Old News
14th January 2021
Completed the Recon Overhaul and Scouting page.
9th November 2020
Completed the "Resource Consolidation" page.
31st October 2020
Resource overhaul has evolved into something more like a complete game overhaul... got to stay focused and finish something! Broke the resource consolidation into two separate documents and thrown the other bits into their own page to try and make it doable.
17th October 2020
Started working on a resource overhaul to merge most of the manageable resources into the bare minimum.
16th October 2020
Not much content produced these past few years but I'm still playing PS2 most days. Work is still hectic so I still have limited free time, which I am spending playing the game rather than creating content for it. The updates over the past few years have been excellent and the simple fact the game is given time and money is fantastic.
2nd December 2017
I've been a bit lax uploading things to this site and honestly making concepts at all this year. I've been busy with work and honestly my hope for future development had waned pretty badly. However with Wrel mentioning Leadership, Outfits and other stuff as being a focus for next year now that there is a UI developer I may finally get around to finishing some stuff. On top of that my outfit has been gaining members and as such I am getting more into the game again (not that I ever stopped playing, but you know...).
26th March 2017
Made a page for The Front Line Initiative.
8th February 2017
Put together a spawn overhaul.
28th January 2017
Added a page responding to the recent poll where imbalanced fights were picked as the biggest issue in PS2 at the moment. Find the details here.
15th January 2017
Put together a response to ReNz0r's rant video here. Boils down to updating the intercontinental lattice concept, VP score being amassed over days, weeks and months and leader boards, lots of leader boards.
30th September 2016
12th September 2016
While I have been quiet on this site I have been busy with a few more concepts over the past 16 months, but I have typically left them on my imgur account rather than uploading them to this website.
The game has taken an interesting turn with the construction system which I enjoy but do not involve myself with nearly as much as I had hoped. What I now hope is that when the devs add the logistics side of it (spawn point, vehicle and air pads) the system will mesh much better with the rest of the game.
19th March 2015
12th March 2015
10th March 2015
Updated my old deployed shield image to my new style:
8th March 2015
28th February 2015
Put together a concept for a MAX Overhaul:
24th February 2015
I keep thinking about the scale of the game, the huge nature of the fights which no other game can provide. However the game almost goes out of it's way to reduce the epic battles down to simply camping spawn rooms at every base.
Very rarely do you get an even battle with back and forth between bases, it is almost always that one side quickly pushes the other back to it's facility and shortly after into their spawn room where they camp, waiting for the enemy to redeploy a few organised platoons and wash out from the spawns in a wave. This wave wipes the attackers out who rather than counter attacking redeploy to another base to defend it.
Now there is no simple solution to this problem as defense will almost always be easier than attack and a larger force will almost always win against a smaller one. However the combination of the redeploy system, the small distances between bases and a total lack of strategic meaning to territories makes the situation much worse than it needs to be.
On top of this you have a whole system that encourages kill whoring (directives) and the K/D displayed prominently on the tab scoreboard that means that players do not like taking risks, preferring to hang back to bag the odd kill than pushing the objective.
Now there are many reasons why we have the game we currently do and a lot of it comes down to convenience for the players that keeps them engaged and fighting as much as possible, with a minimum of downtime. Other things were in the works before the layoffs. For example Matt Higby had mused over changing directives to experience based rather than kill based, which would encourage suppression fire and put a stop to players cheesing rockets and the like on infantry. There have also been discussions about Territory 2.0 changes and the ever late resource system phase 2.
With a shaken up team I hope that we will see a move back from convenience to a more interesting tactical and strategic game which trusts its players to drive the game and provides them with the tools and systems to coordinate truly epic battles.
23rd February 2015
20th February 2015
Put together a couple of images to show the bunker I designed and fortification engineering turret upgrades.
19th February 2015
16th February 2015
Overhauled the death screen:
14th February 2015
Put together an image for fixing the redeploy system:
Since I last posted here we have seen the game bought out and multiple devs, including Higby and Carey have either been sacked or quit. This alongside the decimation of the EQ team and community reps from the old SOE.
Despite this Carey is positive about the change as there seems to be good investment and still a solid team left, including many who have worked on the game for years.
