Planetside 2

[Puddy]

Sentura's rant about MMO's in the SWTOR-thread reminded me that I'm actually pretty excited for Planetside 2.

Furthermore, I can't believe we don't have a Planetside 2 thread.

What do you guys think of the game so far?

How do you think the free-to-play aspect will work?

Discuseth!!!

[Sentura]

i dunno, i think i've yet to see f2p done right. but the game itself looks interesting from what i can see, i've always been partial to asymmetric balance so i guess i'm looking forward to how the factions are balanced against each other. i never played the first planetside though, and i'm not entirely sure how the genre works... i guess it's like battlefield?

i'll probably check it out anyway, but i'm more looking forward to guild wars 2...

[Thrik]

Yeah I'm very cautious about the whole free-to-play thing because I hate the idea of games that charge you for things like weapons and upgrades. I'm fine with earning them, but having a distinct advantage or access to cool stuff just because of the size of your wallet isn't something I'm keen on. With that said, the costs of buying all the shit you want might end up less or equal to the cost of a year's subscription to PlanetSide 1, so in that respect it's not so bad. I dunno, I guess I just prefer a more even playing field where everyone has equal ability to unlock stuff (not just me, but my enemies too).

As for PlanetSide itself, the first game was excellent. It was essentially what Battlefield 2 became, taking elements from both Tribes and BF1942 to produce a sublime large-scale FPS with squad organisation, huge maps, vehicles with really good physics, etc. It wouldn't surprise me if BF2 took a fair amount of inspiration back from PlanetSide as it executed the formula so well.

With that said, it did have issues. Gamer hardware and internet connections common in 2003 meant that a lot of people struggled to run the game, so the incredible 100 vs 100+ battles that occurred were so laggy it was practically unplayable. But it was amazing when it worked.

One big thing that PlanetSide had over Battlefield was the fact that it featured honest-to-god bases, a little like BF2142's Titan mode and Tribes 2's bases but much better. They were huge complexes with multiple levels underground, generator rooms, weapon rooms, cores, etc. To take a base you had to not only get through the outer defences (turrets, forcefields, etc which could be upgraded by collecting energy from other parts of the world and bringing it in little trucks), but also take out the various things protecting the base's core, and then finally spend a fair bit of time hacking the core to switch the base's ownership. All the while with literally dozens if not hundreds of people fighting to protect/take the place.

There were something like 10 continents, all themed (ice, fire, lush, etc). And across all these continents you had maybe a dozen bases, with smaller outposts inbetween. To actually take a base it had to be connected to one you already owned, so the fight for each continent was structured quite nicely. And of course when you took a continent it meant you could no longer drop pod into it (exactly the same as BF2142's drop pods), so you could only get in via the sea gateways that connected the continents.

It was actually genuinely epic, and I've not come across a game yet which does the same thing equally well. If PS2 can actually rediscover that magic formula it's going to be rather special. :derp:

[Zyn]

Nothing like doing ANT-runs while the entire enemy fleet is out to get you, sweating rivers while your mates fend them off as you make your risky way back. If that's still there in Planetside 2 .. ooooh god

[2d-chris]

Can't wait for this game, I just hope they don't scale it back to meet production deadlines and nerf it to become more "accessible" The two things I'm pretty sure they will be doing

For this to work it needs to be more in-depth than the first (more RPG mechanics), at least similar sized environments and half decent visually. Fingers crossed

[Puddy]

i dunno, i think i've yet to see f2p done right. but the game itself looks interesting from what i can see, i've always been partial to asymmetric balance so i guess i'm looking forward to how the factions are balanced against each other. i never played the first planetside though, and i'm not entirely sure how the genre works... i guess it's like battlefield?

i'll probably check it out anyway, but i'm more looking forward to guild wars 2...

It's like Battlefield in a sense; definitely. But it plays quite differently; more rigid "front lines" and it's more tug of war. You don't jump in and out of random vehicles and you seldom go looking for enemies. It's more of a meaty back-and-forth exchange. I don't know how the factions will differ but I don't think that they will be too different; but not too similar either. They will have a weapon/vehicle in each category but these will be different in some way to add some flavor. For example, you probably won't see a faction that lacks a heavy tank but has an exclusive air-to-ground jet that makes up for that fact.

Yeah I'm very cautious about the whole free-to-play thing because I hate the idea of games that charge you for things like weapons and upgrades. I'm fine with earning them, but having a distinct advantage or access to cool stuff just because of the size of your wallet isn't something I'm keen on. With that said, the costs of buying all the shit you want might end up less or equal to the cost of a year's subscription to PlanetSide 1, so in that respect it's not so bad. I dunno, I guess I just prefer a more even playing field where everyone has equal ability to unlock stuff (not just me, but my enemies too).

As for PlanetSide itself, the first game was excellent. It was essentially what Battlefield 2 became, taking elements from both Tribes and BF1942 to produce a sublime large-scale FPS with squad organisation, huge maps, vehicles with really good physics, etc. It wouldn't surprise me if BF2 took a fair amount of inspiration back from PlanetSide as it executed the formula so well.

With that said, it did have issues. Gamer hardware and internet connections common in 2003 meant that a lot of people struggled to run the game, so the incredible 100 vs 100+ battles that occurred were so laggy it was practically unplayable. But it was amazing when it worked.

One big thing that PlanetSide had over Battlefield was the fact that it featured honest-to-god bases, a little like BF2142's Titan mode and Tribes 2's bases but much better. They were huge complexes with multiple levels underground, generator rooms, weapon rooms, cores, etc. To take a base you had to not only get through the outer defences (turrets, forcefields, etc which could be upgraded by collecting energy from other parts of the world and bringing it in little trucks), but also take out the various things protecting the base's core, and then finally spend a fair bit of time hacking the core to switch the base's ownership. All the while with literally dozens if not hundreds of people fighting to protect/take the place.

