Dev AMA on Reddit notes

Roy Awesome · 2013-12-02, 09:05 PM

http://www.reddit.com/r/Planetside/c...d_by_category/

Mid December patch details

ZOE will get a balance pass in the December Patch (Movement and timer work)
Christmas Event in the works
NC will be getting a look at in the next balance update.
Don't expect LMG changes
Bolt Action range not locked down. With the Nanoweave nerf, it's actually looking like a buff for snipers in general
The roadmap will return before the end of the year.
Mouse Sensitivty issues on Test are getting worked on.

Next-year future plans

Updates are slower because there are numerous live issues to work through before they can add new features
Some kind of progression not tied to gear or player power in the works. It's hard but they are thinking about it
The final phase of the ESF update was pushed to next year
LA may be getting a dual-wield weapon ability in the future.
Cross Continent features are exciting
Players will log into the game in the deployment screen
Players will be able to change contienents from the deployment screen
Attacker drop pods will land outside of bases, defender drop-pods inside the base
Possible squad based in-vehicle spawning options coming.
GPU Particle effects will return when they fix them
Higby doesn't like lock-ons. Neither does the community. Cool.
Higby wants flamethrowers
The ANT will most likely be the Sunderer with an ANT module for the resource revamp.
Sorting players in squads, drawing on the map, RTS-style unit selection, banning from platoon, cycling squad list on hud are planned, but keep getting bumped for higher priority things.
Outfit recruitment with ingame advertisement, outfit base capture, and outfit decals are coming soonish.
Amerish revamp in 1-2 months
Hossin before next summer
Implants are still in the future plans.
A better way of tracking mastery with certain weapons is coming
Doubtful on BR restricted cosmetics. Perhaps if they add a new slot for it
New alert types in the works. Details on the roadmap when it gets updated
Amerish Lattice and Road revamp are done, with bases in progress now. On Test server soon maybe.
Planetside 2 on PS4 release date: "Sometime after now but before the end of the world. If I'm wrong then crap." - Arclegger
Mission System will be highest priority next year. It's pretty close to being done, they just need to add in UI stuff. It'll come out in phases.

Long term future plans

They are trying to create a stable and fun ground game before they get Epic like space or naval warfare
In a year from now, they are confident that they will grow the game beyond what we have now.

Level Design & Future Continent details

Malorn mapped out a layout for Cyssor, making it look like PS1 Cyssor. Wont be seen anytime soon
Searhus will have lava and a volcano and stuff
Searhus will have lava and a volcano and stuff
Xander is spending more effort to create fun field fights
They REALLY REALLY REALLY enjoy door-to-door grind fests (sarcasm, they hate them)
'New Amerish is going to be rad'
Vehicles spamming capture points is not intended. File a bug report if you see a place where it's possible and they will fix it.
Future direction involves lots of lattice rings, large outputs in defensible anchor points, and small outposts that support small groups
Nexus is pretty much done, needs intercontinental metagame
New building for bases: . Coming after the Amerish revamp
Malorn with the mega post on level design theory for PS2: http://www.reddit.com/r/Planetside/c...ything/cds1hxu
Arclegger wants to make more biolabs
Intercontinental Lattice and Continent locking are not mutually exclusive. You may see either feature at any time
# of terminals on Indar reduced because of performance. Feedback requested on whether the gain was worth the cost.

Misc stuff

Some sound tweaking, but nothing like the VS pass
Small chance for VGS. It's too complicated
Server population cap DID change after OMFGp1. They had server-side performance problems and had to lower the cap. The cap will be raised again when those issues are fixed
"When people get really mad about the game they're doing it from a sense of passion for the game because they like it and want it to succeed. Some of it may be harsh sometimes but you can't let it get to you otherwise you wont last on the internets."
Higby using devhacks is his favorite thing about the game
E-Sports isn't an 'Instead' thing, they've put 0 development hours into it
They are mostly trying to build the community around e-sports, not force it with game mechanics
Population is pretty good across servers.
They watch all the planetside 2 streams. They get good player feedback from it that they would have a hard time getting otherwise.
Higby is the best drunk boxer because he can out-drink everyone
Asymmetrical balance is a pain in the ass, but nobody on the team wants to see it go.
They have very intensive stat-tracking, such as what's getting the most kills on a harasser against infantry being wielded by players with over 75% accuracy and driven by pilots with over 200 hours in harassers"
Population issues are usually exacerbated by player perception, but they are working on things to fix it
Performance work took priority over everything, which is why we haven't seen any metagame stuff
Muldoonx9's favorite small feature is the Saved By notification
Arclegger helped make a chinese-only kung-fu hustle game.
UI in Scaleform saves them a ton of time (and money). Only things that make a ton of sense will be put into C++ code (like names over players)
Their fridge had gross old brocolli in it.

