Planetside 2 at SyndCon new information revealed

[Hamma]

John Smedley and Matt Higby were at Syndcon and revealed some interesting details about PlanetSide 2. There was a live demo of the game, or at least the Forge Light engine.
“We can build in extra detail where it is needed,” said Matt as he pulled the camera in and out of landscapes and models. We saw the heat shimmer of super-heated air under vehicles, reflections of light off armor and the sun light striking the canyon at sunrise. There will be spotlights at night, on towers and on vehicles as well.

http://www.planetside-universe.com/news-planetside-2-at-syndcon-2526.htm

Some more quotes:

There will be a dynamic weather system that can affect warfare. Intense firefights causing a lot of smoke can affect the weather and they also spoke of volumetric clouds that can mask vehicles. That may not be in at launch, but is definitely in the long term plan.

If a player has the command rank and the certifications, they can command the base to raise specific turrets such as anti-personnel or anti-aircraft. Missions are area based, the objectives popping up as you enter an area, but leaders can also pick missions for the squad / outfit as well

SoE hopes to create a parallel feel for outfits that’s like the US military, for players to recognize outfits for what they do, like how the 101st Airborne Division is known. To help with the identity, Outfits will be able to customize the look of their armor and vehicles. Leaders (with the right certifications) will be able to unlock abilities and customize the skill tree for the Outfit. Drilling down, an Outfit can have more than one Division, so they can have for example, a light assault Division, an Engineering Division and etc. Group play will be the same with 10 to a squad, but in addition, platoons of up to four squads can be formed.

[Beagle]

PS2 continues to sound too good to be true, and I mean that in the best way. Waiting for a chance to sell my organs for beta.

[Atuday]

“We will start with a single planet and continent,” said Smed, “then add more continents, and eventually planets.”

This roughly translates to earlier beta and earlier release of the game. It also translates to 1:unlimited long-term content potential, and 2:Earlier return on investment for sony.

This makes me smile.

[Peacemaker]

The Dev Team keeps making references to EVE-Online, arguably the best developed games out there. I really hope they take the example of EVE's devs. They punch out content every few months to a year and just keep adding to the game, for free. You keep paying, they keep working. So far we havn't seen as much communication for this yet, buuut we havn't reached beta yet so well see after that. One of the things I love about EVE is that the devs always talked to the community and made it clear that they wanted our input at every turn.

[Sentrosi]

The Dev Team keeps making references to EVE-Online, arguably the best developed games out there. I really hope they take the example of EVE's devs. They punch out content every few months to a year and just keep adding to the game, for free. You keep paying, they keep working. So far we havn't seen as much communication for this yet, buuut we havn't reached beta yet so well see after that. One of the things I love about EVE is that the devs always talked to the community and made it clear that they wanted our input at every turn.

I absolutely hope this is the case. Gamers are tired of what I call the EA Sports type of gaming. By this I mean they will release a new sports game every year with no real change except prettier graphics and the requisite roster changes. You can't improve much on any sports game until you truly have, say 11v11 football where each person is a position on the field.

This is where Planetside2 can find its niche. Dynamic and enhanced content released every couple of months that improves the gameplay gradually.

I love the idea that weather patterns CAN be affected by battles. It just makes sense from a realism point of view. You can only travel so much along the same backroads before your Harasser SHOULD get stuck in rain soaked mud or be overcome by a flooded river bed.

[FriendlyFire]

Thanks for the link!

[Alduron]

I want to see footage of this demo!

Me too. Does anyone know if it's online somewhere?

[Baron]

I love the idea that weather patterns CAN be affected by battles.

I support this, however there should not be an option to disable it. There is a clear advantage to disabling flora / weather / etc... in PS1. I hope they realize this and create PS2 accordingly.

[Xaine]

Two words.

Space. Battles.

[Alduron]

Two words.

Space. Battles.

I support this.

[dachlatte]

there is a lack of ingame footage in this news article. hamma can you fix this please? :cry:

[Graywolves]

Outfit housing? That makes me curious. I wonder where that will be and how customized it will be.

[Surge72]

"If a weapon can be bought in the cash store, he was quick to assure us that it would be attainable in the game as well."


