• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Dust 514 Open Beta Discussion/Impressions

woolley

Member
Dust1-1_zps8ccd08f4.png

The NDA has been officially lifted and the open beta starts today so I thought it would be nice to have a discussion thread for the open beta.

What is Dust 514?
Dust 514 is a free-to-play first-person shooter developed by CCP Games for the PlayStation 3. Dust 514 takes place in and is directly connected to CCP's first game, Eve Online. There is direct interaction between the two; player actions in one game affect the political and economic status of the other.

Dust 514 forums
https://forums.dust514.com/

How do I join?
Just go to the PSN store and search "Dust 514". It's available to all.

Create your character
https://dust514.com/signup/


Over the last few months the game has changed a lot and has become a much better game over this time but there are still issues that I have with the game that's keeping me from getting into the game.

The level of entry for this game is far too large imo. I don't have much time to play a game for hours on end everyday so the fact that everything is so expensive, whether it be ISK or SP, just puts me at a huge disadvantage if I just want to play a game or two every few days. And that's a huge barrier for players before they even take the time before trying to learn how to play the game.

Also there is just something that is off about the player controls. I don't quite know how to explain it but it just feels off. While better then it once was it is still clunky and doesn't feel right when I try to move around the maps.

One of my biggest problems with the game is that the communication and command structure in game is just horrible. I feel like could do something similar to what MAG did in this department. Other than text chat there is no way for different squads to communicate with each other and most of the games that I've played are just dead silent, there's no real incentive to use a mic because you can't really talk with each other.

As things stand now I don't think that Dust 514 will be successful. While I think the game will have a small dedicated group that will put the time and money into the game I don't think most people will waste their time to try and build up a character to compete with those more dedicated players.
 
Ah. I was going to post a thread, but you beat me to the punch. The new trailer is great. You can watch it here.

If you participated in early phases of the alpha/beta and weren't impressed, I highly recommend giving the game another shot. A lot of improvements have been made. The game is actually fun to play.

As with EVE, I'm rolling with the GSF. Just an FYI: we are not GoonFeet.
 

i-Lo

Member
They are bringing this game out pretty late into PS3's life. I wonder if they will make an effort to port it over to PS4 if there is no BC. It'll be very interesting to have two probable F2P MMOFP games for Orbis at launch.
 

woolley

Member
They are bringing this game out pretty late into PS3's life. I wonder if they will make an effort to port it over to PS4 if there is no BC. It'll be very interesting to have two probable F2P MMOFP games for Orbis at launch.

I'm pretty sure they've said that they're bringing it to the PS4.
 

bjaelke

Member
I've been having a blast with this game for the last couple of months. The skill system is surprisingly deep but apparently that's "normal" for a CCP game.
 

androvsky

Member
I was not aware of this. Do you have an article or a video interview which alludes to this? I thank you in advance.
I saw it second-hand, mentioned by people in the official forums as having been an old comment in IRC. I'd be shocked if they don't considering how overbuilt the game is.

Wait, this game isn't coming out for PC at all? I didn't realize that.

Their stated goal is to attract console players and they probably have a deal with Sony, so don't expect to see a PC version for at least a year.


I really dislike this game, have since the closed beta.

Shooting doesn't feel right.
Okay, I'll ask you since I see this a lot. I don't play FPS games on consoles (maybe a couple TPS, like Uncharted), but I used to be a pretty mean Quake 2 / UT player. What's wrong with the shooting?
 

i-Lo

Member
∀ Narayan;46748510 said:
It pretty much is out right now.





Well, there's this. Dust is an Unreal Engine 3 title, and CCP owns the EVE/DUST property. I wouldn't be surprised to see Dust clients for other platforms in the future.

I saw it second-hand, mentioned by people in the official forums as having been an old comment in IRC. I'd be shocked if they don't considering how overbuilt the game is.



Their stated goal is to attract console players and they probably have a deal with Sony, so don't expect to see a PC version for at least a year.



Okay, I'll ask you since I see this a lot. I don't play FPS games on consoles (maybe a couple TPS, like Uncharted), but I used to be a pretty mean Quake 2 / UT player. What's wrong with the shooting?

I see, thank you.
 

eot

Banned
This game seems like it's dead on arrival, there's no buzz for it. I don't think CCP had the resources to do it properly, they should've focused on EVE instead.
 

androvsky

Member
Well, I've been enjoying it. How many people have tried it since they added iron sights to the assault rifles? Apparently that's important. :/
 

CTLance

Member
I played it awhile back in closed beta and I have the same feelings. I wonder if it has improved at all?
Same here, but for me I'm pretty sure it's my shooter aversion coupled with deep loathing of the typical Unreal engine pitfalls like texture pop in, UI lag, slightly off lighting and beefy McBeefington protagonists.


Plus, I will one day find whoever is responsible for CCPs UI disasters, and I will stuff them in a glass sphere and bury them alive at the bottom of the Mariana trench as a warning to others.


