New player? Share your experience.

[Zulthus]

If you've already had your account activated and got to play, what do you think so far?

[zeropositivo]

See my ANT post. Having a blast. The Empire timer is really unfortunate tho, and it's definitively preventing me and many more I know from playing alongside each other

[vieric]

First time playing, played a couple hours now, I suppose I'll state my first impressions. After getting over the shock that I actually get to finally play, I entered the game and adjusted my settings a bit, then I entered the game again and actually made a character. I rolled an NC character to start with, and after the rather basic tutorial, I hopped on a shuttle and dropped into my first fight.

Upon hitting the ground, I was immediately fired upon by a passing TR soldier, cue me ending up in the bases spawn room...I started to rush off before noticing I didn't have proper equipment, thankfully I didn't get too far and was able to head back and arm myself properly.

After wandering around the base for a few minutes looking for an exit and trying to learn how to read my map properly, I emerged outside on the bases roof, most of the opposition was on a rocky outcrop a considerable distance from the base, It was definitely a job for a sniper rifle, but alas I did not have one, I sat there for a moment taking potshots at them before deciding I would be of more use elsewhere.

I was right, the base was starting to get overrun by VS, I feel that for a newbie, I managed to hold my own pretty well, I didn't do particularly outstanding, but I feel I was competent at least. That is, of course until I decided it would be a good time to throw a grenade, I pulled it out, tapped the mouse button and...dropped it directly at my feet, death ensued.

Sadly, in the end we lost the base, but on the bright side It gave me a taste of what PS1 is about, thus far I am extremely pleased with the game, and will certainly be playing it often in these next 6 months.

In summary, I can say that I found the game as good as I had hoped it would be. The gunplay, while not perfect, isn't nearly as bad as some people made it out to be, it could use improvements, yes, but it certainly isn't just horrible button mashing as I've been told. As for the large number of hallways, I can't make a verdict on that yet, while the battle I was in did not seem so bad, I could see it being an issue if more people were involved, though at the same time, the bases actually felt defensible. I absolutely adore the inventory/loadout system, and cannot understand for the life of me why such a great thing would be removed from PS2. All in all, I find PS1 a highly enjoyable game and great fun.

P.S: if you sent me a tell at one point and I didn't reply back, I apologize, I'm still learning the chat commands

[Crator]

P.S: if you sent me a tell at one point and I didn't reply back, I apologize, I'm still learning the chat commands

Backspace key is reply to last sender.


Tell: /t <Name> ~Example: /t Crator Hello
Outfit: /o
Squad: /s
Platoon: /p
Broadcast: /b

*Broadcast only works in friendly Sphere of Influence (SOI). If your empire owns entire continent then it will work as well.

[Zulthus]

Yeah, I never understood the people that hate 'inventetris'. It's so simple, but they think people are too dumb and lazy to learn it. It's so much better than the simple loadouts of BF3/PS2.

I'd imagine the fights will only get bigger as more people get their sub enabled.

[vieric]

thanks crator, I actually found a pretty decent source of info after posting, I'm not sure how out of date it is, but it should be sufficient for the basics, at least.

http://planetside.station.sony.com/players/

[CrazEpharmacist]

See my ANT post. Having a blast. The Empire timer is really unfortunate tho, and it's definitively preventing me and many more I know from playing alongside each other

what's the empire timer?

[Ghodere]

Game is dated in many ways, but the core concepts remain solid. MBTs have a very short pull timer, oddly. Making a functional support and combat loadout is challenging with the limited certs you start out with (made more fun by the unlimited switching in the first week) but allows so much flexibility and customization it's not even funny. Would write more but I'd like to get back to playing now.

[Figment]

what's the empire timer?

Anti-Fourth Empire switching timers. ;)

They used to be 24 hours once upon a time. Before that, no switching allowed, at all.

"One Server, One Empire" was our motto then and still is for me.

[Figment]

MBTs have a very short pull timer, oddly.

Consider the pull timer is just a few minutes because there are other blockades:

Scarcity of certification points to spend (unlike in PS2, you won't pull vehicle after vehicle unless you have less points spend on infantry weapons or support tools. Then of course there is the Tech Plant and because driver =/= gunner, it's a team vehicle and not a personal vehicle.


A good team can keep a tank alive for a really long time though. What do you think of driving the 60 kph tank as an enforced team effort with the Lightning as the solo option? Has any of you tried or seen amphibious warfare yet with the Magrider / Tresher vs Deliverer/Raider/Thunderer?



Some other things I'd like to hear the new player opinions on:

- Emersiveness (menu's as pop ups rather than taking you out of the game and things like certification point spending being tied directly to consoles in the game)
- Consistently present chatwindow / killspam combi
- Having to repair and heal one another instead of automatic regeneration
- TTK comparison
- Tension and adrenaline rushes experienced
- How downtime feels
- Travel time and preparation time
- Combat Engineering (minefields, turrets, etc)
- Tutorials (have you managed to find them in game? -> character pop up: training missions)
- SOI restricting drop pods (HART building in Sanc) vs Spawn Beacons in PS2

[CrazEpharmacist]

Anti-Fourth Empire switching timers. ;)

They used to be 24 hours once upon a time. Before that, no switching allowed, at all.

"One Server, One Empire" was our motto then and still is for me.

Ohhhh I love this feature! I believe it's 12 or so hours now. Seems like a great balance.

[Koadster]

I enjoyed being able to equip my chainblade and turning it on. If inter-empire Proxy worked Id go running around screaming "im going to carve you a new asshole" hahahahaha. Immature? Properly, funny as fuck? Yep!

- Gunplay.. SO BAD, even compared to BF1942 or Global operations.

- I liked the lockers, I like micromanagement so this hit a good nerve with me. But having a 'standard' inventory with the class system in PS2 is certainly streamlined and reduces downtime.

- The base design seemed good. I like the multi-storied bases with corridors, how they play out is a different matter but from a design perspective I liked them.

- Having a mess room/lounge room/sleeping room in the bases was a nice touch, made them feel more like bases that were used then just generic structures, Also the increased amount of propaganda was cool.

- Doors, I didnt think I would care. I do like having them ingame.

- I LOVE the Marauder model, I hope TR get that model reused in PS2.

- Enter/Exit animations were cool, but with PS2's TTK I think you could be killed pretty easy while still trying to get out.

- Underslung MCG... Need I say more?

Even just looking out at the landscape and game size, even by todays standards you could tell in 2003 this game was well ahead of time technologically. Biggest gripe, they used Global Operations music; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPHbrFCOUsU

That is the most underated FPS of the 20th century. It had class system before BF1942, it had reviving before BF2 made it cool.


- Having to repair and heal one another instead of automatic regeneration



Doing healing in PS1, buggy as shit. Give me PS2 healing anyday. Plus I manaully heal people because it gives more points :p

[Hmr85]

Responses from a few members in my outfit that are new to the game.

"I really love the inventory setup. I feel as if I have tons of options in how I setup my loadout before I go into combat."


"The bases actually feel like real bases, there are doors and mess rooms. I spent the first 30 minutes just running around the interlink looking at everything."


" I love that I can drop more than 3 mines. The ability to actually setup entire minefields is awesome. I feel like a real Engineer. There is just so many options compared to PS2."


I'll add more as I get more feedback.

[Emperor Newt]

- Inventory setup which brings way more versatility. The class system is fine too, but often I feel it's too restricted with some classes while others are way better suited to be jack of all trades.

- Bases are great. Vehicles stay outside, infantry fights inside undisturbed.

- Base/outpost/tower design. They actually look like bases and feel like bases, not something somebody put into the scenery just to look pretty

- Some bases seem a bit too big. But that might be due to few people playing when I jumped in

- Third person infantry camera is a bad idea.

- Gunplay is abysmal. Hit indication, cone of fire hud elements etc. Just plain bad weapon feedback overall.

- Don't know what people talk(ed) about incredibly high ttk in PS1 but for me it seems okay. A bit high maybe, but overall better then what we currently have in PS2. But maybe that's just because there seem to be few weapons which kill with one shot. Where in PS2 this seems to be a deliberate design decision to have those.

- Doors. Way better then having shields or nothing at all

- Love HART already

[ringring]

A re-impression.

I'd forgotten how to kill people. I kept on right-clicking to zoom in.

However, it started to come back but killing is harder. If you want to kill you have to commit in comparision to PS2.

Gunplay feels odd, whereas it didn't previously. I suppose that's getting used to PS2 gunplay and then returning.

I did see real infantry battles that extended over time though and that's a nice change.

[Frotang]

Was really weird playing the game on a good machine, I had never played with more than 30fps before so with 200+ it felt like a new game, and I could actually kill a few people although re learning key bindings has been a chore.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

[Logit]

Was really weird playing the game on a good machine, I had never played with more than 30fps before so with 200+ it felt like a new game, and I could actually kill a few people although re learning key bindings has been a chore.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

This is actually what I'm most excited about. Back when I played I had a very mediocre computer.

Now I have a new top of the line custom gaming rig. Syked.

