so this is an 'i'm pretending i'm a big thing' thread?

go 2 SA forums, EVE forums or read TM.com or even EN24. the contempt for dust is thick enough to cut with a knife. conversely, people are very excited about EVE valkyrie so it seems ur learning something about quality and delivering on promises, CCP.

I'd like to add here that I completely understand why the link to Eve is so small right now. Linking two wildly different games like this has never been done before and it had the potential to backfire in a rather spectacular way. It had to start small. The last thing that CCP needed was another summer of rage following a rushed merging of the two games. Then we had a rough period where some core mechanics were very badly in need of attention. I'm not really too interested in why this rough period happened, but I've been a developer for 8 years now. Things simply don't always go the way you hope they will, and what is done is done.

This is poor thinking. DUST and EVE are not separate games and separate universes. New Eden is the world, and each game is the window. DUST will have DUST things and EVE will have EVE things, but thinking of them as separate beasts is what makes one lose sight of what will make DUST unique and survive beyond years.

IMHO, CCP needs to finish and release all basic DUST racial gear ASAP (fanfest at the latest) to make the core game complete, and then focus on making DUST matter in New Eden.

I definitely understand your opinion, Soraya, and I don't discredit any of the posts on here about the need to have the link between Dust and EvE more pronounced or comprehensive. But how do you sell the "simple not stupid" console gamer on a game without a true identity?

Your opinion is that you sell them on the link between Dust and EvE and the universe of New Eden (that is, a link that can potentially be there). That's fine. Others will say they need to tap into the Battlefield or Call of Duty market, especially with the Battlefield franchise in a state of incompetence.

Who has the money?

The main point is that if it doesn't have a true identity, the intended audience will flounder and fade. CCP needs to decide the direction they want to go and clearly define it to all those that are interested in reading or hearing about it. As of right now, it's a very poor FPS, and I don't see any MMO worth mentioning.

I, personally, just want them to focus on one aspect and get that 100% right, then move onto the other aspects. If that aspect is the connection between Dust and EvE, then for all that's holy, please get it done quick and done right.

I didn't say all console players are "simple." Plus, simple is not a bad word. It references those console players that don't want to work toward building a game with true depth; they just want a finished product. How do you convince this large group that they should invest in Dust? Or should they even be Dust's audience?

I can't tell you how many friends I convinced to give Dust a try--hard sell--but the large majority gave it one shot (if that) and never played it again. It was almost impossible to sell them on this game because it doesn't have a clear or solid foundation of identity; all it has is potential.

I don't agree with you that Dust can't compete with CoD or Battlefield, though. How many F2P FPSs are out there on PS3? None that I know of. You may not be able to compete with mechanics, graphics, or destructible environments, but it's a FREE FPS. No $60 needed. That's a pretty solid marketing slogan.