PlanetSide
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| PlanetSide | |
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| Developer(s) | Sony Online Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Online Entertainment |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release date | NA May 20, 2003 [1] PAL May 22, 2003 [1] |
| Genre(s) | MMOFPS |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) PEGI: 16+ |
| System requirements | Minimum: Windows 98/2000/ME/XP Pentium III 1.0 GHz or greater 256 MB RAM Direct3D compliant video card with 32MB RAM DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card 56k + Internet connection 3.25 GB hard drive space DirectX 8.1 or greater Recommended: Windows 98/2000/ME/XP Pentium III 1.6 GHz or greater 512 MB RAM Direct3D compliant video card with 64MB+ RAM DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card Broadband Internet connection 3.5 GB hard drive space DirectX 8.1 or greater |
PlanetSide is a computer game published by Sony Online Entertainment and released on May 19, 2003. In PlanetSide, three factions fight for territorial control over ten different worlds. Each player controls a soldier from one of the three factions. Players may specialize in a combination of various fields such as: Medical, sniping, heavy weaponry, and aircraft and/or ground vehicle access.
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[edit] Gameplay
At any one time, both of the PlanetSide servers hosts potentially thousands of players in a variety of landscapes, from the war on foot to the air, across desert, mountains, forests and swamps. The goal is simple: each faction must attempt to capture as many facilities as possible on the surface of the planet while denying them to their enemies. There are many strategies and opportunities that skilled players can utilize in order to direct combat operations. The player controls his or her chosen character from a first-person perspective. This gives combat a more direct role and emphasizes skill.
[edit] Leveling and Experience
While a first person shooter at heart, PlanetSide does have an experience/leveling system. Earned experience is divided into three categories: Battle Experience, Support Experience, and Command Experience. Battle Experience is gained from elimination of enemy soldiers, the capture of base facilities, and exploring and interacting with the game world. Support Experience is earned through "Assist" kills: after aiding another player, the first player gains a percentage of experience the other player gains through kills. Command Experience is gained from leading a squad or platoon in a successful base capture. Functionally, Battle Experience and Support Experience are identical, both contributing towards Battle Rank, which leads to benefits such as the ability to use different equipment, implants, or appearance upgrades. Accumulated Command Experience lets the player use several team-oriented abilities.
[edit] Vehicles
PlanetSide contains 35 vehicles, ranging from interceptor aircraft to battle tanks to Battle Frames (introduced with PlanetSide: Aftershock). It is extremely rare for any one player to be able to access all 35 vehicles, as most of them are empire-specific, meaning that only members of a certain empire can normally acquire them. Some staple and basic vehicles are available as Common Pool vehicles, meaning that any soldier can acquire them, assuming they have the proper certification to do so. Vehicles play a vital role in PlanetSide, and an experienced pilot or gunner of even one strategic vehicle can often turn the tide of a battle.
[edit] Organization
While a player can experience the game solo, the best way to succeed in PlanetSide is to join a squad. A squad is an ad hoc group of up to ten players led by a squad leader. Two or three squads can form a platoon, for a maximum group of thirty players. Benefits of being in a squad include the sharing of experience (resulting in a speedy rise in Battle Rank) and the results gained from working as a team.
Like most online games, a player can create or join a clan, which is called an Outfit in Planetside. Whereas a squad is a temporary group, an outfit persists even if all members are off-line. Outfits are managed through a panel in-game, allowing players to be promoted/demoted. Outfits have eight possible ranks, with the top four being officer ranks, allowing members to invite and kick players to and from the outfit. Outfits can range in membership from two (the minimum number required to form an outfit is ten players) to an infinite number, with the largest outfits having over 100 members. In 2006 an 'Outfit Wars' event was launched for competition solely between outfits on each server.
[edit] Updates
As of 2007, the game is actively supported by Sony Online Entertainment, although due to a reduced development staff the release of new content is less frequent compared to 2003-2004. New content and patches are released once every 3-4 months and are usually focused around an in-game community event. The number of active Planetside subscriptions worldwide is not provided by Sony Online Entertainment, but is estimated to be around 20,000 players compared to late 2003, when subscriptions peaked at around 75,000 players.[2]
[edit] Core Combat
On October 27, 2003, SOE released Core Combat, the first and only true expansion for PlanetSide.
- Six new massive underground war zones ranging from volcanic lava flows to ice caverns.
- New Ancient-technology vehicles and weapons which can be used by all Empires
- Head-to-Head Urban style combat in subterranean cities
- Unique alien complexes to explore and conquer
- Ancient technology can be used by all Empires to upgrade existing surface level facilities
- A new Module Benefit System, granting special abilities to the player's faction
[edit] The Bending
On August 14, 2004, possibly due to experiments with Ancient Technology, the planet Auraxis has undergone a process known as The Bending, and has been reconstructed as a system of smaller planets scattered throughout the cosmos. These planets are still linked by the original warpgate system. One of the main islands of Auraxis, Oshur, has been destroyed and replaced by a series of small 'Battle Islands'.
[edit] Aftershock
On October 18, 2004 SOE released "PlanetSide: Aftershock", PlanetSide bundled with Core Combat using a new build of the game. Aftershock introduced Battle Frame Robotics (BFRs), large, heavily armed walking vehicles similar to those found in BattleTech.
[edit] PlanetSide Reserves
From March 24, 2006 to March 24, 2007 SOE launched the PlanetSide Reserves program. The program allowed anyone to download the game and play for free. All characters in the Reserves were limited to Battle Rank 6 and Command Rank 2, as well as other restrictions. Players were able to convert to a paying account at any time. As of August 1, 2007 the game developers are discussing whether or not to bring back the PlanetSide Reserves program to renew interest in their game.
