Todays play experience was worrysome

[Babyfark McGeez]

Actually i wanted to write "The community allready blows", but i thought i may be too harsh with that one and i just picked the wrong day / time to play (and i don't recall it being that bad before). Also i played solo tonight.

But what i experienced today made me worry about the kind of people we will end up with here in PS2;

- In ~3 hours playtime i didn't see a single tactical "/re" message aside from my own, only people yelling profanities at each other

- It took me like 15 minutes to get an answer to a simple question (are medikits bugged?). And i only got an answer because after politely asking it for five times i started spamming it in caps (again i was at the wg)

- Nobody defended AT ALL. There was a big zerg going leaving a trail of empty bases behind that nobody guarded. I tried to defend some because it was obvious only pushing forward in a small, thin line would end up in desaster, but eventually i gave up. When i logged out the huge area we had in the beginning was gone, as was the "trail" of captured bases and we were close to being warpgated

So aside from me ranting here, what are your experiences? Is having a CoD/BF kiddie community a concern to you? Is that the tradeoff for going solo? Is dealing with numbnuts the "metagame"?
Or was it allready that bad in PS1 and i just didn't notice it?

[Hamma]

I play 95% of the time in an outfit and don't pay a ton of attention to region or local chats really. Pretty sure PS1 was just as evil :lol:

[Babyfark McGeez]

Hehe well, i will now intentionally not join a squad again tomorrow to see if it's allways like that as han solo. :cool:

[SKYeXile]

Yea get an outfit if you want people to care about more than themselves.

I care what happens to my pocket healers and ammo squires.

[Figment]

I noticed a lot of people are preoccupied with /y cause you can hate tell an entire enemy pop at once. :p

[Fear The Amish]

Piece of advise most outfits that are recruiting run open platoons in the advertisements they will usually announce. Check those out a lot of fun also if your VS on Lythesia Xen of Onslaught runs open platoons almost 24/7 check us out if you get a chance.

[Helwyr]

I have none of these issues when I'm solo, which is most of the time. But then I'm actually solo not in a random squad, I'm not trying to directly communicate or organize with other players, and I have proximity voice shut off.

If you want to play in an organized coordinated way with other players an Outfit is the only way to go. Random squads will always be random albeit leaning heavily to the shit why bother side of things.

Oh and the PS1 community as a whole wasn't really any better, Forumside was a terrible place, I think even the Darkfall forums were better.

[Figment]

Btw, one reason people don't use region chat is because they don't know the command exists. A lot of people start using it if you tell them how, especially if you include that enemies CANNOT read it. Unfortunately the /re command looks like /reply.

/b for broadcast would be intuitive to veterans and would be shorter and would stand out from /r better.

The thing is, when people use /y and see nothing but that and realise enemies can read it too, they stop using it for tactical purposes. Most players start in the impression that /u is the only thing though...

I've also noticed that /re can be very unreliable, as unlike /yell, it isn't a circle but a random shape based on the hex grid you are in. Hence even if you use it, people 1m away may not hear it, since they are in another region.

As such, the chat system needs an overhaul.


But hey, as long as we have /outfitsay instead of /o...

[Galron]

I only play solo. Once you realize that you cant run with the zerg and order around like you would an outfit you learn how to go with the flow.

That's not to say some people in the zerg wont take some direction here and there, but I would not count on it nor get butthurt if they dont respond.

[bullet]

Fighting on Esamir today, I think everyone found "The Crown" there. Eisa, I think is the name, was nothing but a huge TDM. The VS let the TR go around the SE side of Esamir and get to our Warpgate while they are just TDMing up at Saerro Listening post/Eisa.

I flew up there to tell them the status. All I got in response was "Awesome", "Who cares, its not like territory does much for us", and "We're here farming, thats the meta game". I quit right after that.

Thats not the Planetside I want to play.

[Tatwi]

If the game didn't run like shit, crash to desktop, have the sound cut out, have teleporting players, and the ability to be killed seconds after you've taken cover, then it wouldn't a bad game at all. I didn't enjoy the limited amount of time I played this evening (and I ran with the outfit for most of it).

Beta sucks crap, but launch will totally be cupcakes and sunshine, because then "beta is beta" won't apply. Yay!

[Helwyr]

Fighting on Esamir today, I think everyone found "The Crown" there. Eisa, I think is the name, was nothing but a huge TDM. The VS let the TR go around the SE side of Esamir and get to our Warpgate while they are just TDMing up at Saerro Listening post/Eisa.

I flew up there to tell them the status. All I got in response was "Awesome", "Who cares, its not like territory does much for us", and "We're here farming, thats the meta game". I quit right after that.

Thats not the Planetside I want to play.

Unfortunately, they're not wrong. In the current build there really isn't anything beyond looking for good fights and "farming" kills.

