A note to the Community

I posted this in another thread, but after reading it over felt it would garner more views and attention as a stand alone. I'll let Luperza decide what to do with it from here.
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I've seen many of the threads on the forums, the rage, the frustration, and the misunderstandings garnered from such and in some occasions all out flame wars and even people leaving the game, due to changes. Well, I figure it was time I explained some things on a more personal note to the entire community about PS2, the Staff and the Players.

I sincerely hope it assuages some of the hurt that has happened over the last week and perhaps can begin to heal some of the wounds.

When being developed this game had very very specific guidelines for what each faction, vehicle etc would do, what role it would play (At least in the heads of those in charge of development). However in reality, it didn't turn out that way.

Players I find are very creative, very intuitive, resourceful, and very challenging to keep in "roles".

Some of the things planed were:

* Fighters to play an anti Air role specifically.
* Air units to do damage to ground units primarily.
* Transports of varying types and abilities both air and land.
* Various ground vehicles with an assortment of weapons to make them versatile, while still allowing them to play an integral role.
* Infantry units that were not only Unique, but fun to play with and each had something special about it to make it it's own class (so to speak). And play differently then the others.

And you know?.. Well it all didn't play out so well. Turns out players like to kill everything with everything, and try to do everything with anything to gain an edge over their opponent.. Who knew?

* Take the ESF for example. It was never intended to be an all out ground smashing platform but about 65% - 85% of the people that fly one use it almost specifically for such. To get it back into it's role, nurfs were applied, and ground resistances buffed.

But this didn't stop players from still using it as such, and still racking up the kills with it.

My point is that You, the players are the reason the game changes so much, why so many balances and nurfs, or fixes and such are applied. You out wit the dev's at every turn, out smart the coder's who think they've fixed something, only to for you to show them they broke it in another area.

It's a give and take relationship, and it will never be perfect, though the PS2 staff try really hard to make it such. Also remember that SOE is the boss, and nothing can be done without some type of approval.

Go easy on them, they are trying to help you, and they are trying to give you a game worth playing, it may take awhile, you may get frustrated, I know the PS2 staff does. But in the end, you can be constructive and help, deal with the issues, and give the PS2 staff the benefit of the doubt... or not.

I realize this is frustrating , infuriating and even difficult at times, but if you think your upset, imagine how the devs feel, I mean it is their job to fix the game and make it something worth playing, and if you have ever made something (A mod for say skyrim for example) Put all your time and energy into it with the hope it will make the game better, and then have it insulted, trashed or all together torn to shreds... how would you feel?

I know when I make something and it get's trashed I feel like crap, I find myself poring over it trying to figure out was it the right choice? could I have done something better? Was it really necessary in that amount? What can I do to improve it next time or even fix it currently?

Dev's put a lot of themselves into what they create, and what they do, and it is just as difficult for the devs (Yes the dev's play the game), to find their solution wasn't optimal but they can't go back and change it because of some other reason until a later date. It sucks all around, both for the players and the devs, who both feel like crap.

So now that you know all of this, I hope many of you will have a more understanding viewpoint about what goes on. It's a difficult thing all around, and believe me the players are not the only ones who feel jaded when a patch goes wrong and the servers crash continuously or a nurf has unexpected effects which make an item useless that wasn't accounted for..... Believe me....

Also remember that everyone is only human. And everyone makes mistakes. The PS2 staff do try to fix them, even if they can't admit them publicly, (SOE just doesn't allow that kind of thing, most companies don't.....).

Mal

Your logic is flawed .. ESF were never implemented in the way you describe above. So player had no incentive to use them for their "primary" role.

So it's our the players fault that things have to be changed? Because we don't want to play exactly how the devs envisioned us playing? I'll be honest that being blamed like that pisses me off.

Relax its just a chrismas post for peace and love

That was kind of my point with that example.

It was attempted to give them weapons, and abilities to make them more Air to air oriented. But if you found those rocket pods meant to make it easier to strafe and take down say.. a gal, did much better at mowing over vehicles and infantry? Wouldn't you use it for such?