So hope is not lost, and some posts this morning from the remaining devs give further encouragement, so we will have to wait and see.
4th February 2015
Made a quick image to show how the minimap could be improved.
9th January 2015
Made a new version of the squad management interface:
Also made a mock up of the map with the mission system:
6th January 2015
Moukass put together a list of 25 things he would like to see in 2015, mentioned and features some of my images:
I am thinking a lot about the mission system as that is a key feature that should be finished ASAP as it could be great when combined with fire teams, squads, platoons and companies.
Currently thinking that the mission system could be granular with the following:
Fire team tasks (eg defending a Sunderer) - set by the fire team sergeant via the Q menu or the squad lead via their map or q menu
Squad missions (eg capturing a territory) - set by the squad leader or the platoon leader via the map
Platoon objectives (eg pushing a lattice lane) - set by the platoon leader or company leader from the map.
Company goals (eg holding a front or region of territories) - set by company leaders
One thing I would like to see happening is for squad leaders to be able to request missions for other squads - say for example a squad defending a base needs tank support, the SL could put in a request on the map (say with a limit) at a certain location. Then nearby SLs running tank focused squads would see this request pop up, they could accept the mission and roll on in.
5th January 2015
Made a new page and video explaining the problem with redeployside and how it could be fixed. At 9 minutes I figured that separate smaller videos would be best rather than one huge one for the games priorities.
4th January 2015
Thinking about making a video with some core priorities that I would like to see addressed as I mentioned yesterday, preliminary list would be, in no particular order:
Finish resource system
Finish mission system with squad specialties
Fire teams and companies
Commander tools
inter-continental lattice system
Fixing the redeploy system
3rd January 2015
People are having kittens on reddit about the game being dead, just because the game had a buggy patch before the devs took their Christmas vacation. Anyway the end result is John Smedley telling the team to concentrate on squashing bugs and throwing more coders at the team. Hopefully this will mean that those coders will stick around to finish implementing the mission and resource system and give us some quality game changing content.
My concern is that we will go through another 4 month cycle like OMFG where we had no new features and players left in droves, with the overall performance updates making things better but hardly attracting any more people to the game overall, certainly not more than we had lost during that time.
Of course the PS4 release is on the way (I think I heard beta in the next few weeks) and that could bring in a lot more revenue and players to the game.
I keep responding to reddit threads about what they want to see change and I wonder about making a priorities list with a top three of certain categories that I would like to see change, such as bugs, balance issues and features.
20th December 2014
With the recent introduction of automated AI Spitfire turrets I put together a few alternatives for AV and AA defence.
I also got frustrated when I realised I had had squad lead for 10 minutes and hadn't noticed, so made this:
14th December 2014
Made a concept for a mobile vehicle pad.
9th October 2014
The Server Smash season just finished with the surprising defeat of Emerald by the fantastic combined arms of Cobalt who simply outplayed Emeralds redeploy mastery with better intelligence and totally dominant air forces.
Following the season I wanted to put together a post about mechanics that have been used to great effect during the season, yet mechanics that are not ideal and lead to frustrating game play but could be tweaked easily to make for a better competitive game.
Redeployment and the speed servers can manage it has defined the Server Smash, with Emerald being the undisputed masters across the board until yesterdays match in which Cobalt found a hard counter in squad Galaxy spawning and ESF air to ground obliteration. Essays have been written about 'redeployside' with the two sides of the argument being those who want to find a fight easily, and those who want greater strategy and use of transports. I am not going to go into all the pros and cons of the matter as that would take a while, but ultimately what I want to see is this: 1. Remove instant action for those in squads, reducing options effectively. 2. Only allow spawning at the base you are at, adjacent territories (to get vehicles and flank) and the warp gate (to get aircraft and regroup). We simply do not need the addition of the nearest large outpost and facility on top of the other options.
Resources are currently not tied to territory in any way, only mattering if you have been repeatedly losing vehicles or over-actively spamming grenades. We need as soon as possible to have cut off territories lose resource gain, giving some strategy to territory control with respect to resources.
