Level of detail in bases and their rooms?

[Razicator]

One thing that I've always wanted in Planetside was a sense that bases were alive and filled with people rather than robots. What I'm talking about is that the world was alive and real, rather than just a bunch of toys put together in a virtual reality place. Of course, essentially that's what PS and all games ARE, but anything that helps to suspend disbelief and make things more immersive is better when not at the expense of other aspects, no?

One thing in particular was how bases in PS1 were essentially consisting of spawn room, gen room, vehicle room, CC, and empty rooms in between, maybe with some random crates. Space was limited in a small base, so I can see why the devs didn't add in mess halls, bedrooms, bathrooms, gyms, lounges, giant command and control basement, warehouses, or even outdoor "chill" spots.

But in PS2, this can all change. Of course, it is in alpha now, but I'm curious what the level of detail will be in PS2. Roleplaying is huge in MMOs. Imagine when assaulting a base, people say "enemies in west side mess hall" or "outfit meeting in the Akita lounge!" Or more dynamically, "I'll infiltrate the base via the small maintenance shaft leading to their generator," instead of just some random entrance that so happened to lead to the generator. IE give rooms and halls PURPOSE. None of this extra stuff needs to be interactive (ie flush toilets, food dispensing machines, lounge with projector tv that shows PlanetsideTV streaming from TwitchTV), but their presence lends LIFE to the base.

Or will we have these huge bases in PS2 with rooms filled basically only with crates?

TLDR: increase detail in base room and base layout!

[Gonefshn]

These are military war facilities I don't want Role playing type rooms its not necessary. why would you worry about this stuff just play the game and join the battle.

[Shamrock]

There were the kitchen/rec rooms behind the spawns in some bases in PS1.

[Dairian]

-

[Shogun]

i liked the kitchen in the spawn backrooms in ps1 ;-) and the cloning tanks with the bodys inside. hope we see more of these things in ps2

there is no need for roleplaying rooms, but there are a lot of rooms, so it wouldn´t hurt to fill them with some immersive decoration.

[Dairian]

These are military war facilities I don't want Role playing type rooms its not necessary. why would you worry about this stuff just play the game and join the battle.

^

[Gogita]

There is no roleplay in this game. You don't play a role like you do in RPGs, that's why those are called role-playing games. This is a shooter, where you just play to win.

[Razicator]

These are military war facilities I don't want Role playing type rooms its not necessary. why would you worry about this stuff just play the game and join the battle.

Again, when I say role play I mean more life to the rooms, not having TVs actually work or food dispensers actually work. Just decoration.

i liked the kitchen in the spawn backrooms in ps1 ;-) and the cloning tanks with the bodys inside. hope we see more of these things in ps2

there is no need for roleplaying rooms, but there are a lot of rooms, so it wouldn´t hurt to fill them with some immersive decoration.

The kitchen and cloning tanks are EXACTLY what I'm talking about. It lends lore and credibility to the whole rebirthing process and the fact that people in the game are PEOPLE. The very presence of a kitchen should be at most one days work (just add a bunch of long tables and chairs with an empty buffet line), and boom more realism and more immersion.

There is no roleplay in this game. You don't play a role like you do in RPGs, that's why those are called role-playing games. This is a shooter, where you just play to win.

Again, I meant role play as in more immersive. Thing back to the SG recruitment videos, they pretend to be an actual militaristic outfit caling out targets and such. Why not extend that to the bases themselves? Give purposes to the rooms, not just empty hallways for people to shoot each other.

[roguy]

There is no roleplay in this game. You don't play a role like you do in RPGs, that's why those are called role-playing games. This is a shooter, where you just play to win.

I thought "roleplay" just meant "make-believe" or "act out the role".

RP servers in MMOs mean you have to "pretend" to be a real person in the game world.

[Gogita]

I thought "roleplay" just meant "make-believe" or "act out the role".

RP servers in MMOs mean you have to "pretend" to be a real person in the game world.