[EVILPIG]

I logged on yesterday afternoon and saw the worst thing that could possibly be happening. New players who had never played PS1 before were on the only cont with any action and BREWKO had activated a squad of Black Ops who were slaughtering them. What kind of impression do you think someone who has never played PS1 before got trying to fight super soldiers (especially since they didn't know they were super soldiers)? I really couldn't believe it.

[Crator]

Wow, Brewko did BO yesterday? Yeah, that's not so good. Also, I did see too many meteor showers happening while we were fighting at a base.

[Frotang]

Yeah he was in our PG squad and made them all BO, sadly I was still doing my key bindings and not in squad so I missed it. It only lasted like 30 mins anyways.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

[EVILPIG]

Yeah he was in our PG squad and made them all BO, sadly I was still doing my key bindings and not in squad so I missed it. It only lasted like 30 mins anyways.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

Ya, I saw the names. I also macro spammed you and put a Motion Sensor next to you while you were crouching in the spawnroom. I then went out, killed a BO with my Fusion Blade and logged to eat with the fam.

[wasdie]

I logged on yesterday afternoon and saw the worst thing that could possibly be happening. New players who had never played PS1 before were on the only cont with any action and BREWKO had activated a squad of Black Ops who were slaughtering them. What kind of impression do you think someone who has never played PS1 before got trying to fight super soldiers (especially since they didn't know they were super soldiers)? I really couldn't believe it.

Wow that happened?

That's a real dick move.

[Hmr85]

Yeah, that is BS. What he needs to do is leave that shit out of the game for the next 6 months and let people play PS for PS. That actually really pisses me off.

[Shogun]

well, but that revives the complete planetside experience... including the devs who found ways to screw up everything when it was least expected.

fun aside, BO is a thing that has to stay away until there is a really big population to fight them!
brewko, if you read here, stop doing blackops until you see a poplocked cont to send them to! don´t use the free months to scare away the noobs!

also, when you start blackops, do a global broadcast to inform the noobs what is happening and what it´s all about.

[CrazEpharmacist]

I think the meteorite showers are really cool. First time I saw that happen a few months ago my mind was kind of blown LOL. Had no idea GM's could do things like that. It happened a few times yesterday as well but people were calling out in broadcast chat to stay in inside for a few minutes. Though I could see how the BO event could get annoying. You're just fighting against someone who has more health and amour than you.

[EVILPIG]

Not trying to knock on BREWKO, Dan's a cool guy and he was probably excited to see folks on. It's just a horrible thing to do at this time.

[p0intman]

Not just supersoldiers, but supersoldiers who are normally supersoldiers with mumble. I enjoyed it.

[ringring]

Not trying to knock on BREWKO, Dan's a cool guy and he was probably excited to see folks on. It's just a horrible thing to do at this time.

Yea, after what brewko did last year in setting up the Oshur event for planetside day then, he's stil my fav. dev.

I've never liked black ops tho. it was never been good.

[Hmr85]

Look, I like Brewko also. Please don't mistake my post as I don't. He stuck it out for a long time with the PS1 community. I just question his decision to do it on opening day with lots of new players logging in to check it out.

[Babyfark McGeez]

I read your post as "Brewko is a very nice guy but too much gm (fun) intervention at this time is not a good idea due to new players who might get scared off by it" - with which i would totally agree.

Also, it feels so good to be finally back into this with actual human beings around. Look out for your friendly HolographicDoctor (who still needs a rank to actually revive people lol). Me = happy. :]

EDIT: Also since i was bitching about the whole way SOE was treating PS1 lately a thanks is due for recognizing the game and this awesome 10 year run, so: Thanks SOE.

EDIT²: Damn, i found an old account with a BR 14 on it, woo. ^^

[Qwan]

After reading about Brewko, I guess logging in and hitting the newbs with an orbital strike is a bad idea to.

[vieric]

Personally, I'm pretty sure he meant well, but I agree, it would be a very good idea to keep a fairly hands-off approach for a bit, let the new blood settle in (myself included). This game throws newbies enough curve-balls as it is, don't need a GM adding more to the mix.

[Logit]

Personally, I'm pretty sure he meant well, but I agree, it would be a very good idea to keep a fairly hands-off approach for a bit, let the new blood settle in (myself included). This game throws newbies enough curve-balls as it is, don't need a GM adding more to the mix.

In his defense though, the game has had points where literally zero people are playing. So he probably was a bit excited the servers had life again.

[Shogun]

In his defense though, the game has had points where literally zero people are playing. So he probably was a bit excited the servers had life again.

now i imagine a lonely brewko gm sitting on auraxis, playing with his feet, singing sad sad songs while he waits 8 hours a day to solve someone´s problems... for months...
ok, it is no surprise he did the magic show when he saw a horde of players rushing in on him!

[Wahooo]

BO are never a good idea... like ever.

[Whiteagle]

Some other things I'd like to hear the new player opinions on:

- Emersiveness (menu's as pop ups rather than taking you out of the game and things like certification point spending being tied directly to consoles in the game)
Eh, I don't know...
Menus are kind of annoying to constantly need to tab out and reposition just to read, but with third person view it is rather preferable to a single pop-up that leaves you a sitting duck.

I don't mind Certifications needing a Terminal to learn, but is there any way to check unlearned Certs without heading to one?
Kind of annoying to head all the way back to the Sanctuary or whatever specific Facility has them just to check what I could get.

- Consistently present chatwindow / killspam combi
Meh, I found the chat controls rather clunky, but that might just be me dealing with its old interface.

- Having to repair and heal one another instead of automatic regeneration
Uh, Figment, aren't you forgetting Medical Terminals?

- TTK comparison
Honestly... Not that much higher from my experience.

Yeah, it's a bit slower due to the hit-scan random nature of weapons, but I was still getting gibbed in about the same encounter speed.

- Tension and adrenaline rushes experienced
Way more exciting by far!
I don't know if it's the threat of Instant Re-secures, or the fact that bases actually have segregated Interiors allowing a few Infantry inside to actually be a real problem.

- How downtime feels
With the higher levels of excitement downtime is actually a welcomed break to allow one to recover.
The much wider, stabler Front Lines also allow for this to happen naturally after an assault has been repelled, greatly reducing player fatigue.

Seriously, I played from sometime late yesterday afternoon till 9 this morning!

Admittedly that could just riding a new game buzz, but it does help that a base isn't going to immediately going to flip control just after you spend an hour defending it.

- Travel time and preparation time
Travel on foot is a bit of a slog, but it does help sell the vastness of the play area.

I can understand why the Vets complain about Planetside 2 being so cramped, the Original Continents feel about 50% larger in comparison to the Player Character.

Prep time is all right considering you actually have an Inventory to Manage rather then various alterations and attachments of the same things.

Do like stocking the Trunk of whatever I'm driving with extra ammo, so when I lone wolf and leave my ATV lying about someone can get into it to resupply.

- Combat Engineering (minefields, turrets, etc)
Haven't gotten to the point where I could use it, but DAMNED is it nice to see effective CE.

Minefields are actually FIELDS, I think you can cover the huge gate of a Base with two rows, and you can put up TANK TRAPS to create a funnel!
Automated Base Defensive and Spitfires are also great, they make an empty base actually have some challenge to approach instead of just going around capping in a Vehicle.

...Also, DOORS ARE AWESOME!!!

Why do we not have hackable door shields to, you know, keep people from just waltzing into bases?

- Tutorials (have you managed to find them in game? -> character pop up: training missions)
Someone in Command was kind enough to repeatedly mention them in the TR Chat, and it certainly helps considering how much different and various the controls are here.

Alternate fire modes that actually do something Different are WAY better then needing to constantly switch between two barrels on the same weapon.

- SOI restricting drop pods (HART building in Sanc) vs Spawn Beacons in PS2
Very much welcomed honestly...
It's nice that an Attacker can't just land an entire squad within your walls, because then the walls can actually be useful instead of eye candy.

[Whiteagle]

I think the meteorite showers are really cool. First time I saw that happen a few months ago my mind was kind of blown LOL. Had no idea GM's could do things like that. It happened a few times yesterday as well but people were calling out in broadcast chat to stay in inside for a few minutes. Though I could see how the BO event could get annoying. You're just fighting against someone who has more health and amour than you.
I also saw a Meteorite shower, and yeah it is pretty cool...
I don't know if it was because I wasn't directly under it, but they didn't seem to be too hard to dodge as long as you were looking.

Black Ops though...
Yeah, you really shouldn't run an entire squad right now.

One or two at a big battle maybe, but more then that is just too much for BR6's like me...

[Huntsab]

Good to see the PS2 player base enjoying Planetside. PS2 could have been such a monumental game if it had kept the spirit of old. Instead of stripping features they should have improved on what was there already and introduced more. With you new guys here perhaps you could let Brewko and the rest of the devs know how you feel about playing the original. What floats your boat etc.

