returning (essentially new) player with some questions

[OneirosFortyTwo]

Hi everyone, I played Planetside during its original beta and for a short while after its release. I lost interest for some reason, but since I was subscribed back in the day I now have 45 day trial subscription, so I'm back (and an instant "six year veteran too")! At least for 45 days anyway. I'll decide then if the $15/mo is worth it.

Anyway, some basic questions for anyone kind enough to answer:

1) I have a surround sound setup, but since my soundcard is integrated into the motherboard, my sound options are limited. I've found that of the few options that actually work ("this option is not supported by your hardware") only DirectSound3D Software Emulation actually gives a surround effect. Any idea why Dolby Surround only comes out in 2D? I know my card (SoundMAX) supports Dolby and DTS surround, so what gives?
*EDIT* Scrap that, I figured it out. Dolby Surround only works when you have your sound on digital output (SPDIF) and I'd been using discrete analog output. Switched over and it works properly now.

2) Is there a way to see the population of each planet/zone/area? I've yet to find it, and I've done all the training missions.

3) What times of day are best to play? I've got a job and kids so my playtime is limited and irregular. As a result I'll probably never be able to join an outfit/clan/guild, so I'd like to know when my best bets are to join wars.

4) Are there any images (jpg, gif, bmp) of the default keyboard layouts I could print for reference? It's a pain in the ass opening the menu and hunting through the lists for the function I want.

5) I've heard some people recommend flora and weather be disabled, due to mines and enemy visibility respectively. I like being able to have all the graphic options maxed out, so is that really a recommended action or only for the hardcore?

6) Locations of any good (and current) guides are welcome.

Thanks for any help, and I'll see you on the field of battle.

At some point.

For a bit.

Until the kids start screaming.

[joemonkey]

Originally Posted by OneirosFortyTwo

2) Is there a way to see the population of each planet/zone/area? I've yet to find it, and I've done all the training missions.

-planet (meaning global?) is easy after you do some math
-zone (meaning cont?) is fairly easy after some practice and general math skills
-area (meaning where you are?) not so much aside from trial and error, or enemy reveal or maybe tactical map

planet/global pops are easy to figure...sort of...not for the faint of logic. /who is your friend when trying to figure out the population on a cont. /who + basic math skills..... /who = X TR on cont; we're outpopped 40% to 60% means.... <blank> NC/VS are on cont

Originally Posted by OneirosFortyTwo

3) What times of day are best to play? I've got a job and kids so my playtime is limited and irregular. As a result I'll probably never be able to join an outfit/clan/guild, so I'd like to know when my best bets are to join wars.

as a guy who is slaving away at a job, life goal, who is married with a 21mo old daughter i can relate. it more or less comes down to playing the game and seeing who is generally online when you are. a fight without organization, backup, support is just a worthless zerg. finding folks that are online when you are is a very good idea imo. even if they play more often than you, it is still very worthwhile to make sure that you find that niche group and run around with them. any solid group will make a solid fight...maybe not war...but will make for a good few hours

Originally Posted by OneirosFortyTwo

4) Are there any images (jpg, gif, bmp) of the default keyboard layouts I could print for reference? It's a pain in the ass opening the menu and hunting through the lists for the function I want.

not my specialty....remapping is kind of a basic requirment to playing an FPS. if i have 9 buttons on my mouse i can have more going on there than you.

i highly suggest playing the game for a while and figuring out how often you crouch or go 3rd person, hit medpacks....figure out what layout is comfortable to you and then spend 10-30 min of remapping keys.

t = 3rd person
c = crouch
u = character screen
o = outfit screen
p = squad screen
f1 = med packs
g = exit vehs
alt+g = bail from veh
alt+e = engie status hud

basically play the game a day or 3, figure out what you want to do, and then look at the screen and figure out the hotkeys and/or remap them

Originally Posted by OneirosFortyTwo

5) I've heard some people recommend flora and weather be disabled, due to mines and enemy visibility respectively. I like being able to have all the graphic options maxed out, so is that really a recommended action or only for the hardcore?

If you are playing an 8 year old game for its graphics than you have some issues i cant get into the above mentioned tips are good for if you want to be above average at the game. is it required? no. is it a good idea. yes.

turning off flora will allow me to see mines farther than someone who has it turned on. will it make me a better player? not if i dont know what im looking for/at. will it give me an advantage? yes

Originally Posted by OneirosFortyTwo

6) Locations of any good (and current) guides are welcome.

guides...well i cant comment, a lot of game play, personal pref, ect... comes into play. there is no good guide to playing any FPS really. lots of trial and error and figuring out what best suits your playstyle.



its 3:30 and i need to sleep haha - yet another 14 hour day ahead of me...let me know if you have any other questions or i can clearify anything i said above

[OneirosFortyTwo]

Thanks for the tips!

I'm enjoying the game so far, for what little I can do. I'm just not sure what direction I should put my few certs toward.

I originally got engineer certs up to fortification, but even when I've come across wars the bases are already flooded with mines and turrets. Any attempt to repair turrets gets me blown away as soon as someone notices what I'm doing. Plus none of the above seems to earn me any exp.

