Fanfest Breakdown

Dust 514 fans are excited for good reason after Fanfest. We received the most information to date and even got to see much of the future road map and things to come. CEO Pyrex did a great job here of breaking down much of what was seen in a short version. CCP already has all of the Dust keynotes on twitch as well and we will link them below, keep in mind its a much longer version.

Fanfest is almost here!

If youre like us you are ridiculously excited about Fanfest 2013. CCP is expected to give fans tons of info about New Edens second decade and celebrate the first ten years. Here's the Twitch TV link so that you can watch for free, but of course there is also an HD stream you can purchase as well.

Enjoy: http://www.twitch.tv/ccp

Follow us on Twitter for our live updates, and be sure to read after Fanfest for our post event breakdowns and opinions on all the great info!

What about the Fighter Aircraft?

The moment occurred way back at EVE Fanfest 2009, but it was something that made players take notice. The recently announced MMOFPS that would be tied together with EVE, Dust 514, had just revealed Fighter Aircraft. And although the dev who piloted it crashed twenty seconds after takeoff, the implications were obvious. The speed of the fighter, VTOL capability, the altitude it flew at [which was much higher than the tallest structures on the map] and the fact that it would probably have an assortment of weaponry options meant that it would be a force to be reckoned with. Here's a link to the footage if you havent seen it.

The only problem is that four years later, FA still have yet to make their appearance to the dismay of a large percentage of players. With its speed and the potential array of weapons, the FA is the dream of many Dust 514 mercs who are also skilled pilots. We wonder however, if air combat and ground combat will be separated like the are in Battlefield. While FA can attack tanks and other aircraft in BF3 its difficult for them to attack infantry. If FA retain VTOL like we've seen in past footage, however, they could be a nightmare for those of us with boots on the ground.

Balancing Tanks

Its obvious to anyone who plays Dust 514 that its a shooter cut from a different mold than any you often see in the genre. Take snipers for instance, historically a one shot kill weapon in most games, in Dust, snipers are more of a 'wounding' weapon until leveled up considerably. Even then, the mechanics like scope sway and small clip size punish poor marksmen who seek out the sniper role as a means of getting easy kills with little risk. Racking up cheap kills just isnt going to happen.

For this reason, the tank is puzzling. The Dust 514 HAV is easily the most dominant vehicle we have seen in the FPS landscape, it crushes new players and non-AV savvy veterans alike. AV fits almost have to be dedicated to their destruction or they can control an entire battlefield. Some of the fault lies on past shooters where players were trained that a specific amount of RPGs or mines would destroy or cripple a tank. This is anything but true in Dust where every tank experience is unique and each must first be identified, sized up and then focused on. We are curious why the decision was made to require team coordination to destroy a tank, but not to operate one.

Should Orbitals be limited by Warpoints?

With Planetary Conquest on the horizon, we got to thinking about the role that EVE players will play. Simple question: If the Goons park twenty ships in the orbit of the planet I own in null sec, should their ability to fire on the surface be dependent on good ground forces? Think about it. Can the effectiveness of those ships be hampered by average or poor mercenaries? What if they have no ground forces and are just there to raze the planet? I realize the implications are scary for Dust mercenaries but we say NO. They should be limited by the presence of ship killing weapons, firing rate, ammunition costs and proper intel from the surface [so they aren't firing on allies, areas with no targets or their own assets] but not by War Points. Yeah we said it. We believe EVE players need a proper amount of respect and privilege for being the progenitors of New Eden and we believe it starts here. Where is 'here' exactly? Here is giving them an inherent advantage based on experience, currency and the best elevated position money can buy: Being In Space.

AWOL! Deserter!

Its amazing what exploits players come up with when they learn the mechanics in a title. One of the interesting player work-arounds that we have seen in Dust 514 is the AFK MCC Behavior, while fleeing from games that are going badly is a time-honored tradition in most shooters, we see it at an especially high rate in Dust because of the persistence of finite gear.

The thing to remember in these situations is that mercs are accepting contracts for hire in these instances but are essentially going AWOL and Deserting after agreeing to fight for the contract holder. From a lore point of view this has to be resolved. Gameplay has to provide a deterrent for people who try to exploit gameplay mechanics by leaving battles to avoid the loss of assets. It must also address those mercs who accept employment, then refuse to deploy for battle but attempt to reap the rewards afterwards.

CCP: Don't be seduced by CoD

"As much as I find CoD laughably horrible. I think its needed. Not every shooter can be original or different or even good. Like most forms of entertainment there is a spectrum of stuff. CoD just happens to land on the below average, shitty side of that spectrum. Its equivalent to Hannah Montana, Vanilla Ice, Milli Vanilli or Justin Beiber. Plus, what do you expect from a game that spends more money on marketing than actually making it? The real problem started when everyone in the industry started trying to copy CoD and make easy, instant gratification games. That's when innovation died and CoD helped set the genre back ten years."

-poster from PC Gamer Article

This article by PC Gamer http://tinyurl.com/bnu3ah9 is flat out one of the best, most honest and accurate pieces we've ever read. It touches on the key reasons why the industry's obsession with creating easy, casual games has done more to hurt the FPS genre than anything else. We agree completely, and it inspired us to write a piece that begs CCP not to cater to casual in a way that waters down the core Dust 514 game.

GNN: Serpentis augments forces with Drones?

As CONCORD closed in on a Serpentis Safehouse last night, an apparently secured crimescene turned into a warzone as the criminals inside activated roughly twenty TK-70 drones that attacked authorities and covered their escape. While all of the drones were eventually destroyed, there were numerous injuries and one casualty among the CONCORD agents.

The Return of the Single Death Game Mode

Cometus dashed into the room as plasma rounds perforated the wall behind him. He instantly rolled into a crouch and softly lobbed a 'cooked' locus grenade into the doorway behind him as he turned. The STB operative following him was stopped in his tracks and torn to bits by the explosion. Burnt flesh, bits of armor and other organic matter splattered the doorway. Scratch Three. There were only five members of Senator Bennacus' merc protection detail remaining. Cometus waited anxiously for a moment with his rifle pointed at the site of the explosion, but the doorway stayed empty. "Fuck." he thought to himself. He had been sloppy and tripped an alarm when he tried to quietly eliminate the first merc. Now he was in a brawl with a team of heavily armed professionals he had clearly underestimated. Worse, he only had about ten minutes before their reinforcements got here. The senator and five mercs in ten minutes? Six dead people was no problem, but he had lost stealth and the element of surprise. This was a back-alley fight now, and it wasn't going to be a cakewalk.

GNN: Duvolle Labs manufacturing EMP Grenades

Duvolle Labs is apparently beginning testing for their newest creation: EMP Grenades. These devices use a low level EMP discharge that disrupts the visual centers of dropsuits without the proper shielding. Corporation Spokeman Yatis Glenn had this to say "We believe the EMP Disruptor Grenade provides the infantry clone with a necessary asset that can be used to disorient and better neutralize their enemy." While the megacorp seems confident the devices have a niche, its yet to be seen if they have a use in modern warfare.

The Ides of May

At last, we officially have a date for Dust 514's new content. At last, now we know when the most significant improvement in the game's history will be here. The anticipation is there, but also a bit of pressure. If large portions of the game arent 'playable' or the core game isnt firmly established, many players could be drawn to more 'complete' games. This is dangerous because there is no guarantee players that leave will ever return. The arrival of titles like Defiance, GTA and many others loom large, so this update must provide the most solid foundation in Dust 514's short history.