Preface:
First off allow me to say I am a PS1 vet; I played from launch until the launch of Core combat, after which I took a long break playing only every few months. While I enjoyed the game and it currently stands as my favorite game of all time, I am more than willing to admit it's faults and failures. I can see Planetside 2 becoming a great successor if it can learn from the past game's failures as well as it's successes.
Second, this piece is simply my opinion on how the game could improve. I do not claim to know better than anyone else and I am not interested in getting into a pissing contest with someone on “who's idea is better”. If you have input or critique on the idea, give it in a mature manner and I will be more than willing to debate or discuss it; if you can't act like an adult then I will ignore you completely.
Lastly, I do not do TLDR. If you can't take the time to read the post and understand what I am trying to convey then I really couldn't give a damn and I imagine most people with a fairly high IQ would feel much the same.
The Classes Issue:
The concept of classes in a team based game is a good one inherently, and I feel they are a good addition to PS2, making it focus more on teamplay and less on the Unisoldier. However, as it is now the class system needs much more work. Every soldier playing the same class feels too similar and therefor there is no real incentive to pick a favorite class and really work to make yourself great at that role.
Also as it stands now, the cert system is going to cause problems monetarily. Make stuff cheap enough to let a player feel like their playtime was getting them somewhere; and then there is no incentive to sell XP boosts. Make stuff expensive so XP boosts will draw money; and people feel like they are getting gimped for not paying. It seems like a catch 22 in this situation.
But there is a solution to both issues, making advancement take time but yet feel constantly rewarding and making soldiers feel unique and personalized without reducing the teamplay aspect of the game.
The Inventory System:
One of PS1's greatest ideas was it's inventory system; however it was also one of it's glaring failures. It was unintuitive and clunky, more like playing a bad Tetris mini-game and less of an actual boon to most players. Many of us vets learned it and even I admit it was fun to see how many things you could cram into your fanny-pouch-of-nasty-doom-devices; but to new players and to many shooter fans attempting to learn the game it was annoying and a waste of time.
What this boils down to is the loss of the inventory system, which is kind of a shame because PS2 could benefit from it greatly; however simply implementing the system as it was in PS1 would be a poor choice. Instead we need another solution.
But why inventories?
Inventories allow the player to customize themselves, which adds a lot to the gameplay and makes the player feel unique. In a game like PS2 this is important, it keeps players interested in playing because they can custom tailor their experience.
But then classes, how do?
Inventories actually fit well into the class system as currently implemented in game. In fact on the code level there is already an inventory system there. As a Light Assault you can pull X, Y, and Zed; as a Heavy Assault: B, C, D ect. This does not need to be changed, what we need however is to be able to customize what and how much we carry.
But can't we already?
Somewhat yes, but still what if I wanted to completely devote myself to placing AT Mines as an Engi? As it stands now I can not do that because I can only cert to carry X amount. For one, this seems silly and feels restrictive; and two, it feels like a cert sink just to be there. This does not make the player feel involved, instead it feels cheap and more like an attempt to add grind to the game leading the player to feel like the game is just looking for reasons to push them towards that XP booster.
The Solution:
First things first, the Certs:
Certs need to be re-evaluated, and more things need to be Certed into in order for them to be used. Thus causing players to choose what they want most and work towards it first; and making each class unique.
EX:
Engineer:
....Starting equipment:
......Rifle / Pistol / Repair tool.
Cert pools:
v ACE (10 certs to unlock, player chooses first item unlocked for free)
.
_> Mana turret (If not unlocked first, 20 points to unlock, 10 points per lvl.)
__> MT Nest (Builds cover around MT)
__> AT Nest (Cover and a missile launcher emplacement)
__> AA Nest (Cover and an AA turret)
.
_> AT Mines (If not unlocked first, 10 to unlock, 5 per lvl.)
__> ADV Mines (more powerful) (available for purchase after AT is full)
__> EMP Mines (turn off vehicle power)
.
_> Deployable Shield (If not unlocked first, 20 to unlock, 5 per lvl.)
__> Supply Depot (Allows soldiers to resupply weapons)
.
_> Armor
.
_> Shields
.
_> Ect.
With just what is listed above, the Engineer class now has more to work towards and can focus on the role they wish to play; and expand upon it to make themselves more into the soldier they want, and less of being the same as everyone else.
For instance, with the above listed certs say I want to be excellent at Defense. I would probably go for the Mana turret first, and then the MT nest asap. Another Engi who might be more concerned with tanks may focus on AT mines. Now we are both Defensive Engineers, but we are still different and have very different roles to fill.
Understand, this is just a rough idea; but I feel it gives more to work towards and it gives rewards in a timely manner and still gives a reason to buy XP boosters to obtain the long term goal faster without making the player feel like it takes forever to see results.
Next, Class Inventories:
Since we now have certs that matter, lets talk about the class system and the new class Inventories.
Here is a screenshot of the current class screen:
And this is a quick mockup concept of the new inventory screen:
So to note:
1. These are the ammo counts and ammo types in each gun. This number will adjust depending on the number of belt slots containing extra magazines.
2. Here we have the suit customizations. The top one is the Defensive slot, the second a Utility slot, and the third is the Ability slot.
3. The Belt. Here the user can carry items that fit inside the belts pouches. Each pouch can contain 1 item (some items like grenades and certain ACE deployables count as 1 even if you have multiple). Certs could be included to give more belt slots.
Using this system the player is still constrained inside the class they have chosen, but they are able to customize that class to suit their situation and the goals they have set. This promotes more interest in the player since they can make the class play the way they want.
In Conclusion:
The game is fun and enjoyable, but it is lacking several things in the classes and certs that give true depth to a character and allow a player to pride themselves on their individual playstyle. With a more deep inventory and cert system however, we could see a much better game evolve that will truly stand the test of time and draw in players for years to come.
Thanks for reading.
2012-09-25, 10:24 AM
Linear Mode
