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.



One of the advantages of most casual shooters is that players can jump into a match in literally five seconds and begin playing. The prep time is nonexistent. While we love the persistence, social areas and depth that Dust offers, if steps aren't taken to lowering the possible extended periods between actually playing and prepping for battle, players could lose interest. One of of writers even suggested a 'CEO' option where all members of a corp have an option [i.e. Your Corporation CEO is launching into a match, do you wish to enter?] to be pulled into a match when the CEO joins one. In the end, flexible options and user-friendly methods that foster quick and easy grouping and lower wait times will benefit this title beyond measure.

1. Voice Chat/PTT - What was the rationale behind defaulting these to off? Do we NOT want to foster communication between players? Speaking of which, where is in-game indicator that shows us who is talking? Knowing the identity of a speaker not only gives us a way to refer to them, but also lets us know who may be flying a dropship or driving an LAV. Even players without mics should be able to hear other players talking through their TVs. Vocal players could be the very same people we want to group up with later. Provide quick and easy ways for players with mics to identify each other.

2. Proximity Chat - It may seem like we're beating a dead horse here, but this needs to be rehashed early and often. There is simply no better way to encourage teamwork than to allow players who are in close proximity to communicate. In games where proximity exists, there is no limit to the instances where warnings like "behind you!" or "I need some ammo" promotes a great deal of teamwork. Its sometimes easy to overlook down teammates until we actually hear them say "Hey blueberry, I need a nanite injector!" Even more importantly proximity chat allows us the privilege of talking to non-squadmates and attempting to work as a real unit.

3. In Game Grouping - How often are we online and run across players who we'd like to partner with or quickly invite to our groups? Give us the ability to do this from within a match. Just as important is a merge group mechanic where the leaders of two squads can easily combine their groups. Lastly, the ability to implement open invites so that anyone in the group can invite friends is paramount.

4. Contact Lists - The decision to give players the ability to add friends independent of the PSN was a good one. The issue is, players are reporting tremendously long load times for their contact lists. We're almost certain this a product of the limited server space in beta, but we have to reiterate how cumbersome long load times will be. The retail version of Dust must be a vast improvement.

5. Follow Friends - Dust 514 is simply not a game for long-term solo play. While a small number of players may enjoy playing this game alone, the vast majority will not. Given that, gameplay must support the ability to follow our allies into battles that may have already started. This will be especially be useful for non-punctual players who may have arrived late to a particular operation or campaign. It also will allow players to avoid solo play as much as possible.

6. Watched Lists - While the difference between these and contact lists is not yet fully known, we'd like to point out how too much intel can sometimes hurt gameplay. Mechanics like the Killfeeds already allow us to see Who killed whom, and the weapon they used. Postgame scoreboards also show us who was in a match and exactly how they did. We like the idea of watching our enemies but we hope it doesn't provide location information in regards to where they are engaged in conflicts. The real-time location of our enemies should be valuable information, don't give it away for free.

7. Chain of Command - War just works better when there are people in charge. There is no substitute for a unified plan of action. How could any game that has an aspect of warfare not institute some type of hierarchy on the battlefield? Is each squad its own separate entity? They shouldn't be. Not establishing a 'food chain' promotes too much of a free-for-all. We'll have persistent gameplay with consequences, but also, still too much of the solo you're-on-your-own mentality that pervades shooters. Want to see teamwork? Establish someone as the platoon leader and give that person special abilities. Starting with the ability to spawn with any squad under their command, address all the soldiers under their command and even change the spawn points of each squad if they choose. Follow that up with a command channel for the squad leaders so that communication between leaders is never an issue. Pick a good criteria for establishing the Chain of Command, but choosing players with mics and a large number of War Points is probably a good starting point.

8. 2000 Aurum - Currently the smallest iteration of AUR is $1.99 US for 4000 AURUM. Take it one step further and provide players with a .99 US option. There is no substitute for providing choice and this could be the ultimate flexibility to a PS3 community unfamiliar with microtransactions. Allowing money-wary players the choice to experiment with smaller commitments can only accentuate the business model.

9. Emotes - The rule of online play is that there will be players who don't have mics, so steps have to be taken to provide them with ways to communicate. Even BF3 has an option for mic-less players to ask for ammo, medics or anything else they may need. Dust 514 has to have a basic emote system at the very least.

 As always, we'll continue to attempt to help push and publish ideas that innovate gameplay as much as we can. Have any ideas that need sharing? Be sure to contact us at magww@live.com