I want to take a different approach to these issues. Instead of dealing with the comments as line items, I am going to tackle the discussion from different angles in each post. Hopefully, I can show how many of these issues exacerbate the failings of DUST 514 to build certain segments of the player base. I'll start with the broadest of categories: the game itself.
I have done a lot of flying around to the DUST NPC systems in support of "a thing" of which I am not at liberty to address. Something I have learned from visiting these systems surprised me quite a bit. In nearly every system, no matter what time of day or day in the week, a near majority of DUST mercs in local have been playing for less than a week. I would say that brand new players are always a plurality, but sometimes a system will have more players who have been in DUST 514 for close to a year.
The good news is many people are trying out DUST 514 for the first time every day. This throws mud in the eyes of all of us who think being a PS3 exclusive stunts the game's potential growth. The bad news is DUST has players giving up on the game at just as high a rate, before they invest serious time and money into the shooter. Going on the assumption that the overwhelming majority of people who briefly try then leave the game have never played EVE Online seriously, I'm willing to state the core issue the game faces isn't including all the bells and whistles EVE has or the EVE-DUST link. It is providing a compelling, diverse experience to the shooter fan. Don't get me wrong, all of the other stuff can make DUST 514 a unique, engaging experience that can take it where no other FPS has gone. However, for the game to truly grow it needs to plug the newbie drain. So for the first installment of this series, I will be addressing what I believe is the achilles heel in regards to DUST 514 growth: the core game.
Game Modes
So where do we begin? For starters, there needs to be more than three basic public game modes. Even if you consider Skirmish, Domination, and Ambush three different modes, a serious problem exists where DUST players project power in nearly the same way no matter the mode. If you can queue-synch two squads of tanks and prototype infantry, it is rare you will stumble upon an opponent who can counter you. EVE Online has restrictions to prevent this from happening, and the result is a wide range of PvP experience unlike any other game out there. The same needs to be true for DUST 514. Being primarily a lobby shooter, there needs to be game modes with objectives, restrictions, and map layouts designed to cater to specific areas of ground warfare.
I would start by having a game mode geared towards infantry. I believe this is an immediate need and crucial in keeping newer players engaged. Someone on the DUST-O forum brought up the need for player training as evidenced by "the blueberries aren't getting any better". My findings in the merc home systems refutes the notion that these blueberries are typically the same idiots running around. In fact, they are mostly newer players who lack the SP and gear, losing to squads who have the backup needed to field expensive gear in a profitable manner. I would also contend most people have played FPS's and have watched enough war movies to know the basics of infantry maneuvers. Taking cover and flanking are basic concepts that if you are not familiar with, DUST does a good job in stressing their importance.
The problems arise when you are simply outgunned by superior prototype gear. Worse still, you can be engaged in an engrossing firefight for the first few minutes of a match, your heart is racing as you do everything you can to support your team, and then a tank saunters up behind your position. It kills everyone in your squad followed by everyone who spawns thereafter. Then two bombardments in quick succession. Game over, man. If that were to happen once every fifty matches, it would be awesome to see and would give newer players something to aspire towards. The problem is similar things happen in most public matches. The newer player gets the feeling of being vastly outgunned over and over and over again. Is it a wonder the turnover rate is so pathetic?
My ideal public infantry mode would consist of two major restrictions: no vehicle drops and no proto-gear. Some people may freak out at the notion of such restrictions. However, the sandbox that is EVE Online is filled with barriers to allow for diverse gameplay. From capital ship travel restrictions to CONCORD npc's killing Hi Sec gankers, CCP has installed artificial modifiers to vary the gameplay and give players options on how they want to live. For my theoretical infantry mode, battles would take place in areas someone does not want getting reduced to rubble. CONCORD would supposedly have land-based missile installations ready to shoot down armor reinforcements. The corporations doing battle would be using material fabricators with limiters, making any sort of prototype unable to materialize. That would be the fluff explaination for the game mode.
On a more tangible note such a mode would fill a valuable gap for players with under 6 million SP, before they are even close to being useful to a proper PC outfit. Players stocked with advanced gear will still have an edge, but the gap will be much smaller. For the newer player, they have short to mid term training goals so they can be among the most well-armed in that mode. They can work on their hand-eye coordination while figuring out how the game works without getting face-stomped in half of their matches. For seasoned players, it would be a mode to go into solo and have a good chance in winning, or at least have a reasonable impact. They would have the advantage of having proficiency skills trained for more weapons, but their advantage would be limited.
