There Has Never Been A Better Time To Play PlanetSide 2

[ItZMuRdA]

Hi all,

Not only do I believe the statement in the title of this thread, but I'm making my best effort to spread the word to those who may be new to the game, or those who may have quit in the past and might be interested in returning when they learn what all is in store for them (especially the optimization patch). I made a video in my typical "Current Events" style, off the cuff news commentary, aimed at appealing to the people sitting in that boat. I would greatly appreciate any sharing that you could do with your friends, outfit mates, and the like.

Let's get the word out and light a fire under our favorite game's ass in time for the upcoming anniversary and holiday season.

As always, thanks for all of your support!

There Has Never Been A Better Time To Play PlanetSide 2 - Play FREE Now! - YouTube

P.S. Unsure why the thumbnail refuses to update itself in some previews. :(

[OCNSethy]

Yep... on the whole, its looking good :)

[Mastachief]

Lots of comments on our TS saying that having decent FPS is like playing a whole new game, however there are still plenty of rage statements about bad or broken mechanics and poorly thought out design decisions.

SOE are on the right path but they need to pick up the pace and think better about the separation between vehicles and infantry combat when it comes to taking bases. More content and continents is/are needed and soon else they will fail to capitalise on this new found goodwill.

[Sonny]

Yeah it really feels like there's a buzz around the internet for the game since OMFG. I hope they can hold onto this influx of new players by bringing out some new content e.g. Hossin.

Nice video by the way!

[Shamrock]

I just upgraded my rig to coincide with the roll-out of OMFG and it feels like im playing a new game, from terrible performance and constant crash's to smooth performance, feels great. Many thanks to all the SoE coders.

A lot of my personal friends quit months ago but ill definitely nag them to get back online and check out the improvements.

[NewSith]

A lot of my personal friends quit months ago but ill definitely nag them to get back online and check out the improvements.

Well I, for one, aswell as quite some of my friends, didn't quit due to poor performance but rather because of this:

...bad or broken mechanics and poorly thought out design decisions.

So I'm not re-advertising the game for them just yet. That early Biolab change on PTS (even though it got changed) just cemented my view on the whole thing.


EDIT: Moreover I would advise not to start any campaign of the sort you are trying to now, as it would most likely be that last opportunity you'll ever get to make your friends give this game another chance. And, knowing SOE, the closest change to make them pleased isn't coming in any close future, so you'll just waste it.

[Zadexin]

Honestly this is the WORST time to be advertising the game. Broketober just ended and there are SO MANY brand new shiny games out right now. I would save this for when the new game hype calms down and maybe when SOE adds the new continent.

[OctavianAXFive]

I actually tend to agree with NewSith's edit. I wouldn't go around trumpeting this just yet. There is work yet to be done and I wouldn't "cry wolf" so to speak. This whole OMFG effort has been superb and I think it was a very good strategic move on SoE's part.

If I may be allowed to use a metaphor:

It's like we've been on the losing side of a war, we're not down and out yet, but morale is low. This patch is a definite victory and a needed morale boost for the current players. As for new players however, the game needs to "advance."

OMFG made the game perform up to snuff, which is what people expected in the first place. SoE has the community's gratitude for doing the hard thing the last few months but when it comes to new or renewed players, there's nothing we can really offer them just yet.

I think this builds enthusiasm and momentum among the community to participate and now that the performance enhancements are there, we can go back to the nuts and bolts constructive feedback as it relates to gameplay.

It's definitely something to rally around but when you step back you realize how little and -well- pathetic this victory is.

The game is now playable for the vast majority of people.

That's what just happened. "Playable" is something we celebrate but the games been out for almost exactly one year and it's just now available to the greater segment of the PC market from a performance standpoint.

There is A LOT that needs to happen to this game to draw people back. And that's why I am going to stick around. We have an incredible amount of input into how the game is developed and if we don't keep up the hubub about mechanic x or decision y, then SoE is going to be flying blind and this glorious experiment in MMOFPS is going to crash and burn.

I'm not sure when the PS4 version of this game is going to release but we should do everything in our power to work with the devs to make sure that Planetside 2 is ready for its second hurrah. When the time for that launch grows near that's when the rallying cry should go out, that's when you should recommend people come back. The buzz we generate then will piggyback with Sony's own marketing efforts and hopefully by those things combined we can shock some life back into this game.

:trrocks:
:ncrocks:
:vsrocks:

[ItZMuRdA]

Honestly surprised at the apparent lack of optimism among many. It's no secret that I am in fact very optimistic about the future of the game (why not?), that PlanetSide 1 was my favorite game of all time, and that I am very invested in seeing and helping contribute to the success and future of the game in any way I can, but I can still say I am at least somewhat surprised by the feedback.

Lastly, while the game may not be ready for second wind 2.0 in terms of a huge re-advertising push, I still think this is the best time that we've ever had (read: past; not necessarily counting what may come in the future) to get the word out and hopefully bring a lot of people back. While the game will continue to improve, telling our friends/outfit mates/whomever that the game has come a long way in these 12 months is not something that we should wait too long on either. I'm hoping to have a solid core community that continues to grow before the (hopefully) massive influx from PS4 hits us in the coming months.

Nonetheless, thanks for the contributions to the thread(s) and comments thus far and please do keep them coming -- it is much appreciated. :)

[ChipMHazard]

When it comes to advertising PS2 in its current state I think that their best bet would be to get emails out with news about the performance patch and wait with a big advertisement until they've either gotten out all of the performance patches, Hossin or PS3's PS4 release.
As to the future of PS2, well unless they fuck it up royaly, it can almost certainly only get better and better.

[Calista]

Problem is the game hasn't fundamentally changed nor has much content been added. They have made the game perform better and that is absolutely essential to proceed forward but is it enough to bring an appreciable amount of players back? Time will tell but any sort of promoting of the game anytime is not a bad thing.

[Crator]

No doubt, if you know people that liked the game but could not play it due to performance they should defiantly try it out again. Hell, won't hurt anyone to try it out again, it's free! If the "not enough game-play changes" is still an issue with them then they can come back and check it out later when that has happened.

