Planetside 2 [In Development]

[Quango]

Hey folks,

This part of the forums seems like its been neglected lately, so I thought I would share some of my research into Planetside 2.

For those who the original Planetside was under the radar for (a large cross section of all pc gamers tbh), it was essentially the first MMOFPS.

At launch in 2003 the game was able to boast truly massive FPS fights, with the capacity to hold three factions of up to 300 players (each) on a single game instance. The game instance was a continent, there were about 7 or 8 continents which constituted the world. If you were to start across a continent on foot, it would take anywhere from 30 minutes or more to fully traverse the continent. Luckily personal transport vehicles and aircraft were readily available. Each continent has bases which are the thing players fight over. Bases are linked via a command lattice, you could only capture bases which were connected to a base you owned. A little while after launch, they dropped the maximum players per army per continent to around 120 (lag was an issue with the 2003 hardware/engine limitations). It was all going so well...

Then they decided to launch an expansion pack which added new areas and new vehicles... most notably, the much reviled Battle Frame Robotics (BFR) aka Big F***in' Robot. This was a huge gamebreaker and the nerf bats swung wildly for several months afterward. Many players left and never came back, others stuck around because they couldn't get what PS offered anywhere else. Now, 6 years later, people are generally accepting of the balance, but resolute against the addition of BFR's to the next installment, code named Planetside Next, officially named Planetside 2.

Planetside 2 offers a totally revamped engine (Light Forge developed by SOE for Planetside 2 and Everquest Next) and an entirely new focus for the game.

The control method for Planetside 2 revolves around territory on the map as opposed to bases on continents. Owning territory yields resources which are used to upgrade equipment and shortcut skill training. It features an online/offline training system similar to EVE Online but your ingame actions can affect training speed. XP is earned to increase Battle Rank (levels), battle ranks are the cap on how high you can train your skills. While leveling up your character is important, you also can level up your outfit (guild) to be specialists in certain types of warfare, be it aerial, infantry, heavy tanks or light assault. Furthermore, your contributions on the battlefield help your empire.

The skill system requires a little more explanation, it is being said that almost every variable in the game can be customized on your character via skills. There are different paths (like engineer, medic, assault, squad leader) which everybody can spawn as. The level of skill focusing will determine your versatility with that class. If you are into vehicles like I am (I love the rocket launching ATV) you can spec into that, more horsepower, faster reload, better turn radius, 0-60 faster, etc.

The first Planetside had very clunky FPS mechanics, it was 2003 after all. SOE has been adding the modern day FPS mechanics to their engine, no word on whether the original Cone of Fire/Reticule Bloom is still the method they are going with, but I kind of hope it isn't. They have also revamped the spawning system to address the downtime that one would experience in the original. You had to spawn at designated locations and hoof it back to the fight which sometimes took too much time.

In terms of server numbers, they are aiming for fights that have participants in the thousands. The world map is seamless and there is no instancing. If you want to capture an area that is not near your owned territory (known as backhacking) it will take longer than normal. If you have an area totally surrounded by your own area, the capture speed will be very fast. This further reduces downtime and speeds up the game.

Here is the available media from SOE's Fan Faire 2011.

Trailer at Official Site

http://www.planetside2.com

Dev Panel Videos

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/developer-round-planetside-2/717180
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/developer-q-a-planetside-2/717182

Fan Faire Dev Panel Transcript

http://www.planetside-universe.com/p-fan-faire-2011-live-coverage-67.htm

Planetside Universe Q&A

http://www.planetside-universe.com/p-fan-faire-2011-qa-70.htm


I am very excited for this game. Hardcore Planetside fans have a love/hate relationship with SOE. I am also in that camp. Planetside is one of the few game experiences which have had me so fully immersed in the action that I forgot I was playing a game... Huge adrenaline at key moments, some truly epic moments...

[[PX] Nebuchadnezzar]

TRAILER!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOFg-rWSv9g

[Quango]

Asian release partner Gameplay trailer -- In English

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... UeRQSRMiFc

ridiculously sweet strafing run, lots of shootey shootey.

[Quango]

eeee! PS2 website has a beta code redemption link -- we're getting close...

[Quango]

Big news today -- Beta keys in next month's PCGamer -- all past/present Planetside 1 players also will get "priority" beta access. Seems to indicate that beta is not that far away...

[Quango]

HUGE Alpha gameplay footage by Totalbiscuit (British independant game journalist/critic)

This footage goes a long way to indicate the sheer potential that this game has.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 6HgC6Exs0U

Can't wait! I've got two accounts fully cashed up over the course of a number of 2x or 3x virtual currency sales (usually happen around major US holidays) that I'm going to be levelling multiple characters on.