BF 4 - will it impact PS2 population? [Archive]

almalino

2013-09-22, 09:49 AM

PS2 is the only multiplier game I play and enjoy for the last year. I switched from BF3 and never looked back. Just yesterday I invested another 22 Euro into PS2 boosts in addition of hundreds euro invested into SC before.

However , looking at new BF4 features like Commander Mode and highly destructible environments I have an itch to get it but then I know I will have no time to play PS2 then.

Battlefield 4 -- Multiplayer Trailer - YouTube

Also, I see that Miller population where I play is slowly declining week after the week. The only continent where is at least something happening is Indar and 2 other continents are completely deserted.

I'm afraid BF4 will make PS2 deserted as never before and this is sad. :cry:

Opinions?

ChipMHazard

2013-09-22, 10:05 AM

It might, at the very least for a little while. It's something new for the PS2 players that are tired of not actually having any new content to play with. Don't think it will make PS2 deserted though, only PS2 itself can pull that off imo.
It's a fantastic looking game in its own right.

PredatorFour

2013-09-22, 10:11 AM

I believe it will. They specifically wanted PS 2 to be like Battlefield. It's only natural imo that when battlefield 'x' comes out with a shinier look, most players will go to that instead.

almalino

2013-09-22, 10:20 AM

The only fact that will keep me with PS2 from BF4 currently is my aging ATI 5870. I need to upgrade but I'm not sure I'm ready to invest 300+ euro just to play BF4 smoothly.

ChipMHazard

2013-09-22, 10:24 AM

One thing that people might miss if they do start playing BF4 more is the scale of PS2.

almalino

2013-09-22, 10:32 AM

One thing that people might miss if they do start playing BF4 more is the scale of PS2.

Indeed. Though BF4 is bringing things BF3 was missing from BF2 like commander mode.

I think BF4 is not a replacement for PS2 if we talk about Platoon game play. But I think there are only tiny bit of PS2 population is playing in platoons. Many other just play in small squads or even lonewolfing. Those could easily switch to BF4 and they will not miss the scale , in my opinion.

And if these people leave I am afraid it will be difficult to find good fights even on a most populated servers like Miller.

Yesterday in a pick time on Miller there were only 2 places on Indar with epic fights. All other continents are simply deserted. If Half of the players leave Miller for BF4 the game will become boring like hell with noone to shot at.

bpostal

2013-09-22, 10:50 AM

There's still a large difference between what BF4 and PS2 are. My hope is that most of the micro-minded, progression driven players who focus mainly on BR, XP and cert gain per hour shift their focus to BF4.

Carbon Copied

2013-09-22, 11:36 AM

The way I see it is PS2 has little going for it outside of what the franchise shooters can and already do offer; more players aren't exactly a selling point when the average encounter you're seeing in PS2 is on a no larger scale (I'd say 90-95% of the time) than that of a BF"x" map, plus the added boredom of nuances area to area.

Performance issues aside (I really do see performance as being the scape goat of most "oh well I left because" or "people are leaving because" arguments - this should be a non issue from the get go) PS2 should not have been released missing it's main trump card and thing it tries to sell itself with; large scale global warfare. If you release a good game that has a strong core centre piece mechanic (i.e hex/lattice conquest and locks) I'm pretty sure people will stick with it regardless of whether it sometimes runs like shit, balance issues here and there (and if they'd delayed these issues probably wouldn't be as severe but these are what if's). As it is performance is not AAA and the icing on the cake is theres nothing to say "you can't get this anywhere else".

Maybe later on they'll be able to convince players to come back because "things have changed and we've added feature x,y,z (read as: things that should have been in at the start, but sssh don't tell anyone)" but until then it's kind of devoid of selling points in the franchise wars. Which Taco Bell as we all know won.

wobblyone

2013-09-22, 11:46 AM

Emperor Newt

2013-09-22, 02:13 PM

Rahabib

2013-09-22, 02:22 PM

I never liked the previous bf games. I'll be trying the open beta however. I am getting bored of ps2 a bit. So for me, I will be cheating on ps2 at least to try out.

AThreatToYou

2013-09-22, 02:39 PM

Every new game release even slightly relevant to PS2 will chip at the population a tiny bit. BF4 is probably going to be the same kind of deal; it'll make a tiny chip that we can make back with something like, I dunno, multi-core support.

almalino

2013-09-22, 03:55 PM

I doubt that it will be very noticeable as most of the players highly interested in BF4 most likely already left. Some surely will, but I guess that most dropouts out of PS2 will be because of PS2 and not because of BF4.

Do we have a statistics on ratio of lone wolfs vs platoon players? Lone wolfels will be very interested to try BF4. I switched to PS2 because of it team play features. If BF4 brings back voice chat and commander mode this is very tempting.

Rivenshield

2013-09-22, 04:28 PM

Of course it will. They chose to pander to the ADS console kiddies, and the instant something new and shiny catches their eye they'll wander off.

Taramafor

2013-09-22, 06:45 PM

From what I hear BF4 will focus a bit more on team play. After watching a tank round tear through a building and having it collapse around a squad it's no wonder. On the other hand it's going to have weapon pickups mid games which is just too unreal tournament for me. It's like saying "Hey, forget what class you picked. Here's a shiny new weapon for a life." I like PS2 and I like UT and I like battlefield but mixing them is a huge immersion breaker for me. Anyway, I suspect people will drift to BF4 for a year or two then come back to PS2.

However, there is a battlefront game due out next year along with a new starwars movie and it is being made by the same people that make battlefront. And I know for sure I'll be playing that. That game along with BF4 could harm the PS2 population for a bit.

tindo

2013-09-22, 07:03 PM

If no some kind of optimisation comes out before BF4 comes out then my SC budget will go toppurchase

DirtyBird

2013-09-22, 08:30 PM

I think there will be some big incentives from PS2 a week before BF4 is released.

If they are still playing the optimization card at that stage it could get uglier.

Fingers crossed.

Methonius

2013-09-22, 09:36 PM

I guarantee one of the deciding factors to finally put some work in on the optimization effort, was because of bf4. If they can get quad core support up and working for this game, it will bring back a lot of players. I, myself quit, because the lack of multi-core support and new content. Once they get the ball rolling again, I'll be back. There is no other game out there that will compete once the resource revamp is in place and the continental lattice is in also.

Phreec

2013-09-23, 01:25 AM

Most definitely.

