July 4th Sale
🎇Holiday Bundles Available Now!🎇
⭐️Stars and Stripes Contrails Bundle
⭐️Liberation Bundle
Check the depot for more details.
PlanetSide 2 News
🎇Holiday Bundles Available Now!🎇
⭐️Stars and Stripes Contrails Bundle
⭐️Liberation Bundle
Check the depot for more details.
Members Double EXP Weekend [ JUNE 28 - 30 ]
💹Members Double XP is Live!💹
The Members Double XP event runs today through June 30.
👉Learn more about All-Access: https://www.daybreakgames.com/allaccess
Making Audio for PlanetSide 2 - June 24 2024
[h2]Behind the Scenes: Making Audio for PlanetSide 2[/h2]
For this month's dev letter, we wanted to give you a peek into what goes on when making new audio updates to the game, both when it comes to sound effects and music.
Starting as a new audio team on such an established franchise has been very exciting, while at the same time there’s been a lot for us to get into. Initially, we spent a lot of time playing the game and reading through player feedback on the forums and Reddit.
This turned out to be very helpful in both establishing what we would value ourselves, while also learning what you, the players, would like to see happening to the game. At the end of this dev letter, we have also provided a survey which if answered would help us to work even more toward what our player base wants.
[h2]Bug fixes and optimization [/h2]
Our focus so far has mainly been on bug fixes and carefully updating existing sounds. This has resulted in updates like fixing audio/animation desynchronization issues, and a larger fix for weapons that would spam multiple sound cues when tapping quickly.
Our most recent submission is a potential fix for the big audio dropout issue. This has been on our radar since the beginning, but since the issue has no clear reproduction steps and the only place we seem to encounter it is on a large and populated live server, this has been especially complex to debug and test.
So far we have increased the channel limit, which allows for more sounds to play simultaneously, and we just made a system that resets the sound system on every loading screen. Hopefully this will help, but if not, we will continue trying what we can to solve it in future updates.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h2]Music updates [/h2]
We take part in working on the regular updates with the rest of the team, so we’ve had our hands on every new weapon or skin that gets added with new sounds. But one of the inspiring elements for us is adding new music to the game.
Our latest work was for the franchise anniversary, but we have also tested the waters with various Sanctuary themes, including the updated Halloween and Auraximas versions you might have heard of in the last 6 months. Next, we are also trying to produce something nice for the November anniversary!
In the coming period, we are working on getting our new soundtracks up on YouTube, with the first example being the PlanetSide Anniversary Remake:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
One additional area we are considering looking into is the NC music, also potentially tweaking some in game tracks. There is more to come in this area, and depending on your feedback on the matter, we have a few different paths ahead we might choose.
[h2]A modern homage to the early days [/h2]
One of our philosophies on this project is to look back with respect while taking advantage of modern technology and techniques. One element we really like from the early days of PS2 audio was some of the unique sounds of weapon firing and vehicles for each faction.
We have done some initial research, and in the future we hope to make certain elements sound more like they did several years ago.
The modern aspect we want to make use of here is more complex with immersive acoustic technology and mixing techniques. Making busy combat scenarios sound a bit cleaner, while giving the player some more strategic elements for navigating the world through sounds.
This will of course not be made in a hurry and is quite complex to dig into, so expect minor updates to begin while we monitor your response on the matter. Our goal is to improve your experience while maintaining that great PlanetSide feeling many of us enjoy.
[h2]General improvements [/h2]
Besides the points above, our day-to-day also consists of many general improvements. When working on these, we choose an area and try to work on it systematically. The first step is to break it down into categories, start testing and make a list of improvements containing both creative and technical fixes.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
After doing this with weapons for a long time, submitting various updates you might have seen in patch notes, we have just started to move our focus over to vehicles.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
If you have any thoughts on areas that could benefit from projects like this, never hesitate to let us know on the forums - we try to account for as much data as possible when we make these decisions.
[h2]Conclusion and survey [/h2]
As we learn more, both from our own experiences and hearing what you, the players, write and how you react to our updates, we hope to be able to provide some great updates that will make your experience on Auraxis as good as possible. Below you can find the mentioned survey, and it would be very helpful to us if we could get your input submitted in this!
The first part of this journey has been very exciting for us, and we thank you for continuing to be engaged in the game, both on the battlefield and with keeping the community active.
PLANETSIDE 2 AUDIO SURVEY
- PlanetSide 2 Team
For this month's dev letter, we wanted to give you a peek into what goes on when making new audio updates to the game, both when it comes to sound effects and music.
Starting as a new audio team on such an established franchise has been very exciting, while at the same time there’s been a lot for us to get into. Initially, we spent a lot of time playing the game and reading through player feedback on the forums and Reddit.
This turned out to be very helpful in both establishing what we would value ourselves, while also learning what you, the players, would like to see happening to the game. At the end of this dev letter, we have also provided a survey which if answered would help us to work even more toward what our player base wants.
[h2]Bug fixes and optimization [/h2]
Our focus so far has mainly been on bug fixes and carefully updating existing sounds. This has resulted in updates like fixing audio/animation desynchronization issues, and a larger fix for weapons that would spam multiple sound cues when tapping quickly.
Our most recent submission is a potential fix for the big audio dropout issue. This has been on our radar since the beginning, but since the issue has no clear reproduction steps and the only place we seem to encounter it is on a large and populated live server, this has been especially complex to debug and test.
