Fan Faire Q&A Part 2

[Hamma]

http://www.planetside-universe.com/news-fan-faire-qa-part-1-2495.htm

[Hamma]

We have some face time this morning with the Lead Dev, then coming up at 10AM is the live panel where the entire Fan Faire can participate.

[basti]

AWESOME! GO HAMMA GO!


And make sure to ask about the "Jetpacks".

And if its not on your list yet: ask if there are any kind of Bots/AI in the game.

[Goku]

Hamma could you try and squeeze more info about the "class" system? Can you say still have HA and use a med app to heall yourself or do you need a med class that doesn't have HA to do that?

I do find the missions interesting. If I not mistaken MAG has a missions to help make people go throughout the map (not one giant zerg). Yet, I hear people ignore them and everyone is clustered in one area fighting lol.

[Lunarchild]

And if its not on your list yet: ask if there are any kind of Bots/AI in the game.

That question should be answered with: Only in the practice range.... Otherwise that'd be 100% against the Planetside philosophy ;) Well, I'll allow some AI for automatic turrets and such ^^

[basti]

Yes, i agree. And thats why i want to know if they just fucked it up and added bots, or if they got a clue and kept them out for good.

Its unlikley that they have bots. After all, everyone understands that creating a useful bot is impossible. :)

[Brokinarrow]

Is there going to be a live stream of the dev panel Q & A? -edit- doh, nevermind, it's on the front page :facepalm:

[Straws]

I hope the territories idea will be as grand as many of us suggested. If it is, then I see it as a replacement of the lattice system and we'll be able to carve our own way from facility to facility. Looking forward to this now :)

Regarding bots, I can imagine that SOE have learnt that variety is important. Hopefully there will be many pure PvP areas (i.e 80% of combat is PvP) and there is a small section of OPTIONAL play versus bots. This would be a small scale combat system where the first team to defeat the bots get something special. Think Core Cambat locations, but with more to do.

[Firefly]

In addition to my number one concern about marketing-marketing-marketing... I'm curious about the stuff they've brought up. All in all, a fair amount of posters on this forum have really gotten some good questions together - even some of the people I fucking despise.:D

[Straws]

In addition to my number one concern about marketing-marketing-marketing...

Don't worry, I'm sure TB will cover the game at some point. Love him or hate him, he will get this game more attention than any other source.

[Firefly]

Don't worry, I'm sure TB will cover the game at some point. Love him or hate him, he will get this game more attention than any other source.
Who the fuck is TB?

Yes, I live under a rock.

[p0intman]

any info on the command system?

[yonman]

Level playing field! Give me BR5 vs BR25 combat where the underdog has a chance! or give me ... I dunno, something else but level playing field is definitely preferable.

[Whoknowswhat1]

At first i was very hesitant to accept the idea of classes and constant skill training, but this post has helped ease my suffering. but how much faster could it go, as to keep to the level playing field for people who cant log on much (or who dont care and raid-log)

[Whoknowswhat1]

Regarding bots, I can imagine that SOE have learnt that variety is important. Hopefully there will be many pure PvP areas (i.e 80% of combat is PvP) and there is a small section of OPTIONAL play versus bots. This would be a small scale combat system where the first team to defeat the bots get something special. Think Core Cambat locations, but with more to do.

Maybe the Virtual Reality to train/test weapons against people with different certs/armor types... Thumbs up for that

[Hamma]

There are jetpacks in the game and they will be used as jump jets rather than a full scale jetpack. Using it means you will have to sacrifice other things, ie you would be in a smaller armor or something.

[xcel]

I hope the territories idea will be as grand as many of us suggested. If it is, then I see it as a replacement of the lattice system and we'll be able to carve our own way from facility to facility. Looking forward to this now :)

Regarding bots, I can imagine that SOE have learnt that variety is important. Hopefully there will be many pure PvP areas (i.e 80% of combat is PvP) and there is a small section of OPTIONAL play versus bots. This would be a small scale combat system where the first team to defeat the bots get something special. Think Core Cambat locations, but with more to do.

I strongly disagree with this....no bots WHAT SO EVER...this isn't global agenda....this is planetside....adding bots in any aspect would corrupt what makes planetside, well, planetside!

