As far as I know, most of it is just a result of people being very busy or not at their home office. Frame was in Iceland (he's back). Rattati is in Iceland now. Elections have been the big focus for Frame (and Leeloo in Iceland) in particular of late. Since the two of them are our primary communicators here, that's impacted that for sure. We still talk to Rattati daily, though our term has more or less effectively concluded beyond our transition activities involving handing off to CPM2 once elected.

Warlords 1.3, of course, was updated on the roadmap relatively recently (week and a half ago), and the DUST team folks are currently working on that. Some people in Shanghai may have been last minute tasked for polishing Gunjack stuff (complete speculation here, though there are some people who work multiple hats in Shanghai). There are, as always, other things going on at CCP Shanghai I can't comment about. CCP Rouge is still a very busy person.

I am still content with what I know of behind the NDA at this juncture, if that means anything to anyone.

Sorry but you've got the wrong idea of how business works. Profit/loss are inconsequential for DUST right now. CCP has made the richest Shooter ever. If they invested the resources to get it right, the returns could be bigger than EVE. Hamstringing the project because of a short-term budget shortfalls is a terrible business strategy.

Amazon was founded in 1994 and didn't make an annual profit until 2003. It had millions of investors, why? Because the idea was good. It's not only reasonable in business to sacrifice short-term losses, for huge long-term profits, it's a very good strategy. If CCP hadn't strangled this project's budget, I think they could be bringing in much bigger profits by now.

Cross Atu,

Thank you. This is why I voted for you for CPM2. You're willingness to step in and communicate clearly and effectively will do more for this community than any amount of forum warrioring that we can provide.

You're correct that this world isn't perfect enough for most of the DUST community to trust that CCP intends to maintain or even expand this game we love. Rattati and the Shanghai crew have done a lot (A LOT) to re-establish the trust that was lost last year. But a lot of trust was lost.

My gravest concern is that we wander blindly down a similar path that led to the Rouge Wedding. We were led there unknowingly and when the flow of information stops (like it has recently) and rumors pop up...paranoia kicks in.

Thanks for this assertion of faith. I want to support this company and this game. Hearing what you can offer helps.

I agree with your overall assessment, however we must rationally admit that those are projections not objective facts. And that as players clearly invested in this game it is possible we are subject to a certain degree of bias.
Further none of us have access to CCP financials so we don't know what money there was available to be disbursed at any given time. We can infer, we can observe, we can assess, and frankly we should try to stay as aware and up to speed as possible. That's sensible behavior in any purchase. But we must also acknowledge that we do not, and can not, know.

I want to see Dust go the way of Amazon and not Hellgate: London, but it is not as simple as saying "throw enough money at it and it becomes a sure thing" I think upon reflection all of us know that.

Regardless the other projects that CCP is working on at various studios are not in a 1:1 zero sum relationship with EVE, or Dust and the development of either of those flagship products will not be defined, assured, or ended by the presence (or lack there of) of other items within the larger company. If a product needs to be fed cash from outside it's planned budget that's a bad state to be in, even Amazon in the early years was budgeted for the expenditures it had, and intended long term business plan or no, if those expenditures had too far out paced the budgeted resources it could very well have folded just like the Xerox visual UI from the days prior to Apple and MS.

Long term planning is vital to success, you are spot on, but anything successful in business must be able to attain and maintain a self sustaining concept and resource cycle which is exactly what will determine Dusts future AFAIK, not the existence (or lack there of) of any current or future entry in the CCP corporate catalog.

0.02 ISK

Thanks for the articulate (as always) response. While I agree with the zero sum assessment in some respects, ultimately it is a zero-sum game with the overall budget for CCP. My beef isn't with CCP Shanghai so much as with CCP Iceland. Funding projects like this does detract from the overall budget, and also the time/energy/resources of the management in CCP Iceland. For example, if instead of funding a small 3-man team to make this ridiculous mobile app, they had hired a team of 3 guys to build a 1st-class first launch experience for DUST with a real tutorial and showcased/highlighted the elements that make DUST unique, deep and awesome, I think the long-term returns on that investment would be phenomenal.