[bullet]

I don't mind Certifications needing a Terminal to learn, but is there any way to check unlearned Certs without heading to one?
Kind of annoying to head all the way back to the Sanctuary or whatever specific Facility has them just to check what I could get.

Biolabs have a room near the control console that have Cert Terminals and Implant machines (or whatever they're actually called...).

[Figment]

Bio Room, near CC of bio Lab. :) And you can see the things you have certed in the character pop up.


Meant automatic regeneration of shields there. :) Medical Terminals are a bit of a situational thing and needed for those without anything to heal (aside from switching suits and medkits, available at equip terms).

[Chewy]

So I take BO was the reason I seen so many TR MAXes and MCG users in what looked like heavy armor, who all seemed had medic and repair guns?

Played as a pub against them and didn't do that bad. What mass of NC was in the area had a nice tug of war with them. Retook the cap point 2-3 times but ended with loosing the base. Not bad for my first PS1 fight. But I do have to question a lot of what I saw. Things like when I can get taken out rather fast but can't do the same or that I couldn't find a way to make turning as a gunner faster but seen just about everyone else look around at will.

[Ghodere]

Combat engineering is the most fantastic thing. Gunplay is not that horrible, third person infantry is, Prowler seems weak for requiring 3 people to operate at full effectiveness. Single button press for a loadout is a small thing but so wonderful. Long distances between some bases and towers having no ground spawn capabilities means no vehicle spam, at all, really, and even then they can at best take the courtyard.

TTK reveals itself as meaningfully longer mainly at range. AA extremely powerful, but largely deserved for effort required (skyguard and upgraded base turret). Back to playing.

[CrazEpharmacist]

I've been playing for a few months already but I just want to say a few things. Probably one of the neatest features in PS1 is saved positioning even after you log off. Makes the game feel like a real persistent MMO. Compare this to PS2 where you always start off in your warpgate, almost making it feel like a standard bf or COD match. In PS1 it actually keeps track of your position and will even move you to the nearest friendly spawn tubes if you're territory you were in was taken by the enemy. Makes base progression all that more meaningful.

[zeropositivo]

Mind I drop in for a little thing I've discovered? Infiltration is FUN. Seriously, get that infil suit and try for yourself. I'm going around with that spiker 10 mm pistol, choosing targets that look wounded, standing still when in sight, moving and killing when an opening arrives... it's deadly AND effective!

And i can't wait to get the advanced hacking tools now. Wow

It IS weird, tho, that sometimes people still see me even when not moving/shooting. In third person, I look completely invisible...

[Logit]

Mind I drop in for a little thing I've discovered? Infiltration is FUN. Seriously, get that infil suit and try for yourself. I'm going around with that spiker 10 mm pistol, choosing targets that look wounded, standing still when in sight, moving and killing when an opening arrives... it's deadly AND effective!

And i can't wait to get the advanced hacking tools now. Wow

It IS weird, tho, that sometimes people still see me even when not moving/shooting. In third person, I look completely invisible...

Couple things.

First, there has always been gamma problems with infils and certain people can simply change their settings and be able to see you. it's lame, yes.

Also, cr5 players have a "reveal enemies" they can use so if you happen to be infiltrating a remote area, they will have a general position on you. It has a fairly long cool down, but could also be the reason they "see" you.

[sylphaen]

I couldn't find a way to make turning as a gunner faster but seen just about everyone else look around at will.

Take a look at mouse sensitivity settings, I remember it was a factor for me.

It IS weird, tho, that sometimes people still see me even when not moving/shooting. In third person, I look completely invisible...

It can be because of:
- Darklight implant (meant to reveal infiltrators when active)
- coincidence (they did not actually see you)
- graphics card/settings (it's sometimes buggy)
- hacks/cheating (worst case scenario fair-play wise)

[Whiteagle]

Well the shine has worn off, or at least it's taking me forever to get to the next Certification point...

Seriously, I repair things and try to feint enemy bases, but the only thing that seems to get me anywhere is ANT runs...

[Crator]

Well the shine has worn off, or at least it's taking me forever to get to the next Certification point...

Seriously, I repair things and try to feint enemy bases, but the only thing that seems to get me anywhere is ANT runs...

You can get a max of 2500 BEP for taking a base, all at once, when the hack goes through. The hack must be contested for the majority of the time to get that much though. You must be inside the base SOI and participate in the fighting before or during the hack for your BEP reward to accumulate. If you are leading a squad you get CEP instead of BEP. You must stay on the continent until a hack goes through in order to get the BEP for it!

XP gain gets slower and slower as you gain BR cause you need more per battle rank to get to the next rank. You get XP for getting kills, as well as kills from your squad/platoon... Getting more battle ranks gives you more versatility to have different load outs at your fingertips. You can always change your certs (once per day) to try new things. The first 10-15 battle ranks don't take that long. Then going up to around BR25 you will have what you really want by then. The rest of the BRs are just icing on the cake but they take a while to get.

If you haven't done so, go to VR training and equip every gun and vehicle. Get in every vehicle's gunner seats. Every time you use one of these for the first time you get BEP.

Oh also, once you get to a certain BR you stop getting a cert point at each rank. It becomes every other rank then. I can't remember when that starts to happen though.

[Whiteagle]

If you haven't done so, go to VR training and equipt every gun and vehicle. Get in every vehicle's gunner seats. Every time you use one of these for the first time you get BEP.
Already done I think, and no more training missions...

Thing is, I wanted to go into Combat Engineering, so I have two Glue Gun's that aren't get me any Experience because I'm the only one trying to open up our home continents instead of playing Cyssorside...

It's god damn Crown Syndrome, the TR ignore everything BEHIND the lines and end up with one continent completely disconnected from our Sanctuary.

Oh also, once you get to a certain BR you stop getting a cert point at each rank. It becomes every other rank then. I can't remember when that starts to happen though.
Going to say BR 5 or 6, right where I'm at...

[Crator]

Already done I think, and no more training missions...

Thing is, I wanted to go into Combat Engineering, so I have two Glue Gun's that aren't get me any Experience because I'm the only one trying to open up our home continents instead of playing Cyssorside...

It's god damn Crown Syndrome, the TR ignore everything BEHIND the lines and end up with one continent completely disconnected from our Sanctuary.

I know what you mean. Seems like we always get stuck on Cyssor. It's one of the main continents that become major 3-way stalemates. It doesn't help that we don't have more people per empire on either. If we did, the base taking would happen more with fights and your would be gain better XP. Glue guns aren't good for XP gain either. Kills is main thing to get XP. So good placement of mines/boomers for engineers is the way to go.

[Figment]

A good way to earn experience with repairs and resupplies is the Lodestar, just park it in safety near a field battle and gun for someone. Same for an AMS: Every kill after someone rearms, resupplies or spawns within a certain time will earn you exp. The good thing about using the vehicles is that it is passive support.

For active support, repairing near repair silo's helps a lot.


As for Cyssorside, yes. People need plans for breaking that. Unfortunately, one of the big siege breakers (Router) is missing due to the core combat issues. And yes, pop is low but increasing. Ideally, you would have two two-ways, but during low pop, threeways become more common. Threeways can be won, but you have to beat two opponents in short order of one another and prevent one side from returning.

It helps when people would care about their home continents again and I would guess a lot of new players don't know how to get where and why yet. So that is up to cr5s and resecure outfits (some still have to return to the game). Sometimes you have to kickstart fights by starting a ghost. That often also drains a populace of another continent to secure their other territory.

It also requires people to get back in the global base security checking. InterFarms don't help in that respect. ;)

[zeropositivo]

I've recently got two certification I'm extremely happy I did: AA max and combat engineering. I had to sacrifice my heavy armor/vehicles, but I'm happy I did it. The points have started just racking in, both from repair support (this is a bit weird, as it doesn't actually tell me, but I DID notice my exp going up in the U screen) and turret kills, which are just awesome in every respect.

And AA maxes are deadly, totally deadly. Especially since everyone likes mosquitoes.. and mossies go down fast :P

[Chewy]

Take a look at mouse sensitivity settings, I remember it was a factor for me.


I thought I did look in the options for mouse sensitivity. Don't remember seeing anything that looked like a number for it or slider. Meh, I got 6 months to look for it.

[Whiteagle]

A good way to earn experience with repairs and resupplies is the Lodestar, just park it in safety near a field battle and gun for someone. Same for an AMS: Every kill after someone rearms, resupplies or spawns within a certain time will earn you exp. The good thing about using the vehicles is that it is passive support.

For active support, repairing near repair silo's helps a lot.
When you say repair silo's, you mean the NTU Silo right?

As for support vehicles, I was already planning on certing into them on my main, but I want to get Combat Engineering first to make up for my lack of killing strength.

It helps when people would care about their home continents again and I would guess a lot of new players don't know how to get where and why yet. So that is up to cr5s and resecure outfits (some still have to return to the game). Sometimes you have to kickstart fights by starting a ghost. That often also drains a populace of another continent to secure their other territory.

It also requires people to get back in the global base security checking. InterFarms don't help in that respect. ;)
I personally blame the current Broadcast Warpgate set up; As long as you have one you can go anywhere you're empire has a link.