This scares me ALOT. Even if you can acquire weapons through play, I really do not like the sound of ever being able to buy any weapon in a cash shop. This has instantly put me off the game.

[Hamma]

there is a lack of ingame footage in this news article. hamma can you fix this please? :cry:

If I could :lol:

Honestly though this is the first interview that mentions actually seeing the game engine, they didn't even have it at Fan Faire to view.

[Raelity]

Prowler (a mid size tank)

I know the main tanks in PS are called MBT standing for either Main Battle Tank or Medium Battle Tank, but does calling it a mid size tank here suggest there may be a heavier tank? I guess with the exception of its shape a Juggernaut is something of a Heavy Tank, it certainly has the armament. I would quite like to see a larger tank possibly with a 4 man crew, a long timer and a serious cert investment to use it, perhaps even like the vulture where you have to get a medal to unlock it.

[GTGD]

I think the one continent -> expand to others and then planets is an incredible idea, so long as unexpected demand doesn't create pop locks that keep large amounts of people out of the action.

But seriously, brilliant idea. Now Sony can really get people hooked from the start and show everyone what large scale warfare is all about. Instead of many smaller battles happening everywhere, it will be one big clusterfuck of awesomeness to start us all off. I know people got tired of Cyssorside at Tore and Bomazi, but this is going to make huge fans out of new players.


Matt then spoke on skills or as they are called in Planetside and Planetside 2, certifications. Planetside 2 will be much more of a skill-based game than Planetside was as the Forgelight engine is capable of the physics. For example, headshots will be possible and snipers will have a harder time of it, as ballistic physics will be in game and they will have to account for wind shift and bullet drop. The game will play very much like an FPS, with a keyboard layout that will be familiar to FPS players, however, there are leadership certifications as well as other support roles like medics and engineers.


Welp, looks like I might actually have a reason to make the sniper/commander character I always wanted.

[RedKnights]

The fact that they mention that large multi-division "private army" style outfits can survive in Planetside 2, and might actually be supported, makes me giddy.

As for the cash shop... I don't like the method of actual game-changing things being able to be unlocked that way, like weapons. Maybe things like support abilities but weapons? On the other hand I want my micro-transaction vehicle horn melodies too...

This just points toward the game being free-to-play if they're talking about things like that though. Which... I kinda like, Population is important, thus free to play i'm ok with.

[Vancha]

This has instantly put me off the game.
Toys. Pram.

Wait for details.

[bjorntju1]

http://i55.tinypic.com/ogdjdj.gif

I WANT TO PLAY IT NOW.

[Kwintus5]

Unlimited possibilities! God, i want it!

The searchlights are hopefully manable :P haha *HEY THERE FISHHEAD I SAW YOU!* <3 epic.

[Surge72]

Toys. Pram.

Wait for details.

Okay, maybe 'put off' are the wrong words, but it has certainly given me some concerns which I didn't have before.

[Raymac]

Exciting stuff. Having bases be destructable, then they would just be ruins until the engineers repair them. I can't wait to see how that looks.

This game really is sounding amazing, and I hope they will be able to actually follow through and make it. It's just so ambitious, I'm worried their promises are writing checks that their abilities can't cash. But if they do succeed, this may be the last game I ever buy because I'll play it forever.

[Tigersmith]

love it. I dont know what else to say other then. amazing.

Love the way they are going with this

[vampyro]

Its one thing to talk about it, its another thing to show us. I can talk about the game i always imagined of playing, but can someone make it?

[Lartnev]

I have one word for this article: :jawdrop:

I love that they're shooting for the moon with PlanetSide 2 but are smart enough to realise that, like the Apollo rockets, it'll take time and stages.

[Raymac]

Its one thing to talk about it, its another thing to show us. I can talk about the game i always imagined of playing, but can someone make it?

Well they were showing it at SyndCon, so it's not just talk. I'd like to see it too, just out of curiousity not because I think SyndCon and FPSGuru have some sort of conspiracy running.

My biggest worry is about how all these amazing ideas are going to actually play once we get hundreds of people in there all battling it out. If the performance sucks, it won't matter how great the features are or how pretty it looks.

