News: Community Interview with Matt Higby [Archive]

Stardouser

2012-05-30, 10:59 AM

As far as kicking people off a continent, I've always envisioned that an MMOFPS would be one huge game world, with multiple continents, you can fly from one continent to another, you get the idea, whereas this is almost as if each continent is a self contained sub-server(subdivision of the game world). And not just 3, but more like 5-6, so kicking a faction off of one continent isn't as catastrophic.

I know well that this is different from PS1's continent-server basis, I'm just saying. In other words instead of 3 continents for 6000 players but each one is hard locked to 2000 each, you'd have 6 continents for 9000 and no hard lock per.

Bags

2012-05-30, 10:59 AM

You monsters, that interview is 41 minutes and I only have 31 until class!

Mod

2012-05-30, 11:01 AM

Something to look forward to when I get home from work in about 30m ;)

Baron

2012-05-30, 11:01 AM

Hope someone posts a text summary since I don't get sound at work :(

Hamma

2012-05-30, 11:12 AM

Don't worry guys it will be there when you get back! ;)

JHendy

2012-05-30, 11:12 AM

Dov

2012-05-30, 11:22 AM

http://i.imgur.com/5wUlH.jpg

basti

2012-05-30, 11:23 AM

WTF HIGBY! You scared me at the start scaring at the Cam. :D

Rumblepit

2012-05-30, 11:28 AM

you 2 make me sooooo dam jelly.. love the interview,tones of good intel.

you guys dont get enough credit for what your doing for this game. great job guys, keep up the good work.

Manitou

2012-05-30, 11:32 AM

This is more than just an interview, in my opinion. This is a glimpse into the heart and soul of the game of PlanetSide 2. A successful game needs a visionary to direct, present goals, and to cast the vision for the game. Without placing Matt on too high a pillar, I think you are seeing the visionary here in this interview. Indeed the game requires all the functioning parts to coalesce, but there has to be an "agent" to bind the parts all together and direct them.

When I see Matt talk about PS2, I see his excitement and it becomes my excitement. Imagine what it does to those who are actually working on the game.

Great stuff...

waldizzo

2012-05-30, 11:32 AM

Very nice. Thank you again Hamma, Jenny and SOE/Higby.

Turdicus

2012-05-30, 11:32 AM

Sounds like the mission system is really going to make or break a lot of the game play, since it is going to facilitate extra xp, resources, and population control all in one move. Thats going to be something that is going to really be put through its paces in beta, but I'm excited about the concept; I've never seen anything quite like it.

Very excited

Also jealous that hamma and jenny heard some ps2 music, how was it?

ZeroOneZero

2012-05-30, 11:34 AM

Awesome stuff guys! :D Awesome questions and great replies. I also liked Higby's socks, blue and yellow, we know where his loyalty lies :S.

The Janitor

2012-05-30, 11:37 AM

Hah, so the mission system is mainly to direct the meat for the meat grinder while outfits do the real work. This is genius. :D

Stardouser

2012-05-30, 11:46 AM

I really like the way spotting is shaping up, I mean, I'm not crazy about 3D spotting but squad-only doesn't seem that bad.

I've always thought that recons in BF games should have longer range spotting, too. Infiltrator sounds neat.

Oh no. He was a bit unclear about this but I interpreted this as meaning that he wanted infiltrators to broadcast 3D spots to a wide area. That wouldn't make sense for squad only.

If it WERE squad only it would be acceptable but 3D spotting for your entire empire within a huge radius is bad.

I note, however, that he did not say "3D spotting" he said "spotting", but I suppose this is what he must be talking about.

Whoever gets in the closed beta, get the fight against 3D spotting started asap. At least to make it squad only.

People for 3D spotting can argue about teamwork all they want, but it also shows you where to place your aiming sight and is therefore 4th wall breaking aid from the game.

I also note he threw in that bit about other games are doing this. This is one game mechanic where that's no excuse.

Cam

2012-05-30, 11:47 AM

Thank you PSU staff for this great interview and thank you mr Higby. Keep up the good work.

duck

2012-05-30, 11:48 AM

Can anyone make a summary of the highlights Higby pointed out in the video (for those who can't watch a 40min long interview)? :)

duomaxwl

2012-05-30, 11:51 AM

Hey Hamma, I have a question, and if it's covered in the video, I'm sorry. I just got to the part about infiltrators. Have you seen anything about there being an option for a more traditional infiltrator (using pistol instead of big a gun, longer/infinite cloak?)
Thanks!