Three point bases and their control have been a key strategic factor in the Server Smash season, with the immediate control of a NC Arsenal almost deciding the match in the opening minutes, if the fight is on Amerish, as they are simply tough to capture with any sort of defense due to the multiple points and lengthy capture timer. I suggest a couple of changes, with either or both potentially being used to speed it up and stop stalemates. First we could simply see the timer being reduced by a third, speeding up the whole process. Second we could see a change in that just holding a single point as an attacker could keep the timer ticking down, instead of it being in the defenders favour. This change means that the defenders really have to push attackers clear out of a base, although the timer will be ticking very slowly indeed.
The final match saw Cobalt excellently using Galaxy transports and the ability to spawn in squad members. Galaxy aircraft can drop passengers from any height, yet a low altitude fast drop often messes up, throwing passengers off point. I suggest first that Galaxy passengers lose all momentum which they mostly do yet sometimes do not, perhaps because the hit the Galaxy as they emerge. Second the ability to drop players from maximum height means that ground forces simply cannot respond due to lack of range on weapons or the inability to look directly up potentially taking minutes to call in air forces. I suggest that Galaxy drops can only happen from a lower height, perhaps 3/4 of the flight ceiling so that ground forces can respond to one simply hovering over the base.
The next issue I see is the constant spam of revive grenades in any fight, leading to people just getting killed again and again with low health which rarely affects the end result of a fight on the Server Smash scale. Reviving people is a problem that some consider greater than others, personally I do not see it as major but I do think a few tweaks could be made to improve the mechanic. First revive grenades should emit a different colour for each empire, say cyan for the VS and yellow for the NC, with the TR keeping the current green or going red. This makes it easier to see who is getting the benefit. Second we could see ways of denying revives, perhaps enemy revive or healing grenades cancel friendly ones. We could also see head shot deaths forcing players to spawn, and perhaps allow players to finish off enemies who have died from body shots once they are on the ground.
My final point is about the structure of the Server Smash itself, which I simply think should be cut down to an hour and a half rather than two hours. Rarely does a game go down to the wire with loses snowballing as players tire and losers morale going out the window. Due perhaps to Emeralds domination of the season many servers have had problems fielding the full numbers to face them, with many players not seeing the competition in a positive light at all as simply no one likes to lose, and rubbing that loss in their face for half an hour or more once it is basically decided only compounds the issue for those that do play. Perhaps finish it once it becomes impossible for them to come back with the time remaining.
3rd October 2014
Added a page on increased empire differentiation.
30th October 2014
Put together a PS2 version of the British Jackal vehicle:
18th October 2014
Added a page on Territory 2.0, with my thoughts on how it could work.
16th October 2014
Finally decided to find out what people are referring to when they mention 'Territory 2.0' and found this comment by Higby in a topic made by Mustarde a month ago.
The idea intrigues me and I will be putting together my take on it as soon as possible to add to the 'Terrain Update' section. Essentially it boils down to removing the lattice between everything aside from the main facilities, and all surrounding territories are turned into support for it, with the given example that of a satellite base with high powered AA, which once taken out will make it easier to bring in attacking aircraft.
Needless to say I have some ideas as to how this could work, which Ill be writing up soon.
15th October 2014
Updating the general design I use to a blueprint themed one, here is a work in progress:
13th October 2014
Finally got around to looking at the resource phases on the road map, only to discover that the topic is now gone. Put together my thoughts along with my ANT and ANT modules for the ground vehicles and posted them up on reddit and it was pretty well received with Higby and Malorn responding to say that what I proposed was very similar to the system they are working on putting into the game still. Check out this link to see my images.
28th September 2014
Added a few bits and pieces to the Class Updates page, and removed a few redundant images.
27th September 2014
Back at work after the summer so updates to this are slow but I am working on the Empire Differentiation but can't bring myself to finish it yet. I also have the HA grenade launcher imaged up but I need to write up an argument for bringing it into the game.
