I want to hear from non PS1 players what do you think of PS2

[Qwan]

Im a PS1 Vet, I come on to PSU and see alot of vets complaining about whats wrong with PS2 and how it needs this and that. In this thread Id like to hear from some of the new generation guys who never played PS1, what do you guys think of PS2 so far, lets hear some likes and dislikes.

P.S. Duke please give them a chance to speak before you start drilling into them like some old war vet. (You should get that checked out)

[Hamma]

Yes! I'd love to hear some new players thoughts.

Let's try and keep this thread to new players only - hopefully they read it before collecting their beta key and leaving.

[FireWater]

Well here is my background, and you guys tell me if I qualify or not.

I'm 30, I've been playing PC games competitively for 14 years now. I have a pretty significant competitive background, (CAL I CS, Top teams in NS1, top BF2 team, pro team for ET:QW 20id). I also technically have some Planetside 1 experience, as I did buy the original with all the game discs back during release. I was recently heavily involved in the Firefall beta, but dropped that game after the release. I had some intriguing posts that wound up gotten me a trip to Red 5 stuidos to see the game. However, about 6 months after that, they made some serious changes to the game that it is not engaging to me anymore. So now I moved on to PS2.

However, much as Hamma said in his critique video of PS2 release, the FPS mechanics were absolutely terrible in PS1, and the whole MMO thing was not enough to draw me in. So I didn't sub. I tried it again a few years ago (around 2009), and I still came to the same conclusion.

With that said,

I do believe that PS2 is going in the right direction in terms of game mechanics. It feels like a modern FPS should in my opinion. The weapons are pretty responsive, locational damage and a general feel that I am actually a player in a large war, not just a 32 man server.

I feel that as of right now the factions are pretty balanced. Really if I die in game, I usually feel that I got outplayed or outsmarted, and that I can learn something from the conflict. That to me is a lot of fun. SOE has done a great job of keeping me engaged, and making things fun for the most part.

I do have some criticism though.

I believe that the current spawn system rewards numbers over skill. I would like to see a system that would penalize players that spawn spawn spawn spawn and keep flooding a point basically winning outnumbering.

I think a system that would support that is that the longer a player is alive, the quicker they spawn in. Make like a cap, like 5 minutes or so. The quicker you die in that 5 minute window, the longer it would take for you to spawn in (spawning at warp gate would always be available), allowing for both defenders and attackers to experience more of an ebb and flow during battle.

I agree with Hamma that there isn't enough to engage a new player. That mission system would be perfect for that.

Honestly, I would love to see a little more background information on all the factions, right now it just seems like an excuse to blast each other. Which is all fine and good, but I would like to see like a cinematic explaining a little more in depth the rivalry between the factions, perhaps some key leaders that lead the original conflict.

Since this title is a F2P MMO/FPS, I actually would like to see more of the MMO part, meaning having some more social areas. ESPECIALLY since SOE wants to sell skins, AND since there is no 3rd person view (i.e. I can't see my own skin).

Social would work out for new players. I think it would be beneifical to allow high ranking players squad up with newer players to complete some missions in game. Reward the high ranking mentors with extra Certs or resources (or even skins), and the new players experience in the game learning how to do certain things and not feel so overwhelmed.

Social areas could act as recruitment areas, and/or trashtalking areas. My thought would be like simulating these forums, in game and in real time.

That I think is the main thing missing from PS2. Encouraging new players, who bring their friends who bring their friends etc... is never a bad thing. We want to make sure these players have fun experiences, so that they will stick around.

[Dragonskin]

This will be a long post. Sorry...

I'm new to Planetside. I've been in beta for a little over 2 weeks.I have probably logged a couple hundred hours.

Just a little background about myself... I'm 29 and I have been playing FPS games since Quake, Unreal, Rainbow Six days and actually ran a small Rainbow Six clan back in high school (1998-1999) haha. I have played the COD series, almost every Battlefield game created (except 2142), all of the Halo series and MAG on the PS3 for like 6 months straight. So FPS games are nothing new to me and I wanted to put that out there because around these parts people love to spout their PS1 credintials like it was the only FPS around and everyone else is stupid.

