By Jim Rossignol on July 8th, 2011 at 8:23 am.
Last night in Las Vegas SOE officially announced Planetside 2. You can see the trailer and first screenshots below, and then check back at 2pm for more details. It’s set in Auraxis once again, and the three familiar factions are back. It’s looking very much like a straight remake. No sign of the mech things, either, but Reavers zooming about and men shooting each other very much in evidence. We understand it will be PC only.
Go take a look.
08/07/2011 at 08:30 TooNu says:
Can it truly be Planetside? Have the gods listened to our prayers? Oh it is a remarkable day!
08/07/2011 at 09:28 Alexander Norris says:
If it actually turns out to be a straight remake, they are getting my regular monthly payment so fast they won’t know what hit them.
08/07/2011 at 09:36 MadMatty says:
Woohoo!
08/07/2011 at 08:31 Meat Circus says:
I’ll take it.
08/07/2011 at 08:49 P7uen says:
Yeah I’ll have the same please, and a side order of Subscription Payment Model. Thanks.
08/07/2011 at 09:16 Holybasil says:
@P7uen And please. Hold the n00bs and hackers. I’m allergic.
08/07/2011 at 09:41 Dominic White says:
A subscription will likely ensure that I never play it, especially if they go the traditional SoE route of charging me $180 a year to play, and THEN have the nerve to charge $30 every six months for an addon.
08/07/2011 at 09:44 Jim Rossignol says:
I’m predicting free to play, with a sub to unlock all the higher tier vehicles and command stuff. That’s how I’d do it. Keeps the numbers up and keeps the experienced, dedicated players in charge of the action.
08/07/2011 at 10:36 Holybasil says:
That is a terrible idea, Jim.
One should never restrict choice to part of the playerbase.
08/07/2011 at 10:50 Surgeon says:
Yep, me too Jim. I’d go F2P upto say BR 8 or so. And then subscription model after that.
The main reason they got rid of the PlanetSide Reserves was due to evil hackers, so if they can get a handle on that then a F2P and subscription model side by side could work.
12/07/2011 at 12:00 AdamK117 says:
“…and keeps the experienced, dedicated players in charge of the action.”
[Experience] = c*[Wallet Size]
While the subscription model is slowly being replaced by the F2P + microtransaction take on gaming I’d dislike having to pay money to gain a warfare advantage. Maybe they could go the HoN route of charging for the game as a one off then doing microtransaction “guild banners” or w/e cosmetic bonuses?
08/07/2011 at 08:31 Chockster says:
Oh thank the lord. Take my money please Sony.
(But don’t, like, lose my personal details or anything. I’m not cool with that.)
08/07/2011 at 08:31 Fondue says:
Woohoo
08/07/2011 at 08:32 Lightbulb says:
Planetside was always a game I wanted to play. Now all they have to announce is a non-horrible free to play version and I’ll be ecstatic…
Can’t see myself spending £15 a month to play an FPS though.
More MMO’s following the GW approach would be great for me. However I’m not 100% sure what expansion packs would add to such a game really so there would be no stead stream of income… Tricky.
08/07/2011 at 08:34 TimA says:
Straight remake suits me just fine, hopefully they can recreate what made those early days of PlanetSide so epic. Can’t wait to try it.
08/07/2011 at 08:37 Metaphorazine says:
So far it’s looking great!
Just really hoping they’re not saving the mechs as DLC… I did not enjoy the mechs in planetside one bit…
08/07/2011 at 08:40 Meat Circus says:
I think, somehow, SOE got the message that the players did not really like the mechs either.
08/07/2011 at 09:19 Dominic White says:
I really do hope they have mechs, but they try to actually refine and balance them this time. I’d love to see something akin to Lost Planet 2′s chunkier walkers, which even had railings/footholds for extra players to hang onto and ride into battle, and even provide extra machinegun fire.
08/07/2011 at 09:38 MadMatty says:
Yeah mechs would need rebalancing, as they completely destroyed the balance in the 1, making tanks and such largely useless and outdated.
08/07/2011 at 10:00 dsi1 says:
Smedly already confirmed the BFRs as not going to be in Planetside 2.
08/07/2011 at 10:21 Dominic White says:
Losing BFRs: Good. They were ugly slabs of metal that made almost all over vehicles obsolete.
That said, I do hope they have some kind of mech unit. Like I said, Lost Planet 2′s chunkier exosuits would be perfect. No bigger than about 12 feet tall, not greatly armored, well armed but still something that a guy with a rocket launcher can take down in a couple hits, or disable altogether with a single EMP grenade.
Having something that could be a bit more agile than a tank and especially good at dealing with aircraft or infantry, but would be fodder against tanks would fit in nicely.