Great work on the performance fixes so far SOE. I'm kind of surprised there's still more optimization changes to come actually. Wonder how much longer they will focus on optimizations only. Cause I really would like to see more game-play things added/fixed too.

[MaxDamage]

How much SC did they give you to say all this?

[ChipMHazard]

How much SC did they give you to say all this?

Really?

[Boomzor]

There Has Never Been A Better Time To Play PlanetSide 2

Really?

They're done with the damage controle (or atleast a good portion of it). To jump from there to saying it's as good as it's ever gonna get is... well, exaggerated. To say the least.

I'd waste any and all credibility if I were to try and get my old outfit back at this stage. SoE may have taken a giant leap forward, but they still have ways to go in the depth departement before I start to publicly praise the game (again).

[GeoGnome]

Honestly surprised at the apparent lack of optimism among many. It's no secret that I am in fact very optimistic about the future of the game (why not?), that PlanetSide 1 was my favorite game of all time, and that I am very invested in seeing and helping contribute to the success and future of the game in any way I can, but I can still say I am at least somewhat surprised by the feedback.

Lastly, while the game may not be ready for second wind 2.0 in terms of a huge re-advertising push, I still think this is the best time that we've ever had (read: past; not necessarily counting what may come in the future) to get the word out and hopefully bring a lot of people back. While the game will continue to improve, telling our friends/outfit mates/whomever that the game has come a long way in these 12 months is not something that we should wait too long on either. I'm hoping to have a solid core community that continues to grow before the (hopefully) massive influx from PS4 hits us in the coming months.

Nonetheless, thanks for the contributions to the thread(s) and comments thus far and please do keep them coming -- it is much appreciated. :)

Wait a moment...

This is the exact same statement you put on PS2's forums.

Are you even reading the responses, or are you just mass posting?


Yeah, I was actually about to say: Go Murda, here... but how about you actually evaluate what is being said.

You are -Going- to get a negative response on the main PS2 forums, the only reason people go there, is to complain. Getting a conversation going there, is like trying to cheer up a support group for suicidal people. That said, people here are just saying that if you want to do this, waiting for a couple months would be best. Wait until the things people Want are in place: Meta Game.

The game isn't going anywhere, and doing Basti's whole: Lets make a video and send it to half the internet to promote the game, now wont have much of an impact if there is nothing in place that will help retention. Moreover, just ignoring people who are trying to speak to you, is only going to tun the rest of your community support away from you.

[ChipMHazard]

They're done with the damage controle (or atleast a good portion of it). To jump from there to saying it's as good as it's ever gonna get is... well, exaggerated. To say the least.


Not what that means. PS2 has probably never been better than it is now, at least from a technical standpoint.
Does meant that it doesn't have a long ways to go still? Heck no, we still need to get a proper resource system, continental locking, sanctuary etc.
I agree with Crator's assesment. Those that found themselves unable to play before because of poor performance might want to try the game again. Those that stopped playing because of the lack of content, or not liking how the game plays currently, will probably want to keep waiting.

[Boomzor]

Yeah.. I realize I jumped the gun a tad. After re-reading some of the posts, I whole heartedly agree with that assesment.
Tho the majority of my old outfit is squarely in that second camp who left for content reasons.

[MaxDamage]

Really?

Half of the video is saying that it's never been a better time to play PS2, because of what is coming.
Not what is here; what is coming.

That actually surely means: It will be a better time to play the game: LATER ON.

I love the game and I'm thrilled at the work they've put into O:MFG but this guy is pitching the game like talking to devs touched him divinely, and he is now their loyal disciple and town crier.

If I didn't love the game already and I saw this video, I would think:
Why does he sound so desperate if the game is that good?
Why is he doing the companys advertisement job for them? (which is why I asked how much SC he was paid, at times it seems like a shopping list of things that gamers wouldn't say, but marketing teams and managers would)

The video is excessively long, and he repeats himself.

All the time spent rambling about recruitment bonus process and rewards for example is not shit that is gonna bring people to the game, it's shit the devs want to push; especially given recent threads about people paying 10dollars or more on 10 new accounts just for some recruiting perks.

I see through it and if I can, the average sceptical gamer can.

As someone with a decent gaming rig and a focus on MAX play, personally I'd say the game was better in January 2013. Lock-downs and Shields added next to nothing to gameplay, while ZOE is out of control.
My MAX unit could squad deploy, instant action etc.. and it cost 100 resources instead of 350.

In Planetside 1, you made sacrifices to focus on being a full time MAX user - so you had to prioritise and lack in REXO, or vehicle selection as a result. Because there is no such specific skill points division in this, they just nerfed MAX units into garbage and ramped the price up because anyone could pull them.

CHEERS GUYS!

MAX patch, my arse.

[Skittles]

Half of the video is saying that it's never been a better time to play PS2, because of what is coming.
Not what is here; what is coming.

That actually surely means: It will be a better time to play the game: LATER ON.

I love the game and I'm thrilled at the work they've put into O:MFG but this guy is pitching the game like talking to devs touched him divinely, and he is now their loyal disciple and town crier.

If I didn't love the game already and I saw this video, I would think:
Why does he sound so desperate if the game is that good?
Why is he doing the companys advertisement job for them? (which is why I asked how much SC he was paid, at times it seems like a shopping list of things that gamers wouldn't say, but marketing teams and managers would)

The video is excessively long, and he repeats himself.

All the time spent rambling about recruitment bonus process and rewards for example is not shit that is gonna bring people to the game, it's shit the devs want to push; especially given recent threads about people paying 10dollars or more on 10 new accounts just for some recruiting perks.

I see through it and if I can, the average sceptical gamer can.

As someone with a decent gaming rig and a focus on MAX play, personally I'd say the game was better in January 2013. Lock-downs and Shields added next to nothing to gameplay, while ZOE is out of control.
My MAX unit could squad deploy, instant action etc.. and it cost 100 resources instead of 350.