If it wasn't for all the game ruining crutches and bad design decisions like suppression, taclights, wristcutter art direction, supernova sun, etc I'd definitely still be playing BF3 and getting BF4 but sadly EA DICE insist on lowering the threshold so low that every god damn retard can "have fun" in their new Call of Duty clone.

Rolfski

2013-09-23, 06:57 AM

They will loose out at least temporarily to BF4. So a good time for them to get the optimization patches out and make Hossin happening.

Emperor Newt

2013-09-23, 06:59 AM

Do we have a statistics on ratio of lone wolfs vs platoon players? Lone wolfels will be very interested to try BF4. I switched to PS2 because of it team play features. If BF4 brings back voice chat and commander mode this is very tempting.
Sadly no real statistics. You can estimate it a bit from the activity on pages like outfitpoints but I don't remember any real data on that. At least on Miller I don't see all too many BR 20+ non-outfit players anymore. Granted they are still there but nowhere near as many as there have been a few months back.
So overall (of course depending on the sever) I doubt that there are all too many lonewolves left. Sure there are some but as a server like Miller has lost a little less then 50% of it's population/activity in the last few months I doubt that there will be all too many lonewolves left when BF4 is released.
PS2 is currently pretty good in loosing players on it's own. It doesn't need BF4 to do that. The release of BF4 will surely have an impact, but I doubt it will be big because a lot of players who are not the "hardcore" outfit crowd will have already left by then, whatever reason it may be. Interestingly I asked some of the people in my outfit that stopped playing recently and none of them stated performance as being the the most important or only reason. So I am very interested to see how player retention turns out with better performance.

Qwan

2013-09-23, 07:01 AM

I'm staying put.

I enjoyed BF3 despite the promise it would be a BF2 sequel. BF4 is more of the same, with Commander.
I know I would like BF4, but after playing PS2 it would be taking a step back IMO.
I wouldnt say taking a step back because BF4 is built around small tactical squads, so its in a genre by itself. Graphics wise its blows PS2 out of the water, rag doll effect, destructable environment. The one thing that PS2 :sick: (sorry I get sick when I call this game Planetside), is the fact that its large scale warfare, and honestly a lot of people are disapointed in how the game is going so far.

Of course it will. They chose to pander to the ADS console kiddies, and the instant something new and shiny catches their eye they'll wander off.

Ive always said that about console kids, once something new and shiny showed up, there A.D.D. would kick in and there goes a lot of customers that sony was ruining my game trying to attact.

I think the population is going to drop when BF4 comes out, one its new, and two because PS2 :sick: is becoming very stale. I personnally am going to be getting BF4, one for the solo content, (Hopefully the story line aint to bad this time LOL) and two cause its looks good. But when this Free to play, half done monstrosity called PS2 :sick: actually starts to get its act together, and more content is added, and they clean up some of the game play. Ill be checking in from time to time, collecting my daily certs and for events with the outfit. But some of the main things Id like to see them fix is

1. Get the fucking continental lattice up and fix the fucking warp gates.
2. Make BR mean somthing, because getting a new title aint shit.
3. Were the fuck is my orbital strike.
4. Do somthing about the damn resource system.
5. Stop dumbing down the performance because some cheap *#&$^#%# dont wanna go out and by a better video card or processor. Cheap @ss *&$^%#%&. (Your off the shelf Dell wasnt ment to play games dumb ass).

GeoGnome

2013-09-23, 06:03 PM

Probably, short term

My thought on it has always been that this is EA we are talking about. You can pay $110+ to get the entire BF4 collection... and don't confuse yourself, you'll still be dealing with EA; or, you can keep PS2 and deal with SOE. Which you prefer is entirely your option. What good will I personally had with EA long since dissolved away, so I will stick with PS2.

As has been said multiple times, people will go play BF4, that is just something you've got to deal with. PS2 will get people back when optimization goes back, and later when Continental lock goes in.

Lafen

2013-09-23, 06:52 PM

It's something new for the PS2 players that are tired of not actually having any new content to play with.

:cheers:

Raymondo

2013-09-23, 08:30 PM

If anything i feel GTA V hasnt helped pop wise & thats currently only out on consoles

SOE really need to do something fast with BF4 & COD coming soon :rolleyes:

camycamera

2013-09-23, 09:15 PM

i think allot of PS2 players will look at BF4 and might play it, and then think "hm, something is missing.... something that PS2 had that BF4 doesn't..."

do you know what that missing thing is (are)?

persistence and scale.

also, by the time BF4 comes out, we may have a much better, faster game by then.

Dougnifico

2013-09-23, 09:53 PM

It wouldn't be an issue if they didn't have to rehash the whole game and actually released some new content. Almost a year and no new continents....

Chewy

2013-09-24, 12:06 AM

I will not be paying for BF4 any time soon.

BF3 was a great game, but damn did I hate some things in it. Suppression for me killed the game and I even paid for premium. In fact I never even played anything past CQ yet. I can understand blurring vision or maybe upping the COF a bit, but I have video of a 10m kill where my target was damn near off my screen. That was before the fix yet from watching streams to see if I should get back in suppression is still fucking with the gun play.

PS2 is good enough for my PvP FPS needs. Then there's the countless other games I own but have yet to spend real time with. 23 games on Steam Iv yet to finish and another 30-50 console games still to go from the last 3 gens. Only so many hours in the day and I don't have the time for another FPS that can turn into another clone with a crap story.

Assist

2013-09-24, 09:55 AM

Roderick

2013-09-24, 10:09 AM

I am still in debate about buying into BF 4. I still play BF 3 at least 3 times a week, but I want to see how the new game plays when beta is released and I get to try it out. If it feels like I am playing "more of the same BF", I will just stick with BF 3 until it dies.

As for the affect on the PS 2 population, I am sure BF 4 will make its dent as players grind in that game to unlock their favorite weapons and/or player options.

The Battlefield series has a solid core that has remained somewhat unchanged, but tweaked and added upon with every new release. PS 2 I feel is still finding its way since it carries very little from PS 1 to PS 2 and has developed a different player base from its predecessor.

Roderick

2013-09-24, 10:26 AM

and that will leave what to PS2?
Hoping people leave a game is never a good thing.

There's still a large difference between what BF4 and PS2 are. My hope is that most of the micro-minded, progression driven players who focus mainly on BR, XP and cert gain per hour shift their focus to BF4.