I'm also new to these forums and it's amazing the dedication that Hamma has to the Planetside universe and these game. Levelcap renewed my interest in Planetside 2 with all of his new guides he has posted and the SOE coverage so I was happy to get into the beta and try this beast out for myself.

So, like I said I have been playing for 2 weeks or so and LOVE this game. It's going to make me regret not playing PS1... like I regret not playing DAoC before Warhammer. This game has crazy potential and MAG/BF Series are my favorite FPS games of all time and PS2 takes it to a completely new level. So much so that I am trying to get my guild into PS2 for launch because we are a bunch of PvP nuts and have a long history in MMORPG games, so it would be nice to come over to FPS again. The guild is called Mixed Martial Arts and Crafts, not sure how many people will actually know the name outside of the MMORPG scene.

So impressions of the game itself. It's good. It needs work. I personally find the grenade bug both frustrating and hilarious at the same time and it worries me that something that should be so simple is still in the game after the last patch and with 3 weeks to go till launch. I'm worried that the game will release too early and kill potential first impressions. I've been through some extremely rocky starts.. played vanguard: Saga of heroes from beta to 1 year after release... so I know all about paying to beta a game that was release way.. way too early. I also have Warhammer and SWTOR as games that clearly could have used more time before they were released... I fear SOE is pulling another Vanguard here. Vanguard was in a worse state, but when you think about it... PS2 doesn't really seem to have a clear direction yet. They keep making sweeping changes... like allowing sunderers to be spawned everywhere.. yea they are implementing AMS restrictions, but we already had tons of sunderers running around.. now we have even more.

From a team play perspective I think lightnings are designed against the team play design. 1 tank that can be completely controlled by 1 person and with such a low cost that people can spawn them over and over unless they keep getting themselves into bad situations.. it seems like all vehicles are too cheap resource wise at the moment. I know the game is supposed to focus on all kinds of battles, but it seems too easy to pop out tons of tanks.

I must have come in after the AA change, but the severe lack of air vehicles and the ease of which to kill air vehicles seems wrong. Only 96 certs for a nemisis AA rocket launcher... but 480 certs for the lasher? That makes zero sense to me. I know values can change, but with 3 weeks till launch I would hope to start seeing launch values rolling out.

I would love to see Amerish and I hope we can soon. Indar seems like they rushed a lot of it out. There needs to be more areas like the Crown. Esamir is cool and seems to be better designed, but the whole area is snow covered and kinda makes it bland after awhile. I find myself going back to Indar just because I like the scenery better.

Also having come from other siege type games... Warhammer, Aion and Guild Wars 2... the bases all seem very bleh to me. The Biolabs are fairly cool, but the outposts seem way too easy to take and there doesn't seem to be a real reason to take anything other than capping exp. I know you get resources.. but at the current state you seem to get too many too fast even if you don't have a lot of bases. I generally dislike base trading and this game seems to promote it. 500 exp for capping a zone when it's way easier to let some one have it and come back to recap it then it is to defend it... seems wrong.

So basically I see 2 things going on. You have the people that want to base trade running the outside of Indar just farming the easy exp that is fairly low risk. Then you have the people that just want to endlessly kill other people that are all hitting the Crown 24/7. Personally to me the endless Crown battle seems more like how this game should be... more bases need to constantly contested and have some reason to be contested. I came here to kill people and while you can get some decent fights occasionally be going to the other bases... nothing promotes the constant war like the Crown does.

So in the end I think this game as it stands right now needs to worked on a lot more before release. I think the Devs are scrambling trying to get some ends to meet, but it's not going to be enough to make the game have the polish and structure that they need to have at launch. They need a couple more months to iron out exactly how things should work, how they will direct the flow of combat, how they will make bases worth defending and maybe increasing option to allow them to be defended... like the engie turrets they were talking about that might be able to drop down on vacant turrent spots... it just needs a lot of polish. That's without addressing the simple bugs like grenades blowing up at your location instead of the location they appear to travel to... or bugs like the laser sight not emitting a laser (which gameplay wise is low impacting, but appearance wise it's huge) I bought the laser sight and was dissappointed that I couldn't see a laser... in BF3 you can see the laser hitting the target across the map.. i was hoping for something more.