LostSoul

2012-05-30, 11:52 AM

Love the outro :)

PredatorFour

2012-05-30, 11:55 AM

Niceone, you guys must be buzzing gettin to do cool stuff like this:D

NCLynx

2012-05-30, 12:07 PM

41 minutes of awesome, thanks Hamma you lucky bastard =P

Hamma

2012-05-30, 12:07 PM

Also jealous that hamma and jenny heard some ps2 music, how was it?

I don't think it is totally done but what we heard was awesome. It's PlanetSide through and through and sounded awesome. Made the hair raise on the back of my neck :)

Hey Hamma, I have a question, and if it's covered in the video, I'm sorry. I just got to the part about infiltrators. Have you seen anything about there being an option for a more traditional infiltrator (using pistol instead of big a gun, longer/infinite cloak?)
Thanks!

There was no mention but I do think they want the traditional cloaker role in the game as well.

Love the outro :)

Thanks! I wanted to add it in because we don't get a chance to use it much anymore :)

duomaxwl

2012-05-30, 12:10 PM

I don't think it is totally done but what we heard was awesome. It's PlanetSide through and through and sounded awesome. Made the hair raise on the back of my neck :)

There was no mention but I do think they want the traditional cloaker role in the game as well.

Awesome, and awesome. Thanks!

Thomas

2012-05-30, 12:17 PM

Are there more videos coming Hamma? Great interview, didn't see it being so long but loved it!

Xyntech

2012-05-30, 12:19 PM

Very cool interview hamma, higby, jennyboo. Very interesting and informative. It's very nice to have an interview where the interviewer knows his subject and is prepared with relevant questions, and where the interviewee is so willing to share.

I'm somewhat concerned by where the dev team is at with the dedicated gunner idea. I think it would seem pretty straight forward to remove the fixed Magrider gun and replace the gunner turret with a rotating version of the main gun. Still, I'm interested to see the current system in beta.

The external apps and api's, along with the outfits and mission systems sound really good. I think that this is another aspect that will really make Planetside 2 huge, and keep it thriving for a long time.

2coolforu

2012-05-30, 12:22 PM

Higby = a bro

Hamma

2012-05-30, 12:27 PM

This is the final interview in our series :)

Tcakes

2012-05-30, 12:28 PM

strong work, thanks for taking the time to make the interviews and the staff for doing them. glad you guys got to check out whats going on

Gandhi

2012-05-30, 12:40 PM

Thanks guys, cool interview :)

I like the dedicated gunner cert, it solves one of my biggest issues with driver/gunner. Any fool can hold down W and charge a tank into the front lines, which makes for really boring driving, but driving a tank well is a full time job in itself. You need good situational awareness, good terrain awareness. Is it more important right now to stick to flat ground to give my gunner a stable platform? Or should I be booking it to run for cover? How should I maneuver to force my target into a tough firing position? Can I position myself so that his friends can't hit me without hitting him too?

Those are the kinds of things that make tank driving fun. If I have the main gun I really can't do those things, I have to focus on shooting instead, because if I don't I'm wasting half my tank's firepower. Even in the Magrider I sometimes felt like I was screwing up if I wasn't firing on our target with the PPA as well, even though I know I should be focused on driving instead.

So being able to cert the main gun to a gunner is great, then I can drive without feeling guilty about focusing on driving. Though I hope the gunner still has the option to switch to the secondary in that case, like how switching between guns on the Vanguard worked in PS1.

Kato

2012-05-30, 12:43 PM

I just want it to happen soooooooo bad right now

xcel

2012-05-30, 12:46 PM

Higby is such a bro.

SixShooter

2012-05-30, 12:52 PM

Great interview, I think you guys did an awesome job and I can't wait for the next community night.

DviddLeff

2012-05-30, 12:53 PM

Great work - the past two videos have had some really great questions that have probed right into the matters that we have been wondering about, rather than the general gist that we have seen from general gaming sites.

Particularly the weather (and battle smoke) and missions systems discussion was fantastic.

I can't wait to put out a call to arms via my outfits phones!

JPalmer

2012-05-30, 12:57 PM

This interview was awesome. I am a social media kind of guy and the whole twitter thing is sweet. Twitch.tv built in? Holy shit.

That is awesome. I love the phones messages too. I can see it now getting Galaxy missions. Creating a squad at the warp gate, invite some randoms, and head out to the objective. I could do that alllll day.

Logri

2012-05-30, 01:01 PM

That was a great interview, nicely done :)
When I see Matt light up when he talks about PS2 it makes so happy to know that the game is being made by a very dedicated team, and tell me, how can you not like Higby, even if he is NC, he's just such a nice person :P

I also have a question that came to me while seeing this interview.

When you were playing, did you happen to team up with someone?
Reason why I ask is because I'm curious as to the amount of UI info you get when doing so.

