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[General Article] PlanetSide 2: Review in Progress - Part 2: Infantry
MikeB
Community ManagerAdministrator RarePosts: 6,555
Our review-in-progress for SOE's newly released MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2, continues today with part two. In this latest installment, we focus on the game's infantry experience.
Infantry are also essential to capturing enemy territory. You can bring all the airpower in the world but you’re not going to be able to bomb an enemy base over to your side’s control. You need boots on the ground to capture points and disable power generators that power the base’s various shields. In fact, the shields on the outer edge of an enemy base block vehicles (but not infantry) from entry, so if you even want ground vehicles to participate in the inner-base battle you’re going to need some grunts to take out the power generators in order to allow the armor to roll in.
Read more of Michael Bitton's PlanetSide 2: Review-in-Progress - Part 2: Infantry.
Comments
I think Light Assault is the only class without a really useful special.. Sure they can jetpack, but it's not really useful during a fight, and some spots you would have to unlock all the levels of it in order to reach.. Most rooftops have access from jump pads, and you have to unlock your C-4 to be able to do any damage to vehicles..
I think they should allow Light Assault troopers to capture points at a faster rate than other infantry types.. These should be looked at as the "spec ops" guys that go in ahead of the main force and secure it. (no not infiltrator, who is more like the sniper in an ops team, disables shields to let them in and supports them from afar)
I have a few questions.
1) How smooth is the gameplay? How does it compare with the top FPS games? I haven't really played FPS games since Unreal Tournament, Q3, Battlefield 1942 but if a shooter doesn't have great responsiveness then I quit really fast.
2) How big is the download?
3) I assume there are no "maps"? It's just world PVP with bases? Do people choose factions?
On a light you can spend points in hacking to capture stuff quicker.
Frodo:
It's an amazingly good engine when you consider how many players it handles, but you need a fairly good computer to play it.
16gb
There are 3 continents. Each is a zone not an instance with a fully persistent war constantly raging. The continents are huge, I would guess about 5 times the size of a WvW map.
Yeah you choose 1 of 3 factions. If you ever played daoc its a simmilar setup but with tanks and gunships and what have you rather than catapults and trebuchets.
OK. TY for info.
16 gigs and needing a good computer will have me holding off for a bit I think. I tend to lag in MMOs with a good number of players on the screen as it is.
First of all, don't use the term jarhead. Second, I play infiltrator a lot too and I find the xp rewarded for "skill" at 100 is fine considering that I am not on the front lines getting destroyed every 30 seconds. Lastly, you need to learn basic english contratcions, lol.
Yea you will probably lag alot. think 30-100 players on a screen at a time. I just bought a new pc and its running smooth for me. some people with even better systems complain about lag and framerate issues so go figure /shrugs. Like shanky said there are 3 zones..... but seems to be even larger then he sais lol they are HUGE.
http://medias.luna-atra.fr/gw2/char_tool/CT_imageGenerator.php?pseudo=Centurion Mikal&lang=EN&code=&code=TSwtLDUsLSw2LC0sMjksOSwyMiwyMywyNCwtLDEwMiwzNiw4MSw4NCw4OQ==
I actually saw a Vanu medic like this the other day, I was on MAX equipped with dual gatlings in one of our base, I had an awesome spot on top of a tower with the Vanu infantry being directly under me and I noticed the medic only ressed the other two guys as I killed them.
I kept killing them for a while for some frags until the medic started to annoy me enough and wasted him too. Feel free to be an awesome team mate like this as long as you dont play as TR
I'll have to disagree with the infantry being mostly useful more or less against tanks and aircraft, when I'm on my Prowler or Liberator the only infranty to pose any threat to me is the heavy assault. C4 is very rarely a threat against a tank unless in extremely difficult terrain or surroundings, and small arms fire basically just scrathes the paint off from air craft.
Engineer turret should have AT-rounds upgrade available and light assault maybe AT-grenades or something. If there's no heavy assaults on the enemy side (there always is) I could roll around all day on my Prowler farming XP. That's why I dont stay as infantry for very long times since my hands are tied against armor because I dont like the straight forward style of heavy assault and never play as one.
I'm playing in 1080p on medium settings with a decidedly average fx4 / 6850 setup.
If you can play say dishonoured or crysis or farcry 3 you can play planetside 2.
The RPG for the HA is the default RPG you get for free. You don't have to spend any certs or money to get it. You can upgrade it with certs or money though. About four rounds to the rear of a tank will take it out. You carry more than four rounds. It takes more to shoot it in the front armor but that's not very smart. Tanks, in game and in reality, have more armor up front. Infantry killing tanks can be done solo if you are able to use cover well and the tank doesn't have supporting infantry (which is surprisingly realistic in modern infantry tactics terms because tanks should never travel without supporting infantry by US Army doctrine). These aren't really meant to be used solo though. Just like in the real military, Infantry AT works in teams to destroy tanks. You aren't a hero in PS2, you are just another grunt on the battlefield. You have to work as a team to accomplish things. This isn't CoD where it's a bunch of individuals running around trying to rack up kills.