[vampyro]

Well they were showing it at SyndCon, so it's not just talk. I'd like to see it too, just out of curiousity not because I think SyndCon and FPSGuru have some sort of conspiracy running.

My biggest worry is about how all these amazing ideas are going to actually play once we get hundreds of people in there all battling it out. If the performance sucks, it won't matter how great the features are or how pretty it looks.

yea gameplay is everything. but i guess their excuse for lag will be the forgelight engine, i can see it already. "your shots arent hitting the guy because of the heavy wind in the game thats not noticeable." Oh you need to be BR 35 to see the wind "ping meter"

[Quovatis]

One continent at launch eh? That's too bad, as the diversity of the PS1 continents made it interesting. I'm guessing it's Indar, the one in the trailer.

[Tatwi]

The Dev Team keeps making references to EVE-Online, arguably the best developed games out there. I really hope they take the example of EVE's devs. They punch out content every few months to a year and just keep adding to the game, for free. You keep paying, they keep working. So far we havn't seen as much communication for this yet, buuut we havn't reached beta yet so well see after that. One of the things I love about EVE is that the devs always talked to the community and made it clear that they wanted our input at every turn.

I could do without SOE supporting this (http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/12/biggest-eve-online-scam-ever-recorded-nets-over-a-trillion-isk/) aspect of EVE. I very much hope that PS2, much like PS1, does not have a currency - especially one that is so easily translated into real world cash. Nothing like "gold farming" (legit or otherwise) and greed to suck the life out of a game.

[Goku]

I was under the impression there was conts finished already with more being added. Fighting on one map for say a year is going to get really really stale I do not care how big it is. Just look at Cyssor its a prime example.

I do not know how diverse this cont will be, but only having one cont at launch sounds like their rushing the game to be.

[Goku]

2900 XT is weaker then the HD 6570 sold today and was about equal to the midrange HD 4670 sold back in 2008. Pretty sure most serious gamers have cards that out do the 2900 XT with ease these days.

[Kwintus5]

My GTX580 will have fun with this game ;) =D

[Tatwi]

As for the cash shop... I don't like the method of actual game-changing things being able to be unlocked that way, like weapons. Maybe things like support abilities but weapons? On the other hand I want my micro-transaction vehicle horn melodies too...


If players are able to simply buy certs with real money from the cash shop rather than waiting to train them, then after the first month of the game it doesn't really unbalance anything. Sure, on the first day folks who want to dump a load of cash into the game to buy their way to high level certs would be unbalanced against those who chose not to buy them, but down the road that disparity will exist for a lot of players any way.

Buying certs directly would be the most balanced way to have micro transactions, because people would only ever be getting things that are exactly the same as what everyone can also achieve without paying for it. It sure would make SOE a lot of money too, which is great for the game/community as well! :) Also, when you factor in how they said that the max "power difference" from a new person to a person with a bajillion certs is going to be "20%", the effect of people spending their money on certs would be over all beneficial, because those people would open up new command features, etc. faster for the community. Effectively, they'd be spending money to save time rather than making themselves more powerful.

[Goku]

My GTX580 will have fun with this game ;) =D

My GTX 69283 will too ;).

[Tigersmith]

One continent at launch eh? That's too bad, as the diversity of the PS1 continents made it interesting. I'm guessing it's Indar, the one in the trailer.

Guys the Single Continent is prob going to be HUGE. It has to be.
Im pretty sure it will have multiple biomes and huge urban areas to fight over. This also shows they care about the game, they want to take time to create these areas from scratch. not from some pre generated software

[Vancha]

I was under the impression there was conts finished already with more being added. Fighting on one map for say a year is going to get really really stale I do not care how big it is. Just look at Cyssor its a prime example.

I do not know how diverse this cont will be, but only having one cont at launch sounds like their rushing the game to be.
Consider that PS2 will probably have more players near launch than PS1 ever had. To accommodate that many players, it's going to have to be pretty damn huge. I imagine something of that size will have a fair amount of diversity (hell, just look at North America for how diverse a single continent can be.)

[Quovatis]

It will get old fast, though. As was pointed out, even a huge continent like Cyssor gets old after a while, especially if that's all we have for the first 3-6 months after release.