[Figment]

When you say repair silo's, you mean the NTU Silo right?

No the two black repair and resupply silo's in the courtyard. :)

[ringring]

No the two black repair and resupply silo's in the courtyard. :)

This is linked to 'benefits'.

Whenever your empire has 'Dropship Benefit' those repair silos become active.

You get said benefit when:
- the base that you are at is owned by your empire and linked to a Dropship Centre that your empire owns on the same continent.
- your empire owns Oshur

Dropship benefit is considered one of the best benefits in the game, which is the reason (apart from pride in empire) that TR always tries to own Oshur.

[Figment]

Prowler seems weak for requiring 3 people to operate at full effectiveness.

But has a higher DPS with two than the other two tanks with just the main gunner. :)

Prowler's and Marauder's third gun spot and Raider's third and fourth gunspots have been the main issue in the vehicle balance debate over the years: TR require more manpower for full vehicle capacity, even if that full vehicle capacity isn't directly needed to be equally powerful or even more powerful, it just leaves them at a disadvantage against certain unit types in comparison.


Speaking of vehicles, what do you think of the dedicated driver/gunner?

[Figment]

I thought I did look in the options for mouse sensitivity. Don't remember seeing anything that looked like a number for it or slider. Meh, I got 6 months to look for it.

Under Keybinding, click on the mouse icon. :)

You can tweak settings for different types of units (infantry, vehicles, aircraft) as well.


Oh btw, white eagle, the battle rank leveling slows exponentially, it'll feel more and more like a feat of leveling. :) Should be around 15-18 by the end of the week.

[Shogun]

the most important thing to you have to do to get lots of xp:

join a squad and keep it full! the more people in a squad, the more xp you gain for basecaptures and for everything that is killed. you don´t only get your own kills xp, but you also get xp for what other squadmates kill!

also keep the squad together! if all the squadmembers are near each other on the map, the xp bonus is bigger. a maximum of 1 or 2 members are allowed to stay away to not punish them for antruns or other resupplying, but as a general rule, stay together. and of course stay on the same continent. you don´t get squad xp from anything that happens on another cont.

and don´t lead a squad if you are after xp! the squadleader will earn CP instead of XP for captures. so if you don´t want commandpoints, promote someone to leader who wants them shortly before a hack goes through.
go for xp first. cp is mostly useless at first. and earning enough cp to get orbital strike ability takes months or even years.

very good xp sources are:
a deployed ams near a big battle
a loadstar landed near a vehicle battle
repairduty beside a repairterminal in a courtyard
setting up a router in the base next to a battle where everybody respawns to get vehicles. you need to deploy the router vehicle near the vehicle terminal and lay a telepad near the spawnroom, but NOT inside the spawnroom because enemies can use it as well, and you want at least one door between the pad and the spawntubes. also lay mines directly under the routervehicle and setup spitfires around it. you will get xp for every kill someone makes after he has used your teleporter.

also, if you are cought in a tower battle, go up the stairs and crouch behind the first line of ai-maxes to repair them while they eradicate the intruding forces.

that are all perfect support xp sources that don´t involve killing anything on your own. don´t panik if you try anything of this and you don´t seem to get any xp from it. the support sp doesn´t update in realtime. you get a bunch of all collected support xp together every few minutes.

[Figment]

Oh btw zero, if you don't have the Sensor Shield implant or had it turned off: could be you had been on Interlink radar (any facility linked to an Interlink will have enhanced radar that puts any movement on radar). A lot of people deduce that if there's no target where the red dot was before, it must be an infil.

Another reason people may see you is because you lagged and you stopped after you think you stopped on their screen. I've noticed this happening from 140ms ping and up, which just means you'll have to be more careful in areas where players might come around a corner (particularly near spawns - lobby routes in enemy bases).

Here's some other tips:

Crouchwalk (crouch tap in third person if there's enemies near! It may take a minute or two to go down a staircase, but you will not be seen even if they are looking your way as long as they don't use Dark Light!) to prevent being spotted on radar, get the Sensor Shield implant at BR6 and by all means, once you reach br12, get Surge to get the hell out of there if something goes wrong! :P

Also, prevent being bumped into. People often walk right along walls, depending on empire this could be the inner walls (shotguns: close distance) or outer walls (MCG/Lasher: keep distance) of a staircase combat situation for instance, they tend to move through the inner or middle area (shortest route) if they do not expect enemies.

Try to avoid moving fast for long periods of time. People may see you from the other side of the base and once you sit still, they can just pretend they haven't seen you, then go all out on you. If you see anyone move in your direction, try to determine if they actually changed path to go for you (they have spotted you), or if it's a natural route to a target.

Before going around a corner, check third person if you can.

Some people sit still in the field in third person with their backs to you on purpose: always assume they know or might know you're there, always have an escape plan and try to confuse them in what direction you escaped to. Because once you get spotted without a plan, you will usualy die.

[Figment]

Oh btw, what was your first reaction to Voice Macros? *Press V*

Asking, cause I've seen some PS2 players basically go "OMG, what is... why isn't thi... THIS IS AWESOME!!!".

[Sheppe]

Last night I saw 1 gen get killed total, and that was by dirty VS at a biolab ;)

Less max users than before, but still enough around that it's best to carry deci's

[Whiteagle]

No the two black repair and resupply silo's in the courtyard. :)
Ah, well I haven't gotten much Vehicle Repairing done...

Problem is I've been playing at odd hours, and since I'm one of the very few strategic players who realises the importance of re-opening our Home Continents I've been stuck trying to lone wolf bases instead of playing Cyssorside.

Hopefully my actions have made an impact on Solsar, but I haven't logged in to check yet.

Speaking of Ghost Hacks, how does NTU work?
I know the Silo is a pool from which the base draws it from to somehow powers the Generator and repairs Base faculties, but is it tapped for creating supplies or Spawning?

I ask because I have a devious idea to bring them back into Planetside 2, revamping Resources from an individual basis to a base dependant one.

Oh btw, white eagle, the battle rank leveling slows exponentially, it'll feel more and more like a feat of leveling. :) Should be around 15-18 by the end of the week.
Yeah, but like I said I've been lone wolfing on our Home Continents, so I've just been getting BXP in ticks of 20 for nursing a freshly exhausted NTU Silo.

Oh btw, what was your first reaction to Voice Macros? *Press V*

Asking, cause I've seen some PS2 players basically go "OMG, what is... why isn't thi... THIS IS AWESOME!!!".
Indeed it is, bit of a learning curve to get acquainted with, but the fact that the pop-up menu bolds the next necessity letter helps.
Probably going to need a V### or other such combination system though for Planetside 2, just because it would still allow for twitch shooting while giving call outs.

[Crator]

Speaking of Ghost Hacks, how does NTU work?
I know the Silo is a pool from which the base draws it from to somehow powers the Generator and repairs Base faculties, but is it tapped for creating supplies or Spawning?

NTUs used to get drained from people using spawns but they had to remove it cause it was draining too fast during large battles. NTUs are currently drained by having damage on anything on a base (turrets, equipment/vehicle/repair terms, and gens). Also, an advanced hacker can put a NTU draining virus on a base. Oh, almost forgot, BFRs can drain the NTUs right out of the silo, store them just like an ANT, and bring them to an friendly owned base and fill it.

[zeropositivo]

It's kinda weird how there is a direct hard counter to the infiltration suit. I now understand what this darklight thing is, and the fact that those using it have a special icon on them... but still, that's kinda weird they have something that has no drawback at all... I foresee infiltrators getting progressively less useful the more people start getting that implant

[Logit]

It's kinda weird how there is a direct hard counter to the infiltration suit. I now understand what this darklight thing is, and the fact that those using it have a special icon on them... but still, that's kinda weird they have something that has no drawback at all... I foresee infiltrators getting progressively less useful the more people start getting that implant

Thing is, there are a few better options than darklight. Especially if you don't have all of the implant slots.

Most people don't carry it.

[Wahooo]

It's kinda weird how there is a direct hard counter to the infiltration suit. I now understand what this darklight thing is, and the fact that those using it have a special icon on them... but still, that's kinda weird they have something that has no drawback at all... I foresee infiltrators getting progressively less useful the more people start getting that implant

DL drains stamina while active, at a pretty good clip AND it limits the distance you can see, not a big deal indoors but even in a CY it is limiting.

Also you only get 3 implant spots. So there is the balancing act. Some people believe DL is a must have others not so much. I personally use plasma if I think a cloaker might be around as I like sniping and i'm so used to the info I can't really live without advanced targeting. I think surge is a must have. And I flip flop back and forth between audio amp and sensor shield.

It is a bit weird that there is such a easy to get hard counter, but like I said the limitations do balance it some. I don't cloak much but funny how when I do it seems EVERYONE is running with DL.

