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SOE Live 2014: PlanetSide 2 plans battle islands, a fight finder, and more
PlanetSide 2 got some big updates over the last couple of months, but there's plenty more planned for the MMOFPS. Creative Director Matt Higby, Senior Art Director Tramell Isaac , and Lead Designer Luke Sigmund detailed some of those plans at SOE Live. Specifics include the squad mentoring, the Valkyrie aircraft, battle islands, a fight finder, and more. They also showed off the progress of the Playstation 4 version, which will launch in early access before the end of the year.
Meet PlanetSide 2's new producer, Directive achievements
It's important to know the development team of your game of choice, isn't it? SOE's David Carey recently took on the role of producer for PlanetSide 2, and he hopped on the forums to introduce himself, explaining to fans who he is, what he hopes to accomplish in the game, and what he hopes to receive from the community. Carey reveals that he has spent a long time working with Matt Higby and has plenty of experience working on other titles. His primary goal is to have an informed playerbase with a clear picture of why changes are being made, even in the event that the players and devs disagree. He also stresses the importance of constructive criticism over personal attacks and the team's need for open communication with the fans. If you're a regular PlanetSide 2 player, you owe it to yourself to check out the full letter. In other PS2 news, SOE has implemented a new achievement system called Directives. You can view the full press release after the break.
PlanetSide 2's Hossin update is live but not entirely done
PlanetSide 2 players are today logging into the Hossin patch, a major update with a new continent with more than 80 new bases in a new biome. The update includes the first phase of the new continent locking mechanic for territory control and perks for guilds -- sorry, outfits -- including new recruiting, decal, and capturing systems. Creative Director Matt Higby warns, however, that "Hossin is not finished": If we wanted to "finish" Hossin without sacrificing the quality level we've established, it would probably be 3 months before it was ready to go live - we don't want to wait that long, and we don't think you want to either. [...] Right now about 50% of the bases on Hossin are "done" to the point that we're completely satisfied with the quality of the level design and visuals, about 25% of the bases are first pass [...] and another 25% are [placeholders]. We expect these bases to function correctly, provide all the necessary utilities to make the game work - they're just not 100% up to our standards of level design quality quite yet. Higby calls this the "Early Expedition" approach and says the teams will continue work on the "beta" continent over the next few months. [Thanks, theKavorka.]
PlanetSide 2 video reveals the Valkyrie
SOE Creative Director Matt Higby and his dreamy blue eyes are at the forefront of a new preview video for PlanetSide 2, running down the upcoming features as well as an exclusive look at the Valkyrie aircraft. Higby said that in April, the team will be doing a "large-scale balance pass" and bringing in the missions and implant systems. May will see a Combat Medic update, improvements to outfits, and a resource revamp. The video concludes with a sneak peek of the Valkyrie fast-attack aircraft that will allow a small squad of four to quickly hop from fight to fight. This vehicle will be coming out in the summer, and you can check it out after the break! [Thanks to BabaGraPL for the tip!]
February will be a big month for PlanetSide 2
PlanetSide 2 continues to gain updates and new content. It's still pushing itself to be the best place to find massive battles with the most players, and a recent host of tweaks, fixes, updates and changes have made many MMOFPS fans very excited for the rest of the year. So what's happening to the MMOFPS in the month of February? We asked Matt Higby, Creative Director for PlanetSide 2, to explain just that.
SOE's Higby on bringing PlanetSide 2 to the PS4
PlanetSide 2 creative director Matt Higby stopped by ShackNews for a quick interview this week. The piece focused on fan feedback as well as the upcoming PlayStation 4 version of SOE's MMOFPS. Higby says that "designing the UI/UX to be more console-friendly and figuring out ways to better contextualize the massive scale combat for players who are used to more arena-style FPS gaming has been the most challenging" aspect of development thus far. "This is something we encounter with the PC version of the game, too, so we're used to thinking about it, but bringing this game to the console market puts an extra layer of importance on these goals," he explained.
Weekly updates coming to PlanetSide 2
Would you like your favorite game to update more often or less often? Odds are you're prefer the former; barring the occasional update that badly breaks something, updates are a good thing. That's why creative director Matt Higby took to the PlanetSide 2 forums to break the happy news that the game's update schedule will be increasing to weekly patches. Yes, that's weekly, starting next Wednesday and continuing through the remainder of the year. Higby explains that the new schedule will have several benefits, starting with the team no longer requiring frequent hotfixes to take care of minor bugs and performance issues. It also means that each individual update will be a bit smaller, resulting in fewer moving pieces and a lower chance of introducing bugs with any given update. Larger features are still being developed, and they'll be moved into the new weekly schedule, but players will be able to expect at least something once a week.
