News: Nexus Battle Island Revealed [Archive]

Assist

2013-06-29, 06:23 PM

I thought you had some insider access here, wtf! I thought you were on this stream deal here somewhere, pull some strings!@

edit: I did learn one thing, Xander guy did the level redesigns on Indar, he spent a month on it! He also did the Nexus island. So I assume he's doing Hossin, which means MLG is pushing back the solid content for the every day players /sadface

Hamma

2013-06-29, 06:24 PM

:lol:

I'm seeing this reveal along with the rest of you. We will be talking bout it later tonight with the ReachCast guys live on twitch.tv/planetside2 as well I'm sure it will come up. :P

Hamma

2013-06-29, 06:28 PM

Looks like you got your question answered! They aren't sure how it will link into the live game yet.

Chewy

2013-06-29, 06:28 PM

@ 1:23 what is the back Prowlers main weapon?

It doesn't look like what we got not and the 2 barrels look fused to form a pill shape instead of the 2 separate barrels I remember. I can't find the pics but it looks like one of the tank weapon that was hidden in the game code but not out yet.

Assist

2013-06-29, 06:29 PM

poxon

2013-06-29, 06:34 PM

I look at that then Esamir and just think we need some forests.

@Chewy, yes thats one of the models that was found in the game files. don't forget the black camo in there as well! :)

Chewy

2013-06-29, 06:34 PM

http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/2240/ps2ls20130529222230449.png

Found it!. I think this is what Im looking at in 1:23. It has the huge holes in it just like the model.

edit-
poxon-
I wonder what else it hidden in the video. Didn't see anything odd on the NC tanks or what the infantry had.

Maidere

2013-06-29, 06:44 PM

I if it wont be MLG only, it will be avalible like few hours per week. Otherwise openworld can lose a lot of players.

typhaon

2013-06-29, 06:49 PM

Meh.

So... the endgame of PS2 is CoD/BF-style 48 vs. 48 matches? Remember when every MMO decided they needed to become a WoW-clone and copy its endgame of instanced pve, rep grinding, and so forth... I feel like PS2 has become the FPS version of those games.

PS2 had the goodwill... every bit of encouragement from the fans... to try and do things differently... to basically try NEW and unique things... Instead - the farther along we've gone - the more SOE has tried to turn this game into just like every other FPS -- and in that arena, PS2 isn't as good as the better FPS.

Climhazzard

2013-06-29, 07:03 PM

@ 1:23 what is the back Prowlers main weapon?

It's an new primary weapon. It's been known about for at least a month. I think it's on the Test Server now, but I could be wrong.

I look at that then Esamir and just think we need some forests.

Esamir is getting some trees along with the lattice update.

ShadoViper

2013-06-29, 07:05 PM

Looks interesting, but also a bit generic. Hopefully it works out for them in the MLG circuit,

Not going to lie though, they really need to hire a new team for the video marketing in Planetside. That or give those people more time to work on them.

capiqu

2013-06-29, 07:06 PM

It will be on the live servers also. Since they can not be linked via lattice yet, I think that the 2 empires with the largest amount of territory on all 3 Esamir,Amerish and Indar should each have access to a warpgate on Nexus.
So if the TR, NC and VS have 50%, 30% and 20% land respectively then the Tr and NC get to play at Nexus.
In the meantime the Vs have the chance to grab more territory and if they pass the NC then the warpgate switches from NC to VS.

ChipMHazard

2013-06-29, 07:10 PM

With regards to tying it into the normal day to day gameplay... I could see the devs making Nexus a place for factions to fight over in order to actually get a chance to conquer the island. Have factions fight over who gets to take it and then have the winner try and defend the island from another invading faction (Which of the other two factions get to invade would also need to be decided).
Basicly just have control of the island be about two factions fighting it out, not a threesome as we always have now.

