I’m old enough and ugly enough to go back to the original release of Planetside. In fact, as Editor-in-Chief of PC Gamer, I put the game on the cover of our prestigious December issue in a year I’m a little embarrassed to admit. On the back of EverQuest’s industry-shaking success the equation made so much sense: (most popular genre) x (craving for incremental, RPG-like progression) + persistence = $ka-ching$. Or to put it more simply: FPS x MMO = sure-fire winner. You can’t argue (in that timeframe) with the logic.

However, Planetside never cracked the EverCrack formula, and though it fumbled and progressed, it was always doomed to mediocrity. Not as an idea, but one that probably couldn’t be fully realized in the existing market.

Now, however, is that time, and Planetside 2 has already wowed crowds at trade events, and after our hands-on time in the beta, it’s easy to see why the idea is still sound but the execution so much more fluid.

At first blush, Planetside 2 is a first-person shooter set in a sci-fi universe, and while not displaying jaw-dropping instant visuals, at least instantly suggests a ton of options in how you fight. Now, most action gamers have seen broad-scope battles as Battlefield and Medal of Honor have moved into the territory of shifting combat locations to create an illusion of progression and accomplishment. Thing is, in Planetside 2, this is no illusion. Regions are battled over across the planet Auraxis in a dynamic, ongoing fight.

Even in my beta version tour I discovered experts ready to pounce when they whiff the sweet smell of n00b. I was torn: that’s either a dramatic show of force against an inferior-armed opponent, or witness to a broad swathe of combatants ready to fill this planet with soldiers battling for every map hex. But it’s necessary to dive in to find out.

I took a tour of duty with the Vanu Sovereignty and handily had my ass handed to me in 80% of the encounters with the enemy. Shockingly, 80% was better than I imagined, since between learning how the functions worked, and equipping myself with loadouts or vehicles to take the battle across enemy lines the functions of this global battle showed themselves pretty quickly.

At face value, Planetside 2 is a sci-fi shooter delivered across a broad plain contested by three warring factions. On the battlefield, it’s a nip-and-tuck shoot-fest fought on the ground, in vehicles, in the air that evidently requires organization among the troops. So what happens if you jump in alone? You can find a fight (and a squad) immediately with one button, teaming you up with similarly lonely combatants. Once together, any group can also jump—via the Instant Action option—to a sector where the fight is worth fighting. It saves everyone coordinating in the passenger-carrying vehicles, or flying there in what initially feel like experimental aircraft, until you get the hang and start Top Gun-ning on those bombarding the battlefield.

It saves navigating the roads in low-rent ATVs or lumbering tanks. It also lets you get into the action at a pace that should suit the COD and Battlefield fighter, but provide them the option of a truly persistent contribution to world domination.

Yeah, that sounds overblown, since it’s unclear how the later-game events unfold. But the truth is in the battle… and this is large-scale battle executed with a variety of come-back opportunities. You’re killed, you respawn at a checkpoint controlled by your team, and if you need a vehicle to travel from that location to the front, so be it. It makes lone-wolf soldiers find camaraderie among squads that will provide support and revival.

It might take a while to pilot some of the aerial craft, but maybe a gunner’s seat is available. The large troop transporters need to be managed so that enough fighters are on board on the trek to the front. Speedy ATVs may allow a key cog in your squad wheel to catch up.

Beyond that, your personal loadout can affect your experience, depending where you end up and the make-up of your squad. You don’t necessarily need medics (but they help), but engineers can make a huge difference in fixing your vehicles. Other classes, like the light or heavy armor, should focus themselves on manning guns, and being the bad-ass frontline fighters they think they are (right until they meet that high-level douche just hanging out, armed with his certifications, easily capable of showing you why you should commit more time to building your character resources.)

Frankly, this is all perception of a small-scale experience in Planetside 2. But the high points are high (strafing across a marauding infantry assault, seemingly taking down folks like I was a Fokker fighter at Dunkirk), and the low points are low (miss-managing the controls and slamming, fatally, into a nearby mountain).

While all this can sound like a Battlefield stand-off, it barely touches on the long-term roles these fighters can enjoy. The certification program helps specialize your role (allegedly, it was never in my sights to achieve a level that could allow advancement). It’s all a suggestion that Planetside 2 is big, bold, and baffling. That last element speaks to the size of the task at hand, whichever of the three factions you choose to adopt. But this is an MMO where you want to find the fight, and win or lose, that’s better than slashing rats and chopping trees for hours on end, right? Right?

As detailed late last week, the PlanetSide 2 open beta is kicking off in style today, Monday, August 6. Be sure to go on and register if you haven’t!

The beta for Sony Online Entertainment’s new free-to-play MMOFPS was originally slated to start early last week, but was delayed to slap on a fine layer of polish. If you simply can’t wait patiently for the beta to begin in the next few hours, go ahead and spend some quality time with our very own Billy Shibley and his recent hands-on preview with the game.