SOE planning 'additional personal progression systems' for PlanetSide 2
You probably knew that PlanetSide 2 recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. You may not have known that SOE devs took to Reddit earlier today for an Ask Me Anything session. Several PS2 luminaries participated, but one of the most interesting answers was given by creative director Matt Higby. The question focused on PS2's progression system and whether or not SOE plans to augment it. "At a certain point people will run out of things to unlock, we're not trying to run a non-stop gear treadmill game," Higby explained. "One thing we're working on is adding additional personal progression systems that aren't tied to gear or player power -- this will allow us to provide those long term reach goals without having to either price new players out of important gear, make a punishingly steep grind for advanced upgrades, or continuously inflate the number of upgrades at the end of the treadmill like most MMO games do."
A look at the PlanetSide 2 World Domination Series
PlanetSide 2 players have been asking for something that gives their favorite game a bit more persistence. Conquering territories is a lot of fun, but it can sometimes become repetitive and less satisfying when those territories simply turn over to the next empire that decides to take it. This is where the World Domination Series has stepped in to give the game and its loyal fanbase even more reason to log in and fight. The World Domination Series hands out points to factions that hold on to an area for longer periods of time and will eventually give out points to individual players. Even though it just finished a first wave of in-game testing Sunday night, it will soon be accessible through a handy scorecard in-game and lists the daily, weekly, and seasonal scores as well as each empire's server- and game-wide performance. Each territory is worth a certain number of points, but holding a territory for longer periods of time is worth even more points. At the end of each week, rewards will be handed out. During the testing, the rewards consisted of experience boosts, but it'll be expanded later. How does this new system affect the rest of the playerbase, and what's in store for it in the future? We asked Matt Higby, Creative Director for PlanetSide 2, to answer some these questions.
PlanetSide 2 inches toward character transfers but can't make cross-platform play happen
It's time for another exciting episode of Good News, Bad News with your host, Mr. Matt Higby! PlanetSide 2's creative director had a few things to say at SOE Live about the challenges of running the game across multiple platforms. The good news is that SOE is looking into character transfers that will allow players to jump between PC and PlayStation 4 versions. The bad news is that, at least for now, cross-platform play isn't possible. "Because of the update cadence, and the additional steps you have to go through to be able to release an update on the PlayStation network, we're not going to be able to keep our servers in sync, so you won't be able to just play with the same people," said Higby. "But we're also talking about having character portability, so a PC character could transfer to PlayStation 4 and then back. The character format's the same on both; it's just purely a matter of the server updates."
PlanetSide 2 gets sexy implants with GU13
PlanetSide 2 is gearing up for game update 13, which is tentatively scheduled for a July 24th release. Creative Director Matt Higby marched onto the forums to give players an advance warning as to what to expect when it arrives. Among the new surprises? Implants. Sexy, sexy implants. Implants are cheap consumables that offer interesting abilities but only last for a few hours on a single load-out. One implant might protect you from fall damage while another increases the range that you can spot enemy names and health bars. Other changes coming with GU13 include a revamp of the Esamir area, four new weapons, platoon enhancements, and a ton of bug fixes. The team plans to have the update on the test server next week.
Matt Higby discusses PlanetSide 2's roadmap and server merges
It's unsettling for anyone to know that a game is undergoing server merges, even when it's a game that's received as much good press as PlanetSide 2. Fortunately for the game's gun-toting fans, creative director Matt Higby is on tap to provide players with a bit more clarification about exactly what the merges will involve. Ten total servers will be affected, bringing the game's total number to nine after the merges take place. Server transfer tokens will also be available afterwards for players who would prefer to move to a different server in the wake of the transfers. Higby also discusses the game's roadmap, a feature that the designers have been pleased with thus far. Going forward, the roadmap will provide more accurate dates regarding when players can expect to see the new content rather than the current system showing internal development targets. For more specific details, check out Higby's full address to the community.
SOE's Smedley and Higby on PlanetSide 2's e-sports evolution
Yesterday we told you about SOE's new PlanetSide 2-focused partnership with Major League Gaming. Following the announcement, Joystiq scribe Mike Schramm managed to corner principals from both companies at Friday's PlanetSide 2 Ultimate Showdown event in LA to ask what, exactly, is in store for fans of Auraxian e-sports. Join us after the break as CEO John Smedley, creative director Matt Higby, and MLG's Sundance DiGiovanni give us an early look at PS2's competitive evolution.
Planetside 2's most-hated base showcased in recent interview
If you're a Planetside 2 player, you've probably heard about The Crown. The tactical base snuggled in the crossroads of Indar's three distinct terrains is not only difficult to conquer, but it's also a pretty big target once you take it. PC Gamer sat down with SOE Facilities Designer Corey Navage and Creative Director Matt Higby to talk about the origins of The Crown and how much thought went into giving it the reputation it has today. Of course, as with any game element, The Crown is ever-changing to accommodate strategies and gameplay that SOE observes from players. Check out the complete interview over at PC Gamer to learn more.
