PLANET SIDE 2
PlanetSide 2 is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online first-person shooter published by Sony Online Entertainment and released on November 20, 2012. It is the remake to PlanetSide which originally released in 2003. Officially announced on July 7, 2011 at the Sony Fan Fair, the second installment uses a new game engine and supports hundreds of players in continuous large scale conflict. As in the first PlanetSide, PlanetSide 2 chronicles the efforts of three factions as they fight for territorial control of the planet Auraxis. PlanetSide 2 was announced for the upcoming PlayStation 4 video game console on June 5, 2013.
Gameplay
PlanetSide 2 is a re-imagining of PlanetSide,
featuring the same world, factions and taking place at roughly the same
time period. As in the previous game, it features territory control in
an open-world, large battles featuring up to 2000 players per continent
on foot or in land/air vehicles. The territory system differs greatly
from that of the original, being more free-form and based on a hexagonal
territory control system. SOE has been taking into account balance
issues from the first game. As stated by creative director Matthew
Higby, they reward combatants on lower population empires through
mechanics such as proportionally increased advancement rates and
resources to aid the balance of overall empire saturation on each server
as much as possible without force-restricting players from being able
to play with their friends.It is a faster paced game than the original PlanetSide and holds the ability to feature potentially thousands of players. It also features familiar first person shooter elements such as sprinting, iron sights, and regenerating shields. An important aspect is that player skill and teamwork are major determiners when it comes to being able to kill other players and overcome opposing teams. Unlockable skills are available and are stated to only make between a 15-20% difference between any player[citation needed]. The game also features a day and night cycle, meaning that battles happen in different times of day, affecting the general methods for warfare.
Combat takes place on the continents of Auraxis which are broken up into many territories. Territories are then split into sectors which can be captured by the various empires. Influence from captured sectors can provide bonuses to a faction in adjacent sectors. The mission system is partly automated and partly controlled by commanders and outfits. It provides focal points for players to attack and defend and helps players get into the action quickly.
As a player participates in completing objectives they will earn experience which will increase their character's Battle Rank and reward them with certification points. As the player's Battle Rank increases they will unlock improved certifications, granting the player new abilities or items. These will allow the player to specialize in certain roles by allowing them to improve the weapons, vehicles or tools they use. Many certifications require the player to invest in multiple upgrade tiers of the certification, which will increase how effective the certification is. For example, players can purchase five ranks of Nanoweave Armor, which when equipped will increase the amount of damage they can sustain. Some certifications require the player to purchase prerequisite certifications, meaning a squad leader who wishes to unlock the ability to communicate using voice chat with an entire platoon will first need to unlock a certification to allow them to set squad waypoints. Using the certification system, players will be able to customise how they play using different classes or vehicles. For example, a player can purchase certifications to alter the main function of the Sunderer vehicle, meaning they can unlock the ability to have fellow squad members spawn from the vehicle, or as an alternative, give the vehicle the ability to repair and restock the ammunition of nearby allied vehicles.
Story
Although the story is very similar to the original, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) announced that award-winning author Marv Wolfman has joined the SOE team to write the ongoing historic fiction for the game. This is the first time the PlanetSide franchise narrative has been detailed.
Continents
In the original PlanetSide there were ten continents on Auraxis. The original playable ten were: Solsar, Hossin, Esamir, Cyssor, Ishundar (now Indar in PlanetSide 2), Forseral, Ceryshen, Searhus, Amerish and Oshur. Oshur was destroyed in an expansion to PlanetSide and formed smaller more traditional FPS style "Battle Islands" as a result.To date there are three continents in PlanetSide 2: Indar, a mix of desert and high desert terrain marked by deep canyons and open dunes, was the first continent available for testing in beta; Esamir, an icy permafrost wasteland, was released for beta testing shortly after Indar; and Amerish, a mountainous continent filled with green, sparsely forested valleys, was the last continent added before launch. Hossin, a swampy marshland area considerably darker than the other continents, has been confirmed via Roadmap to be the fourth continent added to the game, and would be the first continent added post-launch, and the developers leaked an image of Searhus (a volcanic continent with lava flows) in developement via their Twitter account.