RP stands for role-play


Again, I meant role play as in more immersive. Thing back to the SG recruitment videos, they pretend to be an actual militaristic outfit caling out targets and such. Why not extend that to the bases themselves? Give purposes to the rooms, not just empty hallways for people to shoot each other.

Ah alright. That clears much up :) I think no one here wants to have bland hallways and plain rooms to fight in. Small details are always cool such as the weird bodies in tubes in PS1 or the large mysterious vault. However, it should not be a priority imo, but it would be cool yes.

[roguy]

RP stands for role-play

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing

[PeteHMB]

These are military war facilities I don't want Role playing type rooms its not necessary. why would you worry about this stuff just play the game and join the battle.

Every military camp, outpost, base, etc in the world has some type of latrine, sleeping area, food area, and exercise area, at minimum. Go do some research on aircraft carriers sometime. Or battleships. Even submarines. I don't see it as role playing, I see it as realism. I don't think it's a stretch by any means to imagine future facilities will still have briefing rooms and mess halls at the very least.

edit - http://science.howstuffworks.com/aircraft-carrier7.htm


There are multiple galleys (kitchens) and mess halls onboard, which collectively serve as many as 18,000 meals a day. The ship also has a sizable laundry facility, dentist and doctor's offices, various stores and a bank of telephones where personnel can talk to their families via satellite.

[Whalenator]

Coming from a guy that's been roleplaying for eight years, and has administrated three boards and moderated countless ones...

If you want to roleplay, you don't need props for it.
Trust me, you'll find a way.

[onwee]

Coming from a guy that's been roleplaying for eight years, and has administrated three boards and moderated countless ones...

If you want to roleplay, you don't need props for it.
Trust me, you'll find a way.

In other news, two players were found yesterday cybering in a loverator. Parked on a cliff in the sunset? Pure romance.

Welcome to secondlife ladies and gentlemen.

[p0intman]

One thing that I've always wanted in Planetside was a sense that bases were alive and filled with people rather than robots. What I'm talking about is that the world was alive and real, rather than just a bunch of toys put together in a virtual reality place. Of course, essentially that's what PS and all games ARE, but anything that helps to suspend disbelief and make things more immersive is better when not at the expense of other aspects, no?

One thing in particular was how bases in PS1 were essentially consisting of spawn room, gen room, vehicle room, CC, and empty rooms in between, maybe with some random crates. Space was limited in a small base, so I can see why the devs didn't add in mess halls, bedrooms, bathrooms, gyms, lounges, giant command and control basement, warehouses, or even outdoor "chill" spots.

But in PS2, this can all change. Of course, it is in alpha now, but I'm curious what the level of detail will be in PS2. Roleplaying is huge in MMOs. Imagine when assaulting a base, people say "enemies in west side mess hall" or "outfit meeting in the Akita lounge!" Or more dynamically, "I'll infiltrate the base via the small maintenance shaft leading to their generator," instead of just some random entrance that so happened to lead to the generator. IE give rooms and halls PURPOSE. None of this extra stuff needs to be interactive (ie flush toilets, food dispensing machines, lounge with projector tv that shows PlanetsideTV streaming from TwitchTV), but their presence lends LIFE to the base.

Or will we have these huge bases in PS2 with rooms filled basically only with crates?

TLDR: increase detail in base room and base layout!
mess halls: Why eat? I spend half of my time being ressurected in a new body after being OS'd or shot to death in my old one.

bedrooms: That clone tube? Yeah, death is kind of like a quick nap.

bathrooms: lol.

gyms: That hill over there in full rexo? Fuck I hate hills. Who needs gyms when I run up and down towers and bases in full combat armor with fully loaded weapons on me all day?

lounges: The CC or gen room, if not the spawn tubes

giant command and control basement: Ever seen a fully locked down CC with four dozen people protecting it?

warehouses: Top of the HART building in the observation deck, those lockers are fucking giant, man

even outdoor "chill" spots: Gunuku CY is pretty chill. I hear the VS like Andvari or Azeban CY for their lunch breaks. Most of the TR enjoy the caves or oshur. Except when they don't care.