Game needs to bake longer before the masses consume it. Right now all SOE is going to do is give people food poisoning and deture them from what the game could be in a few more months. F2P or not.. .it's a hard thing to over come bad first impressions. Look at Brink (yes, sadly I bought that game)....

[PoisonTaco]

Only played PS1 like two weeks before the PS2 beta started. I'll take a jab at this.

Planetside 2 has some issues, I'm sure we're all aware. Even with its flaws I'm having more fun in Planetside 2 than I've had in any other shooter since Battlefield 2142. It's a fun game to play where the shooting mechanics feel solid, the weapons have hit that nice sweet spot and the very nature of Planetside 2 ensure that something different will happen every time. Yeah I've fought over Allatum 50 times or more now, but each time is different. There's enemies coming from a different angle, sometimes it's a two way, sometimes it's a three way. Sometimes you see groups of people pull air, or park a Sundy, or fly a Galaxy overhead. Given how open the game is and how many options you have it makes for different scenarios every time you play.

I really like how distinct each of the three factions are. In my brief time in Planetside 1, they had different tanks, though somehow on TR I could pull a Magrider from tech plants, and I didn't see much difference other than color. In PS2 each faction has their own distinct silhouettes and even sounds. When a Reaver flies overhead, I know it's a Reaver. I don't need to look up and see that, I can hear it. When I'm hearing gunfire I can tell the difference between TR, NC and VS. I like how they stand our visually. I think all three factions look cool, even the Vanu with their purple.

Another little thing I really like is that when your weapon is running out of ammo in a clip, your gun sounds different. Like if you're TR or NC and your gun has 4/30 bullets, the next four shots sound different. It's a more hollow sound. I think it's neat and I can tell if I'm running out of ammo without having to glance at my HUD. Speaking of HUD I really like the centralized mode. I don't like the default layout because all the info I need, such as my health, ammo and energy are all off in the corner. The centralized mode lets me focus my attention on the action and it's easy to see when I can pop my shield, what my health is at and so on. I like the big glowing waypoints that squad leaders can put down. Very easy to spot.

What I don't like is the constant back and forth balance between air and AA. Either air is too powerful and they dominate everything, or AA is too good. SOE should make it so that the higher up you are, the less effective AA is. For example a Galaxy or Liberator at 1000m should be safe from AA on the ground. The tradoff would be that if a Liberator is making a bombing run, if they're at 1000m it's harder for them to hit anything on the ground. They could get lower but that makes them vulnerable to burster and skyguard fire. This would make fighters much more essential for clearing the skies.

All in all, Planetside 2 is really fun to play. It's got some problems, but nothing that can't be fixed. I'm not too worried about release because it's just going to be three continents with the store turned on. The game is going to continue to grow and expand. PS2 does a lot of little things right, from the gunplay, the visuals and the sounds. Great game and will be even better to build a community in.

[Bee]

I've played pretty extensively with what little free time I have.

And the game frustrates me to no end. I don't even know why I still play it sometimes.

Well, I do know. It's because the game delivers tiny glimpses of fun. Stand-offs at the Crown, running base to base coordinating with friends of mine, getting the drop on someone with a Reaver.

But the other 90% is spent entirely chasing those good moments. I play the game almost exclusively for the infantry combat. I've never been a ground vehicles guy, I find them to be slow tin-can death traps. And the Infantry combat is clunky and awkward. It has all the mechanics of a modern FPS, but the player movement and animations are not fluid whatsoever. This leads to firefights feeling chaotic and stressful.

Infiltrators, for whatever crazy reason have shotguns. The one class that is supposed to avoid confrontation instead gets to de-cloak and One hit kill a group of unsuspecting people. Mainly me. Over and over again. I had to turn up all my settings at the expense of frame rate just to hopefully spot one. It hasn't worked yet.

