PlanetSide 2 - PC

Planetside 2 Trailer Features Impeccable Computer Generated Stubble

Kyle Hilliard — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 02:52:00 GMT

There's no true gameplay to be seen, but it's still quite the impressive spectacle. And I am not just talking about the beards.

As a concept video for Planetside 2, this is an impressive trailer showing off all kinds of interesting gameplay mechanics, like calling in for back-up, jetpacking from drop-ship to drop-ship taking out enemies before they even land, and invisible ninja ladies.

Click here for more on Planetside 2.

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Hands-on Test Proves Planetside 2’s Worth

Adam Biessener — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 03:17:00 GMT

Sony Online Entertainment’s next flagship game has a lot to prove, but the majority of my doubts were erased once I took control of a grunt in Planetside 2.

I already knew I was on board with Planetside 2’s persistent warfare that puts everyone in the same world without splitting up into 16-, 32-, or even 64-player matches. The foremost question on my mind was whether it could deliver the kind of pixel-perfect shooter gameplay that any Call of Duty or Battlefield player expects. My hat is off to Sony Online, because I wouldn’t have known I was playing an MMO-scale title, with hundreds of players fighting dozens of skirmishes in a three-way war spanning multiple continents, from how good it felt to vaporize my enemies with hand weapons, vehicles, and aircraft alike. It may only have been a half-hour on the E3 show floor months before release, but the moment-to-moment gameplay itself is already on par with any triple-A sci-fi shooter you care to name.

The typical shooter archetypes are all well-represented. I tried the majority of them for myself, and each one I got my hands on was a delight in its own way. Heavies control their area wherever they go with powerful miniguns, snipers provide overwatch, engineers deploy deadly turrets, and jetpack-sporting assault players create havoc all over the battlefield. Aircraft, from the helicopter-like VTOL assault craft to enormous dropships that double as forward spawn points, are expensive but powerful support craft. Swift four-wheelers and a variety of tank-like assault vehicles provide land-based firepower, but also require a non-trivial investment of resources.

The struggle for those resources is how Planetside 2 blows the doors off of our conception of a modern online shooter. Players belong to one of three factions, and rather than joining discrete matches with objectives like capturing a flag or planting a bomb they simply deploy wherever they feel like in the persistent public space that makes up Planetside 2’s game world. Control of territories depends on capturing nodes on the map, which are often fortified inside enormous bases. Wherever players decide to fight is where the action is; nothing is scripted or determined by NPC actions.

I was already sold on the idea of joining the enormous persistent war that Planetside 2 promises. Now that I’ve played it and have firsthand confirmation that the gameplay holds its own against the best shooters on the market today, it’s at the top of my competitive shooter list. We should see a closed beta starting soon, with a full release planned before the end of the year.

Oh, and it’s 100 percent free-to-play (with real-money purchasing of cosmetic and convenience items as well as sidegrade weapons, like an assault rifle that does less damage but reloads faster). That doesn’t hurt either.

Digging Into The Trenches With PlanetSide 2

Matt Bertz — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 02:00:00 GMT

When PlanetSide launched in 2003, it boldly tried to marry the persistence and player customization of massively multiplayer games with the kinetic action of a first-person shooter. Though it's fondly remembered by many for its unique concept, crippling bouts of lag ultimately grounded the ambitious project.

Armed with better bandwidth and all of the progression refinements developed by games like Halo, Call of Duty, and Battlefield, nine years later Sony Online Entertainment is ready to give the concept another go.

Like many other MMOs these days, PlanetSide 2 embraces the free-to-play financial model. Anyone will be welcome to download the game, with SOE supporting the servers by selling players several customization options for guns, vehicles, and soldiers. SOE was careful to point out that because it wants to keep the competition pure, there will be no play-to-win style microtransations. Most of these purchases are purely aesthetic. SOE also plans to offer a membership to its biggest fans, but hasn't determined what this will offer players yet.

As a re-imagining of the original concept, PlanetSide 2 doesn't stray far from its predecessor. The same three factions -- the Terran Republic, New Conglomerate, and Vanu Sovereignty -- are still duking it out for control of a futuristic planet. When your faction gains control of enough capture points in a specific region, it will gain possession of the region. Controlling regions awards your faction with resources like new weapons and ammo.

To give the game a modern makeover, SOE created a new proprietary engine called ForgeLight that produces deferred lighting, atmospheric light scattering, environmental shaders, tracer fire, and improved character details. The engine also introduces a day/night cycle to the never-ending war. Battle tactics will shift once the sun goes down, as teams armed with night vision will have a leg up on the competition.

Like Battlefield, players can choose between several different player classes -- the fast and mobile Light Assault, the Heavy Assault, the stealthy Infiltrator, and support classes like the Combat Medic and Engineer. If you have problems winning gun battles, it's possible to play a 100-percent support role and still be a major contributor to the team by healing teammates, repairing vehicles, hacking doors, spotting enemies, and directing squads.