[roguy]

mess halls: Why eat? I spend half of my time being ressurected in a new body after being OS'd or shot to death in my old one.

bedrooms: That clone tube? Yeah, death is kind of like a quick nap.

bathrooms: lol.

gyms: That hill over there in full rexo? Fuck I hate hills. Who needs gyms when I run up and down towers and bases in full combat armor with fully loaded weapons on me all day?

lounges: The CC or gen room, if not the spawn tubes

giant command and control basement: Ever seen a fully locked down CC with four dozen people protecting it?

warehouses: Top of the HART building in the observation deck, those lockers are fucking giant, man

even outdoor "chill" spots: Gunuku CY is pretty chill. I hear the VS like Andvari or Azeban CY for their lunch breaks. Most of the TR enjoy the caves or oshur. Except when they don't care.

I don't know if you're being sarcastic but you did notice that the fact that you can respawn doesn't prevent the existence of offices, restrooms and warehouses in other first person shooters, right?

[p0intman]

I don't know if you're being sarcastic but you did notice that the fact that you can respawn doesn't prevent the existence of offices, restrooms and warehouses in other first person shooters, right?

I'm feeling particularly sarcastic, yes. I was also half serious that these things did sort of exist or weren't needed for use of lampshades

[Toppopia]

Immersion comes from good gameplay, not aesthetic fluff that isn't even interactive.

Unless.... we can pick up chairs and throw them like the throwable gun glitch, i sure hope that is kept in game, would laugh to see a firefight resort to gun throwing them knife charging eachother.

[roguy]

I was also half serious that these things did sort of exist or weren't needed for use of lampshades

K but still, the existence of rebirthing technologies would'nt necessarilly exclude the need to eat...?

I mean, why eat today when you can "just" go to the hospital to get nutriments injected into your stomach?

[Rbstr]

The back story would seem to have some of these bases as industrial facilities.

Personally, I hate it when a game doesn't acknowledge that the people in it at least need the facilities of living, kitchens, restrooms, places to sleep.
Even if they present little actual in-game purpose.

[p0intman]

K but still, the existence of rebirthing technologies would'nt necessarilly exclude the need to eat...?

I mean, why eat today when you can "just" go to the hospital to get nutriments injected into your stomach?

I think if it were cost effective to do that and said nutrients actually tasted like something worthwhile, many people would do that. As it stands, it turns out that just buying your own groceries and learning to cook is a more enjoyable experience that tends to bring diverse people together around a table that otherwise wouldnt care to talk to one another.

I think that if that experience were to be capable of being replaced seemlessly by the healthcare system that seems to want to control every aspect of human life lately, it would quickly become the norm.

As it turns out, in planetside, when I die.. which can happen quite often given that some of the drivers i squad with are terrible and hit mines without fail, its more cost effective to just give me a new body and send me on my way to repeat the process.

[roguy]

As it stands, it turns out that just buying your own groceries and learning to cook is a more enjoyable experience that tends to bring diverse people together around a table that otherwise wouldnt care to talk to one another.


I still don't see how rebirthing would change that. And besides I don't ever see it becoming practical to trash your car because you ran out of gas, rather than filling it up again. (jokes about current oil prices aside...)

[Razicator]

mess halls: Why eat? I spend half of my time being ressurected in a new body after being OS'd or shot to death in my old one.

bedrooms: That clone tube? Yeah, death is kind of like a quick nap.

bathrooms: lol.

gyms: That hill over there in full rexo? Fuck I hate hills. Who needs gyms when I run up and down towers and bases in full combat armor with fully loaded weapons on me all day?

lounges: The CC or gen room, if not the spawn tubes

giant command and control basement: Ever seen a fully locked down CC with four dozen people protecting it?

warehouses: Top of the HART building in the observation deck, those lockers are fucking giant, man

even outdoor "chill" spots: Gunuku CY is pretty chill. I hear the VS like Andvari or Azeban CY for their lunch breaks. Most of the TR enjoy the caves or oshur. Except when they don't care.