[sylphaen]

It's kinda weird how there is a direct hard counter to the infiltration suit. I now understand what this darklight thing is, and the fact that those using it have a special icon on them... but still, that's kinda weird they have something that has no drawback at all... I foresee infiltrators getting progressively less useful the more people start getting that implant

It's the difference between pro-infiltrators and beginners: people don't walk around all day with DL and very good infiltrators are hard to catch when they play smart. Even if you have DL.

[Shogun]

whiteagle, i understand your problem.

if you want to get lots of xp, you simply have to squad up and go to hossin or cyssor where the action is. lonewulfing might be fun and the tactical value you described is also very important, but it would not grand much xp. as a lowlevel br, it is just necessary to do some zerging now and then. later, when you don´t really need xp because you already got some nice weapon and vehicle options, you are free to do the lonely specops thing whenever it´s necessary.

[zeropositivo]

I just managed to kill a couple people with Darklight :D

let them see me, lure them behind a corner, secondary fire mode on my spiker
Satisfyyyyyyyying

[Figment]

It's the difference between pro-infiltrators and beginners: people don't walk around all day with DL and very good infiltrators are hard to catch when they play smart. Even if you have DL.

You will be surging, which drains less stamina, but since you will also have Sensor Shield on, most the time, you will drain a bit more stamina. Dark Light USED to be possible in third person, but now only works in first person. Important thing to remember: they have to have line of sight.

The thing is, DL has a limited range (25m) and drains stamina very fast and since they have heavier suits, their surge will drain more stamina. So when people chase you, they will look for any reason to switch it off. Any sign that says "the cloaker went that way", will give them reason to disable Dark Light for 6, 7 seconds if there's just one path to go.


So the goal is to either stay ahead of them far enough to make their DL useless, OR to make them think you went elsewhere. Often you can use this to doubleback on your path at a different level, open a door and not go through it or even just find a good spot.



In principle, people that use Dark Light are usualy new to the game, or in situations where DL is important (like holds and resecures). The majority of players will learn to look for the shimmer over time and do things like regular Crazy Ivans in the field.

I don't know many infils that spare a Dark Light implant, just a couple that used to hunt infils with plasma grenades from the walls. Most of the time, the infils in game are the best at "knowing" where you are, since they always look at their own shimmering in third person and know exactly what to look for at a glance and they rationalise the flight path from your position, their position and their options all intuitively.

EMP grenades light up infils for a fraction of a second, shotgun shells work quite well, even at medium ranges due to the lack of armour and plasma is also a method of flushing them out. As you may have noticed, unlike in PS2, infils are unlikely to try and kill you until they have a chance to ambush you. So if you're out and about looking for them, they'll either try to ambush you or simply try to escape. Either way, if the prey is on alert, he's the hunter and the infil the prey. A lot of infils therefore use Enhanced Targeting as third implant (some use melee boost, to two-stab people in secondary mode), to have improved target selection: the weak stragglers are much better targets.

[Whiteagle]

NTUs used to get drained from people using spawns but they had to remove it cause it was draining too fast during large battles. NTUs are currently drained by having damage on anything on a base (turrets, equipment/vehicle/repair terms, and gens). Also, an advanced hacker can put a NTU draining virus on a base. Oh, almost forgot, BFRs can drain the NTUs right out of the silo, store them just like an ANT, and bring them to an friendly owned base and fill it.
Ok, figured that might be the case...
In any event the Spawns are too exposed right now to associate a cost with them, so sticking with SCUs that drain Resources to repair themselves is probably the better bet.

Alright, so here is my idea, bring back NTU as Resources that are stored at individual bases instead of players.
We change the name from Nanite Technology Unit to Nanite Transport Unit, with the explanation being that microscopic bits of Resources are being held by Nanites that take them where they need to go.

This plays into bringing in an old idea of mine, Nanite Pipelines that normally transport these NTUs from various scattered Nanite Extraction Generators to three separate NTU Silo at each Base.
Depending on it's size, each Base has its own Stockpile of Resources from which all vehicle and consumable purchases at that Base are drawn from, as well as powering and repairing any Base Feature (such as Generators, Spawn Deployment jamming antenna I call a Wireless Aerial Jammer or WAJ, Turrets, and Terminals).

Excess Resources are stored at a Faction's Warpgates, the three tines of which each acting as a TRULY GIGANTIC NTU Silo.
This allows Warpgates a VERY large, but still potentially exhaustible stock of Resources
The Resource system itself is revamped to resemble its Beta incarnation, with Alloys, Catalysts, and Polymers responsible for specific purchases across the board instead of one Resource for each type of Purchase.

Now the Pipelines themselves are pretty much a in game representation of the Lattice Network, but the Nanite Extraction Generators (or NEGs) which actually provide a Resource might be located in another part of the Territory then the Base, and would thus there would be a line connecting the two.
Longer stretches of Pipeline will have safety valves that can be temporarily hacked to reverse Resource flow or outright destroyed to stop it, but this also destroys the Lattice link and it will need to be repaired to restore the connection.

Finally we get to the Coup de Grace of this system, the re-introduction of the Advanced Nanite Transport and a newer, slightly less powerful NTU Aircraft I call the Nanite Aerial Transport or NAT.
These new Support Vehicles, while not actually armed, will still prove to be vital to offensive movements thanks to their ability to syphon out NTU from Silos as well as supply it.
The Classic ANT will have three tanks each able to hold a Small Silo's worth of NTU, set-up to try and fill a single tank with one type of NTU until full before filling the others, allowing it to take any combination of three Small Silo's worth of NTU.
The NAT will only have one NTU tank, but as an Aircraft it will be able to ignore difficult terrain.

In addition to reinforcing existing allied supply lines and sabotaging the enemies, these craft might also be able to draw extra residual NTU left in Safety Valves, allowing support drivers to collect extra bonus Resources to stockpile for their Empire.


...So, what do you guys think about this?
I know changing the Resource System from the Personal Level to a Base one does impact SOE's planned source of income, but I would just replace the percentile Resource Gather Bonus from Resource Boost and Membership Bonuses into percentile Discounts on Consumable Resource Purchases.
It's the same general effect, but this might make such perks slightly more powerful in comparison...
...Then again, that will also create more demand for Membership Levels and Temporary Boost packs...

if you want to get lots of xp, you simply have to squad up and go to hossin or cyssor where the action is. lonewulfing might be fun and the tactical value you described is also very important, but it would not grand much xp. as a lowlevel br, it is just necessary to do some zerging now and then. later, when you don´t really need xp because you already got some nice weapon and vehicle options, you are free to do the lonely specops thing whenever it´s necessary.
Well the annoying thing is I am that close to the next Battle Rank, and once I get my Combat Engineering my Lone Wolfing will become FAR more effective.

As for Infiltraitors in this game, my best advice is to learn to sneak WITHOUT using your cloak.
Don't use it as a crutch for just getting into places; You are playing a game with people who are VERY use to fighting invisble enemies and thus more knowledgeable on their common habits.

[Shogun]

white, your lonewulfing will get extremely effective, when you even specialise in ce with all the additional ce certs. being able to place spitfires in enemy territory is priceless.

i got to br 32 without any weapon certs. fulltime supporter, infiltrator and adv hacker. and lonewulfing is now a viable option for me. i can fortify a whole base all by myself, repair everything, upgrade wallturrets and set up hidden additional ams. when the fight comes to such a base, it buys time to setup response.
or i go to an enemy base where they spawn their vehicles and go havok on the base, hacking all spitfires or wallturrets to make them fire at the enemy. then go for the gen to interrupt the flow of vehicles and respawners.

[Whiteagle]

Yeah, the Hacking Cert Tree is FAR more useful for Infiltrators then the Stealth Suit.
Being Invisible just isn't worth going around in just your Pajamas at low BR.

[ChipMHazard]

Just came from Zoran's stream. Some players in it who got to see PS1 for the first time.
They were impressed by the level design, the mmo vibe, the phantasm, voice macros and doors. Shaila got a few of them interested enough in the game to want to download it, so that's good:D

[Shogun]

back before ps2 beta, people wanted the ps2 bases to be very different from ps1 and they always argumented with the higher number of players in ps2.

but now, that we have all played some ps2, do you still think, the exact ps1 basedesign would clegg up the gameflow? (sure, the bases would have to be inflated a bit to have more room and be in pair with the other gigantic buildings in ps2, but i am talking about the layout, the walls, the backdoors, the capturemechanics and other stuff inside)

i haven´t seen a single fight in ps2, that would not fit into a ps1 base, yet!
and i don´t think there is something wrong with an epic doorway-push.

and if the chokepoints create a stalemate, there is always the option for a generator attack or a drain/siege.

in ps2 there is no defence at all, and every battle ends with a spawncampfest or with the enemy leaving and a boring wait for the timer to complete.

so why is this boring timer stuff still in the game? they stripped all the cool stuff from ps1, but kept the annoying parts!

tl/dr:
do you think ps1 base layout would work in ps2?

[Crator]

^ Some of the PS1 bases were often times too hard to get in to when they were being defended. Especially the Interlink and Dropship Center. The new lattice in PS2 is prolonging the fights already and that's a good thing. But making bases like PS1 bases in PS2 might hinder the battle flow way too much which would produce too long of stalemates I think.

