Laerise:
CCP's initial materials for DUST came out ahead of the whole Jita Riots thing, during the "We can achieve ANYTHING! NO FEAR!" period. They've been a bit more toned-down about it, since learning that they are, in fact, mortals like the rest of us.
What they were working towards, then, they are working towards, still. The signs are all over the game, starting with the "BETA - WORK IN PROGRESS" that flashes at the top of the initial loading screen and continuing through the frequently-shifting maps and hints at an economy-in-the-making.
What you've seen of gameplay footage, if it's the same I watched, is DUST at its least-interesting. A clone-countdown team deathmatch, Ambush does nothing for me.
Is it done? Certainly not. It's a beta, and it shows. If they were even calling this v. 1.0, I'd be right there facepalming along with you, but CCP itself is functionally admitting the product's half-finished state by putting a conservative face forward. That's kind of a new thing for CCP, and I appreciate that they're approaching things that way-- live and learn, I guess.
What does not kill us, etc.
The thing you sound like you were expecting-- DUST as massive, finished expansion ready to be fully grafted onto the Eve universe right out of the box-- is probably what CCP was originally planning, but that would have been a horrifying risk. There was no way to know, in detail, how the two games would affect one another's economies or gameplay. CCP may talk about the "butterfly effect" as a selling point for Eve, but it's just as relevant in examining how a big release turns into a catastrophe.
So, they're taking baby steps.
As it is, the tea leaves continue to hint at intriguing possibilities. The graphics will probably not be awesome until this thing hits the PS4, if then, but after I've finished drooling over, say, Far Cry's landscapes, it's the gameplay that has to hold up, or not. Dust will not be as fast as some triple-A titles, and it may never be as polished, but what it offers-- if it lives up to its ongoing promise-- will be wholly unique.
Its promise is not to deliver what we already get from Battlefield, et al, only FtP and with stronger RPG elements. Its promise is warfare, the closest thing to actual warfare to be found in gaming today, across thousands of unique environments.
That expectation is what drew me to the game. That is what seems to have drawn most DUSTies. As long as that expectation remains, I expect I will, as well.
... And if you're underwhelmed by the strategic implications of team deathmatch, you're not alone. I played an Ambush match, once, headed back to Skirmish, and haven't looked back since.
(And, given time and options, I expect to lose interest in Skirmish. Invading some poor sod's planetary facilities to conquer or sabotage, that's what I signed on for.)
Author
Topic: Dust 514: Gathering Forces - Open Beta Trailer (Read 2287 times)