In Planetside 1, you made sacrifices to focus on being a full time MAX user - so you had to prioritise and lack in REXO, or vehicle selection as a result. Because there is no such specific skill points division in this, they just nerfed MAX units into garbage and ramped the price up because anyone could pull them.

CHEERS GUYS!

MAX patch, my arse.

I like this guy.

He's got potential.

And, he's speaking a lot more truth then the overly fanboi optimistic ItzMurda does. It would carry much more weight if at any given time Murda you actually ever said a bad thing about PS2 or SOE. Its one thing to be a fan of something, someone, some team, game company or what have you. Its completely another to never ever say anything bad about them. Ever.

The Yankees may have won the most WS titles ever, but its not like they are infallible. On the field or off. Management or otherwise. I've watched your stream quite a bit, but to hear you on there if SOE added Elves, magic spells, and tailoring skills to the game you could/would find value you in it.

Beyond the OMFG work they've been doing what exactly is so wonderful about PS2 now that wasn't there 6 months ago? 8 months ago that would win someone over and say "OH Hell yes, this is what has been missing!!!"?
Because, if it wasn't something that's in the CASH SHOP, there's not going to be that reaction for anyone coming back.

You've got the same 3 continents, 2 of which are rarely used. MLG that'll never make more then a baby fart noise if/when its ever put into place, and PS4 work that has ZERO bearing on the computer aspect of the game. I would actually say the PS4 work is actually more of a negative impact then a positive one.

[ChipMHazard]

Snip

I don't really care if you disagree with what was said in the video, that's entirely up to you, but do you really think it's constructive to accuse someone of being a sell out because said person has a more positive outlook than you? Come on.


Snip


Again with the fanbois nonsense. You know, just because someone is more postive than oneself doesn't make that other person a "fanboy". Plus it's normally a bad idea to use ad hominem in a discussion.

We're supposed to be better than this.

[Mordelicius]

I don't have to watch it because it's preaching to the choir, and I'm already converted :p. Probably good for players who haven't played PS2 in a while.

OMFG1 is an excellent update. There are several bad features though:

- New Biolab spawn is awful (especially to us NC who has no medium/long range Max). Their Maxes are so far away shooting from a safe distance with engineers while NC are stuck, suppressed and gated.
- Random CRASHES!
- No Deploy Zone now apply to defenders of large bases :doh: (If it applies to defenders too, why apply it to attackers in the first place?)
- New health bar UI is not useful at all
- (minor) Dropping ammo and looking down clips field of view with the body (really awkward animation).

Aside from the Optimization, there are so many good improvements(check full patch notes). Examples:

- AV Mana Turret now has a spot Icon even when they are so far away (thanks for listening to our suggestions). It's so satisfying killing those f******, especially when they think they are not visible.
- AI turret bullet no longer clip shield.
- The new kill name tag is sweet.
- The new intermediary building and cover between Quartz Ridge and Indar Excavation is very nice. Imo, they should add extra rocks/corals in front of Indar Excavation as well.

As for the opening topic. I agree that old players should check out Planetside 2 again, especially with the smooth new optimization patch. And it's well tested in the PTS (funny seeing the Devs get slaughtered as NC and Sundy wiped over and over again. ::cough Sundies need survivability buff while deployed and NDZ isn't needed at all cough:: ).

Waterson Indar is pretty packed with large battles all over (so packed you'de often get a queue). And since players can actually get a Spawn (wow) on big fights, the running/transporting downtime has been significantly reduced. That's right, there's no more running around for 5-15 minutes just to get to base with a good fight.

The downside of the optimization is that alot incoming updates are pushed back (Hossin, Resources, Amerish, Infil update, Max Flamethrower, Nexus etc etc.) But it's worth it. The population is rocking as a result of influx of new and returning players.

But lastly and finally, the balance fixes. They are finally doing some major balancing passes. The last time the factions were in good balance was almost a year ago when the Magrider got nerfed (which didn't last long with the Prowler HE buff).

[Phantomdestiny]

is it just me or there is a lot of exaggeration on both sides of the issue ?

[ChipMHazard]

is it just me or there is a lot of exaggeration on both sides of the issue ?

It's the internet, it's to be expected:p
Think we all do it at one point or another to try and get a point across.

[Snoopy]

is it just me or there is a lot of exaggeration on both sides of the issue ?

Well there's a lot that's good about the game, and just as much that is bad. That doesn't change the fact that this is how the game should have run on release last November... Had that been the case, we might have been rolling around Hossin by now with all the other goodies the roadmap had promised.

Personally, I knew more people who quit because they got tired of the monotonous grind, than couldn't run the game...

I love the game, have never had any performance issues, but have to regularly take brakes to keep myself interested. The game is in desperate need of content that isn't a dozen camos, hood ornaments, horns or NS weapons.

[Rolfski]

I was wondering, since SOE has heavily advertised your video so much, how many recruits did you get out of it so far?


Btw I do think now is a good time to give it a try (again) IF you like the basic run & gun play. By all means, this game is a solid shooter and now it runs smooth as well. However, if you don't settle for less than PS1-level depth, I wouldn't touch this game for at least another 1 to 2 years.

[ItZMuRdA]

Really?

They're done with the damage controle (or atleast a good portion of it). To jump from there to saying it's as good as it's ever gonna get is... well, exaggerated. To say the least.

There is a common misconception that the title of my threads/videos are saying "it's as good as it's ever gonna get." Make no mistake that I am not saying anything of the sort. I am confident the game is going to continue to get better and I hope to be playing it many years from now, looking forward to PlanetSide 3 when it releases in 2023.

"There Has Never Been A Better Time..." is referring to the past. As in, for those who haven't started playing the game yet, or those who quit because their computer couldn't run it or there wasn't enough content that interested them... THOSE guys, should download it again and hit the play button because I'm fairly certain most of them will be quite pleased with what they see. I'm stating that PlanetSide 2 is better than it has ever been before, that is, in the last year. Naturally, it continues to improve, so hopefully a year from now it will be even better, etc.