Remember this is all for immersion and some lore. Not EVERYONE on Auraxis is a soldier sent off to fight and die. What about leaders, scientists, engineers, children, etc they all need places to live. Why not include bases as areas for leaders/scientists/children? For example, in the biolab, include a giant research facility within it including many cloning tanks, lots of tech gadgetry, etc. Again, none of it actually interactive, but it lends credibility that the Biolab is an actual Biology Laboratory that once had scientists, pilots, janitors, and hell still probably do.

Or perhaps in a tech lab, not only have lots of vehicle terminals, but also TECH stuff, like central command and control communications room at the top with plasma screens, kind of like that base on Hoth in starwars (forgot its name). So the CC isn't just some terminal that you capture, it is an actual vital centerpiece of the base that all electronics feed into. Or more for tech lab, include rooms not decorated with giant boxes, but why not non-functional giant agricultural machinery like harvesters or mining vehicles? You can just them as cover just like boxes, but they lend credibility that the tech lab is a center for tech, not just a spawn place for more vehicles.

[KrackerJacked]

They can design terrain and features for 3 different continents but it's too much trouble to make facility rooms look more realistic? Nonsense. I'd be surprised if they didn't so this.

[Mechzz]

Again, none of it actually interactive, but it lends credibility that the Biolab is an actual Biology Laboratory that once had scientists, pilots, janitors, and hell still probably do.


We may not see it in game, but if the Janitor cert was available I would take it in an instant. With custom brown-stained skanky labcoat skin.

Weapon certs? Broom ninja level 10.

[p0intman]

Remember this is all for immersion and some lore. Not EVERYONE on Auraxis is a soldier sent off to fight and die. What about leaders, scientists, engineers, children, etc they all need places to live. Why not include bases as areas for leaders/scientists/children? For example, in the biolab, include a giant research facility within it including many cloning tanks, lots of tech gadgetry, etc. Again, none of it actually interactive, but it lends credibility that the Biolab is an actual Biology Laboratory that once had scientists, pilots, janitors, and hell still probably do.

Or perhaps in a tech lab, not only have lots of vehicle terminals, but also TECH stuff, like central command and control communications room at the top with plasma screens, kind of like that base on Hoth in starwars (forgot its name). So the CC isn't just some terminal that you capture, it is an actual vital centerpiece of the base that all electronics feed into. Or more for tech lab, include rooms not decorated with giant boxes, but why not non-functional giant agricultural machinery like harvesters or mining vehicles? You can just them as cover just like boxes, but they lend credibility that the tech lab is a center for tech, not just a spawn place for more vehicles.
You clearly don't get how planetside works. Being a scientist on a war torn world isn't likely to be very fun, nor are there many things for them to do other than shoot and be shot at.

I still don't see how rebirthing would change that. And besides I don't ever see it becoming practical to trash your car because you ran out of gas, rather than filling it up again. (jokes about current oil prices aside...)

What I'm saying is that your comparisons to real life don't work simply because auraxis allows for everything to be built at the push of a button by millions of nanites in the flip of a switch.

If scientists ever figure that out in the real world, my intention is to build myself a spaceship and clone myself over and over and over again while I fly (float?) to another solar system.

[Razicator]

We may not see it in game, but if the Janitor cert was available I would take it in an instant. With custom brown-stained skanky labcoat skin.


I feel like we just stumbled on something that has the potential of greatness! :lol:

3 cert branches: Sanitation, Organization, and Angry at Life Direction

Sanitation: includes the certs of "blood stain removal," "rebirthing afterbirth cleanup," and of course "NC/VS trash removal."

Organization: includes the certs of "utilizing NC/VS bodies as combustion fuel" and "enforcement of vehicle terminal queue lines"

ANgry at Life Direction: only one cert "Depression"

Class weapons include mop and bucket, pine sol, and water hose.

Class ability is body barrier: instantly removes all dead bodies within 25m radius and piles them in front. Pile is invulnerable to small arms fire, but is vulnerable to water hoses.

