PlanetSide (video game)
| PlanetSide | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Sony Online Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Online Entertainment |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release | May 19, 2003 |
| Genre(s) | MMOFPS |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
PlanetSide is a Massively multiplayer online first-person shooter computer game published by Sony Online Entertainment and released on May 19, 2003.
Story
After exploring through a deep space wormhole, the "Terran Republic", a highly centralised oligarchic galactic government which had unconditionaly ruled humanity for the past 1,112 years, discovered a single habitable planet. Not only was this planet suitable for the sustenance of life, but it also already possessed many native, highly developed, and staggeringly familiar flora and fauna. The Science Institute named this planet Auraxis. Taking a keen interest in this aberration, the Republic quickly sent expeditions through the wormhole to explore and colonise the planet. Shortly after arriving, the colonists discovered the remains and technology of a lost and ancient alien species - the Vanu (also called the Ancients, since their original name for themselves was not known). This technology, at first an enigma, proved to be so complex and powerful as to barely be conceivable to human minds, involving levels of energy previously thought to be physically unquantifiable. This allowed for the quick colonisation of the ten continents of Auraxis, the creation of power sources and vehicles for the use of the colonists and, most importantly, it facilitated the development of rebirthing technology. This nanotechnology allowed the Terrans to deconstruct and reconstruct their own bodies, allowing fast transportation across the world. Later on, it was discovered that dead workers could be brought back to life using the technology, revealing a startling new possibility: immortality. Needless to say, the incredible power (and value) of this technology was systemically acknowledged, and despite the enormity of the advances made due to the study of the technology, it was also recognised that humanity had not yet even scratched the surface of any future possibilities. Later on, the discovery that the planet itself had been an artificial construction of the Ancients further served to solidify the realisation that, if left unchecked, Vanu technology would forever and irrevocably change humanity and its future.
Shortly after the rebirthing technology was discovered, however, the wormhole collapsed, cutting the colony off from the Mother Republic and preventing the return of Vanu technology for proper examination. The Republic authorities took measures to hide this fact, while desperately exhausting all theoretical options for re-establishing the traversability of the wormhole. Meanwhile, as widespread usage of the technology grew, the Republic began to fear the potential repercussions of allowing so much power to be shifted so quickly into the hands of so many people. Namely, it feared that the rebirthing technology and the potential impunity to death, disease, and pain it afforded would cause massive philosophical shifts amongst the isolated population, thus pulling out one leg of the tripod that had sustained the Republic for a millennium: that of deterrence. More generally, the military feared that if utilisation of the technology continued to spread, that the other two bases might come away as well: a populace armed with practically god-like power would have very little need of a strong authoritarian body to provide structure and purpose to their lives. Based on these trepidations, the Republic began to restrict usage of the new technologies, and halted all further research and development involving the Ancient Tech.
It was too late, however, and their concerns began to materialise earlier than they had expected. As research diminished, so too did hopes of re-opening the wormhole. As news of this began to escape the scientific community, general dissension set it. Amongst the populace, a great resultant of the loss of faith in the capability of the Republic (which had always presented itself as infallible) was a split in their loyalties. Two distinct groups emerged: the loyalists and the separatists. The separatists argued that the recent behaviour of the Republic was full of obvious knee-jerk moves and over-reactive mistakes. Claiming that the Republic knew its end was at hand, the separatists advocated breaking away and forming a new society, now that their would-be "oppressors" were isolated and without aid. The loyalists countered that the Republic had never been abusive (a claim hotly debated) and had always looked out for its own, and that the Terran people at least owed them continued loyalty on that point alone. Meanwhile, in the intellectual circles and among the scientific establishment, there had long been the feeling that the Republic was ill at-ease with the possibilities of the New Science, and a movement had begun to sequester and conceal as many of the Vanu artifacts as could be feasibly obtained without overt notice.