Factions
- Terran Republic
- An authoritarian government that leverages military might to maintain strict control over the colonial citizens. The Terran Republic is obsessed with the preservation of law and order and are thus seen by some to be an oppressive and dictatorial force, but many view the TR as the only hope for lasting security on Auraxis. Their colors are red and black. TR forces are distinguished by their use of rapid fire weapons and miniguns, large magazines, and high speed ground and air vehicles.[7]
- New Conglomerate
- The New Conglomerate operates as a loosely organized band of freedom fighters, vehemently opposed to the stranglehold that the Terran Republic has on Auraxis. Led by an unusual quorum of outcasts, industry titans, and pirates, the New Conglomerate is unwavering and prepared to achieve freedom from oppression by any means necessary. Their colors are blue and gold. NC forces use hard hitting gauss weaponry that is devastating at short and medium ranges with a slow reload time, supported by heavily armored shock troops and durable vehicles and aircraft that also have the highest damage per shot in the game, but lower magazine sizes. They are fighting for freedom, rather than duty or technology.
- Vanu Sovereignty
- The Vanu Sovereignty believes that only through the mysterious power of ancient technology can humanity truly evolve its next state of existence. They are an advanced and cunning faction, employing powerful alien technology on the battlefield. Their singular purpose is to uncover the secrets hidden away in ancient artifacts scattered over the surface of Auraxis, and they annihilate anyone who interferes with their progress. Their colors are purple and green. Vanu employ advanced plasma and laser technology on the battlefield, distinguished by lack of bullet drop, high accuracy, and low recoil, as well as highly maneuverable hovering tanks and Empire Specific Fighters.
Development
The first official indications that a PlanetSide sequel was in development appeared in 2009. On September 25, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) sent a mass e-mail to current and former PlanetSide subscribers, asking to fill a survey that would help SOE design the next generation PlanetSide. "We plan to expand the PlanetSide universe with another game and we need your help with the design. After all, who knows the game better than you, our customers, the people who actually play it! Don't worry about the original PlanetSide, it isn't going anywhere." In addition, SOE registered the domain www.PlanetSide2.com on September 21. On October 11, SOE president John Smedley posted on his LiveJournal account that the sequel's working title is PlanetSide Next.Little was revealed about the sequel until December 2010, when Smedley said that SOE would be launching a first-person shooter in March 2011, which was soon confirmed by Paul Williams of SOE as referring to PlanetSide Next. On March 31, 2011, SOE announced that it would be ending development of their spy-themed MMO The Agency and refocusing efforts on EverQuest Next and PlanetSide Next. Smedley confirmed that PlanetSide Next had been delayed – the result of recently switching to a new game engine – and would be available later in the year. The working title was later changed to PlanetSide 2. The official website was later updated to show a video trailer of the upcoming game. Many interview videos were taken after that showing sections of gameplay, but the biggest off-screen game play video was shown at 2012's GDC, showing most of the game aspects.
SOE President John Smedley announced that a closed beta test would begin July 30 or 31 2012 "barring any unforseen circumstances.". On July 30 Smedley announced that the beta testing would be delayed until at least August 3 "to make sure some stuff is awesome.".On August 3 Smedley announced via Twitter that the closed Beta would commence 2pm PDT (GMT-7) Monday 6 August. The beta closed on November 17, 2012, pending the game's official release November 20, 2012.
Game engine
The game uses SOE's Forgelight Engine which in turn uses Nvidia's PhysX API for its physics engine. This enables more realistic vehicle handling compared to the previous PlanetSide, especially when it comes to flying aircraft. Weather and day/night cycles are also possible as well as volumetric fog and clouds which players can hide in. Bullets are also simulated by the physics engine so players (other than the Vanu Sovereignty, whose projectiles are not affected by gravity) will need to compensate for gravity while aiming.Another improvement over PlanetSide is the introduction of locational damage (hitboxes) for soldiers and vehicles. This is customizable by the developers so that a sniper rifle shot to the head can have a huge bonus while high rate of fire weapons, such as the Mini Chaingun, and vehicles have small to no bonus.
Business model
PlanetSide 2 is free-to-play but includes a cash shop for players to purchase in-game convenience items and cosmetic changes using real money. The developers have indicated an admiration of League of Legends's freemium business model. In 2011, SOE CEO John Smedley said the cash shop "will not sell a more powerful gun or vehicle." During the beta for the game, Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Nathan Grayson noted that the cash shop sold secondary weapons for aircraft, but that changes would be made to the game before it left beta.The game also offers a subscription which provides players with increased experience, cert points, and extra resources such as grenades, spawn beacons, and medical kits.Grayson said that goal of these benefits were convenience rather than making subscribed players more powerful than other players. However, Grayson noted that people purchasing these offerings might then be able to quickly acquire a large number of powerful items. Creative director Matt Higby said, "success on the battlefield is still entirely player skill based, [players purchasing cash shop offerings will] just be less impacted for re-deploying to the battlefield. That is a huge benefit, no denying it. Is that 'buying power'? Well, that depends on your definition."
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