08/07/2011 at 10:27 Flameberge says:
@Dominic White
Pretty sure the MAX suits, if still in the game, fit in there? The anti-air ones were always the best at taking out aircraft in PS1, and the anti infantry spec’d ones completely kicked the crap out of infantry at range.
08/07/2011 at 08:40 12kill4 says:
I always wanted to play but there was no decent Australian server when I gave it a trial, so crazy lag ensued. Hopefully SOE will show us some love down under (and also make a server for Australia).
08/07/2011 at 13:15 mda says:
*chuckle* i did a double take at that sentence. coin dropped the second time :
11/07/2011 at 01:29 FRIENDLYUNIT says:
Struth yes.
We are crying out for SOE to love us down under.
08/07/2011 at 08:42 Kdansky says:
Giant guns, iron sight mode, sprinting? More like Call of Planetside. Can I have a decent shooter once in a while? There’s a good reason why these mechanics are not in the really good shooters (such as Valve’s): They are shit. I don’t want to spend my time looking at the butts of guns when I can look at pretty game instead! And I don’t need an aim-assist function. I got a mouse. It works fine.
08/07/2011 at 08:51 P7uen says:
In today’s News of the World: Gamer in “Doesn’t Want To Spend Time Looking At Butts” shocker
08/07/2011 at 09:18 jon_hill987 says:
What!? They hacked Kdansky’s phone as well?
08/07/2011 at 09:41 Stevostin says:
The good news is that here the butt of your game isn’t hidding a beautiful game. This one would be ugly even for a console port. Which it isn’t. Good lord !
08/07/2011 at 10:27 Alexander Norris says:
Valve do not make “really good shooters.” They make good games, but the shooting in e.g. Half-Life 2 is pants compared to CoD4.
08/07/2011 at 15:22 DrGonzo says:
But… The shooting in CoD is crap compared to Half Life 2. In Half Life, you move from cover to cover, being dramatic, flanking the enemy, using various weapons and the environment to your advantage. In Cod, you just click on heads over and over. The scripted events in CoD are fantastic, but the actual shooting and stuff is really, really naff.
10/07/2011 at 10:47 studenteternal says:
I like iron sights. I miss them when playing older games. (fear, half life, ect.) the perfect accuracy while firing from the hip at a run always kinda bugs me. (as does Half Life 2′s most accurate long range weapon being a pistol held on handed, but I digress)
Sprint was in both half life’s, and pretty much all shooter post bout 95 I think. as long as my regular move is faster then a crawl I could give or take it as a mechanic.
I agree on aim-assist though, no need for it in a PC shooter, save that for the console crowd so they can feel special :)
08/07/2011 at 08:42 Inigo says:
“Hey Carl! You look REALLY big though this telescope thingy on my gun!”
“I know, Steve. You already said. Fifteen times. In the last hour.”
“‘Grrr! All bow down before GIGANTO-CARL! Grrr!’”
“Shut UP.”
08/07/2011 at 08:54 P7uen says:
Surely Carl would be far more angry about Steve having pointed a loaded gun at him every 4 minutes?
I mean, I’m assuming they are on sentry duty and are therefore using live ammo.
08/07/2011 at 09:36 jon_hill987 says:
You don’t necessarily get guard duty by being bright…
08/07/2011 at 09:57 dsi1 says:
He doesn’t really care if he’ll be saved by Auraxis when he dies, does he?
08/07/2011 at 10:03 P7uen says:
He does if the nearest tower gets captured while he’s dead and he has to respawn in the arse-end of nowhere.
08/07/2011 at 08:44 neolith says:
I really hope it does not use a pay-to-win model or stupid itemshops.
Ah, well, I can dream…
08/07/2011 at 12:31 J-snukk says:
This is why I’m hoping for a subscription model. Cos, let’s face it the only options in SoE’s mind are pay to win or pay to play.
08/07/2011 at 12:32 Jim Rossignol says:
Making it free to a certain level to keep infantry levels up is the only acceptable option, I think. Perhaps lock off command functions and vehicles to subscribers only.
08/07/2011 at 08:54 fenriz says:
I hope they work on the ground control mechanic: give us a purpose, make it complex and interesting, interactive, stimulating, and sociability-filled too.
So a lot of production and exploitment of resources, management, maintenance of the base, building LOTS of contraptions and tinkering with them.
Hey Im thinking Steenberg’s Love new game in a non-abstract way, also without the stupidity of running around for tools.
08/07/2011 at 08:57 Lobotomist says:
Niceee!
And straight remake !
I just hope they will keep non instanced nature of it
08/07/2011 at 08:58 Tei says:
Oh the memories… I love this game.