The goal of this is to unite and grow the community, largely by bringing back many old players who left for one reason or another, not to serve as the foundation for such a debate on all the things that X or Y individual perceives is still "wrong" with the game, or haven't been fixed yet.

Note that this post is to everyone, I just used your quote in the reply because it was fitting -- nothing personal. :)

Thanks for everyone's feedback thus far.

[ItZMuRdA]

Wait a moment...

This is the exact same statement you put on PS2's forums.

Are you even reading the responses, or are you just mass posting?


Yeah, I was actually about to say: Go Murda, here... but how about you actually evaluate what is being said.

You are -Going- to get a negative response on the main PS2 forums, the only reason people go there, is to complain. Getting a conversation going there, is like trying to cheer up a support group for suicidal people. That said, people here are just saying that if you want to do this, waiting for a couple months would be best. Wait until the things people Want are in place: Meta Game.

The game isn't going anywhere, and doing Basti's whole: Lets make a video and send it to half the internet to promote the game, now wont have much of an impact if there is nothing in place that will help retention. Moreover, just ignoring people who are trying to speak to you, is only going to tun the rest of your community support away from you.

I've read each and every response to both threads, as well as the many numerous comments posted on the YouTube video. It was an acceptable copy & paste response because I felt it addressed both areas adequately, rather than me trying to reword the same statement just to avoid plagiarizing myself. Make no mistake at how deeply invested I am in the community, there's no laziness here. I feel somewhat insulted that you would even suggest that after all of the selfless efforts I've made.

[ItZMuRdA]

And, he's speaking a lot more truth then the overly fanboi optimistic ItzMurda does. It would carry much more weight if at any given time Murda you actually ever said a bad thing about PS2 or SOE. Its one thing to be a fan of something, someone, some team, game company or what have you. Its completely another to never ever say anything bad about them. Ever.

I'm genuinely curious to see the giant binder you have on me that tells you I never said a bad thing about them ever. I was not SOE's best friend in PlanetSide 1, I was actually very hesitant about being optimistic about PlanetSide 2 back in alpha/beta because I wasn't sure if I could trust SOE to "do it right."

Though time and time again they have shown me exceptional service in every area imaginable. I've put exponentially more hours into games like World of Warcraft than PS1+PS2 combined, but never got even remotely close to the same connection with Blizzard (or any other gaming company that I've been involved with over the last 16 years) that I have with SOE. They catch a lot of flak, as most game designers do, but I defend them because I believe in them. There's nothing fan boy about it -- I'm doing my job to promote the game and the company that I care about because I want to see it succeed, and I am wholly and selflessly invested in that. PlanetSide 1, despite its faults, was my favorite game of all time and I'm here to help give other folks that same experience with PlanetSide 2.

I apologize if it is a crime for me to agree with the vast majority of changes they make and things that they do -- because I do, but when I've disagreed with something I've made it well known through videos, posts, tweets, etc., and often had the ability to have my voice (and the voice of those I support and who support me mutually) heard by the developers and hopefully have contributed to getting undesirable changes overturned in the process. When in a position of being a prominent community figure (fan site owner/moderator, youtuber, streamer, etc.), you typically have to express distaste or disagreement with something in a more elegant way, at least if you care about attracting new players to the game (which I do). That being said, you won't see me bitch about the game or talk shit about SOE left and right, but you also wont see me hold my tongue if I am against something.

Not sure when it became the "thing to do" to attack the guy who is optimistic just because you aren't. I'm not here to sell a product to people that I don't believe in myself; I'm putting in hours of my own spare time each day to help support a game, a company, and a cause that I feel strongly about.

[ItZMuRdA]

I was wondering, since SOE has heavily advertised your video so much, how many recruits did you get out of it so far?

0.

I'm not in this for Recruits, nor did SOE ask me to make a video or advise on it in any way, shape or form. I did not ask, and did not even know about SOE including it in their anniversary post until after it was posted, but I do appreciate them supporting me in various ways.

Here's how the thought process for this video went:

I literally thought to myself how many people I knew that I brought to the game back in November of 2012, and how many of them have quit (most commonly because of performance issues that would now be fixed with OMFG). I figured there were thousands more if you count everyone else and their friends/outfit mates. The recruit rewards and other holiday incentives are just that, added things that I think would entice people to come back to the game (or pick it up for the first time), and I wanted to put them together in a video marketed at these audiences.

As was said in this thread, this is in fact preaching to the choir when it comes to you guys, most or all of which actively play the game. It is intended to liven up our community, bring old faces back, and promote the game to people who may have never known about it to begin with. It is not intended to start flame wars among existing players who think XYZ are wrong with the game or it should be promoted at ABC date instead of now. This is one of my many minor efforts to help our community, and I'm hoping it succeeds at doing that. I fear the wrong impression was given to many veteran community members, however, and I'm not sure where I failed to correctly communicate that intent.

[ItZMuRdA]

If I didn't love the game already and I saw this video, I would think:
Why does he sound so desperate if the game is that good?
Why is he doing the companys advertisement job for them? (which is why I asked how much SC he was paid, at times it seems like a shopping list of things that gamers wouldn't say, but marketing teams and managers would)

The video is excessively long, and he repeats himself.

I hesitate to respond to this, but I will.

I believe you are confusing desperation and excitement; it's an emotion I try to convey in videos that may be reaching the general public who have no idea who I am, who SOE is, or what PlanetSide 2 is.

I'm not doing SOE's job for them, at least not intentionally. I'm doing what I've laid out to be *my* job as a dedicated community member, youtuber, and streamer. As I've said in other posts, I'm invested in this series (and have been since 2003 in beta of PS1), and am trying to promote it to others who may not know about it, or who may have quit (especially for performance reasons) and would enjoy a return post-optimization patch.

