Development studio CCP Games has been in the news a lot this year with their ambitious MMOFPS project codenamed Dust 514. When it's released, Dust will actually tie into the studio's current MMO EVE Online. Dust players will hire themselves out to EVE players as mercenaries, their combined aim being to dominate territories on a planet's surface. The first steps toward this unique integration of two MMOs in the same concurrent universe came with EVE Online's Dominion and Tyrannis expansions. Dominion gave EVE players a new Sovereignty framework, which will later be adapted to include planets as strategic points of interest. In the recent Tyrannis expansion, the planets of EVE began producing resources worthy of domination, ensuring that players will fight over them once it becomes possible.
When Dust 514 is eventually released, huge territorial wars will be fought over the planets of New Eden. Part of the war will be waged on land in Dust 514 and the other part in the depths of space in EVE Online. So far, much of the background story behind the marines of New Eden and how they tie in with warring capsuleers remains unknown. Of particular interest to roleplayers and fans of the EVE fiction is the new advancement in cloning technology that allows ground troops to be cloned. It comes as no surprise, then, that CCP may be planning to release a novel leading into the story behind Dust 514.
The guys over at E-ON magazine tipped us off today to the fact that pre-orders for a novel entitled "Dust 514" have appeared on Amazon.co.uk. Apparently written by author Tony Gonzales, the book's pre-order date is currently set for March 17th, 2011. Of course, this isn't Tony's first novel; he was commissioned in 2008 to write EVE: The Empyrean Age, a novel telling the story of how the four empires of EVE went to war. Earlier this year, CCP's internal fiction writer Hjalti Daníelsson followed up with the release of a second novel set in the EVE universe. EVE: The Burning Life tells the story of EVE's major pirate factions and the rise of the capsuleer elite to dominate the galaxy. Whether the planned Dust 514 novel is part of the build-up to the game's release, and so hints at a release window, is anyone's guess. What's certain is that the book is sure to gain interest of both EVE and people looking forward to Dust.
Reader Comments (20)
Posted: Aug 19th 2010 4:36PM Brendan Drain said
That's Incarna, which going to be a massive free expansion for EVE Online. Dust 514 is an entirely new game, an MMOFPS set in the same game universe as EVE Online.
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Posted: Aug 19th 2010 4:59PM Joshua Przygocki said
Well whereas the fun in that... No longer will us capsuleers be the only immortal demigods of space....
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Posted: Aug 19th 2010 5:17PM EdmundDante said
Nice to see! It would be nice if CCP started adding a few features in Eve over the next year or two that hinted at DUST 514 - build a bit of anticipation in-game. :)
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Posted: Aug 19th 2010 6:58PM EdmundDante said
>> It is only going to be text based for the interaction between Eve and Dust 514.
How do you know this? Is there an interview stating this? Just curious.
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How do you know this? Is there an interview stating this? Just curious.
Posted: Aug 20th 2010 1:45PM xgamer99 said
These kind of comments are unwelcome. CCP has shown that they are dedicated to tackling lag through their devblogs; it's not a simple quick fix.
And yes, having a writer on staff, along with -console- development teams working on an engine not designed for eve, will definitely help fix the lag. =/
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And yes, having a writer on staff, along with -console- development teams working on an engine not designed for eve, will definitely help fix the lag. =/
Posted: Aug 20th 2010 12:03AM ScottishViking said
I thought The Empyrean Age was brilliant -- great reading. The Burning Life not so much. Great concept -- very nice to have people who are responsible for and who are victims of capsuleer "collateral damage" as protagonists. On the other hand, it just felt like a "tour" of the four major cultures and the major pirate factions. It just felt a little too "planned" for me -- too much symmetry between the sections. "Oh I'm fed up with Caldari -- on to the Minmatar!" Yech. Good idea, poorly executed.
I'm glad Gonzales is taking the helm of Dust 514.
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I'm glad Gonzales is taking the helm of Dust 514.
Posted: Aug 20th 2010 9:46AM Aganazer said
I just started The Empyrean Age about a week ago. I started it fully expecting it to be a terrible book. I was pleasantly surprised. Its one of the better sci-fi books I have read. Not quite as good as Ian Banks or Vernor Vinge, but better than plenty of other authors. Reading it while playing EVE has added a whole new dimension to the game.
I'll take your advice and skip the second book while keeping an eye out for this Dust novel.
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I'll take your advice and skip the second book while keeping an eye out for this Dust novel.
Posted: Aug 20th 2010 11:21AM ScottishViking said
If you like Iain Banks, you are a person of good taste!
Yes, I agree, I was also surprised. Video game novels/tie-ins are usually garbage, but this one was above and beyond my expectations.
If you're a die-hard EVE fan, you might want to give The Burning Life a spin, but my honest recommendation is to avoid it. About the only part I liked was the peek into what a Sansha station might look like. But that's about all I have to recommend it.
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Yes, I agree, I was also surprised. Video game novels/tie-ins are usually garbage, but this one was above and beyond my expectations.
If you're a die-hard EVE fan, you might want to give The Burning Life a spin, but my honest recommendation is to avoid it. About the only part I liked was the peek into what a Sansha station might look like. But that's about all I have to recommend it.
Posted: Aug 20th 2010 12:43AM (Unverified) said
I am really hoping that CCP designs DUST with the aim or revivg Losec/FW and thus kill two birds with one game.
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Posted: Aug 20th 2010 4:18AM (Unverified) said
Whilst the direct intereaction will probably be just text based I understand that the consequences of DUST will effect the goings on in Eve - Alliances will be hiring DUST corps to assist with sov. taking for example, as I understand it anyway.
Also - Eve players will of course still be the only immortals in "space" - the DUST marines will be on the ground - and I believe the lore has previously alluded to there being more people than just capsuleers with access to clone tech (ie immortality).
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Also - Eve players will of course still be the only immortals in "space" - the DUST marines will be on the ground - and I believe the lore has previously alluded to there being more people than just capsuleers with access to clone tech (ie immortality).
Posted: Aug 20th 2010 4:59AM Critical Mass said
Free idea for ccp:
-Brownouts for air vehicles landing or taking off, stirring up dust on the ground.
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-Brownouts for air vehicles landing or taking off, stirring up dust on the ground.
Posted: Sep 13th 2010 6:58PM (Unverified) said
i believe it's a good practice to release related products. this also reflects the level of seriousness of a product or a company and promotes a good image. so i personally don't perceive such actions just as a "nifty way to make extra money".
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