[Tatwi]

It will get old fast, though. As was pointed out, even a huge continent like Cyssor gets old after a while, especially if that's all we have for the first 3-6 months after release.

Deserts, mountains, swamps, rivers, great lakes, oceans, tundra, rain forest, boreal forest, coniferous forests, grass lands, canyons, "bad lands (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badlands)", volcanoes, etc.

You name it, we got it in the USA/Canada! One continent of sheer awesome!

[Goku]

Consider that PS2 will probably have more players near launch than PS1 ever had. To accommodate that many players, it's going to have to be pretty damn huge. I imagine something of that size will have a fair amount of diversity (hell, just look at North America for how diverse a single continent can be.)

I am still not sure if conts will still have one specific theme like Tropical, dry, or artic like conditions. If this cont will be that huge, probably will have to be 2-3 times the size of Cyssor. Be a bit odd just having 2 base points that are snow covered to a tropical region is all.

[Hamma]

While at Fan Faire Matt mentioned they were working on Searhus at the time so it appears they are working on two, unless that has changed.

[Goku]

Is it possible its just a typo and it should one planet and continents? From what I read plus heard on the trailer I thought most of the current conts + Indar would be playable conts at release.

[Elude]

I'm fine with one continent so long as they stay true to their plans of doing every square inch of it by hand rather then using some automated process of generating terrain.

One continent can have the potential of all the continents.

[Kwintus5]

It can follow up pretty quickly so that after release it only takes a few months before they release more continent(s) :D

[Alduron]

Guys the Single Continent is prob going to be HUGE. It has to be.
Im pretty sure it will have multiple biomes and huge urban areas to fight over. This also shows they care about the game, they want to take time to create these areas from scratch. not from some pre generated software

They are larger than PS1 continents, right? If so, they'd surely have a few different biomes in them. Even our smallest RL continent has 3 different biomes.

I'd much rather them introduce 1 continent at a time to give them time to flush them out and make it look like a proper continent. I wasn't a huge fan of the single biome continents (or planets) in PS1.

[Bags]

>Outfit Housing.

...

...

What a waste of development time.


Other than that, yay. Hope some video of this surfaces.

[Goku]

>Outfit Housing.

...

...

What a waste of development time.


Other than that, yay. Hope some video of this surfaces.

Don't know about you what I want a place to mount my heads from killing all you TR/VS! In all seriousness I hope this is a place for outfits to ready for a strike and be able to train. I am assuming Outfit housing is instanced as well.

[Bags]

Don't know about you what I want a place to mount my heads from killing all you TR/VS! In all seriousness I hope this is a place for outfits to ready for a strike and be able to train. I am assuming Outfit housing is instanced as well.

As long as outfit housing just contains ESSENTIAL things like VR / Terminals / Recert / Etc I don't care.

But if they waste time adding role playing BS... Blizzard even acknowledges that player / guild housing is silly because no one cares enough to go to other people's houses. If no one cares about it in an RPG who will care about someone else's instance in a shooter?

[Graywolves]

As long as outfit housing just contains ESSENTIAL things like VR / Terminals / Recert / Etc I don't care.

But if they waste time adding role playing BS... Blizzard even acknowledges that player / guild housing is silly because no one cares enough to go to other people's houses. If no one cares about it in an RPG who will care about someone else's instance in a shooter?

That's a silly assumption, everyone visits eachother's guild halls and houses. It's like going over to your friends house to do his mom.

[Hamma]

Let's not be narrow minded and assume "Guild Housing" will be the same as it would be an an MMORPG.

Probably something similar to "Outfit Bases" we never saw in PS1.

[Alduron]

Let's not be narrow minded and assume "Guild Housing" will be the same as it would be an an MMORPG.

Probably something similar to "Outfit Bases" we never saw in PS1.

I'd personally like the outfit area to have the ability to create/alter scenarios for practice. You'd be able to place down any base layout with a custom turret configuration and turrets to simulate players, tanks, etc. This way your outfit can practice coordinating strikes in specific situations where Air-support or ground support just isn't an option. It would also help the leaders identify choke holds in each base and figure out ways to neutralize them.

