We sat in on every panel, presentation, and round-table discussion, to get the most information on DUST 514 from EVE Fanfest 2012.

For now, much of DUST's conflicts will take place on temperate planets in EVE Online's high-security and low-security spaces (with plans to expand to null security once they hammer out their EVE-DUST interaction mechanics). To generate the thousands of maps promised, CCP has created a map-generating tool, where they go about pre-seeding planets with "districts," which are essentially playable maps that are procedurally generated per planet, with changes to environment packages, the skybox (clouds, sun, shadows, etc), lighting, coloring and hue, and the size of the outposts - small, medium and large - to encourage map diversity. Surface infrastructures can then be placed on districts, which offer unique bonuses or advantages to the owners. 

Finally, there are orbiting structures that float directly above the surface infrastructures in space. Since both surface infrastructures and orbiting structures affect EVE Online's sovereignty and faction warfare, DUST 514 and EVE Online players will want to claim both of these structures for their own. Ultimately, CCP envisions a time when EVE players will want to take control of an orbital station, but a land-based artillery structure might be defending the structure, so the EVE pilots will need to contact their DUST mercenary partners to take out the gun on the ground while that the pilots can take control of the orbital station. Furthermore, CCP wants to allow EVE players to see when DUST battles take place on planets so that they can sweep in to offer support for one side or another. 

Right now the plan is to relegate "casual" games of DUST to high-security planets, where matches will feel more like normal FPS brawls and orbital bombardments will not be allowed. Moving into low-security skirmishes may grant better rewards to players, but the fights themselves will be far more important in the DUST and EVE universe, so orbital bombardments will be allowed in these fights.

Orbital Bombardments

At Fanfest 2012, CCP demonstrated its very first cross-platform orbital bombardment taking place, with a soldier in DUST live-transmitting a code to a player in EVE. The EVE player then locked on to the planetary district that the DUST player occupied, and fired a barrage of laser blasts. Moments later, that blast appeared within the DUST universe, easily wiping out a fortified outpost entrance. In terms of overall technology and execution, this was obviously an incredible feat, and CCP admits that this was one of their biggest hurdles in executing DUST 514. In fact, the technology seems so fresh that the team is still working on what they can utilize in orbital bombardments aside from what was shown in the demonstration.

Suggestions obviously flew around the room during the Orbital Bombardment round table discussion, but the general theme of the talk seemed focus more on what CCP is capable of doing, rather than what they have done, so it may take some time as they figure out the logistics of it. Regardless, now that CCP has managed to achieve this cross-platform interactivity, it was noted that things like large laser bombardments, missile bombardments, and even small laser tactical bombardments were all very real possibilities. There were also discussions on allowing orbital bombardments that were so large they could simply wipe an entire district out. Brandon notes that the area would need to be rebuilt from the ground up should this happen, but he wants it to be a possibility in the spirit of EVE's sandbox gameplay. The team did stress that orbital bombardments would come at high costs and even higher coordination efforts for both parties, although they couldn't go into the specifics of what those costs would be.

Hands-on Impressions

In the end, however, DUST 514 is a first-person shooter and, as such, it needs to have a tight gameplay foundation. To get a solid experience, I jumped into as many media play sessions as possible, as well as sitting in on a few public play sessions in the large "PvP Room" at Fanfest 2012. Overall, while it's clear that the game still needs some polish and clean-up, I was happy to see that the fundamental mechanics were solid and engaging. I can't fault CCP for things that are usually cleaned up later, as this was a very early beta build, but I do hope that they add more tactile feedback to their guns and vehicles; it currently feels like my character and weapon are a little "light" on play. Still, what time I got to enjoy in-game was incredibly addictive, and I'm salivating at the sheer amount of character depth already present. Players might be quick to draw comparisons to other first-person shooters, but we're talking customization that's more easily compared to MMORPG characters than an FPS with gun mods and perks.

It was also fantastic to watch some of the large-scale battles taking place during the event, especially for the 24v24 PvP tournament. Here, I got a glimpse into the great potential of this world as players coordinated their strikes and shouted commands to each other over the din of the venue. Imagining all of that, but executed through proper squads, each coordinating with their commander to pull off strategies on a larger scale just floods me with memories of days spent playing Battlefield. This comparison, by the way, goes beyond being a simple reference, as the Creative Director of DUST 514, Atli Már Sveinsson, was formerly a Lead Designer for Battlefield 2 at DICE. 

Final Thoughts and the Future of the EVE / DUST Universe

Should things go as planned for DUST 514 and CCP Games this year, in the final "CCP Presents!" keynote speech, Brandon Laurino also gave hint of the team's future developments in 2013, including, an early eSports-focused expansion that would introduce gladiator arenas in DUST, allowing for game modes like capture-the-flag, solo deathmatch and custom matches. These arenas would also allow for betting and viewing in both EVE and DUST, thereby making DUST 514 a real "sport" in the EVE Universe. Further developments include the introduction of hostile / non-temperate environments, where players may need vehicles to get around, in addition to MTACs (Mechanized Torso-Actuated Chassis) - EVE's versions of BattleMechs - arriving later in the year.

It's dizzying to imagine all the possibilities that a seamlessly integrated DUST 514 / EVE Online universe can bring. The potential for incredible success or stunning mediocrity here is very real, and you have to give CCP credit for their sheer ambition in pursuing this. If it succeeds, we may soon have elite DUST mercenary squads engaging in battles that span over five kilometres long as thousands of ships clash above, each side attempting to provide orbital bombardment support to its troops while denying the other. Should CCP ever manage to execute this vision, I'm beginning to think they may very well achieve their ambitious goal to become the largest MMORPG world, in the world. It looks like 2012 will be a very interesting year for EVE Online and the EVE Universe at large.

Chris "Pwyff" Tom, Editor-in-Chief