Planetside Beta This game is amazing

As a hater of MMORPG's, after trying to get into Everquest but not willing to give up my life killing rats to level up, and a hard core FPS lover this is what I've been waiting for. Combat with absolutley no AI on a massive scale. What I'm seeing is roughly 3,000 on a server at a time. From what I can tell each server represents a continent. The teamwork vibe is very strong in this one yes. As soon as you get planetside the need to be in a squad is apparent. The split between those that will lead and those that want someone else to organize and follow is evident and needful. Going off Rambo style is not very industrious. You are rewarded for leading and for following as your leaders can promote you. Very sweet interface, beautiful graphics. Lots of battles. So far this is all that I'd hoped it would be and more than I imagined.

I've been watching this dame in development for the last couple of years and I can't believe it's this good and polished already. Tribes 2 was a freakin nightmare at this stage and even when it launched. Wow! How do you form a squad? I want to form my own but I'm still pretty lost!

If anyone is interested I'm forming a squad. It will be named after my favorite squad in US military history...

The Black Sheep

What's the lattice system? When do the servers go back up I'm jonesin'!

I can't believe they had to take the freakin servers down again. Just when I was startin to get experience points and learning to fly. That VR world is sweet! I was in there for an hour driving all of the vehicles and flying the ships. How do you fly a Gal?

Not 56k. DSL and it's virtually lag free for the most part. It hits rough patches but only at specific moments. I had a ping of 0 on one server and 150 on another so it's pretty good for something this massive! I'v finally dwnloaded the new patch and I'm waiting for the servers to come back up. This game I could get completely sucked into. This is the absolute perfect virtual world for me. Battles raging all around constantly. I see why the Everquest freaks get so worked up now. I heard a release dat of May 19th on the Beta forums. Not sure if that's true though.

Server and Patch Status (Friday, 12:01 am)

The date up there says Friday, but it's still Thursday to us because we haven't left yet.

The servers are down for now and will stay down until the patch is up, running, and is securely tested in "Locked" status for a while.

What does this mean for an ETA? Not soon. It'll be later tonight before the patch is ready for download, and it will be still later before the servers reopen.

However, we're dedicated to getting the patch up tonight and the servers up as early as we can tomorrow...so watch this space.

Further patch and status updates will be described here, rather than in the forums, so you can all find that status more easily.

BUMMER!

Some of these guys are really getting into this which is cool and frightening at the same time. This is what Mike wrote on the Beta forums. It's actually a pretty good read.

Dear Mom,
Well, we stalled a bit today on the blitz. We've been facing heavy resistance as we close on the last few enemy bases. We lost four full companies of tanks to an ambush on the east flank. From what I hear they got caught in a minefield and got tore up pretty bad. We're about thirty k's away and we could see the enemy orbital cannons firing from here. Lucikly command on both sides is smart enough to keep those things out of the hands of most of us grunts. Our unit was ordered to hold the line while reserve units move up to bolster our weak side. The grapevine says we should be moving again this evening or maybe early second dawn tommorow.

Oh well, what can you do? Local command took advantage of the lull and had the 45th move up and relieve us for a few hours so we could get a little R&R. We had a great game of slamball, I scored four and a half points and three strikes! The guys were all really impressed by the reverse takedown dad taught me, so I've been showing them some of the special moves we came up with back when he was still coaching my specialist school Slamball team. I sure do miss him.

We're back on line now though, dug in guarding a bridge. There's been a little movement on the other side and near as we can tell the enemy is doing the same on the other side, but for now things are peaceful enough. Mostly just snipers taking potshots at each other, but as long as you keep your head down its no big deal. They caught me out in the open earlier on the way to the can, it was annoying but hey, either way it took care of that problem, right? You have to learn to laugh about things like that or they'll drive you crazy.

Hopefully this message will get through. There's been some network disruptions lately because of that plasma storm, but the techies assure me the landlines are secure enough from that kind of thing.

Hey, Ironhide can cook! She foraged up some edible plants and even caught a few rablets, so we had a real home cooked meal for dinner tonight. I asked her and she said she would write down the recipe for you. Its attached to this message. I hope you like it as much as we did!

Well, my break is over. All my love, see you in a few weeks!

Sincerely,
Your loving son,
Murphy "Slaw" MacMurph

Sauted Rablet Vegetable Delight ala Ironhide

Ingredients:

2 cleaned Rablets
3-4 good sized Monk Peppers
1/4 liter Cofken broth
2 cloves garlic
2 minced onions

Materials:

1x1 meter foil sheet
Garlic Press
1 sharp knife
1 spoon
1 mixing bowl
1 open, controlled fire (use Cripplepine wood for best flavor and results)
1 set tongs (or other item to retrieve rablets from fire once cooking is complete)

Directions

Crush the garlic into the mixing bowl, and then add the minced onions and cofken broth. Open the Monk peppers with the knife and dispose of the seed and any burrow worms inside. Optionally mix the burrow worms in if you prefer a slightly more sour flavor. Use the spoon to fill the empty monk peppers with the resulting mix, keep filling peppers until you run out of filling.

Place the cleaned rablets on the foil sheet, and fold the edges up to form a bowl around the rablet bodies.

