Joining the PS2 Team - Page 2

**Malorn** · 2012-10-08, 04:03 PM

Originally Posted by Tatwi

If I could ask you anything, I would ask you... What model of cell phone do you have and why? I have a blackberry 9900, because the work flow is fantastic, which makes sharing pictures of my kids with my family fast and easy and because I prefer the blackberry keyboards AND MOUSE to touch screens (having a mouse cursor on a small screen is genius!).

Thanks Tatwi!

The phone I am currently using is an HTC Trophy running WP7. A few years ago I used an iPhone 3G, then got frustrated with AT&T and got a Droid Incredible from Verizon. I liked android a lot more than the iPhone. I switched to WP7 because it was free for me from the company and I wanted to see how it compared to the competition. I consider the WP7 a good cross between iPhone and Android. It has the structure and vision of an iPhone but with more Android-like flexibility and better usability.

Still undecided what phone I will go with next. The HTC Windows Phone 8X is what I will likely get. Though I may want an Android so I could use the PS2 app. Apple hasn't innovated on the iphone much at all in the last few years and I find their user interface inefficient and obtrusive. Android allows you to customize that interface and the Windows interface is more fluid.

Tatwi · 2012-10-08, 08:52 PM

Originally Posted by Malorn

Thanks Tatwi!

The phone I am currently using is an HTC Trophy running WP7. A few years ago I used an iPhone 3G, then got frustrated with AT&T and got a Droid Incredible from Verizon. I liked android a lot more than the iPhone. I switched to WP7 because it was free for me from the company and I wanted to see how it compared to the competition. I consider the WP7 a good cross between iPhone and Android. It has the structure and vision of an iPhone but with more Android-like flexibility and better usability.

Still undecided what phone I will go with next. The HTC Windows Phone 8X is what I will likely get. Though I may want an Android so I could use the PS2 app. Apple hasn't innovated on the iphone much at all in the last few years and I find their user interface inefficient and obtrusive. Android allows you to customize that interface and the Windows interface is more fluid.

When I read that you work for MS, I was wondering if you were still using the free WP7 that they gave out to their employees (which is what prompted me to ask!

). Before I upgraded from my previous BB, I tried a WP7 Samsung for a bit. It was super fast and responsive, with a huge 4" screen. Browsing the web and looking at pictures was great, but I have to say that I absolutely loathed the UI (camera included), particularly how in many places it's a lot of words in odd locations with different font sizes. Compared to the Blackberry OS that I have used (ver 4, 5, 6, and 7), getting anything accomplished on a WP7 was a needless chore of sifting and swiping and backing up... BB work flow is so straightforward and effective (BB Key = Menu, Mouse = Select or I could touch the screen). I don't know why the media hammers RIM about the Blackberry being garbage, because it's a fantastic communications device and not too bad for media. The Bold 9900 is also built like a freakin tank, but the same cannot be said about the equally priced Torch.

Anyhow, "smart phones" are neat and its always interesting to hear the things people use them for, why they chose a particular device/OS, and their experiences with them!

EVILPIG · 2012-10-08, 04:10 PM

Congrats Malorn. Aside from you obviously being an intelligent person, it is good to know that you can bring a wealth of experience with PS1 and PS2 to the table.

Electrofreak · 2012-10-10, 07:35 PM

Malorn,

I've always been impressed with the quality of your posts, and I expressed my sentiment in the past.

I'm glad to hear you're joining the PS2 team! I used to be buddies with TSR-JoelS in PS1 and so I got to hear a lot about the work environment over there, and it sounded like fun. I've also had the privilege of meeting T-Ray and some other PS1 devs and they are definitely a talented bunch. I, along with the rest of the community, know that you will be a valuable addition to the team, and that's without any detailed knowledge of your software engineering skills.

My congratulations on this opportunity! I'm lucky in that my career is also my hobby, so I can understand how exciting this must be for you. In fact, if SOE is in need of an enterprise WAN data tech, you know who to call.

