DUST 514

DUST 514 is the upcoming First Person Shooter game from CCP Games, developers of EVE Online.

This article is intended to be a knowledgebase of sorts as to what information is known so far about DUST 514. When editing, remember to cite sources and include links!

Release & Publishing

• Expected release Spring 2012
• Closed Beta some time in 2011.
• Exclusive to PlayStation Network on PlayStation 3
• "Free to Play" (no subscription) and funded by in-game purchases.
• "Will charge real money for in-game items at a "virtual items marketplace"."
• XBOX 360 release unlikely, due to restrictions with XBOX LIVE
• Regarding PSN Integration: "We're going to be managing most of it. We're using PlayStation just for credentials, stuff like that. Then it's all our stuff."
• "Will Dust ever come to PC? "We're exclusive on the PS3 right now and we're focusing on making a really good game there," Fannar said. "But I can't speak to what's going to happen in the future, so...""

Gameplay

Vehicles

• Halldór, CTO:
  • "There is a number of different vehicles, all of them are land based"
  • A 'command unit' (looks like a space ship) is used to signify the control that you have over a certain region. In some of the battles your goal will be to take this unit out. Apparently this unit is not under direct control of players.
  • Flying deployment vehicles deploying troops on the battlefield, apparently these units are not under direct control of the players.
  • Ground based vehicles are the ones that can be controlled by players, you can "jump into them".
  • Vehicles can be "fitted".

Infrastructure

• Halldór, CTO: "Dust Mercenaries can also install infrastructure on the planet (..) and can be gaining resources and money from that."

Progression

• "Advancement will be through the accumulation of wealth, and an "achievement matrix" that unlocks new customisable weapons and vehicles."
• "There will be no character classes, players' abilities being defined by their equipment."

Integration with EVE Online

• Hilmar: "We're taking a console shooter and connecting it directly to a PC MMO."
• DUST players will "be able to communicate with EVE players in-game or via the New Eden social network, and join the same Corporations and Alliances."
• Halldór Fannar Guðjónsson, CTO:
  • Characters build in EVE will not be used in Dust, they are "very different characters"
  • Characters in Dust and EVE share the same namespace, hence all names will be unique across the games. This allows features like shared chat and corporations.
  • There will be "real time fighting between the two games, so from EVE you can order an orbital strike and from DUST you will be able to fire an artillery gun into space, to shoot back. However these features will be somewhat limited at launch."
  • "In a lot of cases, POD pilots will be putting up contracts for the mercenaries to bail." "There are no NPCs, we do have some AI systems to take care of situations were there aren't enough contracts being offered. All the characters in the game are controlled by humans."

Development

• Developed in both CCP Shanghai and Gatehead UK offices