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Windows Planetside 2 Anticipation Thread

Huntn

Huntn

macrumors Penryn
Original poster
May 5, 2008
24,440
27,559
The Misty Mountains
But I'm playing it on my MBP!

There has been quite a bit of PS2 talk in the MMO thread so I thought I'd start this one. :) Yes it might not show up until 2013, but here is a recent video of Planetside 2 demo'd game play. The first part is Reavor flying. About 12 min in, Vanguard Tanks although it's brief. This game is looking awesome! And it is Free to Play... :) If you know nothing about it but want to get a feel:

GDC 2012 First Game Play.

In the demo it looks like the moderator is jumping into and out of tanks by himself. In the original
Vanguards are two player, one to drive, one to operate the big gun. Hmm are tanks now single occupant? :eek:
 
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Ap0ks said:
Still waiting for my Beta invite email :(
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Good luck to you! I'm not sure what server my outfit (666 Devil Dogs) will be on, but they are taking applications. For someone based in Europe I do realize that guild location can be important from a time standpoint. My understanding is that the 666 is mostly U.S. based, but has members from around the globe.

Did you play the original?
 
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Are they still gonna have the combat engineer prof from the first one?

My favorite thing to do was run around stealthed, drop mines all over the place and blow people up
 
Liquorpuki said:
Are they still gonna have the combat engineer prof from the first one?

My favorite thing to do was run around stealthed, drop mines all over the place and blow people up
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I believe so but info is rather limited at this point. See this PS2 Wiki.

Ap0ks said:
I played for about a year, I didn't have a great PC or net connection so kinda gave up after a while. I do remember doing plenty of galaxy drops, they were always fun :D

Oh boy I can't wait...
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Me too. Got accepted to the beta, have not yet downloaded client, but my lips are sealed in any case. ;)
 
I'm in game and there are changes from the original. I won't be talking about them until when it's safe to do so (end of beta). :) I'm experimenting with using a Razer Nostromo. My original Belkin Nostromos seem to no longer be compatible with Windows. :( I also tried using one of my MS Trackball Explorers with this game and the age of it's drivers is showing as far as in game acceleration. My Naga has much better acceleration when it comes to scrolling my view.

More later!
 
Been playing for about a week and a half. So far so good. Just waiting for a couple more optimization updates to improve the FPS with Medium/High settings with larger resolutions.
 
The PS2 NDA has been lifted!!

The game is looking good. However my number one complaint so far is that the tank's big gun is controlled by the driver, not the second passenger like the original game. There have been many complaints posted in the beta forums about this. Tank combat is much more effective if one player is dedicated to driving, positioning, obstacle avoidance, while the gunner guns. If you are driving and trying to shoot it's a lot more difficult to be effective, shooting while driving.
 
I signed up for the beta as well. For those who have played, what are the best settings you've been able to apply to get 30+ fps? (Don't forget to mention what Apple machine/GPU is) I don't expect to max much, since the graphics look very demanding.
 
Libertine Lush said:
I signed up for the beta as well. For those who have played, what are the best settings you've been able to apply to get 30+ fps? (Don't forget to mention what Apple machine/GPU is) I don't expect to max much, since the graphics look very demanding.
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As most MMOs it depends on where you at and how many players are there. My hardware (see sig) I'm getting between 15-35fps, most of the time in the high 20's. Overall the game is very playable.
 
15-25fps sounds like our laptops are now starting to show there age a bit, what res are you playing at? if that is at 1920x1080 on an external monitor then its decent. Maybe squeeze more out of it at 1440x900!

I am looking forward to trying planetside whenever it comes out, never did play the original and the latest counter strike game has made me realise I am not TERRIBLE at all FPS games on PC.
 
SlickShoes said:
15-25fps sounds like our laptops are now starting to show there age a bit, what res are you playing at? if that is at 1920x1080 on an external monitor then its decent. Maybe squeeze more out of it at 1440x900!

I am looking forward to trying planetside whenever it comes out, never did play the original and the latest counter strike game has made me realise I am not TERRIBLE at all FPS games on PC.
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I've got a 1GB video card. Although I'm not certain, my impression is that changing resolution will have minimal effect on frames. Also the developers have made statements that the game is not yet optimized or fully optimized. But I'll try it and let you know. :) For reference I've played both GW2 and SW:TOR which are about the same in the 15-45fps range. My impression is that my MBP is still competitive for this type of game.
 