Bags · 2012-10-08, 04:47 PM

What happened to SOE not supporting "biggots" (not saying you personally are one)? I just find this an odd hire after SOE went out of their way to distance themselves from supporting the outfit in any way.

Grats regardless.

sylphaen · 2012-10-08, 05:30 PM

Originally Posted by Bags

What happened to SOE not supporting "biggots" (not saying you personally are one)? I just find this an odd hire after SOE went out of their way to distance themselves from supporting the outfit in any way.

Grats regardless.

Well... on one side, there is BuzzCutPsycho. On the other, there is Malorn. In a large group of people, you find all kinds if they fit within the minimal requirements of the group.

As far as I can tell, the Enclave requirements is listening to orders and discipline. I mean... They already play TR... Joining the Enclave is the next natural step, isn't it ?

In surprising ways, I have found myself agreeing with 2 of their members (FYI, BCP is not one of them) so yes, judge people for what they are, not just who they're with.

Malorn being with the Enclave has nothing to do with his hire. If I'm not mistaken, he wrote his manifesto when he was still a NC CR5 and his analyses always focused on the game itself, not factions or his outfit.

EVILPIG · 2012-10-08, 05:53 PM

Originally Posted by sylphaen

Well... on one side, there is BuzzCutPsycho. On the other, there is Malorn. In a large group of people, you find all kinds if they fit within the minimal requirements of the group.

As far as I can tell, the Enclave requirements is listening to orders and discipline. I mean... They already play TR... Joining the Enclave is the next natural step, isn't it ?

In surprising ways, I have found myself agreeing with 2 of their members (FYI, BCP is not one of them) so yes, judge people for what they are, not just who they're with.

Malorn being with the Enclave has nothing to do with his hire. If I'm not mistaken, he wrote his manifesto when he was still a NC CR5 and his analyses always focused on the game itself, not factions or his outfit.

To be fair, while I have heard Buzz make many, many racial and homophobic remarks, I have never seen Malorn do this in any way. Worst I have seen from him is harshly cussing out one of their SLs because they weren't getting their squad mobile fast enough. Racism and other bigotry is socially unacceptable.

Sco · 2012-10-08, 06:14 PM

Originally Posted by EVILPIG

To be fair, while I have heard Buzz make many, many racial and homophobic remarks, I have never seen Malorn do this in any way. Worst I have seen from him is harshly cussing out one of their SLs because they weren't getting their squad mobile fast enough. Racism and other bigotry is socially unacceptable.

This is why people shouldn't paint every member of the enclave with the same brush - they are all individuals with their own opinions, even if some of them are socially unacceptable. I am very pleased for you Malorn and wish you all the best.

My questions is on BR - What do you think about BR, what ideas do you have to make it more useful other than a stat and a minor implant requirement? For example, should it be an XP based stat for killing higher level opponents?

**Malorn** · 2012-10-08, 07:03 PM

Originally Posted by Sco

My questions is on BR - What do you think about BR, what ideas do you have to make it more useful other than a stat and a minor implant requirement? For example, should it be an XP based stat for killing higher level opponents?

I don't think I'll be involved much in BR as that's more of a character progression thing. You might want to ask Nak or Matt about that one for a better answer on where they want to go with it.

But to me BR is a way of gating things based on time played. Since BR accumulates over time as you gain score I think it can be translated into an average time played. That means it can be used as a tool to allow access to things to players who have played longer in the game.

Early on, like over a year ago, it was described that BR unlocked deeper levels of certification, so while you might have a lot of cert points to get the really deep stuff you need to have some minimal battle rank.

Mules are one reason you might want this. For example, suppose that the Galaxy squad spawn cert is something they didn't want new players to just sit around, soak up certs, and then use dummy characters to be gal pilots and squad spawns. They could use BR to gate the cert, so you not only had to pay the cert cost, but you also had to have a high BR. That would mean only dedicated players would be realistically getting it. So it is an effective way to stop muling of certain things. That might also mean that the cert doesn't have to be super expensive - it could be cheap but have a BR requirement. Some command-related certs might be another example of certs that they may want to restrict to characters who have spent some time in the game actively earning points as opposed to sitting offline accumulating cert points passively.

