Interview with Jason Good - PlanetSide Universe

A community member over at MordorHQ got a great Q&A with Jason Good, PlanetSide 2 Senior Game Designer. They touch on quite a few subjects including Squad and Platoon sizes.

How many levels of command will there be, and how will outfits work together to achieve larger objectives? For example, will there be a command structure higher than an outfit that can coordinate several outfits? If so, how are they elected/chosen?

Squads have six members with one leader. The active leader will be able to use his special leadership abilities while acting as the leader

Platoons are a group of four squads. There is a platoon leader which is the leader of the “alpha” squad. The leaders of each squad will be able to use their special leadership abilities for their specific squad.

Squad and platoon leaders can gain access to a special command channel where they can text and voice chat with other leaders to form structured attacks.

Outfits are more of a social group of allies than something tied to tactical organization. You will have a name, emblem, and voice and text chat, but will not see them on the map, or be able to use leadership abilities on them unless they joined your squad or platoon.

MordorHQ home of the EA UK Battlefield 3 forums so many of the questions focus on the differences between the games. What do you think about the smaller squad size in PlanetSide 2? Click here to check out the full Q&A.

34 comments

2012-08-09 09:55 AM

Latest Comments

2012-08-09 04:41 PM

SFJake

Re: Jason Good, Sr. Game Designer, answered some questions

Originally Posted by SpottyGekko

One simple reason for the "1 char per server" limit could be purchased Cash Shop items. If you want to play in multiple factions on the same server, you'll have to create multiple accounts. And store bought customizations, etc. will have to be bought separately for each account.

Other than Cash Shop related reasons, I can't really see any point in the character limit, given that it's F2P and you can create as many accounts as you like (in theory).

Which is why I find the limit to be a bit dumb. You really just are telling people to switch account instead of characters. Which I'll do by the way, until I decide which side I want to be in. I mean, how the hell should I know which side is the most fun if I can't try them all? That is so silly.

2012-08-09 05:04 PM

Boone

Re: Jason Good, Sr. Game Designer, answered some questions

Originally Posted by SFJake

Start a faction on 3 different servers and go from there? That was going to be my plan anyway. Shouldn't take long to get the feel for each faction.

2012-08-09 05:08 PM

adddemon

Re: Jason Good, Sr. Game Designer, answered some questions

Post launch we plan on adding the ability to do a paid faction switch, similar to the concept of paying for a server swap on other MMOs, but there is no in game mechanic allowing you to defect.

well, that answers the question I had the other day concerning the issue of keeping friends together on the same faction if they accidentally chose one different from you at launch.

2012-08-09 05:22 PM

RoninOni

Re: Jason Good, Sr. Game Designer, answered some questions

Originally Posted by SFJake

Because otherwise people will log into the server as another faction to "spy" on the enemy factions before loading their real game....

2012-08-09 05:32 PM

maddoggg

Re: Jason Good, Sr. Game Designer, answered some questions

Originally Posted by JADO

Hey Phyrefli, I've missed your weekly digests since mordor closed down.

Yea me too.

2012-08-09 05:41 PM

RoninOni

Re: Jason Good, Sr. Game Designer, answered some questions

Originally Posted by JADO

....since mordor closed down.

Mordor lives:

http://mordorhq.com/index.php

2012-08-09 08:05 PM

Envenom

Re: Jason Good, Sr. Game Designer, answered some questions

Super stoked to hear one faction per server. Badass. No more hopping ya nubs.

2012-08-09 08:48 PM

Electrofreak

Re: Jason Good, Sr. Game Designer, answered some questions

So much, except so little...

2012-08-09 09:01 PM

MaxDamage

Re: Jason Good, Sr. Game Designer, answered some questions

Thanks for link, great read.

" Will we be allowed to pick up fallen kits from friendly or enemy players & will there be squad spawning?
• The current design does not allow you to pick up the kits of fallen friends or foes. To this point, it just doesn’t really fit with the rest of the game."

Fail.

Definitely support 1 char per server.

No training range.
No sancs.
No looting/using enemy empire equipment.
Almost half the vehicles of Planetside 1.
The flexibility of classes takes a backward step to cookie-cutter premade forms (medic).
Infiltrators completely bastardised.

