DUST Search - Dust growing or failing?

Vrain Matari wrote:

For me the punchline is that in spite of all the trials and tribulations we've seen in the development of DUST - there have been too many - i think real good has come of it.

Specifically, the decisions and prioritization we seen in patches 1.3 and onwards are bang on in terms of my personal list of high-priority areas that were holding the game back.

The approach so far is logical and foundation-building, starting with emergency repairs and moving on to filling in the infrastructure and adding only leveragable content. I'm feeling a lot more secure about DUST's future than before 1.3.

With core mechanics finally in a working(but not elegant) state, new player retention should be seen to grow slowly and steadily from the release date of 1.4 onwards.

If CCP's treatment of the NPE in 1.5 works, that slow rate should tick up a wee bit. Once we get to ~8,000 the matchmaker should have enough bodies to do its job properly, and player's experiences in pubs should improve noticeably. At that point our growth should be steady, new consoles and shiny new games notwithstanding.

In terms of timeline this should take us to the New Year, roughly at build 1.7, and we should be starting to see some serious content and the the connection to EVE starting to open up.


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Noc Tempre Imperfects Negative-Feedback 2526	Posted - 2013.09.29 10:48:00 - [1] - Quote Cosgar wrote: Dust 514 = Hovering ~3000 players average, which is damn good for a FTP game. Dust 514 Forums = Cutting their inner thighs with razors while listening to Linkin Park. Lol wut?
Noc Tempre Imperfects Negative-Feedback 2527	Posted - 2013.09.29 11:21:00 - [2] - Quote Everyone's free to like whatever they want, but objectively, DUST is not healthy. Stable for the time being, although a single player game did take away 500 PCU recently. The most troubling sign is boosters are no longer top sellers. That means even if the players are still here, the money isn't. Don't be delusional, CCP is not going to run DUST at a loss for years. The people who still enjoy playing have to spend more money if they ever want to see the "5 year plan".
Noc Tempre Imperfects Negative-Feedback 2530	Posted - 2013.09.29 19:17:00 - [3] - Quote Iron Wolf Saber wrote: Booster sales? (sekritly bee leaves peeple R conspiring saving R rum 4 +¬ boosters.) This is a trend for several months. Omega boosters are CCP's response. But you just couldn't stop yourself from a useless blind defense of everything CCP.
Noc Tempre Imperfects Negative-Feedback 2530	Posted - 2013.09.29 20:13:00 - [4] - Quote TechMechMeds wrote: I think dust is having growing pains nothing more. Well that and people projecting feeling as fact. Bottom line is that dust has a 10 year dev plan and was announced before open beta of which I started day one and had done my homework on dust 3 months beforehand. Not bothered or worried. A 10 year plan that includes several key leaders leaving (who have not been replaced to date), including the Executive Producer, and several complete changes to the development focus and schedule? No, there is no 10 year plan. There may be a 10 year budget, tons of ideas for features, but the plan is gone, even being generous by assuming it existed in the first place.
Noc Tempre Imperfects Negative-Feedback 2530	Posted - 2013.09.29 20:17:00 - [5] - Quote low genius wrote: the part-timers have left. the hardcore have stayed. I'm genuinely curious: what makes playing DUST "hardcore"?
Noc Tempre Imperfects Negative-Feedback 2531	Posted - 2013.09.29 20:30:00 - [6] - Quote TechMechMeds wrote: I do know about the people getting fired though but that isn't actually an issue, they were probably dead weight in many respects. Did you just call the EP dead weight? Do you even know what that job entails?
Noc Tempre Imperfects Negative-Feedback 2531	Posted - 2013.09.29 20:44:00 - [7] - Quote TechMechMeds wrote: Noc Tempre wrote: TechMechMeds wrote: I think dust is having growing pains nothing more. Well that and people projecting feeling as fact. Bottom line is that dust has a 10 year dev plan and was announced before open beta of which I started day one and had done my homework on dust 3 months beforehand. Not bothered or worried. A 10 year plan that includes several key leaders leaving (who have not been replaced to date), including the Executive Producer, and several complete changes to the development focus and schedule? No, there is no 10 year plan. There may be a 10 year budget, tons of ideas for features, but the plan is gone, even being generous by assuming it existed in the first place. What do you base your opinion on, facts and sources please. It's not an opinion, those are the facts... do you even know the difference? The development has changed radically several times in cadence, focus, and methods multiple times as direct responses to critical reception. Each time with a "bear with us as we do something new". This is not following a plan, it is the antithesis of long term planning to continually throw out the plan and start using a new one. It is crisis management, which tells of a complete lack of self awareness of the quality of their shipped features. Several key personnel left, and to date no revealed replacements. The EP leaving is especially telling, he/she is essentially the "word of god" on what goes in the game, how it is balanced and monetized, and creating all high-level plans short and long term. Monetization especially has been one of the worst managed aspects of DUST. Even if you appreciate the gameplay, CCP has no intention or capability of running DUST as at a loss indefinitely. Uprising was the revelation that SP was how they intended to make their money. A short term solution, because the more SP you have, the less value a booster presents, and sales taper. Boosters falling off the top sellers list actually reveals there is NOT the necessary fresh blood to maintain sales.
Noc Tempre Imperfects Negative-Feedback 2531	Posted - 2013.09.29 20:53:00 - [8] - Quote TechMechMeds wrote: I'll ask you again, facts and sources please. You are a like a child that keeps asking: Why? I cannot provide you with the meaning to life, so if you are going to be no more capable of critical thought than a petulant child further replies are meaningless. It stands as fact DUSt is not currently successful, even by internal CCP standards. TechMechMeds wrote: I'm sorry but I'd actually have to be an idiot to just take what you say, especially off a game forum, I hope you understand. Oh but you've proven you are quite capable of being the idiot. I certainly understand some people are slower than others and I don't hold it against them. I just have no more time for you.
Noc Tempre Imperfects Negative-Feedback 2536	Posted - 2013.09.29 21:28:00 - [9] - Quote Vrain Matari wrote: For me the punchline is that in spite of all the trials and tribulations we've seen in the development of DUST - there have been too many - i think real good has come of it. Specifically, the decisions and prioritization we seen in patches 1.3 and onwards are bang on in terms of my personal list of high-priority areas that were holding the game back. The approach so far is logical and foundation-building, starting with emergency repairs and moving on to filling in the infrastructure and adding only leveragable content. I'm feeling a lot more secure about DUST's future than before 1.3. With core mechanics finally in a working(but not elegant) state, new player retention should be seen to grow slowly and steadily from the release date of 1.4 onwards. If CCP's treatment of the NPE in 1.5 works, that slow rate should tick up a wee bit. Once we get to ~8,000 the matchmaker should have enough bodies to do its job properly, and player's experiences in pubs should improve noticeably. At that point our growth should be steady, new consoles and shiny new games notwithstanding. In terms of timeline this should take us to the New Year, roughly at build 1.7, and we should be starting to see some serious content and the the connection to EVE starting to open up. For your own sake, don't set your hopes so high. The CPM and CSM required an emergency additional session with CCP at their last meeting because the roadmap of the future of integration was universally panned. Of note it was too insignificant for even the EVE players who look down on DUST.