Planetside Dev Interview!

[Hamma]

PSU has secured an Email Interview with the Planetside Dev Team. Rather than formulating the questions ourselves, we are looking to the community for the top 10 Questions. We think this community involvement will get us better questions overall. <a href="http://www.planetside.info" target="_blank">PSI</a> will be involved with several questions as well which PSU will send in.

Please reply in the following way:

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<b>
Your Name:
Your Question:
Your Question2:
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Please only reply once, and only reply with a question(s). If you want to add a question, edit your post. This thread will be broken down in 7 days; the PSU staff will then pick the questions and formulate them to an email.

BTW, don�t bother asking, "when is beta" because we probably wont select those questions for the email ;) It gets asked daily heheh

[Shiver]

Your Name: -Shiver-

Question: For a while now we've been able to view info, screenshots and videos of the five released vehciles, yet we know there will be a good few more (of which the info is sketchy). Are you able to give us a full run down on all of the vehicles (as you did with the implant info) and maybe a little media including them.

Question: Another equipment related question, what are all the suits of armor that are universally available (not including the MAX and stealth suit) to players, and what sort of advantages will each suit give the wearer.

Question: How will orbital drops be implemented, i.e. are there seperate stations for each empire where you and your sqaud may congregate before taking one large drop together to your target? Are the advantages of drop pods so immense that there will need to be a limit on how often a player can use them, and if so how will this be done?

Question: Can you expand on the advantages of CEPs, as in what abilities will the top commanders have other than extra chat rooms? e.g. a little bit of info on "top-down control of a squad" and "waypoint assignments" or "hot zones".

I wouldn't expect to get much information back from my last question as it's probably not implemented yet so you're allowed to leave that one out :) Here's another list of Q's which other people have put down and I think need to be in the interview, in full :p

The first question belongs to PSI, and this is how I think it should read ... Question: Can you give us an overview of the types of certifications we will be seeing in game? Perhaps a few details, such as; will they be arranged in a skill tree (forcing specialisation to reach the most valuable certs) or will we be able to select any cert at any time can we pick from any cert we want (with excpetions of, must have hacking before adv.hacking)?

The second question has already been written out by Zarparchior, and the PSI community though of a few other parts related to it ... Question: Will the player store ammo in clip or bullet form? If the ammo is stored in clips, will reloading your weapon discard the ammo in the old clip which has not been used, will you retain half empty clips and will you have the ability to combine clips? If it's all bullets, none of the above would work, you get the idea :)

My Last Edit: Can we get a little media/trailer/teaser soon!? Can -Shiver- and Hamma be in beta!? Why aren't we seeing much dev interaction with the small community compared to other sony/verant titles!?

Just had to get them off my chest, and I think that's me all out of Q's :love:

[Nubi]

Your Name: Nubi
Your Question: How many players will be accepted into Beta?
Question2: Will it be public beta or invite?
Question3: Will there be more weapons and vehicles and what not in the real release?
Question4: Will the game be just a deathmatch like it showed in the videos?
Question5: Will there ever be naval units?
Question6: What's to prevent people from whoring a weapon? I.E. an empire deploying about 100 vanguards or 500 snipers defending one base
Question7: What are the system Reqs for it? Will a GF 4 MX 440 be enough (I know it sux but...)
Question8: How will you "capture" a base? Will there be a switch you have to pull or something?
Question9: Will we be able to, some day, build our own bases (not empires, just outposts)?
Question10: Will the source files be editable? To prevent someone from putting all empires in bright pink (to cheat with)

[Nohimn]

Name: Nohimn
Question1: What other weapons/suits/vehicles/implants are there?
Question2: When will beta be?
Question3: Will the beta be public or invitational?
Question4: Will you appear on radar if you have stealth armor?
Question5: What other aircrafts will there be?
Question6: Is the Bolt Driver the only sniper rife?
Question7: How are missions assigned?
Question8: How are missions assigned for outfits?
Question9: What is the closest release date possible?
Question10: Can you confirm the system requirements?
Question11: What are the names of the continents?
Question12: Is there inertia?(let's say that you are on a bus. When you jump while in the bus, you don't go flying back like in most videogames. Will this, and any other problems with physics, be a problem?)
:confused: :confused: :confused:

[Tolvy]

Name: {BT}Tolvy

Question1: Will there only be two status bars (health and stamina)?
Question2: How high will you be able to fly in the vehicles?
Question3: Which vehicle goes the fastest?
Question4: What visible feture will distinguish outfits?
Question5: Will you be able to build your own facilities, buildings, or cities?
Question6: Will you be able to eventually create your own empire?
Question7: Can you swim between continents and can your swimming skill improve?

That's all for now

[RocketFodder]

A lot of these questions are known :/

Release - Q1 2003 (March)
You can't swim between continents--only warp gates and orbital drop.
You can't build shit.
You can't create your own empire.. HONESTLY, WTF WERE YOU THINKING? ROFL :x
There's an armor bar as well, and a speed indicator in vehicles.
The videos show "deathmatch" because they just wanted to show some generic action for E3 reporters at the time. No game systems were in place, it was very basic then. It is completely different now.
Most MMOS have a private, closed beta, then an open beta for stress testing.

