DUST 514 has just gone live on PSN and is already attracting leagues of fans.
There are a few issues, but fortunately the first major patch aims to sort a lot of them out.
The patch notes are pretty extensive and your eyes will probably ache if you choose to read them all, but a few highlights include a new character creation screen, two new battlegrounds and a brand new Domination game mode.
Here’s the rest of ’em…
Uprising Release Notes:
Path to Game and Overall UI
* Major improvement to the login flow. Time to merc quarter reduced from 4:30 seconds to 1:30 seconds on average
* New character creation screen
* Removed Specializations
* New loading screens
* All UI screens have been visually polished
Spawning and End of Match
* New Overview Map and Spawn Screen UI.
* Squad member list visible on overview map
* Improved fit selection on spawn screen
* Improved scanning on Objectives and Installations
* Players are invisible / cloaked upon spawn for a few seconds. Cloak diables upon movement
* Redesigned bleed out
* New Kill Screen that shows who killed you and his/her statistics
* Revamped and enhanced End of Match Screens
Skills
* New node based Skill UI
* Newly created characters receive no starter skills. Specializations have been removed
* Reorganized skill tree to be simpler with logical separations between vehicle and dropsuit skills. Now all dropsuit skills are under Dropsuit Command; all equipment and modules (with the exception of damage modifiers and remote explosives) under Dropsuit Upgrades and all weapons under Weaponry
* Weapon skill bonuses are now weapon-specific as opposed to providing blanket bonuses across Light, Sidearm and Heavy categories
* Dropsuit Command skills first unlock basic non-role frames before unlocking role-specific skills
* Module skills improve the efficacy of modules used
Dropsuits
* New dropsuit roles and race/role-specific bonuses added:
* Minmatar Scout
* Scout Suit Bonus: 5% reduction to scan profile per level
* Minmatar Scout Bonus: +5% to melee and nova knife damage per level
* Gallente Scout
* Scout Suit Bonus: 5% reduction to scan profile per level
* Gallente Scout Bonus: +10% to dropsuit scan radius per level
* Amarr Assault
* Assault Suit Bonus: +5% to dropsuit shield recharge rate per level
* Amarr Assault Bonus: 5% reduction to laser weaponry heat build-up per level
* Amarr Logistics
* Logistics Suit Bonus: +1 HP to dropsuit armor repair rate per level
* Amarr Logistics Bonus: +5% to efficacy of armor repairer modules per level
* Minmatar Assault
* Assault Suit Bonus: +5% to dropsuit shield recharge rate per level
* Minmatar Assault Bonus: +5% to sidearm weaponry clip size per level
* Minmatar Logistics
* Logistics Suit Bonus: +1 HP to dropsuit armor repair rate per level
* Minmatar Logistics Bonus: +5% to hacking speed per level
* Gallente Assault
* Assault Suit Bonus: +5% to dropsuit shield recharge rate per level
* Gallente Assault Bonus: 5% reduction to hybrid weaponry PG/CPU usage per level
* Gallente Logistics
* Logistics Suit Bonus: +1 HP to dropsuit armor repair rate per level
* Gallente Logistics Bonus: 5% reduction to equipment PG/CPU usage per level
* Caldari Assault
* Assault Suit Bonus: +5% to dropsuit shield recharge rate per level
* Caldari Assault Bonus: +2% to hybrid weapon reload speed
* Caldari Logistics
* Logistics Suit Bonus: +1 HP to dropsuit armor repair rate per level
* Caldari Logistics Bonus: +5% to efficacy of shield extender modules per level
* Amarr Sentinel
* Sentinel Suit Bonus: 5% reduction to weapon feedback damage per level
* Amarr Sentinel Bonus: +2% to heavy weapon reload speed
* Added effect and audio triggers for shield loss and recharge
* Reduced base passive scan radius for all dropsuits
Weapons
* Weapon tiers streamlined so that more side grades are unlocked in the advanced tier and more exotic variants in the prototype tier
* Reduced damage and max range of the HMG
* Moved Charge Sniper Rifle into the prototype tier
* Improved damage on Tactical Assault Rifle variants
* Modified nova knife to do charge-based damage (allowing instant attacks).
* Increased FOV for the laser rifle in ADS so that it has less “zoom”
* New laser rifle iron sights
* New Gallente assault rifle iron sights
* New Gallente assault rifle ACOG scope
* New Gallente shotgun ADS
* Added new weapon animation system for Move controller
* Added new charging HUD element integrated with ammo UI
* Added support for multi-fire weapons i.e. regular and charge based firing on a single weapon type
* Added support for transitional into scope animations and added animations for all weapons
* Added heat glow on a variety of weapons such as the assault rifle and nova knives
* New jumping animations when in scope
* Updated reload animations
* Updated all melee animations
* Updated 3P animation to support sprint strafing
* New sprint animations for all pistols
* New overheat animations for HMG and Laser Rifle
* Updated laser rifle reload
* Updated recoil for Gallente shotgun
Controls
* Completely retuned controller sensitivity settings in the options menu to give a broader range
* Retuned handheld weapon control sensitivity default settings
* Retuned large and small turret control sensitivity
* Enabled aiming friction for small turrets to improve fine aiming
* Retuned all aim assist systems for handheld weapons to improve aiming
* Added melee aim assist system
* Enabled the ability to strafe whilst sprinting
* Added new infantry control schemes
* Added multi-function buttons
* Changed entry/exit logic of vehicle control schemes so that the exit vehicle button corresponds with the on-foot interact/enter vehicle button
* Fully detailed tooltips for all vehicles and selected infantry weaponry
* Mouse and keyboard tooltips in menus and in game (can be toggled through the options menu under the keyboard and mouse tab)
* Improvements to mouse and keyboard mappings
* New control schemes:
* Infantry:
* Duty Calls
* Battleground
* Praetorian
* Southpaw (of Default)
* Legacy
* Legacy Southpaw
* Tracked Vehicles:
* Southpaw
* Aerial Vehicles:
* Southpaw
Equipment
* New equipment added:
* Active Scanner
* Increased throw speed, activation time and number of remote explosives that can be carried at once
* Reduced nanite storage capacity and recharge rate of militia nanohives, and moved more powerful variants into advanced and prototype tiers to encourage skilling into higher tiers.
