Dust 514 E3 preview

When someone tells you that your favorite MMO is getting FPS treatment, the proper reaction should be equal parts terror and joy. The world (or in this case, universe) where you and friends slave away on the PC is coming to a console, where you can compete head-to-head with your actual in-game rivals, and bolster your stats? That sounds incredible! But if it isn’t done right, can it ruin the entire experience of not just one, but both games?

This is a question that I pondered meticulously as I started my walkthrough demo of Dust 514, a free-to-play MMOFPS (that’s massively multiplayer online first person shooter) exclusive for the Playstation 3. Dust 514 is part of Eve Online, the nine-year-old space-faring MMORPG that has steadily grown year over year and, as of this week, is nearing 400,000 players, just shy of its highest user count. But unlike the PC ship strategy title, Dust is all about what happens on the ground.

To be perfectly clear, Eve Online players and Dust 514 players are connected; the two games are interwoven in a strange, not fully understood way, even to some of the team. When I spoke at length about this connection, and what players with one or both games could do, even the developer I spoke with got confused. That’s because some things are planned, some are in the game already, and others…well, they’re still under wraps.

How it works is like this: if you play Eve Online, interaction with Dust 514 players revolves around ground combat, since that’s where Dust’s gameplay takes place. Connections are made through corporations (guilds or clans for Eve Online), and Dust players act as either soldiers or mercenaries for corporations. Corporations interested in taking over planets for resources can initiate an attack on the planet, and can then pay Dust players for their service. Payments are based on in-game currency, and there are currently no plans for paying with real money.

This whole process can work in three separate ways. Open matchmaking is where any Dust player can join any game through quick play, pick a side of their choosing, and jump into the fight. There are also private matches where only invited Dust players can participate. The most pertinent type of battle for Eve Online players is a direct corp-on-corp match, where two competing factions fight for a planet and the battle takes place at a specific date and time. Dust players have to enter the match at the right time to get paid, and the match will impact the world of Eve Online in real time.

Furthermore, fighting for a planet can be an open or private match. If it’s open, the victor will reap greater spoils because of the level of randomness from anyone being able to join the game. Of course, one battle won’t determine the fate of any planet corporations are fighting over custody for, though a specific number of games required to take over a world hasn’t been formally set. It may vary based on the size of the planet and resources available.

One further note about the connectivity between Eve Online and Dust 514: players cannot share an account between the two games. Eve is for managing ships and working within corporations, while Dust is the soldier’s journey for gold and glory. This doesn’t mean you can’t compete in wars started in Eve and played in Dust, you most certainly can; just not with the same character. So if you’re well known by your screen name, make sure you get into the June 29th beta immediately so you can secure your username before some PS3 owner who’s never even heard of Eve takes it.

On to Dust matters alone. As mentioned above, Dust 514 is a completely free-to-play game. In-game purchases through micro transactions are available, for new weapons, armor, and vehicle parts, though the game is not centered on those micropayments. CCP is working very hard to ensure players can’t buy their way into playing well; items earned through hard work and good skill will always be slightly better than items purchased with actual money. So anyone interested in an edge early on can put down a few dollars here and there, but Dust will reward skill level more than it will reward money spent.

Players have access to four basic load outs and character types: Scout, Logistics (engineer class), Heavy, and Assault. These drop suits, as they’re called (because all soldiers drop in from orbiting ships, a la Section 8) are completely customizable. Various skill sets, from weapons use to armor strength to speed and literally dozens more can be leveled up over a long period of time. According to the developers, maxing out a player’s stats would take seven years. Some of the skills are passive, so when in use they will upgrade even without playing the game. In other words, if you stop playing Dust for a month, you may come back to a fully leveled up passive skill.

Combat itself looks and feels like a traditional FPS, albeit for the Playstation 3, which is not typically known for shooters. There are some interesting differences though. The first is the sheer number of worlds combat can take place on: at launch, around 7,000 planets in the Eve universe. This preposterous amount doesn’t mean that every world is unique and different; that would make the game so large no PS3 could store all of the game data. Instead, there will be slight differences between each world, and combat scenarios between different planets will revolve more around the objectives than the planets themselves.

A squad designator sets one player as the commander, who can then command units to certain locations, send down supplies and artillery, and manage the battlefield from a top-down RTS view in real time. This commander player can also drop into combat at and fight alongside comrades, and at any time can go back to the RTS view mode for further commands and supplies. All players have access to the RTS view, but only the commander, who is voted in by the players, can commission commands. And no, Eve Online players cannot set who the commanders are, though as I told CCP during my demo of the game, such a feature would be very interesting to have.

Vehicles are a large part of both combat and customization. There are three basic vehicle types: jeeps, tanks, and drop ships, all of which can be fitted with specific armor, weapons, and power sources. All vehicles have a balancing meter to establish how much can be put onto the basic shell so no vehicles are overpowered.

I got to play during an online match briefly, and while Dust is fun, it will take some time for players to adjust to. The game, set for a June 29th open beta, is still buggy and half of my play time was spent driving because my gun wouldn’t shoot. When it did, the sheer number of weapons and objectives was daunting, especially after so much time spent on the show floor. There is a definite playability for drop-in players, but my sense is that without a commander, some players just won’t know what to do.

Dust 514 does not have a release date as of yet, but will be available in an open beta starting June 29th. The game will release, free to play, exclusively for the Playstation 3. You can register for the beta here.
 

James Pikover
From E3 for DevilsMMO.com
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