My old outfit used to run drills on empty bases and towers in order to be more efficient during caps and defends. This would have been super useful.

[Vancha]

It will get old fast, though. As was pointed out, even a huge continent like Cyssor gets old after a while, especially if that's all we have for the first 3-6 months after release.
When I said huge, I didn't mean Cyssor huge. I meant "Cyssor is a midget" huge. Cyssor would not accommodate the entire server's population.

[Raymac]

I love the idea of outfit "housing" if only for having the option to attack and defend those outposts. You got a beef with a particular outfit, well now you know where to hit them where it hurts. Someone disrespected your own outfit outpost, well now it's personal.

I love it.

[Tatwi]

The following games all have some form of housing:

Everquest, Everquest II, Star Wars Galaxies, Lord of the Rings Online, Vangaurd, Star Trek Online, City of Heros, Champions Online, Second Life, Free Realms, Ultima Online, Asherons Call, Runes of Magic, Wizards 101, Runescape, Star Wars The Old Republic, Ryzom, Lego Universe, Underlight, and I sure there are others that I have missed.

Seems to me that Blizzard are the odd balls here, not everyone else. Blizzard's trouble is that their horse is too high for them to see what their fellow game developers are doing, let alone what we mere mortals are actually enjoying.

[Bags]

I love the idea of outfit "housing" if only for having the option to attack and defend those outposts. You got a beef with a particular outfit, well now you know where to hit them where it hurts. Someone disrespected your own outfit outpost, well now it's personal.

I love it.


How do you love it when they're confirmed non-combat?

[Tatwi]

How do you love it when they're confirmed non-combat?

Remember when Smed said that the base in the trailer had legs and he hinted that they are there for a reason? Notice all the folks fighting around that base?

I'd bet money on that base being one of the player placed/upgradable bases. That's a form of "housing".

[NapalmEnima]

Specific tidbits:

For example, Terran Republic players will be able put a powerful anti-vehicle weapon on top of the Prowler (a mid size tank) and swap them out as needed.

Replace the dual 12mm with Something Else? Or Add It? Or is this talking about the main armament? More questions than answers there.

If a player has the command rank and the certifications, they can command the base to raise specific turrets such as anti-personnel or anti-aircraft.

I'm going to assume the "command rank" thing is a misunderstanding on the part of the author. And it's Very Cool to think that a base could swap out turrets perhaps even in the midst of a battle.

At FanFaire 2011, Smed had alluded to a cash shop, and he did the same here at SyndCon, reassuring the audience that they would not be selling power. If a weapon can be bought in the cash store, he was quick to assure us that it would be attainable in the game as well. Definitely though, one of the things that will be sold would be customization.

Emphasis added. So chill.

They've also repeatedly stated that no one weapon will be More Powerful than others. "Side grades". A sniper rifle is a hell of a lot better than a shotgun at long range, where the shotgun will have a decisive advantage at short range. Situational advantages vs Just Plain Better.

Leaders (with the right certifications) will be able to unlock abilities and customize the skill tree for the Outfit. Drilling down, an Outfit can have more than one Division, so they can have for example, a light assault Division, an Engineering Division and etc. Group play will be the same with 10 to a squad, but in addition, platoons of up to four squads can be formed.

It sounds like divisions within an outfit will be able to have their own outfit certifications. I wonder if they'll train in parallel or if they have to take turns.

10 players per squad, identical to PS1.

A platoon will be comprised of up to 4 squads.

I wonder if that "up to" means the platoon leader has to unlock additional squads after the second...

[NewSith]

How do you love it when they're confirmed non-combat?

You know, Bag, it really looks sometimes like you want PS to be Counter-Strike Online. Seriously...

What's the big deal? They're trying to make this game as much self-sufficient as possible. Adding new stuff never hurt anybody.

And afterall there're still alpha-beta-etc tests to be done, that will determine the worth of all these innovations.

[kubacheski]

instanced/non-contestable housing doesn't thrill me or make much sense in a persistent shooter - other than not having to share the room with just everyone when coordinating/getting ready. Like a private dressing room for your outfit.

As for having it be an area for training, etc. If you've got no opposition you can't really determine choke points, etc, especially when different opfor use different tactics. "Get some on the job training, grunt. Run over there, when you get shot, we'll shoot where the tracers came from."