That's all for now

[TreizeAtreides]

PSI's current list of Q's can be found here: http://www.planetside.info/forum/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=1118

Still working on a good 5th one.

[snipe]

Name: Snipe
Question: will there be a cert tree? and can you tell us some of the certs?
Question2: How extensive will the bases be underground?
Wuestion3 How will you pick the people that will be in your squad for a mission?

[Metacom]

Your name:Metacom

question one: as we all have found out in many other FPS sniping can be a great support class and also one of the most annoying, so are you, or what is going to happen when we get like 100+ snipers all in a general area where the infantry men cant even get outta thier building without loosing thier head, will you have to train specially in the sniper cert. or will there be an effective means to uprooting snipers?

question two: Aiming, as in battle field 1942...the aiming is quite odd where you have to aim very far infront of the target just to get a few bullets to hit...so in ps are the bullets going to be relevant to distance? or is it more of an arcade style aiming where you just put the aimer on the person and bam...or do you have to lead them?

[afex]

if you steal an enemy vehicle/weapon, can you retain use of it after logging off?

[Validuz]

Name: Validuz

Q1: May I beta....nevermind, I can wait....or TRY to wait.

Q2: How does respawning work? In a"spawn armor"(default) or with whatever you have selected.

Q3: Is this one HUGE server we are going to be playing on? Because it seems like it has to be the way Ive been hearing about it. "Defending bases for long periods of time"

Q4: How high can you fly in the vehicles? (yes, there has to be a joke question in every post)

[ChrisMOG]

Name: ChrisMOG
Q1: How is the audio system going to work? (IE ambient music*/configurable playlist...or will we just use winamp...)
Q2: When you capture a base, can you upgrade any of its systems, namely the defensive systems (turrets blaa blaa).


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BTW I would have to say MechWarrior2 / MW2: Mercs had the best soundtrack of any game I have ever played :)

[Zarparchior]

Name: Zarparchior

#1: WTF is PlanetSide?

No no... seriously though.

#1: Will looted/stolen weapons/vehicles be able to be kept after logging out?

#2: If you have a vehicle, damaged but intact, and you need to log out, would you have to wait through the timer to make another vehicle or would there be some way to save your precious time and "deconstruct" the vehicle so that you don't have that timer looming over your head?

#3: Will you have to have a cert to use enemy vehicle/weapons, or are certs only used for creating the vehicles/equipment?

#4: I dislike snipers. I dislike snipers a lot. In fact, my dislike for snipers is very high. And as a matter of fact, you could probably say my dislike for snipers is very very high. But I understand that they are a good support class and have their place... but... grrrr! I dislike them so! But maybe that's because in other games they are gravely overpowered. Anyway, I know that the only sniper rifle (Bolt Driver) has a long delay, but is it enough? I guess I shouldn't be asking this. As a matter of fact, ignore this question. I must wait for Beta.

#5: You get BEP for killin' and CEP for capturin'. Yay! But... CEP is shrouded in mystery. What does it do? I know it makes you feel more important, but what effect will it have upon THEE CAHRAKTAHR?! Will they have more options available for leading? A better map? A better communication system? More studly looking (like myself)? I dunno, it's just that being a leader sounds like fun and I was just curious as to what CEP can actually do for you.

#6: I'm a very smart individual. I can notate things very well, and enjoy doing so. I am also very observant and can find bugs quickly and effeciently... Unfortunately, I've never had the benefit or past experience of being in a game trial period. This isn't referring to Beta at all! You know... I was just wondering that when something like that occurs... that... well, maybe you could think about allowing myself to qualify. I meet all requirements - I'm sure! I just haven't been in one before. It's like having no credit. You can't take a loan to get good credit, so you're stuck in an paradox. So... when you take that fleeting glance at my name on that oh-so-long list... just consider it. Please?

#7: ...Can't... refrain... any... longer... ARGH! When-the-hell-is-Beta-it-was-supposed-to-be-a-long-time-ago-but-I-understand-that-the-game-needed-to-be-in-working-order-and-I-totally-agree-with-that-so-keep-on-working-hard-and-doing-your-dev-jobs-well-you-are-really-cool-so-when-is-it? (Long breath) Err... I'll just lie down for a second.

#8: It has been discussed a bit... but what about vehicle explosions? If you're sitting in you Hover-Buggy and out of nowhere - BOOM! 7 Striker missles come and make your poor poor Herby feel the wrath of the Terran Empire. Will you instantly be toasted along with your vehicle? Do you try to bail out before they hit? Do you hit the eject button? Does it eject you automatically? What happens? Come on! What?

#9: I know this is more of a question regarding Beta... but in proportion, how many of the total certs can you have at any given time? Only 1/3 of the amount? More or less than that? Also, will certs be in a skill tree or will they be stand alone?