Not good!

This is not what you want in any game that you actually care about playing. This is actually promoting players leave and go to another game and possibly not return to PS 2.

PS 2 needs to fix their game to promote real teamwork game-play. Reward the players for working as a team instead of promoting the lone wolf pseudo teamwork approach. I can feel the teamwork in a BF 3 more with a squad of total strangers than I ever could if I were to squad with total strangers in PS 2. Again, pseudo teamwork.

bpostal

2013-09-24, 10:30 AM

and that will leave what to PS2?
Hoping people leave a game is never a good thing.

Not good!

This is not what you want in any game that you actually care about playing. This is actually promoting players leave and go to another game and possibly not return to PS 2.

PS 2 needs to fix their game to promote real teamwork game-play. Reward the players for working as a team instead of promoting the lone wolf pseudo teamwork approach. I can feel the teamwork in a BF 4 more with a squad of total strangers than I ever could if I were to squad with total strangers in PS 2. Again, pseudo teamwork.

I'm not talking about a mass exodus and empty servers, I'm talking about hurrying up those who are going to leave the game anyway. Those who have no real hope, dream or loyalty to the game.

We all know that every new shiny FPS is going to draw players away, Hell some of the players only started PS2 because it was shiny and new.

Once those people leave to go grind up golden guns like some kind of digital bird looking for bling to build a nest out of, the focus of the majority of players will shift to more tactical and strategic play. My hopes are that this will, in turn, force SOE to put more thought into the strategic game play.

That's my upside, the downside is we could be stuck with empty servers. To me it's worth the risk because again, in my mind these are all people who are going to bounce their ADD ass to the next shiny anyway.

Roderick

2013-09-24, 10:36 AM

Assist

2013-09-24, 11:21 AM

VaderShake

2013-09-24, 01:35 PM

BF3 was a major disappointment for me after giving 10,000 hours to the BF franchise over 10 years. I will not be getting BF4 mainly because they lied about BF3, it's too dumbed down, and most importantly I cannot support their extortion business model - (Buy our expansion packs or you will have no servers to play on)

The other issue is the gameplay compared to PS2, I simply cannot imagine I would ever want to go back to 32 -vs- 32 player skirmishes on the same tiny maps over and over and over again every 15-20 minutes. It's a complete twitch gamer experience now with little mental engagement, no thanks.

Would be nice to get a large overview from the PS2 team of what we can expect (cough, cough, be guaranteed) in the next 6 months from PS2...

PS. GTA V is getting some of my attention right now...however I will stick with PS2 until PS3 arrives...

ChipMHazard

2013-09-24, 02:41 PM

(...)and most importantly I cannot support their extortion business model - (Buy our expansion packs or you will have no servers to play on)

How so?

VaderShake

2013-09-24, 03:29 PM

How so?

I owned BF3 vanilla - B2K Expansion, I like the larger maps so I did not buy "close quarters" expansion pack, well after a month or so of Close Quarters being release the number of servers I could play on fell dramatically, and kept falling with each expansion pack release that I did not buy to the point that after 6-8 months of BF3's release there were barely any populated vanilla servers only to play on. I either had to buy Premium or all the other expansion packs to play BF3 vanilla or B2K. I had a choice either pay more (extortion) and buy the additional content to be able to play BF3 vanilla or stop playing.....so I stopped playing.

Mind you I was already pissed since DICE lied point blank about what BF3 was to it's customers. *Remember everyone we are customers, not gamers, players, or a community. We are customers.....this is where PS2 creams the new BF franchise, I can choose what I want to spend money on rather than be extorted to play their game, the result = I have spent close to $180 on PS2 simply because I have choice.....as a customer I will always support providing the customer with a choice instead of forcing their had to pay to play.

ChipMHazard

2013-09-24, 03:48 PM

I owned BF3 vanilla - B2K Expansion, I like the larger maps so I did not buy "close quarters" expansion pack, well after a month or so of Close Quarters being release the number of servers I could play on fell dramatically, and kept falling with each expansion pack release that I did not buy to the point that after 6-8 months of BF3's release there were barely any populated vanilla servers only to play on. I either had to buy Premium or all the other expansion packs to play BF3 vanilla or B2K. I had a choice either pay more (extortion) and buy the additional content to be able to play BF3 vanilla or stop playing.....so I stopped playing.

No different than most other multiplayer FPS that receive expansion packs down the line. Can't blame the developers for making new maps that people like more than other maps, them being new probably has a lot to do with it.
It's an inconvenience to not have the newer maps when joining a server with those maps in the rotation but it's not extortion.
Certainly no different than how things have worked since the series started.

It's certainly a strong point for a F2P FPS/MMO where you recieve new content like, in this case, continents free of charge as opposed to a P2P FPS where you most often have to buy the new content. Guess it comes down to preferring one business model over another.

maradine

2013-09-24, 03:59 PM

BF4 will be fun. I'll play it. And when I'm done with it, I'll be right where I am now - in the world's only MMOFPS.

almalino

2013-09-24, 04:08 PM

I myself will choose PS2 over BF4 if there are enough people to play on PS2 continents. But when there could be found only 1 or 2 battles on Miller on Indar and 2 other continents are empty you cannot call it "great scale" etc. anymore.

VaderShake

2013-09-24, 04:58 PM

It's an inconvenience to not have the newer maps when joining a server with those maps in the rotation but it's not extortion.
Certainly no different than how things have worked since the series started.

I guess I am still salty after DICE made this statement...then did the opposite with BF3...

"We will NEVER charge for map packs" - "crucial when it came to keeping our community happy and playing together"
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/battlefield-bad-company-2/1081143p1.html

ChipMHazard

2013-09-24, 05:09 PM

Won't blame you for holding companies to their word and punishing them for breaking it. I do the same thing, which is also why I haven't bought any BF3 expansion.

Taramafor

2013-09-24, 09:02 PM

I guess I am still salty after DICE made this statement...then did the opposite with BF3...

"We will NEVER charge for map packs" - "crucial when it came to keeping our community happy and playing together"
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/battlefield-bad-company-2/1081143p1.html

Great, now I'm worried about the Battlefront game they're going to bring out. If they pull the same crap there then I don't care how good the game is (and I loved Battlefront 2 to death), if they pull crap like that I won't be getting it.