As the Terran demographic continued to polarise, these movements finally came to fruition as the predecessors of the "Vanu Sovereignty" made their exodus and took with them the research and artifacts they had managed to stockpile over the Auraxian years. Encouraged by this, the separatists seceded, seizing a number of military stockpiles and procuring a small arsenal of military assets: they called themselves the "New Conglomerate". In a backlash to this, the Republic declared these two factions outlawed, announcing their intentions to re-unify with them at all costs. Shortly after this, war broke out amongst the Terrans of Auraxis. As an inhabitant of this world, you must choose to fight for one of the three factions:
- The Terran Republic (TR), a conservative, authoritarian, collectivist nation who strive to regain contact with the homeworld and re-unite the warring factions. Their leadership is a public oligarchy known as the Overwatch, composed of various representative officials and their associated Ministries, who regulate allotted portions of society in accordance with their own expertise and the collective will towards favourable outcomes. They believe that authority is the bastion that protects humanity and that in a truly free society, with no Big Brother to guide and watch over citizens, misery and suffering would quickly be visited to all. Furthermore, they regard the Vanu technology as dangerous and disruptive, a chaotic force threatening the stability of their righteous order, and only begrudgingly do they utilise it in warfare. Their vision of the future is one of peace restored through their benevolent rule, and humanity reunited by the reopening of the wormhole. They stand by the view that the Vanu went extinct by meddling with power on the orders of magnitude which was to be found in their artifacts and technologies, and they fear groups such as the Sovereignty will drive humanity to a similar fate, causing as much damage to reality as possible along the way. Their ordinance is characterised by its high rate of fire and correspondingly great ammunition consumption.
- The New Conglomerate (NC), a separatist faction determined to remain free of the controlling and domineering Republic, as well as to liberate the rest of humanity from the Republic, whether or not they share the Conglomerate's theories. Unlike the authoritarian and technocratic TR and VS governments, the NC are fighting for democracy, freedom, and human rights. As a rebel group, their leadership lies with the Revolutionary Command, a visible co-operative of military experts and leaders who direct the liberation efforts as a whole. They feel that any form of control is oppression and that a miserable free man is better off than a contented slave. Consequently, they view the Vanu technology as a potential tool of control, and the Vanu Sovereignty as technocratic tyrants, would-be dictators like the Republic, only under the banner of science and probably much worse. Their view of the future is one of freedom and self-government, where every man elects his own path and flourishes in what ways he sees fit. They rely on ponderous vehicles and slow-firing heavy weaponry, foregoing mobility and tactical flexibility for heavy armour and superior firepower. The NC's democratic philosophy is often their achilles heel militarily, as they lack the iron-fisted leadership structure of the TR and VS. From the New Conglomerate's point of view, however, theirs is the only moral and just cause.
- The Vanu Sovereignty (VS), a loose Transhumanist cult of academics, intellectuals, and technology worshippers who believe that human destiny lies in the further development and exploitation of the alien technology. Their leadership is the clandestine Sovereignty Council, the composition of which is unknown without itself and the existence of which is obscured to those outside the Sovereignty. They see the Republic as pedantic and outmoded, a used-up idea and restriction on the continuing ascendancy of the species through the synthesis of man and machine. They also see the New Conglomerate as a savage, ochlocratic band of thugs who have repackaged old mistakes in new dressings and are desperately afraid of new concepts which they cannot grasp, and the future these promise to the far-sighted. Their view of the future is one of scientific perfection and purity: they believe that the Vanu used the power of their advanced technologies to transcend their physical limitations and the mundane world, ascending to a superior state of being, and ultimately, a higher plane of existence. Scientists and intellectuals through-and-through, they see this path as an enlightened ascension and hold the Ancients up as a shining example for mankind to follow. Hopefully and eagerly they envision humanity imitating this metamorphosis, firstly through the enhancement of the human condition via "hypertech" (foreseeable technological breakthroughs which have not yet quite arrived), and eventually, by the replacement of human beings altogether; from there, not even they can imagine yet. They are most reliant on alien science and technology, and often more than compensate for their shortcomings through the superiority of their engineering, utilising mind-bending physics, high-energy arrays, and other exotic weaponry to defend themselves.
Gameplay
At any one time, each of the three PlanetSide servers host hundreds of players fighting a persistent war on foot, in ground vehicles or in the air across desert wastes, icy mountains, lush forests or dank swamps. The goal is simple: each faction must attempt to capture as many facilities as possible on the surface of the planet whilst denying them to their enemies. There are many strategies and opportunities for tacticians to divert the flow of battle and learning the intricacies and depth of the game can take many months. The player controls his chosen character from a first-person perspective and can travel about the vast environments on foot or in one of the many available vehicles. Combat is fast-paced and does not suffer from the 'hands-off' feel of many other Massively Multiplayer Online Games.