What I would like to see however that is similar to PS1 base captures is a mechanic that requires the attacking force to break through to a location near the spawns. This location must be captured in order to win the base. There would still be multiple remote capture points and taking those would make the timer progress towards taking the base. However, even if the capture timer gets to zero you would still have to have control over the main control console (CC) to be able to flip the base. How the spawn tubes and the CC should be setup I haven't thought too much about though. Vary the layouts though for variety of game-play for sure.

[ringring]

^ Some of the PS1 bases were often times too hard to get in to when they were being defended. Especially the Interlink and Dropship Center. The new lattice in PS2 is prolonging the fights already and that's a good thing. But making bases like PS1 bases in PS2 might hinder the battle flow way too much which would produce too long of stalemates I think.
.

In those bases you needed a 2:1 advantage to ensure victory. You also need to get AMSES in the right place, at least 3.

Once there the assault progressed in bites. First you forced the main room, then the stairs or backdoor and so on. Each area posed a problem and eventually the spawns were attacked and destroyed.

The nature of the bases made the assaults difficult, but at times they also made them epic. Take away one and you take away the other.

Fights in PS2 go the other way, e.g. tower fights. There will be a struggle but once attackers get to the first floor up, it's pretty much over barring reinforcements.

(Last Tuesday I took part in an attack on an interlink and I remembered how much I enjoyed them. Judging when was the right time to make a rush into the main room was tricky but involving, at least for me.)

pps you didn't mention Tech Plants, they could turn into farms for defenders too.

pps you didn't mention Amp Stations ... :p

[Figment]

Nonsense, you just needed an infil with a Routerpad to break those bases.

What zergs took 6 hours to do, me and DrBuggs would break in 15 minutes.

[ringring]

Nonsense, you just needed an infil with a Routerpad to break those bases.

What zergs took 6 hours to do, me and DrBuggs would break in 15 minutes.

Yea, and jeffbeefjaw and psycho and others...... ah, memories :)

[MasterChief096]

PS1 base layout works with PS1 pops, around 399 per continent. It would not work with PS2's (overly ambitious in my opinion) continental populations.

If you scaled PS1's bases and just added more chokepoints without sacrificing the concept, it could work very well. Instead we have bases that are basically nothing more than temporary FOB's with no real indoor component.

[Shogun]

PS1 base layout works with PS1 pops, around 399 per continent. It would not work with PS2's (overly ambitious in my opinion) continental populations.

If you scaled PS1's bases and just added more chokepoints without sacrificing the concept, it could work very well. Instead we have bases that are basically nothing more than temporary FOB's with no real indoor component.

scaling to ps2 pops could be done by adding 1 or 2 more doors to get into the bases and of course by inflating the whole building to match the other structures in ps2 and give more space for larger groups. but to be honest i haven´t seen bigger battles in ps2 then in ps1 so far.

[MasterChief096]

scaling to ps2 pops could be done by adding 1 or 2 more doors to get into the bases and of course by inflating the whole building to match the other structures in ps2 and give more space for larger groups. but to be honest i haven´t seen bigger battles in ps2 then in ps1 so far.

That's because its a gimmick. Sure you can have 2000 people or whatever on a continent, no that does not mean that you will ever see all 2000 in the same area. The system was designed to keep people spread out because, quite frankly, no one could render that many players.

[Shogun]

That's because its a gimmick. Sure you can have 2000 people or whatever on a continent, no that does not mean that you will ever see all 2000 in the same area. The system was designed to keep people spread out because, quite frankly, no one could render that many players.

decide!

you can´t say ps1 bases wouldn´t work with ps2s higher populations and say at the same time, that ps2 is designed to spread out more because the higher population wouldn´t render anyways.

i haven´t seen fights in ps2 that would overpopulate bases if they had ps1 layout so far. so i don´t think the argument of ps1 bases not working because of higher pop in ps2 is valid. after all, more real interior means less people to render than in ps2 bases where everything is open.

[sylphaen]

The mistake is considering just layouts and not anything else. For instance, rephrasing the problem as transposing concepts instead of transposing base layouts makes the idea more interesting.

Figment made a lot of great posts with interesting discussion of ideas and concepts.

Saying "let's port this mechanic because it was in PS1!" could fail just as it could work-out. On the other hand, thinking what concept worked in PS1 how/why and adapting the concept to PS2 is be a better way to implement a solution.

ex:
- walls should have a real use for defense
- spawns should not be shellable by tanks
- generators should be protected and provide an alternative way to take control of a base
etc...

Concepts is what counts, not lay-outs.

It also works PS2-to-PS2 ! eg: Why is the crown so successful ?

That's because its a gimmick. Sure you can have 2000 people or whatever on a continent, no that does not mean that you will ever see all 2000 in the same area. The system was designed to keep people spread out because, quite frankly, no one could render that many players.

I agree with this statement. And I'll add that I never felt PS2 to be that "massive".

[MasterChief096]

I'm agreeing with both of you.

PS2 bragged about 2000 per continent and then designed mechanics to keep fights smaller than PS1, yet made the bases even more open. They didn't make up their mind.

[Babyfark McGeez]

That is an unfortunate impression i got over the whole development time of planetside 2; Beyond the idea of having real big battles with a lot of players and using "planetside" as a sort of theme there just doesn't seem to be a true "masterplan" behind it.

That is basically my main gripe with the whole games industry these days; Games are no longer being made with an idea, but with a cash shop in mind. And despite still having the possibility to become a groundbreaking game with original, visionary gameplay and mechanics, planetside 2 falls exactly into that category.
One gimmick (lots of players on one map - which is impressive, no doubt), but no real idea what to do with it and not thinking stuff through on the way. Oh, and of course launching prematurely and having a cash shop.

I know this sounds like bitter ramblings, and it may as well be, but i have seen nothing so far that convinced me there really is some sort of "vision" or "idea" behind Ps2.

[Shogun]

Concepts is what counts, not lay-outs.

It also works PS2-to-PS2 ! eg: Why is the crown so successful ?


that´s right. sometimes i don´t use the best words. but the bases in ps1 had a layout with a great concept ( walls with catwalks, only 2 gates for vehicles, backdoor for surprise maxrush,etc.)

ps2 bases just seem to be made to look nice.period. all concepts that matter are afterthoughts that were implemented to correct the initial failure. like the particle lifts and jumppads at biolab platforms.

and to your last sentence:
congratulations soe! you just destroyed the only outpost that worked nice.
the success of the crown just ended. instead of adding a concept from ps1 regarding the break of a stalemate, they took the defensability away by moving the capturepoints right to where the attackers come from.
what a dick move!

[Shogun]

That is an unfortunate impression i got over the whole development time of planetside 2; Beyond the idea of having real big battles with a lot of players and using "planetside" as a sort of theme there just doesn't seem to be a true "masterplan" behind it.

That is basically my main gripe with the whole games industry these days; Games are no longer being made with an idea, but with a cash shop in mind. And despite still having the possibility to become a groundbreaking game with original, visionary gameplay and mechanics, planetside 2 falls exactly into that category.
One gimmick (lots of players on one map - which is impressive, no doubt), but no real idea what to do with it and not thinking stuff through on the way. Oh, and of course launching prematurely and having a cash shop.

I know this sounds like bitter ramblings, and it may as well be, but i have seen nothing so far that convinced me there really is some sort of "vision" or "idea" behind Ps2.

it doesn´t happen too often, but i totally agree with you here. on every aspect!

a simple adaption of ps1 to modern graphics and minor adjustments to the things that didn´t work well would have been a much better game. there was no need to make it bigger! ps1 numbers would have worked on todays machines. ps2 numbers don´t ... again.
and adapting all the lazy mechanics of casual shooters just because they were successful games was the wrong way. ps1 had better systems in place, but it wasn´t as successful as battlefield, so they scrapped those things. but was planetside unsuccessful because of the mechanics? no! just because it was too far ahead of its time and the available tech.

and now ps2 is not only again ahead of the available tech (most of my friends can´t play because of the low fps and i bough a rig exclusively for ps2), it is also stripped of the fun features no other game could deliver.

i stopped buying any SC right after release. because my hope went down, that ps2 can ever live up to my expectations. and i went on to back star citizen instead. the team there still sounds like they have a real vision. and they are independant. maybe crowdfunded games will be the only source of innovation in the future. companies like sony don´t have the balls to develope something unique no more. they all just try to copypaste old stuff from other games that were successful.

[Babyfark McGeez]

I didn't know we allways disagree. Well, good that we're on the same page for once then. :p

Star Citizen is not my type of game, but i totally agree, that seems to be a game with a clear vision behind it. Unlike pretty much all AAA games that come out these days. It's no surprise that the fresh air breathed into video gaming these days solely comes from indie projects (minecraft, dayz spring immediately to mind), where people have an idea and go from there. As opposed to people having a day-to-day job in some video game company where they are all very good with texturing, modelling or coding, but have no clue what to do with it.