Canned stuff

No plans for soundtrack updates.
No plans for cross-faction cosmetics
No on Artillery or Bombers, they don't want to add more 'i couldn't do anything about that' deaths
Indar was once going to have a crashed alien ship. Creating Amerish and Esamir tooke the resources away from doing that
Rotor based VTOL flight felt archaic in the theme of PS2.
Most of the super sci-fi concepts were from before PS2 was full figured out as a game.

ChipMHazard · 2013-12-02, 09:13 PM

Thanks for making a list, Roy. A lot of answers to shift through otherwise.

Binkley · 2013-12-02, 09:17 PM

I really hope they do some harasser/vulcan balancing in the Dec. update.

OCNSethy · 2013-12-02, 10:17 PM

Whoa... thats a lot to digest.

Thanks Roy - appreciate it.

maradine · 2013-12-02, 10:22 PM

bpostal · 2013-12-02, 10:37 PM

I'm glad to hear the mission system will be a priority.

Ghoest9 · 2013-12-02, 11:53 PM

i want hacking more than any of the stuff they talked about.

HereticusXZ · 2013-12-03, 12:16 AM

Excited for alot of this stuff, especially the mission system! But what does "Bolt Action Rifles won't be Locked Down" mean? That there won't be a a 150m damage limit? or are they getting a prone position lock-down similar to the TR max ability? anyone know?

Also it bugs me the ANT Module will be in the Sundy and not a vehicle of it's own... the Sunderer's getting really friken boring with it being the "end all, do anything" vehicle...

What happened to those tease pics of a new vehicle or the idea of the Deliverer being the new ANT?

Roy Awesome · 2013-12-03, 12:18 AM

Originally Posted by HereticusXZ

Excited for alot of this stuff, especially the mission system! But what does "Bolt Action Rifles won't be Locked Down" mean? That there won't be a a 150m damage limit? or are they getting a prone position lock-down similar to the TR max ability? anyone know?

Here is the full post: http://www.reddit.com/r/Planetside/c...ything/cdrxx64

Originally Posted by Higby

We haven't locked down the distance we'll be cutting off OHKs with BASRs yet, we've been tuning around 150m, but that's not set in stone. Keep in mind with the nanoweave changes that this will mean that all headshots within that range would be OHK, whereas previously it would be much lower based on people's extensive equipping of nanoweave. These changes in concert will end up being a buff to most snipers in the range they generally play in (which is way, way lower than 150m for BASRs), and will make long range sniping less of a dice roll ("hope this guy isn't running nanoweave!") than it is now.

Ruffdog · 2013-12-03, 01:23 AM

Thanks Roy but....oh my god. The red!
At least they're talking....to reddit. Will be interesting to see Nexus, mind, and all this other stuff, but wow you'd hope popping out future conts from now will get quicker.

Originally Posted by Roy Awesome

http://www.reddit.com/r/Planetside/c...d_by_category/

Mid December patch details

ZOE will get a balance pass in the December Patch (Movement and timer work)
Christmas Event in the works
NC will be getting a look at in the next balance update.
Don't expect LMG changes
Bolt Action range not locked down. With the Nanoweave nerf, it's actually looking like a buff for snipers in general
The roadmap will return before the end of the year.
Mouse Sensitivty issues on Test are getting worked on.

Next-year future plans

Updates are slower because there are numerous live issues to work through before they can add new features
Some kind of progression not tied to gear or player power in the works. It's hard but they are thinking about it
The final phase of the ESF update was pushed to next year
LA may be getting a dual-wield weapon ability in the future.
Cross Continent features are exciting
Players will log into the game in the deployment screen
Players will be able to change contienents from the deployment screen
Attacker drop pods will land outside of bases, defender drop-pods inside the base
Possible squad based in-vehicle spawning options coming.
GPU Particle effects will return when they fix them
Higby doesn't like lock-ons. Neither does the community. Cool.
Higby wants flamethrowers
The ANT will most likely be the Sunderer with an ANT module for the resource revamp.
Sorting players in squads, drawing on the map, RTS-style unit selection, banning from platoon, cycling squad list on hud are planned, but keep getting bumped for higher priority things.
Outfit recruitment with ingame advertisement, outfit base capture, and outfit decals are coming soonish.

Amerish revamp in 1-2 months

Hossin before next summer
Implants are still in the future plans.
A better way of tracking mastery with certain weapons is coming
Doubtful on BR restricted cosmetics. Perhaps if they add a new slot for it
New alert types in the works. Details on the roadmap when it gets updated
Amerish Lattice and Road revamp are done, with bases in progress now. On Test server soon maybe.
Planetside 2 on PS4 release date: "Sometime after now but before the end of the world. If I'm wrong then crap." - Arclegger
Mission System will be highest priority next year. It's pretty close to being done, they just need to add in UI stuff. It'll come out in phases.

Long term future plans

They are trying to create a stable and fun ground game before they get Epic like space or naval warfare
In a year from now, they are confident that they will grow the game beyond what we have now.

