This got 350+ upvotes on /r/Planetside, why isn't getting attention here?

Do you guys find it hard to stay on topic.

This idea has merit, the current UI is woeful, I'm sure we can all agree we've seen UIs executed significantly better in other games.

Less with the e-cred BS, the rest of us couldn't care less.

People tried saying what could have been improved and he went defensive. There's little point actually speaking about the topic if any critiques are just going to be shouted down by the poster.

Looks and sounds like like the BF2 commander post. Pretty good tool to organize squads/players.

The elitism and ego in this thread is mind splitting.

Probably because that's a substantially sub-par interface mock-up. It's far too cluttered, and similar information isn't grouped in the same area of the screen. Leave the interface design to the graphic designers, who actually know what they're doing.

It's cluttered because I stuffed a lot of information into it.

Those who have previously led a massive platoon and are capable of slowly progressing from the top-left to the bottom right corner of the concept, shouldn't have any problem understanding how it would work. At this point all it is, is a draft of a UI. I don't have 8 hours a day to work on something like this towards the end of college semester. I wish I did, and if I could, I would make it as perfect as possible, test it and throw it into the game myself. Hell, if someone like Higby or Smedley told me "Hey, I like where you're going with this", I probably would throw my whole schedule out the window.

Without any information on the diagram, this is what it's "supposed" to look like more or less:

How it's supposed to be read, and how people will inevitably end up reading it, are two totally different things. Currently, they don't coincide much at all. You want the most important elements of the interface to be the largest and most eye-catching, but not to take up ridiculous amounts of screen space, like the whole left side of the mock-up currently does. You don't need huge lettering and boxes for things like faction names and squad designation; that's just taking up unnecessary space. There's also too much empty space at the sides of the screen, particularly in the bottom left, which makes the whole interface feel lop-sided.

having a path of attack would be awesome, especially if, say, the commander is forced to be in proximity of the battle to be effective. As a dedicated bomber (ESF of belly gun otherwise) It'd be nice to have targets marked for prompt removal by someone whose job is to mark and target things ( I am aware of the infiltrator, but sometimes what you see isn't exactly what you can hit with a tracer dart) . Because as of now, you cannot mark the ground you are staring at with a waypoint, or I have never seen it done and I don't know how. You have to mark the waypoint on the map screen so why it someone's job?



OR make a button to allow "on screen" waypoint marking, he'll, I'd start commanding air squadrons if I could scout ahead, find a sundy and command the 6-7 flyes in platoon to take it out without having to explain where it is or pick it amongst a crowd of similar vehicles.

if there is such a function, please tell me, I'll love you forever

Generally, you don't show people your concept by starting with the schematics. Concept drawing and mock-ups exist for a reason.

That being said, this seems to be a bit lightly integrated. I realize it's just a mock up, but it would be interesting to have the map be a bit more tactically oriented; maybe have specific feedback displayed based on what your platoon members are doing/seeing? Or maybe have the ability to focus on a specific hex with more detail in that hex, for stuff like manual targeting of specific enemies or very precise waypoint place? I dunno, as presented this seems like a voice management system slapped on top of the existing map, which, while helpful, isn't really mind-blowing. Pictures are pretty but details are more interesting.

Battlefield 2 commander system ... Yeah why not. It's not like EA/Dice are using it anymore and it would be a nice addition for controlling squads, Possibly support, vehicle drops, strike (artillery), supplies, satellite image. Pretty much the same stuff but a planetside 2 version.

Will suggest that it has requirements and limitations in order to access such a valuable asset, Such as required 24 (Two full squads of players to gain access to (Commander Mode - Platoon leaders only), Also limitation such as the available abilities, (Artillery strike) as example comes from a point of capture, meaning our commanders cannot use a missile strike on a targeted area without owning the Missile base located somewhere within the central area of the map, even more requiring resources from surrounding bases in order to use the ability.

Players within the platoon could also spend their personal resources on buying the missiles, or artillery shells, or vehicles that will be sent for vehicles drops ( Example : Purchase Vehicle type A at warpgate, Place on Pad or warehouse, vehicle disappears and is available for drop by commander ability. plenty of ways to apply this idea to the game.

This would give us a high priority target to capture and would increase teamwork / gameplay intensity / A goal worth fighting for.

Platoon leader working with ingame voice , dafuq are those guys? I will refuse to join every group who will work with that in every single game. And Oh yea you don't need this tool when I see how we manage to play EvE with 1000 of players without a damn ******* tool.

Lol, OP wants to be able to draw on the map in realtime. Why not just say that instead of making a complex diagram. You just want a physical representation instead of voice. It's not hard, a lot of games have free draw for platoon leaders.

lol reddit

but seriously, this looks good if you dont decide to start asking reddit for things all the time

What in the hell is wrong with you people? Deltahawk presents a logical idea that would IMPROVE TEAMWORK in the game, and you gang up on him like it is the worst, most horrible implemented idea on the planet? Sure, it isn't a professionally made UI, but the point was to present the CONCEPT of an integrated platoon commander interface, not propose a final design and order SOE to copy it exactly.

The fact is that BF2/2142 had something like this, and commanders in that game were at most commanding 32 people on a team. Leaders of outfits in PS2 routinely command full platoons of 48 players, and many of them command multiple platoons at the same time. Given that PS2 is supposed to be a HEAVILY TEAMWORK BASED game, it would make sense to have a centralized UI through which a commander could manage his squads and platoons.

I realize this is a free to play game so not everyone who plays it is going to have a PhD in stellar astrophysics, but you guys are EMBARASSING YOURSELVES. Shooting down an idea just because it doesn't fit your Call of Duty play style is juvenile and reflects poorly on your intelligence and ability as a PC gamer. Planetside 2 is supposed to provide large scale warfare, and large scale warfare is mostly about strategy and logistics. The fact of the matter is that platoon leaders currently are forced to manage their guys through a cumbersome mixture of Teamspeak channels and in game VOIP, and in a game that has so much other teamwork integration an integrated UI makes PERFECT sense. Sure, this concept is not aesthetically pleasing, but it is not supposed to be. It is a FUNCTIONAL mockup, not an aesthetic mockup. It is supposed to show the general features that would be needed, not the final visual style.


Also, this post gives me little hope for the future of gaming:

In other words, "Shut up and take your feedback elsewhere, developers don't care, as they are always right about everything."

Do you happen to be a DICE employee? That is VERY close to something that would come out of the mouth of someone like Alan Kertz or Gustav Halling. The SOE devs, on the other hand, are VERY receptive to community feedback. They have changed fundamental gameplay mechanics because of user feedback. Higby has stated MANY times that he LOVES how we give feedback; in one recent video interview he basically said that he couldn't thank the community enough for their feedback and that he hopes they keep giving it. These aren't typical game devs, these guys genuinely want to create a game for their customers, not for some marketing executive that wants to hop on the call of duty bandwagon.


TL; DR:
Grow up. This is a concept, and a much needed one. If you lack the maturity to spend 5 minutes looking it over closely, then PS2 isn't the right game for you.

For people that don't understand what the graphic means:

User designed waypoints that link together linearly
Functional overlay for squad/platoon management
Life feed orbital surveillance for intelligence gathering (ala battlefield 2142)

Is this the mature PS2 community? Guy creates a nice idea and you all insult him. Why?

The concept is fine, the presentation looks like hot garbage

Sweet jiminy Christmas. I thought I was a hateful bastiche.


It's a freaking player made Mock up you simpletons. It's not supposed to look good. Just convey the idea.

Clean it up a bit and try to get a more "how it would look in game" feel and we have a deal