Again, to reiterate, when I first saw your SC comment I honestly thought you were just joking. If you were serious, I'm not sure what to say. If you are familiar with my other material you should know I dedicate as much time to promoting/playing/streaming/creating content for PlanetSide 2 on a weekly basis as I do my own full time job. It's something I love, not something I've been paid for or asked to do by anyone else. I showcase what I enjoy and explain why, and hope that I will reach other like-minded individuals with those messages. Also, surprise: my day job title is actually Director of Marketing. Forgive me if it's in my nature to act as a marketer even when I'm volunteering to help make an attempt at improving the success of one of my favorite hobbies.

As for excessively long, welcome to my overly thorough personality. See the last 5 replies to this thread for more examples. :) I did my best to not repeat myself, but I'm sure it happened at some point. Again, it was targeted at a specific audience who I felt like I needed to cover all the bases with, not necessarily veteran players or anyone who would even know PlanetSide-Universe exists.

[GeoGnome]

I've read each and every response to both threads, as well as the many numerous comments posted on the YouTube video. It was an acceptable copy & paste response because I felt it addressed both areas adequately, rather than me trying to reword the same statement just to avoid plagiarizing myself. Make no mistake at how deeply invested I am in the community, there's no laziness here. I feel somewhat insulted that you would even suggest that after all of the selfless efforts I've made.

Oh don't be such a martyr. You are welcome to feel as Insulted as you wish, it's ultimately fruitless and self-defeating to be insulted by such criticism.

Invested or not, mass posting insinuates a lack of thought. You are trying to appeal to the community as much as you are the people outside of the game. There are only a handful of people who go between the different forums, but if you think my comments were insulting, you are fortunate you did not get caught doing this on the Main forums, or you would have been well and truly skewered by the much less sympathetic posters that are there. You say yourself you are trying to win over the community, you are appealing to a very pessimistic and very hostile community by and far. You can't sit there and make many separate and largely optimistic statements and expect for people to Not speak up. When they do speak up, you have to address their concerns at length with hard evidence and work through the false beliefs they possess one by one until you get them to acknowledge their bias. In doing this, they will look back on what you have said and consider it. Not doing this will cause people to dismiss you. You actually responded to these posts, for that I retract my prior statements about how you were dealing with things... but you aren't doing yourself any favors by acting like it is so shocking that people disagree with you. It is a rule of posting on any forum, that if you say the sky is blue, someone will log on to tell you, that you were wrong, because the sky on Saturn has a different atmosphere, so it likely isn't blue, and you were a fool for saying it in the first place

As to the point of my post, you have not addressed the concerns people have expressed here. Your post is for the people who may have been swayed by the optimization changes, to give the game another shot. We have seen a noticeable bump in population even. I agree that now is a good time for people to give the game another shot, if they left only because of performance. Thing is, it is my belief, and it seems to be shared by other people who responded to you, that what is driving people away is not performance as much as it is the lack of the continental lattice and the resource revamp, systems that provide more for players to DO, and some semblance of an End Game. Waiting to really promote your video until Those things are implemented will likely have a much greater effect. Mass posting at that point will generate responses, that will encourage people to look into the game, because people do not just watch your video, they read the responses to it, and if they see an overwhelming number of people who think that you are being over-optimistic and not consider the reality of the situation, it wont help the game.

You are likely someone who is quite aware of development news. You know that there are three things that have been acknowledged by the devs to be the things PS2 has a problem with. 1 of these issues seems to be fast being fixed, optimization. The other two will still turn away Many players: Server pop balance (Ultimately something I don't think we can fix, but it can be improved) and the lack of meta-game enabling mechanics (Something that Will be implemented in the near future). Bringing people back too early, pitching something that asks the community to make such a leap of faith in their eyes, will not catch on as well as if you wait until the resource revamp is in place. All you are bringing back to the game now, are people who will quickly fall into step behind the people wanting meta-game enabling features. We don't even Know what will happen with development of content, and likely wont know until Wednesday of next week. It could be another 2-3 months for more optimizations which will help the game in the long term, but with that kind of time down with no content, the game's pop will be right back to where it was 2 weeks ago by the time we start getting content pushed again. We have seen that happen time and again already this last year.

Do this, when there is a better chance of it having a greater effect. It makes more sense that way.

[ItZMuRdA]

Oh don't be such a martyr. You are welcome to feel as Insulted as you wish, it's ultimately fruitless and self-defeating to be insulted by such criticism.

Invested or not, mass posting insinuates a lack of thought. You are trying to appeal to the community as much as you are the people outside of the game. There are only a handful of people who go between the different forums, but if you think my comments were insulting, you are fortunate you did not get caught doing this on the Main forums, or you would have been well and truly skewered by the much less sympathetic posters that are there. You say yourself you are trying to win over the community, you are appealing to a very pessimistic and very hostile community by and far. You can't sit there and make many separate and largely optimistic statements and expect for people to Not speak up. When they do speak up, you have to address their concerns at length with hard evidence and work through the false beliefs they possess one by one until you get them to acknowledge their bias. In doing this, they will look back on what you have said and consider it. Not doing this will cause people to dismiss you. You actually responded to these posts, for that I retract my prior statements about how you were dealing with things... but you aren't doing yourself any favors by acting like it is so shocking that people disagree with you. It is a rule of posting on any forum, that if you say the sky is blue, someone will log on to tell you, that you were wrong, because the sky on Saturn has a different atmosphere, so it likely isn't blue, and you were a fool for saying it in the first place

As to the point of my post, you have not addressed the concerns people have expressed here. Your post is for the people who may have been swayed by the optimization changes, to give the game another shot. We have seen a noticeable bump in population even. I agree that now is a good time for people to give the game another shot, if they left only because of performance. Thing is, it is my belief, and it seems to be shared by other people who responded to you, that what is driving people away is not performance as much as it is the lack of the continental lattice and the resource revamp, systems that provide more for players to DO, and some semblance of an End Game. Waiting to really promote your video until Those things are implemented will likely have a much greater effect. Mass posting at that point will generate responses, that will encourage people to look into the game, because people do not just watch your video, they read the responses to it, and if they see an overwhelming number of people who think that you are being over-optimistic and not consider the reality of the situation, it wont help the game.