Also glad to see some new indoor areas, hopefully we will be seeing more of then outside of the Nexus.
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxowfalhWd1qa9obmo1_500.png

Sledgecrushr

2013-06-29, 07:13 PM

k, no longer thrilled with the Nexus. It sounds like they're making a CoD/BF style map with 48v48 or whatever, everyone starts on equal footing not with their normal character. So basically it's completely disconnected from the regular game. /sadface

Ive heard higb say that there is going to be an mmo feature in these MLG maps. You basically build your character as you move across the map. If it ever makes it to the general populace Im sure that feature would be disabled for us.

capiqu

2013-06-29, 07:20 PM

Game has to be on the live servers so that players can practice on the map. The only Difference between the battle Island and the other 3 conts its that Nexus will hold only 2 empires. you can play your normal character same battlerank same loadouts on the live server nexus. On the MLG nexus the rules will be different.

Maidere

2013-06-29, 07:28 PM

With regards to tying it into the normal day to day gameplay... I could see the devs making Nexus a place for factions to fight over in order to actually get a chance to conquer the island. Have factions fight over who gets to take it and then have the winner try and defend the island from another invading faction (Which of the other two factions get to invade would also need to be decided).
Basicly just have control of the island be about two factions fighting it out, not a threesome as we always have now.

Remember, it's 48v48, how is it gonna be decided who's going in?

Sledgecrushr

2013-06-29, 07:43 PM

Remember, it's 48v48, how is it gonna be decided who's going in?

I would have to say that there is going to be a que.

GeoGnome

2013-06-29, 07:59 PM

k, no longer thrilled with the Nexus. It sounds like they're making a CoD/BF style map with 48v48 or whatever, everyone starts on equal footing not with their normal character. So basically it's completely disconnected from the regular game. /sadface

Your mixing up MLG with what they will do with the battle islands.

The battle islands, according to Higby at E3, would be between warpgates in continental lattice. So you capture the battle island to get a hold of a larger real warpgate on a large continent

The battle islands are not JUST instanced for MLG, they will be available, and be part of the larger continental lattice

Calista

2013-06-29, 08:14 PM

I can just see it now... The Bending Part 2. Amerish, Indar and Esamir get bent into 4 parts each and all we have going forward are these islands.

ChipMHazard

2013-06-29, 08:14 PM

Your mixing up MLG with what they will do with the battle islands.

The battle islands, according to Higby at E3, would be between warpgates in continental lattice. So you capture the battle island to get a hold of a larger real warpgate on a large continent

The battle islands are not JUST instanced for MLG, they will be available, and be part of the larger continental lattice

Indeed. I'm sure that it will be able to support more than 96 players (Design wise), although I obviously have no idea if that's true or not. I don't know just how many players it would be able to support before just becoming a huge cluster fuck.

Carbon Copied

2013-06-29, 08:18 PM

What it's for aside (MLG) it's nice to see that they came up with something that looks to be vehicle restricted infantry areas.. without having to resort to fucking space umbrellas... :rolleyes:

Assist

2013-06-29, 08:36 PM

Indeed. I'm sure that it will be able to support more than 96 players (Design wise), although I obviously have no idea if that's true or not. I don't know just how many players it would be able to support before just becoming a huge cluster fuck.

From listening to the stream it's 48v48, on the live servers as well. They don't know how they're going to implement it on live yet, but the only thing they have said is that there will be a cert pool for everyone on Nexus to build their characters. Which sounds to me that as of now it's that intention for the live servers as well, especially considering that the Nexus on live is used for determining ranking of outfits. You wouldn't have a ladder with BR100 outfit playing against a BR20 outfit to determine their ranking for a ladder with equal BR outfits playing against each other, it wouldn't make sense from a math point or competitive point.

ChipMHazard

2013-06-29, 08:57 PM

From listening to the stream it's 48v48, on the live servers as well. They don't know how they're going to implement it on live yet, but the only thing they have said is that there will be a cert pool for everyone on Nexus to build their characters. Which sounds to me that as of now it's that intention for the live servers as well, especially considering that the Nexus on live is used for determining ranking of outfits. You wouldn't have a ladder with BR100 outfit playing against a BR20 outfit to determine their ranking for a ladder with equal BR outfits playing against each other, it wouldn't make sense from a math point or competitive point.

I thought the ranking system would be based entirely on normal day-to-day playing.
I see your point, but if this ends up being the only function behind the battle islands (Besides serving as MLG grounds) then I can't help but feel like it will have been a squandered opportunity.

DirtyBird

2013-06-29, 09:50 PM

wasdie

2013-06-29, 10:15 PM

Shame they had to fall into line and have just two factions competing.
Not truly Planetside 2 imo but I understand they need to dumb it down a little for MLG reasons.

