My SOE Visit

[Hamma]

I recently got to take a trip out to SOE to get an exclusive look at planetside during its Internal beta phase, and let me tell you. It was all its cracked up to be and more imho. I will be writing a full article on what i did, and what i thought but its gonna take me a few days. In the mean time, I can now answer many questions with some experience now, so dont be afraid to ask :)

[Qanamil_Rafiki]

Questions... questions...

Will weather have an effect on combat?
Are there any vehicles we don't know about yet?

Um... I'm really striving here, way to put me on the spot! :D

[Mtx]

Pictures?

[Zumthor]

Who was the most fun to play with?
Did you play with each faction?
Any lag?

Can I be you?

:eek: I am amazed at how lucky you are.
Was this your surprise?

[Hamma]

Yes this is the surprise.

1. Weather was not in PS at the time.
2. Did you play with each faction? - no i played on the TR team
3. Any lag? - was almost non existant - but it was a company network
4. I dont have any screens yet.
5. I didnt see any unknown vehicles

[Zumthor]

There was lag that was "not too bad" on the company network?!?
That is not good news :(

[Marsman]

Don't forget this is a beta - I'm sure there are many optimizations still to be done. If lag is not too bad on a beta with 100 people, I'd translate that to pretty darn good!

[Zumthor]

But he was not even playing it online! He was playing on a LAN!

[Hamma]

The servers were half way across the country. I should restate that.. There was no major noticable lag.

[Zumthor]

Oh.
Then "not too bad" is excellent!
Thank you for clarifying.
I hope you had a good trip. :love:

[MrVicchio]

Guys,

Go read the C&C Generals Beta Forum (its open now btw to read, but not post so I can say this) the game LAGS, its not optimized in the least, and this is a 3,500 man Beta... not still internal. One of the Devs made a great point, Beta = Game not Optimized, relese means game optimized.

Basically, there is a ton of polish still needed, that poilish translates to optimized code, be it net code, or the raw system coding. You see this in CCG. The game swaps 550 megs of files... instead of using RAM worth a crap. Why? Degugging and otehr issues.

So whatever "lag" Hamma saw, is raw coding, debugging or such going on, and IMHO not indicitve in the least of what the final product will look like.

[�io]

:furious::flamemad::furious::flamemad::furious:
:flamemad: :furious: :flamemad: :furious: :flamemad:

Urge to kill Hamma rising....rising....rising!!!


Lucky dawg... :(

[Zumthor]

Was there anything about the game that was very suprising, that you did not expect at all?
Or are you not allowed to say ;)

[Hamma]

I can answer whatever questions you have.. if i experienced it. If I didnt play the role or didnt see it in action I will not speculate.. dont want false info floating around

[MrVicchio]

Did you die like a noob, did you pown some fewlz? Fess up man!

[Gooey]

I particularly enjoyed it when Hamma killed Smedley in the big grand finale battle near the end of the day. :D

We had a good chukle in the vanu room over that one.

[Doobz]

what can u say about the physics?
were they cartoonish, realistic?
how was the flight model?

i hope it's nothing like the T2 one....

[Doobz]

oooh, forgot one, how will the command structure work, if u saw any?

[Hamma]

lol Gooey, btw for those of you who dont know Smedly is the President of Sony Online :eek:

1. what can u say about the physics? - they were fairly realistic, they certainly were not cartoonish.
2. how was the flight model? - if i was to compare it to anything id say its similar to t2, but its certainly not the same.

[Qanamil_Rafiki]

Shibby, TR powah! :D

[Hamma]

We didnt experience much of the command structure other than squads. Some of it isnt in yet, or wasnt used.

[Doobz]

can u invert? or do any other acrobatic maneuvers?
and hows the skeeter for assaults since everybody wants to know?
how was the damage model as well? 30 shots to down somebody? 10? 5? (approximately in the torso if there location based damage)

[Doobz]

when i say cartoonish physics, i hold the t2 physics as cartoonish.
so does it 'feel' like t2 in that respect?