SOE have already announced their intent to work on the meta game, but I think this may be a challenge as it won't be easy to create a meaningful Planetside meta game while also maintaining an appeal to a broad range of FPS gamers.

[Whiteagle]

I really wish my outfit had people on more often... and had more then six guys in it...

[Monsta]

I don't understand why you expect a difference in the - PubPlay experience - of PlanetSide2 while this behavior is normal in any other game that allows teams bigger then 12. (uncoordinated teamwork, lack of communication, testing out random stuff)

Just a useful tip: the chat windows isn't visible at all times while squads are are playing, and if I am correct especially not when outfit members selected their outfit-chat-channel as main channel, meaning the chat is only becomes visible when a outfit member types something in the chat.

Apparently your are not playing in a squad, not in a platoon, and not playing in an outfit, but still demanding random players will take the effort to answer random text questions from a little window and is constantly being SPAMMED BY RANDOM PLAYERS TYPED IN CAPITALS.

So please keep in mind, most players are playing in a outfit or at least a squad, they are focused on the squad/platoon/outfit channel and they are using the in game voice, if not they are probably on Teamspeak and are mostly focused on the minimap and the situation on the battlefield.

If you have questions about the game, the latest patch, whatever, then please use the PlanetSide2 forums, like this one. But I highly suggest you take some effort in understanding what it takes to play in (most) outfits. Outfits are like clans, they have sorted out some guidelines and rules for new recruits for joining their outfit. For example you have to be at least 15 years old, taking attendance on mandatory days and times for their members to show up and doing something coordinated in the game. That includes discussing the latest patch.

[Figment]

I think the people that tend to always comment outfits this, squads this, etc as being the main source of organisation and blame everything on people running alone and not paying attention...


...haven't played a lot of PS1 or forgot that PS1 was a lot more social than that due to the way the chat was arranged, read and accessed. :/


For one: Chat shouldn't disappear at all (should be an optional setting, not a default).
Second: Chat commands and chat reach are both poorly designed right now.
Third: Kill spam is inconsistent and uninformative and can't be backtracked. More importantly, it's not in the same window as the chat messages, thus where in PS1 it attracted the eye to the chat box, it now diverts it from the chat box.
Fourth: Command is currently underdeveloped, both from a game design perspective and from a player advancement perspective.

[Stanis]

Perhaps it's just me but I thought /re was only available to squad leaders.
Not sure as I am usually SL .


The lattice system gave us one or two big fights per continent as we focussed on the next link. With spec ops off doing their thing to influece the outcome of that battle.

We have a single continent. With one big clusterF. around the crown.

There is no continental goal. There is no metagame.
There is only certs - so you jump into the grinder to get them.


When we have a goal for the empire - and a mature metagame which is going to be developed after the first couple of months on each server as players move from grinding certs to get 'the basics' and start to play tactically at squad level and strategically with their empire at the platoon/outfit level. Then we will see effective attempts to pick up the solo player that wants to participate in the grand scheme.

[Babyfark McGeez]

...Apparently your are not playing in a squad, not in a platoon, and not playing in an outfit, but still demanding random players will take the effort to answer random text questions from a little window and is constantly being SPAMMED BY RANDOM PLAYERS TYPED IN CAPITALS...


I probably wasn't clear enough there. I know all that, i played PS1 in an outfit for years, and while i didn't join an outfit in PS2 i was allways in a squad. I went solo intentionally to see what it's like in PS2. And my rose colored goggles from PS1 told me it was way better to play solo in the precedessor.
Also the question i asked was at the Warpgate, so no big firefights going on that take all the attention of the people being there.

And generally the "inter-squad/platoon/zerg" communication is sorely lacking, what happened to cr chat/broadcast?

[ringring]

[QUOTE=Stanis;848438]Perhaps it's just me but I thought /re was only available to squad leaders.
QUOTE]
It's available to all.

[Qwan]

Fighting on Esamir today, I think everyone found "The Crown" there. Eisa, I think is the name, was nothing but a huge TDM. The VS let the TR go around the SE side of Esamir and get to our Warpgate while they are just TDMing up at Saerro Listening post/Eisa.

I flew up there to tell them the status. All I got in response was "Awesome", "Who cares, its not like territory does much for us", and "We're here farming, thats the meta game". I quit right after that.

Thats not the Planetside I want to play.

I feel your pain, I hope the devs see this as a problem, because players like me and you do. Right now the zerg will run rampant regardless whats happening to there lines, outfits will sometimes take it upon themselves to go back and secure the lines, but whats the point, the cloaker sitting in the next room will wait for you to leave and just rehack it when you leave. The days of the outfits are numbered, right now its the zerg that controls PS2. In PS1 you used CR chat to direct the zerg, and in the mean time outfits went and hindered the enemies ability to fight back. I run with my outfit as much as I can but we always find ourselves running with the zerg or going back from the front line and taking back something we lost. Usually after about 1 to 2 hrs I call it a night and we go play BF3.