SOE implementing dynamic XP in PlanetSide 2
PlanetSide Universe has the details on SOE creative director Matt Higby's latest information dump. Higby says plenty of changes are in store for this month's PlanetSide 2 patch, chief among them some significant tweaks to the game's experience system. In a nutshell, players who have more kills will be worth more XP, and newly spawned players "will be worth a fraction of the current kill reward." You'll also get partial XP for damaging vehicles even if they aren't ultimately destroyed. SOE will also be making server transfer tokens available in PS2's item shop, gifting each empire with a new SMG weapon, and adding player configurable colors and indicators to the game's minimap. That's not all, either, but you'll have to hit the source link below for the full list of changes.
Massively Exclusive: Matt Higby reveals account-wide SC unlocks coming to PlanetSide 2
Back at SOE Live, Creative Director Matt Higby spoke about PlanetSide 2's goal to appeal to a broader audience than just the shooter fanbase. It might just have worked: It's been just a little over a week since launch, and PS2 seems to be pulling in players ranging from die-hard veterans of the original PlanetSide to first-time or non-FPS gamers (like yours truly). In fact, as Higby tells it, the number of folks flocking to the new free-to-play MMOFPS has exceeded Sony Online Entertainment's expectations. Of course, this is only the beginning of PS2's life. With launch now under the developers' belts, the question becomes what's up their sleeves? I cornered Matt Higby to talk about the first week of live servers, how many soldiers have joined in the war, and what's next for the game.
Matt Higby talks testing weapons, server restrictions, and more in PlanetSide 2 interview
For anyone who hadn't noticed, a little game called PlanetSide 2 launched one week ago today. OK, it isn't really little at all; folks who log in to the new MMOFPS enter a massive world with battles taking place all over the map. In a recent video interview, Creative Director Matt Higby discussed a few features players might have missed in their battle frenzy as well as some upcoming ones they can expect. Introduced at launch, one feature Higby highlighted is the ability to test weapons out in the field before committing their hard-earned certs to a purchase, so "buyer's remorse won't necessarily be as prominent." Every eight hours, players can grab a weapon (for free) and run around with it for 30 minutes. Players can do this three times a day but must use a different weapon each time; the cool-down timer for testing a weapon a second time is 30 days. And soon, players can also expect a more detailed preview window when perusing weapon with information on how the weapon behaves and what attachments can be used on it. Higby goes on to reveal that the one empire per server restriction will be lifted and highlights the upcoming ability to switch servers and rename characters. Folks waiting for the ability to switch factions, however, are out of luck. Get all the details -- plus some in-game footage -- in the video after the break.
SOE easing PlanetSide 2's grind for launch
PlanetSide 2's launch is mere days away, but SOE devs are still fine-tuning certain progression aspects of the new sci-fi MMOFPS. Creative director Matt Higby took to the forums yesterday to reveal that the time investment required to obtain high-end weapons will be reduced by about 30 per cent. In other PS2 news, a New Conglomerate outfit is finally getting its 15 minutes of fame. Like the Vanu Sovereignty's Azure Twilight and the Terran Republic's Black Widow Company, the NC's 666th Devil Dogs are now the proud owners of a slick promotional video featuring plenty of in-game battle footage. Check it out after the cut. [Source: SOE press release]
PlanetSide 2 Command Center airs its last episode before launch
Can you believe that PlanetSide 2 is launching next week? It seems like just yesterday it was only a beautiful idea in the minds of many fans. Games grow up so fast. But even with the impending November 20th launch, there are still a few days until the game goes live, and that's why Matt Higby and Tramell Isaac have returned to sit in front of the camera in the final pre-launch episode of the PlanetSide 2 Command Center. The episode kicks off with an update on the pace of the beta, with Higby explaining how the data from the latest round of beta has been applied to map balance and mechanics as well as bug fixes. There's also a chat with several developers, a look at the music of the game, a recap of this year's SOE Live event, and of course a glance at fan mail and the best fan YouTube videos. Take a look at the full episode past the cut for all sorts of nuggets to chew on before the game's launch next week. [Source: Sony Online Entertainment press release]
Some Assembly Required: Player-generated content at SOE Live
By now, everyone has made it home from SOE Live... yes, even that one fellow who kept disappearing, seduced by the one-armed bandit. As my first foray into the annual self-described "family reunion," I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd hoped there would be some news to pass along. If nothing else, a tidbit or two about any title -- be it EverQuest II, PlanetSide 2, or DC universe Online -- would justify my trip out there to me. But what I got wasn't just some news; it was great news! Although the lights of Vegas are fading from memory, the hope for player-generated content burns brighter than before. From keynote addresses to panels to interviews, Sony Online Entertainment's focus on emergent game play and various sandbox features showed a dedication to gaming beyond just the hack-and-slash treadmill grind. Can we hear a hallelujah? With so much news coming out of the convention, there wasn't time or space to do much more than just report on the facts. Here, I have the opportunity to sum things up and even add my own impressions of the event! I might even toss in an anecdote or two to illustrate what made this such an incredible experience that I am hooked and will return each year.