I have however posted a piece about class balance and the heavy assault, which is as follows:
Planetside 2 is a game of classes, classes that were originally strongly objected to by the community when first announced. Quick history lesson: the original game did not have classes, instead an RPG style inventory grid you could fill up how you wished. Despite being a veteran of the first game I did not mind the move to classes as the old system was flawed with almost every player able to heal and repair themselves as well as carry rocket launchers and heavy weapons. The class system we have been using for the past two years works, but bubbling away is dissatisfaction with the usefulness of Heavy Assault.
The classes we have all excel at one particular aspect; MAX is defence, Infiltrator stealth, Light Assault mobility, Medic reviving/protection and the Engineer resupply/repair. The Heavy Assault is the exception to this rule as it excels at many roles all at once. The HA class most obviously has its special shield, a device which steps on the toes of the MAX and its defence aspect. It also has launchers, making it the only class to always have a direct counter to vehicles at range. On top of these it also has the LMGs, weapons that can mow down multiple enemies without reloading with a much higher capacity for kills than any other infantry weapon with the exception of an anti-infantry dedicated MAX.
The fact is that in any fight pulling Heavy Assault is almost always the best choice for every player, as you have the firepower, versatility and tenacity to deal with anything that comes your way. If you consider ideal squad compositions you may perhaps see a couple of Engineers and Medics in an effective squad, and perhaps one infiltrator per platoon to lay down motion sensors (although with the crossbow any class can potentially do this job). MAX units need to be mentioned as they are of course powerful, yet only truly effective when backed up with a squad and cost resources to boot.
So what do I suggest is done about this problem… well first I ask is it actually a problem? Does it matter that one class is played more than others if the others are still used and play a role in combat? Would breaking the existing Heavy Assault class up into a couple of new classes such as a Machine Gunner and Anti-Vehicle be worthwhile? I am not sure, but perhaps it is worth a discussion.
13th September 2014
Worked on adding extra visibility to outfits using the scoreboard, territory capture and defense along with alerts.
29th August 2014
Compiled some ideas into this Auraxis on Fire image:
16th August 2014
Put together a version of the ANT for the resource system, which I hear is on its way.
13th August
Finally finished the air overhaul, redid the ESF Overhaul page to contain it all.
21st July 2014
Updated part of the outfit overhaul, adding in game links to outfit websites and details and buttons to their voice servers. See the updated album here.
19th July 2014
Put together part of the air game overhaul, that of the Interceptor and Ground Attack Aircraft, splitting the ESF we currently have into two distinct roles, air domination and ground strikes.
See the new page on the side bar, ESF Overhaul.
13th July 2014
Put together a whole concept, that of the drop pod call in where players could call in drop pods with various equipment inside to help them on the battlefield for a resource cost.
Reused the large turrets that I put together for the Sunderer technical concept which saved a significant amount of time, as well as the work I had done for the drop pod overhaul (notice the smoke launchers on the pods). I also reused the medic deployed spawn point that I put together based on Wrel's ideas (which oddly tanked on reddit).
12th July 2014
Based on an idea Wrel floated on a video about logistics and a discussion with him I made a stripped down version of the Medic Spawn Point that could be deployed indoors:
10th July 2014
Finally made the outfit banner as per Negators request:
I have also put together a concept for MBT flamethrowers, as well as ground vehicle secondary weapon flamethrowers:
And knocked another thing off the to do list:
9th July 2014
Put together an alternate design for the Magrider:
5th July 2014
Updated the Vulture once again, to further differentiate the model from the Valkyrie:
I also finally got around to putting the ESF Gravity bombs together - used some bombs from the Sketchup marketplace sharing thing, turned out pretty well:
I'm also starting my write up for the air game overhaul. Now that I have the Valkyrie and Vulture complete, as well as the multitude of variants I can really fit them all together into one cohesive whole. While trying not to annoy die hard ESF/Lib/Gal pilots...
1st July 2014
After working on the mounted guns for the Valkyrie, I stretched the thing out and played around with it a bunch to make a Blackhawk equivalent, which I am calling the Vulture:
30th June 2014
Following a chat with a player in game, put together a version of an often requested feature for the Valkyrie, the mounted guns:
9th June 2014
Redesigned the NS Engineer Deployed Shields:
I also put together some concepts for the Valkyrie variants that people have suggested:
28th May 2014
Designed empire specific tank destroyers, based on Figment's great concepts. Full album can be found here.