[Lunarchild]

Hamma, when you wrote this


The certification tree will be revamped. Classes in PlanetSide 2 are completely free form you will be able to switch seamlessly. You will not be locked into specific roles.

You will be able to deeply specialize in trees as well as be a jack of all trades. It will be a time based offline and online training system.

Does that mean that the class system is somewhat like Modern Warfare, in that there might be a couple of pre-created classes, but you will also be able to create your own combinations? Or was that not clear from the Q&A?

[Aractain]

Who the fuck is TB?

Yes, I live under a rock.

I think he means TotalBiscuit, he used to play Planetside (and whore the forums like a real PS player).

[Straws]

Who the fuck is TB?

Yes, I live under a rock.

He's one of a handful of Planetside players that made efforts to promote the game (http://forums.station.sony.com/ps/posts/list.m?topic_id=88000023618) while SOE were taking their time to do anything.

He is a very opinionated gamer to say the least. More than happy to challenge most opinions regarding the video games market.

His youtube channel was quite popular for a while, even if it was only used as a place for some players of WoW to vent their hatred for him. At the end of the day, serveral hundred thousand general gamers view his channel (or did before he stopped covering WoW).

Due to his passion for PS, I fully expect him to cover PS2, and as long as it doesn't upset him like Duke Nukem Forever did, then hopefully it'll garner the attention of the most important gamer of them all, the ones that have never heard of Planetside.

I strongly disagree with this....no bots WHAT SO EVER...this isn't global agenda....this is planetside....adding bots in any aspect would corrupt what makes planetside, well, planetside!

I agree with your sentiment, but I do not agree that it would be a smart approach for the long term goals and success of the game. Remember, Planetside is a game that a lot of gamers should've heard of, but haven't. This is a game that peaked at 60,000 subs, that's just too low and I do not want to see PS2 follow suit.

If bots are used intelligently, and in a way where the main aspect of the game is unaffected by them, then you open the game up to people that are a little dubious of pure PvP titles, and through sampling, they end up enjoying the core features of the game and the large scale combat gets larger.

Do not underestimate variety when it comes to the longevity and appeal of a video game. I for one will be pretty pissed off if after two years we end up stuck in a three-way around a single facility on Cyssor for 3 days straight because there's not enough players to attack anywhere else with actual enjoyment.

[Hamma]

Part 2 posted.

http://www.planetside-universe.com/news-fan-faire-qa-part-2-2499.htm

[duomaxwl]

Even though I'm a third person whore, I'm kind of glad it'll be gone.

[DviddLeff]

Very, very pleased to see third person go.

Grumpy and confused as to the 15-20% advantage vets get through specialisation.

[Rbstr]

I think we're talking a 15-25% difference cumulative advantage from specialization.

So you get 5% more armor, 5% more HP, and a gun with 5% more ROF and 5% more rounds.
But I doubt we're going to get things like guns that are simply better and don't involve tradeoffs.

[xcel]

I keep getting more and more disappointed...no specific bases? No third person? WTF. What's next? No base links/benefits?

[Goku]

I keep getting more and more disappointed...no specific bases? No third person? WTF. What's next? No base links/benefits?

1. Specific bases on in benefits like Tech or Repair? Still sounds like there will be different base layouts at least.

2. Third person I am happy to see go. Only other FPS I played that had it was Renegade. Not worrying about people wall humping is awesome. This will make for more interesting base hold layouts too.

3. I am still unsure about the base links. From the sounds of it I think it is base to base with secure areas, but not as confining as a lattice system. Benefits will be more based on the territory you own as well.

[Bags]

Sad to see third person go, sad to see vets will get big advantages (though I guess implants already do that) everything else sounds bad fucking ass.

Hiding in clouds? Damn.

[CutterJohn]

Very, very pleased to see third person go.

I don't mind it gone for infantry, but will definitely miss it for vehicles, especially if ramming grief makes a return. Hopefully we'll still be allowed to look around though, and not through some grainy filter that makes it look like a tv.

At the very least one hopes the vehicles have actual shocks. 3rd person was necessary in PS to avoid headaches more than anything else. :lol:

[BorisBlade]

3rd person in vehicles is a must, thats a given. And the removal of it from infantry is awesome. It promoted too many lame tactics.