At the 2007 SOE Fan Fair, the game developers announced that they are bringing back 'PlanetSide Reserves'.
As part of the launch of PlanetSide Reserves, all paying accounts were upgraded to include all Aftershock content.
[edit] The Black Ops
The Black Ops, released around Halloween 2007, are a separate organization on Auraxis not affiliated with any of the three empires. Members of The Black Ops are selected from the forums for the moment, but a more random selection will be in-game by 2008. Once in Black Ops, players' health is raised to 1000, their stamina is raised to 500, and they are allowed to use any weapon in the game, including a special melee weapon the "Fusion Blade". Members are restricted to standard or reinforced armor and cannot communicate or team with any other faction. Black Ops are always assimilated on "old" Oshur (see below), with all bases neutral, indicating Black Ops controlled bases. To avoid confusion, The Black Ops are not an entirely playable empire, but rather part of an event to sustain interest.
[edit] Gemini Server Merger
SOE announced in April 2008 that the two North American servers, Emerald and Markov, will be merged on May 20, 2008 to create one server that will be called Gemini. This announcement was greeted with equal enthusiasm and dislike from players of all three servers, some saying the merge would help fix the population problems of PlanetSide, others saying the merge would simply cover up the underlying problem as well as leaving Werner empty (due to players moving over to Gemini). Previously, the servers Johari and Markov had merged as well as Konried and Emerald.
[edit] Planets
PlanetSide currently contains 10 planets and 6 caverns that can be fought over by the 3 empires.
Ceryshen
- Ceryshen is a cold, arctic planet with tall mountains and high elevations. Ceryshen was home to the Terran Republic, though it is now the home continent of the Vanu Sovereignty. Due to the many cliffs and chasms, Ceryshen can be a tricky continent to navigate on foot or in a vehicle. The majority of the base names on Ceryshen come from Inuit mythology (i.e. Pinga, Tootega, Anguta, etc including Adlivun, a cavern intended to partner Ceryshen when the Core Combat expansion was released).
Amerish
- Amerish is a temperate continent, once home to the Vanu Sovereignty it is now the home of the New Conglomerate. Amerish is notable for the long-lasting bridge battles that often occur on the eastern side of the continent on either side of Mekala, a Tech Plant situated on a small island.
Cyssor
- Cyssor is an earth-quake shattered planet, and it is also one of the largest planets in PlanetSide. Because of its large size, conflicts can take a while, giving the planet the nickname of "CyssorSide" by players. It is also one of the most common planets on which to have a conflict, because it features easy warpgate access to all three home continents. Cyssor, like Amerish, also regularly sees long-lasting bridge fights that often end in stale-mate.
Solsar
- Solsar is a dry, desert planet and is a home continent to the Terran Republic. The lattice structure on Solsar is designed around a nearly unavoidable progression of bases along the western side of the continent.
Ishundar
- Ishundar is a dry, rocky, and mountainous planet that rivals Cyssor in size. The environment is similar to that of Oshur (before it was destroyed in The Bending). FPS fans may draw similarities to the outdoor section of Halo: Combat Evolved's final level, as the environment and landscape is rather similar. Driving ground-vehicles on Ishundar is often an exercise in frustration due to the extremely rocky terrain.
Searhus
- Searhus mainly consists of a temperate climate around the perimeter of the continent, however it becomes increasingly desert-like as one reaches the top of the massive dormant volcano in the center. Whether the volcano is truly dormant is arguable, as there are several bubbling lava pools in the volcano's caldera. It is also the only world with neutral warpgates.
Oshur/Battle Islands
- Originally, Oshur was a continent with terrain similar to Ishundar or Solsar. It also contained a giant avian skeleton, prompting discussions of the Ancients who might have been there. With the Bending event, Oshur was replaced with 4 islands, or the "Battle Islands", each one with a climate of each type in the game. The names of these isles are Ascension, Desolation, Extinction, and Nexus. Oshur is notable in that no Heavy Assault weapons are allowed and most heavy vehicles are forbidden as well, such as Tanks, Reavers, and Liberators. Due to the special rules for fighting on Oshur, players with MAX Unit certifications often dominate in close-quarters combat and Anti-Air MAX's are especially devastating outdoors in the Reaver-free environment. However, "old" Oshur is still used when a Customer Service Representative assimilates chosen players into Black Ops soldiers. The surrounding bases are always neutral, indicating Black Ops control. All bases are kept at 0% NTU as to not allow players to freely roam the continent.
Forseral
- Forseral is a mild, temperate Vanu Sovereignty home continent.
Hossin
- Hossin is a swamp-ridden temperate climate. The ground is shrouded in a dense, humid fog significantly reducing the viewing distance. The continent is divided in two by a huge river vertically through the centre, leaving Hossin's capital base, Voltan, on an island. Since Voltan is an Interlink on an island with an easily-defended Tech Plant nearby, and since it is a Capital base in which Orbital Strikes are forbidden, it is commonly recognized as the most easily-defended base in the world. Atar on Nexus comes in at a close second. Hossin is one of the Home Continents of the Terran Republic.
Esamir
- Esamir is an arctic planet similar to Ceryshen, but is significantly larger. It is a New Conglomerate Home Continent.
Caverns
- Accessible via geowarps, only 2 caves are open at a time. The names of the six caverns are: Adlivun, Annwn, Byblos, Drugaskan, Hunhau, and Supai. Each is characterised with different climates and designs. There is a core at the center of every cavern that may be accessed by zip lines. The central cores allow modules to be charged, and then be installed into a main base on another planet. Cores also allow a player to become 'imprinted' and hence be able to obtain the Battle Frame Robotics certification.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Release dates. GameFAQs. Retrieved on 2008-02-18.
- ^ MMOG Active Subscriptions 0-120,000. Retrieved on 29 August 2007.