I remember many times while in a squad or platoon, the team leader asked "who is a healer/engineer/gam pilot" etc...
When you team up, will you be able to see what class that player is and in doing so, remove the need to ask what class everyone is.

*If anyone else knows the answer, feel free to enlighten me :P

Athanasios

2012-05-30, 01:06 PM

Here's a sum up (a bit coded but i guess the meaning is obvious):

edit: *) of course cheating (first question) : multiple approaches/mechanics to prevent it

1) ejection seats, aided landing (eg. shield under gal), drop pods > certs

2) secondary objectives apart from capturing points
-eg. caping a point = disabling turrets in main base

3) night cycle : under discussion

4) infiltrators = "gadgeteers"
-eg. hacking, sabotage, reckon, sensors

5) cert points : can be spent on everything

6) moon phases : now static but as in MMOs you can patch it 2 weeks laters

7) dedicated tank driver : under discussion

8) bailing in the middle of a battle > NOT beneficial

9) weather system : minimal in launch, plans for "killer" weather system post-launh
-eg. storms progressing accross continents, volumetric clouds & fog
-also directly affecting gameplay (eg radars, lock-ons)

10) outfits : full customisation
-eg. ranks, special vehicle addons

11) live stream, sharing info : yes

12) screen spamming : no

13) XML feed for data for everything + control of accessibility of the data

14) artillery : purchasable with resources
-different style for each empires
-different striking patterns possible at will

15) mobile apps & general out-of-game alerts/communication : yes
eg. "we need air-superiority @ Indar : accept / decline" as sms on your mobile or through a PS mobile app

16) rebust mission system to coordinate masses of newcomers to PS

SniperSteve

2012-05-30, 01:24 PM

Gahhh--- Just about to leave the house and I see this is posted.. :( Looks like it could potentially be the most interesting interview yet!

Fuse

2012-05-30, 01:25 PM

Oh no. He was a bit unclear about this but I interpreted this as meaning that he wanted infiltrators to broadcast 3D spots to a wide area. That wouldn't make sense for squad only.
No one else gets this ability. He said that was one of the kinds of things they were considering for an infil's utility. I don't think he said it was in the game for sure, but it was definitely his example of "infil as recon".

I'm somewhat concerned by where the dev team is at with the dedicated gunner idea. I think it would seem pretty straight forward to remove the fixed Magrider gun and replace the gunner turret with a rotating version of the main gun. Still, I'm interested to see the current system in beta.

:eek: What? Seriously, what?! No, you do not remove the driver's gun from the Mag. Period. You call your self Vanu? *grabs torch and pitchfork*

Even Higby knows better, and he's NC. I think what he was saying is that Vanu just wouldn't get the option of certing for the gunner to control the front turret. I'd be fine with that, it seems like it will be useless for us anyways. I hope that's what he was saying. lol

Thanks for the video, guys. That 40 minutes went by way too fast for me, haha.

duck

2012-05-30, 01:25 PM

Thanks Athanasios

kaffis

2012-05-30, 01:29 PM

Hah, so the mission system is mainly to direct the meat for the meat grinder while outfits do the real work. This is genius. :D
Well, if the only part of the mission discussion you listened to was the first part, sure.

He also briefly touched on, but hinted at much more, how the mission system also has a lot of granularity. That makes it a much more elegant and powerful tool for organization than simply chat.

Platoons are stone age organization tools. Missions, done well, can be so much more flexible, powerful, and easy to use.

What you have to get your head around is *delegation.* Granular mission design is all about coordinating the delegation of mission tasks to appropriately sized units *without having to have one person micromanaging everything.*

JHendy

2012-05-30, 01:36 PM

I'm somewhat concerned by where the dev team is at with the dedicated gunner idea. I think it would seem pretty straight forward to remove the fixed Magrider gun and replace the gunner turret with a rotating version of the main gun.

That's what I thought too. Just pop the turret on top in rotating form and nerf its damage output ever so slightly to rebalance it.

Xyntech

2012-05-30, 01:37 PM

That's what I thought too. Just pop the turret on top in rotating form and nerf its damage output ever so slightly to rebalance it.

Or maybe keep it the same and give the Vanguard and Prowler dedicated gunner certs a slight buff.

JHendy

2012-05-30, 01:41 PM

Or maybe keep it the same and give the Vanguard and Prowler dedicated gunner certs a slight buff.

I think having a dedicated gunner is enough of a buff already. If you then buffed the other two tanks to match the Magrider, driver gunners would be completely outclassed. Not that I'd have a problem with that as I think it's the way to go, but I don't reckon the devs want to allow that to happen.