[�io]

Doobz the Dev's already said they were going for an arcade feeling, easy to use vehicles. In other words no flight simulation here. :)

[Doobz]

i know that, but i want at least some grounding in realism, so tactics actually work, and it doesnt turn into a bouncing quakefest, and u cant jump 15 feet in the air like in t2

[Hamma]

can u invert? - not that i could tell, course it may be changed in the beta.

and hows the skeeter for assaults since everybody wants to know? - it was fairly effective for strafing light targets but if you started trying to take on a max or somthing you are in trouble

how was the damage model as well? 30 shots to down somebody? 10? 5? - depends on the armor your in. MAX have a ton of HP, light armors have less

[Doobz]

ooh, yeah, how fast are the projectiles, like of rifles and bolt drivers?

t2 was like throwing baseballs at ppl, u had to lead them by a freaking mile if u wanted to hit them

[Hamma]

I dont want to compare it to any game because its in its own catagory..

[Hamma]

I didnt snipe at all.. of course you have to lead the target a bit ;)

[Doobz]

i seem to be getting the impression that this is a giant, slightly more realistic T2, guess im way off :)

[Doobz]

well, yeah, but are the projectiles a good speed, or are they slow as molasses?

[Hamma]

They are fast - to be honest Ididnt really pay a ton of attention to that hehehehe

[Doobz]

thats cool, just as long as it stays completely clear of t2 *shudder*:)

[Nubi]

Well what'd u want from T2? If a Spinfusor hit instantly where the person was it wouldn't be any fun.

you could just sit on a hill and just kill peeps easily

I think the way T2 did their projectile speed was appropriate for the game.

[Airlift]

Did you get to fly a GALAXY?

[Doobz]

t2 was entirely too cartoony for me.

the scale seemed wrong, the physics and gravity seemed wrong, the projectiles felt like nerf footballs, it was just all wrong.

this is much larger scale game, so i would expect a lot more realism, refering to physics and projectile speed

[xuur]

what personal weapons were you able to try both from the common pool and any empire specific ones?

what were your impressions on some of the lighter small arms in as far as effectiveness and rate of fire? what about ammo reserves and usage? (ie: do you have to keep a ready ammo suppplier nearby?)

oh...so many questions.

[Hamma]

Originally posted by Airlift
Did you get to fly a GALAXY?
Yes it was fun, a little cumbersome to fly but thats because it was huge... it was fun to pilot tho.

what personal weapons were you able to try both from the common pool and any empire specific ones? - i tried a bunch of weapons but i dont remember the names. I will have to look them up on the page eheh (about to sleep)

what were your impressions on some of the lighter small arms in as far as effectiveness and rate of fire? what about ammo reserves and usage? (ie: do you have to keep a ready ammo suppplier nearby?) - If your wasteful with ammo your gonna run out.. and when you run out your screwed. On the bright side if yo have a vehicle or are traveling with a squad you can keep extra supplies in the trunks of most vehicles. You can also loot the bodies, of your friendlys as well as enemies

I was TR so the weapons were very high Rate Of Fire, the supressor was a fun weapon.. i found that just about all weaponse were useful. But in the time i had there was no way i could experience everything.. hell we only played within a few bases on one continent

[xuur]

heh...still more then us!


too cool. full debriefing in the morning.

;)

x

[Lexington_Steele]

How about this one.

What was your favorite aspect of what you saw or played?
(What role was the most fun for you? tank, aircraft, grunt, max, sniping, just looking at the scenery, manning a turret)

[Nubi]

Did you fly a mosquito or a Reaver?

How much faster would u say a mosquito is to a Galaxy/how much faster is a mosquito then a Reaver?

[afex]

hamma owns us all :[

[Nohimn]

What does the cockpit of the reaver/mosquito/galaxy look like?
Describe the MAX suit which everyone has been wondering about.
And finally: HOW THE HELL DID YOU PLAY EARLY?!

*me goes to corner and cries*

[afex]

he got to go on a press pass b/c he runs a quality fansite.

