Planetside: The Grind is Still Grinding

Games
1

I’ve been messing around with the AO free trial for a few days. To me, AO breaks down to pushing my paper doll around with the WASD keys, autocombatting long enough so I can earn some new sleeves. The graphics are soft and fuzzy, my paper doll sort of hovers along, the only real sound is from the music score. I really want to play a game with a lot of exploration and interesting items to find, but the gameplay feels silly.

So, I fire up PS for a comparison. Boom, 15 seconds in and Snargle and company have me in a squad. I know a guild in AO could do the same thing, so that’s not the biggest deal. We’re off to Cyssor for some homespun Vanu zerg action. But now there are a few differences from the last time I played, due to the last couple of patches.

The first thing I notice is that there is a warning flashing on the continent map near the base I’ve landed at, letting me know that there is a “Huge Enemy Force” present. Cool, now I know where the battle is at. Later it changes, “Massive Enemy Force”. And it truly was massive. Zerg vs Zerg battles are king in Planetside.

The next change is that all of the bases now do something. The Tech plants gives your side access to tanks. The amp stations (or some other type) gives your tanks energy shields. Another base repairs your vehicles. Sweet!

This next one was patched a month ago: the LLU. This is PS speak for the flag (of CTF). And let me just say, the flag rocks. When you’re playing with 400 armed vanu and NC, it isn’t exactly easy to put your hands upon this thing, but when you do, its a pure adrenaline rush. There aren’t many computer game experiences like it. You have 15 minutes to return it to a specified base. Its flashing yellow. You’re flashing yellow. You can’t drive, you can’t be a max, you can’t fly. I’ve held the flag twice now, and each time I was running like a bat out of hell. With a big zerg you can usually get a ride, but then you flash even brighter. Tonight I was about to jump on a harrasser, but they rehacked the base and we lost the flag. But for those moments, I was the most wanted dude on Cyssor.

Other comments: the balance of air to anti-air to ground vehicles to foot soldiers feels very balanced right now. I had a great time with the lancer tonight (maxes in the open are sad to meet me - I got a vanguard too). The command chat leaders are doing a nice job too. General Patton isn’t barking out orders, but they keep the zerg moving in the right direction. I love a good, “hold the back door!” panicked command - you can usually expect a bloodbath.

I hope someday to play a game like planetside that incorporates npcs, monsters, loot, and crafting, but for now I’m sticking with the game that has great gameplay. I was going to cancel my subscription, but I’m pretty happy with the patches that have come out, so I’m going to hold onto it. Somebody has to keep Snargle company. For those of you who have moved on, you might want to consider re-upping your subscription. That is, of course, if HL2 is pushed back to 2005, and Halo feels flat.

2

Must…resist…resub…

Remember, Ryan: TOEE comes out like next week.

Glad you’re enjoying the game so much, though. I wish it were cheaper, so I could keep my sub going even if I wasn’t playing all the time and not feel like a sucker. And that’s really all it is. I was thinking about it the other day. $13 a month is nothing. I probably spend $13 a day on crap that I don’t even use, like food that gets thrown out. But I just can’t take feeling like I’m getting fleeced.

3

Yeah, you have me tempted as well but I think I’m going to wait and see how the numbers stabilize (or don’t) when the xpack hits.

4

I think worst-case scenario for Planetside is that they combine a few servers. I expect they’ll figure out a way to keep the core group of players happy with action and build on that.

What server are you guys on again? I finally installed the game on my new computer and played a couple of nights ago. I was Vanu on Emerald, but I don’t mind making another character. I got into some nice fights in the couple of hours I played.

5

When I was King Of The QT3 (like, 2 weeks ago) we were Vanu on Emerald. We were NC on Johari before that.

I’m with Rywill. Fun game, and while I could afford it, I don’t feel like spending $12 on things that I’m not going to play very often. I wish Tbotts Planetside statistics were updated the last 2 weekends, because I’d be curious to see how many people think the way I do.

6

Yeah, I agree that if you’re not going to play that often, the price is a bit high. Games like PS probably need a different kind of pricing structure. The EQ model may not be the best one.

7

I’d happily pay $5 for a 48 hour pass or something. $13 a month just hangs over my head… Even $13 a month but I’m only billed for months where I play at all would make me feel a lot better about it, but I guess that just creates a different kind of psychological barrier to play…

8

Hey, you want to talk high pricing structures, those damned MTGO leagues are expensive, especially if you don’t sell your cards to recoup your money.