BTW, I have always hated FPSs because they were mostly about who could push the buttons fastest. There was very little team work and very little tactics above the squad/individual level. I was an Infantry officer for 9 years and really love combined arms tactics at the brigade/battalion/company level. I know a bit about real tactics at the small unit level but am not an expert by any means. Although not perfect, PS2 forces you to use real world tactics to be most effective. I'm really awed, and pissed when it's the other factions, by the groups that can organize their teams and take a base using the combined arms the game provides. It's the first FPS game that I have really enjoyed. It has its flaws but, so far, I'm really enjoying it.
The biggest flaw from a tactical stand point, imo, is how ineffective AAA fire is. Aircraft should not be able to ignore AAA fire. Taking out the AAA batteries should be the first objective of any assault, after the recon of course. Usually it's done with specialized aircraft, using ecm to approach or those radar seeking missiles, or with ground based artillery. The lack of artillery is another flaw that hurts the combined arms realism. They really should find a way to implement some type of artillery/mortars. There is also no indirect fire ability at the squad level to hit enemy in defilade. A good M203 type indirect fire individual weapon would increase the tactical play of the game (yes, I know they have grenades but it's not the same). Being able to lob a grenade over someone's cover from decent range is very effective. Lastly, I wish they would implement scouting in the game to mean more. Hitting Q to identify enemy is a good start but I would like to see them take it further. To do this they would also need to make it more lucrative to defend bases. Right now there is no reward, besides the kills you get, for defending a base.
Anyway, this is all the opinion of someone who doesn't normally like FPS games, mainly plays MMOs, but really likes combined arms tactics on the modern battlefield. Take it for what it's worth ie not much.
3 worlds, 3 factions, each faction has different weapons, tanks and aircraft, differences are about 5% spread, so no real benifit to either faction, mostly just prefrences to uniforms and looks
I was just opposing the comment in the op about not fearing armor.
Well for a game that drops newbies right into the thick of the action after some crazy speech about defending your faction it does grow on you.
I was lost for the first few days trying to work out certs and what weapons to buy and heck even working out how to equip things properly was an effort but i am enjoying it now i half understand what the hell is going on.
They really need to introduce a proper tutorial if they want to grow the game. Its a fun game once you get into it thou.
- the deffinitely should have put a bit more effort into weapon models.. They really do look the same (by class)
- big agree on progression rates, though you should hve mentioned light assault as well as infiltrator.. Light assault suffers from the same problem as infiltrator as capping points and blowing generators are a poor method of exp gain (although invaluable to the team). And yes medics and engineers get tons of exp from healng/repairing and this SHOULD NOT BE NERFED!!!!! The solution is to provide greater incentive for LA and Infil to sneak into bases and take out generators, lets say you get a sizable bonus when you flip a base for each generator, hack, point conversion you did.
- finally, also agree on weapon functionality.. Most weapons do not vary enough to make it worthwhile in buying new ones.. Vast majority of players can stick with starting infantry guns and do perfectly fine with major exception if you arnt NC infiltrator, u need a bolt action rifle
- agree heavies bring massive firepower to battle.. Damage reduction is incredibly overpowered to the point where its easily the single most played class and it actually becomes refreshing to get sniped.. LMGs have retardedly low recoil (tr and nc) and can easily counter-snipe an infiltrator
Now to the bad parts of the article:
- ur progression complaint, i addressed that above
- only certain small arms can damage aircraft and only at VERY LOW altitudes to the point where if they are that low they are going down anyway, your statement was incredibly misleading
- max suits: yes dual bursters are very effective AA, but a new player doesnt have access to them right away without spending cash (they are 1000 certs)... You have a fixed left arm anti-infantry and a choice of aa/anti vehicle for ur right. And while i'm at it i should mention that the anti-vehicle max weapon is not great, single shot at a time does ~10% of a tank Hp.
- talking about anti-vehicles as infantry.. Only heavies are currently highly effective. C4 is a joke.. Needs a serious buff considering the difficulty in getting up close enough to plant it on a vehicle or perhaps a cert to increase throwing/planting range. Similarily, engineer anti- vehicle mines need a buff.. A tank rolling over 2 mines doesnt die. Now i don't want to make armor useless by buffing the crap out of all anti-vehicle infantry items, but the fact that you typically get blown away far away if u are anything other than a heavy means other means need buffs either in terms of power, or massive exp bonus for being successfull despite the odds.
