Dust 514 PS3 beta begins Thursday for Mercenary Pack purchasers
By
Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor
$20 promotion for CCP Games' free-to-play first-person shooter gives customers access to all beta events, $20 of in-game currency, exclusive weapons and armor.
Dust 514 doesn't officially launch until later this year, but eager PlayStation 3 gamers can already shell out money to try the free-to-play first-person shooter ahead of schedule. CCP Games is now offering the Dust 514 Mercenary Pack on the PlayStation Network, a bundle that will give players an array of perks for the EVE Online spin-off shooter.
For $20, the Mercenary Pack includes access to all of the game's beta events, including the first one scheduled to kick off this Thursday. Additional beta events are set for every other weekend going forward, and Mercenary Pack owners will also have exclusive access to the game on weekends in between. The Mercenary Pack also includes $20 worth of Aurum, Dust 514's in-game currency, as well as a 30-day boost that increases earned skill points by 50 percent, and an assortment of armor, weapons, and other in-game items.
Dust 514 was announced in 2009 and had been in development for three years at that point. The game is integrated with EVE Online such that Dust 514 players will operate as mercenaries within the PC massively multiplayer online role-playing game universe. Player-controlled corporations in the EVE Online world will be able to enlist Dust 514 players to fight territorial disputes on their behalf, and even conduct orbital bombardments to even the playing field.
For more on Dust 514, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.
By
Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor
Brendan Sinclair has been a games journalist since 1999. His tastes are eclectic, though he has a definite affinity for games with arcade roots. He's Canadian, but has also been at home in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco.
65 comments
@GamerOuTLaWz its still in the beta phase (and not like bf3 beta where you download the beta then next month the game is out) there will be literally months of testing, changing and improving upon what you see now. But i am willing to sacrifice graphics for a real time console fpsmmo
The $20 isnt a charge to play the game, its a charge for some in game currency and items (equiv to some DLC.
The article seems to focus more on the beta access than the items, which is what you are actually paying for.
1 Like lol charging $20 just for the beta tell me that this game will be unplayable trash because CCP is going to milk this into uselessness. Can't wait for our first pay-2-win fps where I can play with spandex armor and a staple gun while some 13-year-old who put $100 of mommy's money into this pwns me with the cruise missile he paid $40 for.
@gmromero I find it funny how you guys still find a way to complain about a free game. You see the second to last word in my last sentence "free"? Well that means that you don't have to pay anything if you don't want to. You pay 60 dollars for cod or battlefield and the game never changes, it's always the same thing under a different name. Then you're going to complain about paying 1/3 of that for a completely new and ground breaking game? Wait I shouldn't say your complaining about paying it because you don't have to pay it. It's a free game how do you think ccp is going to make money? With micro transactions. Of course the guys who payed and help support ccp will have better stuff, but that doesn't mean they are better. If your getting killed by a 13 year old with top tier armor don't blame the game, blame yourself because you suck. Now why don't you go find another free thing to complain about. Maybe go outside and complain that elderly people get better oxygen than you because they buy oxygen tanks. See how that goes for you. If your not going to play dust then that's your business. Nobody here cares kid, it's just less competition for the rest of us. Now have a good day you cynical child.
@Smittyco1 @gmromero There is nothing new or groundbreaking about this game, there are plenty of pay-2-win fps games out there. You know what they all have in common? They all suck. That, and gamers aren't stupid, they will recognise milking when they see it, as many do right here. There's a reason why COD and BF3 dominate this market, and this game will be little more than a footnote. Take your rage back to your mom's basement, lol.
There will not be any kind of pay to win stuff in Dust....that would kill the whole gameplay.
The 9 year old universe of new eden is raising constantly in player count, because CCP is listening to their customers....and the EVE community pointed out clearly, that we are not supporting pay to win situations in that universe....no matter if that is focusing on dust or EVE.
Their is Aurum in EVE too....look at my Character Portrait in this forum....iv'e payed my Outfit with it.
That doesnt make me a better pilot....and if my clone, which is wearing that outfit, gets killed, it's gone.
The same kind of sidegrades you will have in Dust, but that won't you make a better soldier.