You are likely someone who is quite aware of development news. You know that there are three things that have been acknowledged by the devs to be the things PS2 has a problem with. 1 of these issues seems to be fast being fixed, optimization. The other two will still turn away Many players. Bringing people back too early, pitching something that asks the community to make such a leap of faith in their eyes, will not catch on as well as if you wait until the resource revamp is in place. All you are bringing back to the game now, are people who will quickly fall into step behind the people wanting meta-game enabling features. We don't even Know what will happen with development of content, and likely wont know until Wednesday of next week. It could be another 2-3 months for more optimizations which will help the game in the long term, but with that kind of time down with no content, the game's pop will be right back to where it was 2 weeks ago by the time we start getting content pushed again. We have seen that happen time and again already this last year.

Do this, when there is a better chance of it having a greater effect. It makes more sense that way.

I appreciate the post and I don't disagree that there are still outstanding issues. For me personally, I don't have as much trouble with them as most seem to. I find enjoyment in the game in its current state (and have for quite some time), enough to be able to happily stream my gameplay 20-40 hours per week depending on my work schedule. That being said, while I acknowledge the things you speak of, I don't necessarily agree that everyone will be turned back away by them, as I (and others) still enjoy what the game has to offer in its current form.

That is really neither here nor there, though. To speak to your comment about the official forums -- trust me, I know. I actually avoided even posting this on Reddit because I just didn't care to "deal with" the attitudes that are so prevalent there. I acted so surprised here because I have come to know and expect a higher level of professionalism from the PSU community than any other public outlet, but I don't think it was such a sin to post a copy/paste reply in two places when I felt that all of the words within were relevant to the threads (and replies) in question. We can agree to disagree on some things and I'm okay with that.

As for the suggestion of re-advertising or otherwise promoting the game for its second wind when there is more going for it content-wise, sure. I don't disagree at all, but part of my "job" (the one I willingly created for myself) is to continue to promote the game in many and varied ways. This was one such way that I thought I could speak to people who were largely interested in, or requiring of optimization and performance updates. That was really the main goal here. I'll make another marquee video, if you will, as I do, for when the Amerish revamp is out; and probably another for the resource revamp, and so on. I didn't feel like I could just sleep on something that was potentially appealing to a large number of individuals just to wait for the "perfect" moment, but I understand where you are coming from.

Thanks for the feedback regardless.

[GeoGnome]

I appreciate the post and I don't disagree that there are still outstanding issues. For me personally, I don't have as much trouble with them as most seem to. I find enjoyment in the game in its current state (and have for quite some time), enough to be able to happily stream my gameplay 20-40 hours per week depending on my work schedule. That being said, while I acknowledge the things you speak of, I don't necessarily agree that everyone will be turned back away by them, as I (and others) still enjoy what the game has to offer in its current form.

That is really neither here nor there, though. To speak to your comment about the official forums -- trust me, I know. I actually avoided even posting this on Reddit because I just didn't care to "deal with" the attitudes that are so prevalent there. I acted so surprised here because I have come to know and expect a higher level of professionalism from the PSU community than any other public outlet, but I don't think it was such a sin to post a copy/paste reply in two places when I felt that all of the words within were relevant to the threads (and replies) in question. We can agree to disagree on some things and I'm okay with that.

To be honest, I would say you would have gotten a more positive response on Reddit than you would on the official forums. Reddit is a place to avoid if you want to talk about MLG, but I find it much better than the official forums for most things (Again, as long as it isn't MLG). Just my observation though. I would also hesitate to say that you receive a largely negative response here. You have many supporters in this thread, you also had a lot of people who agree, but hold the reservations I mentioned earlier. You -did- have a few people openly against you, but it wasn't nearly as venemous as it could have been... be glad Shogun doesn't post as much anymore, for that.


As for the suggestion of re-advertising or otherwise promoting the game for its second wind when there is more going for it content-wise, sure. I don't disagree at all, but part of my "job" (the one I willingly created for myself) is to continue to promote the game in many and varied ways. This was one such way that I thought I could speak to people who were largely interested in, or requiring of optimization and performance updates. That was really the main goal here. I'll make another marquee video, if you will, as I do, for when the Amerish revamp is out; and probably another for the resource revamp, and so on. I didn't feel like I could just sleep on something that was potentially appealing to a large number of individuals just to wait for the "perfect" moment, but I understand where you are coming from.

Fair enough. I think you'll have a greater response when the resource revamp comes out, but again: Fair enough.


Thanks for the feedback regardless.
And thank you for the considered responses to both posts. :)

[MaxDamage]

Damn it, wasted another prox mine. ;]

GJ ItZMuRdA.
If they didn't bribe you with SC, maybe they should have.

I speak negatively because positive language seems redundant to me..
To say that I think your promotion and dedication is admirable and benefits the community as a whole is obvious, and something I'm sure you're told often enough. I slip into negative critique simply because overwhelmingly I see your contributions as good for everyone and I'm not really a backpatter or cheerleader.

I agree with your assessment of the devs for the largest part, they seem really dedicated to making the choices they believe are best (even if I disagree with a bunch of them, I don't doubt their intentions or always fully understand/know the math/figures behind some changes).

I've linked your video to a few players I know and it seems to have had a genuinely positive response; so cheers.

[ItZMuRdA]

Damn it, wasted another prox mine. ;]

GJ ItZMuRdA.
If they didn't bribe you with SC, maybe they should have.

I speak negatively because positive language seems redundant to me..
To say that I think your promotion and dedication is admirable and benefits the community as a whole is obvious, and something I'm sure you're told often enough. I slip into negative critique simply because overwhelmingly I see your contributions as good for everyone and I'm not really a backpatter or cheerleader.

I agree with your assessment of the devs for the largest part, they seem really dedicated to making the choices they believe are best (even if I disagree with a bunch of them, I don't doubt their intentions or always fully understand/know the math/figures behind some changes).

