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Dust 514 Open Beta Discussion/Impressions

Interfectum

Member
This game made me laugh. When you first start it up its as if you are entering some crazy universe and then as you dig deeper you are shown a shitload of character customizations... if feels like this game could last you forever. Then you get in the loading area where you see your buddies waiting to go into combat. Tension is building, shit is about to get real.

Then... you actually play the game and it fucking blows. Seriously all that shit only to make a boring shooter that brings absolutely nothing to the table gameplay wise? It feels like I stepped back into the 90s.
 

darkwing

Member
lol biggest draw for me is the EVE connection, I already joined my old EVE Corporation, excited for ground battles ahead as corps are already recruiting Dust people for the ground war campaign in EVE

without that connection, this game would blow lol
 

tafer

Member
This game made me laugh. When you first start it up its as if you are entering some crazy universe and then as you dig deeper you are shown a shitload of character customizations... if feels like this game could last you forever. Then you get in the loading area where you see your buddies waiting to go into combat. Tension is building, shit is about to get real.

Then... you actually play the game and it fucking blows. Seriously all that shit only to make a boring shooter that brings absolutely nothing to the table gameplay wise? It feels like I stepped back into the 90s.

Yeah, I understand the feeling. Currently, the gameplay is quite underwhelming. However, keep in mind that this is a beta and as said earlier, the developers have big plans for the future. I plan to stick around to see how this is going to evolve, it should be quite interesting.
 

rObit

Banned
Jumped in for a bit and wasn't all too impressed. I think I could get into it if it was A) on PC so I could communicate better with EVE friends while playing or B) on the Vita, in which case the game would be pretty impressive and bring a new experience to that platform. As is, it's just a bit underwhelming. That said, I'll totally jump back in when 1.0 hits and see if it stands out any better once they're feature complete.
 

Ixion

Member
∀ Narayan;47574501 said:
I believe the next major build is supposed to improve the visuals substantially. Should be hitting this month.

Initial rumors pointed to the update hitting in February (this month). But the CEO of our corp, who is a staff member at our site, was able to go to a CCP event last month and CCP told him the next major update would be hitting in April.

So it seems we'll have to wait a bit more. It's supposed to be a big deal though. Graphics, sound, presentation, new features, etc.
 

Setsuna

Member
This game feels how should i put it . . . awkward in almost every single aspect.

but at the same time i want to play it more
 

pants

Member
Rolled a new char last night and did some focused skilling to become a pilot. This morning I finally achieved all I needed to fly my dropships, I crashed the thing in 10 seconds :lol Some mid air shennanegins resulted in me darting straight into to the ground. Bought 3 more dropships and hoping I have better luck later :)
 

Akainu

Member
Rolled a new char last night and did some focused skilling to become a pilot. This morning I finally achieved all I needed to fly my dropships, I crashed the thing in 10 seconds :lol Some mid air shennanegins resulted in me darting straight into to the ground. Bought 3 more dropships and hoping I have better luck later :)
I buy a few militia dropships mostly just to get on top of buildings to snipe people. It's pretty fun to just fly around and try to crash the ship into people.
 
Yup, apparently there is a pretty big update coming this week which addresses the visuals. I hope performance is stabilized too though.
The next update which is assumed to come in February (so this week) will have
  • Improved textures and texture loading times
  • Added vegetation
  • Increase from 32 players to 48
  • Squad size increase from 4 to 6
  • New Planetary Conquest mode where corporations can actually gain control of planets
  • New weapons types
  • New racial variants of current dropsuits as well as new dropsuit types like a pilot dropsuit
And perhaps some things I am missing. It is a pretty monster update so everyone really should give this game another try then. It's actually quite fun once you figure out what's going on (and can look past the visuals).
 

davious88

Banned
The next update which is assumed to come in February (so this week) will have
  • Improved textures and texture loading times
  • Added vegetation
  • Increase from 32 players to 48
  • Squad size increase from 4 to 6
  • New Planetary Conquest mode where corporations can actually gain control of planets
  • New weapons types
  • New racial variants of current dropsuits as well as new dropsuit types like a pilot dropsuit
And perhaps some things I am missing. It is a pretty monster update so everyone really should give this game another try then. It's actually quite fun once you figure out what's going on (and can look past the visuals).