Lonehunter

2012-05-30, 01:43 PM

Finally some details on Infiltrators and Commanders, I plan on doing both lol.

I love everything he said. Attaching Orbital Strikes to resources is great, I love how we can choose different patterns and strengths, and each empire has their own unique choices.

As a cloaker who hasn't Sniped before I'm up for trying it, but most of my game would be close range, sabotage, recon, "gadgeteer"ing, all seem possible in PS2

Mod

2012-05-30, 01:44 PM

This is the final interview in our series :)

But... but.... what are we going to have to get us through the day tomorrow? :p

JPalmer

2012-05-30, 01:44 PM

Who wants to start a Galaxy outfit?

Xyntech

2012-05-30, 01:52 PM

I think having a dedicated gunner is enough of a buff already. If you then buffed the other two tanks to match the Magrider, driver gunners would be completely outclassed. Not that I'd have a problem with that as I think it's the way to go, but I don't reckon the devs want to allow that to happen.

Not really. As Higby mentioned, a regular driver gunned tank with a TOW missile for the gunner seat would have even more firepower against an enemy tank, while one with an AA gun would have significantly more survivability against aircraft.

They will probably have to give dedicated gunner tanks a small boost to their damage and armor, although just having a dedicated driver will probably be a buff of its own.

Also, we don't know if dedicated gunner tanks would be given a 3rd seat for a second gunner, to control an AA or other type of secondary turret. This would again affect how they would need to be balanced, although an armor boost would still probably be in order since you would be protecting 3 people instead of 2 like in most regular tanks that also had 2 turrets.

This is all balance minutia that could be tweaked and sorted in beta though. The main point is still that the option for driving a tank with no need to control a gun would be a nice option. How the balance would play out would be figured out through large scale play tests, whether they needed more firepower or armor or both, or whether they were fine with the base stats.

Purple

2012-05-30, 01:52 PM

boo you dident ask my question.

i want to know if you buy a customization if it limited to the server? so if ou find out your friends are playing on a different server do you have to rebuy the customization (this excludes sidegrades)

Immigrant

2012-05-30, 01:54 PM

Great interview, thx Hamma!

Here are my few short thoughts: thrustpads - i still don't approve but I'm glad to hear they will be scarce, daytime cycle - way too short imo, should be at least 3 hours, driver/gunner - seems it's going in good direction so teamwork will be preferable and last artillery/orbital strike - I still fear it will get spammy and it think that solution requiring guys making those shots (either from arty vehicles or nearby tower control rooms) would be preferable and could prevent spam.

kaffis

2012-05-30, 02:01 PM

Who wants to start a Galaxy outfit?
I'll be first in line for the Sundy outfit.

My favored number for the day/night cycle is 5 hour days.

JHendy

2012-05-30, 02:01 PM

They will probably have to give dedicated gunner tanks a small boost to their damage and armor, although just having a dedicated driver will probably be a buff of its own.

That's exactly what I said though :lol:

Kipper

2012-05-30, 02:15 PM

Great interview, nice to get some depth for people that have been following PS2 as opposed to the (admittedly nescessary) 'intro'views aimed at attracting new people to the franchise.

Thanks Higby & the PS2 and the PSU teams :)

I don't think there was anything that I didn't like the sound of in there... seems like a whole bunch of thought is going into everything!

As for the driver/gunner thing - I think an ideal solution would be to have 2 man variants of the ES tanks (and maybe the ES aircraft too) so you had the option of soloing them or building a version with the same capabilities but an extra seat - then everyone has a choice; with the extra effectiveness being countered by the fact that it takes two people to use it.

The Magrider problem could be overcome by the 2-man mag losing its ability to strafe but gaining a rotating turret; just say the extra seat position meant that they had to lose side thrusters to save weight or something :)

The Kush

2012-05-30, 02:18 PM

Awesome job.

Matt- I really like the idea of clicking on a base/outpost and that's creates a mission for your squad to defend/attack and gives you bonus xp. Really enforces the idea of teamwork, excellent.

basti

2012-05-30, 02:21 PM

That's what I thought too. Just pop the turret on top in rotating form and nerf its damage output ever so slightly to rebalance it.

Not that easy really. The mesh is set up to have no rotating main turret. In order to change that, they would have to change the mesh. Means they also have to change the UV map, and bang you have to change every single texture.

I would be totally fine with having the mag be always a 2 seater, while NC and TR have the option for the dedicated gunner. The big issue with the driver = gunner is the fact that you cannot drive and gun at the same time without running into stuff. The mag doesnt have that issue, as its main gun is fixed forward.

on top of that, if the PS2 mag is similar to the PS1 mag, then it drives backwards almost as fast as it drives forwards. Means bugging out of a combat zone is easy for us, as we dont expose our butt. ;)

Snipefrag

2012-05-30, 02:21 PM

This tallied with the dev interview earlier have answered more questions than 3-4 of the more generic ones done at GDC by the mainstream media.. good job PSU :) !