[Crator]

Squad/Outfit play shouldn't be a requirement. Especially in a F2P game.

[Qwan]

Squad/Outfit play shouldn't be a requirement. Especially in a F2P game.

Its not, but it would be alot more fun to play when your actually part of a team making a difference, as they always say "Vanu turning the world purple one base at a time. :D

[Crator]

Its not, but it would be alot more fun to play when your actually part of a team making a difference, as they always say "Vanu turning the world purple one base at a time. :D

Are you saying solo players can't help make a difference. I disagree. It wasn't that way in PS1. In PS1 it was more about an empire wide effort. As a solo players you could work alongside everyone else in your empire, typically via support roles.

The mindset that the game is a lot more fun to play when you are in a team is personal preference.

[SpottyGekko]

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the "zerg" (i.e. large group of unco-ordinated solo'ers) will always be the biggest group of players in PS2. Seeing as the game is F2P, there will always be temporary visitors, and the mass market FPS games do not prepare anyone for a team-based combined arms game play style.

I mostly play solo, because I'm still trying out things and looking for my niche (and faction !) in PS2. Once that's settled, I'll join an outfit.

My experience as a mostly solo player has been no worse (or better) than any other PVP game. I ignore chat 99% of the time. Even if someone DID type something usefull, there's usually 20 asshats that feel compelled to challenge it, insult the talker or make random jokes. Simply not worth the effort.

And there isn't really any metagame, so follow the zerg and rake in cert points is the name of the game.

The devs seem to be stuck with a conundrum: adding depth adds complexity, and complexity alienates the solo FPS'ers (who probably make up at least 50% of the target market). So complexity has to be added in such a way that the solo casuals don't notice it...

[Bocheezu]

I've played nothing but solo the entire beta and every time I join a random outfit squad, I feel like it's a bunch of solo people that just happened to be grouped together and the squad leader didn't have a clue how to organize anything. I don't know what the outfits in this game are doing, but whatever it is, it is by-and-large ineffective. The Enclave is really the only outfit actually making a difference; I notice immediately when Enclave is hitting NC bases. I'm not trying to blow smoke up Enclave's ass, because I really don't care, but I do notice them.

From an NC standpoint on Esamir, the biggest problem I have is the lack of direction at biolabs. There may be 1-3 teleports into the dome, but there is one very obvious way to push, and that's the teleport that's right next to the spawn shield generator (if that teleport exists). At Mani and Andvari, it is the SW satellite in both cases, and tends to be the last satellite captured from an NC standpoint, so the zerg never uses it. I constantly pull Sundy, park it right next to the teleport, and direct people in /re to push through that teleport. I get the typical response of 3-4 other solo dudes, while no one else gives a shit and outfits are doing fuck all to actually take the base. I have not actually captured a biolab in two weeks. Everyone keeps zerging three teleports at a time instead of focusing through one of them, and eventually defenders start spawning at other bases, bringing tanks, and blowing all our shit up. The lack of organization is so frustrating.

[Mordicant]

I am hoping for a chat overhaul. The fact that /S and /s don't work the same is a pain in the ass. And other intuitive commands missing sucks.

[VaderShake]

In regard to in-game chat, I seldom use it because I play with guys on Teamspeak and since I am always chatting with them I probably miss opportunities to tell/talk to others though in game voip about what is going on. I do sometimes but quite honestly the few people I have talked to in game have seemed like major pricks who think there shit does not stink. Maybe after the game is out awhile and people settle in as regulars the prickyness with settle down a bit.....probably not....

[Babyfark McGeez]

To cheer this up:
So, going solo again today, and i must say untill now it's the complete opposite of yesterday lol.
I asked several questions during battle(!) and got an answer quickly. The /re chat got used frequently to give out info and tactics.

I'm completely baffled, did you all read this thread? Or was it tard-thursday yesterday? This is weird lol. But good. Keep it up soldiers.

[Bocheezu]

I'm completely baffled, did you all read this thread? Or was it tard-thursday yesterday? This is weird lol. But good. Keep it up soldiers.

It just takes 1-2 people to get the chat going and people start opening up. Too often the chat is nothing but people being idiots in /y and it dilutes the entire chat system. The /y should really go; didn't exist in PS1 and /t was the only way to talk to opposing factions.

[dethred]

People aren't playing with the discipline of a Colonel in a beta iteration of PS2.

All is lost. Go play the next generic tunnel shooter.

