News: New Interview compares PlanetSide 2 to Risk

[Mastachief]

Originally Posted by Traak

Really?

Ya rly.

[Hamma]

Yea some people like to pretend they are big time on the forums.

[DviddLeff]

It's that strategic layer that PS provides that small scale shooters cant; in CoD and other small arena shooters you get skill being the deciding factor, in BF with its larger maps you can get tactics being just as important, but PS takes it to another level.

Its that strategy that PS2 really needs to cater for, and to do that a solid command structure is needed and the mission system should go a long way to improving it over the original.

[Traak]

I think he meant some people are twits on the forums, but great team players in the game.

I don't really see that.

[HELLFISH88]

Oh God where to start...

First let me say that simply posting a Badass statistic spread on a forum and then running your mouth about how awesome you are usually just makes everyone else think you are an arrogant ass. Regardless of the game you are playing there is no better place to flaunt one's "skill" or superiority then the game itself...and you do this not by spamming chat but by actually accomplishing things. Let your action's speak for themselves and you have no need to air them verbally. On the other hand communication hubs and community's are like tools. It's all about how you use them. Sure it's fun to swap stats with all your buddies forumside but when hubris and pride cross the line it often destroy's the entire atmosphere. The Forum is a place to build relationship's and communicate. Not just a platform to flaunt yourself with.

I think some of you are giving the forumside of a game a bad shake. As I said they are tool's and as with all tools you need to learn how to utilize them best. In a game like planetside where charisma and leadership actually matter the forum provide's a platform for the community to gauge one another. I was reading Malorn's thread on teamwork and one of the issue's brought up was that after a certain degree of command saturation (See: Too many CR5's) it becomes very difficult for leadership to actually get anything done...or for the playerbase to distinguish who is actually competent. In my opinion this is what place's like the forum are best for. The forum share's the same community as the game but under an entirely different setting. Ergo people can really Bond and learn about each other more effectively then in game. (the exception to this being VOIP as that adds an entirely new layer of intimacy)

On the forum's people can express themselves via things like Signature's,Avatar's or even where they chose to post....and what they chose to post about. Another unique aspect of a forum is the ability to consistently track a record of what someone post's over incredibly large spans of time. This give's you a better exposure to them as player as a WHOLE and not just what they post in Global or outfit chat. I will also add people will behave differently in the more informal setting of the forum. In game a player who is a Commander our Outfit leader often must temper they're personality or emotions due to the responsibility or influence of their position over other players. It's like how all sorts of crazy bullshit managed to fly in the General Chat that would NEVER be allowed in the public communication channels in planetside itself. This being said, the forum also allows people to bond more deeply then in game as you are given the ability to have much more of a personality...this brings me to my next subject:

Levying the power of mass communication's such as a game forum. A charismatic yet tactful player can use the forum as a tool to gain popularity and respect within the community itself, and in games such as planetside such power is directly relevant and applicable in game IF one know's how to wield it. Player's are more likely to cooperate with people they respect or are fond of on a personal level. It's just like how reputation works anywhere else in our lives. More serious player's or outfits are much more willing to play ball with a commander they have been able to review and judge on a place like a forum. The forum allows people to display their intelligence,wit and all other sorts of talents and abilities. At the same time more casual player's who are perhaps looking for more "sheer fun or entertainment" will get behind a player they can identify with on a personal level via things such as common sense of humor or taste. All of these aspects are more easily and effectively communicated in the forum setting as opposed to the boring old chat window or having to deal with the limitations of the live game itself. It is concept's such as these that allow Commanders and outfit leaders to levy their influence and power effectively in game. Sometime's "The Zerg" doesn't want to listen to the Cr5 who sounds like he has a stick up his Rexo or is taking his armchair general outlet a bit TOO seriously. Once again, at the same time if one is trying too harness the power of a serious and organised outfit the leader/personality cannot just spam Meme's or rely on things like inside joke's to build a re pore. The more serious group will respect intelligent and well thought out post's they have seen.

The Charisma factor is one of my favorite part's about planetside. You really do need to have a certain degree of people skills if you want to get things done..especially if you are a player perusing command positions. The Same effect can be seen in games such as battlefield but the non-persistent nature of the deathmatch mechanic doesn't really lend itself the concept as well as Planetside does. The CR5's leading you today are probably going to be the same CR5's leading you 2 months from now due to things like time zones,server location or something as simple as the amount of time one needs to invest to reach high command status. I'm actually pleased to hear Command is something player's will have to really "Spec" into in planetside 2 as it may just deal with the "Command Saturation" problem I mentioned earlier.

This is just my quick take on it. To be honest given a less fatigue and more time and I could knock out volumes on this topic. I hope it's a discussion we will peruse in the future as it does play a major factor in the game we all know and love.

And Hamma my love. I AM big time on the forums ;D <3

[Crator]

^^^ Good points. I sure do hope (perhaps not right at first but later down the line) that there is something other then the Command class system that prevents over saturation of commanders. Since it's been said that anyone can spec in all classes I would imagine, after the game has been live for a while, that we might have a proliferation of commanders in the field again. I've always seen this is a pretty major issue in PS1.

[Xyntech]

Originally Posted by Crator

^^^ Good points. I sure do hope (perhaps not right at first but later down the line) that there is something other then the Command class system that prevents over saturation of commanders. Since it's been said that anyone can spec in all classes I would imagine, after the game has been live for a while, that we might have a proliferation of commanders in the field again. I've always seen this is a pretty major issue in PS1.

My hope is that even after you spec in command abilities, you will still have to equip appropriate command items in your characters loadout to make use of most of them. Considering how some of those items may limit your ability to use other items, not everyone will want to be running around as a commander.

As long as you make command abilities be much more useful for leading a group and much less useful for individual killwhoring, it should balance itself out better than in PS1.

[Captain B]

Remember, too, that commanders in PS1 were simply a natural progression; eventually, you became one, whether you really tried or not. In PS2 it seems like you could play forever and never become a commander if you cert your trees as everything else but command skills.

[Raka Maru]

And... Even if you have all class skills, you won't always want be commander class. So no more medic or stalther deciding to call an OS on the spot.

[Xyntech]

Originally Posted by Captain B

Remember, too, that commanders in PS1 were simply a natural progression; eventually, you became one, whether you really tried or not. In PS2 it seems like you could play forever and never become a commander if you cert your trees as everything else but command skills.

Also, if there isn't anything that would appeal to non commander players in the tree, why would a regular soldier even want to waste time on it? Spend time on all the other unlocks, especially since we should be getting even more things to unlock as the 3 year plan carries on.

Originally Posted by Raka Maru

And... Even if you have all class skills, you won't always want be commander class. So no more medic or stalther deciding to call an OS on the spot.

They have confirmed that there is no actual commander class, but they have also mentioned something else interesting. Cloakers and snipers are in the same class. This means that you won't be able to go around invisible at the same time as carrying a sniper rifle, though.

What I think this will translate to is that certain things will exclude your ability to carry certain other things at the same time. Thus, having command tools and abilities may prevent you from having a few other things that you would rather have if you weren't serious about commanding.

[xSlideShow]

Originally Posted by Xyntech

What I think this will translate to is that certain things will exclude your ability to carry certain other things at the same time. Thus, having command tools and abilities may prevent you from having a few other things that you would rather have if you weren't serious about commanding.

This was confirmed by higby in another post. That part where if you want to carry AV you want have an MCG on you.