Leave him a nice compliment while you’re at it — everybody loves compliments, even Shibbs.

The other day, SOE’s John Smedley let everyone know that the beta for Planetside 2 was going to be delayed a few days—and yesterday he revealed that Monday’s the day, y’all. Check it out:

Looking like it’s going to be Monday at 2pm for the start of Beta. still a lot of work to do tomorrow and this weekend but looking good.

— John Smedley (@j_smedley) August 3, 2012

Of course, there’s more than a touch of doubt in Smedley’s Tweet. There is, after all, “still a lot of work to do,” but I think at this point it’s likely that 2 p.m. on Monday is when germs can take the beta for a spin. Now, Smedley’s based in California, so it’s likely that it’ll be 2 p.m. Pacific, meaning 5 p.m. Eastern. Adjust clocks accordingly. And double check after that.

While you’re waiting, though, don’t forget to scope out our preview coverage of the game by Mr. Billy Shibley right here. Blam!

Via Massively

The maps in Planetside 2 are huge. Like, thousands of players huge. But the game isn’t just a mad free-for-all. Each map is segmented into different areas with capture points (there were 75 on the continent we played on) so there are multiple battles occurring (between the game’s three factions) on any given continent at one time.

The scope of these battles, along with some solid first-person shooting mechanics, make for some pretty chaotic and exciting action. That much was clear after spending a handful of hours with Planetside 2 at a recent press event. But what of the larger metagame? My time with the game didn’t give me great insight into how the resources and control points will have an impact. Fortunately, I was able to chat with the game’s creative director, Matthew Higby, about what is shaping up to be the most interesting and ambitious aspect of the Planetside 2.

“There’s three resources that we call ‘moment-to-moment’ resources. These are used to purchase vehicles, medkits – the sort of consumable things you’re using a lot,” said Higby. “And then there’s Auraxium. Auraxium is used basically as a competitor to Station Cash [the in-game currency purchased with real money that's used for microtransactions]. Auraxium kind of ended up being the key resource that people are fighting over because it’s the one that really gives you the ability to unlock.”

Once you understand the versatility and usefulness of these resources, the more strategic side of Planetside 2 will begin to reveal itself, says Higby.

“So there’s an important thing about these resources beyond the greed factor. Imagine you’re a VS [Vanu Sovereignty] guy and you want to prevent the NC [New Coglomerate] team from spawning tanks. You could send in a commando unit to capture all the resources that they need to be able to get tanks.”

Is this starting to sound more like a StarCraft 2 match than a first-person shooter? That’s the idea.

“I watch StarCraft probably 20 hours a week,” Higby admitted. “To me, that strategic element is what gives weight to that moment-to-moment gameplay. Sure, shooting guys feels good but there’s a whole nother layer here.”

This game of resource management also provides Planetside 2 with what seems like it will be a pretty effective solution to the problem that many other shooters suffer from: providing a compelling and inviting reason to work with your teammates rather than ignore them.

Higher ranked commanders can create missions that will grant bonus resources and experience to participating lower ranked players. This not only adds an interesting layer of strategy but also means the work of oft-referenced lonewolf players will go towards achieving the team’s goals.

There’s a lot about Planetside 2 that’s well-worn territory. But where the game will seemingly carve out an identity for itself is in its larger, strategic metagame.

“The moment-to-moment gameplay of playing Checkers versus playing Risk is the exact same thing. You’re picking up pieces and moving them. But the strategy is totally different. If we can make the moment-to-moment gameplay feel as good as any other shooter you’ve played but have that deep strategy below it, then we win.”

Today Examiner reported that the Planetside 2 beta has been pushed back a few days. It was originally scheduled to begin today, but Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley Tweeted the news of the delay:

Beta likely going to start Friday or Monday.

— John Smedley (@j_smedley) July 30, 2012

He added:

Had planned for today or tomorrow but we have some stuff we need to make sure is awesome

— John Smedley (@j_smedley) July 30, 2012

And finally:

the team is working like crazy but we need to polish some stuff and test it before we let in a massive # of people.

— John Smedley (@j_smedley) July 30, 2012

In short, just a few more days, a few more tweaks, a little more fine-tuning before the beta goes live. It’s a prudent decision, especially given how poorly things went for Blizzard when Diablo III launched to widespread crashes and overloaded servers. Making sure that one of the more anticipated online games works smoothly is wise—even if that means waiting just a few more days before you get to do whatever it is you’ll get to do in Planetside 2. I assume there will be planets involved.

Still no release date for the massively multiplayer first-person-shooter on the PC. But we do know this: it ain’t coming out today.