There were something like 10 continents, all themed (ice, fire, lush, etc). And across all these continents you had maybe a dozen bases, with smaller outposts inbetween. To actually take a base it had to be connected to one you already owned, so the fight for each continent was structured quite nicely. And of course when you took a continent it meant you could no longer drop pod into it (exactly the same as BF2142's drop pods), so you could only get in via the sea gateways that connected the continents.

It was actually genuinely epic, and I've not come across a game yet which does the same thing equally well. If PS2 can actually rediscover that magic formula it's going to be rather special. :derp:

The free-to-play aspect of the game is one of many big hurdles the game must overcome. I'm hoping that they find a good solution to it, and can cash in on as much cosmetic stuff as possible. I also hope that a "freebie"-player will be able to do damage on the battlefield. And that they will make the difference between paying and non-paying similiar to the difference between low and high ranking players in the original. A low level player could place all his certs into a specific thing; like being a solid anti-tank soldier on the battlefield. While a high-level player could do that too but at the same time be good at flying vehicles, be a good "MAX" suit player and snipe whenever he feels like it. And have a few trinkets which makes him slightly, slightly more flexible on the battlefield; but no "god" by any means.

I totally agree with you when it comes to bases. Loved the scale and feel of them. A bit of a shame that they were mostly copypaste but maybe it would've been confusing otherwise.

Nothing like doing ANT-runs while the entire enemy fleet is out to get you, sweating rivers while your mates fend them off as you make your risky way back. If that's still there in Planetside 2 .. ooooh god

I'm pretty sure they've confirmed that ANT's are no longer. RIP. But hopefully they've implemented similar features and that the game isn't solely about being at the absolute front of the battle and shooting people in the face.

Can't wait for this game, I just hope they don't scale it back to meet production deadlines and nerf it to become more "accessible" The two things I'm pretty sure they will be doing

For this to work it needs to be more in-depth than the first (more RPG mechanics), at least similar sized environments and half decent visually. Fingers crossed

Well, the game doesn't need to be as big as Planetside 1; not initially atleast. IMHO. Usually, fights were focused on 2-5 fronts (and five was pretty damn rare). The rest of the map just lay barren.

When it comes to accessibility, I'm with you. The game can't be too casual or it will lose all it's charm. I got a bit nervous when the devs talked about "spawning on your squad"... the nightmare being that it's the game will feel like a TDM match where everyone spawns like bunnies right into the thick of it. You want players to use teamwork to create spawn opportunities imho. A beacon that is clearly visible (to your enemy that is) that allows drop pods to land nearby? Absolutely. A heavy dropship which players can spawn on that circles the battlefield? Sure thing. Mobile spawn bases? Fo sho.

[Puddy]

Hmm, one could almost imagine that I am some kind of fanboy.

[FrieChamp]

Hmm, one could almost imagine that I am some kind of fanboy.

You're not. I was there too, man.

This article explains Planetside perfectly: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/12 ... e-the-1-2/

[Sentura]

i wish other people here had player dark age of camelot...

[Puddy]

Hmm, one could almost imagine that I am some kind of fanboy.

You're not. I was there too, man.

This article explains Planetside perfectly: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/12 ... e-the-1-2/

Oh man, so true...

I was actually NC in the original but I'm soooo going fascist in the second game.

[FrieChamp]

i wish other people here had player dark age of camelot...

I did, but I only remember that I fought a lot of spiders.

[KorJax]

I'm not worried about F2P model. I'm actually excited about it. One of PS1's biggest issues after launch was keeping people coming in and playing to actually take advantage of thier 200 player battles. F2P will solve this entirely.

They have already comfirmed that they will be doing an Eve-style approach to level ups. In other words, you select a skill, specilization, etc that you want to earn, and after X number of real-time hours/days (even if you don't play) you'll unlock it. You can speed this up by playing the game of course, though.

I think they've also confirmed some cosmetic items.

We can assume from the two above bits of info that:

1. Cosmetic items = $$$

2. You could probably insta-unlock specilizations and such by paying, instead of waiting. AKA the same F2P model that Farmville uses.

I don't see anything wrong with this. Everyones on a level playing field, it just so happens to mean that the dude who pays simply gets the shiny stuff/skills faster, while the guy who doesn't follows a more standard curve to the "formula". It means you can be high ranking and top of the leaderboards without paying a dime, and I don't see anything wrong with that. Especailly since a guy who just buys all his specilizations and skills will be less experienced compaired to the guy who got them normally anyways. So I don't think balance will be an issue.

[Thrik]

One benefit to the pay model is also that it presumably can lessen the need to grind. I spent a lot of time grinding in the training centre in PlanetSide, and I'm guessing most people can emphathise with this — otherwise you're basically missing out on a tonne of free experience which allows you to jump pretty far up the ladder. Now I'm all grown up and shit my time is a bit more valuable than it was when I could sit for endless hours grinding up yet another character of mine, so I'd probably be willing to pay a small amount to skip the hassle.

[Puddy]

Yeah, the mentioned way of treating F2P sounds pretty reasonable. What I've read from the lead designers so far, I'm not too worried they'll fuck things up.

Now, we just have to play the waiting game.

Also, got bored and made a test-insignia just for fun because, well, I'm a fanboy. 303rd Airborne Assault "War Pigs" anyone?

[Grinwhrl]

The gameplay looks great!

http://www.shacknews.com/article/71849/ ... s-gameplay