JHendy

2012-05-30, 02:40 PM

I would be totally fine with having the mag be always a 2 seater, while NC and TR have the option for the dedicated gunner. )

Yeah, me too dude. But I reckon a good number of people would kick up a fuss without considering the tradeoffs.

Notturno

2012-05-30, 02:47 PM

I feel like I obtained a wealth of different information about the game I haven't heard anywhere else. It's nice to have an interview done by people with a lot of experience and knowledge about the game already; you guys already know the old stuff, so we're getting to hear about new stuff or things not talked about as much.

Thanks, I watched the whole thing. Totally worth it.

MrBloodworth

2012-05-30, 02:47 PM

Drivers also gunning should be the cert, not the other way around. Put back separate drivers and gunners.

KTNApollo

2012-05-30, 02:52 PM

Drivers also gunning should be the cert, not the other way around. Put back separate drivers and gunners.

This.

Aaron

2012-05-30, 02:54 PM

Higby's lamps obey him xD. Higby, you're just awesome.

Great interview, Hamma!

ringring

2012-05-30, 03:11 PM

Not that easy really. The mesh is set up to have no rotating main turret. In order to change that, they would have to change the mesh. Means they also have to change the UV map, and bang you have to change every single texture.

I would be totally fine with having the mag be always a 2 seater, while NC and TR have the option for the dedicated gunner. The big issue with the driver = gunner is the fact that you cannot drive and gun at the same time without running into stuff. The mag doesnt have that issue, as its main gun is fixed forward.

on top of that, if the PS2 mag is similar to the PS1 mag, then it drives backwards almost as fast as it drives forwards. Means bugging out of a combat zone is easy for us, as we dont expose our butt. ;)

Pre-feckin-cisely.

I can't understand why xyntech keeps going on about the magrider and the driver gun. Of all three tanks the magrider is the most suitable for it. I've driven the current magrider a lot and the configuration simply 'works'.

It is different for the Prowler and for the Vanguard.

Malorn

2012-05-30, 03:13 PM

Great interview, thank you Matt and Hamma!

The orbital strike mechanic sounds great to me. It's what I expected it to be with resource costs, cooldowns, and tradeoff decisions.

I was a bit put off by jump pads also but after watching the video they were only really on the walls. I'd prefer we have the means to disable them or prevent use by enemies if we own the capture node associated with them.

Looking forward to each capture point for a facility having different effects also, that's a fantastic idea and brings us back to different strategic locations in facilities like PS1 that needed to be protected (spawn room, cc, gen rom, vehicle pad area, etc).

Lots of options for control nodes to have linked benefits:
* Spawn room
* Ground vehicle terminal
* Air vehicle terminal
* Turret control
* Transporters/Jump pads
* Shields or other barriers
* Control room (radar/spotting effects)
* Engineering/Refining (local resource income modifier)

With mechanics like that each point would have its own strategic value in addition to contributing to facility capture. Lots of possibilities there, love where that's going.

ringring

2012-05-30, 03:19 PM

Great job Hamma and Jenny and thanks as always Matt.

I am wary of the spotting ..... thanks Stardouser ... I don't want it to be too overpowered.

The question I have is the almost throw-away comment by Matt on missions. Matt said something like "the way I want to have it is so that when you first log in the first thing you see is a list of available missions that you choose from and then you're auto-squadded" ... or something like that.

Please consider that if is like this it will tend to undermine outfits. For those people who are outfitted the 'on login' should show them something outfit related, like an option to join an outfit squad, the current squad and platoon leader and the location of the squads.

Of course, people don't have to join the outfit squad all the time so the not to option should be open but the default choice should be to join with and support your outfit.

bjorntju1

2012-05-30, 03:22 PM

Great job! Can't wait to finally play the game!

solracseptim

2012-05-30, 03:24 PM

I definitely like how players who already know the game can use the mission system in to their advantage I think it will go a long way to teaching new players the game as well.

Xyntech

2012-05-30, 03:40 PM

Not that easy really. The mesh is set up to have no rotating main turret. In order to change that, they would have to change the mesh. Means they also have to change the UV map, and bang you have to change every single texture.

Well it mostly depends on whether dedicated gunner tanks had a 3rd gunner to control AA guns/etc.