[stargazer093]

hmm...so with HART and Sanctuary gone, how will new players get instructions and trainings about how to play?

[Bags]

3rd person in vehicles is a must, thats a given. And the removal of it from infantry is awesome. It promoted too many lame tactics.

"it countered my playstyle of blindly running around corners and not using my radar thus it's lame"

[morf]

hmm...so with HART and Sanctuary gone, how will new players get instructions and trainings about how to play?

Point at purple guy. Pull trigger.

Good luck soldier.

[Sifer2]

3rd person in vehicles is a must, thats a given. And the removal of it from infantry is awesome. It promoted too many lame tactics.


It's not a must at all. No Battlefield 3 trailer has shown 3rd person vehicles yet. It's really not that hard people have just gotten used to the lazy arcade style of vehicle control. First person though will add a lot more skill to it especially air combat. I'm guessing he means Galaxy dropships will be the only vehicles that retain 3rd person due to their size landing might be tough otherwise.

But yeah i'm looking forward to the playing the entire game first person like it should be. Now only Infiltrators get to exploit corners an they actually need it lol.

All in all the game is sounding more an more awesome. Funny we were all so pessimistic getting no info. We didn't expect much but we got a truckload these past two days.

[Firefly]

Funny we were all so pessimistic getting no info. We didn't expect much but we got a truckload these past two days.
My ex-wife used to love sucking my dick. Then we got married and overnight the BJs dried up. "I'm married, I don't have to do that anymore." I came to expect it and when it stopped, boy was I pissed. And this went on forever. I got to a point where I didn't expect much, and then one day after about six years she surprised me.

Kinda the same thing here. You can't really blame anyone for being pessimistic.

[Aractain]

This is clearly going to be a very different game but still no third person is very good. Third person was a crutch I used that just took too much of the game away and its boring.

[CutterJohn]

It's not a must at all. No Battlefield 3 trailer has shown 3rd person vehicles yet. It's really not that hard people have just gotten used to the lazy arcade style of vehicle control. First person though will add a lot more skill to it especially air combat. I'm guessing he means Galaxy dropships will be the only vehicles that retain 3rd person due to their size landing might be tough otherwise.

What use was third person with air? Its only use for me was on the ground, to avoid motion sickness from the lack of shocks and to keep from running into stuff because lolinvincibletreesthatstopyouinstantly and people who can't watch where they run.

It gave the drivers a bit better situational awareness directly around the vehicle. Little else. You certainly didn't shoot from that view.


Mayhaps we should include e-brakes and manual transmissions and switches on a 3d dashboard so its not too arcady..

[LordReaver]

The third-person arguments are shit. Everybody has it, everybody uses it. With it gone, YOU WILL STILL HAVE CORNER CAMPERS. Look no further than COD for example. People do it, because it is smart tactically. It's called "ambushing". If you are having trouble with corners, just tell yourself there is an enemy on every turn, and presto, problem solved. When I die to a corner camper, that is my fault, not theirs. If I know they are there and die, I have failed. If I don't know they are there, I'm just being stupid. The whole point of the open world, is that there's the possibility of an enemy on any corner, including the "safe" ones. Sure, that corner camper might just be looking for easy kills, but the reason they are easy kills is because of you.

This is the same shit with Interlinks. "Oh, the radar gives the defenders a huge advantage!!" Bullshit you fucking loser, you know where they are too. You can see and hear their shots ripping through your buddy who just ran into a corner humper...

[SKYeXile]

What use was third person with air?



observe:

YouTube - ***x202a;skyvsn00bs***x202c;‏

everytime a player isnot in my crosshair im in 3rd person view, this gives me grater field of vision to evade the enemy and get behind them.

[Straws]

The third-person arguments are shit. Everybody has it, everybody uses it. With it gone, YOU WILL STILL HAVE CORNER CAMPERS. Look no further than COD for example. People do it, because it is smart tactically. It's called "ambushing". If you are having trouble with corners, just tell yourself there is an enemy on every turn, and presto, problem solved. When I die to a corner camper, that is my fault, not theirs. If I know they are there and die, I have failed. If I don't know they are there, I'm just being stupid. The whole point of the open world, is that there's the possibility of an enemy on any corner, including the "safe" ones. Sure, that corner camper might just be looking for easy kills, but the reason they are easy kills is because of you.