Place the Peppers between the rablet bodies and close the foil over the top. Make sure the foil is tightly sealed, it should fold several layers around the rablets. Place the package into the center of the fire and wait approximately thirty minutes. You should hear the Monk peppers "pop," and approximately five minutes after that they should be fully dissolved. Around fifteen minutes after the "pop" the Monk peppers will have fully digested the stuffing and dissolved, and the dish is ready to eat. Simply remove the package from the fire, cut open the top, and remove the rablet skeletons, which should pull out easily leaving the meat and broth behind. Then simply ladle and serve! Enjoy!


WalkingShark
PLS Beta Member

posted 04-24-2003 04:12 AM user search report post
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Rablet - A strange animal native to Cyssor, but found in various forms all across Auraxis. Like most Auraxis wildlife it is edible by earth animals. A rablet is approximately the size of an Earth native housecat.
In profile the rablet most resembles the terran ocean based animal the starfish. A rablet has four fur covered "legs" which extend from the central body radially. The legs are very strong, much resembling a human tounge. A rablet prefers not to move around very much, and will instead find a thick area of vegitation and use a prehensile "tail" which sticks up from the central body to gather grasses and leaves to eat. The rablet will also occasionally consume insects and other small creatures, this seems to mainly be a supplement to its primary diet of vegetable matter however.

The rablit's primary source of sense is its two long ears, which can be lain flat against its body or stuck up depending on the situation. The tip of each ear also has olfactory sensors, and the rablet seems to have a "sonar echo sense" similar to terran bats. Some farmers have even reported hearing the distinctive high pitched call of a rablet from miles away at times.

When threatened, a rablet rolls its arms around the center of the body, forming a ball shape. It can then use its powerful arm muscles to launch itself through the air in almost any direction. The tip of the tentacle also has a small fang which produces a mild depresant, one sting has enough venom to send an adult human sized creature into a confused, befeuddled state while the Rablet makes its escape. In addition to its leap, the rablet can also use its arm to roll along the ground very quickly, allowing it to escape once it stings.

The meat of the rablet is highly prized, valued for its tenderness and succulent flavor. Rablet meat export drew the attention of many agricultural scientists and farmers back on Terra, and it was expected that Rablet meat could quickly become THE status symbol among the Earth's elite. With the failure of the jumpgate and the ensueing war and supply disruptions, many of Auraxis' people have turned to hunting rablets and other native animals to serve their dietary needs.

Monk Pepper - The monk pepper belongs to a carnivorous order of mobile plants unique to Auraxis. Combining some elements of both plant and animal biology, a monk pepper is an incredibly hardy life form and can withstand an extreme range of temperatures and climates. Variations on the monk pepper have been found in desert, arctic, tropical, and temperate areas all across Auaraxis.

Unfortunately, the monk pepper is a victim of its own success. It is shaped roughly like a pear, with a chitonous "cap" on one end, which serves as the aperture through which food is passed. The cap is held closed by extremely strong muscles which are integral to its structure, similar to those of the earth clam. The rest of the creature's body consists of a large bulbous digestion chamber, similar to an terran bell pepper. Inside the digestion chamber insects and small animals are digested over a period of days and weeks, and the resulting nutrients are stored in the walls of the bulb. It transports itself using four arms which unfold from the cap, holding the bulb off the ground. When it comes time to hunt the arms are used to dig the bulb down into the ground. Their hard claws and strong muscles can cut and dig through almost any surface other than bare stone, including gravel, sand, dirt, and some monk peppers have even been found embedded in rotten logs.

A monk pepper hunts by burying itself in the ground, leaving only the mouth open. It gathers bait in the form of seeds, nuts, and fruits from nearby trees and when the prey is in position, the cap slams closed, the sharp beak often killing or crippling the prey instantly. The Monk pepper is then free to ingest its prey and begin the digestion cycle. Once the prey is fully ingeste dthe Monk pepper will cover itself over the rest of the way to protect itself from predators during its down cycle.

The Monk pepper is highly valued for its flavor among the people of Auraxis. Most people agree that a Monk pepper tastes like a mix of peanut, red pepper, and chicken. The pepper is named after Louis Monk, the biologist who first discovered the plant and later went on to win a cooking award for discovering the unique culinary property of the Monk pepper. When a recently harvested Monk pepper is filled with most any type of food, even if it is dead the bulb will still begin the digestive cycle. If the pepper is then heated it both accelerates the digestive properties of the pepper and also causes the inner walls of the digestive cavity to expand faster than the outer walls. With the cap removed the pepper will end up sealing itself off, and will eventually "pop" from the internal pressure and stresses on the skin. Once it pops, the pepper will dissolve in its own juices, neutralizing them and leaving a unique flavor that is best described by its discoverer:

"The Monk pepper's flavor is completely unprecedented in the history of human culinary arts. To taste a properly prepared Monk pepper is to taste a bit of heaven. The only thing that comes close is the unique blends of coconut and curry available in Thailand on old Earth. When the warpgates are reopened the people of Earth are going to go crazy for this stuff."
-Louis Monk

Thought you guys might be curious

-Mike

New patch details..............