I've linked your video to a few players I know and it seems to have had a genuinely positive response; so cheers.

No worries, man. I wasn't sure how to really take the tone of your first post, but I understand better now. Thank you (and everyone else who has contributed) for the feedback and support.

[Mox]

The video is boring. The game isn't ready to be advertised. Nobody will come back because of what be done so far.

[Sledgecrushr]

Optimization has been great. Im really happy they have been able to accomplish this firstpass. But before we get all celebratory and start inviting peeps back to the game I think we need to cross one more hurdle. This game needs hossin and battle islands implemented into a continental lattice. Everything else would just be extra gravy. And i love gravy.

[Hamma]

The responses to this thread were a huge dissapointment for me. Sadly my own fan site forum becomes less and less relevant to SOE. The huge masses of negativity all the time is disheartening and I've given up on trying to stop it. Devs won't bother reading when it's nothing but bashing. You would think reading most posts that SOE specializes in killing babies.

Murda has an opinion am she's chastised for it and accuses of taking bribes. Grow up or go away.

[DirtyBird]

imo I dont think there is ever going to be a "best time" to release any fan videos, I really dont see them making all that much difference at all.
Most of the viewers already play the game.

Perhaps SOE could actually do more with their advertising.
Maybe we'll see a barrage of ads when the PS4 version is released.
If we're lucky we'll could see some residual benefits for the PC version.

I asked a couple of prospective recruits (never played the game) to watch and see if this video got them excited and their response was blah blah blah.
I guess they are only interested in the shorter clips highlighting epic game play action.
I'm probably guilty of falling into that category as well when it comes to checking out games.


A question for ItZMuRdA, if you are streaming 20-40hrs a week, do you use characters other than those in your signatures?
I ask because for so much streaming you have what I would consider a small overall time played in a year of PS2.

Having said that, more power to you and so long as you only promote a positive image of the game SOE will help promote you.


Hamma, there is plenty of negativity about the game on Reddit (could argue more so) but the devs are still very active with regular input.

[ItZMuRdA]

A question for ItZMuRdA, if you are streaming 20-40hrs a week, do you use characters other than those in your signatures?
I ask because for so much streaming you have what I would consider a small overall time played in a year of PS2.

Having said that, more power to you and so long as you only promote a positive image of the game SOE will help promote you.


I don't regularly play characters outside of those in my signature, though I do have 6 more characters that are between BR5-16 that have just been one-offs for a particular event or what have you.

You should note that I only started streaming seriously once my computer hardware could handle it, and that was mid March 2013, so my average numbers are taken from then forward. I still played a lot in alpha/beta/release, but took a 2 month hiatus early in the year when transitioning to a new job. That said, I still have close to 1200 hours played between my four characters, which admittedly isn't a ton (if I was still in school it would probably be double that) over the course of a year, but even outright divided by 52 weeks it's still an average of 23 hours per week, take off the time for the hiatus and it's about 28. I'm probably going overboard in "showing my work" here, but I think it's a fair estimate. I usually just watch my Xfire hours to have an idea of how much I played in a given week, of which I stream 99% of.

Also, Hamma: Thanks for the post and support, it is much appreciated. See you next week!

[OCNSethy]

I’m personally seeing newer (or returning) players over the last few days. So if nothing else, people are popping back in to take a look.

From a personal perspective, I’m having a ball and enjoying the game immensely.

[NewSith]

The responses to this thread were a huge dissapointment for me. Sadly my own fan site forum becomes less and less relevant to SOE. The huge masses of negativity all the time is disheartening and I've given up on trying to stop it. Devs won't bother reading when it's nothing but bashing. You would think reading most posts that SOE specializes in killing babies.

PS2 community isn't that big, and if it starts "bashing" (which it really doesn't do, the replies mostly contain pessimistic moods, it's not one and the same), then there is a reason for it. Go compare it to latest BF series communities, for example.

Basically there are 2 ways about it:
Either the gamer cast became rotten out of the blue...
Or games modern day developer is offering really deserve that (and PS2 doesn't want to leave the list, despite its potential).

[kubacheski]

The responses to this thread were a huge dissapointment for me. Sadly my own fan site forum becomes less and less relevant to SOE. The huge masses of negativity all the time is disheartening and I've given up on trying to stop it. Devs won't bother reading when it's nothing but bashing. You would think reading most posts that SOE specializes in killing babies.

Murda has an opinion am she's chastised for it and accuses of taking bribes. Grow up or go away.

Personally, i think this is wonderful. I may not agree that the OMFG is going to be able to accomplish the intended result alone, but its a start. I believe that OMFG had to happen before OMGB could be considered. Its the success of that which will determine how many people come back or if newbies stay. Infils getting vehicle hack is what makes my mouth water. And if they throw in a few new conts soon, then all the better.

[Rolfski]

This is one of my many minor efforts to help our community, and I'm hoping it succeeds at doing that. I fear the wrong impression was given to many veteran community members, however, and I'm not sure where I failed to correctly communicate that intent.

This is imo where your intentions got sour:

Wrong forum
Advertising the game in a notorious bitter vet forum is just asking to be sliced.

Stop rambling!
I told you this since day one. Your content is great (your infiltrator guide is one of the best out there if you cut out all the slag) but you NEED to stick to the point. Taking 17 minutes for something that can be told in 3 minutes is ridiculous.

Shameless recruiting
Spending an unnecessary amount in your video on the quite insignificant recruitment program (it only rewards the recruiter really) as a reason to get back in the game, for sure will rise suspicions.

Appearing to be up SOE's ass
Not your fault tbh. I'm as big of a fanboy as you are and there's really nothing wrong with it, but SOE massively advertising what could be easily interpreted as a shameless self-recruitment video, for sure raises some eye brows.


