Dust 514

I wasn't keeping a close eye on this game other than some here and there articles... but then I read this:

quote Shacknews.com

As with most free-to-play games, CCP's upcoming PS3-exclusive shooter, Dust 514, will end up costing something for dedicated players. For example, fully outfitting a character with high-end gear will cost pennies.

"If you assume that somebody came in and had to buy, with real-world money, the best gear for a serious throw down--it was like a 24-cent thing," CCP's Morgan Godat said.

"We're talking about relatively small amounts of money," Godat told Eurogamer. "You can buy 100 copies of this gun, you can buy 100 copies of this suit of armor." The reason you will buy so much gear is because when you die, you lose it. "We've got to make sure we're pricing things at the right level, because if you die [you lose these things]."

Pricing is still in flux, something being determined by current players in the beta."We're still tuning prices--the costs will change according to the feedback we get on the beta."

The game is currently in closed beta for EVE players, and many of them have already been paying real money for gear. CCP plans to refund that money once the beta ends. On or around June 29, the beta opens to non-EVE players and will also hook up to EVE's tranquility server, joining the two games for the first time. The actual launch date for Dust 514 has not been set yet.

Source: http://www.gamefly.com/news/article/213181/high-end-dust-514-load-out-to-cost-about-24/#.T9tjELUwnAk

Now I understand, 24 cents is not much... but this is a shooting game. If you have to pay 24 cents for each piece of armor late in the game. That's Chest, Arms, Legs, Helmet, Weapon. Assuming they go for different pieces to a set. You're paying 1.20 per death just to get your gear back. W. T. F.

I'm completely off it now. I'm not spending money to play this game when I can use that money for something else. Like another game that doesn't penny me to death. (Pun intended)

From my understanding of the game.. it was an FPS connected to the EVE servers so you can call in air support from EVE players. This pay-per-armor DLC rubbish is.. well it's rubbish. I was going to play the game but now I've lost all interest.

"You can't be have the best gear unless you pay us. It's not obtainable by simply playing the game."

"How much is it?"

"24 cents"

"Oh okay, that's not too bad."

"You lose it when you die."

"In an FPS.. yeah *bleep* that. Even my average MP games in an FPS are 21-8ish"

Even in a campaign shooter like Borderlands all it takes is coming across the wrong enemy at the wrong time and you'll be dishing out a dollar or so on new gear. You can bet that if the game has enemies or groups of enemies that require air strike to defeat that you'll be dying here and there. Five deaths a day, assuming you played a little every day and died five times, would cost you 6 bucks a day and 180 a month. Now you may not die that much and you may not play everyday.. the point is you can't be the best without paying and you lose it everytime you die. It's not a "50% chance you may lose this piece upon death." It's not gambling. You die, you lose everything with no chance of getting it back short of paying out of pocket. Even Demon's Souls (wrong genre) gave you a chance to get your souls (currency) back before they were gone forever.

Eh, in games like this you'd just get killed by people with the best stuff and it would make you rage. In my rage, I'd buy it and lose it and rage more. I can already see it.

I'm not a fan of free-to-play and even less so of "pay-to-win" games but this takes the cake. It wouldn't be so bad if there was a way for people with more time than money to get most things by other means or if it was a much less death prone genre like survival horror, but of course thats what they're counting on.

Its the death prone and hardcore wow/Diablo mindsets that rake in the moolah for them and an FPS is perfect for that, just look at how much arcades could rake in at $0.50 a pop.

Plus imagine all the rage if your anything like me and have an 'accident', I can see it now-

"Hey, not too shabby."

"I think I'm finally getting the hang of things, so far so goo-*falls to death*".

Then theres mishaps with frags and everything else to boot. On the other hand it'll be interesting to see how things play out.

So after reading more into it I discovered that they actually expect people to buy stacks of suits of armor and weapons. Like a hundred at a time just to keep on their characters in the event of a death. 100 suits of armor + 100 weapons = 48 american dollars. Hey look, it's a "free-to-play" game that costs more than an HD collection!

Must be something wrong with your PC. He's staring at the scroll bar.

... Screen size doesn't change that he's clearly looking to the right and upwards, not downwards.