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Date |
: Jul 23rd, 2001 |
| Genre |
: Action |
| Developer |
: Verant Interactive |
| Author |
: Jin-Ning Tioh |
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To perform all this voodoo magic, the team had to develop a totally new engine. They wanted complete customization of everything. Battles will be fought on 13 continents, with different types of terrain thrown in for combat, including arctic, desert, and tropical terrains. Each continent will be able to support roughly between 400 and 500 players at once.
But thanks to the custom engine that they created from scratch, there's never a load time over these vast areas - meaning that they're completely seamless. This also applies to indoor / outdoor transitions. You can drive your quad bike up the side of the hill and into the enemy's hanger with guns blazing and it would go on without a hitch. Unfortunately, due to the fact your computer would overload with information and explode, you won't be able to destroy either terrain or buildings. But terrain isn't the only voodoo going on here. Players will be able to use the game's weather effects such as rain, snow, fog and electrical storms to their tactical advantage. For example, assaulting an enemy outpost during a heavy fog or taking advantage of an electrical storm and its negative effects on facility computers could seriously turn the tides of war against enemy forces.
If what we hear is any kind of indication, there's going to be a wide variety of land and air vehicles in PlanetSide. They'll range from the small but fast quad bikes and medium sized tanks to the gargantuan drop ships and lightly armored but fast jet type units. PlanetSide will allow one player to drive a vehicle and another player to control a gun turret if one is available. If another player is not available then the turret will function as if it were being controlled by a BOT.
To top it all off, the outposts and fortifications in PlanetSide are pretty advanced. Each has it's own sensor array, locking security doors, and other defense systems. Everything is controlled by a main computer system that can be either destroyed or hacked. The security doors, for instance, will only open for the team that is in control of the station. Enemy teams will have to hack their way past doors, into the base, and then try to deactivate the main computer terminal, thus unlocking the doors for the rest of their team to move in.
The conclusion? Even in PlanetSide's current state, it's shaping up to be a worthy addition to the gaming world. PlanetSide appeals to both the hardcore players who thrive on up to date stats and strategic gameplay, as well as the RPG fans who like to tweak and customize their stats, rise in rank, and so on. Keep a sharp eye on this one folks, it's going to be one hell of a ride. But to tantalize and torment you, here are some slick screenshots to bail you out.
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