08/07/2011 at 09:06 SeanybabeS says:
Oooh…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjYePPvWYPU
08/07/2011 at 09:09 P4p3Rc1iP says:
Oh!!! Yes!! Yes1! Yes!! Yes!! Give it to meeeeeeeeee!!1!!1
08/07/2011 at 09:17 Grot_Punter says:
LONG LIVE THE PURPLE FACTION!! MAY IT FOREVER CRUSH THE FACTIONS OF ITS COMPONENT COLORS!!
Also I hope the Vanu’s Samus-suits are still in game. I loved them. Except their rocket-launcher-laser thing. I couldn’t aim it for spit.
08/07/2011 at 09:22 kutkh says:
If nostalgia tempts you to look up Planetside 1 videos on youtube, fight it. I was deeply unready for that amount of early noughties metal at this time in the morning.
08/07/2011 at 09:39 Stevostin says:
The Art Direction is put to shame by D.U.S.T. and that’s an understatement.
Soooo Basically we have Sony who makes a massive FPS PC only while historic PC publisher CCP is making the same as a PS3 only game. What and when did it go all wrong ?
08/07/2011 at 09:42 Jim Rossignol says:
Really? DUST’s generic blue/brown is impressing you?
08/07/2011 at 09:53 mickygor says:
Well DUST’s graphical direction is impressing me, yea, but that’s probably more my infatuation with New Eden.
Re: Planetside 2′s graphical style… It reminds me of Halo. No thanks.
08/07/2011 at 09:59 dsi1 says:
@Stevostin: Planetside puts Dust’s playercount to shame.
08/07/2011 at 10:14 ShineDog says:
There isn’t an original palette on earth. Regardless, Dust 514 has a coherent, moody look, and the tech designs are absolutely superb, theres a fantastic sense of scale too. It fits well into Eves dystopian world of corporate war with hundreds of throwaway mercs going at it.
That said, the bright and breezy cartoony look fits planetsides 3 distinct factions well. There’s a nice hazy look to the enviroments that really fits that epic future space battle feel. While the tech looks a little generic, you won’t really see the personality in the units till you see the REX/MAX/Tanks/whatever.
Also, I don’t mind if there are BFRs, just don’t let them work like they used to.
08/07/2011 at 10:17 Stevostin says:
Yup DUST AD is impressing me. I don’t play CCP games but I reckon they probably design the best Sci Fi stuff worldwide nowadays (including vs movies). D.U.S.T impressed me especially because it’s a diffcult thing to do those “future grunt” design in a way that is memorable and striking… Still they did IMO.
(BTW color or lack of it doesn’t define good AD. Althought it’s true that too much color is a short cut to esthetic failure. Anyway, it’s rather a mix between silhouette, colors, texture, ambient FX, etc.).
It’s true Planetside will allow more player. In my book its not especially exciting but I am sure some players just love this.
08/07/2011 at 10:31 fenriz says:
I agree, the art is looking dumb at best. It’s the damn bloom or HDR or whatever that thing’s called, warm colors don’t work with sci-fi, is it so hard to get it?. See the concept art above? Does it have any bloom or red? No.
Concept designers should also be programmers cause they know what style is.
08/07/2011 at 09:42 Dave says:
Purple Lasher N00bs assemble!
Squeeeeeee
08/07/2011 at 09:43 Dreamhacker says:
I hope they won’t use dice rolls for the damage. Straight up FPS shooting mechanics or bust!
08/07/2011 at 09:59 Bungle says:
Looks like another Unreal mod.
08/07/2011 at 10:08 PoulWrist says:
Also, what’s up with the lowres graphics? Nice overall modern effects like shadows and such though.
08/07/2011 at 10:13 Jim Rossignol says:
Effects are cheap, computationally.
08/07/2011 at 11:10 The Pink Ninja says:
This is low rez now?
And because if an MMOFPS had graphics like CODBLOPS or Crysis you’d need an incredible super computer to run it. They’re sacrificing the shinies for fun basically.
08/07/2011 at 10:15 The Pink Ninja says:
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
08/07/2011 at 10:17 Dana says:
Its SOE guys, dont forget about that !
08/07/2011 at 10:22 Mr Wonderstuff says:
Great memories from playing the first one. Really looking forward to this. I was under the impression this was coming to the PS3 as well as the PC.
08/07/2011 at 10:43 Diziet Sma says:
Please don’t screw this up sony. Planetside holds the fondest gaming memories for me, then it’s Ultima Online and Dark Ages of Camelot.
