PlanetSide

E3 2001 Preshow ReportPlanetSide

Sony Online Entertainment is banking on PlanetSide, its massively multiplayer first-person action game, to bring action gaming to the masses. Currently, the massively multiplayer gaming experience exists in role-playing games such as EverQuest and Ultima Online, but developer Verant claims that a PlanetSide game server will support 3,500 players (an EverQuest world server typically holds 2,000 players and peaks around 2,300). The scale of the gameworld also sounds impressive: Verant claims that each continent of the gameworld planet can measure up to 64 square kilometers, for example, which is about four times as large as a Tribes 2 map. Add to that a persistent universe and a character advancement system, and you've got an in-game ranking system by which to measure yourself and others.

In terms of gameplay, you play the part of a soldier caught in a planetary war. You belong to an empire, and your goal is to win and hold territories and then continents. In such large areas, tactics play a major role, and with your empire allies, you'll conduct incursions into enemy territory to capture more land or take up a defensive position. On the other hand, you may also engage in solo assignments against your enemy. For the most part, grouping with registered or temporary outfits in your empire will be the basis for gameplay, and the most common modes will be team-vs.-team play, capture and hold, and enemy facilities neutralization. You'll also acquire specialized skill sets, like medical or infiltration, as you advance your character. Verant has planned approximately 70 base skills for players, and gaining a new rank means access to new skills. And did we mention vehicles yet? In PlanetSide, you'll use vehicles to travel around and fight with; for example, you can be a driver or a gunner. Another interesting tidbit is that Verant has committed to releasing new content for the game, essentially making mods for players to enjoy.

Technologically, PlanetSide features a scalable 3D engine that is specifically designed for indoor and outdoor locations and that allows seamless gameplay across continents with no load times or interruptions. Other engine features include highly detailed and lifelike graphics, changing weather conditions that will have an impact on your combat strategy, and ambient environmental sounds. Last but not least, the much-touted networking technology will be vital to the playability of such an ambitious game. Verant holds that a 56K modem will be the lowest supported speed of connection.

PlanetSide is scheduled for an early 2002 release.