Yet there's a guy on that page saying how this game has greater 'depth'?
A lot of the cool stuff that made Planetside 1 special/different is being dropped.

Perks are not 'depth'.
Bigger is not 'deeper', bigger is slower.

I trust the team long term, there's a huge amount to be positive and optimistic about; but the people saying 'it will come later' are kidding themselves. In that situation Devs and representatives of MMOs talk like politicians: "We're not ruling it out", "It's on the list of things we're looking at".

If I sound bitter, I'm not in the beta.

2012-08-09 09:41 PM

Figment

Re: Jason Good, Sr. Game Designer, answered some questions

I'm mostly surprised that a game with what, casually 8x times the players of PS1, HAS SMALLER SQUADS AND PLATOONS. 6 persons per squad, four squads per platoon, really? :/

Why not just make it five squads then!? Because they expect just two full gals per plat? Sorry, but I was expecting 30 at least as a max, though up to 42-60 men plats. :/ We casually ran with 10 - 15 people on a single TS channel... Maybe this is due to squad spawning and other such squad leader mechanics, but really. 6? 24?

2012-08-09 11:47 PM

Boone

Re: Jason Good, Sr. Game Designer, answered some questions

Originally Posted by MaxDamage

More vehicles don't exactly equate to more depth by any means. I can live without a training range, Sancs sound cool from what PS1 players described. I can see how you would be pissed about having classes, but with everyone being a super soldier isn't that just as bad of a cookie-cutter? People always find the best combos and at least this way you can hopefully have different specced out Medics and not everyone rolling with all the same certs because it's "the best". We'll see...

I don't see an issue with Infiltrators, then again I haven't played the game. The fact you can't pick up weapons is kind of odd, but not a huge deal to me. I do kind of get it though on why they would go that route (prob has more to do with clipping/art). Would prob look weird seeing an NC rocking out with a VS gun or something.

A lot of that is opinion, but I do understand the nostalgia. I'm just suprised you didn't mention vehicle animations, which people would of course complain about the second they can't bail from their vehicle before dying. You know it..I know it.

2012-08-10 12:06 AM

Sifer2

Re: Jason Good, Sr. Game Designer, answered some questions

Some of this is already out dated. I'm pretty sure they had said somewhere they already planned to change squads to 10 man limit. I really didn't like the part about what happens on one continent not effecting others though. I want a persistent war not a bunch of separate instanced maps. I'm sure the community will feel the same an convince them to change it.

2012-08-10 12:59 AM

Typherian

Re: Jason Good, Sr. Game Designer, answered some questions

What about the goal of a 1 second TTK with a 1 on 1 engagement... That's half a second to react if 2 people are firing at you which with so many people playing will happen a lot. I think a higher TTK raises the skill cap as you have more time to eaither miss or hit your target and also makes team work mean more. If I come up behind 2 people and I can kill them both in 2 seconds why would I wait for a friend or try to work as a team. In CoD I would never run near my team mates because we would just both die almost instantaneously when an engagement started . In PS1 I felt like keeping with my team mates was actually worth it as it would take time for our enemy to swap from 1 target to the next.

TL/DR: 1 sec TTK is too low. Higher TTK encourages team work.

Thoughts?

2012-08-10 01:04 AM

adddemon

Re: Jason Good, Sr. Game Designer, answered some questions

he did say optimal firing ranges, which probably means scoped standing directly in front of an infiltrator shooting him in the face.

2012-08-10 01:13 AM

Sunrock

Re: Jason Good, Sr. Game Designer, answered some questions

Originally Posted by Typherian

Well yea... 1 sec TTK sound a bit low. But he sad 1 sec TTK on an average range. What ever that means. So this can mean that this 1 sec TTK will promote more long range combat and less close quarter combat.

Our goal for the TTK is around 1 second at the average engagement range, though that will scale as the range changes. Recoil and deviation will vary based on weapon, but I’d say we’re a moderate recoil, low deviation model.

But I would not say that a low TTK does not promote team play. Sure if you run close to gather like you where fighting with swords in a roman turtle formation you're a bit screwed but if you use modern infantry formations team play is still a valid.