1) VoiceIP is now available. The codec was provided by the TeamSound folks and is now fully integrated into the game. To use it, first form a squad. Then, someone in the squad should start a voice server (by going to the "P" menu on the "Squad" tab) and hitting the HOST button. Then everyone else in the Squad automatically gets a "do you want to join the voice server?" dialog. If you wish to participate, just click "Yes" (just like joining a squad).

NOTE: After release, we´ll also make a "Dedicated Voice Server" function available.

ALSO NOTE: Be sure to test your microphones BEFORE you launch into PlanetSide. Test it in a program like SoundRecorder *before* you go into PS so you know for a fact that your microphone is functional. That way you can better determine if you´re having a "bug" situation or not. If your microphone works in SoundRecorder, then you´re good to go.

2) VS MAX jumpjets have anims and sounds now.

3) Increased projectile velocities to enhance accuracy for:
- 9mm Projectile
- Energy cell projectile
- 12mm projectile
- 20mm projectile
- Dual-cycler projectile
- Quasar projectile

4) New tracers are created to compensate for the velocity change. (Change in speed messed up the old tracers.) Additional changes were made to prevent the tracers from appearing to go through walls, or not draw at all when within a short range of an obstacle.

5) NC Scatterpistol has improved model and textures.

6) Magrider Heavy Rail Beam now does splash damage.

7) Sweeper and Jackhammer have tighter spreads and the individual pellets inflict slightly more damage now. (NOTE: We are looking into the NC MAX Scattercannon, but have made no changes yet.)

8) Reduced certification cost on Lightning from 4 to 3.

9) Global Hotspots are now reliable. You can see all major battles happening on all continents at all times now.

10) Galaxies are no longer made of brittle eggshells. Ramming them with other vehicles (or walking on them with a VS MAX) will no longer destroy them.

11) Vehicles no longer just pivot in place if you apply throttle and brakes at the same time.

12) Generator durability has been increased dramatically. It has double the health that it had previously, and the AP bullet reduction code now applies to generators also (so pistols won´t do much to that big machine). NOTE: The Generator still has a 30-minute autorepair timer that *will* get it back on-line eventually...but an Engineer is MUCH faster.

13) Sanctuaries now have "first-time help" waypoints. The dialog that appears when you appear in a Sanctuary helps to point out what each building is by referring to the waypoint numbers. (For example: "Waypoint 1 is the Orbital Shuttle Building", etc.)

14) Tightened reticules for the following vehicular weapon systems: Basilisk, Deliverer, Enforcer, Galaxy, Harasser, Lightning, Magrider, Marauder, Mosquito, Prowler, Reaver, Sunderer, Thresher, Vanguard.

15) Adjusted rate of fire and damage for the following vehicles:
- Magrider, Prowler, Vanguard all do more damage per shot against other vehicles and hard targets (with their main cannons), but have a slightly reduced rate of fire.

16) 75mm projectiles do more damage now (Lightning and Sunderer).

17) Cycler, Gauss, Pulsar and Punisher got the following improvement: All have default reticule accuracies for crouching, standing and running. Walking has the same accuracy as standing still now. (Only running still incurs an accuracy penalty for these weapons.) NOTES: a) Crouching gives the best accuracy and recoil recovery. b) Standing/Walking gives reasonable accuracy, but suffer more in recoil recovery. c) Running is a bit more innaccurate, but still tighter than previous to this patch. These changes allow you to run and gun a bit better than before with these weapons.

18) Gauss can fire a bit more before recoil kicks in.

19) IMPORTANT NOTE TO TR MAX PLAYERS! The Dual-Cycler is now an anti-vehicular weapon. The Pounder is now an anti-infantry weapon. This was done primarily because bullets have a flat-line trajectory which makes them more useful against vehicles and grenades are more logical anti-infantry weapons.

20) Bolstered the NC MAX shield. Significantly less drain when active. Much faster recharge rate.

21) Lasher now has better projectile and "lash" sound effects.

22) Battleplans now have an improved interface. (Less clutter.) Also, the lines created when using the Draw tool are at a finer resolution for better results.

23) Command menu now shows up even if you aren´t the squad commmander so that you can access certain command features. NOTE: Some command functions still won´t WORK unless you´re a squad leader, however. (Like Squad Waypoints and Directed Voice Macros.)

24) Improved accuracy for both the Decimator and Striker when crouching or standing.

25) Revised Base Capture Experience System
==============================================
Now the amount of experience points earned at the time of capture takes into account the number of enemies (from either of the opposing Empires) that were killed within the hacked facility´s SOI.

A minimum of 5 **unique** enemies must be killed in order to quality to earn 25% of the total XP potential. This percentage increases in a linear fashion to 100% if 20 or more unique enemies are killed within the SOI.

So basically the higher the enemy death toll in capturing a facility, the more XP is awarded up to 100% of its potential. Squad Leaders still earn CEP, while squad members earn BEP, and it´s equally shared within the squad (as always) across the entire continent (sharing across a continent is a new feature).

New Base Resecure Experience System
==============================================
Effectively this uses the same mechanics as the Revised Base Capture Experience System, except now the defenders get experience for resecuring a facility.

NOTE: The resecuring doesn´t offer up to the same potential amount of XP as capturing, but it still provides a healthy incentive to resecure a hacked facility.

