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PlanetSide 2 state of the game talks infantry render fixes, six-month roadmap
SOE prez John Smedley has taken to the official PlanetSide 2 forums to deliver a brief state-of-the-game address. Actually, he took to the boards to do so last night, but we were asleep fragging it up on Esamir at the time so we missed it. In any event, Smedley mentions this weekend's double XP boost as well as the fact that "client crashes are down 95 percent." He says that PS2's stability is coming along nicely and that there's another patch coming next week which will address more bugs. It will also bring "big improvements" to the infantry render distance issue which has been ongoing since launch. There's also talk of the game's six-month plan, which SOE will reveal in January and which includes orbital strikes, vehicle transport, "and other fun things." Smedley also reiterates that players will have some say in PS2's roadmap. "It's not written in stone and you're going to have the opportunity to weigh in and have us change it based on your collective feedback," he writes.
The Firing Line: Banning aimbotters in the age of F2P
Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley made headlines this week when he smacked down hackers, aimbotters, and various PlanetSide 2 ne'er-do-wells via his Twitter feed. Aside from the comedy value inherent in the CEO of a major corporation engaging in a public joust with employment-challenged neckbeards, the incident resonates because it shines a spotlight on the herculean task facing SOE and any other developer that decides to enter the skill-based competitive gaming realm.
Smedley slams aimbotters, teases new PlanetSide 2 weapons
SOE president John Smedley lit his Twitter account on fire last night with some pointed comments directed at PlanetSide 2 aimbotters. "Haruhi at artificialaiming.com was just banned. All three of his accounts. Goodbye you scumbag. Find a new hobby or get good at the game," Smedley wrote. "As they develop hacks we will break the hacks. We have time and great people. Trust that this is a top priority. Hackers will not win," he continued. Smedley also revealed that new weapons are coming to the sci-fi MMOFPS in short order, including anti-vehicle and anti-air variants.
Smedley clarifies PlanetSide 2's long-term plans: 'NPCs aren't on the table'
Yesterday a bunch of game news sites reported on PlanetSide 2's ambitious long-term plans as quoted from a lengthy post by SOE CEO John Smedley. It was pretty exciting stuff even though the information has been live on Smedley's blog since August of 2012. His treatise mentioned player-owned bases, harvestables, seamless bodies of water between continents (and water-based vehicles), dynamic weather, e-sports support, and NPCs. This last bit led to some hand-wringing by PS2's hardcore PvP faithful, so we reached out to Smedley in order to set the record straight and determine whether or not the features mentioned five months ago are still in the works. "A lot of it is still being considered," he said. "We are going to tell the community about our longer term plan and let them have a very big say in where we go." What about NPCs and PvE, though? "NPCs aren't on the table for a long time, if ever," Smedley told us.
Smedley tweet reveals PlanetSide 2 fleet carrier
One of PlanetSide 2's pre-release marketing slogans was "size does matter." If SOE CEO John Smedley's latest tweet is any indication, the firm is taking the tagline to heart. "People keep asking for Galaxies to carry tanks. Bah," Smedley wrote, while showing off the Bastion fleet carrier concept art in the header. Senior Art Director Tramell Isaac chimes in as well, tweeting that the Bastion is "a sign of things to come" for SOE's new MMOFPS.
SOE Live 2012: Dragon's Prophet invigorates sandbox hopes
While I can't exactly say that the best report was saved for last (there was so much awesome at SOE Live 2012), I will say the Dragon's Prophet announcement was the most unexpected exciting news of the weekend. A new sandbox game, with dragons! I'll admit -- I should have seen the writing on the breakfast table. When I sat down for the meal that first day, my table-mate John Smedley, CEO of Sony Online Entertainment, mentioned that the others seated with us were making a dragon game. He then introduced them as developers of Runes of Magic. It was only later when the press learned a new game would be introduced that evening that the connection clicked! After the official announcement, I looked forward to learning even more about the new dragon-laced world. I was pleased to sit down with Smedley and those members of the Runewaker team again -- namely, CEO John Tang and VP of Business Development Tony Tang -- this time to discuss the new partnership and the upcoming free-to-play game.%Gallery-169367%
Some Assembly Required: Why SOE should be leading the sandbox charge
"If you look at the MMOs out there, they're delivering the same content over and over again. So are we. We need to change that," said Sony Online Entertainment CEO John Smedley to a packed house at last week's SOE Live keynote. And just like that, the genre became exciting again. Now, there's a long way to go, of course. And while Smedley's announcement set the hearts of emergent content fans aflame, it also requires a leap of faith from those same fans. After all, there was no gameplay footage accompanying the grandiose talking points. There were no concept art shots or game-related assets of any kind. There was only a promise of hands-on time a year from now. Still, hearing the words (and more crucially, hearing them from a major company) was quite like a long drink of water after an eight-year trek through the desert.
The Daily Grind: Is EverQuest a sandbox?