Huntn said:
I've got a 1GB video card. Although I'm not certain, my impression is that changing resolution will have minimal effect on frames. Also the developers have made statements that the game is not yet optimized or fully optimized. But I'll try it and let you know. :) For reference I've played both GW2 and SW:TOR which are about the same in the 15-45fps range. My impression is that my MBP is still competitive for this type of game.
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Aye I suppose you are correct, dropping res should net you more fps though.

I have been playing GW2 and for the most part its running between 30 and 60 fps in the open world, but World v World really hits it hard in a battle of around 50v50 players with spell effects everywhere my fps dropped to 10 and it felt really hard to play in that slideshow! I am not sure how large and intense the battles are in planetside though and probably things are a bit more spaced out than 100 people inside a keep.

I guess I am spoiled a bit as I used to accept low fps when I didnt have a pro and only a macbook.

Half of what I say about the computer showing it's age is mostly because I would like an upgrade next year and I am already trying to justify it haha
 
SlickShoes said:
Aye I suppose you are correct, dropping res should net you more fps though.

I have been playing GW2 and for the most part its running between 30 and 60 fps in the open world, but World v World really hits it hard in a battle of around 50v50 players with spell effects everywhere my fps dropped to 10 and it felt really hard to play in that slideshow! I am not sure how large and intense the battles are in planetside though and probably things are a bit more spaced out than 100 people inside a keep.

I guess I am spoiled a bit as I used to accept low fps when I didnt have a pro and only a macbook.

Half of what I say about the computer showing it's age is mostly because I would like an upgrade next year and I am already trying to justify it haha
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I'd be lying if I said I'd never seen 10fps. :) This is one issue that for this circumstance would make a game like GW2 more difficult. At least with WoW when you were locked on, you could still be effective with your shots at 10fps.

I've got a dead G5 at home. My next Mac most likely will be the next gen iMac. I'm not going to be traveling as much and I'm thinking about selling my MBP and replacing it with an iPad...
 
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Huntn said:
I'd be lying if I said I'd never seen 10fps. :) This is one issue that for this circumstance would make a game like GW2 more difficult. At least with WoW when you were locked on, you could still be effective with your shots at 10fps.

I've got a dead G5 at home. My next Mac most likely will be the next gen iMac. I'm not going to be traveling as much and I'm thinking about selling my MBP and replacing it with a iPad...
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That sounds like a wise choice! I am getting one of the next iMacs at work, for actual work purposes but I have been waiting on them updating the line for months now as it would be a waste of money to be buying a mid 2011 model.

I am clutching at straws for a 13" retina MBP with a dedicated GPU in it, I love the 13" size but moved to the 15 because of the GPU. I know I am dreaming but nevermind!
 
Played some more last night. I love being in an organized outfit. The battles can be a literal blast.

However I'm realizing how much I loved tank battles in PS1 and how badly I dislike the new tank configurations. It does not help that my outfit has decided that tanks in this config are not effective and are pushing mostly infantry and air. Flying, specifically dog fighting in PS2 is relatively difficult as compared to the original game. I do not remember in the original game having to use my mouse to turn. I much prefer using buttons. Because during the course of a game you could be switching several times into different configurations, I don't consider the joystick to be effective. I'm a bit frustrated.
 
I want to say that a shot to the head has more effect than to other parts of the body but I'm not sure.

I've been playing the beta and am not as thrilled as I once imagined myself would be. However, I've not given up on the game though. :)

Playing infantry sucks, in other words I lose about 95% of my man to man duels. :p

Flying situational awareness is poor. There is no way to erase the cockpit like you could in the original. To achieve good situational awareness you have to switch to 3rd person view, but then you don't have an aiming reticule. And I don't like flying controls/physics. It's possible I will get used to them, but having to move the mouse sideways to put in angle of bank and push the mouse forward and back to raise and lower the nose is enough to make me want to try a simple joystick, hmm.

This leaves me mostly interested in armor and the I've all ready complained about the tank configuration. Solo tank driver/gunner makes the tank a much more of a stationary platform. There are situations where you can run and gun, but that is when someone is mostly in front of you and it is more difficult because you concentration is split between aiming and driving.
 