I guess gaming companies not holding their word and making people pay for "extra" content (which let's face it has to be brought when the game is mutiplayer focused) is what's going to keep gamers away from games in store and stick with free to play ones.

bpostal

2013-09-24, 09:09 PM

"Those who have no real hope, dream or loyalty to the game."

In order for me to have this, the developer needs to work on this aspect to convince me to stay. Not the other way around. It is SOE's job to try and keep me from going to another game by trying its best to promote all of these aspects mentioned. Want me to be loyal to your game? Give me a product to have hope for. Show me a dream and make it reality in the game world instead of me reading about it in ideas on how to make the game better and actually do it.
Indeed. SoE hasn't earned my loyalty with PS2, which is why I'm buying the new BF4. If anything, the developers choices have drove me away from the game more than pulled me towards it. Remember the Bastion? Heh, we still don't have a new continent.

I'm not saying blind loyalty but if you don't feel like SOE's had your back so far with this game, then leave. It's that simple. If PS2 isn't blowing your skirt up, then go play battlefield or whatever game grabs your attention, it doesn't bother me any.

Some people are going to focus on getting certs and Araxium on their weapons and once they've done that, will leave. Let them.

Some people think there's supposed to be a massive shift in playstyle once you get to BR 100 and then bitch about no 'end game' without realized they've been playing the end game since BR 1. They will leave, let them.

Some people will only play if they get new content and shit to do and once that drys up (or they blow through it) they will leave. Again, let them.

My point is that no matter what, people are going to leave eventually. Fuck 'em, let them leave. I'm going to see where PS2 goes and how it all plays out.

Skittles

2013-09-24, 09:34 PM

Im not calling anyone out, but calling out BF4/DICE while paying for a sub-booster packs-Smed bucks to PS2/SOE is pretty damn funny.

Its just a smaller wound over time compared to a deep cut. You think SOE's business model is better then DICE's because of the fact its not a monthly charge? Do you think SOE is more upfront then DICE is about where either one plans to be in their 6 month forecast?

I don't think one is better then the other, overall, really. I think both are so full of shit their breath stinks, but rewarding one while its doing the exact same thing the other is doing "worded in a different way" doesn't make you a better customer.

Lastly, thinking that some of those that go to BF4 will return to PS2 after a few months is naïve at best. Several months from now there will be other games released that will further and further place PS2 down on those players lists of things to do.

Bulltahr

2013-09-25, 04:55 AM

If it means the Kojaks (Tweenies) all move somewhere else I'm all for it......................
Should be an age restriction on Command and orders.

RSphil

2013-09-25, 07:32 AM

i have BF4 on pre order but it wont take me away from Planetside 2 as i love the scale of battle. the plus points for Battlefield are environment destruction and spectator mode. i plan on using spectator mode and expanding my tactics show to BF4 as well as trying to keep up my Planetside 2 show. BF4 will be easier as i wont get shot while filming lol.

after a few month all the crappy servers will show and BF4 will die off again. we all know BF is heavily hacked after a few months and will get too expensive with all the expansion maps you'll have to buy.

Planetside 2 is still number 1 imo. for scale, looks and pure combat.

Assist

2013-09-25, 09:10 AM

Its just a smaller wound over time compared to a deep cut. You think SOE's business model is better then DICE's because of the fact its not a monthly charge? Do you think SOE is more upfront then DICE is about where either one plans to be in their 6 month forecast?

I have not the slightest clue where PS2 will be in 6 months. I can't even give a prediction of where it will be.

Hamma

2013-09-25, 09:33 AM

To answer the OPs question, I have no doubt BF4 will affect the population. It's inevitable really. Personally I won't be playing it, not a fan of the rinse/repeat FPSs' like Battlefield and COD.

Zadexin

2013-09-25, 10:36 AM

BF4 might affect population a bit. I mean it does look fantastic and destructible terrain is WAY better than bulletproof everything IMO. But I think GTA V, Rome Total War, And the next Assassins Creed are going to be just as effective, if not more, at drawing players away. At least in the short term.

The biggest thing SOE can do to drive customers away is to do nothing. And lately they have been doing it with reckless abandon. Optimization is fantastic and all that, but its not physical. You can't log in and play on the new optimization, or shoot the latest optimization, or wear the baddest optimization. Its just there behind the scenes.

What SOE needs to keep players is simple. They need new objectives for the game. We have played every map to death by now. We know how they work and its getting old. We need global lattice, a new continents and FFS resources that matter! Without new and better objectives they are going to have a fantastically optimized ghost town.

typhaon

2013-09-25, 12:34 PM

Every major PC/Console release - I don't care the genre - will draw away some players... some % will never return, some will. Over time, the trend will be downwards, with only significant content and feature additions likely to draw in more than are bleeding away... <-- haven't been any of those in about a long while/ever.

Dodgy Commando

2013-09-25, 01:03 PM

It's fair to expect a dip after any major release.

Whether PS2 will once again attract those who left will depend on what it has to offer versus its competitors. It'll be a good test and could encourage SOE to get things going even more.

I'm more curious to see how BF4 could affect the PS4 version of PS2.

I personally don't see the two games as competitors (except perhaps in terms of using up precious playtime), they have very big differences. Its up to the players to decide which is more fun (I'm sure both are very fun, that being said).

Koadster

2013-09-26, 08:09 AM

new BF4 features like Commander Mode

REALLY... FFS new age kids.

This shit was in BF2/2142. Its NOT a new feature, DICE removed it in BF3 with the WORST fucking excuse ive ever seen.. So poor was the excuse, they added it back into BF4.

BF4 is a no buy for me.. No modtools.. EA/DICE would rather you buy thier shitty DLC packs then let the community make a better game then they did. IE: Project Reality for BF2. Though BF2 was great already.

BF3 gutted everything that made the PC BF series great. It caters to the console crowd and dumbs down gameplay for those 10 button controller kids.. If people think the current BF series has a higher skill cap. You must be VERY new to gaming or the BF series. The game is so piss easy these days, most teamwork was removed.

VaderShake

2013-09-26, 09:18 AM

REALLY... FFS new age kids.

This shit was in BF2/2142. Its NOT a new feature, DICE removed it in BF3 with the WORST fucking excuse ive ever seen.. So poor was the excuse, they added it back into BF4.

