Planetside NDA Lifted!

noel · Post by **noel** » April 11, 2003, 8:05 pm

News
Information For New Beta Testers

If you have questions about how to participate in the beta, visit our PlanetSide online manual. Once the game is up and running, here's how you report bugs and snafus.

Non-Disclosure Agreement No Longer In Effect!

As of Friday April 11, 2003, the PlanetSide beta tester non-disclosure agreement has been lifted. Testers, feel free to tell friends, family and neighbors about the game and your experiences.

Welcome To Beta

WOOT!

Last night Brittney was piloting the equivalent of an Apache while the rest of the squad was on the ground hacking bases and dealing with enemy infantry. Britt was lending fire support and making us aware of incoming enemies and their direction. He's the best pilot I've seen in beta so far.

Also, on his way back to the Air Vehicle Terminal he helped me take out a Vanu jackass who'd come into our base. Britt got in front of him and opened up with automatic fire while I came up behind him with the shotgun. It was pure ownage.

This is by far the best game I've ever played. The servers are easily as stable as Anarchy Online was when I started playing it, and as of last night they were MUCH more stable. There's little lag (if any), and some of the battles have lasted up to 4 hours of constant firefighting with approximately 150 combatants.

If anyone has any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them. This game rules!

Py, can we have that PS forum now? =D

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 11, 2003, 8:55 pm

Post some Screenshots

noel · Post by **noel** » April 11, 2003, 9:01 pm

I don't have very many, but I will get some tonight, and get them up.

Acies · Post by **Acies** » April 11, 2003, 9:07 pm

How does character progression work in PS Aranuil?

noel · Post by **noel** » April 11, 2003, 9:27 pm

Excellent question.

In Planetside, you get experience for kills in combat, capturing enemy bases, and a few other miscellaneous things. If you are a member of a squad, and you or another squad member performs an action which nets you experience, everyone in the squad gets experience. Therefore it is always in your best interest to be in a squad (squad is EQ equivalent of a group, and can hold up to 10 people). These experience points allow you to increase in either Battle Rank (BR) or Command Rank (CR). It can be said that BR is similar to levels in EQ, and CR is similar to AA exp (honestly this is a stretch, but bear with me).

Rising in BR will give your character 'Certification Points'. Cert points allow your character access to varying Weapons, Armor, Vehicles, or Support Gear. When you begin the game at BR1, you have 4 cert points to spend. Each time you increase your BR, you get an additional Cert point to spend. A player who is BR20 will have access to more weapon systems, armor, vehicles, and support abilities than a player who is BR1. However, in a combat situation the BR1 player can just as easily kill the BR20 as the BR20 can kill the BR1. I believe this is one of the keys to what will surely be Planetside's success. There is no such thing as special weapons only attainable to higher level players. There is no increased accuracy as you level. It's all about the twitch.

To increase in Command Rank, you have to be leading a squad when they capture a base, or perform other miscellaneous activities. CR allows you to perform command functions such as: marking waypoints, setting up fire teams, direct voice commands with squad members, communication in a Empire command channel, and other features that have yet to be implemented/revealed.

Technically, there are two paths of advancement, BR and CR. I would say that BR is more important until approximately BR10ish. At BR10ish, you'll have the necessary Cert points to have a well rounded highly functional character (that's not to say you can't kick ass at level 1, you definitely can

) and it might make sense to get yourself some CEP. In truth though, it's all about how you choose to play your character.

Hope that was all clear. Feel free to ask for clarification on anything.

Acies · Post by **Acies** » April 11, 2003, 9:32 pm

Sounds pretty peachy

How does death work? Is there a respawn point, a wait time, a loss of exp (BR?) or whatnot?

Also, can you attribute the game play to any other FPS example you played (similarities), or is it handled too differantly to make that distinction?

kyoukan · Post by **kyoukan** » April 11, 2003, 9:33 pm

Characters progress by going up in battle rank or command rank. You go up in battle rank fastest by capturing bases. Bases are captured by finding the command console and hacking it with a hacking too. Anyone can hack a command console but specialized hackers can hack base amenities like equipment stations or vehicle bays. Once a base is hacked there is a 15 minute "transition period" before the base gets changed over to your faction in which case you have to defend it because more than likely the former owners of the base will come back and try to kill you and hack it back (if a base is hacked back there is no transition period at all).