11th May 2014
Finalised my navy, full album can be found here.
27th April 2014
Spent a bunch of time recreating the Bastion fleet carrier concept we saw before beta, and got a bit carried away.
Here is my work in progress Navy:
Carrier (same as official concept art):
Cruiser:
Destroyer:
Frigate:
And a comparison:
Now that I have the basic models, I intend on making full descriptions with deck plans and details on how they would be acquired by outfits.
24th April 2014
Spent a bit of time putting together an overlay for the map:
19th April 2014
Put together a concept for the Deliverer IFV:
I'm not going to bother posting anything on reddit for the foreseeable future - although I get a majority of 'up votes' for my concepts, most of the comments whine about a variety of things, some of which have merit but more often do not. And some comments are purely insults with no word of feedback on the design at all.
A lot of feedback is simply toxic - people incorrectly bashing SOE for never listening or that they would prefer this or that is made or fixed first, which is understandable but completely irrelevant to my concept.
A lot of people focus on balance, and in some cases that is an issue however often it is simply because their particular play style would be affected slightly - an AA system is never received well by any pilot, and anything airborne is shunned by ground pounders who are sick of being camped by Liberators or ESFs.
Other times people worry about things overlapping with other vehicles, and this is often true however each of my designs I aim for a particular niche - take the Sunderer Technicals or Thunder light tank for instance, which are designed to give empires spawning at an outpost, or without a Tech Plant access to heavy weaponry to tackle an advancing armour zerg.
All in all I am probably not going to bother with reddit for my concepts, I may change my mind, but for now I am going to give posting there a break. I will however keep updating this site, and perhaps post them on the official forums.
18th April 2014
Put together a few alternate weapons for the Sunderer Technical:
16th April 2014
Been busy:
11th April 2014
Combined the MANA Mortar and AA Turret on one image, along with the Supply Crate for Engineers:
9th April 2014
Put together a concept for a Bunker, although it ended up bigger than I was intending...
8th April 2014
Put together an LMG bipod:
7th April 2014
Added a concept for a Defence Drone for commanders:
6th April 2014
Here is a concept for a new infiltrator tool, a Targeting Dart Launcher:
5th April 2014
And here is a Sunderer Artillery Piece:
3rd April 2014
Put together a concept for an Engineer Mortar:
27th March 2014
Made a Jump Pad Sunderer variant based on a concept by Vladmur:
24th March 2014
Put together a Commander Pauldron concept:
22nd March 2014
Put together a tweaked Sunderer following a really popular thread on reddit by Novum, a Vindicator officer:
Note the IFV variant with the cannon on the roof - it would only carry 6 passengers along with the driver and two gunners.
I also put together a description of a wave spawning mechanic:
Ok, so I've been busy.
Here is a concept for Jump Pad and Teleporter guides:
And to add icing on the cake, the official PS youtube channel just added a video detailing a new vehicle, which is near enough the same as my first vehicle concept, the Valkyrie, even having the same name!
18th March 2014
Updated my Galaxy Vehicle Transport based on feedback and a model provided by sockeye101.
15th March 2014
Latest patch added icons to show vehicle gunner ammo status, which are good but still don't show when the weapon is fully stocked, so rearming is still a guessing game.
I also put together a video with my thoughts on the updated in game death screen:
And then I put together a concept for the Galaxy Vehicle Transporter.
And I have (finally) spotted the option to link to external images, so I don't have to look for alternate hosting options!
11th March 2014
Put together the AMS Shield and Cloak bubble concept.
8th March 2014
Finally built my concept for a Company system.
Also put together another version of the squad management overhaul, which includes a squad composition section and the ability to recruit squadmembers into the SLs outfit. Oh and resource % to help SLs know who can pull vehicles/MAXs/etc.
4th March 2014
Designed a revamped death screen.
27th February 2014
From today's patch notes:
Icons for each player’s class are now displayed on the passenger list
That's one of my suggestions!
25th February
Just created a Fire Team concept.
This follows posting my consolidated ideas for the command overhaul that I have worked on sporadically over the past year.
