Keep the 3 factions?

[Navaron]

I personally don't give a fuck about any of the three factions.

If PS2 is going to use them again, or create new ones, they need to create a backstory with some actual depth. I never gave a fuck who I was killing, there was no animosity, no real reason to get back at any of them.

PS needs to get away from being perfectly balanced (even WoW is running into this) and more towards 3 unique and different factions, ala Starcraft. I would like to see some story driven events, simple things, like the devs contact the leaders of 2 major guilds, let them "warp" into an enemy capital and trigger an even that destroys that capital and everything in it. Create some real grief and drama. It needs to be player driven, not just backstory in the intro movie.

[Ait'al]

But it was orriginally like starcraft. That being wiped out was part of the problem. And everyone screamed for it to die. Even though it was the dumbest thing to ask for.

I say we need (the ever forgotten) quad shot back on the NC AA. flight ceiling removed(all from the original), kill by emp added to air again, turret damage put back, all proper ground(vehicle and people) and air speeds reset and the addition again of the orginal surge not to confuse adding proper terrain interaction back, Proper terrain interation back(I'm sure that would be about impossible),temporary removal of anything not in the original release and redevelopemnt to go with the new game. 8)

They could call it a temporal phenomenon and have it coalesce with the new games creation. they could then take the new game in the direction the old game was headed with the newer things like bfrs and it's design, and add a new engine etc,(or slightly different design so they can reset it and remove things that were problem, or reconfigure them etc) with the old game being reset. Or the opposite with the old game then going back to it's original form with some interesting new abilities built in to accomplish this, with the new game being redesigned from the original PS. (both being different apps like an alternate reality. In this case literally spawning the new game)

Then you can have multiple games without the problem of different servers making game changes harder to adjust to as that was a problem people didn't like if they were to have made each server a unique game or something.

[Tikuto]

I'd like to see a change in the factions, both playable and new non-playable factions.


I like the Terran Republic and the Vanu Sovereignty together despite the little I know about them though I'd rather have the Vanu Sovereignty actually be the alien species on PlanetSide. I'd like to see NPC groups including those that are not part of the war and protest this fight for the planet, and are maybe in favor for the New Conglomerate.


PLAYABLE FACTIONS: Terran Republic (INCENTIVE: Almost infinate resources and reserves, and military-minded motivation to sustain a powerful presence: Decrease construction timers, boost damage output)
New Conglomerate (INCENTIVE: A huge reinforcement from an NPC faction, the Militia. Excessive population with both player-faction and NPC-faction - "CHAAARRGH!")
Auraxian Sovereign (INCENTIVE: Passive boast of power from Vanu technology manipulation and including an ability to protect themselves [defensive incentive]. Also, no harm from Vanu aliens unless challenged)

Black Operations (INCENTIVE: Same things as those of PlanetSide1)


NON-PLAYABLE FACTIONS: Vanu - the remaining highly elusive and technologically-advanced alien species that had already fled the planet before humans arrived.
Civilians, Militia, other - human war protesters supporting the New Conglomorate willing to help when summoned.

[DviddLeff]

What I want them to do with the factions is differentiate them further; for example they could:

VS:
All the VS vehicles hover
All their weapons use the same charge packs, or even make them all use a recharging capacitor with no ammo whatsoever.
Give agile armour MAX style jump packs

TR:
Half respawn timers for both players and vehicles.
Put extra passenger slots on most TR vehicles, with guns, but make sure that the same numbers are needed to output similar damage to other empires vehicles.
Agile armour scrapped and replaced with a version of Rexo that is slower, but has double the carrying capacity and changes the clips of all weapons (bar obvious ones like the Bolt driver) by making them belt fed, simply removing all need to reload and you'l only stop when you run out of bullets.

NC:
Scrap agile armour and replace it with a heavy MAX suit (more armour, bigger guns, still allowed indoors).
Shields on most of their vehicles automatically

Most of these are quick ideas, but hopefully one or two may have some merit!

[Firefly]

Black Operations is a stupid fucking idea. Half the fucking dolts who thought of it thinks "black ops" is some sort of Navy SEAL bullshit. And the very concept of an "empire" named Black Operations within Planetside is a disgustingly and dare I say revoltingly stupid idea.

[Manitou]

I don't care how many factions you have, just make them ideologically opposed and keep people from swapping at the drop of a hat.

[Hamma]

VERY important, the empire swapping was one of the destroying factors of the game. There was no penalty for just switching sides when things weren't going well.

[Nubcake]

For my vote I say keep the 3 factions, it adds variety to things.
I also agree with DviddLeff that there's more to distinguish each faction from the others other than a colour scheme. I have some minor disagreements with some of the things he put down but since it was quick I'll skim over them.
Empire swapping is definitely something that needs to be sorted. Going way, way back in time wasn't there a timer ages ago that stopped you logging into another empire for so many hours after logging on? Wonder if something similar could be implemented in PSN but based upon when you finish up with an avatar instead of logging on. IE The timer starts when you log OFF and not on.