26) Boomers now disappear correctly after exploding.

27) Bolt Driver reticule now lines up properly when crouched.

28) Magrider and Thresher now properly have collision after autodriving out of a Tech Plant tunnel.

29) Sanctuaries have been revised! In order to alleviate the framerate issues that occur when 300 people with 300 vehicles all show up in the central courtyard of the Sanctuary, we´ve divided the Sanctuary up into "villas". Each warpgate bubble has a "villa" around it. There is a shuttle facility, two air vehicle pads, four ground vehicle pads, and a training/respawn facility at each villa. There are teleporter pads (just like the VR teleporter pavilions) in each complex that you can step onto and quickly transport to the next villa in sequence. Thus, it´s VERY easy to get around the Sanctuary now...and you can form your battle squads right at the foot of the warpgate you intend to use to invade a continent. Enjoy!

30) MAX Autorun has changed. It has always been faster and easier to use than originally designed (due to incomplete implementation), thus making the MAX tougher than we wished it to be. Therefore, whenever the MAX´s auto-run is engaged a HUD message appears stating "Initializing Auto-Run Mode". The MAX then comes to a complete stop (if already moving), before the MAX begins its auto-run acceleration cycle. Thus, the MAX does more starting and stopping now than it did previously and you can no longer tap-run with the MAX´s autorun. This slows the MAX down and makes other armors comparatively faster. This may not be the last of the MAX autorun tweaks, but we want to try this one out a bit before progressing further so we can isolate this gameplay change.

31) Bailing has sounds now.

32) Continental Lattice is now in-place. (NOTE: This is only the first installment of changes designed to deal with "phantom hacker", geographic war issues, and incentives to defend. But it has high impact, so we are testing it alone initially.)

In a nutshell, the Lattice lets you determine where you can attack next.

a) You may only hack a facility that is connected, via the lattice, to a facility you already own. (Hack links are shown in gold if they are your Empire, grey if they pertain to other Empires. Links between same-Empire-owned facilities are the correct color for that Empire&red for TR, blue for NC, purple for VS.)

b) If, for some calamitous reason, you own NO facilities, anywhere in the world, you can always hack the facilities connected to your secure warpgates at your Sanctuary. (Example: If you are TR, you can always hack Orisha on Cyssor because it connects directly to the TR Sanctuary Warpgate.)

c) To hack into a locked continent, you must own the facilities connected to the warpgate on the OTHER continent first. (Example: If you want to hack Leza on Cyssor, and Cyssor is continent-locked, then you can capture Sina on Searhus first. That will give you a hack link to Leza and you can try to punch the continent thereafter. (NOTE: This makes the lattice truly global in nature so, Commanders&stay aware.)

d) You may hack ANY neutral building, regardless of its position in the lattice. Therefore, ANTs become even more crucial.

e) NTU consumption has been changed. Buildings no longer deplete NTUs while doing nothing at all. NTUs are now consumed ONLY through auto-repair of equipment within the building (terminals, wall turrets, generators, etc.) and respawns. Therefore, if nothing is going on at the facility, it will never go neutral. NOTE: Enterprising squads might try to destroy equipment in an enemy facility with low power, hoping to consume the last NTUs and get the ability to hack the facility outside the matrix. This is another way to "punch" a continent lock.)

33) In preparation for some sweeping facility link abilities (in an upcoming patch) some of the existing link abilities have been removed.
- The Amp Station no longer reduces consumption of NTUs by 50%. (This will be replaced soon with the ability to power up vehicle shields.)
- Amp Station no longer increases the size of the SOI when owned. This was as much hindrance to friendlies as it was detriment to drop-podding enemies.
- The Bio Lab no longer causes Medical Terminals to act as Advanced Medical Terminals. (This will be replaced by a more noticeable reduction in respawn timers to all linked facilities.)
- Tech plant still allows advanced vehicles to be purchased at other owned facilities (no change).
- Interlink still adds radar capabilities, but these will be simplified soon to be more understandable.
- Dropship Center will eventually activate all repair/rearm pads at various facilities so vehicles can repair and access inventory at those pads. That feature may be post-release.
- All link abilities (when we´re done with the changes, not currently) will show up as icons near the SOI of the building on the overhead map, thus making it easy to, at-a-glance, see what special abilities each facility has due to links.

34) All waypoint functionality for the overhead map (Personal and Squad Waypoints) have been moved to the main toolbar instead of one being on the main bar and one on the command bar.

35) See all FRIENDLIES and See all ENEMIES have a visual upgrade to make it easier to see the information provided.

EB now has Planetside Beta cd's as a promotional thing. If you want to get in give your local EB's a call and ask them about it.

This should be a pretty major change. It can't be soon enough!

I haven't had enough time to do anything really. I want to be certified in gound and vehicles. I drove all of the vehicles in the VR world and they are pretty sweet. I just got enough experience points to upgrade my armor and weapons the other night when the servers went down so I haven't done anything yet. I've been reading all about this game for so long but as soon as I actually got in it I was so awe struck I forgot everything. I'm just learning everything from the ground up. I've got several people, half-dozen or more guys and gals ready to join my squad that I can't form yet because I don't have the command points. I plan on playing all freaking night tonight though and really make a dent in things.