This is the same shit with Interlinks. "Oh, the radar gives the defenders a huge advantage!!" Bullshit you fucking loser, you know where they are too. You can see and hear their shots ripping through your buddy who just ran into a corner humper...

It couldn't be countered in a few small select situations. Interlink radars cannot be compared because they can be countered, and in multiple ways. You can't counter the 'T' button.

And at the end of the day, if it's not a problem because "everyone has it", then it wont matter when everyone doesn't have it. If you're trying to argue that it being there is ok because it's an equal playing field, then it being gone is also an equal playing field.

The only reason to complain about it's removal is because it gave you an advantage. If that advantage could be countered, then yeah, removing it would be the shittiest decision of all time.

[Firefly]

Part 2 posted.

http://www.planetside-universe.com/news-fan-faire-qa-part-2-2499.htm
One of you needs a goddamn class in English 101.

[LordReaver]

It couldn't be countered in a few small select situations. Interlink radars cannot be compared because they can be countered, and in multiple ways. You can't counter the 'T' button.

And at the end of the day, if it's not a problem because "everyone has it", then it wont matter when everyone doesn't have it. If you're trying to argue that it being there is ok because it's an equal playing field, then it being gone is also an equal playing field.

The only reason to complain about it's removal is because it gave you an advantage. If that advantage could be countered, then yeah, removing it would be the shittiest decision of all time.

Where exactly did I lead you to believe I cared about it's removal? I never said anything about my feelings towards it. Only that I found the arguments against it as fluff.

[Moneypennie]

I hope this game supports headtracking. Makes third person for vehicles and air less essential. Also adds to infantry play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wXx3vMy_AQ

You should be able to use a kinect, trackir5, and even smart phone/tablets for head tracking.

[BorisBlade]

"it countered my playstyle of blindly running around corners and not using my radar thus it's lame"

No, didnt say that and no need to justify usin it man, settle down it wasnt cheating.

I use my radar and i dont blindly run around corners but radar doesn help when you are behind the corner looking around it with third person and not moving. I cant see you visually or on radar but you can see me comin. You should be using your radar and stop tryin to cheat your view.

Its better to have to stop and peek around the corner to see whats there, you take the risk peeking around just like you would in real life. You dont get psychic ghost views from a magical camera in the air to let you see around you with no risk. Peek around, see whats there if its clear then move ahead. Or if you see em comin on radar wait til that blip is near you then hop out and fire away.

The goal is a better more enjoyable fight and no 3rd person does that. Maybe not for you, but letting you have a gun that fired an OS every second would be more fun for you too but not for the game overall.

[Straws]

Where exactly did I lead you to believe I cared about it's removal? I never said anything about my feelings towards it. Only that I found the arguments against it as fluff.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but your post was indicating that 3rd person was not a problem. You stated that "everyone has it and every uses it" in addition to "it's my fault if I die to them, not theirs". Now, you never said that you love or hate 3rd person and that you happy or sad about it's removal, that's fine, if I gave you the impression that I was commenting on that, then you have my apologies.

However, from those comments, it seemed clear to me that you were justifying the tactic of corner camping whilst using 3rd person view. If you weren't, then you can disregard the rest of this post, in addition to my apologies for misinterpreting your post.

Now, as I mentioned, 3rd person is only a legitimate issue for small selective situations. The main one being tower capture. Now, break it down to it's foundations. You have the tower defenders and the tower attackers. Those defending have advantages, these advantages range from motion trackers and interlink radar (when within the SOI of a linked facility), in addition you have implants that assist. Now, these advantages need counters, and they all have them. This results in certain player set-ups being ideal at attacking a tower. Namely, infiltrators. Now, here's the problem, the counter for smart tower defense in completely countered by 3rd person, to the point where infiltrators are actually the worse choice for capturing a tower. Alternatively the counter is AI MAXes, but we all know how useless they are in confined spaces (as they should be).

