They all look the same, all play the same, there is no personality to any of it and I have no want for any of it. People go on about the meta game, however the whole reason so many people play TF2 or Dota 2 is because they want cool loot. Why not just have fun weapon and weapon designs? I'd love to have an underslung MCG, crazy alien weapons like that Planetside had, what about a proper Lasher or Jack Hammer? Weapons like UT or Quake? I just look at the weapons in Planetside 2 and I'm bored, every weapon plays the same. Why on earth do we have boring crap like this which no one uses... http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net...haingun.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20121028212347 When we could have this? http://cdn2.gamefront.com/wp-content/uploads/gallery/planetside-2-3-7-2012/planetside-2-21.jpg I just don't buy the original argument for changing it, people who want a MCG want to run around and tear **** up, they don't want to play the game like every other rifle. Yet in 2015 Planetside 2 still has the most boring guns ever. This is why people don't want to play, including me.
The Lasher X2 actually acts pretty much like the original PlanetSide Classic Lasher nowadays. It was the first iteration of the Lasher that was awkward. Though it's ammo size is different, the same goes for the NC05 Jackhammer. What we currently have looks nothing like a proper gatling weapon which, ironically, actually makes it look unique. I mean, you could look at a gattling weapon and easily say "that's a gatling weapon;" whereas, you could look at the T7 and say "what kind of weapon is that?" "Look like every other rifle," do you mean? prior to the fixed cone of fire, the MCG did handle just like any other rifle, though with an unique "spin up" requirement (that people didn't like).
What we have in PS2 is a "Splasher", not a "Lasher." Other than firing orb-like glowing projectiles, they are not the same. Not. Even. Close.
It is the same reason we have no doors though, it was just too technically difficult for it to work right (apparently). Why they didn't just import the PS1 JH sound though it beyond baffling.
"Acts like." I shall rephrase that for ye of inflexible tongue. Splash damage approximating lashing (doing minor damage to targets when shooting past them) is a suitable exchange compared to the frustrations of putting up with the inevitable poorly-coded new projectile model, and one that could easily be criticized by this season's easily discontented gamer. Probably trauma.
The problem is in the way lashing vs splashing projectiles play. With a true Lasher, one can aim center mass and know that some damage will occur in the event of miss (within reason). With a splash gun people tend to shoot at the feet. It's derpy an' I dun like it. Providing sub-standard recreations of iconic franchise weapons is certainly not "suitable", we've just become so used to the homogeneous garbage that the PS2 dev team hands down we're desensitized. I'm not just talking about the Lasher here, many weapons ported from PS1 into PS2 are either so dramatically changed that they don't represent the playstyle of the original (Lasher, MGC), or they're flat out garbage (Striker). The NC seem to win the most in this aspect as the Jackhammer and Phoenix work very similar to the original PS1 designs. Yey NC! Planetside will never beat Battlefield at being Battlefield, and sadly, Planetside 2 failed to be Planetside as well. What we got was a poorly represented massive almost persistant battlefield-like game which doesn't truly deliver what the Planetside franchise is about, or could have become. I wanted a better Planetside 1 with updated graphics and better shooting mechanics, not a worse Battlefield with more people.
I'll grant your position over my previous point (except the "It's derpy an' I dun like it" part which is pure opinion) but, in both of our cases, that's still getting away from what the OP was talking about. Compared to the other Infantry weaponry in this game, the Lasher is still wholly unique for being able to operate entirely on missed shots. You can't even really use Pounders that way. (How does the T7 playstyle differ from the PS1 MCG playstyle? I don't really notice much difference aside from no longer needing to control bursting for accuracy at longer ranges.)
Start from its wiki page, and then note that the patch listed is actually outdated. When they merged servers Werner and Gemini in the 08/25/2009 patch, this entry was in the patch notes: "the Lasher's LASH damage has been significantly reduced." It's at least strong enough that players consider it a significant nerf (maybe even if justified). Here's a 2009 video, aptly titled "Old Lasher Pwnage."
Yes the guns in this game are hugely boring compared to PS1 guns. PS1 guns that had interesting mechanics: Lasher (was a true heavy assault staple weapon, not some niche door spammer) Scorpion (launcher where you dial in a distance, fire a rocket, which then it explodes in a downward burst of bomblets for clearing out snipers behind cover) Dragon (flame thrower that also fired weird globs of magma) Thumper (six shot grenade launcher that could fire frag, plasma, and EMP nades) Maelstrom (alien weapon that fired a short range "vortex whip" and also used chain-lash grenades) Radiator (alien weapon that created zones of radiation for forcing enemies out of camped spots) Spiker (more interesting than PS2 version as it had splash damage and multiple charge states) Rocklet (we might get this in PS2? But will it be able to also shoot Flak like in PS1? doubtful)
I used to think it was an intentional "dumbing down" for a wider audience, but recently Higby revealed that the ENTIRE game was developed in just 18 months. It was a super rush job. It's kind of amazing we got what we did with such a horribly short development window.