Where are you at in certs and command points and all that jazz? What else have you learned?

Woohoo!! ( actually it's 8p and they're probably back up)

Server and Patch Status (Friday, 6:30 pm)

Patch is completed.

We're testing the Markov server now to ensure it's ready for you all.

Servers will go live after that test is completed.

Server Name Changes

The servers have changed names now. For those that care about story, the names are those of the Vanu Sovereignty scientists that pioneered the field of dimensional shifting (a technology with which the Ancient Vanu were quite adept). Each new parallel world that was discovered was named after one of those scientists.

Here's a translation table for you so you can find your characters:

Markov = Beryl

Johari = Citrine

Dalton = Emerald

World State and Character Positions

The world state has been reset to Day One conditions. This allows us to watch gameflow progress with the new Matrix conditions.

Additionally, since the Sanctuaries were changed fairly radically, any character that was left in the Sanctuary will be found in a spawn tube when you enter the game tonight (only). This is to prevent you from appearing beneath the ground (if the ground was raised during the Sanctuary reconstruction at your old position).

NOTE: We went a "feature too far". VoiceIP is just not ready for prime time yet. It will be in the next patch. Everything else that was on the patch list WILL be available

This patching process is pretty slow tonight. I'm still not on. I dont even know the differences of the servers really.

Here's a rundown on the three factions of Planetside....

The New Conglomerate

The most precious things we as human beings can possess are our freedoms and our future. For a thousand years humanity has languished. We no longer improve ourselves as a people; we stagnate under archaic rule that has outstayed any semblance of usefulness or purpose. And for a thousand years we've been denied the freedoms that define us as individuals. There hasn't been anything free since the tyrants of the Terran Republic took over. They hijacked the whole human race, locked it up in a tower of stone and steel, and fed it only breadcrumbs for a millennium.

They'll tell you how great the Terran Republic is; they won't shut up about the thousand years of the "Eternal Empire" and how it's the biggest human achievement since we chiseled the first wheel. And people believe it, now. There might have been a time eons ago when humanity wouldn't have stood for the censorship and the stifling policing of life that goes on today. But the Republic put one over on us all in a slow fashion, so we didn't know what was going on until it was too late. It's kind of like that old story about the frog in a pot of water: Heat it up slow and the fool won't jump out. Before he knows it, he's dead.

That's what we are: Dead. Most of us, anyway. But some of us still have a twitch left in our limbs, and we can feel the water heating up.

It's time for change. The Terran Republic is formidable, nothing to joke about. A thousand years of absolute rule can make any group like them dauntingly powerful. Most people with ideas despair at the thought of challenging them. But here on Auraxis, we've got a chance. When the wormhole snapped shut, the door to freedom flew open. Now we're stepping through, and no one can stop us--not the Terran Republic, and certainly not the freaks of the Vanu Sovereignty.

We must also expand our presence beyond Auraxis to ensure the perpetuation of humanity. Under the Terran Republic, we were on the decline as a species. Deaths have outnumbered births for several years now. We must not allow ourselves to die out! Once Auraxis is secure from Terran and Vanu threat, we can focus our efforts toward exploration and the seeding of humanity throughout the galaxy.

Get the picture? It's about freedom; it's about survival, now and into the future.

But freedom isn't "free." Freedom costs sweat, and it will cost blood. We'll gladly shed it, and we'll gladly spill it to get what we want.

Freedom is our right!

--------------------------------------------------------------

The Vanu Soveriegnity

The Vanu Sovereignty pursues efficiency. The timetable as established by the archaic Terran Republic is not suited to the purposes of the Vanu Sovereignty. We are entering a new era of human advancement, and a new account of progress will be kept. We have revised the recent past for accuracy and objectivity.

The Year of the Wormhole
At the Terran Republic's Science Institute, an elite team of scientists discovers the wormhole to a colonizable new world. The Terran Republic sends the Wormhole Discovery Project, consisting of a Military Expeditionary Force (MEF) and a team of Institute scientists to explore the planet.

1 Year After the Wormhole (A.W.)
The Military Expeditionary Force assumes full authority over the planet in the name of the Terran Republic. They name it "Auraxis." Institute scientists and the MEF disagree on how soon colonists should start moving to the new planet. Institute scientists advocate further study to assure the environment is completely safe. MEF wants new colonies immediately.

MEF sends out an Exploration Unit that consists mostly of project scientists along with a small crack contingent of soldiers to keep close watch over the scientists and help establish outposts.

A major discovery, true destiny of humanity, is unearthed: The first Vanu artifacts.

10 Years A.W.
The remaining Exploration Unit members are a forward-thinking group of scientists and soldiers that share the same philosophy of the superiority of science and technology over brute force. The MEF fears this firebrand group.

12 Years A.W.
The secrets of the first Vanu artifacts are unlocked and rebirthing technology is discovered. The first step toward positive evolution of the species is achieved: potential immortality.

19 Years A.W.
Rebirthing commonplace. All citizens utilize the technology. The future of the species appears bright. Further developments extrapolated from the Vanu technology continue to improve the standard of living for all.