You go up in rank by earning XP. If you were in the SOI (sphere of influence) of a base when it was hacked you are eligible for XP based on a bunch of different parameters like how long the base was held by the previous faction (2000-3000). You also get XP for killing other players or vehicles on different factions. The XP you get is dependent on how long that player has been playing since he died last. So killing a player that just spawned is only worth a few XP, but killing one that's been alive for 30 minutes or so can get you 350 XP. Players in MAX armor are worth more, I think.

When you go up a level you get a certification point. Certification points are spent on certifying (hah) your character in different abilities. Most of the guns require a certification in either medium, heavy, sniper, anti-vehicle or special. There's about 10 different vehicles that require 2-4 points each to certify in. Three different kinds of super-heavy (MAX) armor, a bunch of different support skills (hacking, medical, engineering and advanced upgrades for them all three). Most skills take 2 or 3 points to certify yourself in. Some really "powerful" vehicles or weapons take 4 (but most of the 4 point ones are underpowered imo).

You start the game with 4 points and there are 20 levels so you can have a maximum of 23 certification points, so you sort of have to specialize because one character won't be able to do everything.

I'll take some screens later.

noel · Post by **noel** » April 11, 2003, 9:36 pm

Acies wrote:Sounds pretty peachy

How does death work? Is there a respawn point, a wait time, a loss of exp (BR?) or whatnot?

Also, can you attribute the game play to any other FPS example you played (similarities), or is it handled too differantly to make that distinction?

When you die, you can respawn at a base controlled by your empire, a tower controlled by your empire or an Advanced Mobile Station (AMS). There is a short period of time between death and respawn (20 secondsish). Your first order of business on respawn will be to head to an equipment terminal and reequip. Once that's done, re-enter the fray depending upon the objectives of your squad.

The AMS is a Winnebago sized vehicle that has spawn tubes on either side and an Equipment terminal on the rear. It is an excellent idea to deploy an AMS near an enemy base you are planning to capture. When the AMS is deployed in the field it creates a bubble around itself that effectively cloaks it from plain sight. In this manner, you can respawn but it's difficult for the enemy to determine where you're coming from.

I think it would be unfair to associate planetside to any particular FPS I've played in the past. There is so much you can do and the battles are larger and more hectic than anything you've EVER seen in another FPS. Planetside stands on its own IMHO. Largely oversimplifying, and depending on how you Cert your character, you can have a grunt, heavy weapons expert, demolitions expert, mechanic, pilot, transport pilot, tank driver, jeep driver, supply driver, spy, sniper, combat medic, etc. It's nearly unlimited within the scope of the game.

Dregor Thule · Post by **Dregor Thule** » April 11, 2003, 9:41 pm

Alright, here's a question. Where's my invite to beta, Saiphos?!

Acies · Post by **Acies** » April 11, 2003, 9:45 pm

Okay, one more question for now.

What types of combat is there? Melee? Vehicle to Vehicle? Also how extensive is the world so to speak?

noel · Post by **noel** » April 11, 2003, 9:46 pm

Wanted to add that other than time to respawn/get back to the fight and not being there to support your squad mates, there is nothing overly negative about dying. There are even times when you'll issue the /suicide command to respawn at a more convenient location.

Shaion · Post by **Shaion** » April 11, 2003, 9:52 pm

Acies,

Air Vehicles, ground vehicles, or just plain ground firefights. You do have 1 knife though for melee

There is a few large worlds with a number of bases. Pretty simioular to Tribes Capture & defend sort of deal.

kyoukan · Post by **kyoukan** » April 11, 2003, 9:52 pm

Acies wrote:Okay, one more question for now.

What types of combat is there? Melee? Vehicle to Vehicle? Also how extensive is the world so to speak?

All the weapons are guns, execpt every character comes equipped with a knife that has a secondary function to activiate a special attack that does more damage but is really loud and/or bright (depending on the faction). A lot of stealth characters (there is an armorless suit that has a predator-like cloaking device) use the knife.

All the factions share a common pool of guns and vehicles but each faction has a few unique guns and a couple unique vehicles depending on the "theme" of the faction.

noel · Post by **noel** » April 11, 2003, 9:52 pm

Acies wrote:Okay, one more question for now.

What types of combat is there? Melee? Vehicle to Vehicle? Also how extensive is the world so to speak?

Each character has a standard combat knife from his/her Empire. Personally, I doubt I will ever use one, but it's there.

Any unit can engage any other unit at any time.

This means Infantry can take out vehicles of any type, other infantry, hardened turrets on bases, anything that moves really. Vehicles can fire on infantry, each other, bases, turrets, terminals, you name it.