The tradeoff would probably have to be a reduced paycheck at the end of each battle. It only makes sense that less risk equals less reward. I would wager most people would use advanced gear a more since they wouldn't have to fear tanks or proto-gangs tearing apart their moderately-priced suits. That could be good for the overall economy. For maps, I would use the smaller ones already in use. It could also be a catalyst for future map designs, especially city or interior maps where you wouldn't have to worry about tanks and dropships lagging up the joint like we see in some of the current city map sockets.
In my opinion, this kind of mode would make the newer player experience appreciably better, increasing the retention rate. I would still keep Ambush as a free-for-all mode with better payouts, but I think this infantry mode or something similar is crucial for the game's future.
On top of this mode, the game could offer even more which are geared towards other battlefield roles. An obvious one would be larger maps with destructible objectives, making tanks the focus. How about a mode with maps where you need dropships to get around? Fights in space stations? On water? The point being various game modes would allow for certain battlefield roles to excel. The current situation forces an impossible game balancing act with the battlefield makeup near limitless in every game we play. Giving infantry, tanks, and/or aerial vehicles a mode to shine in would make game balancing a lot easier to refine.
PvE
Players have been asking for PvE since before the game was deployed. I think most people believe CCP can plop PvE down as an alternative to public matches. The problem with that is it would severely alter the destruction portion of the economy. If you want a player market sooner rather than later, you do not want an unlimited PvE mode in DUST 514. I believe the same goes for group PvE. If a large portion online players were doing something besides playing PvP, the queues would be much slower, making things even worse.
The solution to this would be to first introduce PvE into the game by way of missions, similar to storyline missions in EVE Online. The way it works in that game is in order to gain standing with a faction through mission running is by running 16 missions of the same level with any npc corporation in said faction. This opens up a storyline mission, which gives out a boost in faction standing to the pilot when completed. For DUST, I could see a system by which mercs gain points with CONCORD (or some other entity) through the normal course of playing the game. Maybe have it where points are gained through a system with weighted contributions from WP's, kills, kill assists, etc... For the average player, I'd try to make it so they would get a mission every two hours, maybe cap the number of missions awarded per day and/or make the missions use/lose. The point being DUST mercs aren't spending more time doing PvE than they are engaged in PvP.
For the missions themselves I prefer the linear type like in Warframe, especially for single player. However, I have no idea what CCP is thinking in regards to PvE. They told us about rogue drone hunting over a year ago, but it never materialized. I think what most people are hoping for from PvE is a break from the PvP grind every so often, and nothing that will break the current game experience.
The solution to this would be to first introduce PvE into the game by way of missions, similar to storyline missions in EVE Online. The way it works in that game is in order to gain standing with a faction through mission running is by running 16 missions of the same level with any npc corporation in said faction. This opens up a storyline mission, which gives out a boost in faction standing to the pilot when completed. For DUST, I could see a system by which mercs gain points with CONCORD (or some other entity) through the normal course of playing the game. Maybe have it where points are gained through a system with weighted contributions from WP's, kills, kill assists, etc... For the average player, I'd try to make it so they would get a mission every two hours, maybe cap the number of missions awarded per day and/or make the missions use/lose. The point being DUST mercs aren't spending more time doing PvE than they are engaged in PvP.
For the missions themselves I prefer the linear type like in Warframe, especially for single player. However, I have no idea what CCP is thinking in regards to PvE. They told us about rogue drone hunting over a year ago, but it never materialized. I think what most people are hoping for from PvE is a break from the PvP grind every so often, and nothing that will break the current game experience.
Bounties
Bounties may fall into the "make DUST more like EVE" category, but I think it is a simple enough feature that could spice up the core gameplay. How I believe it should function is an icon would appear in your HUD when you look at an enemy player that has a bounty on their head (it could be an icon over their head, but that would create too much clutter in my opinion). EVE Online figured out a fairly decent payout method and I would look to that for inspiration.
The wrinkle I would have is the color of the bounty icon would change based on how expensive the loadout they are wearing or the vehicle they are driving, with payouts adjusted accordingly. What's the use in paying out a bounty if the target realizes everyone is shooting at them and fields nothing but militia gear? That being said, bounties could alter how effective your enemy is by making them suit down, making it a metagame victory.
Other versions of bounties could be Faction Warfare versions with LP payouts, and "wardecs" where corporations pay their members who kill their enemies. Anything similar to what I am suggesting in regards to bounties would spice up the DUST experience quite a bit.
Conclusion
CCP is currently working on implementing the full line of racial dropsuits. From there, it is anyone's guess. The core game needs work, and I would wager their internal numbers show it. The suggestions I made above would go a long way in making DUST 514 a more compelling experience for the average PS3 owner looking to cook fools and blow things up in a futuristic environment.
There's so much more I want to get to in regards to this discussion, stay tuned for future installments.
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