This is the train of thought that will always result in my trying to explain why the feature of 3rd person is neither ok or fun on the infantry level of the game.

To put it one final way, I always sucked at one on one gunfights, but by using the 3rd person view, I suddenly started winning against players I know would beat me if I didn't use the technique. If something negates player skill that much, how can anyone say that there's nothing wrong with it? Regardless of whether they actually care about it's removal or not?

[Hamma]

I keep getting more and more disappointed...no specific bases? No third person? WTF. What's next? No base links/benefits?

From what I've understood this game will be based around resources in a much more tactical way. It will create a more fluid form of gameplay where you aren't focusing on the same bases over and over and over again.

You can work to capture a river bend, or a forrest for example to gain the resources that are there.

In short, PlanetSide 2 won't totally revolve around bases.

[Grimster]

In short, PlanetSide 2 won't totally revolve around bases.

I think this defiantly is a step in the right direction and I find the approach they are taking in PS2 quite interesting.


I can't wait to get more info on this. :)

[LostSoul]

I'm pretty sure that they already covered AI, and that it won't be in the game initially but they would be looking at implementing it for "empire wide events" such as an alien invasion.

To be honest, i'm quite liking the way they are approaching this.

I'm digesting all the new information, keep it up PSU!

[basti]

Ohhh, good stuff. They actually tried the exact same idea for planetside during alpha, but they scrapped that rather quick because they couldnt get the AI and the pathing right.

[texico]

I was a little confused about the classing system.

Any news on if we're still going to see PlanetSide's inventory system in PS2? I could carry around a backpack full of beamers because I wanted to.

Seriously though, it would be a major shame if that went. I don't like the idea of having a gun glued to me with a pre-determined clip (even if that was somehow upgradable).

I'm in two minds about third person. I felt a sense of security having it; then again it causes major frustration for stealth game play (I suspect the cloakers will be loving this). Too many times you'll approach healing infantry from behind with SS only to see them jump up and start shooting, like they have an extra sense.

It's a shame to see the Sanctuary go but it won't effect gameplay much. I think they could have jazzed the concept up a bit. 98% of each sanctuary was depressingly deserted for all of PlanetSide's lifespan. Just having stuff going on on the actual land --Opening tutorials, "virtual reality", perhaps a vast display of up-to-date tactical information, visuals and stats, together with a larger pop and a smaller island -- it might have been a nice place to cool off, do some non-combat stuff (screenshots, video footage, outfit and squad recruitment, etc) and so on. Perhaps pretty pointless I guess, but a nice little touch if it didn't require much effort.

I'm largely excited and impressed. I don't want to make negative assumptions too quickly either; missions could be cheesy, or they could be implemented spectacularly and organically.





I really hope they don't screw up sniping mechanics though. Perhaps the most well-balanced aspect of the game.

[Livefire]

3rd person for infantry absolutely should be gone 3rd person for fighting aircraft maybe but non shooting ground vehicles like driving a tank with no driver gun absolutely should be in game. I use to organize and run tank columns all the time, this would be a total mess if the drivers don't use third person view we would specifically train are tank drivers to always drive in this view otherwise they would be hitting and running over friendlies all the time. Either give ground vehicle drivers third person view or give us HEAD TRACKER free look and A TRIPLE HEAD VIDEO CARD CAPABLE GAME or you will have friendly infantry pancakes surrounding every heavy vehicle that suppose to be supporting there little ground pounding buddies in the game. Its Your choice SOE!

[Lazza]

I'm glad 3rd person is out... after all it's the genre is MMO "FPS"... as long as everyone is playing with the same rules i don't see the problem.