The key for the future of this industry lies in video game companies drawing from the creative source of indie devs and incorporating them into their work (and i don't mean ripping them off - i mean cooperating with them).

[FrostandFlame]

I guess I'll bullet point my initial thoughts :)

Pros:
+ Game feels more like a world. I love the small touches like the propaganda posters in the bases. The environments have a familiar yet strange and "alien" feel to them. I'm not sure if this is because of the limited graphics, but it feels similar yet different than than the real world, as opposed to PS2 which feels a bit to normal.
+ Inventory and the classless system. I'm a big fan of the make your own play-style, even though I think early on it feels a bit limiting.
+ Vehicles are sweet. Again, going back to the game having more character, the way you enter and leave vehicles and can store items and ammo in the trunk is great. I'm also completely in love with the idea of lots of gunner positions like on the Juggernaut (I think that's what it was called. The giant bus with 2 chain guns and 2 tank guns) . I also like the way the aircraft handle in this, although that is only from the limited amount of time I spent flying them in the VRT.
+ Crazy looking bases. Reminds me funnily enough of the base in Starship Troopers that was swarmed by bugs, but in a good way! (See next point)
+ The game reminds me of a younger time before everything got all jadedly serious and real in look. Like the difference between the old X-Com and new one.
+ Also on bases: I like the idea of players being able to reinforce bases with mines, upgraded base turrets and personal turrets (even if the game doesn't explain it that well).
+ MAXes feel like walking tanks and can take quite a pounding; when you aren't the one using them at least :P
+ The distinct separation of AP an AV weapons/ammo. Yes, in real life, a direct rocket hit is instant death, but gameplay is vastly more important than realism.

Cons
- The game has a Tribes/DotA feel. To elaborate, it feels that if you are new, you're basically a chihuahua covered in mustard and sauerkraut trying to take on a jaguar. My K/D is something atrocious. I'm under the impression there are many tricks of the trade that aren't apparent or obvious to newbies that are important staples in fighting.
- Jumping off of Con#1, TTK doesn't "feel" all that long. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but it feels like I just melt when someone is shooting me. I've been in the VR and know logically it takes quite a bit to down people, it just doesn't feel like it.
- Since my K/D is so god awful, I'm leveling up super slowly.
- I have no idea what's going on. I have no clue where the big fights are or where to go and what to do when I do find a fight going :(
- Where you respawn feels a bit confusing and arbitrary.
- Crazy looking bases. The flip side of them is that as a newbie, it's really easy to get lost an not know where things are.
- I really don't like that the who-killed-who popups are in the chat log. It's pretty weird.


I'm sure there's more thoughts but that's all I've got for now.

[ringring]

@frostandflame

you wouldn't be the first who has compared bases to Starship Troopers.

re: the bases don't you find them easier to navigate than the ps2 ones? I would have thought so given that ps2 bases are pretty much all unique.

The trick with combat is: always use 3rd person. Never approach a corner without using it.

If you're using 3rd person and you think someone is there ahead of you but out of sight, have patience because often the first on to move is the one who dies first.

MCG, jackhammer and lasher operate differently. MCG mid-range, lasher mid-to-short range and JH short range.

Watch your mini map constantly. If the base you are in is connected to a friendly interlink you should have radar, similarly if a friendly mossie flies overhead.

The ttk or gunplay rewards better players who can plan ahead and aim, more so than in ps2.

Put 3 medpacks in your inventory, remap the action to a handy key and use it if you're in combat. The handy key needs to be very hand because combat when it happens can be more sudden and intense than in ps2.

When you get certs, cert engy before med. Then when you're damaged you can repair armour and you can always carry med packs, if you do it the other way araound you won't be able to repair yourself until you get the extra 3 certs for engy.

Join a squad, unlike in ps2 you get xp for everyone else's kills.

[Wahooo]

I guess I'll bullet point my initial thoughts :)

Pros: *snip*
Love your take on the Pros side. I agree fully. I can understand why the dropped the enter exit animations but they were such a cool part of the game.
I agree on the look and feel of the game and bases... ultra "real" games that really aren't that realistic, it bothers me.
The "game play more important than "realism"" take as well. The AV vs AI weapons. It is a big complaint by a lot of new players but something a lot of us vets truly appreciate about the old dog.

Cons
- The game has a Tribes/DotA feel. To elaborate, it feels that if you are new, you're basically a chihuahua covered in mustard and sauerkraut trying to take on a jaguar. My K/D is something atrocious. I'm under the impression there are many tricks of the trade that aren't apparent or obvious to newbies that are important staples in fighting.
I think your feeling here is correct. It is the game feel, as a brand new player has the exact same killing power as a long time vet, but the experience difference is just huge. And really the game is a bit of a continuation of the tribes franchise after T2. Experience matters A LOT.
- Jumping off of Con#1, TTK doesn't "feel" all that long. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but it feels like I just melt when someone is shooting me. I've been in the VR and know logically it takes quite a bit to down people, it just doesn't feel like it.
Yeah experience again matters so much. Something that turned a lot of people off. Once you get used to it but a lot of people just didn't/don't have the patience. Also TTK vs the Feeling of the TTK has a lot to do with hit registration and client side and ping/latency. Sometimes you are getting shot but its like the hits all get lost in teh interwebs and catch up to your computer all at once so bam you die in what feels like 2 shots. Then you go and unload on someone and it seems like you aren't missing a shot and unload 50 rounds into them and they turn and kill you. Old net code and clientside come together for what can be at times maddening.
- Since my K/D is so god awful, I'm leveling up super slowly.
Join a squad. Shared XP and staying close to friendlies will help. Don't be overly aggressive. Also a lot of the people playing now have been playing for a very long time, as well a lot of those i've seen on have been the warpy kill whores not really into the base taking fights more just out to ambush and kill. So stay patient and bring friends... and all the pointers ringring just said about 3rd person and mini-map. I actually move my mini-map center screen just below my x-hair.
- I have no idea what's going on. I have no clue where the big fights are or where to go and what to do when I do find a fight going :(
Was always a common complaint. Right now with such a low population there is only one or two choices so Instant Action should take you to the right place. /IA then join a squad and look on the map for your friends. The lattice and WGs can be weird to figure out but was such a great part of the strategy of the game. Just need a much bigger pop than it has now for that stuff to matter.
- Where you respawn feels a bit confusing and arbitrary.
3 to 5 respawn options.
nearest AMS to your death - if there is one.
Nearest friendly Tower and nearest friendly base.
Your sanctuary
A bound base or AMS. You can bind to the front of an AMS or to a friendly base. The panel is near the spawn tubes and one in the lobby of the base, for quick recall. Really handy for leaving a base that you think could be hit or to rally a squad.
Once you get it I like the system, much better than the randomness and who knows what priority system PS2 has.
- Crazy looking bases. The flip side of them is that as a newbie, it's really easy to get lost an not know where things are.
Takes some time, but you get used to it. Drop ship centers take the most time to learn because you don't end up in them as often, they are interlinks but bigger so easy to get turned around. Tribes like again (original not T:A that is).
- I really don't like that the who-killed-who popups are in the chat log. It's pretty weird.
Weird but I actually like it, I can see why people didn't however.

I'm sure there's more thoughts but that's all I've got for now.

Your CONs are all very common complaints and some that people would actually quit the game over without ever giving it a chance. You might be able to see how in PS2 a lot of these were upfront in the development as things that needed to be taken out. One of the reasons a lot of PS1 vets complain about the depth or just generally don't like the PS2 base design. Sure PS1 bases took some learning and getting used to but they were so great once you had it down. Dumbing down elements of the game and simplifying them to cater to the impatient crowd (who will find something else they don't like and quit because of that) has been a pretty common complaint from the PS1 crowd about PS2.
The inventory system, the base design. HACKING enemy vehicles.
That once you get used to the system finding and getting to the fight isn't that hard, or NORMALLY doesn't take that long. There are some exceptions like when IA takes to someplace you DONT want to be and the fight you want to go to requires you to fly all the way across cyssor or ishundar. But other than those times... really not that bad.

[Figment]

Cons
- The game has a Tribes/DotA feel. To elaborate, it feels that if you are new, you're basically a chihuahua covered in mustard and sauerkraut trying to take on a jaguar. My K/D is something atrocious. I'm under the impression there are many tricks of the trade that aren't apparent or obvious to newbies that are important staples in fighting.

Well... A lot of Tribes designers worked on the original PlanetSide... >.>

As for tricks, see below.

- Jumping off of Con#1, TTK doesn't "feel" all that long. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but it feels like I just melt when someone is shooting me. I've been in the VR and know logically it takes quite a bit to down people, it just doesn't feel like it.

Third person is really important to time your attack and engagement.

Accuracy and dodging. ADAD is your key to dodge bullets, while crouching and burst fire as well as good shot timing is key to dealing damage and gaining accuracy. Picking the weapon for combat is more important in PS1 than PS2. Heavy Assault has a TTK advantage (though the shotgun for NC has less range) and are generally less accurate. Shotguns are only effective under 15m. Beyond that rifles. At longer rifle ranges, the Suppressor becomes more accurate and sniper rifles obviously become more useful.