If they don't have that option, then the magrider mesh would be easy. Just take off the big gun in front, and replace it with a little mesh that plugs the hole. Then use the turret location that is already used for the gunner slot on normal magriders (the one where AA turrets go, like the one TB gunned for in the night ops video) as the rotating turret and stick a larger than usual gun on it. No UV map changing required, just make a new larger turret based on the already present modification system.

But if dedicated gunner tanks did allow a 3rd seat for controlling a second turret, then it could be more problematic.

Personally, I don't see why anybody thinks that the Magrider is any more suited to driver controlled guns than the other tanks. I've driven a Lightning and a Magrider plenty, and I didn't ever really have much more or less trouble with crashing into stuff in either of them.

A Vanguard can sort of strafe, or drive backwards at full speed, it just has to rotate its body into position first to do so. Your situational awareness isn't any greater in a Magrider. Hell, we recently found out that Magriders won't even turn as quickly as the other two MBT's turrets will rotate, so the other tanks will actually be able to look around themselves to check for obstacles more quickly than the Magrider can.

I'm not complaining mind you. I've always appreciated the value of being able to strafe or retreat in the new Magrider while still keeping your strongest armor facing the threat. I just don't see any reason other than technical difficulties why one MBT should be left out of the dedicated gunner idea, especially when there would be some relatively simple ways to get around the technical issues.

Personally, I'm not even that big a proponent of the 1 driver 1 gunner argument. I just think it would be cool to have the option, and I think that holds true for the Magrider as well. True the Magrider was the only MBT in the first game to have a gun for the driver, but I didn't hear a lot of people complaining about it having a turreted main gun just like every other MBT either. Seems like it would be a fine idea to bring back that option in PS2.

sylphaen

2012-05-30, 04:15 PM

Great interview with lots of awesome information. I love where PS2 is headed based on what Higby said.

A bit sad about the driver/gunner thing but the explanation is sensible. Aircav also seems to have a lot of AA waiting for it. Can't Wait to test it out in beta.

Edit: funny little camera edit with the lights, by the way.
;)

Vashyo

2012-05-30, 04:53 PM

Glad u asked the 2 questions I wanted an answer to

really happy with the way they're doing the orbital strike, it has to be costly and long cooldown.

Also mission-system sounds really cool, there's barely been any real info on it, glad to finally know more.

Can't wait for beta ^_^

ExplodingSilver

2012-05-30, 04:55 PM

good video, imformative

Atheosim

2012-05-30, 05:06 PM

This was an excellent interview. I hope I can find the time to actually play this game :(

Hmr85

2012-05-30, 05:09 PM

Great Interview, It really answered quite a few of my questions. I am even more excited now which is unbelievable because I thought I was already at the max. I really can't wait to get my hands on this in beta.

Red Beard

2012-05-30, 05:39 PM

Higby; just wanted to say that I was satisfied with your response on jump pads...I was pretty adamantly against them, but with you describing them as having limited scope, it probably won't be a big deal.

Just wanted to thank you for passionate, sustained and professional engagement with the community!

TRay is also hilarious on those webcasts...which reminds me; concerning face detail, has it been confirmed that tears will be visible upon base captures? lol

One real question I have...it looks lke you're getting spammed on your twitter about it today, but after you have some time to look into it, I would LOVE to hear whether TrackIR will be supported at all (at least in cockpit view). I just saw that today, and even just looking into your turns would be amazing!

Kurtz

2012-05-30, 05:41 PM

Well done Hamma and Higby (and Jenny pushing for gunners).

capture points
being able to spawn a vehicle - no
being able to disable unmanned turrets - yes

specialized outfits - no.

Besides the reason Higby mentioned, we found most other outfits couldn't be counted on to do particular tasks in an invasion and you needed to bring a balanced attack to the invasion yourself. That means your outfit was bringing armor air and infy to the fight. So not being able to have pilots specialize their aircraft and tank drivers their tanks is a disadvantage to the outfit system.

Perhaps I'm hearing/reading this wrong but this means needing to collaborate with other outfits to coordinate your attack. Its hard enough to get your own air cav to fly cover for your own tank column, let alone an entirely other outfit NOT on your teamspeak or ventrilo.

Lets just say some of the biggest and most organized outfits still disappointed me when it came to organizing multi- outfit assaults. (Not just in PS1 but in other MMOs as well).

If I'm hearing this right...a gal specialized outfit would not be prudent only when they're dropping out of Gals. If they decided to roll armor they would get crushed by the Armor certed outfit.

Again, maybe I'm mis-understanding this, but I think its a little short sighted if I am correct.

Red Beard

2012-05-30, 05:56 PM

SniperSteve

2012-05-30, 06:03 PM

Awesome interview. Great info!