Planetside 2 has gone retail. It appears I had a basic misunderstanding of how pricing works... the game is "free", no upfront purchase. My understanding is that credits can be earned towards upgrade or if you are impatient, you can use real cash... this is how the game will be paid for, relying on impatient players to pay $ for things. My son calls them wallet warriors. ;)

I was traveling for an extended period of time and have not played the game since it went retail.

Last I played, the second person in the main battle tank can only operate the machine gun, which does provide some protection from air vehicles. However I am not happy with this setup. I can guarantee that when it comes to fighting effectiveness, a dedicated gunner and a dedicated driver will run circles around a solo tank operator, however it can argued if everyone is nerfed in this manner, the tank is mostly reduced to a stationary platform with limited ability to maneuver and accurately fire at other moving targets. During beta there was some hope that the second rider in the tank might eventually be able to control the gun through a paid upgrade. Anyone know?

There are some mechanics that are not as good as the original imo. I really dislike the new rules for being able to respawn a vehicle, say the tank you just died in. In the old game, there was a standard cool down period, which was relatively brief say 5 minutes. In PS2, the respawn period is based on a flow of material, based on how much and what kind of territory your faction controls. The result is that you can end up waiting an extended period of time to reattain that same vehicle.

My adult son who used to play the original PS with me when he was a teenager, got on it the other night and was not impressed with the game- too much like the original.

Hmm. Well I'll be logging into the game soon and give it another peak, but I'm not as hopefull as I once was.
 
So no one gives a hoot about it? :) It does feel very much like the original. Is that good or bad? Well, it's both. :) There are some mechanics which I don't like as compared to the original. And then there is my whining about the tank setup. :p
 
I'm playing it more now than I did when it was in beta. While I think I have gotten over, at least can deal with my issue regarding tank crew member roles, I'm having a pretty good time as long as I take it in moderation, no more than a couple times a week.

The outfit I am with is establishing a more disciplined "Longbow" armor group which seems to have good potential to kick some arse!

I am happy that although you can purchase upgraded guns, all of the in-game certs, must be earned. So far I have paid $25 real cash to upgrade my guns- 5 guns on two vehicles. Although they can be earned in-game, their price is very high. A gun capable of shooting armor piercing rounds cost 700 credits ($7), which from my experience takes quite a while to gather up. I only come on for a few hours at at time so my credit accumulation is low as compared to someone who lives on the game. I am satisfied with my expenses so far especially since, I could have paid $60 up front or a monthly $15 subscription. I project this game will be successful. :)
 
Huntn said:
I'm playing it more now than I did when it was in beta. While I think I have gotten over, at least can deal with my issue regarding tank crew member roles, I'm having a pretty good time as long as I take it in moderation, no more than a couple times a week.

The outfit I am with is establishing a more disciplined "Longbow" armor group which seems to have good potential to kick some arse!

I am happy that although you can purchase upgraded guns, all of the in-game certs, must be earned. So far I have paid $25 real cash to upgrade my guns- 5 guns on two vehicles. Although they can be earned in-game, their price is very high. A gun capable of shooting armor piercing rounds cost 700 credits ($7), which from my experience takes quite a while to gather up. I only come on for a few hours at at time so my credit accumulation is low as compared to someone who lives on the game. I am satisfied with my expenses so far especially since, I could have paid $60 up front or a monthly $15 subscription. I project this game will be successful. :)
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I am thinking about giving it another go soon, what settings do you play at? I couldnt get it looking or feeling remotely good but was hoping for more optimisation.
 
SlickShoes said:
I am thinking about giving it another go soon, what settings do you play at? I couldnt get it looking or feeling remotely good but was hoping for more optimisation.
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I have it running on medium settings. I'm miffed that Fraps does not work on it for frames and I've not figured out how to use the in-game fps read out with my Mac keyboard...yet. However in most situations, my frames seem to be fluid.

As I see it, there are two good ways to approach outfit game play- Join a really large outfit where there always lots of members on and take orders deciding the order to take down facilities. The other method is to get into a smaller outfit, pick targets of opportunity, and go for it. My perception is that the second method involve more fighting, more xp, and more group freedom. The advantage of a large group is that it is easier to sweep through areas. All of my logic says it's better to be big and of course, organized. Hence I tend to pick the former.

For anyone playing PS2 or other similar style games, how do you feel about it?
 
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