Like I said, players are intuitive, creative, and find ways to use item's and weapons for completely unintended purposes. And this is good. But due to this the game has to be balanced and changed to make it more fair, sometimes these changes are well... bad overall... And are changed again later when it's possible to make them better.

Development is not a simple thing, you can spend days designing a single area, weeks in some cases just for one facility or one vehicle. Throw it in game with the others and you get to see it's strengths, it's weakness's and what it can do and it's potential.

Much like the harasser. Who would have thought that lightly armored doom buggy would have ended up the most OP vehicle in game? I didn't. But you all found it's strengths, garnered the skills to harness them and annihilated anyone who challenged you... unfortunately in such a way that the Harasser had to be severally neutered... But you get my point.

No, it's not "your" fault. It's no ones fault. The players, the Devs, the owners, everyone. We are all one big community, we all work together whether we admit it or not, the players are and always will be the testers, the ones who really matter, who without the game would not exist.

So no, it's not your fault.

I am simply pointing out that we all need to work together, in order to make the game we all desire.

Well said. Unfortunately, most of the community is divided and will not work together as everyone has a different idea of how the game should play.

People have tried arguing their point, and most of those threads get closed due to hostilities between the groups involved. The different "factions" of forumside simply don't see eye to eye.

"Take the ESF for example. It was never intended to be an all out ground".....
Than why do we have AI main weapons? (banshee, the bubblegun thingy, AH), and why do we have HEAT rockets instead of AP on the rocket pods.?

Agree. I find to think the same as you. A lot of my planetside 2 buddies have felt the same way. We actually thought that most things in the game was quite balanced. The players usually want all rounders so they'll be the best. I do know how it feels to code something and someone insults you for doing it wrong. I've even cried once due to me thinkinh I've done it totally wrong. The funny thing is that they wasn't a lot of things wrong and that it wad just insults that made me become emotional or smtgh. I rarely cry and even rage but when a piece of work gets insulted, that happens. I suggest players think through for quite a while to see what is needed to be addresed and think abt how it can affect the game. The devs on thw other hand, should keep an open mind and find creative ways (like how players do) on how a new thing you are about to implement, can be exploited and keep it on the test servers about 2-3 weeks before it gets released to the live servers. With the help and understanding of the players and the devs, the game will end up being a great game for all of us.

AI weapons were intended to be used to "deter" ground units from shooting you out of the sky, not for farming them,

Much like Ground Vehicles AA weapons are not entirely meant for specifically mowing down air units (Which is why they can't one shot you, unlike AI air weapons can do to ground units).

That being said in combat it is natural to take the most efficient and effective weapon for a job. Hence, the balancing and nurfing.

You should know that its due to planetside 2 players who asked for them during beta. Its the developers opinion and due to demand, it changed.

Who the heck is 'AirSuicide'???

You aren't a dev because your sig isn't in red text.

So are you speaking as a player / forum poster or as a SOE rep?

Im guessing AirSuicide would be an SOE Representative.

How can you balance a game that is fundamentally flawed? When you have massive amounts of players fighting over a box of course it will favor one aspect over the other.

The only way I see to force ESF to fight aircraft only would be to force them to fly fast and without the ability to hover. That way they would only be able to comfortably engage other aircraft, while their anti-ground abilities would be limited to quick strafing runs. Ya know... like real jet fighters do.

It's up to you guys if you think it's okay or not. I personally am okay with current aircraft. They can dominate an area, but a good burster max can deny that for 2-3 ESFs.I have spent thousands of certs to be that kind of MAX and I don't regret single one of them. I often see semi-organised/organised squadrons of ESFs quickly attacking one place, racking up some kills and then quickly disengaging. It can be irritating but that's what ESFs are for...

The ESF was just one of many examples, I did not intend to bring focus to it specifically, but rather use it as an example of a whole, Because it is one of many which could be used, and one of too many, to list them all .