Sounds awsome, pretty addictive game.
 

darkwing

Member
The next update which is assumed to come in February (so this week) will have
  • Improved textures and texture loading times
  • Added vegetation
  • Increase from 32 players to 48
  • Squad size increase from 4 to 6
  • New Planetary Conquest mode where corporations can actually gain control of planets
  • New weapons types
  • New racial variants of current dropsuits as well as new dropsuit types like a pilot dropsuit
And perhaps some things I am missing. It is a pretty monster update so everyone really should give this game another try then. It's actually quite fun once you figure out what's going on (and can look past the visuals).

WOW this is a pretty big update, Dust soldiers are finally able to affect the EVE universe
 

Vinci

Danish
Tried this out the other day briefly. Yeah. Um... it seemed like I couldn't kill anyone. Which doesn't normally happen in FPSs, so it was a bit jarring. Not sure if I was just really off while playing it or the aiming was or whatever.

Anyway. Got bored and went back to Borderlands 2.
 

Busty

Banned
I think I'm going to check this out especially as, being a PS Plus member, I get the 'starter pack' for free.

Does anyone know how long someone can 'get by' in the game on just the starter pack alone?
 

bjaelke

Member
Tried this out the other day briefly. Yeah. Um... it seemed like I couldn't kill anyone. Which doesn't normally happen in FPSs, so it was a bit jarring. Not sure if I was just really off while playing it or the aiming was or whatever.

Anyway. Got bored and went back to Borderlands 2.

Skill training and new equipment should help you a lot. The initial jump is quite noticeable if you spend your starting ISK and SP on upgrades.
 

SadAli

Neo Member
The next update which is assumed to come in February (so this week) will have
  • Improved textures and texture loading times
  • Added vegetation
  • Increase from 32 players to 48
  • Squad size increase from 4 to 6
  • New Planetary Conquest mode where corporations can actually gain control of planets
  • New weapons types
  • New racial variants of current dropsuits as well as new dropsuit types like a pilot dropsuit
And perhaps some things I am missing. It is a pretty monster update so everyone really should give this game another try then. It's actually quite fun once you figure out what's going on (and can look past the visuals).

Might reinstall this and give it another go when the update lands. Thought the gameplay was kind of janky but also fun in a "i can see what they were going for" kind of way. What really lost me was the upgrade system though, had no idea what I was doing or how it worked and sadly my gaming ADD kicked in after 5 minutes and I gave up.
 

RangerX

Banned
I tried the game out over the last hour or so,yes the graphics blow, but i REALLY like the skill system. I'll definitely be investing more time in this in the future.
 
Probably the worst shooter I've ever played lol.

The input lag is... wow.
Looks HORRIBLE, gunplay is garbage, little to no feedback, tunnelvision FOV.

This is proper C grade amateur stuff.

Seriously: worst shooter I've ever played, ever.

Also the mouse and keyboard controls are a lie, this isn't mouse controls, it's emulating an analog stick (don't even have to mention the hilarious aim acceleration).
 

Setsuna

Member
Probably the worst shooter I've ever played lol.

The input lag is... wow.
Looks HORRIBLE, gunplay is garbage, little to no feedback, tunnelvision FOV.

This is proper C grade amateur stuff.

Seriously: worst shooter I've ever played, ever.

Also the mouse and keyboard controls are a lie, this isn't mouse controls, it's emulating an analog stick (don't even have to mention the hilarious aim acceleration).

well damn, tell us how you really feel
 

Desaan

Member
It does need a lot of polish, but hopefully the next update will address some of those issues. The spawns in ambush need some SERIOUS work as well, not sure if those where in the update notes or not. I'd have to agree with a comment somebody made in this thread at some point with CCP seemingly dragging out the beta due to simply not having the resources to support the game. Update's have been few and far between and the game is soon to be entering it's 2nd month of open beta and closed beta started, back in April? Not exactly stellar progress.
 

tafer

Member
It does need a lot of polish, but hopefully the next update will address some of those issues. The spawns in ambush need some SERIOUS work as well, not sure if those where in the update notes or not. I'd have to agree with a comment somebody made in this thread at some point with CCP seemingly dragging out the beta due to simply not having the resources to support the game. Update's have been few and far between and the game is soon to be entering it's 2nd month of open beta and closed beta started, back in April? Not exactly stellar progress.