[roguy]

What I'm saying is that your comparisons to real life don't work simply because auraxis allows for everything to be built at the push of a button by millions of nanites in the flip of a switch.


Yeah assuming everyone has infinite energy and everything is free, wich isn't the case on auraxis.

There's a ressource system in game, in the event of a total war i doubt people would wastefully use nanites otherwise used for Liberators and resurrecting people who got shot, when throwing dirt on a few wheat grains works perfectly fine.

[Razicator]

You clearly don't get how planetside works. Being a scientist on a war torn world isn't likely to be very fun, nor are there many things for them to do other than shoot and be shot at.



What I'm saying is that your comparisons to real life don't work simply because auraxis allows for everything to be built at the push of a button by millions of nanites in the flip of a switch.

If scientists ever figure that out in the real world, my intention is to build myself a spaceship and clone myself over and over and over again while I fly (float?) to another solar system.

Alright I think this guy is seriously trolling, especially after his previous thread bashing Higby :rolleyes: Nothing ever constructive jeez.

On the slim chance that you ARE serious...

On your first point: a civilization made up of 100% soldiers does not work. I don't see how you can be a productive member of today's society and say that in war, scientists have nothing better to do than join the military in front-line combat.

On your second point: your argument that "comparisons to real life don't work because of nanites" is very poor. It's like religious people saying God made the world , so there's no point trying to explain or explore anything. You can't just say "nanites!" and leave it like that. By your logic, the warping vehicle bugs in alpha is just nanites making it difficult for enemies to predict vehicle movement.


Oh wait your third sentence explains everything about you :rofl:

[Pyreal]

I like the idea!

As someone who is fond of novels and has studied creative writing I have a small understanding of verisimilitude (definition: depicting realism) and how it can be used to bring something alive.

Have you all forgotten the back story of Auraxis? The struggle of the colonists, the depravity and stupidity of the T.R. and N.C. that forced the V.S.'s hand into bringing forth the beginning of their end?
Where do you think the Vanu scientists that develop new weapons eat, sleep, and recreate? For a 'persistent world' populated with fictional characters (albeit controlled by humans) one would except living areas.

You bring alive a world with specific sensory detail.
An officer's chipped caff mug, the half burnt tree the clings to life in the courtyard, just as the officer clings to his humanity in the face immortality awash with death.

[Graywolves]

I want a mess hall just so I can make witty one-liners as I kill smurfs and barneys.


"today's special - HOT LEAD!"
"Cooking up some NC/VS"

I'll come up with more after we get our kitchens back.

[Mechzz]

I feel like we just stumbled on something that has the potential of greatness! :lol:

3 cert branches: Sanitation, Organization, and Angry at Life Direction

Sanitation: includes the certs of "blood stain removal," "rebirthing afterbirth cleanup," and of course "NC/VS trash removal."

Organization: includes the certs of "utilizing NC/VS bodies as combustion fuel" and "enforcement of vehicle terminal queue lines"

ANgry at Life Direction: only one cert "Depression"

Class weapons include mop and bucket, pine sol, and water hose.

Class ability is body barrier: instantly removes all dead bodies within 25m radius and piles them in front. Pile is invulnerable to small arms fire, but is vulnerable to water hoses.

Love these :doh:

*nods to risk of flaming, but hey, it's late and I'm sozzled*

We could also have the bittervet cert. That's the guy huddled in the corner of the spawn room who can't bring himself to venture out into the new dawn of Auraxis because:
He can gun his tank
He can shoot down enemy aircraft as a grunt
He can snipe as a cloaker
He can't skulk in Sanctuary with his mates
He can't see at night
He might see a Zebra flying overhead
He might need to spawn from a Galaxy
He might get dizzy on a jump pad

The cert would gradually increase paranoia levels until Berserker level was achieved and the lowly bittervet would blossom into a hate-fuelled, unstoppable killing machine.

(gentle poke of fun, intended to remind of some of the fun things we will be seeing)

[JHendy]

Immersion comes from good gameplay, not aesthetic fluff that isn't even interactive.