Very interested in how they will integrate Briggs into the ladder system.
Or will it be North America only who have access?

Actually the majority of best fights in PS1 were just faction vs. one faction. 3 way fights are novel at best and the current implementation of 3 permanent, uncappable warpgates kind of shows how old the 3 way fighting can get

AThreatToYou

2013-06-29, 10:17 PM

Make Nexus a home cont [once 3 of these "hey lets waste time on MLG" islands pop up].

Empire's uncappable WG/base would be on this cont.

Ogre

2013-06-29, 10:18 PM

I am really hoping that this bleeds over into some continent redesign. I want to see forests so thick air IR cant see through them, and areas were "charlie" is in the trees with jump jetting light assault hopping from branch to branch. Where you can duck between trucks and at night, night vision or a flashlight is a must. perhaps with a little natural lighting from the unnatural trees of the world. I had mixed feelings about the console version on PS4, and I have always felt PS2 was "extended beta" In a way, sorta right, but I hope if this stuff keeps cranking out, and the higher ups at SOE see the game is a great asset and keep throwing money at it. Devs, everyone on that team, keep up the great work, it is appreciated, even if your fans and players, myself included, are sorta pricks.

Hell, someday we might even seen a prone feature for our infantry.

camycamera

2013-06-29, 10:31 PM

looks nice as, but i thought there would be water, because battle islands? or is this just one of many maps?

Cole

2013-06-29, 11:29 PM

REALLY IMPORTANT!!! Higby said on reddit that the version of this on live servers will support 250 players or more.

DirtyBird

2013-06-29, 11:35 PM

REALLY IMPORTANT!!! Higby said on reddit that the version of this on live servers will support 250 players or more.

That will do wonders for low pop servers. :D

capiqu

2013-06-30, 01:17 AM

Gonchiese

2013-06-30, 03:52 AM

The more real estate the more the pops will spread. As far as taking pop away from the other 3 conts Nexus will not do anything that Hossin or Searhurs won't do. But it would actually be worse for low pop servers. At least it will be to the faction that will be locked out of Nexus.

The only issue I see is it taking away from the actual game. Instead of playing PS2, we'll now be playing PSTDM. To me this is not what Planetside is or was ever about. If I wanted to play some TDM in a more sci-fi scenario I'll go and install UT3

Blynd

2013-06-30, 04:40 AM

as soon as it said balanced for 2 forces i wasnt interested - this is planetside 2 not cod/bf we have 3 teams not 2 ffs.

it does look very nice place and as someone mentions the prowler weapon and the black camo all look nice

MrMak

2013-06-30, 04:59 AM

I remembr them saying in an aerlier vid (Think it was during the E3 stream) that (apaert form using them as competetive arenas) they were planinng to make the Islands "buffors" etween continents when continent locking is implemented.

Corewin

2013-06-30, 05:30 AM

The only issue I see is it taking away from the actual game. Instead of playing PS2, we'll now be playing PSTDM. To me this is not what Planetside is or was ever about. If I wanted to play some TDM in a more sci-fi scenario I'll go and install UT3

Seriously? How is the game (as it stands right now) any different than a TDM?

Look at this objectively. This map, along with MLG, provides meaningful closure to an otherwise pointless game. Planetside 2 currently has no "victory" conditions. Some may argue that there are Alerts, but we all know they were just a bandaid fix to a population problem during off hours, not a means of creating a meta game.

1 vs 1 is the only logical way to balance in a competitive sense. 1v1v1 is impossible. IM-POSS-IBLE. As proven by PS2's current mechanics.

I'll admit that this jacks the overall feel of Battlefield due to limited numbers, but past that Planetside offers plenty of community related content that Battlefield titles wouldn't be able to provide.

1. PS2 Outfits are a bit more established and considerably less flaky compared to their Battlefield counterparts.
2. Inter game rivalries are more prevalent due to a limited number of servers. Players interact and become known far more through their skill and infamy, rather than cheesy highlight videos most people rely on to become known in BF3 and the like.
3. The vehicle game play is considerably different. Adds an element that can't really be compared to BF3.

