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Massive shooter 'PlanetSide 2' hits PS4 for free in June
PlanetSide 2 is massive -- it holds the Guinness World Record for the most players in a single online, first-person shooter battle with 1,158 people -- and it officially launches on PlayStation 4 on June 23rd, completely free to play. It's been in beta on PS4 since January, but the floodgates really open later this month, especially considering you don't need a PlayStation Plus subscription to jump in for free. Developer Daybreak Game Company (formerly Sony Online Entertainment) promises to keep the updates coming on PS4 with holiday content, new features and fresh items.
SOE shows off PlanetSide 2 anti-aircraft battery creation video
If you're in the mood for another glance behind the scenes at Sony Online Entertainment's art department, we've got a new PlanetSide 2 video that you'll want to watch. SOE senior artist Roel Jovellanos walks us through the creation process on a Nanite Systems anti-aircraft gun. The Sky Lance starts out as a greyscale Photoshop sketch, moves to a Maya 3-D model, and goes through various stages of artistic wizardry to arrive at the final image shown above. PlanetSide 2 is an open-world sci-fi MMOFPS featuring three factions and thousand-player battles that include infantry, ground vehicles, and aircraft. [Source: SOE press release]
The Firing Line: The pleasures and pitfalls of PlanetSide 2
My time in PlanetSide was a blur. It's also a ways back in the rear view mirror, and I've played so many MMOs in the interim that I can't even remember exactly when it was. The game originally shipped in May of 2003, and I was entrenched in Star Wars Galaxies from its June 2003 launch going forward. That would put my six week (de)tour with the Terran Republic somewhere circa 2004, maybe? I forget. The point I'm getting around to, though, is that regardless of hazy dates, PlanetSide stands out as one of those seminal MMO experiences that showcased the possibility inherent in this particular genre. The upcoming reboot, then, should be pretty spectacular and deserving of some fanboi adulation, right? Well, yes and no.
New PlanetSide 2 gameplay footage spotted in the wild
Sony Online Entertainment is building a little buzz around PlanetSide 2 lately. The upcoming MMOFPS revealed its beta signup process just before the Christmas holiday, and now fans at PlanetSide Universe have uncovered new gameplay footage courtesy of a couple of videos produced for Chinese publishing partner The9. The first clip serves as an intro to The9's PS2 website, and it features some quick glimpses of airborne combat, tank combat, and first-person infantry combat. The second clip is a mixture of similar gameplay footage along with some talking-head dev interview shots which you can view after the cut.
PlanetSide 2's Higby talks progression
PC Gamer's got the latest goods on Sony Online Entertainment's PlanetSide 2, and a new sit-down with developer Matt Higby has a few progression details that might interest you. Unlike the original PlanetSide, the reboot is shaping up to be a more accessible battlefield adrenaline rush. Or maybe not. "We may say, hey, you know what? You have to have a certain amount of time in the Lightning before you're able to use a Vanguard," Higby reveals, indicating that the game's advancement path is far from finalized. Higby says 10 hours is a good estimate for going from cannon fodder to worthy opponent in your vehicle of choice, and those 10 hours will likely be spent unlocking things like side-grade weapons, armor, countermeasures, telemetry, and radar systems. If it sounds like a lot of grinding, take heart. PlanetSide 2 players can avail themselves of an offline skilling mechanic, and Higby says that you'll be able to "shortcut your skills by burning resources" in the live game.
SOE releases new PlanetSide 2 faction video
Sony Online Entertainment is ramping up its PlanetSide 2 publicity machine this week. Last night we brought you word of beta signups for the forthcoming MMOFPS, and today SOE has released a new video clip featuring creative director Matt Higby. Higby provides voiceover commentary for the game's three factions, and the dialog plays against various rotating schematic-type images of armor, equipment, and gear from the game's three factions. Unfortunately there's no new information here at all, and SOE has basically summarized the past several months worth of faction-related text updates in a two-minute video clip. That said, it's better than nothing, and you can check it out after the break. [Source: SOE press release]
SOE accepting PlanetSide 2 beta signups
PlanetSide 2 fans, Merry (early) Christmas. Sony Online Entertainment has thrown open beta signups for the upcoming sci-fi MMOFPS as of today. The game has also received a website makeover, and there's quite a bit of interesting info to peruse instead of the old placeholder graphics. You can sign up with an existing SOE Station account, or create a new one in fairly short order. Curiously, there's no beta questionaire and no system requirements displayed during the signup process, and there's also no indication of when the testing will begin. We'll keep our eyes peeled for further info, and we hope to see you in the beta, soldier! [Thanks to Valru for the tip!]
The Soapbox: The absurdity of the NDA
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. So Star Wars: The Old Republic's NDA dropped. Now the entire world (officially) knows the skinny on BioWare's new themepark, and I'm hard-pressed to think of a more anti-climactic NDA death. Even if you weren't following the game over the past few months, you knew exactly what to expect -- provided you weren't a Star Wars or a BioWare virgin. This complete lack of surprise is one reason why the whole MMORPG NDA thing is a joke, and TOR is just the latest in a long series of punchlines.
SOE releases new PlanetSide 2 lore entry
Ah, SOE. What ever are we going to do with you? In a week that saw BioWare drop its guard on press information and Blizzard announce the impending arrival of six million kung fu pandas, what do you do to keep PlanetSide 2 in the public eye? You release another backstory snippet! That's backstory. For a shooter. OK, now that we've reached our snark quota for the next several posts, we can tell you that today's reveal is part four of the ongoing PlanetSide 2 lore updates, and it concerns the holovid diary of one Thomas Connery (no relation to Sean as far as we know). This Connery is a commander in the Terran Republic, and his journal entry is somewhat alarming due to the fact that he seems to be lost in space with no oxygen-rich planets in his general vicinity. Check it out for yourself at the official PlanetSide 2 website.
PlanetSide 2 devs answer questions via Twitter
MMO Crunch has the details on Sony Online Entertainment's PlanetSide 2 Twitter question-and-answer session that went down on September 16th. The chat covered a lot of ground and answered quite a few of the PlanetSide nation's most burning questions. What kinds of questions? Well, there are bits about customizable armor, bunny hopping, strafing, sun glare as it affects pilots, online vs. offline skill training, and dozens more where those came from. PlanetSide 2 fans will also be happy to know that each of the game's continents will support over 2000 simultaneous players, and said continents will feature varied environments including snow-covered terrain, glaciers, and forests. Check out an abbreviated list of discussion points after the break.