[Beerbeer]

I noticed a lot of people are preoccupied with /y cause you can hate tell an entire enemy pop at once. :p

Lol, the snide, sarcastic (or maybe not sarcastic) global chat is hilarious at times. Maybe my sense of humor is different than most, but I find myself stopping just to read it at times, lol.

[Chewy]

I've played nothing but solo the entire beta and every time I join a random outfit squad, I feel like it's a bunch of solo people that just happened to be grouped together and the squad leader didn't have a clue how to organize anything. I don't know what the outfits in this game are doing, but whatever it is, it is by-and-large ineffective. The Enclave is really the only outfit actually making a difference; I notice immediately when Enclave is hitting NC bases. I'm not trying to blow smoke up Enclave's ass, because I really don't care, but I do notice them.

From an NC standpoint on Esamir, the biggest problem I have is the lack of direction at biolabs. There may be 1-3 teleports into the dome, but there is one very obvious way to push, and that's the teleport that's right next to the spawn shield generator (if that teleport exists). At Mani and Andvari, it is the SW satellite in both cases, and tends to be the last satellite captured from an NC standpoint, so the zerg never uses it. I constantly pull Sundy, park it right next to the teleport, and direct people in /re to push through that teleport. I get the typical response of 3-4 other solo dudes, while no one else gives a shit and outfits are doing fuck all to actually take the base. I have not actually captured a biolab in two weeks. Everyone keeps zerging three teleports at a time instead of focusing through one of them, and eventually defenders start spawning at other bases, bringing tanks, and blowing all our shit up. The lack of organization is so frustrating.

This is what happened to me today. I joined up on an attack on a VS bio-lab and damn near everyone was camping the vehicle spawn and when it opened up about 10-15 of the herd ran in and got trapped when the shields came back online. It only got worse from there. Everyone was only using the jump pad to enter the bio-lab and was easily pushed back after the first wave because we never went in as a group again, maybe 3-4 at a time with almost no medics to boot.

After I seen that the attack wasn't going to work I went to the other front hitting the TR and found another herd. It lasted for a single base then everyone split up. When the sundy I was in made it to an outpost we had 5 people in it and 2 lightnings as backup. The moment resistance came, it was just me and one other guy to hold back an army. Don't have a clue where the others went.


I love this game when you can find a good battle line. There's nothing like defending an area for hours from constant attack, or fighting for every inch to take a base. But without a focused group, it always ends up with you all alone when the herd moves out without saying a word.

[Ohaunlaim]

Not many people defended in PS1. Most would move on to the next base as soon as they could.

The difference is that in PS1 a quarter or more of the players would lay down CE before moving on. Laying a full set could take upwards of 30 minutes depending on AMS availability. They weren't actually defending, just setting up defenses so they could continue attacking, but during this time they might find themselves facing a counter attack and so begin defending. Those already gone to the next base might need a new tank or aircraft and have to spawn back at their old base and find themselves stuck defending. Eventually, if an attack fails, everybody ends up back at their old base and is forced to defend.

That's how I remember defenses evolving. It was rarely a conscious decision, it was simply a natural occurrence due to good game design.

[Beerbeer]

I think once people start to max out in experience, you'll start to see a lot more varied gameplay and more thought to base defense.

People are just chasing the quick and easy experience.

Another question: I forget, but did we have the capabilities to /yell and communicate with other factions in ps1? Btw, the /yell nerd rages are awesome and hilarious.

[Crator]

^ No, PS1 had /b for broadcast. /b only sent the message to your empire mates in the same SOI as you. If you own the entire contient then your /b would be heard by everyone on your empire on the contient. The only way to talk to the enemy in chat was sending them a private message, /t /tell.

There was also global comms in chat but that was restricted to command rank. The higher command ranks could do /contall to send a command message to all players on your empire on a single cont and the highest command ranks could send messages to everyone, everywhere. They could also direct messages to a specific cont, even one they are not on at the time.

There was also /sitrep chat channel, restricted to your empire only. I can't remember the restrictions for /sitrep though. Not many folks used it.

As you can imagine, eventually once a lot of players ranked up in command there was a lot of spam. /ignore helped a lot with this though.

[Beerbeer]

Interesting. I remember now.

Not exactly sure how I feel about this capability in the overall context of the game. Probably can't hurt, but I do definitely like it in one regard: the random nerd rages that get broadcasted out for everyone to see, lol.

[bullet]

I think once people start to max out in experience, you'll start to see a lot more varied gameplay and more thought to base defense.

With the current system they have, you can unlock every item, every attachment, every boost/sidegrade/upgrade for said item/vehicle. There is no cap on how many certs you can unlock or how many guns you can have.

Realistically, casuals and semi casuals will never hit the experience cap. People who play for hours on end might get to that point in a few years, but since they're trying to lure in the casuals, they will never get to that exp cap. I hope experience and unlocks are not the only reasons that people will play this game though.