Smed's Blog

Great, now just remove them from the current game and we'll be all set

Hooooray!

(I never thought they were that bad... but not having them around will be nice. :) It will keep the complainers in check. :D)

No BFRs is a good start. Lets make sure that the other bad things currently in PS dont make it in PS Next.

BFRs might have actually been okay if they were in the game from the start. I think the pains of balancing really spoiled them for most people.

I dont really see the big issue with BFRs. I never imprinted with the BFRs, so I could never pull one myself. I just loved fighting them. Everyone says they are so hard to take down but I almost took one out in a marauder. My driver jumped out and proceeded to EMP grenade the BFR while I pummeled it with the main gun. Worked really well till the BFR got a couple shots off. Definitely not scared to fight one in a prowler. With a good driver and gunner you can usually make it run away. Also with a pair of prowlers you should be able to take one out. I liked the BFRs and the challenge they presented I would of liked to see them stay but I suppose the masses must be pleased.

Implementing giant robots itself isn't wrong because the Planetside's *SF* MMOFPS.
I mean, robots are one of the huge aspect of entire SF related material.

What should dev team do regarding this, is to show players the ideas and recieve feedbacks *even before* start working on them and if it's OK then modify them based on the feedbacks in Test-Server.

Just my 2cents here =)

BFRs are a pain if you're in a pickup group of say, two people stuck in a tower. In a big pitched fight BFRs aren't too bad.

My planetside addiction meter is tingling, but any new product won't be ready for a few years.

Thanks for keeping us in the loop about planetside next. I've been a long time fan of planetside and still play it on/off.

It would be awesome if you did a weekly post about >something< about it? It could even be as little as "There is no Chuck Norris in Planetside Next". :D

BFR's were a cool idea, but implementing them must have been a nightmare. Now, if I were you John, I wouldn't strike BFR's down so soon. I think half the problem with BFR's was the post launch implementation. If you were able to balance PlanetSide Next's BFRs throughout production and into the initial launch I'm sure they could fit into the game more appropriately.

Pardon my heresy, but Blizzard faced the same thing with Death Knights. When WoW launched, classes were on a bumpy, but mildly even field. With the release of DK's Blizzard had to make sure they were overpowered while trying to throw them into an already balanced game.

If you're willing to give BFR's a second chance, all you have to do is play the balancing act from the get go.

Edit: With the release of DK's Blizzard had to make sure they weren't overpowered while trying to throw them into an already balanced game.

I played Planetside from the start. I've quit and come back a few times. Why did I quit the first time? Because of the massive de-population that came about FROM THE BFR'S! Then I came back but quit once the pop continued to declain. They were the WORST DAMN IDEA EVER for Planetside. If I wanted to play Mechwarrior, I'd go play Mechwarrior! THANK YOU for FINALLY listening to us. I recently came back to play PS once I heard of the new PS. I'm really excited. Please don't screw it up.

You should also fix Heavy Assault. Even before BFR's people were leaving because Heavy Assault was so off balance and turned the game into a short range point blank skilless kill fest. Anyone worth a damn uses Med Assault 90% of the time anyway. Heavy assault should be more of a suppression/cover weapon. Kind of like what a SAW or M-60 is to modern warfare.

Ask _why_ the BFRs are the focus of so much frustration. Please, this is key; few complained about powerful tanks, or aircraft with rockets. Why the BFRs?

Balance; two aspects to the balance failure of BFRs:

1. The BFRs where actually overpowered and the correction took too long. Players were driven away by this.

2. The BFRs involved grinding for imprint. The hardcore players get the new stuff first and then proceed to incessantly pwn everyone that hasn't caught up yet. That drives away players.

These are the actual problems. BFRs could have worked, as many of the responses to your 'No BFR's' post indicate. Please don't miss the point; BFRs were not the _real_ problem. Balance and grinding for imprint were the real problems.

i can't tell you how many i'd have killed if they couldn't run away. take that out, and then it's fair. the cowards.

And I don't really want to hide it, so that works out. I work in the industry and I am currently in the middle of a big project, and I'd never ever EVER consider leaving the project mid-way through, no matter the circumstances... unless it was to work on this game.

Please keep the updates rolling. This game is my happy place.

Nothing has caused more people to quit PS at the same time than these as when they first entered the game they completely changed the dynamic of the outdoor battles as they were way, way overpowered. They then got a year long beating with the nerf bat until they were usable but not overpowered, but by then the damage was done to the games population. Now they sit uncomfortably in the scheme of vehicles being still overpowered when it comes to a single crew vehicle (to compare look at the Reaver and Lightning, the other single crewed offensive vehicles on the battlefield).

I suggest that BFRs get extra crewmen for control of each weapon arm, for balance purposes turning them into heavy tanks and slotting them into the game in a balanced way as they were intended. They were not designed to be the half hearted efforts they are now, but dominant machines on the battlefield.

They should also choose one of the following:

-extra turret
-cloaking field (requires infiltrator pilot)
-regenerating shield
-flight pack (VS only?)
-weapon feeds (increase fire rate, TR only)
-extra armour (NC only)

This extra crew requirement and removal of the shield would warrant a slight armour increase and size increase. The different names would also become redundant and the game would finally have the heavy tanks it deserves. This coupled with the hard point system would make the game very appealing to mechwarrior fans while keeping the game balanced, hopefully bringing in new players.

Reposted from my website:
http://sites.google.com/site/planetsideupgradeproject/phase-3/vehicle-overhauls

I think BFR only stands for a good idea, i.e. Giant fighting machine and different levels of AOE when getting hit. The first idea is really sweet, you just need something big to drawn fire on the field, and to dominate limited area if possible. And for the second point, it only works when doing it right just like everything else(but this is a tough one im sure).

P.S. I think the idea of Sanctuary is amazing, its just for ppl without veh (Especially ground vehs) and new players (lack of certs)pain in the ass to try to get to the battle field.

I would still prefer to see BFR's in PS-N they would just need a overhaul for balancing purposes.

You know, I don't think Planetside was dirty enough. I always remember it feeling a little sterile, that must have been the fact that it was an MMO, and you kind of had to make some buffers between the fact that it was massive and online... (I guess what I mean is that things felt clunky, like reloading, vehicle stuff, etc., but I guess having it online creates "factors"... updating all the clients with positions, and all sorts of stuff).

If I appreciated anything about the game... it had to have been Gen. Holds. :)