[1Shotwonder]

I don't like the sound of classes it seems like they will be taking away from custom load outs I won't be able to have my mcg and my medical applicator :/ I don't like this at all its all about the load outs and if that's gone I think it will be pretty gay I want to hear more on this class stuff. Also the third person I will miss its not like you could do much with it but was a nice thing to have but it is an fps after all still sucks though.... can't wait to get more info. Have millions of questions in my head and can't wait for the info to answer them

[Bags]

I don't like the sound of classes it seems like they will be taking away from custom load outs I won't be able to have my mcg and my medical applicator :/ I don't like this at all its all about the load outs and if that's gone I think it will be pretty gay I want to hear more on this class stuff. Also the third person I will miss its not like you could do much with it but was a nice thing to have but it is an fps after all still sucks though.... can't wait to get more info. Have millions of questions in my head and can't wait for the info to answer them

Q: If I have heavy assault(example) will I be able to heal myself at all, or am I 100% dependent on a medic / engineer??
[Self healing]
Matt: you'll probably have at least some capacity to heal yourself, but this is something we're actively designing and iterating at the moment.

Matt: We're definitely still in the meat of the development cycle, which means that more passes are being done on art, systems, balance, particles, etc.
- the cert system is really, really free-form. You can be as specialized or generalized as you want to be. If you want to put all your advancement time into Reavers you can do that, and you'll have a more maneuverable, durable and powerful vehicle with plenty of options for secondary weapons and fun gadgets. If you want to spread your certification across lots of different things and be more of a jack of all trades, go for it.
- The flight mechanics are a lot more realistic than the flying camera PS1 vehicles. We're using PhysX for all our vehicles.

hat you're describing is basically what we're doing. You can switch classes, loadouts, etc situationally. Either when you respawn or at equipment terminals.
-I agree the ps1 had a great system, we're definitely keeping the spirit of that system in ps2. What you won't have is a dude that looks like a medic rolling around with a rocket launcher, or a light assault dude with a jump jet who also can use a chaingun.

[Livefire]

Just in case any of you don't know what head trackers are or triple head here is a couple awesome vids, it is the future of gaming and totally salving the zero peripheral vision problem you have when playing a game on a single computer screen. SOE better make PlanetSide2 support this with no 3rd person view anymore.

YouTube - ***x202a;CES 2007 - Matrox Triple Head***x202c;‏
YouTube - ***x202a;TrackIR5 & ArmA2 Premiere (TrackIR 5)***x202c;‏

[Bags]

Headtracker would be such a niche market. No way to justify wasting dev time on that.

[Livefire]

Headtracker would be such a niche market. No way to justify wasting dev time on that.

Head tracker works with any game that has free look in it i.e all modern fps games that PlanetSide 2 has to compete with.

[Volw]

Head tracker works with any game that has free look in it i.e all modern fps games that PlanetSide 2 has to compete with.

There's no free look in any of the modern FPSes.

The only FPS I can think of that uses head tracking to full extent is Arma 1/2 ... which is a sim really.

[1Shotwonder]

@ Bags thanks ... well hopefully they stay true to the roots I want to have the same customization and openness to have what load out I want.... now I dont know all about the jetpacks and what not obviously there will have to be limiting with things as such but I do hope they keep the good things of planetside similar in part 2

[Livefire]

There's no free look in any of the modern FPSes.

The only FPS I can think of that uses head tracking to full extent is Arma 1/2 ... which is a sim really.

Battle field 2 has free look not as infantry soldier but as any vehicle pilot (fly a jet and move the top hat on your joystick you can look in all directions out your cockpit canopy). which is as I said the only time its real important. Battle field 3 will also have free look and it will be enhanced from the second one, also it will be one of the most competitive fps's fighting for planetside's players being it comes out in October.

[Bags]

Nobody is not going to buy planetside because it doesn't support some useless gimmicky crap that less than 1% of 1% of gamers will actually own. Also, why would you want to look away from your monitor? Makes no sense.

[SKYeXile]

Nobody is not going to buy planetside because it doesn't support some useless gimmicky crap that less than 1% of 1% of gamers will actually own. Also, why would you want to look away from your monitor? Makes no sense.

yea bro, much more concerned here about the trackir rather than the NETCODE! probably wont play the game unless it has good netcode...i mean trackir.

[NCLynx]

Nobody is not going to buy planetside because it doesn't support some useless gimmicky crap that less than 1% of 1% of gamers will actually own. Also, why would you want to look away from your monitor? Makes no sense.

Incase there were pizza rolls coming. You never know.

[Bags]

Incase there were pizza rolls coming. You never know.

>_>

I meant like, why would you want to turn away while trying to play the game because the game wanted you to lo.