Tikuto, the idea of adding in NPCs is cool since it does give the feeling of life to the place but I'm wary of how much extra strain this is. Consider that there needs to be a script or AI program to manage them and project them into the game world which is extra load for the servers which then gets translated onto your connection and then computer. I DO like having greater immersion so perhaps put them in whatever replaces sanc?

----Going off-topic a bit----

I do like sancs since they are a base, the problem is that most of the sanc islands are empty space. Sancs aren't coming back, I think in current format they won't be missed that much. There was something knocking about a while back that said the original idea for the HART was that it'd take you upto a space station where the drop pods were but it was dropped since you loaded an entirely new area for.....a single corridor. Yes, a corridor. One that led from the HART dock to the drop pods. I vote we bring this idea back and have sancs as space stations. That way everyone has a safe place to meet up, plan the next attack, work on their tan, etc. but its compact so you're not running around the whole damn island. Plus can you imagine a massive observation window on the station where you could look out and see the planet you're fighting for! (Assuming of course that we ARE fighting over a planet again).

----Back on Topic----

So, yup. Stick with the 3 factions. Possibly not elmos, smurfs and those ones but I'd prefer to see us continue with them somehow since it gives a sense of continuity with the old which, for all its flaws we all enjoy (why else would we be here otherwise?). Also, NC armour is as sexy as hell, TR love their gimp masks and ze goggles and VS, I dunno, like their spandex?

[Furret]

Yeah, if there's a reason to join a faction and stick with it people would be less likely to switch factions at the drop of a hat.

Whether it's a motto, a style of play, or a difference in weaponry, there needs to be a factor that draws certain players to certain factions and keeps them there.

[KoldFusion]

I think the biggest problem i had with it was not as much as the particular armies..... but the fact that it wasn't more objective driven(at least when i played).... it was mass here... base taken and the opfor would just go take an undefended location. There needs to be more rewards/incentive for outfits holding/patrolling territory. Air lift sqds doing just that.... I guess basically I would like to see it operate more like a real military or real war front.

[Sifer2]

I think 3 is fine. The more you add the less impact an the less distinct they will be. And the more random an clustered combat will become. I mean sure it might be funny to have a 6 or 8 way faction battle a few times but it would quickly become apparent I think that it was too chaotic to work.

An yes the 3 factions should feel as unique as possible with unique weapons an tactics. Though Neutral equipment should be close in power to faction exclusive stuff so balance isn't as big a deal.

Also yeah the ability to swap faction is probably a poor idea an shouldn't be in the next game. I think there should be incentives to keep population balanced though. Like bonus experience towards ranking up if you play on the lesser populated side or something.

[Tikuto]

To refresh my thoughts of this whole matter I'm going to express myself much more simpler:
- I liked the Terran Republic and the New Conglomorate
- I dislike the Vanu Sovereignty and so please replace this minority with something bigger.
- I like three factions; no more - no less.


Well, what would replace Vanu Sovereignty?
Universal Federation / Universal Sovereign - Technologically advanced former universal united commonwealth government that instantly crumbles after the collapse of the Wormhole amongst the distress of mankind, losing almost complete control of society and mankind of Auraxis. What was left of its infinite integrity is now an imperial entity seeking order from chaos with a priority of plausible possiblity to return home to Earth. The Terran Republic are a disbanded member of the united commonwealth and the New Conglomorate decend into disorder amongst chaos, both aroused by the impossiblity of returning home.
The UF/US is at some advantage of returning home (most technologically advanced empire like VS), returning hope to mankind, but cannot ensue because of war. Though seemingly impossible mankind did arrive here to Auraxis and so we shall return home to Earth! That idealism must be preserved!

[DviddLeff]

I'm VS 'til I die, keep the VS!

I would like to see them become more of a techno-cult however.

[Kumoblade]

I would like Vanu more if their lore didn't make them sound like complete pompous egotistical assholes and their armor & weapons weren't completely Anime inspired. =P.

Everytime I see them charging down the battlefield I swear I see "DESU DESU DESU" popping up from their heads in chat bubbles.

I agree that They should be more Techno/Cybercult inspired.

And screw the bubble blaster. This ain't bubble bobble =P.

[ANaKeR]

Exactly three factions with the ability to have characters from one faction only. Switching empires is only possible if you drop all of your current characters and then switch over to another faction and start from nothing.

Virtual shooting range and vehicle testing allows you to choose which faction to go as so you can get a feeling of another faction. Targets move around and shoot back at you.

[DviddLeff]

Why not let a character transfer from one faction to another?

But only once.

[Tikuto]

Just thought of something awesomely cool.



There's the Infantry: Heavy, MAX, Infiltration, Support and all that. Where's the Spy?

A Spy would be able to temporarily change into enemy suits. A highly couragous espionage ability. How it works, I don't know, but it would allow for a player to play as another Empire while still remaining true to their own.

