What can they do with the map editor?

[Figment]

In PlanetSide maps were created without the option to edit them afterwards. This meant we could not get map updates without them having to redo the entire map. They could not cut holes into the ground to allow new bases to be created for instance. Only BFR terms could be added to already existing flat ground.

I'm wondering how robust and adjustable the new map editor is now.


Can sections of the terrain be edited at will after release (raised/flattened etc)?

Can new features be edited in with ease (bunkers in terrain)?

Can new bases be created using modular design tools?

Can holes be cut into the terrain so you can create underground areas with relative ease?

Can bridges be edited to be raised, moved etc?

[ringring]

I hope so. Clearly elements on PS1 tgerrain didn't work as the devs thought they would.
Examples:
Bunkers were never used and might as well have not been there.
Approaches to HVAR and Yazata were too difficult making them the best farming bases in the game.
Some bridges such as Tore - Leza were clearly too long.

[BorisBlade]

Originally Posted by ringring

I hope so. Clearly elements on PS1 tgerrain didn't work as the devs thought they would.
Examples:
Bunkers were never used and might as well have not been there.
Approaches to HVAR and Yazata were too difficult making them the best farming bases in the game.
Some bridges such as Tore - Leza were clearly too long.

Actually those elements were perfect. They allowed for unique gameplay we couldnt get anywhere else. If there were only 10 bases then yeah, but htere were well over a hundred. And personally i liked all those aspects, it made the gameplay unique and a change of pace.

Back on topic tho, yeah they arent stupid. They will have it so they can modify things later easily. No serious developer is goin to use an engine they cant modify that will be used for MMO's. Even blizzard can change things easliy in WoW which is crucial, and this engine will be used in EQ3 so i wouldnt expect any less.

The biggest problem with PS1 is it required downloading the entire continent over again whenever they changed somethin, and with many people still on dial-up, that wasnt gonna work. We dont have that problem anymore, plus as i mentioned they wont design an engine to need a complete redownload of the entire map every time they change a bush. That would be nutz. In the end it should be like most any other decent engine out there and easily modified on their end and easily patched for us.

[DviddLeff]

They have talked a lot about vertical game play, the example Higby kept giving was scaffolding and catwalks on canyon walls to allow people to move between levels. With Light Assault able to simply jump from level to level this obviously opens it up a lot more than in PS1, but this may not be as useful on terrain which is flatter, making everything more diverse and interesting.

My main hope with the terrain is that we do not see stairwell fights being the same stalemate as in PS1, and certainly not in every single base and tower.

[ShockNC]

Originally Posted by ringring

Bunkers were never used and might as well have not been there.

the reason why no one used them is there was no equip term in there and no way to reinforce the bunker while you where in there.

[Crator]

I would also thinks this will be possible. Espcially since it has been stated they want to implement something in the future that allows player built/owned structures...

[Xyntech]

Hopefully. Map design is very important to game balance, especially in a game with a class system. You want to make sure that every role is accounted for, so that a single class doesn't end up becoming the only thing worth using in any given area.

A great tool in balancing maps is the ability to tweak and update them after release. As hard as you try to perfect a map, it usually needs some rebalancing and improvement as actual players in live gameplay reveal it's remaining faults.

Forgelight sounds to be pretty modular and robust, so I can't imagine this would be too hard for them.

Even though SOE's lack of support was clearly the largest nail in the coffin of PS1's success, I think that the games rigidity and inability to be tweaked and modified was one of the other largest factors. What do you do about problems that literally can't be fixed?

More SOE attention (at least early on), a more adaptable engine, better internet connections across the planet, a business model that has been proven to generate huge amounts of income and attract massive numbers of players... The future is looking pretty good for PS2.

[Hamma]

I'll echo what others have said.

I really hope that it is possible after release now because that was a severe limitation of PlanetSide 1. The maps were totally locked in after release. Hopefully they are designed more modular this time around so that the Devs can make changes on the fly with patch releases.

[acosmo]

Originally Posted by Hamma

I'll echo what others have said.

I really hope that it is possible after release now because that was a severe limitation of PlanetSide 1. The maps were totally locked in after release. Hopefully they are designed more modular this time around so that the Devs can make changes on the fly with patch releases.

if the capability isn't there yet, it is definitely part of the plan. in one of the interviews higby even said outfits can use resources to place towers.

[Arrow]

I mean didnt they fix the dreaded death pits on cyssor and what not?

[Shogun]

i consider this as " in for sure"
the devs analysed the problems ps1 had very exactly, we know that.
and the "hardcodedness" of planetside one was complained about for years on the forums. or there were a shitload of complains about bases looking all the same and other map features, and the dev answer was always "sorry guys, the map is hardcoded, nothing we can do about that".
so i would think, they don´t do the same mistake again 8 years later, in a world, where mapediting tools are even supplied with a lot of games to let the community create content. sure, we will not get any tools (unless outfit base construction gets in sometime), but the devs will have those tools for sure.

[Tikuto]

I would like to see surface geezers erupting as the alien planet's Sunrise on continent Indar begins.

BpShh..
tSh...
BOMPTSHHHHHH!!!!!!!!



Ahhh yeaaah.

[duck]

Yup the bunkers were absolutely fail, no one used it and it was never a strategical piece in the map.
I hope devs can change the maps after release if they are requested by the community. The terrain has to be balanced so that there isn't some cheap vantage point a sniper can abuse and never get exposed. I thought BF3 did a good job of that.

[Khellendros]

Originally Posted by Tikuto

I would like to see surface geezers erupting as the alien planet's Sunrise on continent Indar begins.

BpShh..
tSh...
BOMPTSHHHHHH!!!!!!!!



Ahhh yeaaah.

Not sure I'd like to see old people popping out of the ground at me...

[Bittermen]

But you can't make every area accessible to every single vehicle/class.