Hamma - at the end of the interview the voiceover says www.planetsideuniverse.com He should say www.planetsideDASHuniverse.com ^_^

Graywolves

2012-05-30, 06:06 PM

Great interview, I wish my hair was as awesome as Higby's.

I like where he is going with the Mission system and how he sees at as something for the more in-depth/serious players to request reinforcements in an area and provide the other players a way to instantly jump in to the battle without having to search the map and grab their own transport.

Outfit specialization should be really cool, it shouldn't limit an outfit in what they do, just give them more options/variety in a certain field. If an outfit wants to just generalize they will hopefully have that tree ready with the others. There will definitely be plenty of Infantry/Armor/Air Exclusive outfits.

I'm pleased to see Jumppads are being used more for providing variety overall than travel for every base. I still prefer the beer-can-tube-launch idea though.

OS/Artillery should be cool. As a TR though I'm going to be sad to not have an OS similar to the original. Big Bertha should be sweet though.

It will be interesting to see the base capture further evolved and if we get a variety of different base captures. (Something like having to destroy/disable shield terminals or something then destroying objectives that could be repaired-re-enabled would be very neat imo)

-edit- Also loved the outro, I'm going to try and meet women on this site now.

Kurtz

2012-05-30, 06:07 PM

Seems like you'll be able to create an incentive for the air cav by generating a mission for air support. From the way Higby describes it, it sounds like templates will be relied on for speed of generation within a few clicks. Once a mission is generated, as long as the reward is enough to keep them interested in staying with you (presuming being in the same outfit isn't enough...?) there shouldn't be a problem I don't think.

Its not a problem for casual players and casual outfits, but it will immediately be a problem for any of the larger more organized outfits that pride themselves being a unified attack force. I'm talking about outfits that routinely have 50 players online at a time.

Are they to hire another outfit to do their Gal drops so they can get in gals that have more armor or can hot drop? Sorry that is ludicrous.

I had 2 outfits both in the top 10 for outfit points in their day. One was large, one was very small. The large outfit had an armor division with tank drivers and an air cav with pilots. We also had an infy division. Nothing was better than leading that massive force of 50+ players in a balanced attack on enemy bases.

The beauty of PS1 was it gave you the freedom to think outside the box and do things the way you wanted to do them.

Outfit chat and globals allowed the players to become and rule their own communities.

Hopefully PS2 won't limit the imaginations of players and hurt an outfit for being diverse.

Red Beard

2012-05-30, 06:15 PM

Its not a problem for casual players and casual outfits, but it will immediately be a problem for any of the larger more organized outfits that pride themselves being a unified attack force. I'm talking about outfits that routinely have 50 players online at a time.

Are they to hire another outfit to do their Gal drops so they can get in gals that have more armor or can hot drop? Sorry that is ludicrous.

I had 2 outfits both in the top 10 for outfit points in their day. One was large, one was very small. The large outfit had an armor division with tank drivers and an air cav with pilots. We also had an infy division. Nothing was better than leading that massive force of 50+ players in a balanced attack on enemy bases.

The beauty of PS1 was it gave you the freedom to think outside the box and do things the way you wanted to do them.

Outfit chat and globals allowed the players to become and rule their own communities.

Hopefully PS2 won't limit the imaginations of players and hurt an outfit for being diverse.

I kind of like the idea of having a choice of either being a specialized outfit or a jack of all trades one. I think the desirability between outfits to work together could be a great way to build depth of game play as well if the design and incentives were done right...Otherwise yeah it could end up being a headache.

SUBARU

2012-05-30, 06:19 PM

WTF HIGBY! You scared me at the start scaring at the Cam. :D

lol, I thought I was looking at a young Ozzy Osbourne :)

Graywolves

2012-05-30, 06:28 PM

Oh yeah. I also laughed when Higby talked about an OL being a hard-core drill sergeant because that's literally what mine was for most of the time I played PS.

-edit- I also think a small motivation to get people to not leave losing fights would be an achievment/bonus or something from defending in a losing battle. Like if you got a certain amount of kills/support/w.e in a defense mission and then the enemy won you'd get another notch in the "Alamo" stat or something and that would provide an amount of reward similar to being successful, maybe.

Papscal

2012-05-30, 06:34 PM

Once again a stellar line of questions both from notes and off the cuff. You represented gamers like no magazine or online site ever does, superb work Hamma-again.

That being said what does concern me is Higby's response to continent lock outs. Paraphrasing here, he suggested that it would be very difficult to be pushed off a continent even though you have been pushed back to your main base. I dont like that. If you are out numbered and beaten your done. Fall back regroup and estimate what the next move is. The suggestion in this is no one looses, and thats just silly. The sting of loosing was always more than ample motivation for me to come back and administer some prison sex to my former opponents that once bested me. Maybe its just me, but i often learned more from getting the shit kicked out of me than i did from just zerging to a win.
Bottom line is you simply cant make every single player happy all the time.

