DUST 514 and EVE Online's worlds are going to be connected slowly, says CCP

DUST 514 and EVE Online's worlds are going to be combined slowly, so as not to throw a monkey wrench into their respective virtual economy's, says CCP.

Speaking with Joystiq, the firm's CMO David Reid said the integration of the two game is one of the biggest challenges the company is facing with DUST 514's development.

"If there's anything about EVE that's particularly notorious, it's the fidelity of its virtual economy," said Reid. "You can equate the loss of a giant ship in EVE to some real world amount of money, just based on the time and effort it takes to build. It's really important that, when we do join the games, and we do allow ISK to flow between EVE and DUST that we don't accidentally institute some hyper-inflation in one game or the other.

"We have to make sure we tune those dials carefully before the currency starts swimming between both games."

There will be other implementations connecting the two games other than the ISK currency, according to Reid: how about the ability for DUST 514 to interact with EVE Online characters?

That'll happen once the MMO's avatar system is out in place.

"That is exactly the idea," Reid said. "Your DUST marine can walk into a station and meet an EVE avatar, and rather than negotiate a contract over text chat, you could do it 'virtually in person.'"

This also includes the addition of "space elevators," which will allow players to travel to the DUST 514 battleground or onto an EVE space station, when playing either title.

Such links between the two games won't occur until DUST 514's open beta, which is scheduled for sometime in early 2013.

DUST 514's closed PS3 beta runs until the end of the year.