Whatever... Call it authenticity if you want to.

Immersion comes from a wide variety of things. Attention to the finer details, like giving your gameworld a sense of authenticity, is most definitely one of those things. People do pick up on it, and SOE seems to be acknowledging this, as they're attempting to inject some lore into the universe as they develop the game. It would be ridiculous for the game world not to bear signs of prior civilisation.

Some people do in fact notice and appreciate this type of content, even though you apparently make a point of not doing so.

[Shogun]

nerf the crates! buff kitchens, mugs and beds!

[Fuse]

Well the OP wasn't worded that well, but I don't see why this post has met with so much sarcasm.

The cloning tubes and animated map were some of my favorite parts of the bases in PlanetSide, followed by the genny. These parts of the base made it seem like it served a purpose other than being a battle-field. Yes, we are at war 24/7, but we are fighting over facilities with expressed purposes, ones we benefit from, so we know they are in operation.

Just because PlanetSide was incredibly limited by the available technology does not mean Auraxis is some sort of weird, sterile Valhalla. We don't need NPCs or bars, but every locale shouldn't be as plain as the inside of a tower.

[DayOne]

All for immersion.

I want shoot outs in the cafeteria. Cloaking and hiding in the toilets for everyone to leave and back hacking. Hanging out in the court yard after a particularly tough battle.

All these things just add to the game.

[Atheosim]

All of these extra rooms in a base would be cool, but I'm particularly fond of the idea of giving bases some sort of anima. I can't think of anything that's feasible given our technological limitations, being that we'd rather have more people on the battlefield than functionally useless robots going around and interacting with props.

[PeteHMB]

Bio-Lab domes opening and closing could be cool...fight to a control console inside, hit a button, and suddenly the biggest part of the base is open to Galaxy hot drops, air support, artillery fire...

[Hyiero]

In the video's from GDC that we saw which I forgot what facility they were fighting in. There were what look like computer servers(which a military FOB would have) there was a control room with stairs and computers filling the room(which a military FOB would have). So I have no doubt that the guys at SOE have thought to some extent about what some rooms should be filled with to make it somewhat realistic for a military operated base would look like,yes they may have missed the lunch room,but they may not have. Hate to say it but lets just wait till beta to find out...But if they don't have these,so far from what we have seen is the landscape of the bases is well thought out gameplay wise,meaning things to take cover behind and not a bunch of empty space.

[Semisel]

Off-topic: Do we know if there are confirmed/denied cities on any of the continents? I mean, just having a city-like anything of some sort would be momentous for variation between continents. Also, continents with significantly differing shapes and geographical features showing some history of tectonic movement and a global sense of climate gradations would be *awesome*.

On-topic: I would *like* to see these sorts of touches in the game, but I also realize that without tying them to the gameplay, it's unlikely that we'll see them.

[Toppopia]

Off-topic: Do we know if there are confirmed/denied cities on any of the continents? I mean, just having a city-like anything of some sort would be momentous for variation between continents. Also, continents with significantly differing shapes and geographical features showing some history of tectonic movement and a global sense of climate gradations would be *awesome*.

On-topic: I would *like* to see these sorts of touches in the game, but I also realize that without tying them to the gameplay, it's unlikely that we'll see them.

In the future they will add cities, but none at launch i don't think, but imagine a continent where its only 1 big city? With the outskirts and sub urban areas then as you get close to the centre it becomes more packed and taller buildings till you reach the CBD and its massive sky scrapers.

[Sledgecrushr]

When I was playing everquest, i raided quite a bit. I also was in groups that spawn camped for rare mobs quite a bit. And after a while I wanted to take a break from raiding and grouping I could go own to the casino and gamble some of my hard earned money away. Now this casino didnt have anythng to do with the core of the game which was raiding and grouping but what it offered was some variety and it kept me in game while I enjoyed some variety. I guess what Im saying is that there could be activities not related to shooting, drivng or flying. Every soldier will need some r&r and if I am a developer then I want people to stay in game while they take a short break.