BF4 is a no buy for me.. No modtools.. EA/DICE would rather you buy thier shitty DLC packs then let the community make a better game then they did. IE: Project Reality for BF2. Though BF2 was great already.

BF3 gutted everything that made the PC BF series great. It caters to the console crowd and dumbs down gameplay for those 10 button controller kids.. If people think the current BF series has a higher skill cap. You must be VERY new to gaming or the BF series. The game is so piss easy these days, most teamwork was removed.

Exactly...no buy for me as well.

I really cannot wait to see what DICE has lied about or misled people about with the release of BF4. They did such a good job deceiving and screwing over their PC customers with BF3.

If I were ever to play the BattleField series again they would have to do something on a much larger scale, with at minimum 500 players, much larger maps, tactical command tools, and allot less guided action. Make a sandbox game again and give back to the customers hands DICE.

I really hope PS2 team has some positive major announcements in the next 2 weeks.

Calista

2013-09-26, 09:34 AM

Roderick

2013-09-26, 10:14 AM

MMO's in particular face the danger of self-perpetuating demise. Quite simply, "Guess I'll stop playing game X because not enough people are playing now." and on and on the story will go down a never ending downward spiral. It doesn't take much to nudge a game in this direction either.

Welcome to the ever growing and over saturated gaming industry. There are many games to choose from pretty much giving the dynamic mood of the average player the ability to change their gaming desire from X game today, Y game tomorrow, and possibly Z game on Saturday.

Unless a game is "flawless", players will continue to fluctuate and even then, the perfect game may not keep a huge player base because of the huge menu of gaming options out there at the players disposal.

Sledgecrushr

2013-09-26, 10:27 AM

I think a week after bf4 is released we are going to get a huge influx of new players. Small arena session based games just wont do it. Folks want more and with ps2 it is delivered.

Thunderhawk

2013-09-26, 06:51 PM

Some people will play both, I may try BF4 just for the new shiny factor but won't "leave" Planetside 2 for it, have every intention to play both at different times.

As for population, I hope SOE are holding back some content patches for around BF4's release, basically do what Blizzard normally does with WoW when a big release from a rival is looming....

I love Planetside 2, and have invested heavily financially into it over the last year nearly, but this lull in patches for performance improvement is (albeit necessary) slowly killing the game.

Once people stop playing and start doing other things, its hard to come back to spending a lot of evenings at the Computer, Blizzard did this brilliantly by keeping the carrot well and truly dangled with WoW, and it would be good if SoE started doing something similar.

And don't tell me "SOE have a roadmap" ... we all know you can totally ignore that as any useful gauge of whats coming.

Calista

2013-09-26, 07:03 PM

The next big hype for PS2 will come when it launches on PS4 and I expect it to be a grand entrance. BTW has anyone heard any information when that might be? I know it is a "launch" title which basically means sometime before the end of the year unless that has changed. PS2 should be able to weather the BF4 storm as long as the PS2 launch on PS4 is not significantly behind.

ChipMHazard

2013-09-26, 08:03 PM

Let's just hope that there's enough of the PC playerbase left at that point so PS2 doesn't become dominated by the console:p

Mordelicius

2013-09-28, 11:50 AM

It will have a big effect for sure. And I'm pretty sure they got some 'retort' against this (at least the first optimisation patch).

I read from the official forum, the majority of DVS from Waterson will be moving to BF4 until PS2 is fixed. And they refused to participate in testing the Nexus even after getting the invite. They are pissed off at the faction balance, overpopulation issue and that the NC is perennially being shafted. (note: I assume the poster was actually DVS. He seems to be and since the thread is NC related).

Also, one of the more popular TR forumsider from Mattherson on official forum DELETED his BR100 and basically said goodbye and said he's going to BF4. Name is PatCleburne I believe. I also see this guy at Waterson TR from time to time (name: GeneralPatCleburne). It's ironic though that he does this when TR is basically the OP faction. He was complaining about ZOE spamming on his last post.

No idea what's the allure of small scale pvp though such as in the BF series. PvP is always best when it's large scale and unpredictable (especially when it's BALANCED).

PS2 Devs have got to play their own game and actually have a pulse and 'first person' experience of gameplay balance. They are driving away a lot of players with these imbalances. (Nerf the Harasser Marauder, the Vulcan and the ZOE) and they will have fixed the population balance in one day :rofl:). But now, they are waiting for their magic graphs to give them some magic info. :doh: Leave the Oracle things to Maradine, play the game for themselves. :lol:

DVS used to be the biggest outfit in Waterson and has done alot for the NC even when outnumbered and outmuscled.

Phrygen

2013-09-28, 02:27 PM

I am assuming there will be a dent.

Bobby Shaftoe

2013-09-28, 03:38 PM

TL;DR
Too much shit to fix, majority of players are fickle and will go off and play the next new* shiny thing.
*rehashed removed-then-reimplemented-features realistic-fish shoot'emupathon featuring russians or dubious-middle-eastern-appearance-bad-guys with 'challenging' quicktime events.

PS2 is average for 'small scale' combat and people who want that will go play other games, the majority of 'large scale combat' ie PS2s main selling point (outside of major bases) consists of a permanent mushroom cloud enveloping the spawn shack from vehicles sitting on the almost guaranteed high ground situated nearby and the swarm of airchavs and libtards hovering overhead.

The horrendous lattice implementation and the 'strats' it promotes are nothing more than attempting to 'ghost' links until a couple hexes from a major base, then zerging the bejesus out of it before the enemy can redeploy from either their own zerg or already outnumbered defensive fights across the map. The 'maps' are far too cluttered, I see convoys of 20+ vehicles driving for at most 30 seconds before they setup camp again at the next base. 100% 'contestable' maps with invisible killzones that don't let you get within 100 metres of the edge of the landmass.

Falling and imbalanced pops and constant 3 ways are as dull in PS2 as they were in PS1. Pops have declined consistently, such that you could easily have 2 Euro servers right now, maybe even 1 at a stretch (and only on the weekends), this is before any additional maps have been added and less than a year after 'release'.

Bad performance merely prevents a number of people from experiencing all the above in its full tedium, fix the performance and they [I]still[I] have to sort out plenty of other things.

PS2 will probably do very well in its console guise.

Osskscosco

2013-10-01, 01:32 PM

Playing BF4 beta now and i have to say: lol nah.

almalino

2013-10-01, 01:50 PM

Playing BF4 beta now and i have to say: lol nah.

