Orbital Bombardment
Demonstrated for the first time at Fanfest 2012, Orbital Bombardment is the first of the more obvious gameplay links between Dust 514 and Eve Online.
Initiated by a Squad Leader in Dust 514 when certain criteria are met, a targeted area of a map is shown in the overview of a Capsuleer playing Eve Online in orbit above the planetary district where the Dust battle is taking place.
Once in his/her overview, this targeted area can be locked and fired upon, from orbit, by the Eve pilot using a special version of ammo designed for the task.
The effect on the battlefield on the ground is highly destructive. Very little survives a direct hit from an Orbital Bombardment.
Faction Warfare
The use of Orbital Bombardment in New Eden is currently limited to Factional Warfare. This Dev Blog and the links within offers a clearer explanation of the mechanic. By limiting the use of OB to Factional Warfare, CCP are using a live testing facility on the main Eve Server, Tranquility, while being able to tweak and alter the finer points of OB both in terms of balancing and from a technical standpoint. While doing so, they give Dust Merc's in the Open Beta, the opportunity to have a meaningful impact in New Eden, further cementing the principle of a single shard game universe.