So long Higby.

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by Ribero, Feb 12, 2015.

  1. Auzor

    Well, I was wondering what Higby was going to do, what with all the restructuring etc.

    Here's hoping there will be communications on the official forums,
    that bases are "raised" (so the base is not in a valley with a hill for artillery right next to it) ,
    that we get mouseyaw option,
    bugfixes,
    and some depth in the coming year.
    I would be quite fine with paying 5$ a month if the game didn't have the bugs, allowed me to fly, and offered a reason to play objectives beside "capture XP".
    It will be interesting to see if console gamers are truly going to spend cash on the game.
    • Up x 1
  2. Timealude


    Devin got moved over to h1z1 and I think there is only one level designer left who we dont really know the name of.
  3. LibertyOne

    "New staff"? "Next devs"? What makes you think either is even remotely possible? Staff was laid off, that means the positions were eliminated. Higby moved on, that means the game no longer has a lead. None of these people will be replaced. Such is the business of a buyout. These aren't moves to refresh the crew; they are moves to cut costs. Whatever we have today is all we should expect to see. And how long we'll see it depends on whether or not PS2 turns a profit that is worth whatever meager resources are still devoted to it.

    This is neither cynicism nor pessimism. It is reality. This is how investment firms work. Investment companies are not in the business of game development. They are in the business of maximizing return. Period. Risking capital on new staff and devs to continue development of the game is not part of the model. The math has already been done and what we are seeing is the first steps - steps that were thought out before money ever changed hands.

    Like I said before, the only way to save PS2 is for each and every player to buy a subscription. Money is the key here. Everything else is a fantasy.
  4. Haquim

    Interesting theory.

    I think that if an investment company fires over half of the staff and suddenly sees an incredible increase in revenue they will think they did the right thing and let the cash roll in. I doubt they will see this as a prompt to invest even a thought, never mind a cent, im the further development of PS2.
  5. Kronias


    Right, because making sure they make as little money as possible will motivate them to invest MORE money into the thing thats giving them nothing in return...
  6. Raap

    How unfortunate, but let's be honest, who did NOT see this coming?

    A capitalist investment firm takes over the company. It's only safe to assume they will do what they always do:

    - Fire almost everyone right down to the bare minimum of personnel that is capable of maintaining live services. [Done]
    - Milk the last pennies out of existing live services while spending close to nothing on maintaining them or updating them. [In progress for a while now.]
    - Fire remaining staff and liquidate company assets for a profit. [Coming soon]

    The only reason former employees are all "CN is amazing and awesome and totally not killing the company off! Spend more money!" is because they are saying this while a gun is pointing at them in the form of contract agreements that would get them into serious trouble if they spoke openly. This is always the case, and this is why you always only ever hear the truth about these sort of stories years after the fact, because that is when those contracts end.

    This post will probably be deleted but whatever. I feel sad for the game and the people who have or are still working on it, and I hope they land on their feet.

    Edit: In a closing and personal note, I must confess I never did like Higby's Twitter and reddit exclusiveness, he always expressed a lack of care for the people playing the actual game over here.
    • Up x 3
  7. NinjaTurtle

    WTF has happened?

    In a matter of days this game has collapsed, all of the main devs have either been sacked or left.

    I would like to remain possitve but it is hard when the entire communication from inside is now cut off and all the main devs are gone. We have no build master, no level designer, no creative director, no commerce manager, no QA etc etc.

    How can the game operate or develop on such bare bones? From the point of view I have this game is now on kepp the servers up, milk the remaining players and let it run dry.

    To help consumer confidence DBG had better have something good up their sleeves

    .... after being told to leave gracefully or get fired

    Everyone up the top is gone except Smedley. It is unlikely Higby wasn't given the same marching orders

    This is a bad day
  8. Noktaj


    Sounds a lot like PS2 to me...
  9. HadesR

    Since I don't expect them to be hiring anyone new anytime soon ..

