Dust 514 is an upcoming free to play sci-fi shooter for the PS3 that will link gameplay with popular PC space MMO EVE Online where player actions in one game directly affecting the other.
It's an ambitious project that just got a little more complex with the addition of a new companion app available for the PS Vita. As detailed on the PS Blog, the Dust 514 Neocom app lets you interact with various systems from the PS3 game directly from your handheld device.
“It brings all the customization, community and commerce features onto the Vita. There’s no direct gameplay but you can use pretty much all the features that the Neocom user interface offers in the main game," CCP marketing director Cameron Payne explained.
“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," he added.
The Neocom will let you dabble with weapon load-outs as well as armor and vehicle configurations. The game's store will fully be accessible from the Vita app, complete with daily deals and special offers. You'll also be able to navigate the EVE universe's galaxy map using the Vita and play with those planets.
While these features are all present in the Dust 514 PS3 game, adding the same functionality on the Vita allows users to take the experience on-the-go with them.
“There are so many parts of Dust 514 that you can take with you and don’t need a PS3 to enjoy, and this was the perfect way to exploit those features,” concluded creative director Atli Mars Sveinsson. “The whole PlayStation ecosystem works really well, allowing these systems to connect and be a nice cohesive experience. It’s MMO on the go.”