But then, yesterday, reports that DUST is going to enter open beta on January 22 surfaced. The NDA argument seemed moot, so I let it drop. What company hasn't dropped the NDA once they entered open beta? (There may be some old examples, but I can't think of a single recent example.)
Then Robert Pilarczyk pointed me to this forum comment by CCP FoxFour:
Keep in mind open beta does not mean no NDA.Granted, that does not confirm either way what CCP plans to do about the NDA come DUST entering open beta, but it suggests they're keeping their options open.
If CCP does, in fact, decide to keep the NDA in effect when they open up beta to everyone, well, good luck with that lofty endeavour.
***
Some questions for DUSTies. Apparently orbital strikes can be called even if there are no EVE players in orbit above the battling district. I've heard that fake orbital strikes are not as powerful as orbital strikes where an actual EVE player is involved, true/false?
Let's say an EVE player notifies DUST players that he is in orbit and ready to rain death from above. DUST players call for an orbital strike, does the EVE player then have to press a button to make the strike happen, or does it happen automatically? If the EVE player does have to press a button, and the player decides to not do so, does the orbital strike still happen in DUST?
I'm wondering how superficial (or not) the link between DUST and EVE actually might be.
CCP Frame (@Broadcastorm) confirmed that NPC tactical strikes are less effective than player-generated ones on Twitter a few days ago. I screencapped it and included it here.
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of shamelessly pimping my new gig, I also covered the extent of the link between DUST and EVE in this coverage of the player-organised event on Saturday.
But the TL;DR is that there are cross-platform comms (both text and voice), the complex process of delivering orbital bombardments and that's about it. You can see little explosions on the surface when there's a DUST match in progress in the district below though, which is a nice touch.
I was only observing others doing it whilst listening to both pilots and DUSTies on comms, so I'm not entirely clear on the last part of your query regarding the button pushing. I'm not sure who has the final button push, so to speak.
Seismic Stan
Yeah. I know how to locate battles in districts, etc. I've seen videos for that. The explosions and such, just standard animations to inform EVE players ... no relevance to what's actually going on planetside. (All the DUSTies planetside could be sitting around, drinking tea, but EVE players would still see explosions on the planet surface.)
DeleteBut I am really curious about that final button push, as you describe it quite aptly. If DUSTies can call orbital strikes without EVE player's being involved, I was curious if an EVE player was involved and refused at the last second, if DUSTies would still end up getting their strike.
dude. its called common sense. The NDA is there to prevent game magazines to make early reviews. Thats all. You really believe that CCP does not want that a eve player does not know what is going on on the ground? They gave codes for every subscriber last year. NDAs are for layers in situations when shit hits the fan.
ReplyDeleteIf they're worried about media reviews, then they'd better bloddy-well stay closed-beta until they're ready to be reviewed.
DeleteHa. I'm far less worried about media reviews than I am -player- reviews. The media will have been informed about the long-term development plans and what to expect and when. Players on the other hand still have wildly varying expectations about what they'll see and when, regardless of what CCP's told them.
DeleteI take it you're not participating in the beta or following any of the Dust514 forum activity?
If you're talking to me, I do not own a PS3. I don't really enjoy FPSers. But I am sort of following DUST, with respect to how it connects to EVE and what impact it might have.
DeleteIt's interesting that CCP is even -considering- enforcing an NDA with open beta. The idea, like you said, is pretty absurd. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that those of us on the CSM were fairly shocked with the news that all of this was happening as soon as January? Maybe they're having second thoughts? Needless to say we had some pretty major concerns about all of this and its readiness for mass criticism. (I've posted about these concerns extensively in the Dust514 forums for the other beta participants to check out.)
ReplyDeleteTo answer your questions - Yes, you can call down an orbital strike without a capsuleer needed. It is less powerful and comes from "the war barge". It is also generic and lacks the special qualities of Capsuleer ammo.
The dustbunny accumulates war points (much like killstreaks in COD) and when enough are accumulated they can call down a strike from a capsuleer. The capsuleer has to lock onto the district from orbit. When the call comes in for the strike, an icon appears (much like a ship) with the dustbunny's face on it. You select that face and press F1 just like you'd alpha any other EVE ship. The strike than rains down on the planet.