[Nohimn]

Then I shall run a crappy fansite and call it quality! HAHAHAHA!!!

[afex]

Originally posted by Nohimn
Then I shall run a crappy fansite and call it quality! HAHAHAHA!!!
already been done. :lol:

[Incompetent]

Any info on what defense will be like; mines, turrets, sandbags and such.

[Airlift]

What can you tell us about the Cert system? Is there a heirarchy or some kind of prerequisite system? How many certs did you see? Did you get to look at the advancement process?


Now back to the Galaxy..
Was there a HUD?
Can you go back and forth between pilot and 3rd person view?
Can you still see the HUD in 3rd person?
Did you try a gunner spots?
Is it really slow as well as lumbering on turns?
Does it fly similarly to the Havoc from t2?
How steeply can it climb during forward flight?
Can people really jump out in midflight without damage? What about vehicles and MAXes in the bay?

[Madfish]

I'm interested in the grass cover and shrubbery (herring anyone)? Did it extend to a realistic range or appear out of nowhere ala Asherons Call 2?

Vehicle physics; in the Gamespy videos tanks seem to slliiiddddeee around a bit; did it feel better (you may all laugh, but did it feel BF1942 ish?). Could you get air from ground vehicles?

[Mold]

cool, i guess you wont be needing the rest of that developer interview sent. Now its Hamma interview time :)

So did you get to see the mobile command vehicle?
What can you tell us about warpgates (if you even got to use them)
Did you use a max, and would you say they are balanced?
How was indoor combat?

thnx hamma

[�io]

Originally posted by Hamma
But in the time i had there was no way i could experience everything.. hell we only played within a few bases on one continent

So no to the warpgate question. :)

[Mold]

ya i figured, but they mighta done a demo of it

[Hamma]

I will attempt to answer these soon. Ive got an article to write and some thinking to do :]

[SVoyager]

Damn im very interrested in super specific details about the FM :).

how different is it from t2? specifics :).

plane wants to roll more
u gotta roll the plane before turning or is it side thrusters like t2?

stuff like that!

specifics :P

thanks

[Kaikou]

yeah what was the speed comparison to the mosquito/reaver? like shrike compared to bomber in T2?

[Camping Carl]

it's just not fair..... *sob*

[afex]

in t1 they had the scouts stop and slowly hover down if you ever got sniped out of it, or jumped out.

i HATED that. it really sucks. its alot better in t2 b/c it makes more sense that if you're barrelling forward in a plane and jump out, its going to keep going. sure, they can make up gameplay excuses like "its going into auto-hover mode" but i think it would be more fun to keep going and eventually crash. it would make galaxy passengers have to keep a watch on the pilot to see if they have to jump for it :D

[Camping Carl]

For those who haven't seen yet.

Hamma's irc chat (http://www.pscommand.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=38&page=1)

[SVoyager]

camping, thx for link, damn good info there.

And from the looks of it, release is damn close and maybe beta is also :).

And damn after reading this im all nervous and shaking like crazy again lol, whats that sickness with this game. It always gets me evrytime i stop around these boards lol. ;) :D

[Camping Carl]

Yup. Our first really good indication of how dangerous max suits are.

[�io]

Yeah Voyager i was jumping around like crazy reading it, i NEED my PlanetSide NOW!!!! :mad:


Oh and i hope they tweak the BEPs a bit :

PSU-Hamma: With a 20 battle rank you can have 2/3's of all certs
PSU-Hamma: some certs require you to have others as well

SO|Azhreal: and how long would it take to get to 20?
PSC|Zero_One: How long do you think?
PSU-Hamma: They estimate 3 months, but wont know till people start playing

Let's say they underestimate by 2 months, that still means that after 5 months you're character is already maxed out, that seems way too short IMO. I think it should take at least 6 months to max out and even at max certs 2/3s seems like a lot. Oh well, guess i'll just have to wait and trust the Dev team. :)

[SVoyager]

oh i agree with you dio.

i dunno 2/3 is pretty much. I pretty much like a lot of specialisation, it promotes teamplay and you have much less "rambos" around thinking they can take out evrything themselves (well its a "worse case scenario" example but you know what i meen).