This has the potential to be something worth while. I'm holding out on how they'll be doing points, objectives, resources, and victory conditions.

ringring

2013-06-30, 05:46 AM

It looks better than I thought it would tbh.

This is supposed to cater for inter-outfit matches so how wil that work. What happens if two or more matches need to be ongoing at the same time?

What happens to the island in the main persistent world while a match is ongoing?

Hopefully there will be multiple instances of the islands with several reserved for matches and one set for the persistent world.

But, we need that inter-continental lattice even more now. Indar+Esamir+Amerish_Nexus+Extinction+Ascension+De solation+Hossin with lattice = good times.

Greenthy

2013-06-30, 05:57 AM

Add rocks to the side and top of the map and you have caves :D

Maidere

2013-06-30, 06:57 AM

250 players? like 150 TR 100 Vanu? Nice e-sports SOE.

Phantomdestiny

2013-06-30, 07:09 AM

250 players? like 150 TR 100 Vanu? Nice e-sports SOE.

i'm sorry but do you even think? 125 per side and that is for live . for MLG it will be 48 vs 48 so 96 players

Maidere

2013-06-30, 07:25 AM

They expanded amount of players, are you 100% sure they will make it restricted to 125 v 125?
Tbh, even it's true, 125 is waaay too many on one hand. On the other - queue will take forever.
I had hope it will be 48v48 standard session thing.

ChipMHazard

2013-06-30, 07:53 AM

The MLG will still just be platoon vs platoon, afaik.

Hmr85

2013-06-30, 08:08 AM

So 125 vs 125 will be the max limit for the battle islands? What we are getting at here is that if you ever want to see the island during prime time when a huge fight is raging on it then it might be time to pony up for a subscription if you have not already. Members will get priority in that que.

Overall Nexus looks great and I can't wait to fight on it again. The terrain and infantry areas just look amazing in that video. I really can't wait. Great job SOE. Hopefully some of the old continents can get overhauls to look just as good.

bjorntju1

2013-06-30, 08:30 AM

Well, atleast it looks like they added some new buildings in! So that's good I guess?

Calista

2013-06-30, 09:14 AM

REALLY IMPORTANT!!! Higby said on reddit that the version of this on live servers will support 250 players or more.

Sounds like great news for Playstation 4 to me. These "maps" will be a huge hit in that community. I can see the demand for more and more of them going forward. I am not talking about MLG or outfit wars or any sort of "competitive" mode but just plain old everyday play this would be of the size and complexity they will love while pushing the envelope of higher player count for them to experience. Hell for that matter the PC players will likely start to prefer them also. It would be nice to see a mix of sizes, shapes and geo-diverse islands. That's what I was meaning in earlier post when I said "The Bending Part 2".

Wargrim

2013-06-30, 11:26 AM

I do not care for those small E-Sports maps, but man, please, please please bring those snow - covered trees to Esamir. And apply the lessons learned from those indoor areas / large infantry fight bases to the bases on the large continents! If you make the subterrain levels of Tech plants and Amp stations actual real infantry fight zones, instead of horizontal elevator tunnels, this would be a really good move.

Gonchiese

2013-06-30, 11:38 AM

Seriously? How is the game (as it stands right now) any different than a TDM?

Look at this objectively. This map, along with MLG, provides meaningful closure to an otherwise pointless game. Planetside 2 currently has no "victory" conditions. Some may argue that there are Alerts, but we all know they were just a bandaid fix to a population problem during off hours, not a means of creating a meta game.

1 vs 1 is the only logical way to balance in a competitive sense. 1v1v1 is impossible. IM-POSS-IBLE. As proven by PS2's current mechanics.

I'll admit that this jacks the overall feel of Battlefield due to limited numbers, but past that Planetside offers plenty of community related content that Battlefield titles wouldn't be able to provide.

1. PS2 Outfits are a bit more established and considerably less flaky compared to their Battlefield counterparts.
2. Inter game rivalries are more prevalent due to a limited number of servers. Players interact and become known far more through their skill and infamy, rather than cheesy highlight videos most people rely on to become known in BF3 and the like.
3. The vehicle game play is considerably different. Adds an element that can't really be compared to BF3.

This has the potential to be something worth while. I'm holding out on how they'll be doing points, objectives, resources, and victory conditions.

