Dust 514 Neocom Vita App Detailed

Dust 514 is still cruising through beta, moving ever closer to an as yet unnamed release date, but the developers at CCP want to make sure the hype train keeps rolling on their MMO first-person shooter set in the world of Eve Online. To that end, they’ve released a number of details about Dust 514 Neocom, the companion app for the PlayStation Vita.

In short, the Neocom app gives players access to just about everything but the actual shooting in Dust 514. While what happens in Dust will affect the world of Eve Online and vice versa, what the player does in Neocom on the Vita will also jack directly into Dust on the PlayStation 3.

Some of CCP’s head honchos presented the app to SCEE Blog Manager Fred Dutton during the recent Gamescom event, explaining just how much functionality Neocom will allow players to take advantage of on the go.

“It brings all the customization, community and commerce features onto the Vita” said CCP Marketing Director Cameron Payne during an interview for the PlayStation Blog. “There’s no direct gameplay, but you can use pretty much all the features the Neocom user interface offers in the main game. You can interact with battles, purchase items on the market, play around with your dropsuit or vehicle and then save it so you can use it on PS3.”

Everything from weapon load-outs, armor and vehicle configurations will be available for tinkering in the Neocom app and, once you’ve got something you like, you can send it directly to your PS3 copy of Dust 514, where it will be ready for immediate use once you boot the game up.

Players will also be able to use the app to view the Eve galaxy, getting a live feed of stats on the 700 solar systems, on down to the individual planets.

While the Neocom app offers little in the line of actual gameplay, it certainly sounds like a robust offering for those who plan on diving deep into the world of Dust 514. This is exactly the sort of thing I’d like to see become more common for portable game consoles. Actual gameplay would be nice but, when that’s not possible, the ability to stay connected with my game in a meaningful way is certainly a nice alternative.