I like it more when you _have_ to rely on your teammates and the same for your teammates needing to rely on you. ex: fly in my trannie and get shot at pretty bad, needing repairs. Would suck if i just jump out, use my repair gun, repair and get back on my way. Better to say "I NEED A FIX" and find some guy to repair you. promotes general teamplay.

.02$

[�io]

:thumbsup: :stupid:

[SVoyager]

hey lol. whats with the :stupid: :)

[�io]

Well there's no "I'm with him" so i use what i can. :D;)

[SVoyager]

Oh lol, lets ask hamma to add that one :)

now back to your scheduled program. :D

[Hamma]

What was your favorite aspect of what you saw or played?
The vastness of it all was the most amazing aspect.

What role was the most fun for you?
I always love piloting in games, I found it the funnest. But driving is also fun no matter what the vehicle was.

What does the cockpit of the reaver/mosquito/galaxy look like?
In the build I played, you did not see it. Only the rotary chaingun was visible on the Mosquito from internal view.

Describe the MAX suit which everyone has been wondering about.
Tomorrows dev interview will clear up most of it. Ill answer after that

And finally: HOW THE HELL DID YOU PLAY EARLY?!
afex answered.

Any info on what defense will be like?
there were mines, turrets, sensors.. but no sandbags. There are also remote detonation bombs available. More info on this soon hehe.

What can you tell us about the Cert system? Is there a heirarchy or some kind of prerequisite system? How many certs did you see? Did you get to look at the advancement process?
This should be covered in the dev interview.

Was there a HUD? (galaxy)
what kind of hud do you mean.. there was some flight info

Can you go back and forth between pilot and 3rd person view?
yes

Can you still see the HUD in 3rd person?
didnt notice, I dont belive so

Did you try a gunner spots?
no

Is it really slow as well as lumbering on turns?
its cumbersome to fly yes, as any large transport should be

Does it fly similarly to the Havoc from t2?
I dont want to compare to that thing hehe

How steeply can it climb during forward flight?
didnt try

Can people really jump out in midflight without damage?
I did not try. I forgot :(

What about vehicles and MAXes in the bay?
What about them?


I'm interested in the grass cover and shrubbery (herring anyone)?
It is amazing looking :)

Did it extend to a realistic range or appear out of nowhere ala Asherons Call 2?
it was a realistic range.. nothing "appeared" right in front of me that I noticed.

So did you get to see the mobile command vehicle?
yes its cool

What can you tell us about warpgates (if you even got to use them)
they are huge hehe

Did you use a max, and would you say they are balanced?
I used one for a short time they are very combersome to operate but I can already see some people who will be l33t in them hehe, and yes they are balanced.

How was indoor combat?
Well I only got into a couple firefights inside, I dont want to go into detail because I dont think I experienced it enough.

Damn im very interrested in super specific details about the FM?
If i was to compare it would be to T2, but its not too similar. I dont want to answer this too much other than saying it was fun hehe

yeah what was the speed comparison to the mosquito/reaver? like shrike compared to bomber in T2?
I suppose.. more agile than the t2 bomber i would say

2/3s seems like a lot. Oh well, guess i'll just have to wait and trust the Dev team
Ive heard allot of concern about this, but we were givin full battle rank and I still had to ask "hey do you have this cert.. there is vehicle x over here that we should steal" so its not that big of a deal in my experience. I still think that focusing on specific things is the best way to go. Some certs require others or u cannot have them :)

[Camping Carl]

Did you see empty vehicals lying around to steal? Did you have to kill the drivers? Can you kill the drivers?

[Hamma]

When I played there were a few empty vehicles at times yea. The drivers were either dead or abandon the vehicle

[Hamma]

I am going to stop answering direct questions (especially large lists) just because they spawn more questions and controversy., I will answer in the same way I always have from now on ;)

My article upcoming this week is going to describe my entire mission and what I experienced.