What I'm talking about is BI taking away from the actual gameplay. Log on to empty continents and wonder where everyone is. Oh look, their all in instanced PvP zones. Fourth factioners already ruin alerts, guess what BI will do?

basti

2013-06-30, 11:38 AM

It amuses me time and time again, that whenever something new comes along, all of you jump to random conclusions.

capiqu

2013-06-30, 11:57 AM

That's how the forums survive.
Anyway looks so much like Ceryshen with all its trees. Just can't wait until they make Ceryshen with all its cliffs of death.

MrMak

2013-06-30, 12:03 PM

What I'm talking about is BI taking away from the actual gameplay. Log on to empty continents and wonder where everyone is. Oh look, their all in instanced PvP zones. Fourth factioners already ruin alerts, guess what BI will do?

Yes...becouse inter outfit tournaments will be held 24/7 and everyone will be taking part in them at the same time. THESE WILL NOT BE INSTANCED ON NORMAL SERVERS. If they go with what they are saying right now the battle islands wont be nearly as big a dent in continent population as Hossin.

But why read the thread right? Lets just all all jump on the "MLG is the end of days" bandwagon.

Hamma

2013-06-30, 01:49 PM

Yea seriously do a bit of research before posting. The only time these will be even remotely "Instanced" is probably during matches. When they broadcast live MLG competitions they aren't going to want JoeNC6969 to screw up the competition. They want to make these available to everyone like a normal continent in the future, it will be a bit smaller but from what I've heard it's not as small as it might appear.

Edfishy

2013-06-30, 02:43 PM

as soon as it said balanced for 2 forces i wasnt interested - this is planetside 2 not cod/bf we have 3 teams not 2 ffs.

Agreed. Perhaps SOE knows something the rest of us don't and MLG's caterings will turn out to be a grand success (will be monitoring MLG closely). In the meantime the whole MLG gig is feeling an awful lot like "Core Combat" all over again. A random "WTF" that has nothing to do with fixing real issues for a unique and original game, and a familiar potential for development disaster when it's realized it was a waste of time and money that is unrecoverable.

What gives me the greatest pause is the "Not sure how this is going to be included into the game". ... Then why does it exist at all? The implementation of WoW's Battlegrounds addressed a specific issue, PvP combat. One-on-one fighting in PS1 was addressed by continent locks.

Again I give all involved the benefit of the doubt, that all this MLG business (hand crafted one-on-one playgrounds, etc) could be part of what defines the good parts of Planetside 2 years from now. Nevertheless, "One in the hand is worth two in the bush" is the summation that comes to mind.

capiqu

2013-06-30, 05:46 PM

Ok Higby just announced in a MLG interview that nexus will be linked to the other conts via the warpgates on Hossin. Does This mean that hossin will have 4 gates?
Ok they tell me that nexus will connect to Esamir and Hossin.

bpostal

2013-06-30, 05:48 PM

Ok Higby just announced in a MLG interview that nexus will be linked to the other conts via the warpgates on Hossin. Does This mean that hossin will have 4 gates?

Three: One to Indar, One to Esamir, One to Amerish. That's my read on it.

RSphil

2013-06-30, 08:52 PM

looks nice. call of planetside style, will be interesting how this all works with the rest of the game. i like the larger battles so i dont think i'll be going to it unless i go for a look around

Babyfark McGeez

2013-07-01, 02:02 AM

...
What gives me the greatest pause is the "Not sure how this is going to be included into the game". ...

As far as public opinion goes, that is their whole approach to making this game. :p

MrMak

2013-07-01, 05:49 AM

Three: One to Indar, One to Esamir, One to Amerish. That's my read on it.

Wait a second.

4 continents = 12 gates.

3 of those would likely be uncapturable "home gates" or linked to a "dead end" battle island that functions as the home base so that leaves 9 gates.

1 gate on indar esamir and amersih each would link to Hossin so thats 6 gates acounted for which leaves 3 gates. 2 of those can be linked but what about to the 3rd one?