Our coverage of John Smedley's SOE Live keynote elicited some curious comments, chief among them the notion that EverQuest is a sandbox title. This sentiment followed on from Smed's announcement that EQNext has been remodeled from an EQIII evolution to a sandbox revolution, as some of our readers said that that's a return to the franchise's roots. While it's true that the definition of sandbox is somewhat malleable and subjective, we're curious to know how you can stretch it to include a level-based title with class-based gameplay that largely revolves around killing and looting. Sure it was less directed than modern themeparks, and there was a lack of documentation/communal knowledge that made early gameplay challenging, but a sandbox? Really? What do you think, Massively readers? Is EQ a sandbox, and if so, what makes it one? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
SOE Live 2012: John Smedley on EQ Next and SOE's future
There's been a never-ending news stream this weekend at SOE Live, and underlying all the announcements has been a single theme: a fundamental shift towards emergent gameplay. We had the chance to talk to SOE President John Smedley about that philosophical change and how it fits in to current and upcoming titles. He spoke about the growing popularity of MMOs as viewing entertainment and how it's caught on in PlanetSide 2. And while he wouldn't go into details about EQ Next, he did give some exciting hints about what players will get to experience with this third EverQuest title. Read on for a look at the future of SOE!
The Tattered Notebook: What does a sandbox look like in Norrath?
Last night brought a flurry of new announcements for SOE titles, but one of the more curious moments was when SOE President John Smedley got to talking about EverQuest Next. He started off by bringing out two of the handful of screenshots that we've seen time and time again, and with a click of a button, made them evaporate into a shower of pixels, to be followed by a blank screen and the sound of crickets. In short, they went back to the drawing board. It's a bold move to take a year and a half of production and completely scrap it, especially at a time in the industry when the competition is so tight, but Smedley promised that what we'd see in the end would be unlike anything we've ever seen. Perhaps, though, we've already seen a glimpse of the future in the other two titles in the EQ franchise. What will the sandbox gameplay look like in EQ Next? I'll prognosticate below.
SOE Live 2012: Smedley assuages ProSiebenSat.1 concerns
When announcing that European players can keep their accounts with Sony Online Entertainment during the move to ProSiebenSat.1, SOE President John Smedley specifically mentioned three games, concerning the players of other SOE titles. However, during an exclusive interview with Massively today, Smedley clarified that those three are not the only games involved. As he explained, those games were just the most topical, not the sole selections on an exclusive list. Players of other SOE games such as Vanguard can rest assured that they have the same opportunity to choose to stay with SOE. That answer covers all current titles that are already published, but what about future SOE titles? And how does the ProSieben partnership affect Station Access? And when will these changes be taking place for the different games? Continue reading for Smedley's insights on these matters.
SOE Live 2012: Smedley says EQNext is the 'largest sandbox-style MMO ever designed'
As we reported last night, Sony Online Entertainment dropped a few hints regarding the future of the EverQuest franchise at its annual SOE Live convention in Las Vegas. Though CEO John Smedley's keynote address focused mainly on the firm's non-EQ portfolio, the EQNext tidbit was a doozy. I have to be honest with you. We have completely blown up the design of EverQuest Next. For the last year and a half we have been working on something we are not ready to show. Why did we blow up the design? The design was evolutionary. It was EverQuest III. It was something that was slightly better than what had come before it. It was slightly better. What we are building is something that we will be very proud to call EverQuest. It will be the largest sandbox-style MMO ever designed. The same exciting content delivered in a new way. Something you've never seen before. The MMO world has never seen before. We didn't want more kill 10 rats quests. We didn't want more of the same. If you look at the MMOs out there, they're delivering the same content over and over again. So are we. We need to change that. When we released EverQuest, we changed the world. We want to do that again with a different type of game. Smedley went on to mention that veteran EQ devs Dave Georgeson and Terry Michaels are spearheading the project, and he promised that it would be playable at next year's SOE Live event.
SOE's Smedley responds to ProSiebenSat.1 concerns
Earlier in the year when Sony Online Entertainment announced the move of European EverQuest II player accounts to ProSiebenSat.1, many players voiced concerns. Since then, the deal changed to include more games and then was delayed for EverQuest II. Today, SOE President John Smedley took to Twitter to explain that the company was listening to and addressing fans' concerns. He stated: "We've found a way to let existing players of our current games that are migrating over to Prosieben (EQ, EQ II, Planetside 2) keep their SOE accounts and stay with SOE. Down the road we may offer an option to move over to Prosieben. Just to be clear after these games launch on Prosieben's service new accounts will be created on their sites. However all US and EU players can still play together no matter which service they are on." He continued by emphasizing that the partnership with ProSiebenSat.1 is still on, and that he feels that the company will provide better customer service and payment options to the EU community.
GDC Online 2012: John Smedley's keynote on MMO trends and the future of gaming
At GDC Online this week, SOE President John Smedley gave a keynote address titled Free-to-play: Driving the Future of MMOs. In it, he explains SOE's (and other studios') shift toward a free-to-play model lets MMOs keep up with an ever-changing industry. But the talk actually went beyond the notion of free-to-play and into the larger picture of how SOE is reinventing its games to include more emergent gameplay and take advantage of new trends in media. Read on for a broad look at the past decade of trends in the industry and a glimpse of what the future holds for SOE titles.
