including the armor/dropsuit, becomes lost upon death. Perhaps this guy actually is correct, and CCP did change this about Dust 514; if so, then this is quite disappointing.

Copy of a Psycho 5: Crash

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

 

His blade tears through the muscles of my forearm, and nail me against the tall rock behind me. I can feel it sawing through my bones. I watch my knife, what looks like my only hope for escape, hit the ground with a soft clink. I want to kill this fucker so much, I want to make him suffer for this, so I do.

New Dev Blog: Vehicles

It's Dust 514 Information Overload today it seems. Aren't you starting to get the feeling the Private Trials aren't far off? We sure are. Today we learn about vehicles, their Pros and Cons and most of all their characteristics. We love the mention of electronic warfare, in addition to capacitors and how they power the modules that each vehicle has equipped. There's nothing like balanced gameplay with depth and detail.

Also mentioned is the fact that certain skills are necessary to operate vehicles. You will have to train the proper skill to pilot different craft. Lastly, they add in how "the fog of war" will play a critical role until you scout your enemy allowing you to reveal and assess the battlefield, as well as how draining capacitors can render vehicles inert. More persistence and necessary depth, people. Take a look at some of the mecha that CCP hath wrought upon us.


Vehicle Blog

New Dust 514 Gameplay!

At long last, we have what many of you hold most dear: An interview with New Dust 514 gameplay included. That's right! The rubber finally meets more road courtesy of GameTrailers with some great footage of Heavy Weaponry, Standard Infantry, Dropships, Grenades, Knives, Pistols and even the pain of watching the world turn to pale gray when you expire.

Dust Gameplay

So what's your early impression of Dust gameplay? Like it? Loathe it? Love it? Just want to see plenty more of it? Be sure to let us know in the comments section.

Why Dust's F2P news makes a true tutorial necessary

We've commented many times on how one of the biggest missteps in many online-only games is the complete lack of a tutorial and place to learn the basics and direction of gameplay and how to be successful. We can already see the questions of disenfranchised new players that will go unanswered for long enough for them to become frustrated enough to stop playing. "Whats an alliance? Why should I join a corporation? Why should I care what race I am? You mean these fits affect my Dust Merc? Hold on, this isn't like HALO 4?" Provided the Powers That Be point new players in the direction of New Eden's library of content in a concise, well-done tutorial/introduction to the galaxy we're sure to get more than a few converts to the Gallente way of doing things.

Why you should LOVE a Companion App

The recent news of the PS Vita providing a Companion App for Dust 514 is simply music to our ears, and it should excite you as well, why? Because it hints at the depth that Dust will offer. As it stands now, the Vita version of the game will start out allowing players access to their loadouts, customization, progress and most importantly: complete transactions and strategize with teammates. This implies a deeper, more intricate preparation-and-planning-is-necessary experience for those who would seek to be successful in New Eden.

Dust 514 Goes Free-to-Play

In a stunning move that has probably guaranteed its success, CCP has made the decision to commit to a F2P model for Dust 514 instead of the "cover charge" that was initially mentioned. We applaud this news here at Dusters, as it means that potentially an enormous amount of interested and curious players will be exposed to the game instead of it being reduced to a niche title by lack of advertising and cost. Now players that may have been on the fence for this title can try it out without having to commit coin.

We're of the opinion that gaming NEEDS a title like Dust 514, it just doesn't know it yet. So this is some of the best Dust news yet, now all CCP has to do is follow through with a quality title and great gameplay. At this point all we need to hear about are a solid advertising campaign (which will only be aided by the F2P status) Hardcore Gameplay, A Solid Grouping System, Battle Simulators, total amount of simultaneous players and what solution they've devised for the abuse of Alt Accounts with the ease of the PSN signup. (particularly important now that ANYONE can make an account) hopefully we'll hear some details soon.

Use the link below for full details from Eurogamer.

Dust 514 goes F2P

Latest Devblog: Building DUST 514’s Arsenal

In case you missed it, the latest Dust514 devblog gives us a few more details about the weaponry of Dust514. This includes an autocannon for the heavy dropsuit, a shotgun, and a knife. Read more about it here.
For all the Dust514 devblogs, you can check this website by clicking on the "Devblog" section of the navigation bar, or click here.

Win a trip to Fanfest!

Interested in going to "the party at the top of the world" with a friend and being one of the first to play Dust 514? CCP Is making it easy on you! Use the link below for details.

Contest Link