Dust is too boring. I know it isn't finished, etc, but let me explain by reference to Eve, CCP's other project.

Even when Eve was young and had almost no content it was at least different from other MMORPGs. This is what let it actually grow. Eve didn't follow the standard MMORPG meme of grind rats to get XP to get better gear to grind bigger rats. It had passive XP, a big departure, a robust player economy, single shard play, and more that made the game innovative even if it lacked content.

Now I've seen a read a lot of the negative reviews of Dust, and of course, the various forum arguments as well. I also know that many of you disagree with my ideas and my techniques, but here's what I'd like to say.

The reviews are dead on in at least one respect - Dust isn't innovative. It's way too samey. There's no real new concept here. The weapons are all the same, the gameplay is all the same. Even the ideas brought over from Eve aren't the innovative ideas, there the standards, the Sp tree, the fittings, etc.

Dust needs to be unique to survive.

Here's where I'm going to get a little more controversial. CCP needs to stop listening to the players telling them that Dust needs to be more like other shooters, that Dust needs to get the core shooter aspects right, that Dust needs to be accessible in the same way other shooters are. That's just going to produce a Dust that nothing new to offer, and is inferior to those other shooters.

We have something less than 5000 concurrent players right now, and the game is soft launched, but not really launched. This is a great opportunity for CCP to bring back innovation and make the game interesting, if flawed. Right now the game is boring and flawed.


We need a Dust that preserves tactics, that encourages smart play and depth, rather than the bland appeal to the lowest common denominator that we have now.

We need more variety (stuff that isn't in the standard FPS playbook) and we need more depth. It needs to break out of the "core FPS" mode, and go it's own way. It needs to offer an alternative. It's not the right way to keep pounding on the "core mechanics" until the game just dies due to having nothing new, and still being crappier at core mechanics than the "big boys" in the market.


CCP is playing it way too safe with Dust, and producing a boring game because of it. A boring game is worse than a flawed game. Back in the day, when Eve was a baby, CCP didn't focus on polishing Eve up to have "core MMORPG" features, CCP made something different. For Dust to survive, CCP needs to make something different.