[Kumoblade]

Why not let a character transfer from one faction to another?

But only once.


Which translated into Sony Speak reads the following.

Transfer your character from 1 faction to another for only $35.00

This can only occur once per 3 months.

[ANaKeR]

Here's another idea and it ties in with events:

All players can transfer their characters over to another faction during a "Faction Swap" event.

Over a ~24 hour period, every player can swap factions as many times as they want until the event expires, at which point you are locked in that faction.

[Sifer2]

But why allow them to transfer at all when all it will do is cause people to jump ship off the faction they perceive as being the most underpowered at the time. IMO as long as there are at least 3 servers for the game an you can make a different faction character on each there is no reason you should ever be able to swap your faction on a character.

I just think being stuck with your faction motivates people more an of course makes them rough it out if a patch nerfs something an they believe they suck now. Eventually a patch will buff them again an at least they wont have jumped ship leaving the faction in a bad way.

[Kumoblade]

I want Sony to dedicate at least a solid month to Weapon/gameplay balancing in Open beta, and they had better freaking datamine the hell out of it.

I prefer 3 servers minimum, or if the game starts to fail and they have to close down some servers, consolodate, and just throw a 48 hour lock on the faction you're playing if you want to switch.

Underdogs just really need a reason to fight. If theres a reason to fight, theres a reason to play (and pay).

[Ram]

i would like the 3 empires to remain tof new players, but for players/outfits to 'go rogue', to not be associated with any existing ones, to function as their own organization, capable of capturing bases, and everything you can normally do

[DviddLeff]

Creating your own factions would be cool, but I just worry it would lead to massive zergs and lack of diversity between different sides.

[ANaKeR]

Creating your own factions would not work very well in this game. What you would end up with is large Free-for-all battles where most players are your enemies and base captures would be rare because a single faction would not have the power to kick all of the others out.

Planetside is about fighting battles with hundreds of comrades at your side, fighting for a common cause.

[Sifer2]

Creating your own factions would not work very well in this game. What you would end up with is large Free-for-all battles where most players are your enemies and base captures would be rare because a single faction would not have the power to kick all of the others out.

Planetside is about fighting battles with hundreds of comrades at your side, fighting for a common cause.


Yes either it would be like that or like the guy above says an one group would become an overpopulated Zerg an dominate everyone else. Like you say though Planetside works better when you create your character on a faction an fight with them an for them. Lots of little rogue factions all over the place doing their own thing would mess that up.

[DviddLeff]

Having the three set factions makes PS more or less balanced; at the least numbers wise on a larger scale.

In most MMOs combat is simply not balanced due to different character level or skill totals, while PS breaks the mould in that it has everyone equal, all the time. The only imbalance in PS are small scale weapon statistics, whereas even in player skill based MMOs (like Darkfall or the upcoming Mortal Online) you have to have the same character skill, armour/weapon quality, numbers AND player skill level to compete.

[Vancha]

off-topic:
Since PlanetSide2 is a whole new game yet the same as PlanetSide1, I wouldn't mind some new compelling factions. Story-based hard fiction that we can fully immerse ourselves into and understand why we're fighting a seemingly never-ending war. I feel PlanetSide 1 lacked this important immersion...

I think the old empires should probably stay due to the sheer amount of people who are already attached to their empire. Apart from that I agree with the rest entirely. More back-story and explanations as to who the empire are, where they've come from and where they're going and why would be a welcome addition to the sequel I think.

Personally I'd like to see more individualism among the empires. No more common vehicles like the skyguard or galaxy. Everything should be plastered with their empires traits...including bases and potentially sanctuaries. A base claimed by vanu should look vanu, and if it then gets captured by TR, it should slowly morph into a TR-looking entity afterwards.

As far as *how* the empires would be changed...the sky seems to be the limit. I think you'd need to make all the empires somewhat more technologically advanced to reflect the time passed since PS1. Other than that...

- I'd like to see the Vanu Sovereignty become a little more regal. Perhaps make the purple and turquoise a little paler and add some pearl/gold in there (pale gold, to differentiate it from NC yellow)...That should make them look more like a technological kingdom. Their tech's now using bright glowy gloopy liquid as energy.

- As far as the TR go, they seem to be the furthest behind technologically, so being the steampunk fan I am, I think I'd send them in that direction. Darken the red, keep the black and replace the grey with iron, bronze and copper. These guys are going down the steam-powered route. Prepare for pollution.

- That leaves the NC. I'm not exactly sure what we'd do with them...perhaps concentrate on the patriotism. Come up with something not entirely dissimilar to the imperial eagle from warhammer spacemarines/imperial guard and slam it on everything they have. They'd keep their blue and strong yellow and add black to their repertoire of colours (Why? NC's BR25 agile armour looks awesome, that's why). By process of elimination, these guys would be getting their energy from electricity/gauss/fusion - cleaner than TR but sparkier than VS.