- suppression system is just an awful idea for PS2.. It would result in rediculous cert gains. And i'm really not sure what your point is about accuracy.. Your crosshair jumps all over the place while ur getting shot and explosions really shake the crosshair which theres plenty of.
Something you didnt mention at all which is critical to infanty and FPS games is hitboxes!! They are fairly well done for a brand new game! When you aim for the head you get a headshot and no 'random' headshots from a shot 3 feet up and to the right of a head! Havnt seen a single complaint in-game about hitboxes either (dont read forums).
You don't really need an amazing computer to play. I am running it with a cheapo ($150 last year) Geforce 560 and a $60 AMD quad core proc with 8gb of ram and i am running 30-70 fps with everything on high except shadows.
I have a laptop with a good I7 proc and a Geforce 360m and it is marginal on that. I have to turn everything low to get 15-35 fps. Still playable unless it is a crazy 200+ people fight (which there are a lot of)
They have a deal right now on Tigerdirect for a Geforce 650 for $80!
I would say that the feel of the game is somewhere between BF3 and COD Black Ops when it comes to the guns. Not as weak and floaty as BF3 but not as accurate and crisp as Counterstrike. More like COD.
The fact that most weapons are not really upgrades but different feeling weapons makes the game pretty balanced no matter what your time in the game is.
For a free download it is certainly worth trying.
To start, the game is FREEEEE! FREEEEE FOLKS! FREEEEE! I never played planetside 1 but i had heard of it. It intrigued me enough that when I saw this was for free I jumped on it.
Coming from a love of both MMO's and FPS's I am really enjoying this game.
At first it was massively confused with where I should be going, what objectives I should be going for and mainly what all the menu options were. Rest assured if you keep playing everything will get much much easier to the point that you get more strategic with the choices you make. I.E. your team could use some armor, so you spawn back over at base A, set your waypoint so you can find your way back, and bring the pain on the mofos to take the base.
I enjoy how you unlock things with points as opposed to the typical usage unlock for weapons and scopes like BF3 or COD. Really helps you customize your character.
that being said the character variety really only comes after you pony up $$$$ for asthetics. Want that sweet armor? $$$$ cha ching! Want a cool looking face? $$$$ cha ching!
The gun hit box feels good so far and I have had my fair share of kills vs. deaths so I definitely feel affective in fights and the more I get used to things the more affective I feel.
Things that bug me a bit are not being able to see the icons (through the terrain) for class change terminals too well, flying controls don't feel tight enough to me currently. This might just be from my setup so i'll have to see.
The game would definitely benefit new players with a comprehensive tutorial.
Also certain parts of the menu system could stand to be more streamlined and less of a bear to view.
In closing I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with just how many people can be on the screen battling at any given time and the game still runs smooth. The feeling of epicness due to this is great! The ground / air combat doesn't feel disjointed as I felt it was in BF3. Certainly worth a try and give it a fair run because there is a learning curve.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=r2-uSO_CxMY
In case you're wondering about the fast kills, he's using a shotgun.
Some light armor gameplay. It's hilarious how easy you can drop on people and they don't realise it's not their own, or how vertically challenged at shooting some people are.
@Militant
Your starter MAX loadout has one anti personel and one anti tank weapon. You do get one anti air weapon for free as well, but you need to replace the anti-armor for it. Go to the customise screen and change your loadout.
For those asking about or complaining about performance issues:
The game engine just runs like crap and stutters from poor optimization. It's similar to how The Force Unleashed or RAGE stutters on PC no matter what settings you use or what hardware you have.
I have a i7 at 4ghz, 32 GB of RAM, an SSD for Windows and another SSD for games (Planetside 2 in this case), an overclocked GTX 670 to GTX 680 speeds, and the highest settings and lowest graphic settings give the same stuttery performance. Nothing can run this game smoothly at the moment, and anyone who claims its smooth is likely accustomed to stuttery gameplay and considers that an acceptable experience.
I played some in the beta. I found the company did NOT like frank statements about what an individual thought was wrong with the game and needed work.I was banned from the forums for my "negativity" (I'm guessing since one day I was just not allowed to access them) . Like so many companys this one has some people who have a vision for the game and they don't like nay sayers who have and opinion contrary to what THEY want to do...and NOT do.Having a vision is essential.Having the willingness to listen to voices suggesting change is also essential.
Frankly when you're investing millions and want to get a good return on your investment..you had better be able to listen to a wide range of views..and be able to seperate the wheat from the chaff.Many game developer decision makers cannot do this .....and pay the price.
STOR and Illum come to mind as a classic example.
GW2 and needed WvW changes seem to be on the same course