[Zulthus]

I do agree there shouldn't be outfit housing, but it would be great fun to be able to build a base and defenses for your outfit. It certainly should not be instanced, though. I heard something about customizing it with vehicle pads, VR areas and stuff of the like. It all sounds like a party in a bottle to me, but I'd want to see how it plays out.

[kubacheski]

while I'm thinking about it, I really do like the idea of the sniper round being affected by wind and ballistics. It gives a lot of "reality" to the warfare. Much more than virtually every other FPS out there.

As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, I do wonder how the vehicles and even infantry are going to be affected by the various weather patterns having an effect on the environment. Slogging through mud or snow is a lot different than over open or rocky ground. And throw in a combination of snow and ice covered rock. So much variance available in movement speed is possible.

[EASyEightyEight]

The info we got from this. *Drools* :doh: Release will probably see one or two continents many times larger than the current continents with multiple biomes, and every bit is supposed to be hand crafted!? I expect the bases and cities to get similar treatment :eek: Then they'll add new continents, where we'll probably have naval vessels (both in the water and in the air) fighting between those continents, before finally moving into space, where before we can drop Planetside (name drop!) we'll have to capture/disable the orbital structures.

And I imagine with each new continent/planet they'll be merging servers to keep populations across all of these areas relatively high, until finally they're down to only 1 server per region.

Weather affects screwing with the battle. Maybe not lightning strikes, except against aircraft, and the mud stopping vehicles dead in their tracks or at least severely slowing them. Night combat involving the use of spotlights... heheheheh.

Planetside 2 is shaping up nicely. Maybe we will be testing before years end?

[NapalmEnima]

Weather affects screwing with the battle. Maybe not lightning strikes, except against aircraft, and the mud stopping vehicles dead in their tracks or at least severely slowing them. Night combat involving the use of spotlights... heheheheh.


I'm curious if people will be able to directly affect the weather with Gizmos Specifically For That Purpose.

At the very simplest, you could have smoke launchers as we have now on many modern combat vehicles.

If Your Outfit is holding a base, and you all have anti-fog goggles (or whatever), a base's Weather-Manipu-Matic could cloak the whole base in fog, dropping the visibility radically. Without similar niche gear, your attackers are at a HUGE disadvantage.

You've got a bunch of Galaxies incoming. Crank up your "Ride The Lightning" brand weather generator and hope a couple of them get blasted from the sky by a couple gigawatts (at least 1.21) of artificially induced Divine Wrath.

The enemy is using lots of smoke to cover their advance? Activate the Big Bad Wolf wind generator and expose the enemy. Leave'em with their... parts... swinging in the breeze.

Shop smart. Shop S-Mart!

[Kouza]

Any one else notice they referred to a Prowler as "A MIDSIZED TANK"? :P

[Aractain]

I hope they don't call it housing in game. Barracks.

Anyway I hope they can come out with new some content once a month like RIFT etc.

[Timmy]

Any one else notice they referred to a Prowler as "A MIDSIZED TANK"? :P

Yes that detail definitely caught my eye! But the TR having the biggest tank with the most guns clearly was compensating for a small-midsize wang.

[Sifer2]

Cash Shops really are becoming standard it seems. I avoid every game that has one but it seems to be getting more an more difficult. Buying certs/weapons is definitely an in game advantage. And a pretty big one when they said it could take a year or more to train up a class normally. Having Richy Rich be able to punch in daddy's credit card to become maxed out a year before I can equals me not playing this game. So hopefully they don't screw this up.


Aside from that most other stuff sounds great. Not sure about only one continent though. Unless continents in PS2 are 5 times as big as those in PS1. Or they plan a really fast roll out of more. Will be strange though having so many different servers for this one continent an then having to keep merging them as they add more.

[Kouza]

My in game house is going to be better then Bags!!!!!

[Huma]

Smed specifically says that IF there is a weapon in the shop you can get it in game normally as well and that the shop is more for vanity crap. So don't worry about the cash shop. :)

[morf]

I think with the housing they are just going for more progression opportunities. What does the biggest outfit on the server spend their resources on once they are all skilled up? Its a status symbol. If another outfit can attack it and destroy it, even better.

