Weather?

QuackzMcDuck · 2012-07-31, 07:50 PM

So I have just started following this game and I had a question that I could not find answered anywhere, so I thought perhaps someone here would know.

Is there weather in Planetside 2? By weather, I mean like rain and snow pretty much. Nothing too advanced like actual tornadoes or anything, I'm just curious if there is going to be weather that comes and goes....Similar to real life weather...

Sephirex · 2012-07-31, 07:52 PM

Not yet, but its on the post launch list.

Raymac · 2012-07-31, 07:53 PM

It sounds like it likely won't be in at launch. However, the Forgelight engine is more than capable of amazing weather effects. We already see morning fog burning off in the afternoon, dust and smoke, etc. etc. I have a feeling the devs will want to flex those Forgelight muscles eventually.

QuantumMechanic · 2012-07-31, 07:58 PM

Yeah the devs don't want to half-ass it and put in a light rain and drizzle system. They are going to take some extra time and make a full-fledged weather system that has a direct effect on the battlefield. It's been confirmed to be post-launch though.

darkfiretwofive · 2012-07-31, 08:14 PM

I heard Higby say in one interview that they are planning to make smoke from battles effect other parts of the map

Littleman · 2012-07-31, 08:32 PM

Basically, if other posters haven't given strong enough hints, weather in PS2 will mean something. It won't just be for atmosphere, but just like with night and day, can and will influence how one goes about fighting in any given conditions. Consider that cloudy days mean air craft will have clouds to hide in, while stormy weather might be actually dangerous for aircraft to fly in, and the ground makes traction difficult for ground based vehicles. Never mind that nights will be even darker, and thick rain will pretty much blind you.

I'm sure they'll add wipers onto our visors to wipe away all the rain

If not, at least vehicle windshields.

RSphil · 2012-07-31, 08:41 PM

not at launch but they are putting it in. and when they do it will be awesome rom what iv heard them say they want to do.

Zebasiz · 2012-07-31, 09:23 PM

Don't forget thick sandstorms in the desert areas! Now THAT'S gona be some serious vision impairment.

Pyreal · 2012-07-31, 09:33 PM

That'll be so sweet!

The weather just better last long enough to actually use, instead of waiting it out for 10 mins!

AzureWatcher · 2012-07-31, 09:47 PM

Originally Posted by Zebasiz

Don't forget thick sandstorms in the desert areas! Now THAT'S gona be some serious vision impairment.

Snowstorms on Esamir, and dense fog on Amerish.

Hooray for being blind!

Littleman · 2012-07-31, 09:51 PM

Originally Posted by Pyreal

That'll be so sweet!

The weather just better last long enough to actually use, instead of waiting it out for 10 mins!

I'm positive it will last a duration in tandem with the length of Auraxian days, like say a few Auraxian hours. Long enough for a good bit of fighting to take place anyway.

Taking advantage of all the different times and weather can be a determining factor in who reigns victorious and who must run with their tail tucked between their legs. Just imagine, a 10+ fully loaded galaxies flying above the cloud level during a storm, and what it will look like for the soldiers on the ground to see so many seemingly bright meteors raining down upon them from the darkly veiled heavens.

Gugabalog · 2012-07-31, 11:08 PM

^ This.

Minigun · 2012-07-31, 11:14 PM

Smoke from battles affecting other area's is news to me, sounds interesting. Would be awesome to load into the game and not even have to open up the map. Just look to the horizon where all the fire and brimstone shines. *lets go fight over there*

Phisionary · 2012-08-01, 01:27 AM

'Tis true, Higby mentioned an idea about smoke from a battle affecting the cloud cover or weather, in an alpha vid. That particular idea seems, to me, too subtle to really be that interesting, and I suspect it was a pipedream rather than a confirmed plan. I haven't seen anything burning so much as to believably effect the weather, even 2000X over (yet, I suppose I must add). I dunno, seems a bit harebrained besides.

I do look forward to weather in many forms. Perhaps... if you'll indulge me, a scenario:

Fighting in the jungle rain-forests of Amerish, the chatter of gunfire ringing out all around, almost drowned out by the cacophonous roar of cloudburst rainfall pounding down on the huge leafy undergrowth surrounding you. A ricochet passes near, as you dive through the brush. Someone is after you, but with all the rain you can't see them or hear the direction of the shots.

"Someone get this guy! I can't find him!" you scream into your comm channel.

But everyone is busy with their own battles right now. No one can help you. Another rattle of gunfire, and you can tell it's aiming at you. How the hell can they see you in this shit?! You run again. Finally, a break in the heavy underbrush. A wide swath of clear earth, mud, and water, 30 meters across. You crouch at the edge of the thick growth, gathering your stamina. If you can draw your pursuer out into the open, you might have a chance...

Now, a quick sprint! through muddy puddles knee-deep, seemingly boiling with the furious spray of falling drops. You reach an outcropping, little more than a pile of sediment from some earlier flood. You take cover behind it, then bring your gun to the ready. Then, the rain starts to slacken, the watery chaos giving way to a shimmering, dripping, green panoply of flora, and suddenly you can see again. There he is! Faction colors bright in the clear air. Gun at the ready! Fire first! You send a volley into the bush, and you know you got some clean hits.

"Got you, you traitorous scum!" You grin to yourself, as the enemy dives for cover. Then, as the clouds clear a little more and the sun starts to shine through, you realize that just to the side, the entire enemy tank column is rolling strait at you. And as you lifelessly tumble forward, you marvel at the rainclouds parting to reveal a sunset, over a lush and verdant landscape, all reflected in the blood-tinged puddle your body is now floating in.

I think I got a tad carried away? Inspired by the idea of some slick weather I guess. That and maybe a bit of 'predator' and 'apocalypse now', mixed with bit of a Far Cry/Crysis game world.

I really love games where you can really get immersed in the environment. It doesn't require fancy graphics to do that, but it can help.

Ah! All while writing... that, I was trying to remember some game I played that had rain. I think I remembered, it was some old 'Rainbow 6' game from a while back. Missions in the rain-soaked back-alleys of some old European town. Equip silenced weapons and no-one could hear you. Good fun.

WVoneseven · 2012-08-01, 01:50 AM

Shall be be an interesting when outfits have dates and times planned only to log in to horrific weather!!!!!!!! Take an air battalion planning a raid on a specific back hex during a night period. Everyone logs in and the corner of the continent where the hex is located is covered in a dangerous lightning storm. Risk it knowing that air defence will be low? or find a new target?

Or a ground based spec ops hex grab mission to the same hex on the same day and time.... suddenly their day got a lot better!!! The rain and dimness makes their cloakers even harder to spot and their LA's harder to track. While their sundy in a nearby gully goes unseen because of the lack of air vehicles.