And then there's the entire issue of progression. I'm sacrificing myself to repair vehicles, heal teammates and drop ammo for everyone. I watch my XP grow and my Cert points gain. And then I realize...what am I doing this for?

Cert points allow me to upgrade my guns. But for what reason? The infantry combat is so underwhelming and frustrating. I could throw it in to the Reaver, but Anti-air is everywhere. So in the end I feel like I'm just throwing cert points around and seeing zero improvement in my game, despite minor improvements in my guns accuracy.


I see so much potential in this game, which is why I keep coming back. But all I've experienced so far is tank columns, zerg rushing and being zerg rushed. And although those things are epic in scale, there is little reward to being a part of them. Bases come and go quickly, large firefights are often tilted toward one side and death is everywhere.

I will continue to play, to try and find a niche I can enjoy. After all, the game is free and there is fun to be had. But lately I've logged off very quickly after meandering around a map constantly re-deploying just to try and find one fun battle to be a part of.

[Rahabib]

I am new to PS - never played PS1.

I am competitive FPS player, coming from CS, DODS, ETQW, COD4, UT, etc.

First off, the weapons feel pretty good to me. There are minor issues I see here and there but overall I like the feel of the infantry.

Since I come from infantry style games, I am not a huge fan of vehicles in the game - Its the major reason i could never get into games like battlefield etc. The reason is that it inbalances the game - it takes multiple people to take out one person in a vehicle, tank spam is pretty bad in this game - it will take 2-3 people to take out one tank and thats IF they have the right class to counter them. Its tactically possible for infantry to counter tanks, but its not a 1:1 thing. I understand that in the big picture it should be that way, but with resources so cheap to buy tanks etc. Its not deterrant to kill a tank because they are going to come right back with another tank. Same with flyers, although the flyers arent as big a threat to infantry.

Unlocking feels about right - but I know thats probably all going to change. I like that there are a lot of things to unlock, but you can do well just with the starting stuff. Thats a big compliment from me because I generally hate unlocking in games!

The scope of the game is both a plus and negative. Its a plus because there is a lot to do in the game. Its a negative because its far too common to roll up on a base thats a ghost town - free caps. its bonus because its feels epic in scope. Its a negative because there really is no way to "win" because once you log off, everything you have done will be "erased" - so unless you spend all day logged in, you wont really be able to experience a full lockdown unless its a mad zerg. Also, there is no real balance - the team who has the most logged in generally do all the pushing. XP bonuses aside, its kinda boring being on the defensive most of the time. Also, at least at this stage - the game isn't really geared toward full competitive teams because there are not virtual/locked areas to pit one team against another - its a minor thing but one that would be nice to see in the future - matches. Also flipping a base seems to take too long. I know they want you stay and defend but rarely do the enemy come back, once you cleared a base of all enemies, the timer should go faster.

Apart from those issues, the game feels like its good. For the most part I feel the factions are equal. I probably will stick with this game for a while to come - but mainly because there isnt really anything else coming out that I like :P

[ringring]

Good responses guys, love it.
@poisontaco .. if as TR you could pull a magrider in PS1 it was probably a all-access vehicles weekend or event, it wasn't the norm.

You all (non ps1 players). When you hear the vets talking about 'the meta game' what do you think?

[FireWater]

I think that PS1 is not PS2 and the other way around. PS2's meta game would be better off if resources actually mattered, and spawns aren't so spammy.

Make the players think about how best to behave with their limited resources.

[Dragonskin]

Originally Posted by FireWater

I think that PS1 is not PS2 and the other way around. PS2's meta game would be better off if resources actually mattered, and spawns aren't so spammy.

Make the players think about how best to behave with their limited resources.