20 Years A.W.
The wormhole closes. Scientists are enlisted to find a way to reopen the wormhole. All attempts fail. Cut off, the MEF assumes control under the title of the Terran Republic and suppresses news of the wormhole's collapse. Scientists are sworn to silence under threat of death.

27 Years A.W.
News of the closure of the wormhole leaks. At first considered rumor, the news is slow to spread. Scientists are detained and tortured for confessions until they are finally executed by the Terran Republic. Founders of the Vanu Sovereignty begin secreting Vanu-based discoveries for fear of Terran Republic clampdown.

29 Years A.W.
Rumors of wormhole closure revealed as truth; Terran Republic assures populace that the wormhole will reopen. Doubt and fear spread. Some soldiers and citizens are incensed at the revelation that the Republic suppressed news of the wormhole's collapse.

Years of rebirthing practice begin to alter philosophical views among those trapped on Auraxis. Moral concerns send political shockwaves, polarizing the populace and leadership. The Terran Republic grows anxious.

30 Years A.W.
Visionary scientists and soldiers, who had been securing Vanu technology, begin to fear a backlash and break away from the Terran Republic to form the Vanu Sovereignty, seizing control of several outlying rebirthing facilities.

Another splinter group, the New Conglomerate, also forms, opposing the Terran Republic's rigid rulership and adopting a more anarchistic outlook. They declare war on the Vanu Sovereignty and the Terran Republic, accusing both of political and technological oppression.

War breaks out.

The destiny of the human species tilts toward ruin. Thousands of years of shortsightedness and provincial thinking have hampered its proper evolution. We plunge toward oblivion.

The human species has received the gift of its future: The Vanu technology. The Vanu race transcended its mortality and touched the white-hot light of destiny. This is the path of humanity. The Vanu knowledge will deliver us from ignorance. We must not allow its squandering.

Those able to comprehend the promise and potential of humanity will advance. They will usher the less gifted through the gateway of understanding and cleanse from the species the taint of blindness, ignorance and mulishness.

We are the shepherds of evolution, the harbingers of progress. We lead toward the light.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

The Terran Republic

Legacy of Peace

Mightier than any nation, wiser than any government, stronger than any religion, the Terran Republic is a monument to the values and spirit of the Terran with a long history of achievements too numerous to list. Unquestionably, its greatest success is the more than one thousand years of peace enjoyed under its governance.

The Terran Republic was officially established with the ratification of the Declaration of Constancy 1,112 years ago by nations weary of nearly two hundred years of war. It put in place the mechanisms that would provide for the needs of the world's citizens and sustain a vigilant suppression of lawlessness. The Terran Republic vanquished anarchy and brought chaos to heel. Man moved into an unprecedented period of peace, innovation and expansion.

Terran science made exploration of space, and eventually its mysterious wormholes, possible. The Republic launched an expedition through one such wormhole to the planet Auraxis. The new planet possessed a breathable atmosphere and habitable environment, and enabled colonization plans to proceed in earnest for the next 20 years.

It was 10 years ago that the wormhole collapsed suddenly and unpredictably, closing off the new planet from the Terran Republic and stranding the expeditionary force. Always resourceful, the Terrans were not daunted but instead began researching how to reopen the wormhole.

The mysterious Vanu artifacts were discovered during this same period of uncertainty. Development of the "rebirthing" technology quickly followed. Initially hailed as a great discovery, it became clear to the Republic's leaders on Auraxis that the new technologies threatened to destabilize the future colonies. Death was no longer an effective deterrent to evil and a sense of immortality fostered turmoil between the developing factions. Already, a faction of technophiles had formed to espouse the Vanu race and their lost knowledge. To forestall the dangerous trend, the Republic wisely restricted access to the new technology, including the rebirthing facilities, so the threat could be more carefully assessed.

Unrest brewed among the separate factions in the colonies and was stoked into violence by rogue scientists, rabble-rousers, and Republic military deserters, all intoxicated by the power the Vanu technology promised. During the spring of this past Aurazian year, attempts to gentle the uprising ended in bloody tragedy and resulted in the separation of the greedy technolords who declared themselves the Vanu Sovereignty. Bent on the exploitation of the alien technology at the expense of their humanity, the Vanu Sovereignty stole many of the artifacts and turned the knowledge they gained to weapons creation. Conquest and subjugation of the human spirit in favor of mechanistic augmentation are the Vanu Sovereignty's corrupt designs. All Terrans are right to fear their deviant ambitions.

While efforts were focused on the reunification or elimination of the Vanu Sovereignty, a second faction of malcontents rallied to terroize the patriotic forces of the Terran Republic. This faction, calling themselves the New Conglomerate, struck from behind and seceded from the Repulic. Faced with war on two fronts, the Republic refocused its resources on defense of its strategic position and those who remained loyal.

Stung by the betrayal of its own, Terrans have united in the common goal to restore order and the Republic, and to reopen the wormhole.

You may have read a recent e-flyer circulated by a militant group of separatists, calling themselves the New Conglomerate, decrying invasions of privacy, theft of citizens' liberties by the Terran Republic. They even go so far as to accuse the Republic of unjust punishment of dissidents.