Most new players wear the wrong armour, which we like to call Pyjama's. Although very good for gameplay, it's not good if you don't tell people that the spawning armour is utter crap and should be exchanged for proper armour immediately.

- Since my K/D is so god awful, I'm leveling up super slowly.

Don't bother with thinking of leveling. :) But you can get a lot of exp out of non-killing actions: repairing/spawning/healing/resupplying (by Lodestar) friendlies who then go to kill others within a few minutes of your action. Squad experience is shared. Vehicle occupants share exp earned.

- I have no idea what's going on. I have no clue where the big fights are or where to go and what to do when I do find a fight going :(

1. Go through the training missions.
2. Not that many big fights going atm. Used to be different. :/

- Where you respawn feels a bit confusing and arbitrary.

It is predominantly based on proximity and player action:

- nearest AMS
- nearest tower
- nearest base
- sanctuary
- bound AMS (by matrix panel)
- bound base (by matrix panel)

- Crazy looking bases. The flip side of them is that as a newbie, it's really easy to get lost an not know where things are.

On the plus side there are indoor maps. They could have used more symbols to indicate things like the way out. :) Welkin 4591 actually did that okayishly, kinda like in an airport.

- I really don't like that the who-killed-who popups are in the chat log. It's pretty weird.

Personally I like it since it draws extra attention to the chat: more interaction. However, you can make it its own box by adding another chat window and changing the bar on the killspam.

[ringring]

Well...

Snip

Personally I like it since it draws extra attention to the chat: more interaction. However, you can make it its own box by adding another chat window and changing the bar on the killspam.

It's funny how different people have different opinions. I like the killspam and I am disappointed in PS2 because the killspam vanishes before you can look at it.

The reason why I like it is that it's good tactical information. If you see lots of your empire being killed you know to be more cautious.

If you see two friendlies run through a door and die via the spam, it tells you something you can use.

[FrostandFlame]

The trick with combat is: always use 3rd person. Never approach a corner without using it.

If you're using 3rd person and you think someone is there ahead of you but out of sight, have patience because often the first on to move is the one who dies first.

Ha! That explains why I'm dying a lot then :rofl:

Do you guys actually shoot in 3rd person or use it for awareness and then switch to 1st person? I find it's a bit crazy trying to aim in 3rd. Is there an option to turn on cross-hairs for 3rd person?

Certing Repair and then using medkits for health. Seems so obvious when you think about it I can't believe it didn't dawn on me now. I assume you use the medkits while the bullets are flying and not after huh :D

I'm sure the base layout will be fine after a little bit of play. It's just that it's easy to get turned around in those tunnels :)

I probably should elaborate on the not knowing what to do part. Figment, I meant more like what to do at the fight. I know about the HART ships (which are pretty cool. Someone should put guns on those bad boys and drive' em into battle :p) and the IA. It's more like what I should be doing when I hit the ground. Where I should be going, what's the objective I should be pushing, where should I be trying to defend in the base if we're trying to hold our base. I know most of this is a knowledge thing like not pushing lanes in a MOBA.

Figment: Could you elaborate on "Accuracy and dodging. ADAD is your key to dodge bullets, while crouching and burst fire as well as good shot timing is key to dealing damage and gaining accuracy." I've heard this before in passing but I don't think I understand the concept that well. That or is there a good guide or video that I could watch/read that goes into these sort of thing Vets sort of know/take for granted?

Also a question about armor. Which suit would you guys recommend a newbie use? The 100 armor one or the 200? I've ran the 200 but I'm wondering if the speed would be safer. Actually, I guess a better question would be any recommended loadouts?

Are towers useful as anything other than spawn/resupply? I've noticed that there are towers of other factions sometimes left near bases. Should I not re-secure them? Not sure if there's some sort of meta strategy at work or if it's just sort of ghost capping and people just ignoring them.

This is tangential but, "Join a squad, unlike in ps2 you get xp for everyone else's kills." Wasn't this in the PS2 beta? I could have swore it was but I might be going crazy :doh:

Thanks for elaborating on the respawning. Also didn't know you could bind to both a base and AMS.

[CrazEpharmacist]

- Crazy looking bases. The flip side of them is that as a newbie, it's really easy to get lost an not know where things are.



Just like to add: remember the entire UI screen is able to be customized. I like bringing the mini-map to the upper right corner of the screen and maximizing it a good deal. Makes navigating inside bases easier as everything is labeled.

[CrazEpharmacist]

Figment: Could you elaborate on "Accuracy and dodging. ADAD is your key to dodge bullets, while crouching and burst fire as well as good shot timing is key to dealing damage and gaining accuracy." I've heard this before in passing but I don't think I understand the concept that well. That or is there a good guide or video that I could watch/read that goes into these sort of thing Vets sort of know/take for granted?


When I first started playing a friend brought me to the stairwell inside a base and showed me the white lines on the steps. Try ADADAD'ing on one of those white lines. It's just about the right distance you want to be moving left and right while you're in a firefight.

[zeropositivo]

If you like being an incredibly annoying little bastard, get the infiltration suit first. I run around with it all the time. Even with nothing else certed, bring the 10mm pistol with you. It's incredibly powerful, can kill basically any infantry in 6 shots or less. And the secondary firemode is you "you're dead" card in close range

[FrostandFlame]

When I first started playing a friend brought me to the stairwell inside a base and showed me the white lines on the steps. Try ADADAD'ing on one of those white lines. It's just about the right distance you want to be moving left and right while you're in a firefight.

Cool. Thanks for the tip :)

[Effective]

Your first implant should probably audio amp if no has mentioned that yet. The reason most people die in this game is a lack of situational awareness. Having AA provides you with radar for anyone who's moving around you (unless they have Sensor shield implant, or sensor disruptor deployables). It have very low stamina drain so as long as you manage it you'll have a nice little radar around pretty consistently.

[ringring]

re 3rd person.

Yes only use it for awareness, fight in 1st person - which means that you need to be able to switch between the two quickly and instinctively. If the current key is not convenient for you remap it or program your mouse so that a mouse button sends a 'T'.

re: medpacks, yup tap a medpack while fighting, the person you're fighting undoubtedly will but remember medpack have a cooldown long enough so that you can't tap 2 in the same engagement and of course you can only carry so many.

But then, one mistake nearly everyone makes in their early ps1 career is to overestimate how much ammo they need and it's impossible (practically) to over estimate how many medpacks you need.

[Crator]

re 3rd person.

Yes only use it for awareness, fight in 1st person - which means that you need to be able to switch between the two quickly and instinctively. If the current key is not convenient for you remap it or program your mouse so that a mouse button sends a 'T'.

The "F" key is a good one to re-map it too cause it's right by your ASDW keys. Or having it mapped to an extra button on your mouse if you have one is nice as well.

[Shogun]

helpful tips for aiming:

crouch, don´t move, shoot in small bursts.
as a sniper, prefer aiming sideways by strafing instead of mousemovement.

all these actions keep your cone of fire smaller and this means more accuracy.

and the best way to gather xp fast is to cert in support vehicles and engineer, join a big squad and follow them with an ams. setup the ams near a fight but try to not be seen while doing this, and then mine the inside perimeter of the cloakbubble, setup a spitfire and motionsensor or disruptor and keep behind your squad, constantly repairing their armor.

when i found a good spot for the ams, sometimes i had playsessions where i got 200k support xp or more! if you see an organised outfit running around, follow them and repair or heal as many of them as possible. those guys are guaranteed to score lots of kills that will give you support xp if you healed or repaired them before their kills.

also, when caught in a towerfight, always repair the anti infantry maxes. free xp for sure.

[Crator]

and the best way to gather xp fast is to cert in support vehicles and engineer, join a big squad and follow them with an ams. setup the ams near a fight but try to not be seen while doing this, and then mine the inside perimeter of the cloakbubble, setup a spitfire and motionsensor or disruptor and keep behind your squad, constantly repairing their armor.

Careful when mining inside a cloak bubble. If you deploy the AMS next to a base/tower wall, I actually suggest putting mines just outside the cloak bubble. Because smart enemy players will just EMP the heck out of the AMS which will damage it if the mines are inside the cloak bubble. I'll put the mines inside the cloak bubble if I'm deployed away from a base though... Oh, the reason you want to mine all the way around your AMS is to catch cloakers trying to get near it. They will try to hack your AMS. Also use disruptor mines around your AMS to disable enemy vehicles from shooting when they run over it.

[Shogun]

yes, a good and undetected ams placement is always key!
i never used disruptor mines, though. might be worth a try to lay a ring of those as well.
damn, i´d like to play now, but my launcher won´t start.

i still have to reach br40 ;)

[zeropositivo]

though... Oh, the reason you want to mine all the way around your AMS is to catch cloakers trying to get near it. They will try to hack your AMS.

Oh nohes, they found my favorite thing to do