Shogun

2013-07-01, 07:15 AM

the video says "vast interior areas"...

would be interesting to see, if these interior areas now matter for a fight, or if it´s just meaningless rooms again, and there are still stupid spawncamptainers in the open.

but i guess we will not get to play on those battle islands before hossin, right?

shame, they can´t put them on the testserver for everyone to have a look.
because they could only make them available through warpgate terminal, leaving one faction without access.
they could clone thw island and make one available for each faction to walk around, but there would be no enemies (for at least one faction)

on the "not sure how to put it ingame" thing...
put a small contestable (or open and unowned) warpgate in the middle of esamir and amerish. each connecting to one of the battle island gates. the owner of nexud can start invasions on those 2 conts from the middle now.

easy to upgrade when new continents or battle islands go live.

or change every continent to 4 warpgates in the corners. 3 faction gates (until continental game makes this dynamic) and one nexus gate. yes, it doesn´t come out right because we now only have 3 conts, so one warpgate is left out of order, or the warpgates take turns for the battle island, like they do for factions right now.

i think of the islands like the caves in ps1.
make their access gates rotate and give them a big advantage to earn. like the modules in ps1. i don´t give a shit about esports, so don´t you dare to drop the opportunity to use those things for some kind of meta game!

the caves were not loved by many, but the cavelovers really had fun, getting out the modules, and the rest of the faction appreciated it, when some outfit came up from the deep with a bunch of modules that would help turning the tide.

Edfishy

2013-07-01, 09:45 AM

on the "not sure how to put it ingame" thing...
put a small contestable (or open and unowned) warpgate in the middle of esamir and amerish. each connecting to one of the battle island gates. the owner of nexud can start invasions on those 2 conts from the middle now.

easy to upgrade when new continents or battle islands go live.

or change every continent to 4 warpgates in the corners. 3 faction gates (until continental game makes this dynamic) and one nexus gate. yes, it doesn´t come out right because we now only have 3 conts, so one warpgate is left out of order, or the warpgates take turns for the battle island, like they do for factions right now.

i think of the islands like the caves in ps1.
make their access gates rotate and give them a big advantage to earn. like the modules in ps1. i don´t give a shit about esports, so don´t you dare to drop the opportunity to use those things for some kind of meta game!

This would be much more acceptable since it'd at least flow somewhat with the current game. It's the whole building of some gimmicky Battle Island that has totally disconnected entry functionality and separate character progression that makes it feel inconsistent.

Maybe to encourage outfit vs. outfit have the queue priority favor those who are in an outfit over pubbies squads, and pubbie squads over lone wolves. In addition, display which outfits and what % they make up of the roster when you're at the warp console.

Shogun

2013-07-01, 10:21 AM

It's the whole building of some gimmicky Battle Island that has totally disconnected entry functionality and separate character progression that makes it feel inconsistent.

i haven´t read the whole thread, so correct me if i missed some dev statements, but the seperate char progression is ONLY for the mlg matches and has nothing to do with the normal live servers.

mlg will most certainly be played like any other arena lobby e-sports game: totally disconnected from the mmo server. so there has to be either a seperate fast way to level up chars, or a kind of cert-pool from which the players can draw to setup their chars before play. but i really don´t think this is something the normal ps2 player would be involved with.

my suggestion is a lot like ps1 (again), where the caves were introduced after the gameworld was already completed. they were only used by a few players, but provided shortcuts for surprise attacks on other continents. that´s how i imagine the battle islands could work for ps2. with the (also ps1 like) bonus of modules or something similar, that can only be obtained on the battle island, and have to be taken to another cont, to apply a valuable bonus there. like drastic ressource discount for drawing vehicles at the base where the module is installed, or drastic accuracy bonus on base aa turrets, instant respawn without timer, vehicle shields upgraded to also block infyntry, and so on. lots of possibilities there.

the important thing is, that those boni must be worth the hassle. just a 5% bonus on respawn time isn´t worth a fuck! nobody cares for any boni that are already in the game, because they hardly make any difference.
in ps1, it was a difference, if you had an ancient tech module or not. having one meant being able to pull additional weapons and vehicles unavailable to the other factions!

Bear

2013-07-01, 12:11 PM

So they have no problem cranking out "battle islands" yet Hossin takes 9 months?

Dodgy Commando

2013-07-01, 12:39 PM

Not quite sure on how I feel about the actual existence of Nexus on Live (considering the devs don't quite know how its going to be implemented yet!). I don't care much for the MLG aspect, although I'm sure this is great for them.