They could restrict outfit creation on at least a few BR to stop name squatting and other such things.They could also gate weapons and cosmetic customizations on BR. Not saying they will, but it's possible.

BR translates to game commitment, and there are some things that make sense to restrict to players who have existed for a while or put forth some minimal amount of effort. This is especially true in a free-to-play game. Not sure if that's where they're going with it but I see a purpose for it and the value in having it.

FortySe7en · 2012-10-08, 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by Bags

What happened to SOE not supporting "biggots" (not saying you personally are one)? I just find this an odd hire after SOE went out of their way to distance themselves from supporting the outfit in any way.

Grats regardless.

Yeah, SOE went out of their way to distance themselves... which is exactly why Higby can be found hanging out in buzz's stream from time to time..

Where do people come up with this shit!

SGT Apone · 2012-10-08, 05:08 PM

ehh nevermind

Captain1nsaneo · 2012-10-08, 05:43 PM

Congratulations on the hire Malorn. I haven't always agreed with your posts but your arguments are always better written and better grounded than most. I look forward to seeing what you add to the game as it will be interesting regardless.

So questions, what are your thoughts on the current game flow and how to incorporate multiple conts?
Personal solution is 4 conts at launch each with 3 gates that can be taken if all adjacency is lost. I don't know if that's reasonable though.

**Malorn** · 2012-10-08, 06:47 PM

Originally Posted by Captain1nsaneo

So questions, what are your thoughts on the current game flow and how to incorporate multiple conts?
Personal solution is 4 conts at launch each with 3 gates that can be taken if all adjacency is lost. I don't know if that's reasonable though.

Thanks Captain; don't stop wearing the helmet!

Speaking on opinion, have no idea how that might change after I arrive and not making any promises, but...

I am a huge fan of cross-continent warfare for a lot of reasons. It was by no means perfect in PS1, but it did do a great job of scaling with population and giving us something fresh and different, and giving a sense of achievement, or at the very least a glorious last stand. But PS1's system had downtime and boredom at the end of a conquest and at the beginning of a conquest. I would like to see the core concept of fighting your way across a network of continents remain, but streamline it more so the fighting is good through the end and from the very beginning.

What you describe with 4 continents & capturable warpgates is exactly what I have in mind when I think of a great way to make it seamless. There are a few posts I had made a while back about it here on PSU. Here's my first post in a thread on it, but there's a few more after it: http://www.planetside-universe.com/s...ate#post735089

Those were raw early thoughts, but my thinking hasn't changed much. I like the idea of fully dynamic world where empires can choose what they want to be a "home continent" and move around and experience continents from different directions. That keeps the game fresh and different and shows off the persistent world. Its also gives some goals for outfits and empires, but the biggest benefit in my mind is that it scales better with population changes and keeps the game fresh. As long as the battle flows and doesn't have these dead times at the beginning and end of the continent I think would be the best way to handle multiple continents.

I think the most important thing though is to ensure there's always a good battle raging. All the cross continent stuff is cool and does great things but it can't come at the price of killing fights or causing dead time.

Stardouser · 2012-10-08, 05:48 PM

What I would be curious to know, is what you learn as a dev privy to market knowledge that makes you say either:
A. "Well, I still want PS1(or BF2, or EQ1, etc) but today's gamers just won't buy it.
or
B. "Wow. Companies are shoving casualization down our throats even though people aren't actually demanding it."
or
C. Whatever you actually do find out if not the above.

Of course, I doubt you'd be permitted to release such info...

Dagron · 2012-10-08, 06:32 PM

Gratz Malorn! You know we'll bug you more than any of the others involved in the creation of PS2, right?