The world is huge. From the FAQ I posted earlier:

How big is PlanetSide (Auraxis)?
There are 10 continents and 3 Sanctuaries with 400-600 square kilometers of total gaming space. The 10 continents are contested by the three empires. The remaining 3 Sanctuaries are the home bases for each empire.

Brittney · Post by **Brittney** » April 11, 2003, 10:15 pm

Amen Aranuil, this game is hands down the SHIT. Our team was unstoppable last night. Aran was all over bustin caps whal I was bussin the tower, wrighting checks my body couldent cash.

noel · Post by **noel** » April 11, 2003, 10:17 pm

Brittney wrote:...whal I was bussin the tower, wrighting checks my body couldent cash.

Gratz you, water on monitor from my nose!!11!1

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » April 11, 2003, 10:54 pm

Hmm, this sounds interesting indeed.

Question:

How are flight/vehicle controls, aiming(infantry shooting vs turret/cannon), etc? Also, is it entirely keyboard run or a mix with a joystick/gamepad?

noel · Post by **noel** » April 11, 2003, 11:02 pm

Canelek wrote:Hmm, this sounds interesting indeed.

Question:

How are flight/vehicle controls, aiming(infantry shooting vs turret/cannon), etc? Also, is it entirely keyboard run or a mix with a joystick/gamepad?

I have no problems doing everything with keyboard and mouse. You can however use a joystick if you prefer though I haven't tried it.

In general, mouse aims, keyboard moves. In a vehicle turret, mouse aims, and the movement is dependent on the driver. In flying vehicles, mouse controls flight, keyboard controls speed/weapon systems.

Vetiria · Post by **Vetiria** » April 11, 2003, 11:09 pm

Still waiting for my CD.....................

hurry up damn it!!

Forthe · Post by **Forthe** » April 11, 2003, 11:12 pm

Vetiria wrote:Still waiting for my CD.....................

hurry up damn it!!

Same. I'll try to look you all up when I get em.

How much time are you investing in this game daily?

Keverian FireCry · Post by **Keverian FireCry** » April 11, 2003, 11:14 pm

How is lag so far and how well does it run on what system specs? =)

noel · Post by **noel** » April 11, 2003, 11:19 pm

Forthe wrote:
Vetiria wrote:Still waiting for my CD.....................

hurry up damn it!!
Same. I'll try to look you all up when I get em.

How much time are you investing in this game daily?

I've ummm been playing like... as much as I can. They've been doing a lot of stability work on the servers lately, so they've been down a fair amount, but as of last night it was pretty much smooth sailing.

noel · Post by **noel** » April 11, 2003, 11:22 pm

Keverian FireCry wrote:How is lag so far and how well does it run on what system specs? =)

Lag is largely nonexistent. I have two PCs I'm playing it on.

Home PC: GF4Ti4700, P4 2.0, 1GB RAM, DSL connection - 1600x1200 everything on - no issues

Laptop: Radeon Mobility 9000 64MBDDR, P4 2.4, 512MB RAM, DSL or faster connection, 1024x768 - no issues

I'm fairly certain I can play at 16x12 on the laptop, but I think the FPS gets the tiniest bit choppy, so I've just left it at 1024x768 since I don't play on the laptop too often anyway.

Brittney · Post by **Brittney** » April 11, 2003, 11:25 pm

Canelek wrote:Hmm, this sounds interesting indeed.

Question:

How are flight/vehicle controls, aiming(infantry shooting vs turret/cannon), etc? Also, is it entirely keyboard run or a mix with a joystick/gamepad?

I do all my flyin keyboard and mouse baby!

noel · Post by **noel** » April 11, 2003, 11:28 pm

Brittney wrote:I do all my flyin keyboard and mouse baby!

I feel the need... The need for speed!

Acies · Post by **Acies** » April 11, 2003, 11:30 pm

Here is a question I did not see addressed in the FAQ. Are hit locations on the body a factor in damage?

noel · Post by **noel** » April 11, 2003, 11:35 pm

There are no 'hit zones'. The developers have a world target of 5000 players. In their opinion, 'hit zones' would have added too much overhead in processing and network traffic to support that number.

There are beta testers that are unhappy about this, but I assure you, when 40 enemies come over a hill all at the same time and are closing on your position, head shots are the last thing you're going to be worrying about.