Nexus does look very nice though, the trees and the new interiors are pretty sweet.

Lol at the Fracture MAX indoors during the infantry fight sequence...

Climhazzard

2013-07-01, 12:49 PM

[...] please, please please bring those snow - covered trees to Esamir.

They are. The Esamir rework was shown off during an FNO several weeks ago and it included snow-covered trees in and around facilities.

Oh look, their all in instanced PvP zones.

I've seen no indication that the BIs will be instanced zones in the regular game.

the important thing is, that those boni must be worth the hassle. just a 5% bonus on respawn time isn´t worth a fuck! nobody cares for any boni that are already in the game, because they hardly make any difference.

You can't make bonuses too effective or they shift the balance of power too far in one faction's favor. That's not a good thing in a persistent world game.

Shogun

2013-07-01, 01:30 PM

You can't make bonuses too effective or they shift the balance of power too far in one faction's favor. That's not a good thing in a persistent world game.

oh yes, you can!
because any faction can do ops to recover the module from you and you lose your precious "i win" bonus. so this could break the "rich getting richer" problem we have now. the underdog could just storm in, collect the modules from the overlords of the continent and then protect the base they store it in, giving them a little help against the overpowered.

look at modules in ps1. they gave out really meaningful and big advantages, but if you got lazy on your defence, they could easily change ownership. (unless bunkered in a shielded capital city)

it´s all about an incentive to do more than the usual "kill everybody and get certs" and it´s a great way for smaller outfits to proof their value for the faction! right now you can´t do anything of great matter as a smaller group. better roll with the zerg, or find another small group for a little skirmish, but nothing of value for the war.

CrimsonTemplar

2013-07-01, 01:50 PM

So they have no problem cranking out "battle islands" yet Hossin takes 9 months?

Well according to Higby, Battle Islands take roughly 6 or so weeks, while an entire continent takes around 8 months:

http://www.reddit.com/r/Planetside/comments/1hbvtt/planetside_2_nexus_battle_island_fly_through/casw5oj Someone asks him the question.

Of course the problem with Hossin is that technically it was already done, for the old Hex system. With all the continent redesigning and lattice hullabaloo, Hossin was probably put on hold until it too can go through the 'latticification' process.

Mox

2013-07-01, 05:31 PM

Group instances are poison for the game. It dont point to the target group of the game. SOE is focusing on esports kiddies but they wont play it because there are dozen better games out there regarding competitive gaming. I dont really like the way this game evolve. It is sad to see the number of active players dropping constantly. I hope this game will be still alive when hossin is out.

Hamma

2013-07-01, 10:19 PM

There's no doubt Hossin probably was delayed by the Battle Islands given they are pretty much the same resources. That being said however, it could be much worse. Hossin is coming and they have been working on it for some time it's not like the whole thing hasn't been started yet.

artifice

2013-07-01, 10:30 PM

So will the islands be within the Hossin zone or will they be separate zones connected off Hossin? I am hoping we can eventually get it a completely seamless open world.

EVILoHOMER

2013-07-02, 05:45 AM

Now give me the underslung MCG and I'm back!

GeoGnome

2013-07-02, 06:01 AM

So will the islands be within the Hossin zone or will they be separate zones connected off Hossin? I am hoping we can eventually get it a completely seamless open world.

Thing here, while the seamless open world made some sense in the hex, in the lattice, there needs to be LLUs or something, that are player driven, in place, for that to work.

If you are to leave the lattice, boat around enemy lines, redeploy someplace and start fighting up towards someone's rear... you have to have the ability to get yourself resupply, which ideally means getting a base... which means LLUs or something to that effect.

I would like to note that LLUs are confirmed as being a thing... according to people I tend to listen to, that listened to more of the MLG casts than I did. But, the sticking point will be player input. If they are some kind of alert style random event, I think it'll kill it, unless the way to initiate the whole thing, is player action, and the only objective given is: "Okay, you have lowered the base to 0 resource, here is a computer core from the warpgate, get it to the base in question and we're golden".

Graywolves

2013-07-02, 08:15 AM

So they have no problem cranking out "battle islands" yet Hossin takes 9 months?