Ugh... those spawns: Hey, we are going to make you spawn in middle of the other team, repeatedly. Enjoy!
 

Ixion

Member
So does anyone have a solid lead on when the update hits?

Like I said, the CEO of our corp (who is also a staff member at our site, PSU), attended a DUST event a month or two ago. They told him the update would hit in April.
 
Hey guys! I'm the CEO mentioned by Ixion. While CCP hasn't made any official announcement when the next big update will hit, I was told by some of the game designers while at the CCP HQ to expect the next major build to hit in April.

Of course, things may have changed, or there may have been a misunderstanding and it may release earlier than that. However, with the EVE FanFest taking place in Iceland at the end of April, it's not outside the realm of possibility that said update hits then and would make a lot of sense.

Personally, I REALLY hope that it hits sooner! 2 months is too far away. :D
 
I think I'm going to check this out especially as, being a PS Plus member, I get the 'starter pack' for free.

Does anyone know how long someone can 'get by' in the game on just the starter pack alone?
You don't even need any premium items to compete at all. The only things they let you do is get certain items and skills faster. The best items in the game you can still only get via in-game currency.

Basically if you put your skills in the right place then you can get good enough equipment to compete easily with most other players within a couple of weeks. Maxing out a role (like assault) might something like 3 to 6 months or so with the current system, but that's only if you looking to use the very best stuff and max out various passive abilities. As far as I'm concerned, doing well in Dust is around 80% skill and 20% equipment. Even if I use the worst equipment I can still quite easily top the leaderboard, or come near the top, in normal matchmaking games.
 

Busty

Banned
You don't even need any premium items to compete at all. The only things they let you do is get certain items and skills faster. The best items in the game you can still only get via in-game currency.

Basically if you put your skills in the right place then you can get good enough equipment to compete easily with most other players within a couple of weeks. Maxing out a role (like assault) might something like 3 to 6 months or so with the current system, but that's only if you looking to use the very best stuff and max out various passive abilities. As far as I'm concerned, doing well in Dust is around 80% skill and 20% equipment. Even if I use the worst equipment I can still quite easily top the leaderboard, or come near the top, in normal matchmaking games.

Interesting. I've never really tried a game that utilizes the F2P model before so I'm eager to give DUST a try.

Thanks for the reply.
 
Initial impressions on it are that it reminds me of a lot like Quake Wars.

Really just don't see the appeal to Dust 514 at all.

The appeal for me is that while others who play Battlefield or CoD have to level up a new soldier with each new instalment, I'll be paying with one persistent soldier in an expanding universe for at least 10 years. EVE Online gets 2 free expansions a year and CCP have said it'll be more or less the same for DUST 514.

It makes every battle really satisfying because I know that every skill point I earn and invest in my merc, I know it is building him up for the future. I can't really bare the thought of playing standard model FPS games now because each new title in the series is effectively a wipe of all the time you have invested in the previous title.I want my game time represented in one avatar in one game,not sever avs in several games.
 

tafer

Member
The appeal for me is that while others who play Battlefield or CoD have to level up a new soldier with each new instalment, I'll be paying with one persistent soldier in an expanding universe for at least 10 years. EVE Online gets 2 free expansions a year and CCP have said it'll be more or less the same for DUST 514.

It makes every battle really satisfying because I know that every skill point I earn and invest in my merc, I know it is building him up for the future. I can't really bare the thought of playing standard model FPS games now because each new title in the series is effectively a wipe of all the time you have invested in the previous title.I want my game time represented in one avatar in one game,not sever avs in several games.