Before entering combat, it is important for a tactician to identify:
- The empire affiliation of the enemy. Each empire has a particular theme for their weapons and vehicles, and a leader should equip his troops to counter such.
- What vehicles they may encounter. There are several types of bases, but only a few types can create heavy vehicles (tanks, bombers, etc.) and a leader needs to make sure, usually through a flyover by a scout aircraft, what vehicles he needs to worry about.
Leveling and Experience
While a first person shooter at heart, PlanetSide does have a rather basic experience/leveling system. Earned experience is divided into three categories: Battle Experience, Support Experience, and Command Experience.
Battle Experience
Battle Experience (BEP) is gained from elimination of enemy soldiers, the capture of base facilities, and exploring and interacting with the game world. When enough experience is accumulated, the character will increase in Battle Rank (BR). When the character increases in Battle Rank, a certification point is awarded (except at BR 6, 12, and 18, when an implant slot is activated; see below). The higher a character's Battle Rank, the more certification points it possesses. These certification points allow the character to acquire new vehicles, weapons, and armor classes. Newly created characters begin at Battle Rank 1 and can reach up to Battle Rank 25 (Battle Rank was initially limited at 20). Benefits of reaching higher Battle Rank include uniform upgrades and character implants.
Implants
Currently, there are ten implants available for use. Players can have three implants at any given time, however they may be exchanged for other implants at Implant Terminals. Implant Slots are awarded at Battle Ranks 6, 12 and 18. Each implant offers an upgrade for your character. Each implant varies in its benefits and disadvantages, such as Enhanced Targeting to view enemy health, Personal Shield which drains your stamina instead of health and armour when you are hit. Most implants use stamina, and can only operate when you have enough stamina to maintain it. Leaving an implant on that drains stamina will exhaust your character and force you to walk until you rest.
Uniform Upgrades
Awarded at Battle Ranks 7, 14 and 25 Uniform upgrades merely change your appearance on the battlefield. In most cases, the character goes from a darker color to a brighter one, supposedly to make them more lucrative targets on the battlefield. The most drastic change is that of the New Conglomerate, which start with a dark blue uniform only to progress to a very bright yellow uniform. However, at Battle Rank 25, the armor becomes mostly black with some other colour. No certification points are given at Battle Rank 6, 12, 18, 24 or 25. These are compensated for by the player being supplied with sufficient certification points when the character is created. This allows players to begin the game with a more diverse range of equipment and vehicular transport. Battle Rank 24 gives you the option to wear sunglasses and/or a communications headset, in lieu of the helmet, as well as the option to wear a hat or a beret.
Support Experience
Support Experience is earned through "Assist" kills. For a short period of time after you assist another player (see list), any kills by that player count as Assists for you. Each Assist is accompanied by a small percentage of experience from the kill. Support Experience acts identically to Battle Experience, but is listed separately for characters. Support Experience Points (SEP) currently has no role in the game, but may do in future development.
Methods of Assistance:
- Providing a Router for teleporting
- Providing an Advanced Mobile Station for respawning
- Hacking a terminal or locker for use by others
- Driving a vehicle with a gunner
- Repairing a vehicle or character
- Healing a character
- Reviving a fallen character
Note: Repairing Spitfires will provide Assists from the turret itself, not the one who deployed it.
Command Experience
Command Experience is gained from leading a squad/platoon in a successful base capture. (Currently, experience is not rewarded for tower captures.) When enough Command Experience has been accumulated, the character will increase in Command Rank. When the character increases in Command Rank, new command abilities are made available. In addition, special uniform modifications are awarded. The breakdown by Command Rank is as follows:
- Command Rank 0 (CR0):
- All characters start at this command level. No special abilities are available.
- Command Rank 1 (CR1):
- The ability to place four (4) waypoints on the overhead map is awarded. The waypoints are visible to all members of the squad/platoon that the CR1 is leading.
- The command /sitrep becomes available, which reports to the Command Rank above you. Example, CR1s sitrep to CR2s. The text received by the next highest CR is preceded by [Situation Report].
- A shinguard (or spat for the Vanu Sovereignty) is added to the character's uniform.
- Command Rank 2 (CR2):
- Characters at CR2 are given access to use the Command Uplink Device (CUD), which enables the use of higher level command functions. At CR2, the 'Reveal Friendlies' option, which allows the user to reveal friendly positions on the entire continent, is the only available option. (Note: A common myth is that the Reveal Friendlies gets bigger as you move up in Command Rank. This is false. It will always cover the entire continent.)
