Petition to delay the release of PS2, please read...

[Arcset]

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world" - Mahatma Gandhi

Here's the actual petition: https://www.change.org/petitions/soe...of-the-product

Hello all,

I'd like to say up front that the objective of this post is to gain the attention of the developers/publishers in an attempt to delay the release date of PlanetSide 2. If you disagree with this objective or have no opinion in the matter, then it is in your best interest to stop reading right here. If however you too feel that PlanetSide 2 is being rushed and should be delayed, I encourage you to continue reading this post, and to please "sign" this petition by replying to the topic. Thank you.

Note to Mods: If I am violating the forum rules/guidelines in any way, I apologize. Should this be the case, please take down this thread

------And now for the fun stuff------

On October 19, SOE announced that the release date for PlanetSide 2 is going to be on November 20 of this year. The game has been in development for the past few years, with signs of development being publicly known back in 2009. Since the announcement of the game’s development, SOE has conducted a survey with the then current players of PlanetSide, as well as ceased development on another MMO title (The Agency) to focus efforts on PlanetSide 2 and Everquest Next. Earlier this year, SOE began conducting the closed beta, and since then have carefully listened to the concerns/suggestions from the community. Many of the concern/suggestions from the community have been addressed over the following weeks, and for that I and the PlanetSide 2 community (ie the consumers) are grateful. So far, SOE has been working diligently with the community to create a product that is both enjoyable and available to all, however the community still acknowledges that there are numerous issues still plaguing this game, some of which they feel must be addressed before the product is released. It is because of these issues needing to be addressed that I am attempting to start a petition to delay the game, at least until 2013. Various issues acknowledged by the community (read: not my opinion, but the opinion of many other players based on the “hot” topics being discussed in the forums right now) consist of:

Performance
- Increasing frame rates and overall optimizations
Technical
- Various bugs that players report, can’t say anything specific
Gameplay Balances
- these will never be truly “fixed”, since everyone has their own preference for the balancing. That being said, we can attempt to reach a general agreement that majority of the players will feel comfortable with
- AA and Air Vehicle gameplay (Note: If this should not be tweaked, then the players should be informed about the mechanics of air gameplay, with AA needing to be taken out by ground forces, encouraging more communication among players)
- Have more team play encouraged, and discourage playing solo
- Faction tweaks (a topic discussed with every patch, this is highly subjective)
Other
- The ability to try out a weapon before purchasing
- A tutorial/tip system that explains basic and advanced gameplay mechanics, such as base capturing, vehicle timers, resource acquisition, certifications, weapon fire modes, etc.

I’d like to acknowledge three points, with the first issue regarding balance and the fact that this will take a considerable amount of time to get “just right”. Proper balancing will come with time, and cannot simply be done overnight. This will take years to accomplish, as more and more features are added, more features/mechanics will need to be refined. In the past month numerous balances have been made to the game, most of which were done well. If the game can be balanced this much in a month, imagine how well it can be balanced in 3 or 4 months.

I’d also like to acknowledge that this is a product that will eventually become available to all; a product that is expected to generate revenue. If a product suffers a poor launch, how much revenue do you expect it to generate in the initial months? Why would a consumer want to spend money on a product (and therefore commit to it) when it’s released in such a poor state? What guarantee is there that the product is going to improve over time? Think of it this way, on the day of the release date, the product becomes available, as is. There are no further updates, no patches, nothing that will alter the product in any way post launch. The product is the same 2 years later as it was on the day it was released. Now, consider how many paying customers you would have, customers that know exactly what they’re getting, and knowing that it will never change. You may automatically dismiss the above simply because there will updates, this is a given. However, the real point that I am making is in regards to the first impression of the product, which as cliché as it may sound, is the only impression that can never be changed. Consumers would have to live with that impression for the entire duration of the product’s life cycle. If they think the product is great, then they’ll be happy consumers throughout its cycle. If they think the product is not so great, then they’ll always be somewhat hesitant towards the product, even if drastic improvements are made over time. As a side note (though still pertaining to the release of the product), this game is being released F2P in a month full of AAA titles, including Halo 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, and Epic Mickey 2 (just kidding). Given the amount of competition the product will have against these insanely popular franchises, would it not be more logical to release the product when there is more of a games drought, such as January, February, or March? Not only will you be able to lure in consumers looking for something new, you’ll also be able to generate a ton of hype in a period where no other game is being released.

The last acknowledgment I’d like to make is to the developers, and my God have you guys done a good job. Given what you just read (you did read it, right?), you’d think that I was criticizing the developers the entire time. I applaud the developers for everything they’ve done, and congratulate them making such a great product and sticking with it. Not only that, but to be developers that ACTUALLY listen to what the community says is quite a rare sight nowadays. The reason for this post is not to criticize the developers and say that they’ve done a terrible job with the game (despite some of the wording I may have used), but to encourage them to continue developing it at a steady yet comfortable pace, instead of rushing it to the market. The community is here with you, and we want to see this through to the finish (properly, not rushed).

If you agree with the above in any way, then please sign this petition https://www.change.org/petitions/soe...of-the-product , and if possible, show PS2 players on other sites about the petition. Thank you very much for your time and commitment; enjoy your complementary internet waffle!

------Notes------

- I already foolishly posted a thread on the official PS2 forums, and had it promptly taken down due to forum violations (no petitions allowed)
- I have been in the closed beta since the beginning of September
- I never played the Alpha build of PS2, or PlanetSide 1, so I am unable to make comparisons between then and now
- For those of you who were wondering, the quote was placed at the top of the post to act as a source of inspiration to the community. While yes, Gandhi's quote has a deeper meaning and stuff, at the most basic level it's a way of saying that if we want something, we need to stop waiting around for someone else to do it for us. We need to take initiative for what we want in the future, and in the context of this post, we're taking an initiative by creating an online petition that is being signed by the community.