Do not be misled. These are fictions, fabricated to promote strife among the loyal citizens of the Terran Republic. Spies and deserters are a concern, but those captured are given a just trial. These are times of war, however, and the judicial system must function efficiently to expedite these cases.

The New Conglomerate currently suffers from disillusionment among its ranks. It hemorrhages supporters, while desperately attempting to bolster its rapidly flagging strength. The New Conglomerate has promised its followers a "better" life but has delivered only misery to those charmed by its empty message. Dissident morale grows anemic; their leaders scramble to shore up a crumbling foundation.

This New Conglomerate has threatened to kill any who do not follow them in their ludicrous search for a fantastical perfect world. Rest assured, these threats are taken seriously and justice will be swift.

The Vanu Sovereignty is a militant separatist cult owing allegiance to no one, save their own unbridled thirst for power they seek to attain through the misuse of deviant application of stolen alien technology. Composed of rogue scientists, Terran Republic military deserters and technology worshipers, the Vanu Sovereignty's goal is the perfection of man.

To achieve this, the Vanu Sovereignty is willing to forfeit their loyalty, their sanity and their humanity by fusing man with machine. They believe man's destiny lies in this melding and that it will allow them to achieve some state of pseudo-godhood.

The Vanu Sovereignty has released a revisionist account of history here on Auraxis. The misrepresentations and outright inaccuracies of this account are appalling. They claim, for example, that scientists were tortured and executed after the wormhole closed. This is patently untrue, especially given that more than a hundred years ago the Terran Republic enacted laws against the use of torture.

The Vanu Sovereignty poses a grave threat to the Terran Republic. Their leadership is unknown at this time. The disorganization and self-aggrandizement exhibited by the members of this group likely prohibits the development of a coherent command structure. However, the Vanu Sovereignty has developed untested, radical new weaponry from their stolen technology that are extremely dangerous. More recently, they have begun to experiment in dimensional transposition. Experiments of this nature are unforgivably reckless. In the hands of the conscienceless Vanu Sovereignty, they threaten the very stability of our universe. Their power-hungry dabbling with technology beyond their understanding will have devastating consequences.

I'm going to bed now! Those were some of the most intese online battles I have ever seen. The ground troops, tanks, aircraft, holy crap! BF1942 is cool but this is something else. The music is great too!

The battles in this game are incredible. Attacking in multiple squads with dropships, tanks, smaller attack aircraft, wow, it's really something to see!

The need for good leadership isn't just a atmosphere thing it's essential to advancing. I've been in squads with good leadership and I've been in squads with little to no leadership. If the squad isn't organized and focused on certain things, forget it, combat ineffective . Going up against a defending force with an unorganized bunch gets nowhere fast! Going in with a good squad or squads for that matter is nice and easy, especially if the defenders aren't organized. In that case it's an easy sweep and clear process then hack and the base is yours with the experience points. The largest amount of points is gained from taking over bases.

Every member of the squad needs to know their role and follow orders. Everyone needs to think strategically in everything they do.

One cool moment earlier today was when a few disorganized squads, I was in one of them, had gathered together and we were attacking a stronghold. We weren't getting very far and were almost overrun but then out of Apocalypse Now about a dozen Reavers, small 1 man attack aircraft, came out of nowhere and just opened a can o' whup ass on the enemy. Very impressive to watch.

Why must I have a real life!

I play on, can't remember the full name, but it starts with a D like Darius or something. Only server with a D, theres only 5 servers. I'm FloydianTrip in there. Waitinf for it to come back up now.

BB you can try to apply for the Beta still online at the sony website or go to EB and see if you can get the Promo Beta discs, there's 3. I know the people that have dwnloaded it say it took 6 hours on DSL but believe me it's well worth it!

Sunday's Efforts

The patch is coming soon. We have almost completed the pre-test.

Patch notes are available in the "Patch Notes" area.

"Hot" Issues We are Still Examining

a) The Delete character bug.

b) Investigating reports of a Memory Leak in the client.

-------------------------------------
New Experience System Details

Many folks don't fully understand the new experience system, so here are a few details about it in an "Example" fashion so that it makes more sense.

But first, a few changes are coming:

1) Many folks reported that they "got no xp for a capture after fighting all night to win the battle". After further examination, we think there's a slight design flaw in our system in that the "unique kill count" doesn't start until the hack occurs. This can result in situations where you fight for 30 minutes to get a hacker into the base, but end up with no enemies left to fight at the base after the hack...thus resulting in no capture experience.

Thus, we're going to extend the "kill count timer" to include the 10 minutes previous to the hack. This loosens up the system to allow hacks to happen after a major battle, while still counting the "unique kills" before the fight.

2) Additionally, some players are getting no xp because they only made 3-4 unique kills. Thus, they get no cap xp message and think "hey! The system is bugged!" So we're going to change the system to give XP for anywhere from 1-20 unique kills. If ANY friendly kills a unique player in the contested SOI, you'll get 5% of max XP for the capture. If 20 unique enemies (or more) are killed then you get 100% of the max XP for the capture. It scales linearly between those end-points.

Now...the examples below assume that the fixes above are already in place (should happen very soon). I'll explain everything else with that in mind.

