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We haven’t heard a great deal about DUST 514 since it was shown at E3 2011, other than that it’s a first-person shooter connected to the vast sci-fi universe of PC MMO EVE Online, and that it’s coming exclusively to PlayStation 3. When developers CCP made the trip from Iceland to London to outline their vision for this new addition to their immensely popular EVE universe, I came out of the meeting amazed at the scale of the project. Suffice to say, DUST 514 is not just another shooter.
After the meeting, I interrogated Brandon Laurino, Executive Producer at CCP, to find out exactly why PlayStation 3 owners should be getting excited.
PS.Blog: With EVE Online, CCP already has a huge, engaged community. Why are you now trying to break into the console FPS market?
Brandon: EVE Online is an incredibly deep MMO and, for better or worse, that comes with a typical perception that it is complicated. The common joke is that you have to overcome a ‘learning cliff’ to get involved. Part of the thinking behind DUST 514 is to address those preconceptions; we accept that there is a barrier to entry with something as deep as EVE Online and we wanted to make it more accessible, providing another portal and dimension into the EVE universe. What’s more accessible to a gamer in this day and age than a shooter?
Why did you specifically choose PlayStation as your partner in making that happen?
Brandon: Obviously, we were attracted to the power and the feature set of PlayStation 3, but it really came down to Sony’s willingness to work with us in bringing an MMO to the platform. There have been attempts to bring MMO games to consoles in the past but we believe we’re now in a position to do it properly, using existing features on PS3 and the PlayStation Network, and collaboratively developing new features to support our vision.
Can you elaborate on your vision for a ‘proper’ MMO?
Brandon: We’re breaking so much ground with DUST 514: we’re not only building a full console MMO; we’re building one that feeds into another MMO on a completely different platform [PC]. We’re breaking more ground by bringing the microtransaction business model to a console shooter for the first time. All of this was inconceivable not too long ago, and it’s the partnership between CCP and Sony that’s finally making it happen.
Talking about the connectivity between DUST 514 and EVE Online, is this something that’s going to most benefit EVE players or is there equal benefit to those players first experiencing the universe through DUST 514?
Brandon: It runs both ways – you can be sure that we’re very conscious of that in our design, we run through all the different use cases constantly to ensure its well rounded. EVE Online players can continue playing just the way they are and new players can jump into DUST 514 and get a traditional shooter experience, if that’s what they like. There are aspects that are consistent between the two platforms, such as in-game currency, and there are ways that EVE Online players can impact events in DUST 514 and vice versa, all without harming the overall ecosystem.
Because we have this living universe we call EVE – a single shard server, where all EVE Online players and all DUST 514 players are literally in the same universe, not a bunch of split instances, with a huge variety of dynamics and interdependencies within the ecosystem of the sandbox we’ve created – people playing DUST 514 and people playing EVE Online are essentially providing user generated content for each other, just by their sheer presence and their actions in the game world. To give an example, for a player fighting on a planet surfaces in DUST 514, the actions of the EVE Online players can trigger epic moments and provide support that is completely user-driven. Similarly, a DUST 514 player could trigger an event from the ground and do something spectacular in EVE Online. This emergent behaviour and gameplay is only possible with our level of connectivity. These are the broad strokes, the gameplay and interactions run a lot deeper than that.
In that case, what’s to stop an EVE Online veteran blowing my corporation out of space?
Brandon: We have some rules of engagement that ensure nothing drastic happens without some kind of fair warning and time to prepare, this is basically carried over and expanded upon from large scale player-driven warfare in EVE Online, where sometimes users are coordinating battles involving tens of thousands of players at once. Additionally, there are things that you can earn or build, independently in DUST 514 and / or EVE Online, or collaboratively between the two, that will mitigate those scenarios.
Putting the philosophy to one side for a moment, what is DUST 514 going to be like to play when you’re on the ground, in battle?
Brandon: Essentially it’s a vehicular combat game on an extremely large scale, and then when you move into installations and outposts, it’s more infantry based. We’re using Unreal Engine 3 and we’ve incorporated a Mega Terrain engine into it that lets us create huge levels with varied terrain, with a vast array of vehicles ranging from buggies to tanks to aircraft. Typically, you would use vehicles to traverse the landscape and engage in closer combat when you deploy into outposts, but there is a huge amount of tactical freedom, way outside of those broad examples.
There’s some familiarity for players of shooters in that we have general classes or playstyles that we’ve worked out, such as light infantry and heavy weapons, but we’re hesitant to label them that way because we have something called the Fitting system – something that has been entirely ported over from EVE Online – where you can attach all manner of weapons and equipment to your character and your vehicles. It’s better to think of it like the character systems found in the deepest role-playing games; you can have the broad classes that are familiar to shooter fans, but there is massive freedom to expand on or go totally outside of them.
What’s the plan for expanding content in DUST 514?