The game is very skill-focused....it's about 7 years of training, to learn them all and as CCP is bringing new stuff to Dust further on, there will be new skills to learn that new stuff too....same as in EVE.
Well....and after that column....what i wanted to say with that:
You have the support of a 9 year old community garanting you, that this game will not be pay to win....otherwise CCP will have a huge standing loss.
The Dust server is the same server cluster, as the EVE Server....so there are not much new costs to let the game continue in work.
With the microtransaction they are mainly focusing on bring in the lost money on the development again....but the ongoing work on the game is payed by the subscription fee of the EVE players BECAUSE it's the same server cluster as we have and which we are paying for.
But let me make you an offer.
If the game is out, and you will find an Dropsuit or a weapon, that is pay to win in your opinion, i will buy you a bunch of them with ISK.
@gmromero Nope I guess there is nothing new about ate first fpsmmo on a console most of been done a thousand times before right? If you actually played the game you would know its not p2w. A person with top tier stuff can be killed with militia stuff. The game is about team work this isn't cod you don't run around hoping to kill someone with a random grenade.
@itchyflop The game will roll out with a companion app called DUST 514: Neocom on the Vita.
Every character you use can be customized via that, so you can create and edit customized fittings (load-outs) with different dropsuits, weapons, vehicles, items and more.
You?ll also be able to use Neocom to access the in-game Mail system and Friends List, as well as use the Market to get new stuff for your character from the DUST 514 Marketplace using either ISK or Aurum.
So actually you can do everything with it, except to play Dust....that won't work.
But you could for example prepare for a ongoing clan match while you are on your way home from work....so you start your PS3 and are ready for fight with your over the vita fitted mercenary.
I would not by a vita just to be able to use that function....but if you are anyway buing one, this Neocom would be very useful.
@Endauriel thanks man !! i have a vita already i thought it would be something like a star map whilst in play, sorry to be a noob but can you tell me are ps3 players able to play with pc players and the videos i v seen show ships in space aswell as above the action, can you travel off a planet and to the next without load out screens. :)
yeah me too and look me up im itchyflop, i think it puts you in a squad etc i ll look in more depth when we can, i think the beta's closed for a week now.
@Smittyco1 @itchyflop @Endauriel got the closed beta 13 quid friday and its wicked!! a good sense of planetary control in a red faction meets halo sort of way. Realy enjoying it. no nukes from above yet!! and im still not sure but i think when you order a vehicle it costs YOU credits, does someone control the battle field ?? thanks :)
1 Like @Smittyco1 @Endauriel @itchyflop
I think i've heard in an interview, that EVE Players can drop installations before the match starts....but how that exactly will work....I don't know.
Maybe you are right about that.
The EVE Testserver is not connected to the Dust Beta yet....that will happen in small steps.
We'll see how that turns out....I'm looking forward to play with you guys.
@itchyflop @Endauriel They said yet will add more interaction once the game is released and the bugs are worked out. And my that I mean being able to walk around and talk to eve guys. And yes you are right
@Smittyco1 @Endauriel @itchyflop am i right in saying the ps3 players are the marines who have to earn or prove they re worth by winning contracts or battles. Currency and as Smittyco1 commented commanders and pc aid from above control how much support is available to us. I think its a great concept. i would have liked to see more interaction between consoles and pc, maybe later in the development.
@Endauriel @itchyflop Eve players don't control all that you said. They do have orbital strikes, but vehicles and installations are handled by the commanding dust player in the mcc
@Endauriel thanks for the reply. iv looked more in depth at it now and your right, eve players interact with ships dropping supplies off and nuking from the air, where as ps3 players can shoot the ships down. A great interaction with the pc players and eve but cross play ground fighting would have been awesome. maybe a little too much to ask from pc's and consoles at the moment, maybe on the next gen machines. Im still gonna buy this later today, along with the new indoor BF3 maps. thanks for the assistance. :)
@itchyflop I do not exactly know, how that planet travling will work....there are to less informations about that so far.
But you can definitly not change the planet while you are in a match.
You also can't leave the planet you are playing on as a Dust Mercenary in a Match.