The design of all of the ESF's with the exception of the VS one however, was just that, the VS is technically the only one which is supposed to be able to actually "Hover", the rest are supposed to fall quickly if they stop moving, this is not working as intended and hasn't for a long time. But there are many other things much higher on the list then fixing this mechanic which isn't really game breaking or damaging.

On this however, I too like the Dual Burster max as well as my Dual comet max. MY favorite classes are Heavy Assault, Engineer and Of course my Max.

I also like my Infiltrator.. But much work needs to be done to enhance long range sniping mechanic (300+ Meters) and rendering before it is "Really" viable (Adjustable Scopes for example with greater then 12x zoom, and the Hold breath mechanic also needs work). As an X-Army Sniper, I love this role, and I am positive adjustments will be made over time and eventually to make it a more unique and viable combat experience.

But props to those players who manage this feat with the current setup, your very skilled.

I'm guessing AirSuicide isn't...


So is the OP by AirSuicide or a copy from somewhere else?
It seems to be attributed to 'Mal' so maybe 'Malorn'...?

Balance isn't always about making everything even or the same, Balance can also mean Unique to itself and a viable counter, and viable weakness. True balance is when all things have a Viable counter, and a Viable weakness while remaining Unique unto themselves.

Flaws are what make a game interesting, I do not mean bugs here but differences, imperfections, room for improvement. Unexpected things which are created or happen which cause a player to have a unique experience and think outside the box per say, to overcome changes, to find the one thing a weapon excels at, or a class, where others fail or call it useless.

Fundamentally, nothing can be perfect, and if it was, it would be very very boring. So while Planetside 2 may never be a perfect game, it can be the best MMOFPS around, but were not there yet and a lot of work continues to need to be done, maybe even for the next 10 years if support remains strong and players stay active. After all this is a business, and their are bills to pay and money to make along the way.

PS2 has extended this profit sharing to players however, individuals who create Player items:

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CREATE NEW ITEMSFOR THE PLANETSIDE 2 MARKETPLACE!

PlanetSide 2 players are some of the most dedicated, emotionally invested players in any virtual world. For the first time, PlanetSide 2 players have the opportunity to create parts of our world by designing new in-game items.
Player Studio™ is a new program that invites (initially US-based) players to download sample geometry, learn how virtual items are constructed, and try designing items. You can try your hand at writing a creative name, item description, and rationale for how it fits into the ongoing storyline.
Selected items will be offered for sale in the SOE Marketplace alongside items created by staff artists, priced in SOEs Station Cash virtual currency. Revenue from the sale of these items will be shared back with the creative player.

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So not only can you play PS2 for free, you can from home make money or at the very least SC for your efforts in helping to make PS2 a better game for everyone

. I am not sure how many of you were aware of this. But now you are.

I am not employed by SOE in any "Official" capacity, no. So take my post as you will.

Even if I was I would still post on a neutral account like this (Generally Speaking) because it allows better interaction with players without the 'Reverence" so to speak and even perhaps respected of fear etc, which comes with posting with an SOE tag. Not to mention I could say how I feel and rant without fear of being fired for my opinions.

You may be surprised to find quite a few of the SOE employees are running around on accounts just like this one. But you would never know it.

I am however privy to some things and not to others due to what I actually do and who I am. Which doesn't really matter. I'm sure if SOE wanted to stick a tag on my name they could, and if they did I would be required to follow the other set of rules your mods do and be held to the same standards as them (which is actually a very very strict code),

But like I said I probably wouldn't use it often. I like the freedom entailed to me with an account such as this one which is neutral.

Basically (The simple version) means if I admitted to working for SOE in any official capacity I wouldn't be able to post things like well... This thread. Which I think is a bit unfair to you all. But I do understand the reasoning behind it, even if I disagree with it, and think it's bollocks.

There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes that I wish you all could see. And you'd understand a lot more of why things are done the way they are.

This thread is my attempt to let you into that world as much as possible, in an effort to smooth over the last week and show you that the PS2 staff at least, do want your support and do want you to remain in game. There is just a lot they are not allowed to say, or express.

Haha I see you used MSPaint there....