Good, bad, same old bf3?

Wiifi

2013-10-01, 01:50 PM

BF4 Beta is pretty much unplayable in its current state.

almalino

2013-10-01, 02:10 PM

Just watched some beta gameplay and hmmm, I have claustrofobia after it :)

Maidere

2013-10-01, 02:30 PM

Good news for SOE: bf4 seems to a worse version of bf3. I'm having hard times trying to understand how this beta has to convince me to buy this game.

Roderick

2013-10-01, 03:29 PM

The only thing I discovered playing the first map of Battlefield 4 is the "New Metro Station" like lack of progress point, instead of moving past the escalators and stairs, you now converge on the largest building and hold the elevators for the entire map or when the building comes down.

LeilaniRock

2013-10-01, 05:03 PM

As in contrary to many others, BF4 runs ok (FPS drops aside). But tbh, after 1hr of playtime it feels as BF3 with a nicer look.

It's fun fast paced action for a short period, but then I start missing PS2 already :)

Osskscosco

2013-10-01, 05:30 PM

Good, bad, same old bf3?

Not bad, but it should cost 30 dollars because it's almost bf3.

Even the bugs are the same.

Escroteitor

2013-10-01, 08:45 PM

On Cobalt we got a massive TR population drop.

Hell, it was about time. I first started as Vanu and switched to TR because I disliked facerolling people because of numbers.

Now we're having some good balanced fights... Between Vanu and TR. NC still a good amount of players but very disorganized.

Hamma

2013-10-01, 09:37 PM

I read from the official forum, the majority of DVS from Waterson will be moving to BF4 until PS2 is fixed. And they refused to participate in testing the Nexus even after getting the invite. They are pissed off at the faction balance, overpopulation issue and that the NC is perennially being shafted. (note: I assume the poster was actually DVS. He seems to be and since the thread is NC related).

I'm trying to figure out what their issue is. This game is probably more balanced now than any PlanetSide game has ever been in terms of faction balance aside from one or two small things. They may as well go to BF because I don't know what they are expecting the developers to do.

Aside from that, there are always vocal cases when things like this happen. Their are far more people who enjoy playing who will never post.

camycamera

2013-10-01, 09:53 PM

i am going to try out the so called "BF4 Beta" (marketing campaign) and some other games i bought on steam (bought Hitman Absolution and Dark Souls cheap :D) while i weight (pun intended) for the optimisation patch. although i might play a bit of PS2 here and then for the next couple of days, i dont think i can ever give up on it lol. when the patch comes though, i'll definitely be back in full force.

Chewy

2013-10-02, 12:40 AM

I'm trying to figure out what their issue is. This game is probably more balanced now than any PlanetSide game has ever been in terms of faction balance aside from one or two small things. They may as well go to BF because I don't know what they are expecting the developers to do.

Aside from that, there are always vocal cases when things like this happen. Their are far more people who enjoy playing who will never post.

Since I haven't played in over a week from a breather I can't say what the current bitching is about. But there are imbalances that just shouldn't exist. Things like the ES AI weapons for Harassers. NC get a shotgun that can't do shit while VS get a Lasher type and TR get the fucking Marauder.

Then there are some infantry weapons that should be near copies but are not. Look at the stats of the TAR, H-V45, and GR22.
http://planetside.wikia.com/wiki/TAR
http://planetside.wikia.com/wiki/H-V45
http://planetside.wikia.com/wiki/GR-22

Those 3 should be almost equals to each other. All share the same COF numbers, ROF, damage, and costs. What they don't share is reload times and mag size. The TAR gets a 40 round mag with the only cost being a longer reload. A longer reload will hurt in the long run but those 10 spare bullets more than counter it when those extra rounds make a kill certain. The biggest problem with a 800 ROF weapon is running out of ammo and VS/NC need to watch for that, TR doesn't. That's why I gave up my GR22, it eats and shits ammo.

The little things add up over time and TR/VS have a lot of little things going for them. NC doesn't really have much that effect fights like what they have.

Im certain that some if DVS will go to BF4, that's just how things work in gaming, but it wont be the outfit. DVS is working hard with the other NC outfits on Waterson in trying to get NCC going.
http://nccommand.com/
Ask any of the outfits listed there what NCC is. Hell, go in command chat in game and ask there about NCC. We had two 1+ hour meetings so far with up to 13 total outfits and to toss all of that work away is just wrong. There has also been a little talk between NCC and the Vanu Alliance about what to do about the WDS.

Mordelicius

2013-10-02, 03:56 AM

I'm trying to figure out what their issue is. This game is probably more balanced now than any PlanetSide game has ever been in terms of faction balance aside from one or two small things. They may as well go to BF because I don't know what they are expecting the developers to do.

Aside from that, there are always vocal cases when things like this happen. Their are far more people who enjoy playing who will never post.

I know DVS hates Vulcan and Marauders. They've always said that they almost rolled TR during SOE Live because it's by far the strongest infantry farm. And Vulcan, too, I often hear DVS and NC in general curse/diss TR for using them.

That's they have to be nerfed asap especially for the WDS. Here's why the TR are very popular atm.

Strikers and Vulcan easily wipe out enemy armor. Now, that alone is not the end of the fight. Even with just infantry, the opposition can still withstand the Prowler HE and Fracture Anti-infantry suppression spam. BUT, the Marauder is essentially an anti-infantry C4 projectile spam. Given they've nerfed the nearest competitor, the Fury (as they should have), that's what attracts vehicleside players.

They've basically equipped one faction of easy counters for everything. TR infantry has an easy and powerful Anti-vehicle/armor. TR Armor has an amazingly OP Anti-infantry. In, short, TR can easily rip apart opposition frontlines with much ease.

Hence, all they really have to is nerf those two things, in the interim. That's what drove all the Vanu Zoe fourth factioneers to TR in the last month or so. All the solutions they've posted so far fixes the symptoms of the problem. But not the actual problem which is weapon imbalance.

MGP

2013-10-02, 07:12 AM

I know DVS hates Vulcan and Marauders. They've always said that they almost rolled TR during SOE Live because it's by far the strongest infantry farm. And Vulcan, too, I often hear DVS and NC in general curse/diss TR for using them.

That's they have to be nerfed asap especially for the WDS. Here's why the TR are very popular atm.

