Okay since Planetside is not as far as we thought and there is a new engine then my initial comment about having creatures in the game isn't that unrealistic of a goal.
Originally Posted by Sirisian
I fear the game is too far in development for cool stuff like that. Maybe later.
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There was a lot of good points listed in the page of discussion if you have time to read after this.
It was mentioned (and because there are pictures) that Planetside originally was going to have creatures wandering around the continents.
I'm thinking it would be sweet to have specialized continent critters just wandering around. They might be simple like birds that flee from players or get hit by planes with no effect. (Or squirrels). Or they might include hostile creatures that make the world more dangerous while fighting.
Seeing as there are deserts, rainforests, tundras, and forests there's a huge variety of creatures that could be wandering around. I'll start by listing some continents and a creature that might go with it.
Ishundar is a desert type continent so a dune or tremor worm (ancient crystal worm?) would be cool. Rock outcrops provide safety. (Obviously sensor shield would nullify this danger while moving in the open, maybe even for vehicles).
Esamir is a tundra continent and could have arctic white cats. They could look like a tigers with the ability to cloak when on the hunt. (Imagine turning on dark light and seeing that when you expected a cloaker was behind you).
Hossin is the rainforest continent and could have raptor type creatures moving around in the trees that would ignore groups of players, but go after single players (sneaking from behind if possible).
Ceryshen is also a tundra place might also have cloaked creatures that leave footprints eerily in the snow.
Oh and Cyssor would have the epic creatures. Like a large 4 legged monster with biological weapons to kill tanks and airplanes. It would wonder in the area between bases and sleep in the warp gates pulling in NTU to power itself.
Some basic concepts in the story would need to be filled in. Creatures are imbued with the power of the warp gates and never die. They simply phase into the world at a later time (without having to spawn at a warp gate). They could even have abilities that are explained by the NTU around the warp gates allowing the creatures to evolve and use it.
Things like base turrets, spitfires, and mines would make quick work of any hostile NPCs wondering into an SOI. They would never be part of a real battle except on the very outside of the SOI.
Overall they'd make the game persistent in that there is a thriving immersive world with life. They'd also change up people's strategies separating verterans from beginners in a simple way. Simply trying to go around the backside of a tower might result in a player getting distracted with a creature for an easier kill by the enemy.
The creatures wouldn't be there to take away from the core game. They'd just be a small addition. I get that this is supposed to be a huge PVP game and adding PVE takes away from that, but ideally it would be subtle and enhance the gameplay adding a little chaos to situations.
I've added a poll so that people can vote and discuss. (The wish list thread makes it hard to get an understanding of how many people life or dislike an idea).
Are there any creatures (with or without special NTU powers) for specific continents or wildlife that you think would be interesting to see? Searhus has hot lava in a volcano so I'm sure something interesting could be done there. (dragons in the volcano
Being chased by energy fireball seeking monster in the sky would be interesting by kind of cliche).
Creatures could also be used to limit the effectiveness of certain vehicles or tactics. (Though other than limiting air with a winged creature or a dune worm to snap up load vehicles I can't think of too many ideas). Maybe you can.
// edit: Feb 27, 2012
It's come to my attention there are some misconceptions about hostile creatures. For the same reason bases are defended with automated wall turrets or spitfires in PS1 was to defend and slow the threat of enemies to a new region of the map. The same idea is what creatures would allow but throughout the whole map. People often bring up performance, but creatures don't exist in an area for long when populations increase with real people. That is to say if you are by yourself moving through a forest you'll see them and might get attacked and killed by a hostile creature. But if you're in the middle of a fight they'll all be dead and won't spawn during the fight around players.
So the perceived performance issue is basically non-existent. It cannot be compared to say "we can't have holstered guns because of performance issues". The problem there is they are on soldiers while they fight. So when population in an area goes up they become a problem. For creatures they fill the void where populations are low as an immersive neutral defense.
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