18th February 2014
Concept for MBT AA weapons.
And a concept for a Command Galaxy Variant.
And a concept for a Bomber Galaxy Variant.
16th February 2014
Concept for drop pod overhaul.
12th February 2014
Here is my concept for a Galaxy Gunship variant.
11th February 2014
And here are some MBT rumble seats.
10th February 2014
Designed a Liberator infantry transport variant.
And made images for the outfit overhaul.
2nd February 2014
I've been churning out ideas which I have been posting on reddit as I am out of space here:
Edit:
Also check out my heavily updated Q Menu Overhaul
28th January 2014
Well this Google sites storage allowance is used up, so I have a few options - start a separate Google site just for PS2, move things over to The Vindicators site as part of our wiki or as a blog perhaps or find a different site provider (perhaps a blog style, not sure).
Anyway, Ill post here when I decide what to do.
28th December 2013
I've put up a video about something that bugs me about the game day in and day out; spawn camping:
I also added a page summarizing the changes detailed in the video.
16th December 2013
As we move into 2014, here are my thoughts:
20th November 2013
And here is one to cover the Q menu overhaul:
18th November 2013
And here is a video on MAX balance:
17th November 2013
This weekend I have put together a couple of new videos on aspects of the game that need some balance:
2nd November 2013
Been a good time since I updated this site as most of the things I have suggested are still on my wishlist! PS2 is making a big push on optimisation which should go live in the next week, which should inject a bit of life back into the game as populations are reduced. After that they are going to focus on some balance issues, the first of which is the Harasser in general and other vehicles weapons.
I made a lengthy post about my thoughts on the matter on the official form thread which you can find here.
I then put it into a video which you can watch below:
2nd August 2013
Population issues have been addressed by a change to the recommended server system for new characters (even if it does stuff the NC and TR on Mattherson with inexperienced players).
Malorn has been posting updates regarding the resource system which sound really promising, addressing many of the concerns the players have with the current system.
There has also been news regarding the continental lattice, linking the existing continents together with not only Hossin but also the upcoming battle islands. This will finally give us the long term strategic goals that are missing currently.
Hossin is on the test server and I am currently uploading a video to show it off for those who cannot access it for whatever reason.
12th July 2013
Mattherson is having some serious population issues at prime time with the VS having 40+%. This has been the case since the MAX ZOE introduction which attracted a lot of fourth empire switchers. Pondering how best to deal with this without simply nerfing the VS as VS population on other servers is more or less balanced.
11th July 2013
Sirisian has put together an excellent site detailing his thoughts on the direction of PS2, most recently an extremely detailed overhaul of resources. Find it here.
9th July 2013
Been really busy with work and any time I have had free I have been working on one of my other sites; my outfits tactics manual.
15th June 2013
With Game Update 11 we will see territories on Amerish and Indar gain Sunderer AMS no deploy zones around capture points, making us fight to them on foot. Not quite the Deployment Interference Generators that I proposed, but a good thing to encourage more interesting and longer fights.
13th of June 2013
Test server has been updated and it has some fancy changes, that look pretty familiar...
Vehicle icons on squad HUD list:
Squad list enhancements:
Squad management enhancements:
Pretty damned pleased with myself!
10th of June 2013
Thinking about a few things at the moment:
1. The resource system.
Currently of no strategic importance, yet could be. Considering that a change to make each lattice lane only have one resource until it reaches a warpgate or facility, depending on the facility linking to it and overall resources on the continent.
2. Squad specialism.
Thinking about ways to encourage and reward players for playing in focused squads that gives commanders greater control over the troops and greater power.
Specialisms could include Armour, Air Cavalry, Infantry and Airborne Infantry.
5th June 2013
Written a page on what I think the Mission System will be, although I will add what I want it to be, moving that over from the Command Overhaul.
1st June 2013
Added a Fortification and Drop Pod Certifications to the PS2 section, simply detailing what could happen.
31st May 2013
Great idea to put the buddy system (which I mention on my tactics site) in the actual game from reddit user KamikazePig:
Integrating it into my Q Menu overhaul and HUD overhaul.