[�io]

Can't wait for it!!

:rock: :clap: :bouncy: :cheers: popcorn: :thumbsup: :groovy:

[Camping Carl]

I look forward to your account of how the vanu lost every fight.

[Camping Carl]

Your source for everything EVIL!

Villian Supply (http://www.villainsupply.com)

>:| :twisted: :evil: :devilwink

[Jinxmasta]

I look forward to hearing your stories of how the TR and NC got owned by the Vanu :D

[Camping Carl]

....after they were losing so badly the devs had to give them aimbots and imortality. No, wait. They still didn't win.

Dont forget: Click here for EVIL! (http://www.villainsupply.com/)

[m0rphiu5]

damnit, my computer died and while i was gone hamma got to go play PS, damn.... but the real tragedy here is that when i return no more questions are being answered and NOBODY thought to ask about stealths, damn u all.......

[�io]

Don't worry as our great leader said he will talk about everything he experienced in his article(which i can't wait to read! :))

[m0rphiu5]

indeed, but sometimes certain things are forgotten because none directly asked.

oh and i must say congrats on it Hamma, the Devs must have some serious respect for you to allow you to go, well done.... btw the site is better than ever.

[�io]

Yeah i know, he sucks huh. :p

I hate you Hamma... but i :love: you....i'm so confused!! :confused:

;)

[m0rphiu5]

yep, oh well ill leave u to sort out your sexuality then dio, lol jks

[�io]

:lol:

Nah i think Hamma is awesome for providing us with such a great site/community and being lucky/good enough to impress the Dev team to get a pass but i like the ladies too much to be switching teams. ;)

[Airlift]

thanks hamma

[Mold]

well morph, i asked him a bit about stealth in irc and he was saying that they are visible to everyone when they are moving (blurry siluette like predator) but they could be standing still directly in front of you and you could not see them, without the darklight implant of coarse
pritty cool.

[m0rphiu5]

yeah, i imagined something like that, i wonder whats the story in the way of noise.... like hearing a hum of some sort.... and foot steps

but thankz for clearing up part of it. With that info it should make stealths much more diffucult to master, give it some skill.... rather than just every man and his dog jumping into stealth suits.....

[Jinxmasta]

Yea I plan on being a stealth and it's nice to know that I do have my limitations so I can't just be running all over the place without being seen.

EDIT - I too was gone all of today and when I come back I see a bunch of threads all about Hamma's SOE visit. By that time it was too late to ask anything though :(

[Hamma]

Dont worry guys I will still clarify things for everyone.

The reason I dont want to answer a bunch of direct question lists is because,

a.) People misunderstand some things - and threads get created on the official forums.. i dont want to create too many headaches for the devs at this stage of development</li>

b.) I may be flat out wrong on some things because well, I didnt experience the entire game.

c.) I wont have time to do anything else if I continue answering every question hehehe

Where I feel confident and can clear things up, and answer Q's I will continue to do so. I will also update the sites content in the coming weeks to reflect what I experienced.

[Unregistered]

One question from little old me.

Can I certify in enoughf things that I could drive a tank, or a MAX depending on my mood?

[Hamma]

Indeed.

When you first start it will be one or the other tho. :p

[Zarparchior]

Hamma, you playing this game makes me sad. Not because I'm jealous, not because I didn't get to go, not because the game doesn't sound as cool anymore.

The reason is is because with every little strand of information I recieve, the game looks more and more like I've envisioned and dreamed. Why is that a sad thing? Because I can't play it yet. :(

But yes! We all :love: you Hamma, and appreciate your sharing of knowledge about this exigente game. :D

[Jinxmasta]

Yea all this information is nearly killing me! I love the game so much and it hasn't even started with open beta or even EXCLUSIVE open beta! And the pathetic thing is that I probably won't even get picked for that :(

[Tobias]

How many people did you kill is what i wants to know, aside from that NC guy we know you got.