Talking about points, I really don't know what to do with my character. I mean, I'm going full assault, but the next big upgrades (ar/dropsuit) are so far away that I don't know if I should save or invest in other stuff. The last time, I decided to invested in grenades and it payed extremely well. Sadly, the next upgrade is just too far away. Maybe I should start leveling side arms...
 

Animal

Banned
I had such high hopes for this game and I have been following its development for a long time.

I'm very sad to say that this game couldn't hold my attention for 10 minutes. I can play eve online for hours and the same goes for halo and every game style in between.

The graphics are extremely disappointing. The frame rate is not stable enough to predict sight movement accurately which is important in shooters. The menus are too EvE for a controller though they made a great attempt. It's simply too much menu time for a console game in my early opinion.

Ill hold on to it for a whole and hope things get better or I get more patience for this game.
 

sono

Gold Member
Hey guys! I'm the CEO mentioned by Ixion. While CCP hasn't made any official announcement when the next big update will hit, I was told by some of the game designers while at the CCP HQ to expect the next major build to hit in April.

Reading peoples opinions of this game match my own.

This is going to need to be some patch..
 
Talking about points, I really don't know what to do with my character. I mean, I'm going full assault, but the next big upgrades (ar/dropsuit) are so far away that I don't know if I should save or invest in other stuff. The last time, I decided to invested in grenades and it payed extremely well. Sadly, the next upgrade is just too far away. Maybe I should start leveling side arms...

I don't know where you're up to with skills, but one of the first things you should aim for with assault is the Type-II suit. It's a big improvement over both militia and Type-I. I think you need to level the skill 'Caldari Assault Dropsuit' to level 2 for this. As an assault player this should serve you well and you won't need to upgrade for a long time until you want the more expensive advanced stuff (specifically B-Series)

If you haven't been upgrading your 'Weaponry' skill yet then I recommend doing so. It makes your gun do more damage each level for a maximum of 10% increase. It's quite cheap in SP and you should upgrade it to at least level 4.

One of the most useful and important modules for an assault player is shield extenders (they basically just give you more shield, and therefore hp). After unlocking the Type-2 suit I recommend upgrading skills to unlock a higher level variant of extenders. Ideally you should aim to equip complex shield extenders, these are the best ones and grant 66 extra shield for each one you equip. Check the marketplace in the 'infantry modules > shield' sections (I think) and look at the skill requirements for 'complex shield extenders'.

Unlocking the skills I've outlined should take a week or 2 depending where you're at right now. In regards to sidearms, you're best just sticking with the militia submachine gun for now. It's easier to use than the scramber pistol and as an assault player, its main purpose is to finish off nearly dead enemies after you're expended the clip in your rifle. The submachine gun's range is very short, so its usage is situational to close encounters of course. As for the primary weapon I recommend using the standard assault rifle over militia (or use the Exile assault rifle if you have it). They've got 60 rounds in a clip, compared to the militia's 48, and you only need to get 1 level of the skill 'assault rifle operation' to use them.
 
Another draw to Dust is that they give all the normal stuff in shooters actual meaning. In Battlfield if I lose a tank it's no big deal, I'll just get the next magically spawning tank. In Dust that tank is actually my tank that I paid for with my game money (NOT real money) and I have a finite number of them until I restock, so when I lose it its a big deal. Same with all your guns and armor and stuff. It really adds to the dynamic of the game and keeps people more grounded in their tactics.

Also, not in the beta yet, but winning a match actually giving you control of that district, with thousands upon thousands of districts to be fought over.


I had such high hopes for this game and I have been following its development for a long time.

I'm very sad to say that this game couldn't hold my attention for 10 minutes. I can play eve online for hours and the same goes for halo and every game style in between.

The graphics are extremely disappointing. The frame rate is not stable enough to predict sight movement accurately which is important in shooters. The menus are too EvE for a controller though they made a great attempt. It's simply too much menu time for a console game in my early opinion.

Ill hold on to it for a whole and hope things get better or I get more patience for this game.
Graphics and frame rate will be constantly improved upon, and soon. In fact the next big update is going to have a major graphical overhaul. Don't let visuals be the reason you don't enjoy Dust.
 

