Battlefield 4 experiences - How can planetside 2 improve?

After renting a BF3 64man game server that first week (with one of the best companies to ensure enough system resources and all...2 per box deal) and all the server patch screw-ups, I'm holding out to play BF4 (which doesn't have enough changes for me to justify the price+DLC). EA really overdid the DLC content, with none being worth it for me. Wound up staying with the Metro map, since it was the only infantry map in that game.

If I wanted vehicle combat I'd play a vehicle only game.

Aside from bringing up all kinds of DICE and previous titles drama and what not, what smaller gameplay elements that are in BF4 could work for or improve PS2, if any?

3 I believe is deliberately limited to maintain some semblance of balance, or you could see what an ubgl on a Lasher would feel like.

Better weapon variety and sound design.
Better animation - less wonk when traversing the environments.
Better level design

These thing would greatly improve my Planetside experience.

Let me guess. You don't drive a Harasser, but you got killed by it lot of times and therefore it is OP?
If you did drive a Harasser then you would know it is nowhere near "I win button" as you, Captain Hyperbole, claim it to be.

There is even google doc with vehicle statistics which show that Harasser isn't an outlier in terms of kills per hour but I somehow have a feeling you will tell me that statistics are worthless in these kinds of discussions and that we should stick with individual opinions.

My comment was more towards the attitude than the harasser itself.

From my personal experience as a tanker of a Magrider that I can't put any more certs into even if I wanted in a strictly AP loadout, the only Harasser that gives me serious trouble is the Vulcan variable. It's infinitely easier to run circles with a vulcan harasser hitting a relatively immobile target (or making it even easier by trying to follow it), than it is to be 100% aim accurate, both you and your co-pilot, so you do enough alpha damage that you kill it before it moves away to repair the damage faster than you dish it.

In terms of threats, it doesn't qualify as first. My qualification of threats would be:
(that's basically a list of what I believe kills me the most)

• ESFs (and a bit rarer Liberators)
• Vanguards (A Magrider is a free kill for an AP Vanguard, unless the later messes up completely)
• Vulcan Harassers (Luckily the good drivers are rare and/or prefer to farm infantry with Marauder)
• Prowlers (Outgunned, but can kill at least if surprised)
• C4 (In the cases where I overextend near infantry)

Overall, I don't treat Harassers as vehicles that can potentially mess my day if I'm careless or surprised, but as threats equal or sometimes worse than the other empire battle tanks.

Aren't there plenty of threads on Harassers already? Can this be more connected to the OP.

To disable Post processing in the game (DoF,bloom,chromatic aberration) without hurting any of the other graphic features, change the "graphic quality" options from high to low.

There, solved one of your problems.

I found that some PLs don't even play the game but they strategize on the map for the entire duration of the ops.

How about an in-browser "commander" mode akin to that of BF4 where the PL looks at a map updated in real time without having to open the game to devise a plan with markers and focus points and then inform the rest of the crew about it?

While this is how i'm playing atm it's far from optimal solution. Doing this makes your tracers invisible, makes the game look worse, messes up the cloak effect and affects thermal sights.

What would be the downside of adding these settings? Both are post process effects which are most likely very easy to disable. If the development time is too much just add these to useroptions.ini. These are very common settings and not having them just makes no sense to me.

Prone, bro.

We want it.

Make it happen.

Sorry, i must have been out of sorts while typing that post, i meant change it from high to medium to just disable PP.
And i believe the refractive cloak effect is also PP (though i might be wrong).

But you're absolutely right, all those effect should be accessible to switch on and off through the menu without having to guess what everything does, i really hate how SoE is always cryptic like that.

I don't have BF4 yet, but for what it's worth, it looks like BF4's netcode is much worse than PS2's. When I watch streams I see people getting one shot all the time.

First off: I like both PS2 and BF4.