I've been saying for a while that we're probably going to see huge continents. Would like to see something that takes a full 10-15 mins to fly across in a mossie. This ties together some of the stuff they were saying about hacks taking 30 mins if you're deep in enemy territory.

About the cash shop, I would say I told you so to a lot of the people here but actually I predicted that they would wait until some time after launch to start selling power. Hopefully I'm wrong but that rarely happens.

[nathanebht]

Why did SOE talk at SyndCon? Are they going to have the Syndicate test for them?

[Hamma]

I've never even heard of that guild before today. :lol:

[Bags]

I don't believe it will be "housing" at all..

Then why call it "outfit housing"?

[Zulthus]

"Housing" does not necessarily mean you get to decorate with sofas, potted plants and televisions. Which is what it seems like you're assuming. "Housing" can be the area your outfit organizes raids and customizes their personal base, be it with turrets, vehicle bays, benefits, and more.

[Huma]

Just had a revelation regarding the weapon issue with the item shop. All weapons will ne available to everyone based on armor type. He also said that everything in the shop is cosmetic So if there is a weapon in the item shop it's probably one with a different skin or look to it with the standard weapon stats for it.

[Bags]

Just had a revelation regarding the weapon issue with the item shop. All weapons will ne available to everyone based on armor type. He also said that everything in the shop is cosmetic So if there is a weapon in the item shop it's probably one with a different skin or look to it with the standard weapon stats for it.

Yeah, that's what I thought he meant. Like I have normal MCG, but you can buy the green MCG for $5 and it just looks green. But you can unlock the green mcg with an achievement or something.

[BorisBlade]

One thing to remember, even if the player barracks are pointless and just retarded fluff. People in general are materialistic morons and will pay out lots of $ in the cash shops to deck them out, so they flex their little e-peens. It lets them feel special or superior to other players, even when its not the case. Just like most everything in standard mmo's. Which is fine by me, if it doesnt affect gameplay, it gives SoE more money to work on the stuff that i want. =)

Honestly not really interested in an attackable outfit base. You may like it til you find your small or avg outfit is gettin zerged by the huge outfits and repeatedly gettin steamrolled and you cant return the favor since you dont have those numbers. Plus their larger outfit size would mean a better equipped base on their end. Better to keep it as a just fluff or a setup/training/assault rally point.

[Senyu]

Man, this game is just sounding better and better.


And I feel like the drawer will never shut on my balls ever again. But godamit if they slam it the hardest they have ever done if the game fails to all this hype

[Ranik Ortega]

Eve POS Style outfit housing FTW:love:

You place a command center of varying size the more resource expensive ones give you more power or whatever and allow you to place more bunkers / veh pads / turrets.

You know you want it

[Lonehunter]

The single continent at first kinda depresses me. I think they've all ready said a continent will be around the size of Cyssor, so just one? Hopefully this is beta he's talking about.

But I keep getting more and more excited about weather and lighting :)

[nathanebht]

Why get depressed about having only one continent on release. That continent is going to have who knows how many territories.

[Kouza]

Yeah, that's what I thought he meant. Like I have normal MCG, but you can buy the green MCG for $5 and it just looks green. But you can unlock the green mcg with an achievement or something.

My house will be better then yours

[Lonehunter]

Why get depressed about having only one continent on release. That continent is going to have who knows how many territories.
I'm just used to so many more. I like a variety of terrain, landscape, and weather patterns. I'd rather have a whole continent of jungle, arctic, or desert, then all of them rolled into one continent.

[Talek Krell]

Yeah, that's what I thought he meant. Like I have normal MCG, but you can buy the green MCG for $5 and it just looks green. But you can unlock the green mcg with an achievement or something.

That does rather make sense. I wonder if you'll lose it on death though?

[Lonehunter]

That does rather make sense. I wonder if you'll lose it on death though?

I don't think anything progression related will (or should) be lost in death. This isn't a loot or even inventory based game. Once you've earned or bought something you should be able to use it when ever you respawn or switch classes.

[Talek Krell]

That logic is fine for unlocking things, but we're talking about store purchased customization. It doesn't affect balance.