Level Design & Future Continent details

Malorn mapped out a layout for Cyssor, making it look like PS1 Cyssor. Wont be seen anytime soon
Searhus will have lava and a volcano and stuff
Searhus will have lava and a volcano and stuff
Xander is spending more effort to create fun field fights
They REALLY REALLY REALLY enjoy door-to-door grind fests (sarcasm, they hate them)
'New Amerish is going to be rad'
Vehicles spamming capture points is not intended. File a bug report if you see a place where it's possible and they will fix it.
Future direction involves lots of lattice rings, large outputs in defensible anchor points, and small outposts that support small groups
Nexus is pretty much done, needs intercontinental metagame
New building for bases: https://twitter.com/XanderClauss/sta...22326155829248. Coming after the Amerish revamp
Malorn with the mega post on level design theory for PS2: http://www.reddit.com/r/Planetside/c...ything/cds1hxu
Arclegger wants to make more biolabs
Intercontinental Lattice and Continent locking are not mutually exclusive. You may see either feature at any time
# of terminals on Indar reduced because of performance. Feedback requested on whether the gain was worth the cost.

Misc stuff

Some sound tweaking, but nothing like the VS pass
Small chance for VGS. It's too complicated
Server population cap DID change after OMFGp1. They had server-side performance problems and had to lower the cap. The cap will be raised again when those issues are fixed
"When people get really mad about the game they're doing it from a sense of passion for the game because they like it and want it to succeed. Some of it may be harsh sometimes but you can't let it get to you otherwise you wont last on the internets."
Higby using devhacks is his favorite thing about the game
E-Sports isn't an 'Instead' thing, they've put 0 development hours into it
They are mostly trying to build the community around e-sports, not force it with game mechanics
Population is pretty good across servers.
They watch all the planetside 2 streams. They get good player feedback from it that they would have a hard time getting otherwise.
Higby is the best drunk boxer because he can out-drink everyone
Asymmetrical balance is a pain in the ass, but nobody on the team wants to see it go.
They have very intensive stat-tracking, such as what's getting the most kills on a harasser against infantry being wielded by players with over 75% accuracy and driven by pilots with over 200 hours in harassers"
Population issues are usually exacerbated by player perception, but they are working on things to fix it
Performance work took priority over everything, which is why we haven't seen any metagame stuff
Muldoonx9's favorite small feature is the Saved By notification
Arclegger helped make a chinese-only kung-fu hustle game.
UI in Scaleform saves them a ton of time (and money). Only things that make a ton of sense will be put into C++ code (like names over players)
Their fridge had gross old brocolli in it.

Canned stuff

No plans for soundtrack updates.
No plans for cross-faction cosmetics
No on Artillery or Bombers, they don't want to add more 'i couldn't do anything about that' deaths
Indar was once going to have a crashed alien ship. Creating Amerish and Esamir tooke the resources away from doing that
Rotor based VTOL flight felt archaic in the theme of PS2.
Most of the super sci-fi concepts were from before PS2 was full figured out as a game.

camycamera · 2013-12-03, 03:11 AM

nice job.

Rolfski · 2013-12-03, 03:44 AM

Nice job pulling that list. I'm really disappointed by the insanely slow map release schedule though. Waiting 1,5 years for a new map release, are you kidding me?
How are they expecting to keep this game fresh enough for a generation that's used to new DLC map packs every three months? This is unacceptable and could possibly loose them their critical mass to sustain this game imo.

Badjuju · 2013-12-03, 04:24 AM

Originally Posted by Rolfski

Nice job pulling that list. I'm really disappointed by the insanely slow map release schedule though. Waiting 1,5 years for a new map release, are you kidding me?
How are they expecting to keep this game fresh enough for a generation that's used to new DLC map packs every three months? This is unacceptable and could possibly loose them their critical mass to sustain this game imo.

Rather have them make the current contintinents enjoyable before releasing another with poor base design. Reworking conts, lattice, and other changes are responsible for the hossin delay.

Roy Awesome · 2013-12-03, 04:48 AM

Originally Posted by Rolfski

Nice job pulling that list. I'm really disappointed by the insanely slow map release schedule though. Waiting 1,5 years for a new map release, are you kidding me?
How are they expecting to keep this game fresh enough for a generation that's used to new DLC map packs every three months? This is unacceptable and could possibly loose them their critical mass to sustain this game imo.

I mean, arguably the Indar and Esamir revamps were 'new continents'. People wanted these continents done right, so more time had to be taken to do them right in the first place. Hossin got delayed because of that.

HereticusXZ · 2013-12-03, 04:57 AM

Thanks Roy for the link.

Doesn't sound like to me like there changing there minds on the 150m OHK limit to Snipers. "Nothings set in stone" translates for me anyways as just another way to dismiss the topic about a range limit, brushing it under the rug.

Las0m pretty much answers what will end up being done in that the majority of Infiltrators are engaging the enemy in and under 150m according to this data that only SOE knows and I'll bet that's true with your common new guy who vastly out numbers the dedicated Infiltrators.