    This is the other foot dropping ..

    Planetside 2 will go into Caretaker mode and start to lose more money as players stop their subs as they have lost all faith in the company / owners .. Leading to the eventual closure ..

    While it was sad to lose people in marketing and level designers, Higby for all his faults was the heart and soul of Planetside 2 .
    So While the game might not be dead .. IMO this is the First toll of it's death knell ..

    Unless CN act quickly with replacements ( Even in house ) AND more importantly with Communication player faith in them will continue to drop along with any revenue ...

    Also might help if Smedley came out from hiding under his desk to make a cross game forum post about direction and the future ..

    Best Wishes To Matt o7


    Also Farewell to CodeF0rge ( Ryan Elam ) one of the most Senior if not the most senior Programmer the game had ...
  10. Haquim

    Well, they either need to invest something and finally increase the quality or drop it. Might work better than giving them what they want and hoping they see it as an incentive to change things.

    I don't think your theory works, and you don't think mine works.
    The difference is:
    If they do improve I will resubscribe and you will already have a subscription. Nothing lost or gained here for them.
    If they keep crashing quality I will walk away and you will have paid money for not getting what you want.
    From a "business" perspective I like my plan a lot more. I'm willing to pay for things I get, but not for things I might get... maybe.

    Wait, this game had someone responsible for QA? Meaning quality assurance?
    Of course I don't know how many of my problems he could have prevented and how many stem from connection and EU potato-server issues, but I have so many that I can't think he/she was doing a very good job.
  11. Liewec123


    who do you imagine will be the new game lead? hitler?!

    you think nova bought SoE to let its profitable products die?

    you seem to have a very gloomy outlook here, sure its sad that you're seeing someone go that has been around for awhile, but someone else will fill the slot, someone fresh and enthusiastic, nothing against higby and his hair but i think this buyout could be great for PS2.
  12. iMartyr

    [IMG]
    • Up x 3
  13. HadesR

    I think it's a Mixture of everything that has hit peoples optimism ..

    D.Carey
    Xander
    Higby
    Ryan Elam
    etc
    etc

    You can only remove so many cards before the house falls down ..

    It's why CN and Smedley need to act quickly with replacements and communication, and get things back in production asap ... .. It's not like the game is creaking for simple things like bug fixes or anything ..
    • Up x 1
  14. RadarX

    Folks let's remember to keep this constructive. This is obviously a sad event for all of us and having to suspend forum accounts just makes it sadder.
    • Up x 6
  15. Strikejk

    So I want to deliver 2 pizza to every developer who is still in the office and working on the PC version of Planetside 2. Uhm.. how many pizza do I need to order again?
    • Up x 3
  16. DQCraze

    Either someone thought this game could be profitable or saw it as a money pit, lets hope they see it as profitable.
  17. HadesR


    Hard to Say .. CN bought The whole Portfolio and might want their Eggs in the H1Z1, EQN, DCUO basket .. They might not even care about PS2 but only picked it up because it came with the package ...

    I guess until we hear any plans outside of the PR spiel we are clueless ...
    • Up x 1
  18. FieldMarshall

    Whenever i think of wierd/bad/random/un-needed design/gamechanges in PS2 and previous SOE games, the name that stands out for me is Higby.
    Ill be honest and say im not a big fan of his work.

    But i hope he is well, and that he find a job where he can do what he loves. Games.
    He is probably a great guy irl.
    • Up x 2
  19. Pootisman

    So, thats the end of PS2? Are there any PS2 developers left? tray, luperza, higby, xander, taryadactyl, carey, marlorn, clegg ... All i know are gone.

    edit: Hoffman stays, it seems.

    Please explain to me how business can continue "as usual" when all developers get fired? Will Daybreak hire new developers?
    • Up x 3
  20. Voiidd

    A really sad day . A big thank you and good luck to all the people that helped make my favorite game and definitely the one I've spent most time in during these last 2 years.