Planetside 2: FPS vs RTS

[Graywolves]

Planetside is more about your empire's accomplishment and finally taking that base.


K/D ratio is less important than the collective's success in conquering Auraxis.

[Warborn]

VioletZero made a mistake by using the terms RTS and FPS in his opening post. Do not dwell on these ideas, as they have nothing to do with the original question and are a pointless tangent as Planetside self-identifies as MMOFPS, not MMORPGFPSRTSBBCCNNBBW or whatever.

Originally Posted by Graywolves

Planetside is more about your empire's accomplishment and finally taking that base.

It can be, but it can also be about just logging on to shoot people. Both styles of playing are equally valid and Planetside 2 will benefit quite a lot from having players who are unconcerned with the bigger picture and simply want to get stuck in.

[Shanesan]

This whole discussion is lacking in proper semantics.

Lets take the "FPS" genre and show what they try to do to make it look like "RTS".
In Battlefield Bad Company 2, they added background art - jets flying over, missile trails in the background, whatever. It made it look like you were a larger part of the battle. In reality, you're in an instanced world where those missiles will never hit their fake targets and those jets were going nowhere.

In Planetside, those jets flying over were your saving grace or your death bringer because they were operated by REAL people in a real situation. Sometimes, they were not random happenstances, but orders to a real person, a pilot, from another real person, a commander to help you out because your team, all real people, were pinned down, under fire from artillery - a real person, and that commander needed your squad in that tower 100 feet away, occupied by real people, because a Galaxy, piloted by a real person, was dropping units onto that tower's roof at that very moment - more real people. There are no NPCs to dispatch. There are no passive mobs. There are hardly any pre-built gunning positions. Air, ground and sea, the hostilities are everywhere, all with real people. Add coordination and group play, and this is already far beyond what you could call a FPS - there's too many variables and it needs organization.

This is where the RTS system becomes important. If you do not have basic ways to talk to other squads as a ranked commander, all you have is chaos and stupidity. People don't HAVE to take a commanders orders because there are so many other people who want to follow orders, and as most of us PS veterans know, actual orders usually = higher chance of success. If you don't have a proper RTS system in Planetside 2, all you have is a huge deathmatch with no real purpose, or you have people who don't know what they're doing and they will leave because there are no objectives or missions.

Commanders -- real people -- CREATE the objectives. They CREATE the missions. There's no better thing than dynamic "quests" created by people receiving information in the now, and where time is of the essence.

Without both pieces of the puzzle, Planetside 2 is simply a shitty shooter.

[WaryWizard]

Yes violet had used the wrong words. Editing or just delete and remaking this would help. I think it should be something more about what should the devs focus more on.

Lone-wolf style- should they make solo play style more interesting and easier to fight without team work than it currently is?

Wolf pack style- Should thy expand even more on what outfits, squads, platoons, etc are capable of doing organizing and commanding wise?


something like this instead of FPS or RTS would help convey the true meaning of the question.

[Graywolves]

Originally Posted by WaryWizard

Yes violet had used the wrong words. Editing or just delete and remaking this would help. I think it be something more about what should the devs focus more on.

Lone-wolf style- should they make solo play style more interesting and easier to fight without team work than it currently is?

Wolf pack style- Should thy expand even more on what outfits, squads, platoons, etc are capable of doing organizing and commanding wise?


something like this instead of FPS or RTS would help convey the true meaning of the question.

I am a Wolf Pack

[Espion]

Originally Posted by Graywolves

Planetside is more about your empire's accomplishment and finally taking that base.


K/D ratio is less important than the collective's success in conquering Auraxis.

Some outfits took/held bases with high K/Ds

[Shanesan]

Originally Posted by Espion

Some outfits took/held bases with high K/Ds

That's true, but most outfits took/held bases with good teamwork and a plan, which lead to those high K/Ds.

[Warborn]

The bottom line is that the game should support both teamwork/strategy-focused gameplay as well as people who want to just log on and get right into the action. Neither form of gameplay should come at the expense of the other, which is the impression this thread gives.

[VioletZero]

Originally Posted by Warborn

The bottom line is that the game should support both teamwork/strategy-focused gameplay as well as people who want to just log on and get right into the action. Neither form of gameplay should come at the expense of the other, which is the impression this thread gives.

That's a nice ideal although there are going to be decisions that come at the expense of one another.

Like the Nighttime thread I made was specifically because of the potential for depth of tact.

But you argued against it because you don't think it would be very fun to fight enemies that you can't see.

That kind of decision falls into the bounds of what this thread is talking about. Along with the Killcam discussion, the Artillery debate and the Ironsights debate.

[Warborn]

Yes, there are decisions where it's either/or, but adding strategy and depth to a game does not require it to be at the expense of accessibility and just overall fun for players. These are not mutually exclusive principles, and I'd assert that Planetside 1 is itself evidence of that.

A lot of the ideas that exist on these forums are examples of people wanting forms of gameplay which are not in the service of an enjoyable gameplay experience. These are ideas that have no spirit of compromise to them. You have to understand that most people who will play Planetside 2 are not going to be in it for some deep strategic experience. They will be just regular gamers looking for some cool game to shoot guys in, and Planetside 2 will try to be "it". These players do not appreciate your lofty ambitions of making Planetside 2 an ultra-realistic futuristic shooter. They just want a fun game.

As such, putting forward ideas which are not about making the game just plain ol' more enjoyable to play for people need to have a seriously good reason as to why, because otherwise you're stepping on the toes of the majority of future players for no good reason.

[Checowsky]

Tactics are tactics, the thought of 'how do I win' is the same, what you do is dependent on what you have at your disposal. Just because RTSs have had tanks, troops and aircraft doesn't make it akin to PS. You have to work as individuals or work around others, thats an FPS type mindset. Both, however, are coming from the same place, winning. I'd say PS is slightly unique but still falls more close to an FPS.


Also try watching a great CS: S team then watch some noob play Starcraft, see which is more tactical.

[LONGFELLA KOJ]

Originally Posted by Graywolves

Planetside is more about your empire's accomplishment and finally taking that base.


K/D ratio is less important than the collective's success in conquering Auraxis.

This is a First person shooter. After that comes everything else.

[Warborn]

Originally Posted by LONGFELLA KOJ

This is a First person shooter. After that comes everything else.

Yeah, well, y'know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

[VioletZero]

Originally Posted by LONGFELLA KOJ

This is a First person shooter. After that comes everything else.

Is it a first person shooter in a persistent world?

Or is it a strategy game where players play the individual units from a first person perspective?

Truthfully: It's both.

[Crator]

Originally Posted by LONGFELLA KOJ

This is a First person shooter. After that comes everything else.

Oh, but it is so much more!