* Added range indication for fallen teams mates when using nanite injector
* Added the ability to use the nanite injector even when you do not have it selected
* Added new cortex display
EVE Universe
* Added player location to the HUD in the MQ and WR
* Added EVE standard time readout to neocom
* Added in-match tags for EVE ships in orbit
Vehicles
* Added new vehicle roles:
* Gallente Enforcer HAV
* Caldari Enforcer HAV
* Gallente Scout LAV
* Caldari Scout LAV
* Gallente Assault Dropship
* Caldari Assault Dropship
* Added new vehicle skills to correspond with the new vehicle roles
* Caldari/Gallente Logistics dropship skill gives bonuses to cpu usage on all shield/armor modules
* Migrated promotional vehicles into the current release
* Added front-firing turret on Assault Dropship
* Vehicle skill-revamp. Skill requirements, and number of requirements has changed
* New vehicle-specific scanning skills
* Reduced collision damage to dropships
* Tweaks to make standard and logistics dropships to feel heavier
* Improvements to feeling of vehicle weight
* Marauder HAVs are temporarily removed for rework
* Added wind effect when vehicles are traveling quickly
* Added camera shake when heavy vehicles drive by
* All Dropships will now trigger emergency crew bay light when entering a crash
* Added the ability to recall vehicles so that you do not lose them if you want to abandon them
* Retuned and improved vehicle upright constraints
* New LAV physics model
* New Dropship camera
* Tuned LAV jump cam
* Lowered LAV rumble on bumps
* Added physics to “push” players off moving vehicles
Modules
* Nanofibre modules are removed
* Added new remote module camera on vehicles
Turrets
* Reduced dispersion on Large Missiles
* Increased speed on Railgun and Missile projectiles
* Increased splash damage on Small Missile Turrets
Installations
* Attached new small installation bases
* Fix to CRU – should now take the same level of damage as other installation components
Adjustments to ISK prices
* Lowered prices on standard and advanced items in all categories while keeping the price level of prototype items mostly intact
* Simplified the pricing on dropsuits – there’s now just one price category (i.e. heavy dropsuits now cost the same as assault dropsuits of the same meta level)
* Simplified the pricing of weapons – they now have two price categories, primary weapons and sidearms (i.e. heavy machine guns will now cost the same as assault rifles, and nova knives the same as scrambler pistols of the same meta level)
* Reduced the price of Dropships in half (approximately)
* Changed the base price points on vehicle modules and turrets – vehicle modules will be less costly than before, while vehicle turrets will be more expensive
* Changed the base price points on equipment – equipment will now be less expensive overall
Improvements to the Augmentations page
* Boosters of different multipliers can now be queued, with newest additions going to the front of the queue
* Made improvements to what information is available and how it is displayed
Maps/Environments
* Greatly improved terrain shaders and rendering, including vegetation.
* Complete rework of existing terrains.
* All battlegrounds now contain all game modes.
* Improved Ambush OMS game mode
* Gameplay tuned for 32-48 players.
* Art Polish of architecture and structures
* New moods providing variation in time of day and tone on different planets
Audio
* New music
* New weapon sounds
* New LAV sounds
* Moment-to-moment audio improvements on the following:
* Explosions
* Grenade bounce
* Hit success feedback
UI
* Improved Loading Screens
Visual effects
* Add god ray effects
* Add dynamic tone mapping
* Add cloud shadow effect
* Add lens dirt effect.
Performance
* Optimize client GPU performance
* Optimize texture streaming speed
* Increase display resolution.
Factional Warfare
* Battles relating to Factional Warfare are no longer considered corporation battles. The battles can be found under the Mercenary tab of the Battle Finder and are now auto generated based on activity within EVE
* Factional Warfare battles allows you to select which side you want to fight on
Starmap
* A new starmap has been added and can be found in the Neocom under Battles
* The starmap has three view settings:
* Atlas view which shows sovereignty information from all over New Eden
* Factional Warfare displays the ownership of planetary districts for each of the 4 major factions. From there you can join battles and see their results affect the outcome for each faction
* Corporation tab that will show information about your corporation’s conquest of planets within New Eden
Other
* You can now see your connection quality to battles in the Mercenary can Corporation tab of the Battle Finder. The bar shows your connection quality (more bars means higher quality)
* You can now send and receive mail to both your alliance and corporation
* As a DUST player with roles in a corporation you will now receive notifications based on that role. This includes all EVE and DUST notifications such as POS fuel and district attacks
* The wallet has been updated to show the journal log for both your personal wallet and corporation wallet
* Brackets for ships in space connected to a district are now visible. This is limited to a specific quantity of ships and will always try and show ships from both sides
* The size of squads has been increased to 6
* UVT (Universal Voice Translators) are no longer available on the market and you will be able to use the in-game voice system without UVT
Launch Release Notes (5/14):
Weapons
* New weapons added:
* Scrambler Rifle
* Plasma Cannon
* Flaylock Pistol
Planetary Conquest
* Planetary Conquest has been added to the Molden Heath region
* Corporations within DUST are able to conquer planets, collect clones, and battle for control of more districts
Maps/Environments
* Two new battlegrounds.
Game Modes
* Added Domination game mode
(Via DUST 514 Blog)