Logistics play a much larger role in PlanetSide than other shooters. Teams who smartly deploy vehicles with mobile respawn and resupply capabilities will have a much better chance of turning the tide of battle than disorganized bands of lone wolves. Leaders of the 10-players squads can also choose to equip a squad respawn perk that will keep their soldiers closer to the front lines.

The two battles we watched during the GDC demo showcased a wide-open battlefield with both vehicles and infantry. The first skirmish featured gunships swooping down on large tank columns along the countryside. With tracer fire streaking across the battlefield and impressive missile explosions, the scale of the fight felt huge even though only 50 players were on the server. SOE claims PlanetSide 2 can support over a thousand people on the battlefield at once, but even with only 50 people I noticed considerable pop-up and occasional lag. The game is only in alpha, so the development team has a lot of time to iron out the kinks.

The second section of the demo featured an infantry battle at one of the control points. SOE says each control point is roughly the size of a multiplayer map from a modern shooter, and each of these areas is being hand-crafted to give them a different feel and support different types of gameplay.

As you would expect from a modern shooter, PlanetSide 2 also features a robust player progression system. Like Battlefield 3's Battlelog, players can track their performance in real-time, earn weapon-based medals, and customize their gear with upgrades like scopes and adjustable rates of fire.

Sony Online Entertainment plans to roll out more information as we move deeper into 2012, but if you have some comments to share with the dev team or want to sign up for the pending beta, head over to its official homepage.

PlanetSide 2 Time-Lapse Weapon Design

Joe Juba — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:00:00 GMT

The Sky Lance is a prototype anti-air weapon in the upcoming PlanetSide 2, and you can see its creation in this video.

The weapon appears courtesy of the Nanite Systems corporation in PlanetSide 2, and you can witness its design progress from a rough sketch to finished concept. Senior artist Roel Jovellanos provides commentary on top of the video of his work, adding insight into the process. Even if you aren't a PlanetSide fan, time-lapse videos like this are always fascinating, so give it a watch.

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PlanetSide 2 is an MMO shooter from Sony Online Entertainment . If you want to see more, you can check out another time-lapse video along with screens and wallpapers. You can also sign up to be a part of the beta at Planetside2.com.

Exclusive Video: PlanetSide 2 Artist Time-lapse

Ben Reeves — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:47:00 GMT

Senior artist Patrick Ho walks us through the process of creating player respawn tubes for SOE’s upcoming shooter MMO PlanetSide 2.

In PlanetSide 2, players will vie for control of territories across a large open world. Players will probably die a lot over the course of the game, so the respawn chambers they reappear in better look good. SOE senior artist Patrick Ho walks us through the process of conceptualizing these chambers in the video below.

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Five Questions with artist Patrick Ho:

What are you drawing?
I'm creating a concept paint over for the "Player Respawn Tube." The Player Respawn Tube is where players are rematerialized after confirmed KIA status through the use of nanite rebirthing technology. I design all of the surface detail for this object including color, materials, and effects. This serves as reference when our other artists textures the actual model.

How long did this actually take you?
Two days.

How did you get your job?
I started my career as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer after graduating San Jose State University back in 1989. I freelanced for just over ten years and it was a tough gig. It got to a point where I really needed a steady income, so I landed a job with a start up game company and for the next three years transitioned from traditional media to digital. I jumped over to SOE to be a character artist in 2000. To complement my skills as a concept and texture artist, they trained me in Maya to build character models and I've been doing it ever since.

What do you use as inspiration while drawing?
Definitely toys, comic books, movies, and other artists (both in and out of our industry). But my biggest inspiration comes from almost everything Japanese. They really have a great design sense. When I was in high school, comic book artist John Byrne was a major influence on me during his X-men and Fantastic Four days. Today there are so many talented artists both old and new, famous and not, it’s hard to say. I'd probably have to go with Japanese artists like Katsuya Terada and Takayumi Takeya that stand out in my mind as current favorites.

Do you listen to anything while drawing?
Not as often as one would think, but I do. I'm an old school R&B guy, so my musical tastes lean towards bands like Earth, Wind, & Fire. I also listen to Jazz and House.

New Planetside 2 Screens Land

Matthew Kato — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:22:36 GMT

Sony Computer Entertainment has just released a few new screens for the FPS MMO.

The game is a re-imagining of the first title, with three factions vying for control of a single planet. Naturally, warfare over larger chunks of territory involving scores of players and different weapons and vehicles ensues.

Take a look at the new screens in the gallery below, and click here to go check out the debut trailer.

First Screens And Wallpapers

Joe Juba — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:45:00 GMT

Sony Online Entertainment just revealed PlanetSide 2, and now you can see screenshots and decorate your desktop.

You'll have to go to the official PlanetSide 2 site for all of the various wallpaper resolutions, but you can see what you're getting below. Also, don't forget to watch the reveal trailer!