PlanetSide Preview

OK, now I sorta know how Nicholas Cage's character felt in 8mm. After plunging into the bottomless pit known as the PlanetSide community and forums I have completely lost track of time, and now I'm starting to see little HALO-like characters running across vast landscapes and shouting Empire this, Empire that!!! OK, it's not exactly violence/porn industry-related like in 8mm, but it's fanatical enough to make me seriously question my own sanity, and the sanity of the people that are posting stuff in the forums... However, there is more coming from these forums than a pathetic cry for sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex; believe it or not there is plenty of creative energy and thought flowing through Reinbird, Blackbird, and the several thousands of their loyal followers. PlanetSide is being created on two fronts really, which are working together in order to create the best possible MMOFPS experience for future users. I can't help but admire Verant's approach to game designing, although I would recommend that the forum administrators throw in a few pictures of naked women now and then, or better yet, offer directions to various local high quality red light districts where the most loyal of fans can vent off some of that excess creative energy. I would actually recommend that they recommend those most loyal followers to go out and find a girl, but I guess that would be out of the question, because the excess effort that goes into sustaining a healthy relationship would definitely affect the 24h "hanging'' on the forums.

So, what is PlanetSide? You've heard of a little game called Everquest, haven't you? Well, PlanetSide began as a logical follow up to Verant's efforts in the massive multiplayer market, and an attempt to broaden the pool of Everquestian zombies by including more FPS players into the deal. Yep, PlanetSide is basically Verant's attempt to merge the FPS genre into their tried and proved concept of persistent online worlds, for which you pay a monthly fee to dwell in, and then later if you're any good at it you auction your 454th level Druid-Office-Clerk-Bard for a ridiculously high amount of money. Therefore earning enough cash to intravenously pump liquids into your body and sustain basic life functions while you're playing in the persistent online world.

And while Everquest was a pioneering and somewhat feeble RPG concept of people killing large rats, looting corpses, and talking weird to each other PlanetSide is one of the first (All right, let's not forget Sovereign and Star Wars Galaxies) attempts by Verant to introduce more complex gameplay concepts into a MMO world. It's a true balancing act, which if done correctly should prove revolutionary, and I guess highly lucrative for Verant and Sony. However, PlanetSide is still taking its virgin steps, as most of the info available today is highly open-ended. There is a strong chance that even some of the basic concepts (not to mention some subtle FPS gameplay issues) will be subject to numerous changes before they are released (IMO, there's no chance that PS is gonna hit beta in Summer). Hell, if I were a game developer I'd steer clear of these troublesome MMOFPS waters. But then again, if anyone can pull it off it's the Evercrack company (although none of the members of the PlanetSide team worked on Evercrack) and their fanatical base of zombie followers, which remind me of that scene in The Mummy where a bunch of Egyptians is shouting IMHOTEP, IMHOTEP!!!

The Basic Stuff...

The PlanetSide World is a near-lawless futuristic society with a territory, which consists of thirteen eight-by-eight kilometer battlefields/continents divided into dozens of regions. These regions are micro-detailed and range from areas with lots of vegetations (like forests and stuff) to deserts, I suppose hilly terrains, and so on. Of course, like any good persistent online world, the Planeteside world will feature day and night cycles, weather effects, and maybe even its own standard PlanetSide time of some kind (I think this is just a suggestion I've seen mentioned on the forums). This huge area of land will play host to up to 3500 players per server who will be flying, running, and driving around these 64 square kilometer land masses. Yeah, PlanetSide will also feature numerous arcade-style crafts and vehicles ranging from cycles, buggies, and tanks to airborne stuff like dropships and gunships.

Each of these 'continents' will represent the ultimate prize in the game, well, alongside cash (credits, cash, they don't have a name for it yet) and ranks offered from numerous increasingly elaborate missions (the higher your status, the better the mission), and will present one of the principal causes for people to shoot each other on a larger scale... When you first create your character, you will be politely asked to join an Empire. According to McCann, Each Empire will have its own ranking system, home city (safe heaven where no one can shoot, and your weapon should be safely tucked away), weapons, special equipment, and vehicles. These will be appropriately themed, and players can choose their respective Empire based on the Empire background and goals, as well as the available equipment. Players will also be able to play without having to pick from an Empire. These players will more then likely be some sort of outlaws, and although this option isn't confirmed yet, the development team is working hard on it.

It is also important to note here that you won't be choosing any player classes initially (Bard and Office Clerk stuff). Players' classes are sorta decided by their actions and weapons. Maybe even by certain abilities or implants they choose. (I'm speculating, but it seems logical)