Hilti92

Member
I find the game absolutely brutal. Game play and graphics aren't good. It seems like a Halo rip off that went wrong. Hoping for the best in the end though.
 

Zen

Banned
I tried the demo but found everything absurdly rough around the edges. The shooting reminded me of MAG.

It's all good though, I'm going to fire it up again after the next big update and give it another shot. I do love the aesthetic of everything with the exception of the battlefield areas, and some more updates can hopefully fix that.

Is anyone playing DUST semi consistently? Maybe I could join you guys. It feels a lot like Eve in that you sort of need a more experienced friend to help get you started.
 
Talking about points, I really don't know what to do with my character. I mean, I'm going full assault, but the next big upgrades (ar/dropsuit) are so far away that I don't know if I should save or invest in other stuff. The last time, I decided to invested in grenades and it payed extremely well. Sadly, the next upgrade is just too far away. Maybe I should start leveling side arms...

I have written a skill guide, which is on the main page of psu.com at the moment. It basically shows you what the foundational skills are, skills that benefit you passively by giving you boosts to things like shield, armor, CPU and PG upgrades etc. There are certain skills that you just can't go wrong with. Mosey on over sometimes, the article is on the flash console so you can't miss it.

I can 100% understand those who are put off by the game in its current form. If it wasn't for the fact that I love the game's potential, I'd still be balls deep in Skyrim. However, I can see the game's potential and I know it's a work in progress so I forgive the shortcomings and play anyway. I still find it immensely fun and have a growing corp of people to play with and I enjoy watching the game evolve while I'm part of it.

Those who are waiting for April (or whenever the next big build ends up hitting), I recommend just making your character. Even if you leave it idle till then, you'll amass around 1.5 million in passive skill points (you earn skill points even while you don't play) by the time you get stuck in.
 

androvsky

Member
Anybody know what the vehicle they're giving away in the Home space is, other than an LAV? I saw it mentioned on the ticker, don't know how long that offer's been around. The minigame in Home you have to play to get it is actually kind of hard (and good), but I got a headache last time (no idea why, it's just a 2D strategy game, too much squinting perhaps?) so I'm tempted to not bother.
 

tafer

Member
I don't know where you're up to with skills, but one of the first things you should aim for with assault is the Type-II suit. It's a big improvement over both militia and Type-I. I think you need to level the skill 'Caldari Assault Dropsuit' to level 2 for this. As an assault player this should serve you well and you won't need to upgrade for a long time until you want the more expensive advanced stuff (specifically B-Series)

If you haven't been upgrading your 'Weaponry' skill yet then I recommend doing so. It makes your gun do more damage each level for a maximum of 10% increase. It's quite cheap in SP and you should upgrade it to at least level 4.

One of the most useful and important modules for an assault player is shield extenders (they basically just give you more shield, and therefore hp). After unlocking the Type-2 suit I recommend upgrading skills to unlock a higher level variant of extenders. Ideally you should aim to equip complex shield extenders, these are the best ones and grant 66 extra shield for each one you equip. Check the marketplace in the 'infantry modules > shield' sections (I think) and look at the skill requirements for 'complex shield extenders'.

Unlocking the skills I've outlined should take a week or 2 depending where you're at right now. In regards to sidearms, you're best just sticking with the militia submachine gun for now. It's easier to use than the scramber pistol and as an assault player, its main purpose is to finish off nearly dead enemies after you're expended the clip in your rifle. The submachine gun's range is very short, so its usage is situational to close encounters of course. As for the primary weapon I recommend using the standard assault rifle over militia (or use the Exile assault rifle if you have it). They've got 60 rounds in a clip, compared to the militia's 48, and you only need to get 1 level of the skill 'assault rifle operation' to use them.

I have written a skill guide, which is on the main page of psu.com at the moment. It basically shows you what the foundational skills are, skills that benefit you passively by giving you boosts to things like shield, armor, CPU and PG upgrades etc. There are certain skills that you just can't go wrong with. Mosey on over sometimes, the article is on the flash console so you can't miss it.