26th May 2013
Finally got the Platoon Management Interface complete to a half decent standard.
There are a few things I would like to make better - squad specialism is not tidy enough for my liking for example.
Added a regroup option for the Q Menu overhaul (Context sensitive menu).
25th May 2013
Threw together some graphics showing the continental lattice.
15th May 2013
Added a few images by NoongaSpartan showing vehicle cockpit enhancements (showing ammo counters and passenger health) and an open back of a Galaxy for loading and unloading.
6th May 2013
I don't usually post about my conversations with the devs, but Higby mentioned my work on the PSU AGN broadcast recently. The related conversation starts at 1 hour, 4 minutes and 30 seconds in:
Also today I have been working on tidying up the ever expanding Command Overhaul page, splitting it up into Squad, Platoon and Company sections. In particular I have been working on the Platoon Management Interface, which I will post when it is ready.
5th May 2013
Added an image showing an enhanced vehicle HUD display.
4th May 2013
Designed an enhanced squad member HUD.
2nd May 2013
Game Update 8 has launched with a slew of changes and additions, most notably the Harasser and extra MAX weapons. Of note is that a [SQUAD] or [PLATOON] notification is displayed on the squad list.
29th April 2013
Added an enhanced Squad Management graphic to the command overhaul.
28th April 2013
Finalised the strategic command map graphics and added an enhanced squad list.
Updated version:
25th April 2013
Added a couple of images to the Command overhaul to show off my ideas for a strategic command map.
24th April 2013
Added an engineer HUD image to show number of mines deployed to the Class updates page.
22nd April 2013
One of my outfit members Skyhex has posted the first part of his "Blueprints", a large project he has undertaken to overhaul the game in a similar style to mine.
Find the first section here.
I have also added a Cosmetic additions page as it was taking up a lot of space on the PS2 page. Also added a Goals and rewards page that I want to expand upon.
18th April 2013
Game Update 7 has dropped which has a lot of great changes, about to go through the site and highlight stuff in green that was implemented.
15th April 2013
Rewrote and rejigged the Command Overhaul for clarity.
13th April 2013
Added a bunch of images from developer tweets of the buggies and a potential anti-materiel rifle for infiltrators.
11th April 2013
Added a couple of images by KaiserPanda of aircraft launch tubes and ESF rumble seats.
10th April 2013
Uploaded some alternate VS helmets designed by CakeBandit with his permission.
8th April 2013
Completed work on the Context Sensitive menu overhaul.
7th April 2013
Joups has been hard at work adding to his Indar concepts:
Think I am about there with the Platoon Commander interface:
See the Command overhaul for the full size image.
6th April 2013
Added a few admin things to the Command Overhaul and I am currently putting together a graphic showing a platoon command interface based around that in Battlefield 2 following discussion on Reddit.
Here is a sample, want to add on player skittles and example missions, and show right click menu and icons for command abilities.
1st April 2013
Updated the Indar Overhaul page following a lot of work by Joup on many of the remaining territories.
30th March 2013
Added a concept by the_j4k for the half squad air transport to the Vehicle updates page.
With his kind permission I will also be posting his other concepts on the site:
Empire specific ATVs:
TR Commissar hat:
NC Beret:
New Decals:
24th March 2013
Added a bunch of pictures to the terrain overhaul page, using in game assets that could be made to function as game play impacting components.
Updated outfit page to include details of territory customisation using outfit points. Also adding in my thoughts on the mission system in the Command overhaul.
I am currently working with artist the_j4k on the half squad air transport.
Adding an Indar Overhaul page to the site using a player called Joups ideas and designs.
16th March 2013
Updated the site following Game Update 4 - highlighted a bunch of things. Excited for the changes to territory capture that are being talked about to move it towards the old lattice system while still retaining the hex grid overall. I want to try and decide how resources can be made interesting without making them a pain. Edit - new page up with my ideas.
Added alternate facility benefits.
23rd February 2013
Added a few things to the PS2 section.
4th February 2013
Highlighted a bunch of stuff that was added in General Update 2.
27th January 2013
Added a few ideas for classes and vehicles, enough to warrant a separate page for each.