The responses to this thread were a huge dissapointment for me. Sadly my own fan site forum becomes less and less relevant to SOE. The huge masses of negativity all the time is disheartening and I've given up on trying to stop it. Devs won't bother reading when it's nothing but bashing. You would think reading most posts that SOE specializes in killing babies.
I feel for you, seriously. What makes me sad is the idea of this community increasingly becoming an irrelevant, sour, dinosaur relic, while the people running it try to keep the positive spirit alive.

Why would devs even read this forum if people posting on it don't even bother to log into this game for months?

[ItZMuRdA]

This is imo where your intentions got sour:
[LIST=1]
Wrong forum
Advertising the game in a notorious bitter vet forum is just asking to be sliced.

Stop rambling!
I told you this since day one. Your content is great (your infiltrator guide is one of the best out there if you cut out all the slag) but you NEED to stick to the point. Taking 17 minutes for something that can be told in 3 minutes is ridiculous.

Shameless recruiting
Spending an unnecessary amount in your video on the quite insignificant recruitment program (it only rewards the recruiter really) as a reason to get back in the game, for sure will rise suspicions.?

I apologize for being short as my time is limited as I've been packing all day, but I'll respond to a few points.

I realize it's the "wrong" forum, but it's also the "active" forum. Everyone posts things here that are important and require feedback, this wasn't just a frag video and I think it fits perfectly in the PS2 Discussion forum.

I know I tend to ramble, but I feel like your example is greatly exaggerated. There is no way that I (or anyone) would have been able to convey the same information (and quality of it) in THREE minutes to someone who has never played the game before, or someone who hasn't played in many months -- these were the targets, and I felt like I needed to spend more time with them than the typical player.

I don't necessarily agree with you on the recruit rewards program. I've gotten a TON of people into the game even after the program has launched and have very little in the way of rewards to show for it (people not spending $10 or more). I do it to help grow the community and to hopefully give people a better first experience (exp boost and a decent LMG). As far as I know, if they spend money, they also get to choose from additional rewards, but that aside they are still getting FREE stuff for doing absolutely nothing. It's basically a no brainer, anyone who is creating a new account or logging into one that has been inactive should use a recruit code. It doesn't have to be mine, which is why I encourage the use of others and go over the rewards that the actual recruiters can obtain, rather than just try to pitch my code to them. So many times I see people in my stream say, "I just started playing 2 days ago," or "I just came back after a long break" and "I wish I knew about the recruit program." It isn't advertised well and I just want to spread that word so that nobody has the regrets of not taking advantage of it, even if the rewards are minor in the grand scheme of things.

I realize you weren't attacking me with your post, and I hope it doesn't seem like I'm lashing back. Just addressing some of your points that I disagree with in a hopefully civilized fashion. Thanks for the feedback. :)

[CrankyTRex]

I feel for you, seriously. What makes me sad is the idea of this community increasingly becoming an irrelevant, sour, dinosaur relic, while the people running it try to keep the positive spirit alive.

Why would devs even read this forum if people posting on it don't even bother to log into this game for months?

Actually, given the current state of the game, negativity is a positive sign itself. People who are angry enough still to post on a forum about a game they might not even be taking the time to play are people who still care about it. You can get those people back by addressing their criticisms.

What really is to be feared is indifference, when people don't bother to come at all because they've given up on the game entirely.

[kubacheski]

Actually, given the current state of the game, negativity is a positive sign itself. People who are angry enough still to post on a forum about a game they might not even be taking the time to play are people who still care about it. You can get those people back by addressing their criticisms.

What really is to be feared is indifference, when people don't bother to come at all because they've given up on the game entirely.

I feel for hamma on this too. I mean years of a solid community of PS1 players to be given the bait and switch on how PS2 was going to be so much better than PS1 by SOE.

They hyped up the game even inviting hamma out to the studios for early gamepay and testing. Devs gave exclusive interviews to hammas site/show. And what came of it. They didnt deliver on what they hyped it to be. Yea people feel gyped and lied to. A year later and there still huge gameplay deficiencies and they just now took the first pass at optimization. Some of us simply dont want to give up on the greatness of PS1.

I dont mean this to be harsh, but to simply illustrate the point of view some of us have, but:
Hamma, at what point did you decide that PS2 was a great sequel to PS1?
Did you ever feel let down by the difference between what SOE hyped it to be and what it was at release and even what it is now?
Or did you simply say its good enough, and hopefully theyll make it great one day?

[GeoGnome]

I'm sorry, but folks, if you think that PSU is too negative to post on, then you just need to make your own new website, because PSU is about as sympathetic as it gets in PS2 community right this moment.

Further, by dismissing negative people, your going to make it more difficult to get support from the community. If your community is Hostile, you need to figure out how to appeal to a hostile community. Dismissing people is not the way to do it.

[Hamma]

I will dismiss anyone that accuses someone with an opinion of being a sell out or fan boy.

Be constructive and I'm happy to read it.

[Hamma]

Why would devs even read this forum if people posting on it don't even bother to log into this game for months?

Pretty much.

[GeoGnome]

I will dismiss anyone that accuses someone with an opinion of being a sell out or fan boy.

Be constructive and I'm happy to read it.

Well again: PSU Isn't that negative relative to the other sites.

I'm going to back out because I have no desire to argue with you of all people about this, but the fact that the response was as measured and polite as it was, was the only thing that was surprising to me, not because of PSU, but because of the Planetside Community as a whole.

[kubacheski]

I will dismiss anyone that accuses someone with an opinion of being a sell out or fan boy.

Be constructive and I'm happy to read it.

Hamma, I hope you're not reading that into my post above. You're anything but a fanboy and in re-reading it, that last question could be worded better. Everyone here appreciates the work you and your crew have done on this site. We understand and admire the investments of time and money you've put into PSU. I'd love to have had the commitment you've had to planetside over these years.

I, for one, certainly expected more from SOE by this point, but the truth of the matter is that the OP is correct in that there has never been a better time to play planetside. I dont think its ever run better on my machine. There's never been more content, etc.

I think a lot of us get bent out of shape because we feel that we were told it was going to be so much more of a great game than PS2 currently is. Especially when we know what SOE was capable of with PS1.