Their performance on making previous continents has probably lead them to decide on working something with less commitment on the smaller scale so they can figure out what works in that area quicker. Or to move towards things that they can pull more knowledge off of something else.

ringring

2013-07-02, 08:26 AM

If Nexus has 11 outposts on it does that mean it has a lattice?

You're right. These battle islands are first and foremost being created to help us fill out our map and facilitate continental conquest, they will also be leveraged for competitive gameplay modes when we do those. In our initial competition foray we are looking at 48v48 but this is an 11 outpost map and will support a lot more players (probably 250ish) when played in the game proper.

Calista

2013-07-02, 09:04 AM

If Nexus has 11 outposts on it does that mean it has a lattice?

Doesn't really say but if you watch this from the MLG stream and start watching at the 3:53:00 mark (the interview runs to 4:28:00) you can see Xanderclauss talk about Nexus...

http://www.twitch.tv/planetside2/b/423548947

EVILoHOMER

2013-07-02, 09:50 AM

Doesn't this just mean the population will be spread out over loads of instances of these and the rest of the islands will become dead? This is basically like instances killing world PVP.

Shogun

2013-07-02, 10:05 AM

i don´t wanna watch a single mlg related video because i have zero interest in all of this.

so have i missed a dev saying anything about instancing anything in the full game?

i always assumed the battle islands will just be smaller continents with a smaller player cap than the main conts. i don´t care what they will be in mlg matches because those don´t affect the mainservers in any way.

but if the battle islands are planned to be implemented as instanced shit, so everybody can open up their own nexus, ps2 just lost the last little bit of credibility and i consider it dead.

Calista

2013-07-02, 10:11 AM

PredatorFour

2013-07-02, 12:40 PM

as soon as it said balanced for 2 forces i wasnt interested - this is planetside 2 not cod/bf we have 3 teams not 2 ffs.

My thoughts exactly. Made me cringe when i saw that on the trailer. Looking at the outlook of the game now and how it's progressed/progressing.... i'd say they want it to be cod/bf rather than planetside.

Shogun

2013-07-02, 01:51 PM

You should probably watch that video link I posted. It answers your questions. Just because it was from MLG event doesn't mean he only spoke to that aspect of Nexus.

you must be kidding me!
wow, my question has been answered in there and so i should really watch a 9 hour video that is for sure 99.99% about stuff i do´t give a shit about?

thanks, NO!

CrimsonTemplar

2013-07-02, 02:06 PM

you must be kidding me!
wow, my question has been answered in there and so i should really watch a 9 hour video that is for sure 99.99% about stuff i do´t give a shit about?

thanks, NO!

Actually the bit in question, runs for only about 20-30 mins at around 3:55:00. So that's about 6 hours and 40 mins of your time saved. :)

Just hone in and you should be absolutely fine.

Calista

2013-07-02, 02:43 PM

you must be kidding me!
wow, my question has been answered in there and so i should really watch a 9 hour video that is for sure 99.99% about stuff i do´t give a shit about?

thanks, NO!

That's why I put the time references to the pertinent info in my post. It's a 30 minute interview starting at 3:53:00 or so and goes to 4:28:00

Hamma

2013-07-02, 10:06 PM

I'm fairly certain someone said Nexus has a lattice while I was out at MLG but I don't remember whom.

ringring

2013-07-03, 06:05 AM

Has there been anything said on eta?

Also, someone (on reddit, sry can't recall who) has looked at the client on PTS and found reference to Desolation, Ascension and Extinction.

Calista

2013-07-03, 08:13 AM

I'm fairly certain someone said Nexus has a lattice while I was out at MLG but I don't remember whom.

Yes in the interview with Maggie, Xander said there is and the max. number of links to any facility is 3 so most of the time you are just going straight through from one to another.

Root Hade

2013-07-03, 09:43 AM

Err.. you can SEE the Nexus lattice in the twitch preview Higby did.

http://www.twitch.tv/las0m/b/425040613 at 2:30, sorry dunno how to timestamp twitch vids.

It has disconnected 'neutral' lattice links. 11 bases includes the warpgates.

People saying they're trying to turn this into cod/bf should know they're using this as link between continent warpgates. Plus its a nice option for people who don't have the best rigs or just like two way battles.

I mean every FPS and even MMOs give players options with pvp to set their own terms, I think this is the best PS2 can come close to in that regard.