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.



Fanfest Wrapup: Contains Dust 514 Revelations (skip to 1:18:28 )

Dust 514 Keynote

Dust Role on the Battlefield

Dust: Seeding the Universe

 Dust Tournament

Customization

Dust Preview

IGN Preview

1. Commanders - The implication here is that the command structure we have yet to see and abilities given to those with rank will facilitate tactics and organization. Hopefully we'll hear more about this soon.

2. Battlefinder - This is another feature that excites us as it is the method many casual fans will use interact with the combat portion of the game. For it to be effective it must be able quickly and efficiently place players into battle queues and show the different types of contracts available. The results look promising so far.

3. Skills -With both active and passive skilling it seems pretty obvious that specializing your Dust mercenary will be important. This would be akin to the current system in EVE where a player cannot pilot a ship that he or she doesn't possess the necessary skillset for.

4. Orbital Bombardment - Easily the highlight of the presentation, the much-anticipated cooperation between EVE and Dust works as promised. Dust players supply the launch code for orbital strikes to prevent random EVE players from randomly firing, and interfering with a mercenary battle. Its also has promised cool-downs and other methods to balance it.

5. War Room -We hope we aren't the only ones who see the far-reaching implications social areas will have on the game and its strategy. Whether its a place EVE/Dust players can meet, a corp bar or space station, its nice to know that CCP understands that gameplay should stretch far beyond solely combat mechanics if they want real politics to take shape and prosper.

6.Vehicles - Hopefully we'll see the return of the "fighters" that we saw in the 2009 Demo, but we've witnessed HAVs, Dropships and LAVs and MTACs appear to be on the horizon as well.

7. Dropsuits/Fits - We've had to ability to see some of the various dropsuits and weaponry and we're encouraged. Its vitally important that this aspect be balanced and tuned correctly. We're excited after watching some footage of the forge gun and the mobility of heavy dropsuits. So far we know there are deployable spawn points, deployable resupply points, cloaking, speed boosters, armor boosters, and various other customization options available.

8. View Game - That's right. They all but confirmed it at the 9:40 mark of the keynote. We will have access to "heat maps" that allow us to watch past battles for performance, tactics and mistakes. In addition, we may have seen the ability to spectate other members of our team during a match during the Dust tournament.

9. Planets - They are divided into various hexagonal districts with multiple maps. One district on each planet contains a Surface Command Center (SCC) that can be taken by Dust mercenaries, and there is a corresponding Orbital Command Center (OCC) that can be controlled by EVE players; these two command centers are involved in control of the planet.

10. Expansion - there are plans to add new things into the game in 2013. These involve having hostile planets accessible for combat; this will include lava planets. MTAC's (mechs) will also be added. Competative E-sports will be added also as Gladiator Arena, and will involve game modes like CTF and DM; these will be available for viewing and betting by EVE and Dust players.

11. PVE - There will be a survival modes against rogue drones on planets. What we seen from these drones so far it looks amazing.

This could be the week we hear of an actual beta start date, more gameplay footage and other features that will make Dust 514 an MMOFPS wonder to behold. We eagerly await any and everything CCP has planned.