08/07/2011 at 10:46 DarkNoghri says:
IGN and Gamespy have what looks to be concept art for MAX suits.
http://media.pc.ign.com/media/142/14242769/imgs_1.html
08/07/2011 at 10:47 One Million Monkeys says:
Hope they keep the friendly fire. More than once I was penalized to be confined in the factional safe zone, ’cause I had fiercely defended a Terran occupied tower with my Pounder Suit spamming grenades down some stairs killing everything. My friendly kills was in two digits but I felt like a hero.
08/07/2011 at 11:10 The Pink Ninja says:
OH MY GOD!
The youtube comments on the Machima.com version of this video!
The pain! The stupidty! The fanboys!
08/07/2011 at 11:34 Quine says:
When they crested that chunky rise I felt it- that 8(?) year-old feeling when PS1 kicked off.
Please let this be a good remake!
08/07/2011 at 11:52 aircool says:
I’m overjoyed with joy. The original had many faults, and now doubt PS2 will be perfect… But it will for me and some of my friends…
A single tear of joy has appeared… XCOM, PS2… now we just need a new X-Wing and I can die a happy (but amusingly shallow) man.
08/07/2011 at 12:12 JJMarmite says:
Man, this was the first game I properly played online. So many memories of being set on fire with incendiary grenades while also being killed with lasher fire. Good times.
08/07/2011 at 14:50 aircool says:
Oh how I loved the Pounder and the Striker.
08/07/2011 at 12:21 Chufty says:
To those who didn’t wake up at 3am to watch the live conference:
1) You’re not a sufficiently hardcore Planetside fan
2) It is not a “straight up remake.”
There’s a much more emphasised metagame, and a territory/resource mining system that makes the entire continents worth fighting over, rather than just the facilities.
There are classes (eek), Outfits can build and fortify their own facilities, and there was even talk of BF3-style destruction.
More new stuff than just a graphics update. Which would have been absolutely fine, of course.
08/07/2011 at 12:46 tungstenHead says:
Yeah, I stayed up to watch it. I think the implementation of classes they implied was along the same lines as Battlefield where you spawn with a certain kit. They said something to the effect of changing them out as you go.
I should have wrote this down last night, but here’s what I remember, in convenient bulletpoint format.
- New engine called Forge Light. Features the usual high end shaders and effects. Features dstructability. (This engine will also power Everquest:Next; destruction in a fantasy game. Go figure.)
- Territory control game. “Fight over every square inch of Auraxis.”
- Resources. Earn resources over time for all territory controlled. I’m not sure if they define control by whether you took part in the capture or if it’s just held by your empire or what.
- Use resources to buy stuff like vehicular weapons. I think they also mentioned more powerful personal weapons or it may have been weapon attachments; I can’t remember on this point very well.
- Eventual goal of Outfits being able to use their resources to purchase base facilities like vehicle pads and place them in the field. I don’t think they said with definiteness whether this would be in game at release or not.
- Classes. Each class has a cert tree to climb through that, IIRC, includes stuff like the implants.
And that’s all the stuff I can remember right now. I really should have written it down. :S Regardless, later on today, we’ll see a bit more.
EDIT: Also, there’s some manner of offline experience gain being added. I don’t know 100% what they meant by this, but they had separated Battle Rank from certs or something like that.
08/07/2011 at 13:13 Springy says:
Give me multiple hitboxes or give me death! (Though not as a result of a headshot.)
08/07/2011 at 13:18 mda says:
i’m buying it due to the extra slow fade to black on the ‘planetside 2′ logo.
gotta have a reason, not having played ps1.
11/07/2011 at 01:45 Spinefusor says:
The logo, especially the 2 is a mass effect ripoff. I wonder if Sony is gonna let hackers ruin this game too. There was never any GM’s around to get rid of all the speed hacking aimbots.
08/07/2011 at 13:31 Demon Beaver says:
The fanfare at 0:24 sounds like the Godfather love theme…
And on an unrelated note – dynamic MMOFPS ftw!!!
08/07/2011 at 13:53 AshRolls says:
I really hope they have worked on the net code, I found the lag and gun physics / hitboxing on the original to be a bit flawed. Not to say it wasn’t an excellent game of course :)
08/07/2011 at 13:56 The Hammer says:
Weeeeeee.
Loved the look of that trailer. Now, if only it could have a Guild Wars style payment system…
11/07/2011 at 01:53 Spinefusor says:
I think the idea of having f2p with command and vehicles kept for the paying customers is a likely winner. But for how long is the question. Wont take long for the foddersiders playing the f2p model figure out that its a long ass walk to the next base and tanks hurt when they roll over you. Unless there will be other stuff for them to do thats in the game and i have no idea about.
11/07/2011 at 14:00 Ciber says:
But what will the lasher be like? Or any of the HA for that matter?
12/07/2011 at 12:05 AdamK117 says:
Theres a corridor with my jackhammers name on it.