The Perfect Ten: Worst expansion names of all time
When SOE announced that EverQuest's 19th expansion would be titled Rain of Fear, I instantly found myself tripping over the name. I shouldn't have -- it's a few simple words that are first round picks for spelling contests -- but it defied the traditional naming conventions for MMO expansions. Many people I talked to kept wanting to write "reign" instead because "rain" seemed like a deliberate misspelling by some intern in Smedley's empire. Homophones aside, Rain of Fear is hardly the worst expansion title I've ever seen. The industry has had its share of bad names, from the confusing to the downright unpronounceable. Sure, we get used to these titles, and perhaps it's nit-picky to lug them out at such a late point in many of their lifespans, but petty is my middle name. My first name is Tom. And these are 10 poorly named expansions. Deal with it.
Smedley: 'People who don't play games have no business in this business'
Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley is a die-hard gamer. This isn't news if you've followed SOE for more than a few minutes, as Smed has always been outspoken about what he's playing and why. He's also renowned among game journos for being a fun interview, usually to the consternation of his PR handlers. Case in point is a new sit-down with Edge, ostensibly to promote SOE's upcoming PlanetSide 2 MMOFPS (we say ostensibly because the actual content of the interview is being parceled out in future installments). For part one, Smed rips into clueless industry executives, saying that "people [who] don't play games have no business in this business. It should be the gamers-only club, I think. I can't stand people [who] don't know what they're talking about when it comes to playing these things."
SOE working on two additional PlanetSide 2 continents
Those of you enjoying er, testing the PlanetSide 2 beta have thus far been confined to a single continent. That's about to change, as Sony Online Entertainment is getting ready to Galaxy-drop a new landmass into the thick of the game's closed testing phase. CEO John Smedley took to the official forums earlier this week to provide some details. Not only is SOE working on a second continent (Esamir), but it's got a third one waiting in the wings. We are working hard on Esamir. It's getting closer and closer to a finished state where we want you guys to play on it. It's pretty awesome and very different gameplay-wise than Indar. After that, Amerish will go back to being worked on. These continents are taking longer than we expected and it's possible we end up launching with two and delivering the third shortly after launch. We're working super hard but we have some resource bottlenecks. We also are going to see how the game plays with two continents before making any final decisions, so please do us a favor and don't judge any of this before you play the game with two. Further updates, including performance, gunplay, and spawning tweaks, are all viewable on the official PS2 boards.
PlanetSide 2 lifts beta NDA, heads to PAX
We're another step closer to getting our combat boots on the ground and our itchy fingers on those triggers, as SOE has made the move to drop PlanetSide 2's non-disclosure agreement. This NDA drop follows a month of external beta testing and just prior to SOE's debut of the game at a North American show (in this case, PAX Prime). SOE President John Smedley reminded fans that this didn't mean the title was ready to ship. "Beta has a long way to go folks," he posted on Twitter. SOE released plenty of fun statistics about the beta process so far. According to the studio, 535 million shots have been fired, and out of those, 194.6 million hit a target. 6.3 million players were mowed down in the bloody conflict as well. The breakdown of the three factions is more or less even, with the Terran Republic edging out the other two sides by a couple of percentage points. If you're heading to PAX this weekend, you can see PlanetSide 2 at booth #3317. The team has plenty of demo stations on hand, and is planning to participate in several panels and daily livestream casts. [Source: SOE press release]
How Jace Hall ruined the latest PlanetSide 2 trailer
Some guys have all the luck. While at the Sony Online Entertainment office, the video-game-focused internet reality series The Jace Hall Show was tasked with creating a trailer for the upcoming MMOFPS PlanetSide 2. SOE President John Smedley himself requested a Saving Private Ryan-esque feel for a serious portrayal of the epic battle players will experience. The result, however, was not quite what was expected. Check out the final product (including Matt Higby's impressive acting debut) in the humorous video after the cut. The PS2 trailer adventure begins at the 2:20 mark. [Source: SOE press release]
The Game Archaeologist: Reactions to a free Vanguard
Vanguard's just had its biggest month since its troubled release in 2007, I wager. Its turn to free-to-play makes it the second-to-last SOE title to make the jump, and it's getting a "do-over" of sorts. Personally, I'm glad to see it happen. Without going into depth on Vanguard's past problems, I'll say that this was a highly hyped game that fell about as hard as any MMO could without being outright canceled. For years, it has been subsiding on a meager population and extremely rare updates (I recall a tiny bug update for Vanguard being laughably big news last summer). Now? Now it's received a new lease on life and attention from players and the media. If you've been following the news, you'll know that Vanguard soft launched a week early, talked with Massively about the conversion, officially launched thereafter, and is now part of the PSS.1 deal. But the most important word is that of the player on the street, the ground-pounders in Telon who are checking out F2P (and perhaps the game) for the first time. I've gathered several of these perspectives together for your amusement and edification.