Strikers and Vulcan easily wipe out enemy armor. Now, that alone is not the end of the fight. Even with just infantry, the opposition can still withstand the Prowler HE and Fracture Anti-infantry suppression spam. BUT, the Marauder is essentially an anti-infantry C4 projectile spam. Given they've nerfed the nearest competitor, the Fury (as they should have), that's what attracts vehicleside players.

They've basically equipped one faction of easy counters for everything. TR infantry has an easy and powerful Anti-vehicle/armor. TR Armor has an amazingly OP Anti-infantry. In, short, TR can easily rip apart opposition frontlines with much ease.

Hence, all they really have to is nerf those two things, in the interim. That's what drove all the Vanu Zoe fourth factioneers to TR in the last month or so. All the solutions they've posted so far fixes the symptoms of the problem. But not the actual problem which is weapon imbalance.

Damn, Vulcans are so OP: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AshlLUNJ_SE8dFVmLWg3MkN5YWlncmJYSVlJbzh5Z Xc&usp=sharing

ZOE, on the other hand, is totally ballanced: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AshlLUNJ_SE8dDBEQVFWS3hQQnZETWp1SmRZYk1oS Wc&usp=sharing

PredatorFour

2013-10-02, 09:04 AM

Damn, Vulcans are so OP: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AshlLUNJ_SE8dFVmLWg3MkN5YWlncmJYSVlJbzh5Z Xc&usp=sharing

ZOE, on the other hand, is totally ballanced: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AshlLUNJ_SE8dDBEQVFWS3hQQnZETWp1SmRZYk1oS Wc&usp=sharing

I'm pretty sure Mordelicius was on about harrassers.

VaderShake

2013-10-02, 11:33 AM

Assist

2013-10-02, 12:04 PM

In regard to BF4 impacting the PS2 population after watching the Beta on Twitch I would have to say anyone who is a fan of PS2 who tires BF4 would have to return to PS2 within a month or two tops. DICE completely stripped the gameplay from the Bf franchise with BF3 and apparently is keeping that business model opting to sell a pretty game which is twitch oriented rather than a strategic FPS which is what the other BF games Pre-Bad Company were.

I have not played to much PS2 lately (kids, work, GTA 5) but I have been grabbing my certs everyday and that last patch did boost my FPS but after watching some BF4 beta footage I really want to get some PS2 time in hopefully this weekend....even with GTA online (login problems aside)

Not sure why you assume that VaderShake, the game play is much more like BC2 than BF3, but whichever floats your boat. The game is currently in beta, the release is the 29th. The beta consists of 2 maps and most are playing the conquest version of Shanghai for now. The beta is also extremely limited right now(weapons, kits, etc), but just in my experience yesterday I can tell you that the top scores in every game I've been in are not the highest Kills total but usually the guys playing their role in the fight. To me, that's a huge upgrade over what PS2 offers for progression currently where kill farming is still the name of the game.
To each their own though, having played it I didn't have many problems(servers crashing between maps sometimes), and my FPS was a solid 60+ the entire time. The most important thing for me was that I had fun while I played.

Osskscosco

2013-10-02, 12:17 PM

Not sure why you assume that VaderShake, the game play is much more like BC2 than BF3, but whichever floats your boat. The game is currently in beta, the release is the 29th. The beta consists of 2 maps and most are playing the conquest version of Shanghai for now. The beta is also extremely limited right now(weapons, kits, etc), but just in my experience yesterday I can tell you that the top scores in every game I've been in are not the highest Kills total but usually the guys playing their role in the fight. To me, that's a huge upgrade over what PS2 offers for progression currently where kill farming is still the name of the game.
To each their own though, having played it I didn't have many problems(servers crashing between maps sometimes), and my FPS was a solid 60+ the entire time. The most important thing for me was that I had fun while I played.

Beta or not, there is no excuse for ripping off the people with the higher than full price for the game and full price for the premium.

I've heard that EA won't stop until they beat CoD but i didn't think that they were talking about copy/pasting and overpricing.

ChipMHazard

2013-10-02, 12:51 PM

I agree about the price. I didn't buy Diablo 3 for that ridiculous price and I won't buy BF4 for that price. I stopped paying that much for PC games a loooong time ago.

Chefkoch

2013-10-03, 05:31 AM

I can tell you that the top scores in every game I've been in are not the highest Kills total but usually the guys playing their role in the fight. To me, that's a huge upgrade over what PS2 offers for progression currently where kill farming is still the name of the game.[....]The most important thing for me was that I had fun while I played.

Agree 100%

Escroteitor

2013-10-03, 06:50 AM

I agree about the price. I didn't buy Diablo 3 for that ridiculous price and I won't buy BF4 for that price. I stopped paying that much for PC games a loooong time ago.

Since this is a MMO it should have a way to grind year.

The profit of playing on a serious platoon isn't the certs, is the feeling that you're really helping your empire to achieve victory.

I prefer this, if people just want to kill, let it be.

Osskscosco

2013-10-03, 08:55 AM

Maybe it's the effect of the really small map in the beta but game feels like CoD after playing planetside.

People spawning all over the place, shooting you in the back. Everybody is trying to camp and sometimes go for the point. A squad member can give birth to a whole squad in a small elevator and TTK is like 4 times shorter than in planetside.

Dodgy Commando

2013-10-04, 08:58 AM

It is just a beta, but tbh BF4 hasn't got anything on PS2's scale. Two very different beasts IMO. Not that BF4 won't be a good game or anything, but I find the differences striking.

Each to his own to pick and choose (or play both for those lucky enough to have the time!).

RSphil

2013-10-04, 09:23 AM

i will be playing both. BF4 has a great feel for modern warfare, the sound, the destruction. BF4 is a good game but as people say it has not got the scale that Planetside 2 has. BF is good for a blast when i want that feeling of being a modern war. when i want scale and good team play i hit Planetside 2.

the big difference in my mind is team work. in Planetside 2 if i ask for a medic or ammo i get it fairly fast, in Battlefield you might never get it. i ran around on BF4 yesterday down to a few rounds in my pistol. had no carbine rounds left, no rockets nothing.

the Community is by far the best on Planetside and that is what will keep here for a very long time.

Emperor Newt

2013-10-04, 10:38 AM

. in Planetside 2 if i ask for a medic or ammo i get it fairly fast, in Battlefield you might never get it.
If I would get a penny every time I had to spam V4 next a to manned Mana turret...

