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DCUO and PlanetSide 2 devs deal with good and bad on PS4 ports

DCUO and PlanetSide 2 devs talk about the transition to the PS4

Sony Online Entertainment doesn't have any new games at this year's E3 conference. But the developers behind DC Universe Online and PlanetSide 2 are hard at work anyway, and not just because they're running two live MMOs. Both games, which currently run on the PC (for both) or the PS3 (for DCUO) are coming to the PlayStation 4, which presents both positives and negatives for the developers involved.

Adam Clegg, game designer on PlanetSide 2, says he's excited to develop for the PS4 rather than the PC, because it'll make optimization for the game's graphics "1000 times better." Currently, the PC team has countless builds of hardware to optimize the game for, but everyone playing on a PS4 will use the same hardware, which makes things much easier. Additionally, Clegg says improvements should go the other way, too, as optimizing for the PS4 should make the game better for PC users.


Not everything works perfectly, however. PlanetSide 2 won't use the same login servers on PS4 as on PC, so players won't have access to characters on one platform from another. Clegg says the team is also leery of sending newbie PS4 players in to face experienced PC players, so the PS4 platform will be its own environment.

Clegg also wasn't sure how PlanetSide 2 might use the PS4's new features, like Vita Play or even Gaikai's streaming service, as most of those details have yet to be determined (and likely won't actually happen until the game is updated). PlanetSide 2 will see future updates hit both platforms at the same time going forward, however, and the PS4 version of the game is set to be ready after the PS4's launch, later on this year.

DC Universe Online senior creative director Jens Andersen is in a slightly better position. Because the game has already spanned PS3 and PC, users will be able to log on and access their characters on the PS4 right away. Anderson also says DCUO will be able to take advantage of better graphics on the PS4 hardware, including higher quality textures and a better draw distance.

The build of DCUO running on the PS4 at E3 didn't use the controller's new share button, but Andersen says he'd be very surprised if DCUO didn't take advantage of the PS4's social functions. "That's our wheelhouse," he pointed out, despite not having anything to announce at this time.

The console's streaming and quick installation features, however, probably won't make it to DCUO, at least not right away. The game has been updated often (and will see updates at the same time on both PS3 and PS4), but it's a few years old now, and Andersen says streaming services like Gaikai usually require games to be a little more linear than DCUO's huge open world. Though things could change before the game arrives on the new console later this year, Andersen says DCUO will probably always "be something you have to download and install" before you play.