Great interview. And thanks to the devs for being so open with PSU.

bpostal

2012-05-30, 07:11 PM

I can't fuckin wait!

Hamma

2012-05-30, 08:55 PM

Thanks for the kind words everyone! It was a blast to do and I'm glad that you all are happy with the result.

KALU

2012-05-30, 09:06 PM

AWESOME ENDING PSU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hamma

2012-05-30, 09:28 PM

Thanks!

That commercial is ultra old school I figured this was as good a time to bring it back out as any. :)

raykor

2012-05-30, 11:21 PM

The best interview so far. Lots of good info and his passion for the game is reassuring.

If this game launches well and continues to grow steadily… Just imagine what it could evolve to over several years!

Sentrosi

2012-05-31, 12:15 AM

An excellent interview. :thumbsup:
Loved the little "Oh yeah, we had a division within our outfit who would go out and drain bases just to see how fast they could" shoutout.
<---Founding SOAR team member

Captain1nsaneo

2012-05-31, 12:54 AM

Good stuff in the interview, thanks to both SOE and Hamma/Jenny for doing this. Still unsure about the pads for the reason that they can be used to escape strafing runs and gunfire quickly while still using AA weapons and such. I can understand why they might be needed though but I think once we get proper numbers the need to quickly relocate might be rendered moot. Buying OSes is a good idea and I'm glad to hear about the grenade cooldown but I'm still worried about their lethality.

Really think their ideas on the weather system is awesome. But I disagree with most of the other posters here on the day night cycle. I think it should be significant in length possibly 12 hours or so. Reason being that you can't really plan for morning or take advantage of night if its short. Organic planning that incorporates day/night and weather needs time to gestate. It also causes changes to be remembered more when they are rare rather than short cycles. Adds some gravitas if you will.

An excellent interview. :thumbsup:
Loved the little "Oh yeah, we had a division within our outfit who would go out and drain bases just to see how fast they could" shoutout.
<---Founding SOAR team member

As a fellow drain specialist I've got to test ya.
What base currently drains the fastest and why?

Grognard

2012-05-31, 01:03 AM

Personally, I think it should be 4 hours day, 2 hours night time.

Thats 6 hours / 3 continents = its dark somewhere on one, going to dusk one one, and comming outa dawn on the last, 4 times a real life day...

I think I can get in a good 6 hours, even on a work day, if I push it.

Raymac

2012-05-31, 01:08 AM

It was really awesome of SOE to have Hamma and Jenny over to check out the game, and PSU's first couple did a great job.

1 thing the interview made me notice is how much time we spend on talking about things we are worried about compared to how little time we spend talking about things we are excited about. There is an awful lot of negativity and not enough focus on the things that Planetside 2 is doing to really become a genre defining game.

ExplodingSilver

2012-05-31, 03:10 AM

@ Hamma
is there a thread where you collate together your questions for the devs because I have a few questions to go on your list

Hamma

2012-05-31, 09:29 AM

What do you mean? We won't have another interview for a bit so giving them to me may not be useful. :p

Xyntech

2012-05-31, 10:09 AM

What do you mean? We won't have another interview for a bit so giving them to me may not be useful. :p

Start gathering now. Make large pile. Show pile to Higby. Another interview shall be yours!

Come on. You know he enjoyed being interviewed by an actual Planetside player a lot more than some of these various random media interviews.

Anderz

2012-05-31, 10:10 AM

Perhaps an email or webcast interview? Not for a bit though. Give them man some time to breathe and, well, make PlanetSide 2.

Hamma

2012-05-31, 11:52 AM

I am going to see if we can get him on AGN during our July show :)

Semisel

2012-05-31, 11:55 AM

Don't forget today's live stream from TB. Could be an opportunity to get a few answers.

Graywolves

2012-05-31, 12:12 PM

Don't forget today's live stream from TB. Could be an opportunity to get a few answers.

Thank's for reminding me! Now just try to remind me again 6 hours from now.

Roxputin

2012-05-31, 01:40 PM

After 9 years of playing Planetside and visiting PSU I signed up to say this:

Good job with the interview. Don't let Higby off that easy with tough questions especially when it revolves around squad teamplay.
Your question/comment about who operates the tank's main weapon is both valid and necessary.
Please keep firing these kinds of questions to Higby and any other Dev. who will listen.

We remember the absolute breakdown in communication and player involvement in the first Planetside, I vowed never to let that happen if there was to be another Planetside. I hope other PS veterans like yourself would do the same.