I can 100% understand those who are put off by the game in its current form. If it wasn't for the fact that I love the game's potential, I'd still be balls deep in Skyrim. However, I can see the game's potential and I know it's a work in progress so I forgive the shortcomings and play anyway. I still find it immensely fun and have a growing corp of people to play with and I enjoy watching the game evolve while I'm part of it.

Those who are waiting for April (or whenever the next big build ends up hitting), I recommend just making your character. Even if you leave it idle till then, you'll amass around 1.5 million in passive skill points (you earn skill points even while you don't play) by the time you get stuck in.

Hehe sorry, I wasn't clear about my current skills. I'm working in getting Caldari Dropsuit lvl4 and Grenades lvl5.

However, I have been neglecting the shield boosts and focused on armor boosts. Maybe I should try that for now.
 

Desaan

Member
The problem I had with the massive skill point total's required to level up certain stuff was that quite often there are massive gaps of fuck all in between. In some cases there are no level 2,3, or even level 4 items to purchase once you invest the SP. There are massive gaps in the progession.

My overall feeling from playing for a few weeks is that it's MASSIVELY unfinshed, to call it open beta is laughable, there is a cash shop, CCP are making money off this shit. An open beta would imply content complete, entering polishing/tweaking phase, this is more like open alpha. It's not integrated with EVE, the ability to sell on the marketplace is missing, mail doesn't work, massive gaps in tier progression, terrible low res textures and art assets, poor FOV and low FPS, every weapon type looks and sounds and handles exactly the same......I could go on but you get the idea :p

It might have done well back in 2005, this shit won't float in today's market.
 

Setsuna

Member
The problem I had with the massive skill point total's required to level up certain stuff was that quite often there are massive gaps of fuck all in between. In some cases there are no level 2,3, or even level 4 items to purchase once you invest the SP. There are massive gaps in the progession.

yeah this is the main problem with the game. CCP limit you to 400k SP gained a week with passive booster on one character. when most of the good skills weapons begin at 340-380 range. and even those skills require skills

they say its to keep people from getting to far ahead of other players but its mostly just slowing down progress

either way they need to pick up the speed of the updates if they want this game to be successful
 
It's that way by design. It's not supposed to be a CoD/BF paced progression system. There are plenty of skills to work on upto level 3 or 4, such as the light weapon class upgrades and the various passive stat boosts (+25% to base armor, shield, stamina, stam regen rate, PG, CPU etc). Sure, if you immediately start working for level 5 dropsuits and weapons then yeah, the process is going to feel a bit painful in those latter levels and you won't be boosting anything for a week or so.
 

Ixion

Member
The gaps between levels is large to give you a reason to purchase the Boosters.

And seeing as you can play this game for free, I think it's fair to have a slower progression system.

Not to mention your character will be persistant for years to come. Like THE GREY CARDINAL said, you won't have to restart your character for each release every year, like with COD. This is one game that will be persistent, regularly updated, regularly expanded, and your character will be the same through all of that.
 

Xater

Member
My main problem with it was when I tried it out last year was that it is terribly unpolished. I like the ideas in it but it looks and performs just absolutely terrible. I really hope they put this on PS4. I think CCP's lack of experience of the platform and at this point old hardware really doesn't help the game. I'll return to this once I hear impressions really change, for now I'll play some more EVE instead.
 
My main problem with it was when I tried it out last year was that it is terribly unpolished. I like the ideas in it but it looks and performs just absolutely terrible. I really hope they put this on PS4. I think CCP's lack of experience of the platform and at this point old hardware really doesn't help the game. I'll return to this once I hear impressions really change, for now I'll play some more EVE instead.

o/ can't go wrong with playing more EVE :D. Was last year when you tried it out last? Since E3 the been through the Precursor and Codex builds to its current Chromosome build. The game's made serious leaps and bounds since back then and is expected to soon launch its release build (possibly around April to coincide with EVE FanFest) that will considerably upgrade graphics as well as a whole slew of new content and game modes.
 
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