9

Hey, you want to talk high pricing structures, those damned MTGO leagues are expensive, especially if you don’t sell your cards to recoup your money.[/quote]

I love it. In under a month, Mark has gone from “I won’t be spending much money on MTGO, just enough to dabble a little,” to “THIS SHIT IS BANKRUPTING ME, AAAAAAHHH!”

:)

10

Heh. Well, I wanted to try the leagues. I had some success in my first league initially, so I signed up for a second. I’m getting killed in my second league.

I don’t know if I’ll do anymore anytime soon. It’s about $25 or so to play in a league, and that gives you four weeks of play. It’s nice in that all your opponents are constructing decks from a limited card pool, but that price is still too high.

I could probably sell my cards from the first two leagues and pay for a third league. I might do that. I have a Birds of Paradise and Royal Assassin. I could probably get about $12-14 for the pair. My other rares and uncommons combined might fetch me another $10. I sort of hate to sell the cards though. The collector in me wants to hold onto them.

11

I think Mark’s right, they’ll tighten the servers and keep the core happy. Interestingly, they’ve removed the population dots. I think this might be to get people to spread more evenly to the other servers. There aren’t that many any way. 2 east coast, 2 west coast, and europe. Sounds just right to me. It gives you a chance to play more than one side comfortably if you so choose.

Mark, we’re still Emerald Vanu. Look for me, Robbo, or Snargle or Grumpus. There are others, but I’m not familiar with their names. I look back with nostalgia on other names: Rywill, Grisha, Lyx, Varrus, Cip, Xpav, and others. I’m guessing we’ll stay here until expansion, although I’d still play Johari NC.

FWIW, I can’t see how anyone would pay 15 bucks a month for AO, its just so boring. With PS I can pick up and play any time and get right into the action, start on the same level of effectiveness as everyone else, and usually kick a little ass because I’m an uber leet Vany.

12

I still play with Qt3 on Emerald when I can, but this past week has been a bit dicey, with teaching five classes (start of the semester and all that), my father in law visiting (and rebuilding every part of the house he can get his tools on) and me and my wife both having the flu. Oh, and Temple of Elemental Evil (gold masters are a wonderful thing). But I fully intend to rejoin the fight as soon as I can. I even applied for the Core Combat beta, but I doubt I’ll get in.

13

Odd… I think AO has the most to do of any mmorpg type game. Are you exploring and checking out dungeons, or just missioning for xp and loot?

14

Mostly missions and getting xp. I have 2 days left, so I’ll do a little exploring tonight.

15

Mark, we’re still Emerald Vanu. Look for me, Robbo, or Snargle or Grumpus. There are others, but I’m not familiar with their names. I look back with nostalgia on other names: Rywill, Grisha, Lyx, Varrus, Cip, Xpav, and others. I’m guessing we’ll stay here until expansion, although I’d still play Johari NC.

I probably can’t play until tomorrow night, but I’m TargetDummy on Emerald.

16

I wish they’d had this stuff during beta and a month after release. :( There’s no looking back now…

17

SOE is not above giving ex-subscribers a second 7-day peek at the game to try and lure people back. Give the game another shot then.

I’m looking forward to platoons. I’m curious to see if it adds to the gameplay. I love knowing where my squad is, now I’ll be able to see mutliple squads on the map. That could be cool.

18

How do I go about getting this second 7-day peek? Half the reason I quit was becuase my system was borderline minimum to run the game, and I got serious chuggage in any real battle. I’d love to try it on my new box without dropping $13 to do so.

And Rob, if you play on Rubi-ka 2, shoot me a PM, I’ll try to hook up with you tonight or tomorrow.

19

See, that’s the thing, I don’t mind paying $13, really at all, as long as I’m getting something for my money. Dropping $25 on an MTGO league or $12 on an MTGO draft is pricey, but I get a lot of enjoyment (and a nice collectable, and a shot at prizes) for my money.

When I had a Planetside sub, and went a month without playing it, I just felt like a sucker.

20

So I go install planetside on my new box and I figure I’ll just use the extra 7 day trial that came with it. I get it installed, create an account, and I’m greeted to four fucking hours of patching. This game has only been out a few months! That’s crazy! It kind of annoys me because I’ve used that 7 day code and one of those days is spent patching. I can’t imagine what it’s like for dial-up people.

Our net connection isn’t slow either… 2mb each way DSL.

edit

Ok that 3.5 hours remaining has miraculously dropped to 1 hour in about the span of 10 minutes - go figure.