- CR2s have access to Command Chat, a separate chat channel that will allow them to speak with CR2s in the local area.
- SitReps now report to CR3s.
- The uniform upgrade for a CR2 is a second shinguard (or spat for the Vanu Sovereignty).
- Command Rank 3 (CR3):
- CR3s are given the ability to use battleplans, enabling them to draw on and label the planetary maps. (Note: this ability will function ONLY if the CR3 is the Squad/Platoon Leader.)
- Additionally, the CUD may be used to emit an Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) in a small radius around the player, which disables implants, vehicle weapons, spitfire turrets and motion sensors; enemy mines and boomers caught within the blast radius are detonated.
- Command Chat will now speak to all CR3s in the local area extended by linked bases on the continent.
- SitReps now report to CR4s.
- A wristguard is added to the character's uniform.
- Command Rank 4 (CR4):
- CR4s are given access to the Orbital Strike command, accessed through the CUD. Deployed from space stations orbiting the individual planets (known as Orbital Stations), the Orbital Strike is a devastating attack that can turn the tide of a battle. The CR4 OS is very small, good for dropping AMS' deployments.
- The 'Reveal Enemies' option becomes available through the CUD. It functions in the same way as the 'Reveal Friendlies' option, however it barely covers an SOI. (Sphere Of Influence.)
- The radius on the EMP is increased.
- Command Chat will now speak to all CR4s on the continent.
- SitReps now report to CR5s.
- A second wristguard is added to the character's uniform.
- Command Rank 5 (CR5):
- CR5s have the ability to perform 'Global' Broadcasts to every player on every planet on the server. Additionally they can 'Global' to individual continents, including the Sanctuaries.
- CR5 Command Chat is 'Global', meaning that CR5s can communicate with all CR5s regardless of location.
- The radius, and coverage area of the Orbital Strike are increased.
- The radius of the EMP, and 'Reveal Enemies' are increased.
- A Communications Pack is added to the uniform of the character. Commonly referred to as 'The Backpack'. (Also referred to as the Fanny Pack in the old days when female avatars had the pack hanging off their rear.)
Organization
While players 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 an Outfit, PlanetSide's implementation of a clan. 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 ten (the minimum number required to form an outfit) to an infinite number. (The very largest outfits have over 1000 members, but those are rare). A new event coming up is the Outfit Wars.
Updates
As of 2006, the game is actively supported by Sony Online Entertainment. New content and patches are released about once per month, however small or large they may be. Usually focused around an in-game community event. Like other online games, the PlanetSide developers allow access to a 'Test Server' which hosts the next proposed build of the game for users to test and troubleshoot before it is pushed to the 'Live' Servers.
Core Combat
On October 27, 2003, SOE released Core Combat, the first and only true expansion for PlanetSide. Originally, the expansion created six new 'cavern' areas, each of which took on the characteristics of the continents which lay above them. (This was changed in later patches. The caverns now operate on a timer with two open and four closed at any given time, with random links to planet/continents.) Also introduced were new Ancient Technology (AT) weapons and vehicles. In order to use these weapons, vehicles and new game spaces, one was required to purchase the expansion.
Also included was the new 'Module Benefit System'. This system encouraged players to travel down to the caverns to retrieve modules that could be installed in surface bases, granting them special abilities such as 'Pain Fields', Advanced Base Shielding and the ability to purchase AT weapons and vehicles from surface bases.
- Six new massive underground war zones
- 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
- New underground environments from volcanic lava flows to ice caverns
- Ancient technology can be used by all Empires to upgrade existing surface level facilities
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'.
Aftershock
On October 18, 2004 SOE released "PlanetSide: Aftershock". While some refer to Aftershock as the second expansion, in actuality it is merely PlanetSide and Core Combat repackaged together, using a new build of the game that introduced Battle Frame Robotics (BFRs). These are essentially large, heavily armed walking vehicles similar to those found in BattleTech.
PlanetSide Reserves
On March 24, 2006 SOE launched the PlanetSide Reserves program. This program allows anyone to download the game and play for free. All characters in the Reserves are limited to Battle Rank 6 and Command Rank 2, as well as other restrictions. Players will be able to convert to a paying account at any time. The program is available for download now, and slated to run until March 24, 2007.