ChipMHazard

2013-10-04, 01:43 PM

If I would get a penny every time I had to spam V4 next a to manned Mana turret...

Heh, aye. Whenever I run around lone wolfing it I start noticing that random people aren't nearly as generous with their ammo, heals and resses as my outfit mates. To be fair there are still a lot of lower BR players that have no idea you can switch between the turrent and an ammo pack.:p

Zulthus

2013-10-04, 06:27 PM

I'm not worried.

BF4 is pretty underwhelming from what I've seen so far, the only notable "new" thing is the upgraded cover system.

The destruction is really just a gimmick, sure the tower coming down looked cool in the trailer, but if you've seen it once you've seen it every time. The novelty of destructible environments has kind of worn off for me.

The gameplay itself is exactly the same as BF3, nothing new there, I was pretty bored within 10 minutes. You even still have half of the players going recon and squad spawning on top of roofs. (Why does recon get C4 now?)

Performance is pretty poor (but to be expected since it's the beta)

I won't be buying it but I'm sure there will be plenty that'll enjoy it more than I have. I just don't think they'll be gone from PS2 for very long.

Calista

2013-10-04, 06:34 PM

SOE needs to do something to get everyone off Indar for a while. I think it is hurting the game pops when that is pretty much all that is fought over every single day. Or maybe just limit pops on it and spread the fight out to other conts but the dilemma is no one ever leaves Indar because that is where the fight always is and the fight is always on Indar because no one wants to leave the fight. Maybe when Hossin launches they can turn Indar into a giant pain field for a few weeks :lol:

Raymondo

2013-10-04, 10:18 PM

LeilaniRock

2013-10-05, 04:00 AM

^Maybe use the warp to another continent option for a while?

I seem to always be able to find fights on Amerish or Esamir

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dodgy Commando

2013-10-05, 04:22 AM

Same here, Esamir is pretty popular these days on my server since the continent was updated. I find less fights on Amerish, though.

almalino

2013-10-05, 04:36 AM

Played PS2 yesterday for 2 hours may be. Boring like hell. Fights are only on Indar and fight were pretty boring themselves. Every platoon or squad I join are silent. Probably those were using some other VOIP rather then in game one.

camycamera

2013-10-05, 08:26 AM

so i just played the BF4 beta. it was a good game for an FPS game (wish there was more bf2/2142 in it :()... but i got frustrated allot and it felt empty, as in it didn't seem to have much point as the map just reset and we did the same thing again.

after, i played PS2, and i had a much better experience imo. hell, i dont even know if i can go back to the beta after playing PS2. the persistence and the scale, and the (largely) absence of loading screens is just more appealing to me.

HydroBIG BANG

2013-10-05, 05:05 PM

You need to rename the title "BattleCOD3.5- will it impact PS2 population?" Ive played the open beta and it doesn't have much new to offer,just some rehashed stuff to be milked by EA and the fact that it is still only 64 players max so I can see people getting bored if this is just about all they have to offer.
I bet none of the maps will even be as big as the BF2 PR maps.I also heard that many of the maps were designed with 24-32 players in mind and PS2 is a massive scale combined arms game which dwarfs BF4 in that regard.

Sledgecrushr

2013-10-05, 05:35 PM

I would like to +1 this post ^

Raymondo

2013-10-05, 06:08 PM

^Maybe use the warp to another continent option for a while?

I seem to always be able to find fights on Amerish or Esamir

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Mattherson is pretty much just Indarside

Only time people leave Indar is for alerts & soon as they finish everyone ups an leaves to go back to Indar straight away :(

Heck you even get people who just avoid Esamir/Amerish alerts all together & just stay on Indar :rolleyes:

almalino

2013-10-06, 05:36 AM

To solve the Indarside problem, SOE must add Nuclear plant on Indar that should explode time to time with a warning 5 minutes before the explosion and if you do not leave the continent you just die instantly unless you are wearing some heavy anti-radiation suit that makes you slow and lasts max 30 minutes under radiation. Like STALKER :) and after an 2-3 hours or so it should be possible to get back to Indar and to collect and fight for unique artifacts :) That would be fun.

Some people might return to Indar earlier only in case they have anti radiation suit that lasts say 30 minutes. During that time you might be able to search for artifacts and fight other stalkers and zombies (\- those are players who died during explosion and then ressurected as mindless AI zombies. Oh, dreams.

almalino

2013-10-06, 05:43 AM

Yesterday I had some epic fight on PS2. And after watching BF4 beta fotage I think I will stick to PS2.

Emperor Newt

2013-10-06, 05:44 AM

To fix Indarside they need to bring more people into the game or merge servers. When there are just enough players to fill a single continent, people are more likely to flock to Indar. Everything else is just fighting the symptoms.

Rolfski

2013-10-06, 06:27 AM

I've been playing the BF4 beta for a while now and it pretty much plays like BF3 (new stuff like commander mode is not in though).

BF4 scores points on well-executed spectator mode (PS2 needs this badly if it ever wants to take e-sports seriously), amazing sound, non-stop immersive action (vs ghost-capping/waiting for bases to flip) and more PTFO-oriented gameplay (vs kill-farming).

If anything, it makes me realize how much potential PS2 has over games like this but how short it still falls to live up to it.

Levente

2013-10-07, 06:15 AM

in bf4 beta i saw finnaly they managed to bring in the voice commands , so if you yell something others will hear it too, like in bf2. so yes BF4 is getting close to what we like in bf2 but still not enough, i still cannot name my fuckin squad, i still cannot manage my squad to invite players. and there is no move waypoint option. thesee 3 things are still missing in bf4.

Rahabib

2013-10-07, 10:42 AM

I played the BF4 beta. I am bored of PS2 for now, but this game just sucks. The guns feel horrible - perhaps even worse than BF3. They inaccurate at any decent range. Then the tanks, its like a rush to tanks and the rest is hide and seek from them.

The last BF game I bought was BF2. The guns still sucked but I bought it because you could mod it (and did with my BF2C mod). Then everyone bitched because they like cone of fire more than recoil enhancements. The BF players deserve what they got. Good riddance!

So until PS2 gets a resource revamp or some new content, I am off to try other games. BF4 wont be my reason for my break though.

Tito

2013-10-09, 02:55 PM

its not im back the ps2 game game bf4 its copy paste bf3

camycamera

2013-10-09, 09:09 PM