#10: Choosing an empire is hard... It will be difficult for new players to choose a side just based on the information given. A lot of people like to FEEL how a playing style is before they actually would like to dedicate themselves to that cause. So... my question is: Will there be a Tutorial or Training room/program/drug that will allow you to see all the types of empire specific weapons and vehicles? I know Beta will be the training grounds for the luckier of us, but what about players who only find out about this game after release?

#11: Lag is the killing factor in many, many MMO games. I'm not going to ask will this be really laggy, because that'd be ignorant on my part. So... I rephrased it slightly. Since the issue of lag is on everyone's mind, how did you guys deal with it? New netcode? Uber server farms? Revolutionary block box can't-talk-about-it-or-I'd-have-to-kill-you stuff? Just more curious than anything else. :D

#12: That thing where you guys let quasi-normal people test is soon... I can't seem to remember the name of it (starts with a 'B' I think... also has an 'e,' 't,' and 'a' in it if I remember correctly). Anyway, have any idea when that is? You know... if it's like soon? Or not soon? Sooner than not soon? Please? Just a small, non-commital time frame? No? Alright... :(

#13: :thumbsup: Good work! You guys r0x0r!

#14: (just remembered right now) How does the game handle reloading? Is it clips or bullets? What I mean by this is: You're running around... feelin' smart. You fire off 4 rounds of your 17 clip handgun. You reload. Will 4 bullets just be subtracted from the total amount of bullets you have, or will a clip be rotated with another clip? i.e. if you keep firing off 4 rounds and reloading, eventualy you'll end up reloading with clips that only have 13 shots left. Make sense? :ugh:

**edit: added question #14...

[Lazare]

Name: Lazare
Q1: Will there be multimonitor support for command issues. Like have one Monitor show the surroundings to navigate your char and one for the map?

Q2:Can i get into beta? :p

just the first is serious. no further question.

[Kaikou]

Zarparchior, for question #14 you mean reloading in BF1942 compared to SOF2? I think I know what you mean...interesting question

[Zarparchior]

Exactly Kaikou! It was something that came up in the disorder known as the PSI message boards... And it IS something I've been wondering as of late also. While it probably wouldn't affect gameplay horribly... it is something that would change the style of the game.

Maybe they'll combine both of the styles depending on weapon type? :confused:

[Hamma]

This special is finally winding down, I will compile the question list Tuesday Afternoon

[half the sky]

half the sky
Question 1: Any chance of jetpacks? (please)

Question 2: Breast implants for the female players? (I didn't say that)

Question 3: Will this game be suitable for ladder or league play?

Question 4: How much will it cost me to purchase/play this game for 6 months?

Question 5: Make me want to play this game! (tell me why I want it)

Question 6: Will the physics in the initial release be final or will they be continuously tweaked along with bug fixes in patches?

[Validuz]

/me gets all excited and huggles Hts!

w0000t

<3 hts ;p

[Meckon]

NAME: Meckon

Question1: Are Helmets seperate from suits/armor? (If I use the stealth suit do I need to use that ugly welding helmet?)

Question2: Can you Hack while in "stealth mode?"

thanks for this opportunity PU.....

[Unregistered]

Name: Unregistered

1) Can the MAX carry more then one weapon?

2) Can you mix and match weapons with the MAX?

3) Will a player be able to buy the vechicle/armor of their dreams right from the gate, or will everyone start out as a grunt and have to work their way to up? Example: Will Hamma get his Masquito the first day, or will he have sweep and swab the hanger for a few weeks to get one?

4) Can we get some sort of nifty cool graphics to go with the Implant/Grenade information you gave us last time? Their sections of the site don't look as nifty and cool as the weapons section where we have the little pictures.

[RocketFodder]

How could anyone get a vehicle on the first day, when certifications are required to purchase/use them?

[Unregistered]

So how do you earn a Piolets Cert if you've never flown anything? How do I get to be a tank driver if I can't drive a tank? I think it's a valid question since no ones really answered what it will be like when we start from scratch.

The question was mainly directed at the Armor classes. Can you get a MAX out the gate? What about the Stealth Suit?

There has to be some leway especially on the vechicales. I mean are we all going to be running around naked on foot for the first month? How fun does that sound?

I'm all for earning certs to fly/drive/use bigger and better things, but we need something other then our feet to get us to the action the day the game is released.

[RocketFodder]

Um, it HAS been covered, had you bothered looking, you'd know this. In fact, I believe it was covered quite nicely in the last developer chat.

If you don't have the cert, you can't use whatever is restricted. If everyone could magically use anything, anytime, how would this game be any more persistant than a huge TFC server?

[Hamma]

If I am not mistaken you can use vehicles in VR, he does have a point, how are you supposed to certify and know you like to drive the vehicle if they dont let u get in one beforehand ;)

[Hamma]

The final Question list is being compiled and I will post it in a new thread when I send it :)