If you don't press F1 to fire weapons, no orbital strike occurs.
Other than orbital bombardments and share corps/chat, the only other link between the two games is the previously discussed impact of planetary control on Faction Warfare. Those combined comprise the "EVE/Dust link" in the current build.
Thanks, Mr. Hans.
DeleteI know about the chat channels, and the DUST/FW link. I was more curious about actual combat in this regard.
So, if the EVE player does not press F1, no orbital strike occurs. Are the DUSTies war point used up? Can a DUSTie choose between orbital strikes? One via the war barge or one via a player? If the player is proving to be unrealiable, they might prefer to get their strikes from this barge thing.
I haven't played a match with Capsuleer strikes yet, so I can't answer any of those questions at this time. I've only run normal matches since the migration, to skill up my merc while waiting for an invitation to a corp battle. There's currently far more people wanting to participate in cross-platform gameplay right now than there are actual opportunities. :-P
DeleteYou can't yell on comms: "Hey Susan Black, we're fighting in District 5 on Planet 6 in Roushzar. Come give us orbital strikes!"
DeleteDo DUSTies know their district, planet and system location?
(Note: I have no idea if there are temperate planets in Roushzar.)
That essentially seemed to be the process that was occurring in channel on Saturday. The location of battles seemed to be something that is only known on very short notice, although long enough to enable the channel operator to post a schedule in the channel MotD, which was essentially:
Delete20:00 P5 D2
20:02 P5 D5
20:05 P6 D1
So the star system was known at least an hour in advance, but even so, the practice of arranging matches seemed to be causing some delays. Finding opponents seemed to be a problem for the DUSTies who were co-ordinating the Orbital Strike events. Presumably this is something to do with arranged contracts as quick matches would be in a random system which would not have any co-operative and appropriately equipped capsuleers.
[For clarity: the DUST mercs don't appear in the local channel, as they remain bound to their HQ system, but there was a dedicated channel set up for the event.]
Seismic Stan
According to the FAQ from the integration patch, http://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/EVE-DUST_514_Link_FAQ, if a capsuleer decides not to press the button, the war points are refunded. Or at least that's how I read it, but I supposed it depends on what one's definition of "answered" is.
DeletePublic matches take place in E-RPGP in Jove space, so the only way to get an orbital strike would be to ask CCP.
DeleteThere are a limited number of corporation contracts available at any given time, and these specify their planet and district. They're 8v8 and require about a million isk collateral (a fair amount in Dust these days--will buy you ten-ish tanks). Getting 8 people online and the million isk collateral is pretty much only the purview of well-organized corps at this point.
That information is part of the contract accepted by the corp leader. Beyond that, its up to comms networks to relay that information to capsuleers. Many channels are popping up for this purpose (which than get infested with spies, which than shoot people showing up to bombard, from what other players have reported)
ReplyDeleteCCP can pull your Community Fansite benefits if you break the NDA. They can also bounce CSM members that break the NDA off the CSM.
ReplyDeleteThere's lots that they can do to people who have a voice in the community.
No doubt they could go that road.
DeleteI don't play. I'm just asking questions. I'll leave it to the people answering to decide if they're able to or not.
The things goes like this:
ReplyDelete1. You get on grid with the planet and 'target' the district.
2. DUST bunnies call for strikes and your ship 'locks' on them. So if John Doe calls for a strike, you will lock him, and your strike will be directed to where he asked it for.
3. You push the activation button of your turrets (as many as you want, beig the damage proportional to the number of turrets), and after a few seconds the attacks is automatically sent to the ground.
Orbital strikes are right up there with POS bashing for excitement value, except that a POS can actually shoot back at you.
ReplyDeleteIf this is what DUST-EVE interaction is going to be like, then they might as well bury it now.
Legally, a NDA only applies up to the point where the company makes certain information "public". The definition of "public" can vary, but, typically a "closed" beta is considered non-public, whereas an "open" beta is indeed considered public.
ReplyDeleteThat said, CCP can certainly choose to ban you from the open beta, or anything else related to their property, regardless of the legal status of the NDA, as long as you are properly refunded for anything you might have purchased for RL money. Beyond that, there isn't much they can do if you choose to make any public information more public.