As part of the launch of PlanetSide Reserves all paying accounts were upgraded to include all Aftershock content.
Proposed Expansions
While nothing has been set in stone, several proposed expansions are regularly discussed on the PlanetSide forums. The most likely step is a 'space' themed expansion utilizing Orbital Platforms and the technology associated with the High-Altitude Re-entry Transport (HART) Buildings found in the Imperial Sanctuaries.
Another popular expansion possibility was to implement naval combat, with combat watercraft, aircraft carriers, and marine bases.
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. It is a home continent of the Terran Republic. Due to the many cliffs and chasms, Ceryshen can be a tricky continent to navigate on foot or in a vehicle.
Amerish
- Amerish is a temperate Vanu Sovereignty home continent. It is roughly divided into north and south sections by tacticians.
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.
Solsar
- Solsar is a dry, desert planet and is a home continent to the New Conglomerate.
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.
Searhus
- Searhus is a combination of a temperate climate, and becomes increasingly desert-like as one reaches the top of the massive dormant volcano on the planet. Whether the volcano is truly dormant is arguable, as there are several bubbling lava pools in the volcano's caldera.
Oshur/Battle Islands
- Originally, Oshur was a continent 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 broken into 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.
Forseral
- Forseral is a mild, temperate Terran Republic home continent.
Hossin
- Hossin is a swamp-ridden temperate climate, and a New Conglomerate home continent. 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. This coupled with the many swamps throughout this continent provide a benefit to the Vanu Sovereignty, who can utilise amphibious vehicles to gain an advantage.
Esamir
- Esamir is an arctic planet similar to Ceryshen, but is significantly larger. It is a Vanu Sovereignty home continent.
Caverns
- Accessible via geowarps. 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.
Bases
There are five main types of facilities or 'bases' in Planetside. These are: Bio Laboratories, Technology Plants, Interlink Facilities, Amp Stations, and Dropship Centres. Every facility has its own benefits for the empire that owns them. Each one contains a Control Console, which must be hacked using a R.E.K (Remote Electronics Kit) for an empire to attempt control of the facility.
Hack-and-Hold
If the facility is a 'hack-and-hold', the control console must be held for 15 minutes by the attacking empire. For the defending empire to regain control of the base, they must secure the Control Console area and re-hack the console.
Lattice Logic Unit
If it is a L.L.U (Lattice Logic Unit) facility, the attacking empire must take a beacon (which is spawned upon hacking the base) to a nearby friendly base's Control Console (very similar to Capture the Flag from other games). Again, the defending empire must regain the control console area to nullify the hack. It should be noted that L.L.U hacks can also be prevented by securing the L.L.U when it is out in the field. This allows the 15 minute timer to go down, and cancel the hack. It must be delivered within 15 minutes or the hack fails.
Continental Lattices
On each continent, facilities and warpgates are connected in a network lattice. This network lattice allows facility benefits to be obtained within connecting bases by the same empire. This lattice can be broken when a facility is hacked, the generator is destroyed, or if it becomes neutral (N.T.U is 0%). If a facility becomes neutral, it must be filled with an A.N.T (Advanced Nanite Transport) and rehacked by an empire. Many strategic decisions in the game are based on the network lattices to take control of the continent. Lattices are also often responsible for creating a three way fight between all three empires for one base.
Bio Laboratory
- Provides a faster respawn rate. It is also the only non-Sanctuary location to contain implant terminals, certification terminals, and advanced medical terminals. The control console is located in the basement, while the generator is vulnerably located on the roof of the base. The vehicle terminal is exterior.
Technology Plant
- Allows empires to obtain Medium Battle Tanks, Skyguards, Reavers, Liberators, Wasps, Vultures, and Flight Variant BFR's. The control console is located on the roof of the base, and the generator is located in the basement. It has a internal vehicle terminals for ground and air vehicles.
Interlink Facility
- Provides enhanced radar capabilities. This allows enemy troops and vehicles to be revealed within the S.O.I (Sphere of Influence) of the base on the radar. The control console and generator are both located in the basement, which makes these types of bases very difficult to attack.
Amp Station
- Provides vehicular shields. The control console is located on the roof of the base and is accessible via two main entrances. The generator is located in the basement.