Right, that is part of what I said too. Resources are useless at the moment. You get too much too fast unless you play completely idiotic you can afford anything you want vehicle wise whenever you want it. It's annoying to me that I can pop out a lightning or magrider all the time, but it takes me forever to get a new gun. I feel like there should be some kind of grind to afford the vehicles.. I know that people like to drive vehicles and some people that is all they want to do, but let them cert into that game play style.. don't offer it out the gate. If someone wants to be a galaxy pilot all the time.. let them choose to become that by giving them reasons to spend certs and resources on that.. maybe allow galaxies to be cheaper the more certs you spend into reducing their cost and respawn time. Something needs to regulate the vehicles in my opinion. I like the idea that you have people that are just bad ass tank drivers or galaxy pilots that everyone knows.. not just everyone and their mother's dog can be one with almost equal effectiveness any time they want.

Something needs to change to the bases to make them worth defending too. It can't seriously be intential for the trading to be going on, but there is no reason to defend something. You know the enemy will take it back from you and in 10-15 minutes you will be able to take it right back because they will be off killing some other base you just left or the enemy just left. The crown is so special at the moment because it's defendable. You can have lasting battles there they FEEL meaningful. I keep gravitating to the Crown myself because it's the only place that feels like there is something worth taking and holding.

So really to change both of those 2 things you need to make vehicles cost more.. which means people might actually defend bases more so that they can ensure their faction can pop more vehicles.

It's part of the reason that Guild Wars 2 actually works so well.. there are clear cut supply lines to all the bases. If you are cut off from those supply lines then you will lose territory. Things in Guild Wars 2 cost a decent amount to build which they use supply (unique WvW only currency) to build and can only be obtained from supply depots or bases that have been fed supply from those depots.

SOE can take a look at Guild Wars 2 to see how they can shift gameplay. It doesn't need to be exactly like Guild Wars, but it can point them in a direction of directing combat flow and helping to regulate seige weapons vs cost which is basically what all the vehicles are.

[Rolfski]

Background:
I never made it past PS1 trial when it came out so not really a veteran. At the time I found it too boring, too much down time.

General gaming experience:
All genres since the mid nineties on a casual level, never joined a squad. In this genre I have played many titles in between the COD and Eve Online sides of the spectrum.

PS 2 engagement:
Joined beta in sept, played average 10 hours a week in multiple factions on multiple servers, most of the time in an outfit. Fairly active at the forums, subscribed to a few YouTube channels.

Beta impressions so far

Positive:
- Epic scale: This game has more Battlefield moments then any Battlefield title
- Enormous potential: Tons of ways to make this game even more epic over time
- F2P, not P2W
- Excellent responsiveness of the devs, quite unique I must say
- Core mechanics are already good
- Excellent team play, for the first time in my life I actively joined a squad/outfit

Negative/needs work (besides the obvious bugs/balancing/optimization stuff):
- Lacks guidance/direction, easy to get bored if you don't know what you are supposed to be doing.
- Not fun if you have an hour to spare and want to do some casual lone wolfing.
- Persistent map changing all the time: lacks feeling of accomplishment.
- Needs much more immersion (sound, fx, weapon/vehicle handling, animations, etc.)
- Lack of metagame/strategic level play

Overall:
Current game is already good. Needs a lot of work to make it great though. Going head-to-head with the upcoming tripple A titles (why the heck would you that with a F2P game?), I'm a bit worried if they will make it in time to the level of polish that is needed to keep new players interested in these busy months.

[psijaka]

Never played PS1, absolutely love PS2.

I'll post why later; off to work.

[Dagron]

Never played PS1, the first time i heard of it was when someone said they knew of an FPS with hundreds of players in the same map, but it was dead... so i didn't bother looking for it.

Anyway, my opinion of PS2:

Originally Posted by Rolfski

(...)
Beta impressions so far

Positive:
- Epic scale: This game has more Battlefield moments then any Battlefield title
- Enormous potential: Tons of ways to make this game even more epic over time
(...)
- Core mechanics are already good
- Excellent team play, for the first time in my life I actively joined a squad/outfit

Negative/needs work (besides the obvious bugs/balancing/optimization stuff):
- Lacks guidance/direction, easy to get bored if you don't know what you are supposed to be doing.
(...)
- Persistent map changing all the time: lacks feeling of accomplishment.
- Needs much more immersion (sound, fx, weapon/vehicle handling, animations, etc.)
- Lack of metagame/strategic level play

Overall:
(...)
Needs a lot of work to make it great (...) I'm a bit worried if they will make it in time to the level of polish that is needed to keep new players interested in these busy months.

