PlanetSide 2

It's unsettling for anyone to know that a game is undergoing server merges, even when it's a game that's received as much good press as PlanetSide 2. Fortunately for the game's gun-toting fans, creative director Matt Higby is on tap to provide players with a bit more clarification about exactly what the merges will involve. Ten total servers will be affected, bringing the game's total number to nine after the merges take place. Server transfer tokens will also be available afterwards for players who would prefer to move to a different server in the wake of the transfers.

Higby also discusses the game's roadmap, a feature that the designers have been pleased with thus far. Going forward, the roadmap will provide more accurate dates regarding when players can expect to see the new content rather than the current system showing internal development targets. For more specific details, check out Higby's full address to the community.

SOE's Roadmap initiative for PlanetSide 2 is an interesting beast. If you're unfamiliar with it, it's basically a public polling system wherein proposed game features are upvoted or downvoted by the community.

While there are no guarantees that the dev team will actually bend to the will of the people (it is SOE's game, after all), it's a fairly unprecedented setup in large-scale game development. It's also got plenty of naysayers, though, some of whom are concerned about the potential for the game to be affected by those who don't play it.

What do you think of Roadmap and potential systems like it? Do you welcome community-influenced development decisions in your MMO of choice, or do you prefer to leave it to the pros? Vote after the break!

Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!

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While we've known that SOE Live was moving location and dates this year to Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas from August 1st through the 4th, we now have official confirmation from the studio itself.

SOE Head of Global Relations Linda Carlson drafted up an accompanying post about the upcoming convention that includes several pictures from previous years. "We're all gamers too," she writes, "and can hardly wait to hang out with you again! Everyone at the company LOVES going to SOE Live, the one event each that focuses solely on our players. We have everything in common!"

Carlson explained that the change in venue was made for several reasons, primarily to keep costs down, have more flexible meeting space, and experience better air quality. She confirmed that, as in previous years, kids will get in free to the event.

Yesterday we told you about SOE's new PlanetSide 2-focused partnership with Major League Gaming. Following the announcement, Joystiq scribe Mike Schramm managed to corner principals from both companies at Friday's PlanetSide 2 Ultimate Showdown event in LA to ask what, exactly, is in store for fans of Auraxian e-sports.

Join us after the break as CEO John Smedley, creative director Matt Higby, and MLG's Sundance DiGiovanni give us an early look at PS2's competitive evolution.

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SOE has partnered with Major League Gaming in order bring the world of competitive e-sports to PlanetSide 2. "Over the next few months, the PlanetSide 2 and MLG teams will work closely to develop ideal competitive gameplay features and settings to showcase the massively multiplayer online first-person shooter," according to a press release.

Neither company has specified what those features and settings might be, but PS2 creative director Matt Higby and SOE CEO John Smedley have long maintained that the firm was developing its sci-fi shooter sequel with an eye on the competitive gaming arena.

SOE and MLG will also collaborate to create original programming, with a broadcast schedule due "in the coming weeks."

I've been looking at PlanetSide 2 rather longingly of late. SOE's MMOFPS launched back in November, and I spent a solid couple of weeks playing it quite heavily before moving on. It's one of those games that could fit pretty easily into my regular rotation if it weren't for the fact that you really need a consistent group of mates to make the most out of it.

The subject of game rotations is something else I've been thinking about this week. More specifically, I'm trying to adjust mine for PS2 and a couple of other titles. What about you, Massively readers? Do you have a gaming rotation, per se, or do you just play whatever, whenever?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

If you're a Planetside 2 player, you've probably heard about The Crown. The tactical base snuggled in the crossroads of Indar's three distinct terrains is not only difficult to conquer, but it's also a pretty big target once you take it.

PC Gamer sat down with SOE Facilities Designer Corey Navage and Creative Director Matt Higby to talk about the origins of The Crown and how much thought went into giving it the reputation it has today. Of course, as with any game element, The Crown is ever-changing to accommodate strategies and gameplay that SOE observes from players.

Check out the complete interview over at PC Gamer to learn more.

Beyond amazing character design, compelling narratives, and the presence of dragons, there is one thing that all MMOs depend upon for success: player loyalty. Without returning subscribers, a loving community, or folks dropping a few dimes in the cash shop now and again, MMOs simply wouldn't be a feasible way for a games studio to do business. Smart development teams have player retention departments tasked specifically with tracking and analyzing the rise and fall of player allegiances and finding ways to leverage loyalty is becoming an increasingly important aspect of the creation process.

Even the non-gaming world is getting in on the fray. Back in November, researchers at the University at Buffalo School of Management published a study tracing the roots of player loyalties in a variety of MMO environments. The study outlined the mentalities of MMO gamers and the things that successfully encouraged them to keep coming back for more looting, more grinding, and more /hugging. Most importantly, the study declared that an MMO that increases loyalty by just 5% can increase profits by 25-95%.

We sat down with Dr. Lawrence Sanders, co-author of the study, to dive a little deeper into the researchers' methods, results, and plans for future MMO investigation.

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PlanetSide Universe has the details on SOE creative director Matt Higby's latest information dump. Higby says plenty of changes are in store for this month's PlanetSide 2 patch, chief among them some significant tweaks to the game's experience system.