So that will not work without a load out screen, because you are changing your position before you are going into battle.
That connection between PC and PS3 (if you break it down to fighting) refers mainly on letting the EVE Players drop down installations and supply goods like weapons and vehicles to the ground for the Dust Players and help them out with orbital strikes.
At the other hand, if you are hacking an orbital cannon on the planet, you would be able to shoot down space ships in the orbit of the planet.
To visually see whats going on at the battlefield or looking in the orbit from ground will not be available at the release (I think), but they are working on that as well.
What i see for the near future is a kind of lounge or bar where EVE players and Dust players can meet with their avatars....but CCP has a 4 and a half year long to do list at this time....so there are a lot of features planned.
7 Like As an EVE Online player, I've spend quite some time reading several comments from various websites now.
The one thing that bothers me the most in that comments, is, that people keep thinking they have to pay for EVERY SINGLE PIECE of equipment with real money.
For these people, that WANT to spend real money and do not even think about WORKING for EVE Online players and earn money for their equipment through contracts, I have only the following words:
Four god's sake....who the hell cares about if YOU are playing Dust 514 or not?
What makes you even think, that ONE SINGLE ALLIANCE in EVE is in need for the kind of help, that a unambitious kiddie like you can offer?
It seems like many of you didn't get the message behind those crossplaying between EVE and Dust yet.
It is not your part to buy your equipment....it's ours.
Your part is, to prove, that you are worth your equipment.
So if you have understood the complexity and size of New Eden and the ISK this universe has to throw on you, you will see, that the best way to get those "Maxed out equip" is not to pay with microtransactions.
IF YOU want to play Dust with a deeper meaning, which means negotiation with EVE Players, helping them out with (unwelcome) guest and secure their sovereignty (and at least your's), you will notice, that you are drowning in your "Maxed out Dropsuits", Tanks, Dropships and what ever is buyable.
Damn....you are even gonna rewarded with you own home planets. o.O
That concerned....the only reason, why you would to buy your equipment with real money, is, that you ain't gonna work for it.
And if you ain't gonna work for it, the time you spend in Dust, doesn't have a meaning.
And if it doesn't have a meaning whether you are playing or not, no one will need a mercenary like you....so don't play.
If you are the kind of solo player with too much money, looking for kill/death ratios, you totaly missed the big picture of the economy of this universe.
On the other side....for the shooter fans among you, which are worried about "pay to win" situations, i can only forward to my text above again.
If you win, does not depend on your real live pocket, but on your skills.
I am amazed anyway, that so few of you have enough trust in your own skills, to beat such shiny armor posers to hell. o.O
And there also where some rumors about all-day-camping players because of the item loss after death.
That thing about campers....what doesn't move, is easier to strike from orbit. ;-)
You mark them, you watch them burn.
So I really think, that beeing a camper would be a kind of expensive playstyle in this game.
@Endauriel If all EVE players are like you then I have the utmost respect and excitement to finally get my hands on this game and put in the time it takes. Damnit I'll make a name for myself in that universe yet!
1 Like @Phil-teh-Pirate Great attitude!
As an industrialist and trader I'm looking forward to build most of the Dust-Armory myself.
So with the help from guys of your caliber which are securing the ressources to do so, I'm looking forward to a small but spezialised private Army sheduled for very interesting contracts.
I don't know exactly, how the EVE Testserver will be connected with the new release of the Dust Beta, but im looking forward to an interesting weekend.
And as far as i know CCP, they will do great work until the final release appears.
We are currently playing the 17th Expansions that CCP released over 9 years of EVE absolutely free of charge....and the last thing they would to, is letting Dust run out of date over time....I'm pretty sure about that.
New Eden doesn't forget....and it doesn't forgive.
It will be the only shooter so far out there, where a name really matters.
I'm looking forward to support anyone who is willing to stand his ground....and I'm far not the only one.
@Endauriel Dude, your posts are selling me on this game, more than any trailer I've seen so far. Knowing that the EVE community is behind this, and you all seem to be as excited about it as anyone, is especially encouraging. It makes me wish I would have picked up EVE years ago, (instead of spending 10 years on AO) and gave it a chance. CCP actually continues to expand on their universe, and I applaud them for that.