Via Examiner

Adam and Matt talk more steam deals, MW 3 DLC leak, Planetside 2, and trailers.  This is Inside Gaming for Thursday December 22nd, 2011.

The forthcoming Planetside 2 will run on a free-to-play model, according to posts on PC Gamer and Rock Paper Shotgun, who in turn got their information from the Chinese website 17173, which was THEN translated into English by MMOsite. So basically, this is one big international-internet game of telephone to tell you that Planetside 2 will be free-to-play…and will support up to 2,000 players on one battlefield at once. WOW!

The original source is John Smedley, the president of Sony Online Entertainment, who was interviewed by 17173.

It all sounds pretty cool, as PC Gamer reports: “The massive battlefields of Planetside 2 can handle up to 2,000 players at once, says Smedley, with players fighting for control of territory and resources. Sony is also considering experimenting with world events in the future, such as having the three factions work together to fight off an alien invasion.”

Not bad! I love the idea of team-ups against a common threat. Apparently a “large scale US [beta] test” is planned for the end of 2011/start of 2012, with a 2012 release date.

Neato torpedo, y’all.

Via PC Gamer and Rock Paper Shotgun

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

“We’re going to blow the roof off the MMO FPS genre,” says Matt Higby, Creative Director of the newly announced PlanetSide 2. To be honest, it’s not a crazy-packed space, but one in which Sony Online Entertainment originally blazed a trail in developing the original game back in 2003. I mean, it made perfect sense: take the MMO knowledge of community building and server technology learned through EverQuest and apply it to the most popular gaming genre of the time, the first-person shooter. Slam dunk, right? Not so fast. It turns out that technical challenge is significant, and incorporating the hooks that make roleplaying games so compelling into an action shooter isn’t necessarily so simple.

SOE President John Smedley revealed that initially the plan was to update the graphics of the original PlanetSide and release it as a free-to-play game, “but we fell in love with what we were doing a little too much,” he added in explaining that the project was overhauled as a full sequel.

Smedley also revealed that the company plans on unveiling a full three-year roadmap for PlanetSide 2, and then in conversation with the community fine-tuning that plan. That’s something that hasn’t been done before, and it will be interesting to see how the community responds to the potential of being involved in shaping the content before it even goes into production.

As for the game itself, a brief trailer showcased an action scene that might look familiar to existing PlanetSide players. What’s evolving from the original design is the territory control system, where you attack and defend locations for resources for yourself, your outfit, and your empire. In this re-imagining of the PlanetSide world, the three factions from the original game return on the planet of Auraxis, wrapped into this shifting battle for locations on the map in order to control the resources available there.

The game will use character classes that you can switch around as you choose. Start a character as a medic and you’re not locked into that role for the entire existence of that character. Your choices will be managed by the certifications you unlock, and progressing down the ‘cert tree’ will open up greater flexibility for how you choose to play your character. In addition, you’ll be able to apply points to certs that ‘train’ even when you’re offline. The idea is that players are likely to spend deeper dive time with the game on the weekends, but during the week they can have their characters in training, and when you log in again, see actual progression.

The cert tree will allow you to learn skills such as handling different types of vehicles, from ATVs to aerial transports or fighters, to developing squad leadership skills. In a practical sense, Higby revealed that putting points into the ATV skill would, for example, add horsepower to your vehicle, allowing it to go faster than the base level. However, through balancing and ensuring the gameplay feels like a true action shooter, if you’re a newbie and get a headshot against a five-year veteran of the game, you’re going to get the kill.

During the Fan Faire, Smedley mentioned his personal affinity for the Battlefield franchise and how some of the skill-based gameplay in those games are inspirations for how he sees PlanetSide 2 playing out. Other inspirations include the lore backdrop of StarCraft 2, and Smedley mentioned movies and other methods of revealing the planet’s story to fans. In addition, the community involvement of games like Eve Online are also sources of inspiration.

In revealing a few details about the mission system, Higby referenced the layers of involvement you could have, from simple missions to go perform a specific task, to receiving directions from a squad leader, to following orders from an empire-level leader. Involvement in those missions will earn bonus points, encouraging following instructions and being actively involved in your empire’s goals.

Smedley did dodge questions about whether PlanetSide 2 might follow the DCUO lead and appear on PS3 (which was neither a confirmation nor denial), but he did suggest other projects were in development at SOE that could work on “multiple” platforms.

This was certainly a small peek at what will be a large, sprawling game. MMOs by their nature are complex, and so no real surprise that no release date is set. In talking with Machinima, Smedley commented on the clear advantage earned by games that are allowed the time for polish, so don’t expect PlanetSide 2 this year, and possibly not even next. However, fan sites will be encouraged to get involved in the discussion early, with news that all the game data on kills, shots fired, vehicles driven, and so much more made available as an external API, allowing developers to create their own tracking apps for, say, mobile devices.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]