In a nutshell, players who have more kills will be worth more XP, and newly spawned players "will be worth a fraction of the current kill reward." You'll also get partial XP for damaging vehicles even if they aren't ultimately destroyed.

SOE will also be making server transfer tokens available in PS2's item shop, gifting each empire with a new SMG weapon, and adding player configurable colors and indicators to the game's minimap. That's not all, either, but you'll have to hit the source link below for the full list of changes.

When it comes to winter holidays, I'm always disappointed that they come so darn early in the season. We could really use all that cheer, celebrating, and lighting come, say, February after we've been wallowing in the cold and dark for months. No matter; what's done is done, and we have a giant snow globe as proof.

Reader Trevor sent in the following picture from Guild Wars 2's Wintersday, as he took a photo of a world within the larger world and wrote, "Happened upon this giant snow globe amongst the flurry of gifts, giant flying colorful snowflakes, and Wintersday cheer. If you listen closely, you can hear my computer screaming in pain."

Oh, we'll make more than your computer scream in pain before this column is done!

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You know what I love? Space. Not real space, so much; real space is a vast expanse of horrors that generally confound and cripple the mind if considered too seriously. I'm talking about "space," as in the setting of some of our favorite movies, games, and cancelled television properties.

The problem with space, of course, is that it is a setting and not a story. You can't prime an audience by simply shouting, "Space!" The space needs context. Is it "final frontier" space? Is it the space in which your screams go unheard? The greatest space tales have always used the deep black as a backdrop, not a subject.

My perfect MMO would almost certainly take place in space, but the way in which the space is used is what makes it worth playing.

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Would you believe that 70% of DC Universe Online's revenue comes from the PlayStation 3 version of the game? According to the UK version of the official PlayStation magazine, the superhero title and Sony Online Entertainment's Free Realms could possibly be joined on the PS3 by PlanetSide 2 in the future.

When asked directly about the possibility of the new sci-fi MMOFPS showing up on a console, SOE president John Smedley offered an artful deflection. "What I'd say is -- SOE has proven that we can bring our games to the PS3, and it's fair to say that we've got some other stuff out there cooking. I can't tell you what platforms it's for, but we're really excited about it."

[Update: We have corrected the 70% figure quoted directly from PlayStation magazine. According to SOE, Smedley intended to say that the percentage refers to DCUO's revenue, not SOE's revenue as a whole.]

John Smedley's MMO revival tour continues, with the latest stop being an interview at Polygon. The SOE CEO lends some context to impressive numbers recently released by the firm touting the success of its new business model intiative, and he also evangelized about the future of the company and EverQuest Next.

Since switching to F2P across its extensive MMO portfolio, SOE has seen DC Universe's daily revenue increase by 700%, EverQuest II's registration numbers triple, and EverQuest's registration numbers tick up by 350%. Oh, and PlanetSide 2? It's seen 1.6 million players registered thus far, 250,000 of whom log in daily. "Free-to-play is just too good of an idea," Smedley says. "The idea is just so simple. It democratizes and capitalizes, makes true capitalism out of the MMO gaming space."

He goes on to say that the MMO industry is stuck in a rut that SOE helped create via design choices made in the original EQ. "We need to change the way we do this," Smedley says. "We're building a sandbox and giving players the tools to help shape the world that they're in. That's the direction we're going in with EverQuest Next; trying to make a world that players create while being in a living, breathing world around them. It's not just a prop for them to walk around in, which is really what all of today's MMOs are. Their worlds are nothing more than a movie set."

Just a few days ago, SOE launched the first wave of items submitted by players through Player Studio. EverQuest, EverQuest II, and Free Realms all have player-made items for sale in the Marketplace; the players who created the items receive 40% of the revenue. EverQuest launched its first player-made weapon, the Stormlord's Bludgeon; EverQuest II featured the Heroic Salesman's Chest and Cloak of the North Star; and Free Realms revealed the Swirly Railed Gazebo and Happy Heart T-Shirt.

We had a chance to talk to Rick Reynolds, Senior Manager of SOE's E-Commerce team, and Joe Shoopack, Director of Artistic Development, both of whom have played key roles in the successful launch of Player Studio. They shared insight into what goes on behind the scenes after a player submits an item, and they hinted at future plans for the system. Read on!

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Even though the best-laid plans are thrown out the window in the first moments of battle, PlanetSide 2's devs are forging ahead the best they can. The team released the first update for the game yesterday, adding horns to vehicles, allowing players to make multiple characters on a server, and inserting seven new weapons for all of the factions.

That's only the tip of the update iceberg, according to SOE President John Smedley. Speaking with PC Gamer, Smedley said that the future development of the game will largely be guided by player input. "We've changed so much about the game based on player feedback," he said, "so we're definitely going to do the same thing with our six-month plans. Players are paying the bills, so as far as I'm concerned that puts them in the driver's seat."

Smedley said that we'll be hearing more of PlanetSide 2's next stage come January. He did drop news of one important feature: a tutorial that should be hitting the game in February.

Also, some clever players dug up an interesting secret: PlanetSide 2 will offer triple Station Cash points Friday, December 21st. Smedley confirmed this on Twitter. [Thanks to Steve for the tip!]