Brandon: Right off the bat, we have literally thousands of in-game items built into the system; likewise, in terms of scale, you’re looking at a conflict taking place across thousands of planets, so we’re not just talking a dozen maps – we’re talking an entire universe of planets and areas of engagement within them. That’s the difference in scale we’re looking at here, and taking our experience with EVE Online and also, some inspiration found in the best microtransaction based MMOs, social and mobile games, and we’ve set up our workflow so that we can iterate and add new content very quickly. In terms of scale, depth and volume of content, DUST 514 will easily be the biggest multiplayer FPS on the market – also by virtue of being an MMOFPS, not just an FPS.
Talk us though how your beta is going to work.
Brandon: Just as we have done with EVE Online, we’re going to be telling a story with each of the events that happen in our game. To give a bit of context, in EVE Online you play as the pilot of a spaceship – a capsuleer – and in DUST 514 you play as a mercenary on the ground. It’s going to be a bit weird if, all of a sudden, we release the DUST 514 beta and all these mercenaries suddenly show up in the EVE universe, so the setting is that the first small group of players that get access to the Private Trials will be the first trial of this new mercenary technology in the context of EVE Online. Just as you’re helping to test the game in the real world, in the EVE world you’re taking part in war games organised to test this new mercenary technology.
With our Private Trials – we’re not calling it a Beta, but Private Trials in both the real world and the EVE fiction – we’re not taking the usual “on / off” method of rolling out a build and then taking it back and tweaking it, then rolling it out again; when we roll out with those first few users we are introducing mercenary technology to EVE, our “game as a service begins”, and the story will continue from there as that technology develops, further empowering the DUST 514 mercenaries from test subjects in war games to ultimately allowing them to take hold of their own future. It’s what we call a thematic rollout.
There will be people out there who will look at DUST 514 and assume it’s an EVE Online spin-off. How would you counter that?
Brandon: We’re not thinking of it in that way at all, I suppose is the easiest way to respond to that. The EVE universe is comprised of three experiences: one is the classic EVE Online play, “flying in space” or what we call FIS; there’s WIS or “walking in stations”, where you can now get out of your ship and explore the interiors of space stations; and the final piece is DUST 514 and we’ve nicknamed that SIF, or “shooting in face”. None of those three are spin-offs, they’re experiences of equal value that can be played independently or fully connected. If you’re connected then you’re going to get the rich emergent gameplay that runs through all three.
We have so much to talk about, much of which is new territory for me. Is there anything we haven’t mentioned that you really want to get across to our PlayStation.Blog readers?
Brandon: I hope it comes through that what we’re developing is a truly new experience on PS3 – on consoles in general. It is the deepest shooter with the richest universe ever conceived and, on top of that, by bringing to market an MMO with microtransactions, we could be changing the face of console gaming forever. This is groundbreaking stuff, but user choice is at the core – it’s playing the game however you want to play it. If you want a quick experience, you have it; if you’re looking for something deeper, it’s there. If you want to pay a very small …[/PC]
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Update: New look with this cool new theme. I think the logo is on a different position which cause it to look terrible. Tell us you think by commenting on this thread.
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This is a copy and paste based off Activision website :
AVAILABLE ON XBOX 360 ON AUGUST 23
AND COMING SOON TO PS3 & PC
MORE
Rezurrection is available on Xbox 360 on August 23 and coming soon to PS3 and PC
Lift off into the latest Zombies epic with "Rezurrection," the new downloadable content pack for "Call of Duty: Black Ops," and the first to launch players into space for a new dimension of undead action!
Old school Zombie strategies get blown out of the airlock in "Moon," where armed with new perks and a space-age arsenal of weapons, our heroes must overcome undead astronauts and fluctuating gravity as they unearth conspiracies that began in 1943.
Rounding out Rezurrection are the 4 maps that spawned the Zombie phenomenon: "Nacht der Üntoten," "Verrückt," "Shi No Numa" and "Der Riese."
The Rezurrection content pack includes:
The all new Moon level
Four re-mastered levels of Zombie lore: Nacht der Untoten, Verruckt, Shi No Numa and Der Riese, the Zombie factory that started it all
An enhanced Zombies Soundtrack including, three tracks never before available for purchase
A new Zombies Moon theme
For our fans that purchased the Black Ops Hardened or Prestige Editions, the entire Rezurrection content pack will be free, including Moon, the four re-mastered maps, the soundtrack and the theme, by simply re-downloading their Classic Zombies Pack.
For more information, visit the Rezurrection announcement
Quote:
NEWS: August 3rd, 2011179 COMMENTS
Lift off into the ultimate Zombies epic with Call of Duty: Black Ops Rezurrection, and be the first to launch into space for a new dimension of undead action!
This all-Zombies content pack hurls players into orbit with "Moon," the climax to the Zombies saga, as well as the most challenging and thrilling adventure yet. The undead shift in and out of sight, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Undead astronauts easily shamble toward their next meal, unaffected by the base's fluctuating gravity.
