PS2 from a Milsim/PS1 Vet/Beta Vets POV and the major reason the game took such a dive.

you can't really compare them since the business models are so different, a monthly sub is prohibitive.

What i will say is that game still has a decent community 9 years on, very few games can hold anyones attention for that long.

If they made it F2P today you'd get pop locked servers guaranteed, it happened when they gave us a free month last year. They won't make it F2P yet because it'd let newer PS2 players realise exactly how shallow this game is compared to PS1.

a decent community? no... have you been on it anytime even remotely recent? it's a ghost town with a few diehards and hackers running around.. even if PS1 went F2P right now it would still be a ghost town... if the very dated look and horrible mechanics that it has now didn't scare you off the hackers and diehards already there would... there is a reason why even the ones who claim it was an awesome game don't spend the 50 cents a day to play it anymore... it was decent back in the day buy now it's just trash

The community live at PSU where we've lived even while not subbed, you'd be hard pushed to find anyone willing to pay £120 a year for any game nowdays, so stop quoting 50 cents a day like cretinous salesman.
If it went F2P it would fill up instantly, like i said we proved this last year, when SOE got hacked and lost all their customoer data all SOE accounts were given a months free access to any game they had subscribed to, PS1 was free of charge for a month and we were pop locked every night for that month

Agreed.

It is like leaving your 1 month old baby alone for a night because you just "had" to go to a party, very big mistake. During the development of BF3, the devs were worked around like horses, they did not leave the game until everything was half working at least, and specially not after a patch. Eventually the workload was so huge the lead dev (locust) quit DICE, it was too much work.

This whole C4 incident and balance problems was just a lesson for ALL of them vet or new, you never do this kind of thing, all the double exp events organized to gain more players, wasted.

Let's see if this new PR triple empire war at least returns some players.

Lessons, lessons...

lol plenty of games still charge a sub and do perfectly fine... even some really bad ones...but the PS1 fans, just like the SWG fans, refuse to accept the reality that the game they loved was considered bad by the majority even before it was trashed by it's own devs and players

the simple fact even AFTER giving away a free month to everyone so that many could try it or rekindle their fun with it that still no one thought it was worth subing and it went right back to being empty is telling in and of itself... just as much as the fact that all you "vets" know better than to pay for subbing and instead hang around with nostalgia tinted glasses talking about "back in the day"

That just means more and more people are running PS2 through their hack launcher rather than through steam.

http://steamgraph.net/index.php?act...0q218230q113400q220240q215280&from=1355145718

The initial spike could just mean, marketing did a very good job. I presume those graphs are active users, they could either be the same 10k users day in day out or there could be 100k regular users that levels out at 10k a day or whatever. Those 100k users might still be spending money on SC regularly enough to keep the game sustained.

You guys have to have more perspective. PS1 wasn't really a commercial success. I even remember a bunch of people mid-through the lifetime saying they wished it was marketed more. A lot of people are nostalgic about it and there were a lot of players but in the bigger scheme of things, there really wasn't. SOE was not about to spend a couple million, yes AAA games cost millions to make, on a niche, slightly known title to have the same result but in 2012/2013. The game market has changed a lot in all those years and so have the demands of gamers in general on what they expect and the demographics (gaming is more open and excepted than ever, so many many more types of people gaming now). So of course the PS1 community wanted PS1 with better graphics, and I'm sure the Devs want more PS1 stuff included (I've read that they'll add more PS1 elements as time goes on), but for an initial release with a lot of money behind it, it would of been a HUGE risk to do same game over HOPING that it would work out. The way PS2 is now, it has more mass appeal to a wider crowd, from pure twitch players, to MMO RPG folks, to hardcore players, to casuals. You know if you were a CEO, even if super passionate, you won't not risk millions on a niche old-school crowd. But don't be too pessimistic about it because all those new-generation people well get used to PS2 and PS1 elements will transition in smoother. It would of been a harder sell if all PS1 things were included, because be honest, it wasn't an easy game to pick up. But like all things, once you master, often you really love it and the Planetside games still have that element.

I just read the OP today, although I've seen this thread floating around for some time now. I was reminded of this tweet I just saw today:

https://twitter.com/ImperialReach/status/289124236340125697

I don't think I've been playing the same game as that guy.

I agree with many things said by the OP, and that PS2 is merely an empty shell compared to PS1.

I however want to point out regarding the steam chart that playerbase drops are very normal following launch. In fact, PS2 is doing quite well in retaining its userbase compared to an average game. Now whether they will be able to start making real updates (not "new awesome helmets, galaxy fins and a new weapon that is practically exactly the same as every other weapon you already have!!1!") to retain and expand their remaining playerbase remains to be seen.

Also, I'd love to see PS1 become F2P. But the way I see it, sadly the PS2 dev team want nothing to do with PS1.

You can't compare a sub-based MMOFPS to a sub-based MMORPG. An MMORPG with low population can still be played. A MMOFPS with low pop means nobody to shoot at.