I make your words mine.

I love the potential, but until there is any meta game implemented we can't really say much. Without it the game is just another FPS with a big map and a big population. It's ok, even a lot of fun sometimes, but most of the time we lack direction and any feel of accomplishment.

To me lone wolfing isn't as bad as some people say they feel it is, but i usually lone wolf to try and help my side win, not just to get kills. I try to sneak cap objectives or to lure enemies away from them so that others can move in more easily, that kind of stuff. That said, having a purpose is my fun, and i get bored in a group as often as while alone because we're playing to capture territories just because we want territories, and they switch hands so easily and often that it's hard to care about holding them. There is no big picture yet.

edit: It may have sounded like i don't like PS2, but all i'm saying is that we still haven't seen what the game is about, just it's basic mechanics. That's the reason why the announced launch date bothered me so much, we don't even have a clue if the meta game will work at all and even if it somewhat works, i'm betting that's one of the things that takes the longest to reveal most of it's aspects.

[Rahabib]

Maybe its just me, but the metagame could easily be fixed, but it seems that Sony is just dragging their feet about it.

Again - no experience in PS1 or have any idea how it worked.

• Influence needs to go much faster when all enemies have cleared out.
• Certs for flipping a base should be based on time spent before the flip. Show up at the last second - 500xp. Do all the hard work clearing out everyone etc. - 500xp. I have seen people flying sythes just waiting for flips between zones.
• Hex system is ok for me. I have no idea how the lattice system works, but generally I see battles between 3 or 4 areas at a time and very rarely are they undefended, but maybe thats just me. It would be nice to have an alarm notification for zones that the user can turn off in the GUI so you are aware of it. So again, I think the hex system works.
• Vehicle spam is a problem for me. I would love to see tanks cost more and sunderers cost more. I would also like to see a system where vehicles etc. cost more the further you are from the warpgate, and have tech plants reduce the penalty (not remove it). I think that would go a long way to seeing more infantry and people saving up for galaxies etc.
• I think that spawn timers for sunderers and galaxies should also be increased so that base spawners are more used, giving the defenders a better chance to defend and battles taking longer.
• I have not seen a lock down, but it would be nice that once all major bases are held by one faction on a continent, a timer starts and once that timer expires the continent is reset and the faction that locked it down gets 1000xp. This goes for all who have characters in the server not just those logged in. Or maybe just those who logged in in the last 24 hours. That way you dont have to camp in warpgate.
• I think that if a faction has more than 25% more people on a continent, that either they should not be able to allow any more people to log in (a bit harsh but would solve the issue), or everthing costs more or spawn timers are increased. Giving XP bonuses to the other factions isnt a working solution.

These are all easily implemented solutions and adds something to the metagame (reaching for lockdowns).

Bonus - I would like to see a selection of small maps for outfit vrs outfit matches, practices, etc. as well. I guess this would be like a virtural reality where its controlled and does not affect the persistent continents. If Sony really wanted to make a bit of money, they could monitize outfits. So LEADERS must be subscribing members, you get a free outfit chat channel (so you dont need TS, Vent, etc.) an in game accessible web page to post news and events, and you can launch virtual reality simulations for practices or for matches. If you dont pay, you can squad up the way you do now but no simulations etc. I would just love to have a simulated environment.

[Skepsiis]

I hope some of the ps2 devs read this feedback. I think it is great. And coming from what i assume will be the demographic that will form the large majority of their player base (as a pose to the minority of ps1 vets).

I played ps1 for years so my opinion on the game doesnt count here but i find it very interesting that some of your problems with the current ps2 and proposed solutions are almost exactly the same as how those issues were handled in planetside 1 and it baffles me why these have not been carried over into the sequel.

Things like a spawn time penalty if you die a lot in a short amount of time or variable xp rewarded for base captures based on contribution.