20th January 2013
Added a couple of things - Priority Attack/Defence markers act as deploy beacons for that territory, and battle field territory capture history able to be seen via the map.
18th January 2013
Posted my consolidated and focused ideas on reddit about helping the metagame for the Metagame Community Developer Meeting. You can see them here.
14th January 2013
Added details about my vision for the Deliverer, Galaxy Gunship and Galaxy Vehicle Transport.
13th January 2013
Added a few ideas to the PS2/Outfits section.
10th January 2013
Highlighted in green upcoming changes that have been announced that I had mentioned here.
8th January 2013
Moved PS2 - Terrain onto it's own page, added some description and thoughts.
4th January 2013
Added a few ideas for Heavy assault and Engineer enhancements.
3rd January 2013
Added a bunch of ideas for PS2 triggered by a post on the official forums by BuzzCutPsycho (The Enclave, TR) in which he details his thoughts on the state of the game and the problems it has.
16th December 2012
Organised the site into separate PS1 and 2 sections for ease of navigation and to put the work I did for the original game into its own section to allow me to focus on PS2.
Also changed the front page to reflect the shift over to the new game.
18th November 2012
Well beta just ended for PS2 and I am starting to add pages for the new game. I am really impressed with PS2 and its put in a lot of the features I mentioned here into place. Started off by adding pages on command and outfits, with brief details of new and tweaked systems.
4th April 2012
Been a long time since I updated this site beyond highlighting PS2 features in green, but today I have added a PS2 page to briefly discuss what I will do with the site once it is launched.
27th July 2011
And here is one for outfits:
25th July 2011
Damnit, here I am making up stuff about how PS2 might work already...
Discussing my concerns about the cert/skill/specialisation/class system here:
http://www.planetside-universe.com/forums/showthread.php?p=579866#post579866
23rd July 2011
With the reveal of PS2 this website is no longer has any real purpose, I imagine that when PS2 is launched PS1 will close down (I can't imagine anyone will stick with PS1 over PS2).
Interestingly John Smedley has said that PS1 was going to receive a graphical overhaul and then made free to play somehow, but as they worked on it they decided to go for a whole new game instead. This would have been Phase 1 of my project, and I am sure that other changes would have been made to make the game more appealing to the masses as well.
I am going to leave this website up as there is no reason to take it down, and after the release of PS2 likely start up another, or work with others on a community effort.
15th July 2011
I have highlighted in green the parts of the project that have already been confirmed by the developers of PS2 as being in the next game.
8th July 2011
Well, its been a busy 24 hours.
The SOE Fan Faire has brought with it the official announcement and reveal of PS2 and most of my concerns have been set aside by the information released so far. Plus we have a trailer and website now.
Initially I was concerned about levelling, but it seems to be designed to make it less important to be fighting with the experience rewarding zerg fights; even holding a base hack with zero opposition would still be beneficial. It also allows players and even outfits to specialise in set roles with the skill trees within each class (another thing I was initially worried about) much like the merit unlock system I suggest here.
The loss of Sanctuaries was again a worry; but its simply an extra loading screen; and therefore wasted time. If these unconquerable protected bases work it should be a lot better.
One character per server is a great change; no more fourth empire traitors switching sides when a faction starts to lose territory.
I am very interested in seeing how the resource/territory control system works, and what benefits they will bring.
Oh and a jetpack class? Sounds familiar to my Agile change; love it.
And ironsights? Perfect.
Lower TTK and Battlefield style vehicle handling; my main wishes fulfilled.
My main concern now is that its release will be years away, with no mention of release dates or even beta signups; we could be looking at 2012 at the earliest.
2nd July 2011
Been a while since I made any updates here; I've been busy with work and have been nurturing a small obsession with Minecraft. I am sure anyone reading this is aware that next week is the SOE fan faire, where Smedley has stated that there will be a major announcement regarding PS2. Also Planetside Universe are taking part in an hour long Q&A session with the PS2 developers, which will be streamed live.
My main hopes for next week are for any of the following:
Official announcement that the game is happening
Release/beta date
Trailer
Website launch
After all this time I am still doubtful that any real information will be announced, but time will tell.