Dropship Center
- The largest type of base in Planetside. Provides vehicular repair benefits, and also is the only base large aircraft (galaxies, lodestars) may be obtained from. Similar design and difficulty to attack as the Interlink Facility, with the control console and generator both located in the basement area.
Each of these facilities can be found on every continent, except the Battle Islands (only a few).
Cavern Bases
- There are three types - Module Buildings, Ancient Tech Plants, and Redoubt Buildings. Module and Redoubt Buildings have respawn points, while AT Plants have no respawn. All cavern facilities are 'hack-and-hold', but have only 10 minute timers. The lattice linking is similar to that of the continents. If all bases are captured within an active cavern, this will provide Module Benefits to the linking continents for a specific empire. Referred to as a 'cavern lock', the empire is granted the benefits of every module. These are: Shield, Vehicle, Equipment, Healing, Speed, and Pain.
Towers
Towers are slightly different from bases, and house a unique fighting environment. Although small, conflict within towers can take as much time as a base. There are three standard tower designs: Air Tower, Gun Tower, and Watch Tower. Air and Gun towers are armed with two Phalanx Turrents on the roof of the tower, and both have 4 floors. The main difference between Air and Gun towers is that Air Towers have two rearm/repair pads on the roof, where Gun towers do not. Watch towers are the same as Gun towers, but have one extra floor and do not have Phalanx turrets. Respawn points in all towers are located one floor below the ground floor. Like bases, towers are captured by hacking the control console. There are no timers or L.L.U's for towers, and they will 'flip' as soon as the hack is finished. Towers are not found in caverns.
Weapons
Vehicles
- Main article: Vehicles in PlanetSide
PlanetSide contains 35 vehicles, ranging from interceptor aircraft to battle tanks to Battle Frames (introduced in Core Combat). 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.
System Requirements
The minimum specifications for PlanetSide are as follows:
- Windows. 98/2000/ME/XP
- Pentium III 1.0 GHz or greater
- 256 MB RAM
- GeForce2 class card with 64MB Video RAM
- DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card 56k
- Internet connection
- 4X speed CD-ROM
- 3.25 GB hard drive space
- DirectX 8.1 or greater
The recommended specifications are as follows:
- 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
- 8X speed CD-ROM
- 3.5 GB hard drive space
- DirectX 8.1 or greater
With the CoreCombat expansion, minimum specifications are:
- Windows. 98/2000/ME/XP
- Pentium III 1.0 GHz or greater
- 256 MB RAM
- GeForce2 class card with 64 mb video RAM
- DirectX 8.1 or higher with supported sound card
- 56k Internet connection
- 4X speed CD-ROM
- 3.2 GB hard drive space
With CoreCombat, recommended specs:
- Windows. 98/2000/ME/XP
- Pentium 4 1.8 GHz or greater
- 512 MB RAM
- GeForce3 or higher class card with 128MB Video RAM
- DirectX 8.1 or higher with supported sound card
- 56k + Internet connection
- 16X speed CD-ROM
- 3.5 GB hard drive space
(Specs from the PlanetSide Support Knowledge Base, retrieved Jan. 18, 2006.)
Much criticism has been made regarding PlanetSide's system resource consumption. The game uses, on average, upwards of 750 MB of RAM while running. The game is widely considered a "system hog". This being said, even with the minimum specs met, many gamers agree that the program is quite playable.
Recently, many players using ATi and NViDIA video hardware have reported crippling graphical problems- missing polygons and "white" textures are two of the most noticeable problems, usually followed by a serious system crash, leaving the player with no option but to hard reset their computer.
A list of afflicted cards can be found here, along with a list of temporary measures that have been known to alleviate the problem slightly.
SoE have received much criticism for their handling of the aforementioned hardware problem. After the problem first being reported in early 2006, as of July 2006, no improvement in the problem has been noticed. The problem has prompted many long-time PlanetSide Veterans to cancel their subscriptions, displeased with Sony's handling of the problem.
See also
External links
- The official PlanetSide website
- PlanetSide Universe - Fan site
- The PlanetSide Wiki by PlanetsideSyndicate.com
- 核-CORE-PlanetSide, a Japanese statistic site for PlanetSide. Click here for automatically translated version
- Template:Dmoz
- PlanetSide at MobyGames
- PlanetSide:Aftershock download
- PlanetSide at OGRank - News about Planetside development.