If you're looking for prospective employees on the 514 side of things, my PSN is Novidian. It'd be a pleasure fighting for your corporation's interests, I'm sure. (Hell, I may even try EVE now, heh.) I only hope that EVE players have great incentives to be involved, so this unique relationship continues to thrive.
@blitzinD Well....that subscription fee is....uhm....a subscription fee?
You have to pay one for World of Warcraft too....and the expansions are not free at all.
Paying a fee for playing the game is one thing....it is not usual to get free expansions with that fee.
And no....i didn't pay the $15 quiet some months now....paying trough PLEXes ingame.
I'm not naiv, don't get upset please....
"CCP released over 9 years of EVE absolutely free of charge"
Really you never paid for any of them? What does that $15 a month subscription fee pay for?
Don't be so naive.
@Endauriel THANK YOU MAN for that...i think me, you, and a few others are the ONLY ones that know what the hell we are talking about when it comes to Dust and the whole EVE Online univ. If you are reading the comments, before you even thinking about posting something stupid, go read up on the game or at least be in the beta
1 Like @Endauriel I'm gonna be grafting for all my gear sarge. Ain't nothing those queue jumpers can buy n through at us that can compensate for their lack grit and prowess in battle. "I love the corp!"
1 Like This game is actually fascinating..
How it all works is essentially witchcraft in my eyes, it shouldn't even be possible.
MASSIVE round of applause to CCP, they're effectively changing the way we game forever. Can't wait to get involved :)
1 Like After reading the comments: This game originally had a $20 price tag. When they switch to F2P (which is NOT Pay2Win, real money gets you Aurum which can be used to buy only cosmetic shit, same as Eve), they converted that original price to the Mercenary Pack.
1 Like look guys...if you havent done the research on this game or even been in the beta, then done assume that this is pay2win. i have been in the beta for over 2 months now and i can definitely tell you this game is NOT pay2win. everything you get in the game for free is just as good as the stuff you can pay for. maybe you will be a bigger ammo clip or faster fire rate or different colors, but skill is number one in this game. the promo that CCP is offering is basically for access to the beta now and $20 for AUR so you can purchase some of the pay items but these items dont break the game. this game will be great!
1 Like @TERMINATOR-SSD all the free to play games I tried are like that except for LOL. or you have to get your ass kicked for 100 gameplay hours to have a competing chance.
1 Like This is not a Pay2Win game. CCP is offering a $20 pass that gives automatic entry into their beta along with various in-game perks (all of which can be presumably obtained without paying in game). If you dont want to pay, you can sign up for a chance to be involved in the beta or simply wait until the Free2Play full version comes out on PSN. At E3 the developers stressed that it was not Pay2Win
@YerdMeStreet any yet they didnt release any info on their payment scheme. If they did emphasis that its not a Pay2Win model than they will most likely promote it like hell just like what Tribes did.
1 Like Pay2win is now Pay2play.....great.
I would be more excited for this game if there was a $60 option where you never have to pay money again.
@ender707 NOW pay2play? Subscriptions have been around for awhile, and definitely longer than the F2P model has been popular.
@Earthbound_X Oh... I didn't even realize this was "free2play", somehow missed that on the first read through. Nevermind then.
1 Like I don't understand putting a price tag on a Beta, let alone a soon to be Free-To-Play game.
3 Like I've bought into too many so-called "free to play" games already (DC Universe, Combat Arms, etc.), and they all have the same thing in common: "You don't HAVE to pay", but if you don't the stuff they give you is so trashy and useless that you won't even want to play the game. This looks like it will be no different. It's a shame, too, because I would have bought the game retail, cuz it actually looks pretty good.
Kind of ironic that I shudder at the sound of the word "free".
@Draco416 what your describing is Pay 2 Win, for me the worst kind of "free 2 play" model.
I recommend Tribes Ascend, that is a proper Free 2 Play game where every weapon is unlockable with out spending money, you spend your Xp points Or real money to unlock it there and then. Putting money into the game only unlocks things faster, or gives you Xp boosts. You should give that a try bud.
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