For me the main problem is how slow everything feels. Menus scroll in just that bit too slowly - or skip into view with the grace of a kindergartner overdosing on sugar - aforementioned texture pop in occurs regularly, loading screens loading screens loading screens, and frankly, I feel like a tank on threads in the game, always just that little bit too slow.

Granted, with correct skillset and equipment you can become speedy enough, so I guess that last part doesn't really count. Still, as someone that "grew up" with Q3A or UT I just feel like I'm moving through molasses from the first second the game loads until I quit via the emphatically slow PS menu. I just can't get used to that.


It is fun though, so I guess it achieves what it set out to do.
 
It's still in very bad shape... better than where it started, but CCP set a high bar, and they aren't even near it.

I mean, graphically, it doesn't even compete with Mag or the first wave of FPS's on these consoles.

I stopped playing as well. The costs for each suit with even a basic set of gear is stupid expensive.
 

jspeerbr

Neo Member
When did they say this??

In a recent interview, they were asked about concerns bringing such a large game out this late in the current console generation. They had said that they have planned for a minimal 5 year life cycle for this game which includes compatibility on next gen consoles.
 
I'm pretty sure they've said that they're bringing it to the PS4.

Depends on how different the architecture is between PS4 and PS3. Remeber the rumor is they are going away from the CELL and that may cause major porting issues depending on how the game is developed.
 

SparkTR

Member
I played it awhile back in closed beta and I have the same feelings. I wonder if it has improved at all?

I played it a bit (~7 hours) about a week ago and didn't think much of it. Even at first glance the game looked god awful visually and had a terrible frame-rate, some of the worst I've played in a console game (but it's beta, so whatever).

The game is like a worse Section 8 with some metagame elements attached and a grimdark art style. New players are gonna have a really hard time getting into it with high level players on the field and the confusing menus are gonna cause a lot of trouble. The prices also seemed kinda high but I didn't look at the store much. Outside of players who have vested interests in EVE Online, I don't see people sticking with this when they could be playing other multiplayer shooters. Outside of the metagame elements, it was just bland and downright bad in some aspects.

Compared to Dust 514, how does the shooting mechanic feel and respond in Planetside 2?

Discounting things like server lag (Planetside 2 is 2000 players, Dust will be 48), shooting is a whole lot faster and more precise in Planetside 2. Even connecting a KB/M to Dust feels like turning through jello. There's some weird lag to the controls.
 
Tried this game in early beta, loved the ideas they were going for but hated the execution. Gave it another try last week and it felt like they made no progress whatsoever.

A shame, I really wanted to like this one.
 

Mr. RHC

Member
There is a lot of customization in this game. Didn't really feel the EVE interaction. Seems like a solid game overall.
 

woolley

Member
There is a lot of customization in this game. Didn't really feel the EVE interaction. Seems like a solid game overall.

So far the only interaction with EVE is with corp battles. I know a week or two ago they were testing orbital bombardments from EVE but I'm not sure if it's still in the game or not right now.
 

DTKT

Member
Have they ever commented on the game never coming to PC? It seems like a perfect fit.

Sony exclusive?
 

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
I should give this another shot. Played the beta over the summer and thought it was terrible but we'll see if it's improved since then.
 
So first time playing just now, and to be honest i didn't play it for very long before I deleted it, here's why:

1. The graphics are just awful, I won't preface everything by saying "I know its a beta", but still. This has some of the worst graphics I've seen on any current gen title that isn't PSN or XBLA. There's literally no texture on the ground at all. Not only that but the textures that are there take a good while to fully load in once you start moving.

2. The sound is just as bad, well, what sound there is. There isn't even a sound for you running. None at all. There's a tiny sound for jumping but that's all. The place is almost silent. For what sound there is, its just all low quality tinny sounding space shooter sounds.

3. The gameplay itself is a mixed bag for sure. When I get hit red flashes around the screen but I don't hear myself getting hit (I guess an issue of the paragraph above), I also don't see any reaction at all from the people I eventually manage to hit myself. The controls are very floaty, and even the small tutorials it gave me didn't even give me a sense of how to do things. I also came across a set of two crates placed like steps to jump onto, but could my character make the 5" jump? He sure couldn't. Very frustrating.

As for the rest. Well the menu is slow and clunky and the text, even on my 50", is way too small to read even from the distance I was sitting from the TV.

Like I said, I only played it for 5 minutes (plus the 20 in the menu and the 2 mins connecting back to PSN as the game manage to sign me out of everything), so I'll come back to it when a proper demo is released and hope like hell most of the issues are down to keeping the download size small.
 

Tzeentch

Member
Asked a friend who lives and breathes Eve what he thought of it. His answer: "Garbage."

Think I'll give it a wide pass.
 
So first time playing just now, and to be honest i didn't play it for very long before I deleted it, here's why:

1. The graphics are just awful, I won't preface everything by saying "I know its a beta", but still. This has some of the worst graphics I've seen on any current gen title that isn't PSN or XBLA. There's literally no texture on the ground at all. Not only that but the textures that are there take a good while to fully load in once you start moving.

2. The sound is just as bad, well, what sound there is. There isn't even a sound for you running. None at all. There's a tiny sound for jumping but that's all. The place is almost silent. For what sound there is, its just all low quality tinny sounding space shooter sounds.