Here goes:

1) If you're an individual (not part of a squad), then you just have to be present during the 25 minutes before the hack is complete and the base capture occurs. During the time that you are present, the game is counting "UNIQUE" kills that occur within the SOI around the facility. Outside the SOI doesn't count. "Unique" kills means *different* people....not the same guy over and over.

NOTE: YOU do not have to personally kill those "unique" enemies. You just have to be PRESENT while they are killed.

2) Why "unique" kills? Basically, if there are only two guys defending the base, then you don't get much in the way of xp for taking that base (two unique folks would be 10% of max cap xp...see above). If you bite off a big challenge, then you get big XP. Bite off a small one and you get small XP.

3) Squads help you in regards to "unique kill count". Basically, we keep track of all the unique kills that were viewed by ANYONE in your squad in that SOI during the 25-minute window. Basically, this benefits squad members because they can be in and out of an SOI and still accumulate "unique kill count" if at least one of their squad members is there. Thus, it's easier for squad members to get to the max capture XP. (And remember...xp is now shared across the entire continent for squad members.)

4) This also applies to resecuring a facility. The system is almost exactly the same for resecuring as it is for hacking in the first place. When a base is hacked by the enemy, a "resecure timer" is started. All the kills you were present for the 10 minutes prior to that enemy hack, and all the kills until your Empire actually rehacks (thus resecuring the base) are counted as "unique kills" toward the maximum resecure XP. This "resecuring" xp should be a huge incentive for defenders since you now get xp for doing base defense (which didn't happen previous to this change).

Make more sense now? In a nutshell...big fights give big cap xp. Small fights give small cap xp. Defenders get xp for resecuring a base.

And, of course, in addition to capture xp, you also get all the xp for the actual kills...and that's not limited by "unique" numbers. So all-in-all, you can wrack up an amazing amount of xp if you a) get into a large squad and b) go into large battles, whether on offense or defense. If your style is to play with smaller squads and go to smaller battles, you'll still have fun...but you'll receive smaller XP because you're taking smaller risks.

NOTE: You and/or your squadmates can freely go in and out of the SOI during the 25-minute window. But kills are only added to your "unique kill total" when you or your squadmates are actually in the contested SOI.

Okay...that's BEP...what about CEP for captures?

The system works exactly like BEP awards, but there's a modifier based on your size of squad.

Basically, take the amount of xp that would be received using the BEP system described above. Now multiply the CEP gained by a percentage based on the number of folks in your squad. A two-person squad gets 10% of the max CEP for its leader, whereas a squad leader with 8+ members gets 100% of the max CEP. (Scaled proportionally in between those numbers).

Therefore, large squads net max CEP for their commander. Small squads net less.

NOTE: There is no limitation to the number of commanders that can gain CEP in a single SOI. It's only limited by their squad size.

ALSO NOTE: Capture xp now has *NOTHING* to do with who hacked the building. There is no reason to kill friendly hackers.

LAST NOTE: You, or at least one of your squad, MUST be in the SOI of the building AT THE TIME OF CAPTURE (or resecure) in order to gain BEP or CEP.

Oh yeah, that battle they talk about in the patch notes. I was there man! That was a wicked, long, hardfought battle and we repeled them several times after we initiated the hack to keep the base and we got nothing. Everyone was pretty pissed!

Servers are up. Downloading has commenced!

I have taken alot of screenshots if someone can host and you can see for yourself. If it will be as good 6 months from now I don't know but it will easily last a few. It's completely addicting even in the buggy Beta stage.

Here's another option if you wanna check it out. If you subscribe to Fileplanet for $7 you can download the Beta from them.

<a href="http://www.fileplanet.com/files/120000/122855.shtml" target="_blank">Planetside Beta download at Fileplanet</a>

So you got it Gemini? Yeah, PS could launch now and be better than most MMO games. The devs are dedicated to making it as good as it can be though and it shows.

So how is it being a cloaked hacker? I'm heavy weapons with 2 rocket launchers. Can you ride an ATV or airship and make it cloak as well? The next cert for me is gonna be a Reaver. I look up at those guys flying around up there going on strafing runs and it looks badass! I've flown it in the VR world and it is definitely a cool experience. I can't imagine what it looks like with a battle raging below you.

Heh, I just got off work but since everyone is here I take it the servers are down? We should hook up I need a hacker. That's the only way to get the points.

If anyone wants to hook up Ill be in Akna on Ceryshen. There's a pretty major battle going on right now.

Yes there is a sniper and they are annoying bastards too!

[EDIT]

Gemini, I'm Terran Republic baby! Hoooaahh!

I had many cool moments last night until I locked up for the second time and called it a night.

I was walking through the hills and someone in a Sunderer (a bigass troop transport with grenade launchers on the roof) was stuck in a little valley. Well I was standing on top of the hill watching this guy try to make it and he couldn't get up the other side when suddenly it exploded. I looked up and there was an enemy Reaver that had just capped him and he had turned his attention on me. I ran down the other side of the hill, I had no weapon drawn at the time, and he followed very low to the ground playing cat and mouse. As soon as he popped up over the hill and started coming down at me I whipped out my rocket launcher and fired a missile at him from about 15 yards and blew him to smithereens, very cool!