I'm not advocating dumping millions BLINDLY into development, but instead focusing that spending on aspects that could generate big payoffs down the road. CCP Rattati is doing the right things with the resources he has (for the most part). The problem has been that he doesn't have the manpower to do what needs to be done.

In my spare time I make apps. The most critical thing for any app's success (aside from having a good idea) is having a phenomenal first launch experience. DUST's first launch experience is among the worst in the industry. It's strengths (the depth of fitting, customizability, risk vs. ISK, community, etc.) actually become weaknesses for the new player, because it's not explained and becomes overwhelming. A few million invested in making a great first launch experience could translate into 10x or more over the years (obviously on a different platform).

The priorities should be getting the new player retention numbers and the average spend per player up (balance is obviously critical too). If they can make a product that retains players who are willing to spend money, then you could justify massive budget increases. Our population numbers are low now, so the actual revenue is pretty irrelevant in the big picture. What is critical though is using DUST as a laboratory to establish the proof-of-concept because those stats would scale to other platforms.

If you came to me for an investment with a game (It could be ridiculous, like a Carebear dressup simulator) that had proven high retention and high spending I would be giving you as much as I could to expand that model to a bigger audience. Ultimately that's what counts. In my opinion, the bootstrapping model is flawed.

The common notion that expenditures are 'being taken out of' one projects budget to be 'put into' another is at a functional level misconception in your larger scope modern studios.

So if that money and dev time wasn't spent on Gunjack it would...disappear?

I don't think CCP has a whole is focusing on anything with Dust right now. It makes more sense for them to focus on mobile and VR as it is potentially a money maker and they can expand onto something different I think. The Dust team is too small and probably not getting enough money to get much bigger stuff done, but at the same time CCP doesn't seem willing to invest in Dust at all if it is just operating on its own project.

The game is not going grow and it really hadn't . If pop raises it only raised back to what it was around a year ago

Vell0cet, the truth is there's no world where CCP would be wise to spend all their R&D budget on DUST. Hate to break this to you. It's marked for new projects for a reason.

Welp you heard it here first folks, CCP-HQ dgaf bout dust, for realzies

Vell0cet, the truth is there's no world where CCP would be wise to spend all their R&D budget on DUST. Hate to break this to you. It's marked for new projects for a reason.

Nonsense. But people need to realize that CCP is a company, it needs to be run like one. Expecting them to just dump all their money into what you personally play and enjoy is juvenile.

Nonsense. But people need to realize that CCP is a company, it needs to be run like one. Expecting them to just dump all their money into what you personally play and enjoy is juvenile.

All I want to know is whether ccp is still willing to do something about dust or they are just keeping this game alive long enough to fund other projects because if it's the latter then I can gladly stop wasting my time further on this game.

I'm not advocating for silence, so much as explaining why they are silent on the long term future. The entire company is on that page, and you and I are not going to get them to change it.

That's also not to say they have to get to deployment day before they speak, but like Gunjack, which is not yet out, they need to be at the stage in development where release is assured.

This is serious. I understand that Ratatti is in Iceland and Frame working undercover...there has been an audible silence from the few blues we have. And, of course, there's that giant elephant standing over there in the corner.

PS3 is going legacy end of this year. We get out or we die. Any port in a storm, you know.

And now this.... Shanghai is working on another game.

Here I am trying to lift the PCU, generate interest and involvement in DUST. Spending a lot of money on Aurum (because Hilmar said that DUST becoming profitable is the only reason it's still alive).....

And I want to know if Rouge is gonna bust in here and yell, SURPISE! again just before turning off the lights.

And for the record, CCP, your continued silence on these issues only deepens the concern of many many paying customers.

Not that it's any of your collective concern, but I am in Iceland going to my brothers wedding and to my other brother's newborn baptism, but please keep tinfoiling, it pleases me.

So if that money and dev time wasn't spent on Gunjack it would...disappear?