3. The gameplay itself is a mixed bag for sure. When I get hit red flashes around the screen but I don't hear myself getting hit (I guess an issue of the paragraph above), I also don't see any reaction at all from the people I eventually manage to hit myself. The controls are very floaty, and even the small tutorials it gave me didn't even give me a sense of how to do things. I also came across a set of two crates placed like steps to jump onto, but could my character make the 5" jump? He sure couldn't. Very frustrating.

As for the rest. Well the menu is slow and clunky and the text, even on my 50", is way too small to read even from the distance I was sitting from the TV.

Like I said, I only played it for 5 minutes (plus the 20 in the menu and the 2 mins connecting back to PSN as the game manage to sign me out of everything), so I'll come back to it when a proper demo is released and hope like hell most of the issues are down to keeping the download size small.
Quite similar to my own experiences (see above loooooooong writeup). Regarding your points:

1. I wouldn't be so concerned about this if there had been any improvement during the last year of beta. There hasn't been.

2. CCP has already announced a patch will be delivered very soon to improve the sounds. Current stuff is basically placeholder assets, which is why things like guns sound like shit.

3. Yeah, it's definitely a mixed bag. Reloading takes forever, and if you get imaginative you can theorize it's because you're in a big heavy pressurized dropsuit and that makes things hard for you. Bunnyhopping is apparently totally ok though. Huwha?

Waiting for a demo won't do much for you, since this is an open beta. For CCP, that effectively means demo / work in progress, I don't personally expect it to be improved drastically between now and release.
 
So first time playing just now, and to be honest i didn't play it for very long before I deleted it, here's why:

1. The graphics are just awful, I won't preface everything by saying "I know its a beta", but still. This has some of the worst graphics I've seen on any current gen title that isn't PSN or XBLA. There's literally no texture on the ground at all. Not only that but the textures that are there take a good while to fully load in once you start moving.

2. The sound is just as bad, well, what sound there is. There isn't even a sound for you running. None at all. There's a tiny sound for jumping but that's all. The place is almost silent. For what sound there is, its just all low quality tinny sounding space shooter sounds.

3. The gameplay itself is a mixed bag for sure. When I get hit red flashes around the screen but I don't hear myself getting hit (I guess an issue of the paragraph above), I also don't see any reaction at all from the people I eventually manage to hit myself. The controls are very floaty, and even the small tutorials it gave me didn't even give me a sense of how to do things. I also came across a set of two crates placed like steps to jump onto, but could my character make the 5" jump? He sure couldn't. Very frustrating.

As for the rest. Well the menu is slow and clunky and the text, even on my 50", is way too small to read even from the distance I was sitting from the TV.

Like I said, I only played it for 5 minutes (plus the 20 in the menu and the 2 mins connecting back to PSN as the game manage to sign me out of everything), so I'll come back to it when a proper demo is released and hope like hell most of the issues are down to keeping the download size small.

how about you just stay as far away from the game as possible
 
I just tried it. First match was decent, I managed to outflank some guys and take them down. Second match was almost over when I entered, I hate when that happens.

It feels very, very clunky, and I'm very disappointed that nothing of EVE's amazing character builder is there. Sure, you're gonna be in a spacesuit but it's not like EVE has you lounging around in starports either. If I'm gonna invest all that time into building a good character and hanging on to it, it better be more visually interesting than "generic space marine 003".

It also feels like early 2007 in terms of crappy UE ports...
 

Ixion

Member
What genius at CCP thought it was a good idea to make this a PS3 exclusive?

maybe if they do a PS4 version I will try it again.

To quote CCP:

"Like Eve we want this game to run forever, so it'll be on PlayStation 7," Touborg adds, noting that it will be a priority to communicate to PS3 players that Dust, which enters open beta today, is going to be a different experience weeks, months and years down the line.

"I think it's going to be especially important because I think the players we're trying to reach aren't used to it. When it comes to console shooters, I see it very much as a migrating population, which moves from new title to new title. What we need to do is basically change their mindset, to make them understand that Dust is a game that will get better and better, and that is going to be a big challenge."

Source
 
Am I actually the only one that noticed that DUST 514 seems to have native mouse and keyboard support? o.o I couldn't try it yet thanks to my keyboard having a awfully short USB-cable but I definitely saw the options in the menu.

Well I just tried my Razer Mamba in Wireless-mode with the PS3 and DUST 514, to my surprise everything worked like a charm in all its 5600dpi native mouse-aiming glory! :D
 

woolley

Member
Am I actually the only one that noticed that DUST 514 seems to have native mouse and keyboard support? o.o I couldn't try it yet thanks to my keyboard having a awfully short USB-cable but I definitely saw the options in the menu.

Well I just tried my Razer Mamba in Wireless-mode with the PS3 and DUST 514, to my surprise everything worked like a charm in all its 5600dpi native mouse-aiming glory! :D

Yea they it to the game over the summer mostly to keep the people that came from EVE happy. It was a big subject for debate from the community before it happened.
 
Top Bottom