The best period PS1 went through imo was the reserves. There was loads of people to shoot, and I had a blast playing in a LAN with friends who'd just create reserve accounts to hop in even if they've never heard of the game before. Yes there were hackers. But there were also more players overall, the hackers weren't that noticeable.

I don't mind the "dated" look. Many people who have been around since the golden age of gaming feel that graphics don't define a game, gameplay does. PS1 won't attract the people who play games for graphics, that's for sure. That's fine in my book though, better to keep the "trash" away from our awesome game.

As for "horrible mechanics", if you are referring to the lack of ADS, yeah... Total bummer there. Who doesn't love iron sights. Or maybe you refer to the inability to magically switch seats inside a vehicle? Or the inability to teleport into and out of a vehicle instantaneously? Or not being able to drive every vehicle and use every weapon in the game from day 1, unless you cert for it? Yeah, terrible mechanics.

Although I will admit that there are several reasons I'd consider staying away from PS1, and hackers and diehards are definitely one of them. Hackers not so much, as they come and go, but a diehard ps1 vet in a mossie who can destroy a squad of infantry in 15 seconds with the nosegun from 100m range while moving at full speed certainly makes you reconsider why you're sticking around on that continent. And nonstop orbital strikes everywhere is not fun for anyone either. (although some would disagree).

Understand that Far Cry 3 is mainly a campaign experience, and thus launch players finish the game around the same time, and then go play something else.
And CoD is definitely not declining like PS2.
http://steamgraph.net/index.php?act...30q220240&from=1353474000000&to=1357707600000

^^^^^Proof^^^^^

Now, also understand the type of numbers PS2 needs to keep it's game going one server. With current amount of servers and inability to seamlessly switch servers, a lot of people go back to BF3, as I intend to do unless I see some real changes before my X-Box is fixed.

Don't try and deny that PS2 is really failing in a lot of departments.

Well if you call 2 days "some time"

But yeah, I am constantly amazed and also ask myself:

"If people think that PS2 is the best game ever AND think its so extremely tactical, what sort of games have they played in recent years? Probably just CoD, Farmville and Train Simulator or something."

It is unfortunate that some people just don't get it, and instead of seeking to learn, they quit- wrapped in the angst-colored coat of indignant entitlement.

It is sad, but not the first time.

honestly Farmville requires more thought and better planing at this point than PS1 or any Milsim ever did... that game has gone to plaid

Then tell me what you have to "learn" to play PS2. My problem with the game is that it is TOO SIMPLE and because of that, attracts many many simpletons I simply cant play with.

I havent seen a game fail that hard in so many areas at the same time. Really sad, because it is so easy to see the potential this game would have had. A rushed release and apparently not having a single person on the dev team who 'd be able to tell the difference between a tactic and a strategy are two of the main problems for me. The hillariously bad player render limit I still cannot accept as real. I dont grok.

Afaik the render distance is dynamic depending on what your system can handle. Older systems have a shorter render distance, while better ones obviously render farther. A totally FUBAR concept, but w/e.

LOL?! What!? Did you actually play BF3 at release? It was awful?! Many times worse than PS2!? What you smoking? Not to mention BF3/Dice listened to all the fail COD players who came over and turned the game into a total nubfest!

I mean, using DICE as an example of good developers is like using Hilter as an example of a good humanitarian.

I respect that you are a Veteran of PS1.

But my thoughts are whilst SOE respect their vets of PS1, they are looking towards commercializing this product for mainstream consumption as opposed to pleasing their veterans.

This means two things, 1: it displeases you 2: it draws more players in and ergo more chance of premium members by widening their target audience. Which is no longer to satisfy their vets, perhaps a number crunch was undertaken.

Without a doubt though, changes will occur, most likely implement features more inline with PS1, but most likely retaining the mainstream element to retain the wide player base and not force a "VOIP" game. Although currently I feel to be successful in this game, you need to be in an organised outfit with a minimum number to create a platoon ensuring an infantry wing, air wing and armoured column.

The rest just seem to mindlessly roll with a zerg, and the others who try to retain the SF method of small group base capturing eventually give up from lack of fight, and empty base capping.

Hopefully this game will reach a middle ground to keep vets somewhat happy, and SOE's wallet funded.

I don't understand this 'veteran' status that people throw around - it is a meaningless overused term. This is a different game, it *had* to be different, being a veteran of a predecessor is superfluous to this game and your thoughts and experiences hold the same value as a new player joining the gaming fold for the first time - out of value for human life, and the value that gamers and SOE alike place in the opinions of one.

To other comments, 'Zerg' is used highly negatively, yet that is exactly what Planetside 1 consisted of, at least for TR. What is a zerg? Why is it negative? It is simply a descriptor for a huge mass of troops/forces. This is a massive war sim. Zerg is what you will ALWAYS encounter, so stop using it with such negative disdain.

What I don't appreciate however is the 24/7 war at The Crown. Next patch should either duplicate the Crown at all bases, or remove it totally from the game.

the main one (as I see it):

Learn how to meet the enemy somewhere other than a person's spawn.

What about the game is too simple?