Arm yourself with a space-age arsenal of epic proportions, including the Wave Gun, capable of cooking zombies from the inside out, as well as the Quantum Entanglement Device, which taps into the theories of quantum mechanics to bless (or curse!) your battle against the undead. Along with new equipment and an all-new Perk for thrice the zombie-slaying fun, you'll have the tools you need to turn back the undead tide once and for all.
In addition to the final chapter, Rezurrection also includes:
- Four re-mastered levels from Call of Duty: World at War: "Nacht der Untöten," "Verrückt," "Shi No Numa," and "Der Riese," where it all began.
- An enhanced Zombies soundtrack including, three tracks never before available for purchase.
- A new Zombies "Moon" theme.
Those of you that purchased the Black Ops Hardened or Prestige Editions and already own the four re-mastered maps, the other contents in the Rezurrection content pack will be free, including Moon, the soundtrack and the theme.
For players that haven't purchased the Hardened or Prestige Editions, Rezurrection will be available for 1200 Microsoft Points. To commemorate release, we'll be hosting Double XP over Labor Day weekend. The Call of Duty: Black Ops Rezurrection downloadable content pack will launch worldwide, first on Xbox LIVE on August 23rd, 2011.
Sony Expects PSN Services to be Fully Restored by May 31, 2011
May 10th 2011, 1:50 pm by CraZoY
Update: The PS Blog has now posted the following message regarding their PSN restoration timeline update, to quote:
"I know you all want to know exactly when the services will be
restored. At this time, I can't give you an exact date, as it will
likely be at least a few more days. We're terribly sorry for the
inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we work through this
process."
Today Bloomberg (linked above) reports that Sony expects PSN services, including Qriocity, to be fully restored by May 31, 2011.
To quote: "Sony Corp.'s PlayStation Network and Qriocity online services remain shut as of today, Shigenori Yoshida, a Tokyo-based spokesman said. Sony is uncertain when it can resume the services, Yoshida said by phone today.
The company is in the process of adopting an improved security system
and its plan to restart the services fully by May 31 is unchanged, he
said. Sony shut down the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services April
20 because of possible data theft by hackers.
The maker of PS consoles had planned to restart partial operations within a week after boosting the level of security system, the company said May 1."
+ Posted by Karl Deckard // Senior Game Designer, Sucker Punch
Want to become Famous? Want to become a Mission Designer and have your mission appear in inFAMOUS 2? As promised, here are the juicy details of how to participate in the inFAMOUS 2 Limited Release User Generated Content (UGC) Beta.
Potential candidates can sign up at http://www.infamousthegame.com/en_US/infamous2/register.html
starting on Monday March 14th at 12pm Noon Pacific Time using the “Sign
Up for the UGC Beta” link on the front page. The sign-up period will
only last for one week, ending March 21st at 2pm
Pacific, so don’t miss your chance to create. Using what can only be
described as “voodoo magic,” we will select a group of lucky winners to
participate in the Beta Test, starting April 12th. The ambitious and
talented Mission Designers that are selected will be emailed a golden
ticket, which is technically called a Beta Voucher, in early April. The Beta Vouchers will be sent out in phases, so if you do not get one immediately, you may receive one later on. Don’t let it get spam-filtered out, because it’s the only way you can get in!
All the legal requirements will be available via a link on infamousthegame.com;
read it, know it, live it, because you don’t want your mission not
making the cut, for whatever reason. That would be weak. For instance:
Did you know that, even if you already registered to the website, you
will need to re-register?
See what I mean? You didn’t. Neither did I, but it is a legal
requirement. You need to register your email on the registration page,
by clicking the cleverly-titled checkbox that says “Enter me into the UGC Beta Program Sweepstakes.”
Also, this UGC Beta sign up is only open to US residents, as there is a separate process for other territories.
We want to see what you can do, so don’t sleep on this. Keep in mind, the best of these missions will be handpicked by Sucker Punch to auto-populate into every user’s game world on or near the launch day of inFAMOUS 2.
If that smells like win to you, then do your best to be creative,
innovative, and to polish your mission(s) to the quality of a shipping
title. Beta participants will lead the way at launch, but once the game
is released, the floodgates open for mission designers around the globe
to Become FAMOUS.
Modern Warfare 2 1.12 Update Blocked Hacks Goes Live on 3-8-11
March 12th 2011, 7:25 am by CraZoY
Quote:
The latest patch for Modern Warfare 2 has finished. This new title
update will address security issues that have affected online play.
We plan to release this update for all platforms (Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC).
Release Date for Playstation 3 (worldwide): March 8th
Release Date for Xbox 360: TBD
Release Date for PC: TBD
In
addition to the security updates, this patch will also address a small
geo exploit on the map Fuel, which players exploited in order to get
inside a rock on the outskirts of the map.
Status updates also on Twitter @InfinityWard - @Fourzerotwo and Facebook.com/InfinityWardStudio
May 1st 2012, 2:49 pm by 
