Recent string of Emails to Smedley in regards to PS1 F2P Status

[Baneblade]

Originally Posted by basti

F2P was never an option.

Except, no.

F2P PS1 was the plan until they decided to just do PS2... probably for all the same reasons they are balking at making PS1 F2P after the fact.

[DOUBLEXBAUGH]

Originally Posted by MasterChief096

That may be true, but think about it. PlanetSide basically needs approximately 180 people online per empire at any one time to sustain a pop-lock (three-way) and a smaller secondary fight. That's 540 people that should be active throughout the day, so maybe like a total of 1500-2000 active players that play at different times of the week.

Night fights would probably be smaller, but that also has its advantages (provides pace change, etc).

That's not a lot, especially if the game were free-to-play. I think that easily 2000+ people would play PS1 if it were free.

you need 2 pop locks per faction minimum. If every faction has 1 lock and some change there will only always be 1 big 3-way which was PS at its worst, and it will not retain players. In order to play the global game and have a good changing world you need each faction to have multiple locks, better promoting 2-way fights.

I'm all for getting PS1 down to a $5 sub (or F2P, but sub would be beter), but you will need 5000+ people playing actively for it last beyond a month.

[Figment]

Originally Posted by basti

Yea, no.

Most people who are keen of PS1 do like PS2.

If that's true, explain why most PS1-to-PS2 outfits lost 90% of their PS1 members?

[QuiCKaNdDeaDLy]

I just want to say "thank you" to all the PS1 Vets who still stand up against all those ****** on This Forum. I have stopped arguing with them long time ago.

I wish "someone" would bring the Private Server up so this Drama can have a Happy End.

I guess "they" still waiting for SOEs next Move...

[MasterChief096]

Originally Posted by DOUBLEXBAUGH

you need 2 pop locks per faction minimum. If every faction has 1 lock and some change there will only always be 1 big 3-way which was PS at its worst, and it will not retain players. In order to play the global game and have a good changing world you need each faction to have multiple locks, better promoting 2-way fights.

I'm all for getting PS1 down to a $5 sub (or F2P, but sub would be beter), but you will need 5000+ people playing actively for it last beyond a month.

Even that is a comparably small number to other MMOs.

[sylphaen]

I still find myself visiting PSU once in a while too. There's something mesmerizing about feeling you've already debated this or that issue so many times that you feel circle has come round. Now I let the wheel turn. And I still enjoy when it rolls over some fingers with Figment around to point it out.

It's simple: PS1 is dead and its spirit has scattered in our memories where each one of us keeps a fragment of history.

What will you remember most from the game ? The people and time shared.

I think PS2 players are not the same people who played PS1 hence Hamma is correct when he said PS1 is dead. Most of its players/population/demographics/community or however you want to call people who shared an experience, an idea, a meaning, are gone and have been replaced.

Those who are still around and lived the past can tell the difference. To the new inhabitants of the land, may they enjoy their brave new world.

[Wahooo]

Originally Posted by DOUBLEXBAUGH

If every faction has 1 lock and some change there will only always be 1 big 3-way which was PS at its worst, and it will not retain players.

Like the way PS2 was designed to be?

[kubacheski]

Originally Posted by Baneblade

Except, no.

F2P PS1 was the plan until they decided to just do PS2... probably for all the same reasons they are balking at making PS1 F2P after the fact.

I never heard that the plan was for F2P. The plan was to give it a graphics overhaul and still run on the old engine. The problem became quickly obvious, as Basti stated, that there's a lot more work in bringing the old engine and client into full compatibility with 9 years of hardware advancement.

And add into it the ForgeLight engine coming up for Everquest Next at the same time, the decision to make PS2 was easy for the company. Someone asked "what's EQ got that PS1 doesn't?" How about a long history of being a major revenue generator. yea PS1 lived a long life, but I'd like to see a comparison of cashflow between the 2 titles. although PVE is probably a more obvious answer, it also is indicative of why PS2 is on ForgeLight first. There's no content other than map, vehics and weapons. Players run the content, there's no AI and it's a quicker to-market choice than EQNext. The bugs get worked out while charging twitchy teenagers until BF4 comes out, at which time most of the ForgeLight kinks are worked out and EQNext can have a decent launch and PS2 can go on autopilot while the majority of the pop moves to BF4. PS2 will have run its course and the initial launch and hype may have paid for, if not covered a significant portion, of it's cost. The real reason for PS2 is to test the ForgeLight engine for the real SOE moneymaker EQNext.

[OpolE]

It makes no sense to not support the only true Planetside that is Planetside 1. PS1 is alpha and PS2 is beta.

If the devs actually looked at what constitutes planetside and how Auraxis works with links and the whole uniqueness of the game. PS2 shouldn't even be named anything to do with Planetside.

PS2 is just a shooter, thats it. Nothing to do with Planetside in my opinion

[ShockFC]

PlanetSide 1 had it's moment. That moment has passed.

Move on.

[Baneblade]

What do you gain by being against any kind of resurrection of PS1?

[Figment]

They don't gain anything.


They've just given up on the game and don't like the idea that others haven't yet. Either because they're too nostalgic to admit they would like to play but can't anymore, or because they feel it's "not realistically" feasible and want to clubber it in.


Tbh, I find it rather sad that one would try to frustrate the hopes of others.

[bpostal]

Hopefully someday they'll open it (Planetside) back up. The more I play PS2 the more I despise it.

[Atheosim]

Hopefully they'll open it up and not fill it with trash.

[ShockFC]

Originally Posted by Figment

They don't gain anything.


They've just given up on the game and don't like the idea that others haven't yet. Either because they're too nostalgic to admit they would like to play but can't anymore, or because they feel it's "not realistically" feasible and want to clubber it in.


Tbh, I find it rather sad that one would try to frustrate the hopes of others.

No, I don't gain anything.

However, don't tell me how I'm supposed to feel about the game. The game was great when it had a fun, competitive, and fully supported community. It was great when I had people to play with - my outfit, friends on the server, etc... The game will never have that again, because that's what PS2 has now: a developing and fun competitive community.

What annoys me about this thread is how you are all looking through rose colored glasses at a game with GLARING issues through the entirety of it's time as a game. PS1 had severe problems, problems that were only made better because of the people you played with. PS1 was simply tolerable because of that. Otherwise, it was pure frustration and annoyance. It catered to the lowest common denominator (sup PS2) and it had awful netcode and latency issues.

Would I play if it was F2P? I'd probably hop on for a few minutes, realize how shitty the game is without people to play with, and log off.

Most of the community has moved on, you all have not. Stop pulling at strings and let it go.