I went engineer because in most games the support role has the fewest people, and I figured it would be a good way to learn the base layouts while observing how people play in general. Planetside doesn't seem to have any shortage of engineers from what I've seen.

I figure I'd like to aim myself at whatever role is needed most. Ground transport? Air? MAXes? I haven't been playing long enough to tell on that sort of thing.

[Logit]

Originally Posted by OneirosFortyTwo

Thanks for the tips!

I'm enjoying the game so far, for what little I can do. I'm just not sure what direction I should put my few certs toward.

I originally got engineer certs up to fortification, but even when I've come across wars the bases are already flooded with mines and turrets. Any attempt to repair turrets gets me blown away as soon as someone notices what I'm doing. Plus none of the above seems to earn me any exp.

I went engineer because in most games the support role has the fewest people, and I figured it would be a good way to learn the base layouts while observing how people play in general. Planetside doesn't seem to have any shortage of engineers from what I've seen.

I figure I'd like to aim myself at whatever role is needed most. Ground transport? Air? MAXes? I haven't been playing long enough to tell on that sort of thing.

Originally the game only allowed you get to BR20, so cert specializations were a lot more important.

Now-a-days you can get to BR40, along the way gaining more and more cert points. Customization is really a thing of the past, and once you hit 40 you actually get certed for everything in the game which is lame, but whatever...

Just choose the certs that you enjoy, you have the ability to re-cert every 6 hours, and I'm pretty sure that 6 hour penalty is after your first week or so? Before than, you can do it with no penalty.

I'd recommend playing around with everything, not only is it fun it will help you figure out what makes your gaming experience more enjoyable.

I'd also recommend trying to find a group of people to play with. Zerging is only fun for so long, and usually leads to lots of deaths for someone in your position. For me, the game was always a lot more fun in an organized group, which I'd say is pretty much the case for everyone.

[joemonkey]

To kind of restate what i was getting at above, play the game how you find it enjoyable. If you want to run around laying mines/spits thats great, but as you said there is quite the glut of people with combat engie since basic engie is pretty much a req to play the game well, a lot of us are high level, and thus can blow the extra 2 certs for mines....and there is nothing like a 3k tank or 5k BFR kill while you're off doing something else lol

If you like flying, pick up mossy, reaver and try killing folks, if you might enjoy running around inviso pistoling folks pick up the cloaker suit, if you want to just grunt med,engi,HA,AV or whatever weapon style floats your boat.

"Needed most" roles are kind of dependant on the situation, and since there are sooo many high level tards like myself with the equiv of 33-35+ cert points you rarely run into a situation where you are in dire need for something.

Try out air support and fly loadstars around repairing vehs....grab sniping and play with that for a few days, maxes, ect... I mean there isn't a wrong way to play this game really...well there is but its hard Fuck around with different combos and see what floats your boat.

Squad up frequently with random squads and see how they run and if your playstyles can mesh. Try out 5 or 8 different squads (eventually you'll start to notice how a certain squad or group of folks tend to play) and find one that you enjoy playing with.

I dunno lol all I can really suggest is just play the game play in pickup or open outfit squads find your enjoyment niche whichever route that might be

[OneirosFortyTwo]

Ok, now I want to know about grief points. I saw the brief explanation and rundown of point values and penalties on the home page here, but I want to know a couple things.

First off, how fast do they dissipate, and do they go away while you're offline or only when you're in the game?

Second, how in deity of your choice's name can you rush a base with a big force without racking up massive number of grief points? I'm up to 950 on my character because I was jumping into tank turrets all day. Pow, fired a shot, *BRAP* 50 points. Fire another shot, *BRAP* 100 points! Everyone else is blasting away, I'm doing my best to only hit enemies, but the slightest bit of splash damage gets me at least 10 points it seems. I'm afraid to get back into anything with explosive shots now! Even the few times I DROVE the tank, if I so much as chipped the paint on a fellow man's vehicle, *BRAP*. I get that they want to strongly discourage teamkilling, but come ON.

[HawkEye]

Originally Posted by OneirosFortyTwo

Ok, now I want to know about grief points. I saw the brief explanation and rundown of point values and penalties on the home page here, but I want to know a couple things.

First off, how fast do they dissipate, and do they go away while you're offline or only when you're in the game?

Second, how in deity of your choice's name can you rush a base with a big force without racking up massive number of grief points? I'm up to 950 on my character because I was jumping into tank turrets all day. Pow, fired a shot, *BRAP* 50 points. Fire another shot, *BRAP* 100 points! Everyone else is blasting away, I'm doing my best to only hit enemies, but the slightest bit of splash damage gets me at least 10 points it seems. I'm afraid to get back into anything with explosive shots now! Even the few times I DROVE the tank, if I so much as chipped the paint on a fellow man's vehicle, *BRAP*. I get that they want to strongly discourage teamkilling, but come ON.

they dissipate while you are offline. they more grief points you have, the higher the penalty when you hit friendlies. The more familiar you get with the game the easier it is to avoid grief. Only time i get massive grief is when i play my alt and use special assault.