Acies · Post by **Acies** » April 11, 2003, 11:37 pm

Aranuil wrote:There are no 'hit zones'. The developers have a world target of 5000 players. In their opinion, 'hit zones' would have added too much overhead in processing and network traffic to support that number.

There are beta testers that are unhappy about this, but I assure you, when 40 enemies come over a hill all at the same time and are closing on your position, head shots are the last thing you're going to be worrying about.

Shanter · Post by **Shanter** » April 12, 2003, 1:04 am

My CD better hurry up and get its shiny ass over to me

Trek · Post by **Trek** » April 12, 2003, 1:05 am

ok I wanna play

Zamtuk · Post by **Zamtuk** » April 12, 2003, 2:07 am

Logging on now, will post screenshots of VV corpses.

Zamtuk · Post by **Zamtuk** » April 12, 2003, 2:55 am

BAH! Fuck this, here is a warning to anyone thinking about VS. They fucking suck. They have the least amount of people and organization due to the fact that their weapons are so underpowered. I repeat do not pick them at all. They fucking suck.

Breagen · Post by **Breagen** » April 12, 2003, 8:38 am

Ok, so if after signing up at the Planetside site and being accepted into 'Open Beta' where they told me they would send me CD's I am assuming that the people that are already playing are in closed beta?

If so is there anyway someone knows of to get into the current beta or are they starting open beta soon? Otherwise I would much rather just DL it instead of waiting for CD's if they are ever sent

Is this what teh Vannoth was saying in his post, that he will try and get people from the FF into closed beta? Because I was so there...

Sabek · Post by **Sabek** » April 12, 2003, 3:43 pm

I freaking suck at planetside.

Got in and messing around made sabek and screwed his skills all up. Deleted him and am now going through all the VR stuff trying every gun and vehicle to scum exps till I get a better hang of the twitch.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » April 12, 2003, 7:34 pm

Excellent! Glad yall are having fun with beta!

Now to get Aranuil drunk for once so he spills the super-sekrit strats! No more iced tea for you motha fucka!

murr · Post by **murr** » April 12, 2003, 7:35 pm

I do fine flying my Reaver Britt but I suck balls at hitting shit with rockets

I suspect they might tone MAXes down, as is, I (with the help of Sir l33t Salis) use infiltration suit (invisibility), hack into a base, hack the base, then hack the equipment terminal and equip my MAX and camp the Control Center..whoever walks in, dies. =p
Maybe they'll just make it so you can't get a MAX from a hacked terminal, shrug

cid · Post by **cid** » April 12, 2003, 9:51 pm

My little inf/eng soloed a max last night

STRAF!! And attack from behind. Ran out of ammo and noob knifed the fucker!!!

Last night was a blast! I was so shocked to see the time when I logged. 4AM!!! Jebus

Ebumar · Post by **Ebumar** » April 12, 2003, 11:34 pm

Anyone have any idea when the beta CD's are coming? Btw, Zam, I want to talk to you about VS, I'm thinking about going that route. Send me a PM with your AIM name or something~

Draaxx · Post by **Draaxx** » April 13, 2003, 2:32 am

Hey aranuil is there any voice function (with a mic)? That would make communcating so much easier and just cause it is more fun with a mic than typing. I need to invade some shit with you guys =p look me up... I'm Draaxx

noel · Post by **noel** » April 13, 2003, 3:36 am

Sartori and I use Ventrilo. Works awesome.

Drolgin Steingrinder · Post by **Drolgin Steingrinder** » April 13, 2003, 4:10 am

Teamtalk!

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » April 13, 2003, 6:17 am

Team Speak?

noel · Post by **noel** » April 13, 2003, 6:28 am

Ventrilo's voice quality >>>>> Teamspeak's.

Teamspeak has a flashy UI, and additional management options, but Ventrilo is all about performance.

Avestan · Post by **Avestan** » April 13, 2003, 7:03 pm

ok I am going to have to give this a try. . .will have to bone up on my Unreal Tourney skills first so I can start layin down the whoopass.

Draaxx · Post by **Draaxx** » April 13, 2003, 10:19 pm

UT skills dont help at ALL on PS... when you look left and right the accuracy goes to shit and then it takes 5 seconds before its accurate again, so that makes it hard to play like UT since UT is about 20 times as fast paced cause you cant fly around with a sniper rifle shooting people in the face. PS is completely different and unique in the fighting aspect of the game...

and yeah i hope they tone down the power of people with MAX's, they're tanks on legs basically

VeeshanVault

Planetside NDA Lifted!

Planetside NDA Lifted!

Hm..