Hm. In that context though it will probably persist through death. They've been talking about using customized armor and vehicles to set yourself apart, and in that context it wouldn't make sense to have to rebuy it every time you died.

[Malorn]

I hope they at least make an appearance at PAX in...about 10 days.

[NapalmEnima]

I don't think anything progression related will (or should) be lost in death. This isn't a loot or even inventory based game. Once you've earned or bought something you should be able to use it when ever you respawn or switch classes.

I understand that many of the Fancy Upgrades will be purchased with resources... I don't know if you can spawn with them (make sense, particularly with their desire to increase the pace of gameplay). Various "favorites" may be grayed out when you cannot afford the Extra Bells And Whistles (or they may just have an extra "you won't have X/Y/Z, are you sure" dialog when you ask to spawn with that particular favorite).

Or you may have to go hit an upgrade terminal after spawning in order to buy such things.

[Shogun]

i sooo loved the cert/terminal weapon and vehicle aquirement system of planetside 1! its unique and i just hope this system in ps2 will be much like the old one.

[EASyEightyEight]

I imagine the system will stay simple. You set up your load out, bells and whistles and all, and then if you're resources are depleted, it will just have to leave out what you can't afford. There will probably be terminals in the field for in-field swapping too.

I'm under the impression they want to streamline most processes so you're spending most of your time fighting, not fretting over what you can or can't get right now.

[NapalmEnima]

Quite a few gaming news sources are picking up/rehashing the FPSGuru article. Little or nothing in the way of additional commentary.

Meh.

[opticalshadow]

It will get old fast, though. As was pointed out, even a huge continent like Cyssor gets old after a while, especially if that's all we have for the first 3-6 months after release.

they might give beta just the one cont to work out the bugs that all landmass would share (steel turnips, rock formations that make it impossible to get out of) and once beta ends they can patch up the others and get a few more off.


atleast thats my hope. either that or we get an NA or EU sized cont (going of the basis that ps1's largest was smaller then AU)

[kaffis]

When it comes to the cash shop "maybe" selling guns (that will be available in-game for no money), I imagine that it *might* shake out like this:

You can buy a cert for a limited time/1 life, etc. But you still have to pay in-game resources in whatever the normal way is (to upgrade it, whatever).

But this way, if your outfit decides to run an "All Prowler Night!!!" when they normally fly Reavers, some of the guys just toss $2 in the store, and you guys get to drive prowlers for an hour for a nice change of pace.

I wouldn't consider that "selling power," because it's not like prowlers are hard to get, and it's not like you can base an entire character off of constantly throwing money at the game.

[Sirisian]

stuff
I hate to be the guy to say "read everything in the information thread before posting", but it saves a lot of time. The money shop is cosmetic only.

[Zulthus]

I hate to be the guy to say "read everything in the information thread before posting", but it saves a lot of time. The money shop is cosmetic only.

I also hate to be the guy that says "read everything before you post", but SOE said they might end up selling guns in the cash shop that you can normally get in the game. Which I am totally against, by the way.

[Bags]

I also hate to be the guy that says "read everything before you post", but SOE said they might end up selling guns in the cash shop that you can normally get in the game. Which I am totally against, by the way.

But he could have just meant skins. It's way too early to freak out about this.

[Sirisian]

I also hate to be the guy that says "read everything before you post", but SOE said they might end up selling guns in the cash shop that you can normally get in the game. Which I am totally against, by the way.
oh :lol: I read that totally different the first time.
At FanFaire 2011, Smed had alluded to a cash shop, and he did the same here at SyndCon, reassuring the audience that they would not be selling power. If a weapon can be bought in the cash store, he was quick to assure us that it would be attainable in the game as well. Definitely though, one of the things that will be sold would be customization.
I thought he was just alluding to custom skins. Reading it again I see what you mean. Actually buying a gun a player doesn't have access to. Interesting.

// edit bags beat me to it. Anyway does this mean Smed lied?

[Hamma]

Quite a few gaming news sources are picking up/rehashing the FPSGuru article. Little or nothing in the way of additional commentary.
Yea and they are all picking out different things from the article to make their headlines. :lol: