2015 Update

yes to this, especially when debating about unreleased content.

huh.....
funny that we would be friendly towards one another as im nc and you tr.

Patched the game just now.
Game just freezes everytime right after joining into a server.

bots....bots everywhere...

Just be glad that Daybreak is adding PS1 content, now that the reigns have been handed over to them. Updates should be more regular now, though I wish they would do optimizations first.

This:

Please.

The things missing from PS2 which were from PS1:

Sanctuary Raid 1:


Sanctuary Raid 2:


ANT Run 1:


Oh, and for those about to say: "We already do that in PS2!" You're wrong. That isn't an organized outfit, it's the community as a whole that would stop what they are doing and return to our Sanctuary (which PS2 does not have). This was often hosted by recognized 'leaders' within the Empire who reach CR5 (Command Rank 5 [which also does not exist in PS2]) in which people would listen to in order to achieve their goals together. Outfit Member and Pugger alike.

• Empire Sanctuary - In Planetside 1, each empire had it's own 'home base'. This base could not be visited by enemy players and was a safe zone and did not allow the firing of weapons. It was used as a 'staging area' for major assaults. This does not exist in PS2. It was handy for 'concealing and amassing' an army to perform an assault. In order for it to be stopped... the other empires had to respond to it and tactical decisions had to be made.

• Command Rank 5 (CR5) - In Planetside 1, any player had the ability to lead a group. As they captured bases they were awarded what is known as CEP (Command Experience Points) it was a separate 'leveling system' where rather than gaining EXP from kills to raise your Battle Rank, you merely leveled to recieve command benefits. This ability was utlized by a CUD Device (Command Uplink Device) where you could press a button and 1. Detect Friendly Units, 2. Detect Enemy Units, 3. Perform an EMP Pulse, 4. Perform an Orbital Strike causing instant death to anything that remained within it's radius after it was launched.

• ANT / NTU Silo - If you look at the 3rd picture, you'll see 4 ANT's (Advanced Nanite Transport) fighting over an NTU Silo (whatever that acronym stands for). An ANT was necessary in PS1 because if the NTU Silo was not maintained, the base would enter a neutral state. That means, it belonged to no empire and could easily be hacked and attacked. There are ways to 'drain' a base in PS1 so that it can be 'stolen' from an enemy empire. However even I as a PS1 Vet, really felt that ANTs were more of a... obligatory hassle from a CR5 logistics/security standpoint. But on the other side, lowbie players loved it because of the amount of EXP it would yield. Essentially, if you drive an ANT around and fill up bases, it's like an EXP Fountain and can help you 'powerlevel' at low Battle Rank. The good news is... if PS2 had ANT's and relied on an NTU silo, then the 'hour long Biolab farms' could technically reach a foreseeable end at some point.

• Empire Hopping - In Planetside 1, we actually had a way to limit people from 'Empire Hopping/Fourth Faction', as in switching to the empire only when the 'going was good'. For example; you may play on your TR Character, however the moment you switch to your NC Alt, you will be locked out from returning to your TR Character for 6 hours. --- This was something that was originally promised in the PS2 Beta and many PS1 players praised because they understood what it's like to have 'spies' amongst your faction, however this guideline was removed and the community has suffered since. If I recall correctly, you could only play 2 of 3 factions but I may be mistaken.

Anyways... my nostalgia rant is done before this becomes a TL;DR moment. Although I'm sure it already has. But hey, if you wanted the insight and opinion of a PS1 Veteran, then here you go. I posted the most important things worth mentioning that PS2 doesn't have or should avoid.



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SCREENSHOTS INFORMATION:
Note: This PS1 screenshot was taken years after it's prime, as you can see the BFR in the first picture. But as you can see, the community -still- had a functional empire leadership system. And no, the 'Squad Leader' system in PS2 is a failure because it removed the Command Rank system.

• Lodestar and Galaxy - Also if you look at the first picture, and you view the top left corner, you'll see what is known as a Lodestar. It's a retangular aircraft which was capable of carrying a single large vehicle. Like a Main Battle Tank. It could also act as a repair/rearm area when landed for air/ground vehicles. --- Also, the Galaxy had a compartment to load small vehicles too. Like an ATV, Harasser, Lightning or ANT. This all, yet again, does not exist in PS2.

• Liberator - For those wondering, the aircraft that I am flying (front and center) is the old-school Liberator. The gun you see that's facing the rear was the tailgun for defense. There was no main 'cannon' to be fired. It was a pilot/bomber system. The Pilot had to line up the target perfectly. From there, the bomber could only target things along a vertical axis beneath the aircraft. I truly wish there was a 'bomber' variant of the Liberator for PS2 that had the mechanics of the PS1 version. However, I will say that even as a PS1 vet, I think the PS2 Liberator is far more 'user friendly' as a cannon that can be aimed is far easier to use.

• TR Hacked NC Vanguard - If you look in the 2nd picture of a 'flat tank' that is next to the galaxy on the right hand side, you'll notice that's an NC Vanguard. Yes, it's an NC Vanguard that was 'hacked' by an expert hacker and stolen from the NC for TR use. For those that don't understand, then picture it like this from a PS2 standpoint: Imagine being in a Spear Anti-Tank Turret. A cloaker comes by and hacks it. You get kicked out and the cloaker can get in. Now just imagine that same scenario, but for a vehicle. Voila, Grand Theft Auto in PS2. But of course... remember that the vehicle has to remain stationary to hack it.

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Ok, Daybreakgames, you've succeeded in luring me back into some Planetside 2 action.
Now what's missing is another 1 free week of Planetside 1 and the completion of these promised features. Also the poster above me had some pretty neat ideas.

https://twitter.com/planetside2/status/645004188146139136


https://twitter.com/planetside2/status/645005042030903296?nav=true





ITS COMING GUYS.

It's BEAUTIFUL!!!! NEED MOAR DETAILS NAO!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Seems ANT going to look like an ant.

Planetside 1 - Nostalgia: The ANT

I'm honestly surprised how many people think ANT's are amazing. They were originally intended to be nothing more than an unarmed harvester. Granted that Planetside 1 Veterans did use them in acts known as the 'ANT Bomb'...

During the early years of Planetside 1, ANT's were actually used offensively in a very... 'creative' way. If I recall correctly, an individual would actually get into an ANT, drive it to the warp gate and harvest it's energy. However, rather than using it for it's intended purpose, players would actually drive them directly into the enemy. And if the enemy was foolish enough to shoot at the ANT while it was driving around amongst them, it would let out a -large explosion-. Thus, killing the driver and virtually everything in close proximity to it.

Excerpted a few quotes from others amongst the internet:

• "Sorry to say this but ANT bombs were taken out really early in the game, before the lodestar made its debut. But man, screaming at people DONT SHOOT THE ANT during a bridge battle was hilarious because you knew that thing would blowup everything around it."

• "Ugh, I remember ANT bombs. One in particular. The entire continent population for my faction (NC at the time) was crammed into one courtyard for some reason. Two TR ANTs came trundling in through a gate that inexplicably hadn't been (anti-vehicle) mined yet. A sizable group of idiots up on the wall decided to Phoenix both of the ANTs to death while they were plowing through the big throng of infantry. It was carnage."

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Planetside 1 - Nostalgia: Combat Engineering

What I really wish they would do, is actually revive the Planetside 1 Combat Engineering system.

During Planetside 1, we had a single device known as an ACE (Adaptive Construction Engine) it was a device that was consumed on use that was otherwise used to create anything from Combat Engineering. Such as a Spitfire Turret, Mines, Motion Sensors and Boomers (C4). A single device was able to 'manipulate itself' at random, and form itself into the desired object for use.

Combat Engineering:

• Boomers (C4)
• Spitfire Turret (Automatic Anti-Personnel Turret)
• Mines (Capable of both damaging vehicles and infantry.)
• Motion Sensor

Advanced Combat Engineering:

• Empire Specific Manned Anti-Personnel Turrets (I.E. TR Avenger)
• Aegis Shield Generator (Damage Shield, Invisibility Shield and Ammo Dispenser all in one.)
• Cerberus Turret (Automatic Anti-Air Flak Turret)
• Shadow Turret (Cloaking Automatic Anti-Personnel Turret)

Or... If you want to see a sample of Advanced Combat Engineering deployable, check this out:



Anyways, I think the Engineer in PS2 should have so much more to work with. The Engineer should be able to have an Anti-Personnel Turret, Anti-Vehicle Turret or a Spitfire Turret all on one device. The only catch is that whatever they pick, there can only be one of it in the world. The Engineer is supposed to be a 'handy' and 'utilitarian' class, and it should feel like it in my opinion.

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Planetside 1 - Nostalgia: Command Rank 5
If you watch the above video, you will notice a player with a 'back pack' on his character. This is a player whom has reached Command Rank 5 (CR5).

In Planetside 1, we actually had a Command Rank system which allowed players (who wished to lead a squad or platoon) to accumlate Command Experience Points (CEP) which would ultimately lead them to getting CR1, CR2, CR3 and CR5. This was done by leveling up your Command Rank.

Command Rank is actually a separate system to Battle Rank. One is for increasing your characters level, the other is to increase your character's leadership level. Most players who reached their Maximum Battle Rank level, often ended up working on their Command Rank level. By then, you as a player understood what needed to be done. Individuals who reach CR5 were often recognized as some of the most skillful players which were trusted upon by many to lead your empire/faction to victory.
What was interesting about Planetside 1, is that you could actually tell who was an important person within your empire simply because they had various aesthetic pieces of gear on their character. Such as armguards, legguards and a communications backpack on.

Unfortunately, this mechanic was destroyed in PS2 by the 'Alert System'. This is because the CR5's in Planetside 1 would make the decision themselves to attack a continent of value collectively for your empire/faction. Not some... damned random event timer that occurs every few hours.
Because of the missing Command Rank system and the presence of Alerts, I don't think PS2 will really ever have that kind of 'tight knit community' feeling. The power of the player was taken away and placed into a randomly generated hourly event.
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So, there you go. Nostalgia in a nutshell. Think they'll do it in PS2?

Oh, I almost forgot one last thing!

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Planetside 1 - Nostalgia: Bases with an LLU (Logic Lattice Unit)

In Planetside 1, there was a second mechanic used to capture bases. Most that play PS2 usually know that in order to capture a base, you have to hold the control points. However, in Planetside 1, some bases had what is known as an LLU or Logic Lattice Unit.

1. Essentially, upon attacking an enemy base and 'control it' you have about about 10 to 15 minutes to capture it by delivering the LLU to the (intended) nearby friendly base.
2. During this time the LLU will spawn. The LLU is a small spherical item which appears in one of the rooms within the base you are assaulting.
3. After the LLU has spawned, a person from your empire has to volunteer to carry it. As they carry it, they glow and blink so all can see it's location in the world.
4. During this time your team mates would often help you by offering you a ride if they have a vehicle with multiple seats such as an ATV, Harasser or Sunderer (considering current PS2 vehicle mechanics) for example.
5. Your goal is to reach the intended friendly base, and deliver it to the control room.
6. After delivering it to the control room successfully, your empire will capture the enemy base.

Here's the catch... during this time, you are transporting the LLU device across open-terrain in the world. This means that enemy air responders can come and stop you, or they can even establish an ambush on a road with enemy vehicles. Sometimes an empire opposite of the one you're trying to capture the base from may feel inclined to attack the LLU to undermine it's progress if it's relevant to their tactical interests.

(For example: TR are attacking an NC Base. TR attempt to carry LLU to friendly TR Base. VS air units appear out of nowhere to try and stop the LLU from being captured to otherwise slow and impede TR base capture during an Alert.)

LLU in Planetside 1 Video:
(Note: This video does not show the 'mechanics' of how to capture the LLU during a base assault. However, it is merely showing you the LLU 'spawn locations' within the various bases in PS1. It was sometimes confusing because each base had a different kind of structure and the 'LLU Socket' was different for each. This is a video showing players where the 'LLU Socket' was for the various bases back in the day.)



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Simply put, it's basically a type of 'capture the flag' where you assault a base, then you have to grab 'their flag' (the LLU) and run it back to one of your nearby adjoining bases. It's complicated, but makes for interesting gameplay and gets rid of the dull and boring 'stay and wait till it's captured' feeling.

Perhaps the LLU system should exist for Biolabs? You know... as a means to help expedite their capture and limit excessive farming. Or perhaps the LLU system should become available to any bases after it's been assaulted for an excessive period of time and a 'stalemate' is detected?

Hey, it's just food for thought. Could be cool, you know?

As it stands now the ANT is litteraly just another weapon adding no depth to the game. Former players looking for more depth wont come back, new players wont stay any longer just because of this, no reason to buy a membership. Maybe some players will hunt for a few more achievments but thats about it. Imho a waste of time, ressources and yet another disapointment for players hoping dbg will fix ps2 to become something else than a BF-zergfest.

Hype Train has arrived.

Great posts Amador. I miss the LLU system as well. Good times both escorting and hunting LLU carriers.

im on board!

Victory Points are coming out next week!


Also potentially this stuff in the same update:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Planetside/comments/3popa8/facilitycontinent_benefit_changes_coming_to_pts/

omg these are the best updates ive seen in forever!

Seems not good to force people to play in my favorite continent.