But its funny how people try to trash BF4 in a what i can only think to be a pathetic attempt to justify for themselves not to buy the game or whiteknighting for PS2. BF4 is a litte over 1 week old, ofc it is gonna have bugs. Can you remember any big multiplayer game not having bugs on release? I mean its over 1 year + for ps2 and its still _filled_ with bugs. This doesnt mean, LOL BF4 >>> PS2! But stop trying to make it seem like one of other game is significantly better because frankly, you can't compare the two straight up.

BF4 has gotten tons better already than what it was at release already, dice are working fast to patch all the bugs/problems just like PS2 devs does. Tho it seems some bugs are just ignored completely by SOE, for unkown reasons.

Anyhow, ps2 cant begin to compare sounds and weapons, weapon options/attachments and animations with bf4. And this is something that will never come close in ps2.

I play both BF4 and PS2 - I don't get the same from BF4 that I get from PS2 thats why they are both great games... One problem I have with BF4 is the constant spamming of explosive weapons, its craZy. I'm amazed they haven't had the same problem in PS2 and for that I thank you (SOE). YES, It can be bad at times but when taken the sheer scale into account compared with the scale that BF4 has it's no where near as bad - An example: If you play a map like "operation Locker" with 64 players, you are entering a *********** beond the "old tech plants". The sheer spamming is unbelievable.

The random spawning mechanics are also quite annoying, making you die from people appearing behind you where there "realistically" shouldn't have been anyone. PS2 gets the frontline concept quite well and you (as a leader) have an easier time actually calculating a flanking manoeuvre.

The sound in BF4 is amazing though and I love the weapon feel - Especially the attachments and how they drastically effect the gunplay.

But all in all there is a ton of "cheese" weapons in BF4 - A LOT more than in PS2 (when taking the scale into account). In BF4 everyone has a freaking explosive projectile weapon that fires either in volleys or 1 shot with multiple ways of instanlty restocking ammo. This results in annoying corridor(or open land) spam-fests and frankly hurts the infantry play.

Tanks in the game are also very overpowered (when crewed right). The "Staff Shell" that I have unlocked is complete cheese - you fire your shell and it hits the target nomatter what, as long as it is fired above the target... I feel that there are balance issues with the game more so than PS2 has issues on this subject.

A few things I'd love for PS2 to bring on board:
more options for commanders (platoon leaders) I'd actually like for them to "disappear" from the map/game and play it from the map screen, like the commander in BF4. This will give the PL role a more tactical feel and less of a (18th century lead by example feel) Squad leaders should be on the ground with the grunts while the "platoon leaders" should be in the rear leading the troops.

Also I'd love for there to be more "umfh" in the sound design for PS2, I mean if you have played BF4 for half an hour, you know what I mean. The sound of sniper rounds snapping and bombs going off in the distance, crazy good...

Also attachments, the range of great and cool attachments that are actually usefull (FLASHLIGHT I'M LOOKING AT YOU). Even the freaking flashlight in BF4 has a unique role (blinds the enemy) while in PS2 the flashlight is, well, useless.

There are mutliple scope attachments and magnifiers for weapon scopes.
I run with an acoq sight combined with an iron sight on the side of the weapon, I can quickly switch between them... Awesome.

Also so many different grips that either help with hipfire or ADS.

Hybrid optics, would be really good stuff for Heavy Assault. It should work like the Grenade Launcher, you have to press a button on the mouse or keyboard to change it, and must have a animation on the change, like the hand of the guy putting down the sight.

its actually remarkably similar to the NS15 if you consider it

Ha! Glad to see there's more people who feel the same. My bud and I got bf4 but quickly realized we'd wasted our money. It's not that it's a bad game (although it did have a terrible launch and unplayable multiplayer for the most part), but PS2 is just bigger and better. Honestly bf4 just felt like bf3 and I got bored of bf3 a long time ago. But I do agree there are small tidbits it can take from bf4 to improve it's own game.

SOE definitely needs to make some improvements but I don't think they need to take any tips from the soulless, bad bads at EA.

There is a special corner in hell I hope for whoever first introduced bloom and DOF to first person shooters.