So far we have increased the channel limit, which allows for more sounds to play simultaneously, and we just made a system that resets the sound system on every loading screen. Hopefully this will help, but if not, we will continue trying what we can to solve it in future updates.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h2]Music updates [/h2]
We take part in working on the regular updates with the rest of the team, so we’ve had our hands on every new weapon or skin that gets added with new sounds. But one of the inspiring elements for us is adding new music to the game.
Our latest work was for the franchise anniversary, but we have also tested the waters with various Sanctuary themes, including the updated Halloween and Auraximas versions you might have heard of in the last 6 months. Next, we are also trying to produce something nice for the November anniversary!
In the coming period, we are working on getting our new soundtracks up on YouTube, with the first example being the PlanetSide Anniversary Remake:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
One additional area we are considering looking into is the NC music, also potentially tweaking some in game tracks. There is more to come in this area, and depending on your feedback on the matter, we have a few different paths ahead we might choose.
[h2]A modern homage to the early days [/h2]
One of our philosophies on this project is to look back with respect while taking advantage of modern technology and techniques. One element we really like from the early days of PS2 audio was some of the unique sounds of weapon firing and vehicles for each faction.
We have done some initial research, and in the future we hope to make certain elements sound more like they did several years ago.
The modern aspect we want to make use of here is more complex with immersive acoustic technology and mixing techniques. Making busy combat scenarios sound a bit cleaner, while giving the player some more strategic elements for navigating the world through sounds.
This will of course not be made in a hurry and is quite complex to dig into, so expect minor updates to begin while we monitor your response on the matter. Our goal is to improve your experience while maintaining that great PlanetSide feeling many of us enjoy.
[h2]General improvements [/h2]
Besides the points above, our day-to-day also consists of many general improvements. When working on these, we choose an area and try to work on it systematically. The first step is to break it down into categories, start testing and make a list of improvements containing both creative and technical fixes.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
After doing this with weapons for a long time, submitting various updates you might have seen in patch notes, we have just started to move our focus over to vehicles.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
If you have any thoughts on areas that could benefit from projects like this, never hesitate to let us know on the forums - we try to account for as much data as possible when we make these decisions.
[h2]Conclusion and survey [/h2]
As we learn more, both from our own experiences and hearing what you, the players, write and how you react to our updates, we hope to be able to provide some great updates that will make your experience on Auraxis as good as possible. Below you can find the mentioned survey, and it would be very helpful to us if we could get your input submitted in this!
The first part of this journey has been very exciting for us, and we thank you for continuing to be engaged in the game, both on the battlefield and with keeping the community active.
PLANETSIDE 2 AUDIO SURVEY
- PlanetSide 2 Team
Double EXP FOR ALL Weekend [ JUNE 14 - 16 ]
📈Double XP For All Weekend📈
⭐️Enjoy the Double XP for All event happening now through Sunday!
Missed out on this month's Dev Letter?
Check it out here: https://www.planetside2.com/news/dev-letter-jun-2024
Development Update - June 2024
[h2]June 2024 [/h2]
Welcome back Auraxians!
As May was coming to a close, we wanted to take more time to craft this letter and address a recent patch issue. Today’s topics include information on what happened with the recent release of the Sunderer Rework to the live client, what we are doing going forward to address future issues in a promptly manner, and details on our work on a new Alert and Warzone capture system.
The Sunderer Rework update is in a much more polished state and can be tested on the PTS server. Learn about the new additions and changes to the Sunderer here.
[h2]Regarding The Unintentional Release of Sunderer Rework [/h2]
Last month, parts of the Sunderer Rework were unintentionally released to the live client. We reverted this patch the following week, but it should have been addressed sooner. This resulted in a major disturbance for many Auraxians that weekend, and we are terribly sorry for the frustrations this caused.
There are many moving parts when it comes to multi-client updates, and we missed disabling parts of the update to the live client. We learned quite a bit where the flaws in our release process lie and are doing our best to adjust them to avoid a repeat of that weekend. We have also revisited the process of rolling back a previous live build should such a major issue happen again.
[h2]Double XP For All [/h2]
We are scheduling a Double XP For All event starting from 6/11 through 6/16. Thank you for your patience and continued support.
[h2]Looking Ahead: On Alerts & Capturing Warzones [/h2]
One of the ways we feel the game has room to grow is with the Alert and Warzone capture system. Ideally this system is there to represent a snapshot of the "campaign" where players must cooperate and anticipate their opponents' actions, making decisions about what objectives to prioritize and how much to commit to them.
The alert system and the way warzones are captured have several key issues:
What would a rework achieve?
Ultimately, the alert system should give purpose to the smaller, tactical actions players take; such as capturing a base. Having a more diverse set of goals, something other than "paint the map." has several benefits.
How will the new system work?
Currently, a warzone is captured directly through the alert system. There is a single alert, and the winning faction captures the warzone. Only this alert has any meaning when it comes to determining who owns the currently open continent. The experience has been further degraded by the removal of nearly all alerts other than a meltdown due to the way they interrupted the basic flow of the game.
With the new system, capturing a warzone will no longer be totally contingent on the winner of a single alert, but instead the winner will conquer it via a more flexible system that can account for combinations of objectives.
Alerts will be divided into two categories; Strategic and Tactical.
Strategic alerts are longer-running and relevant throughout the entire warzone. They give players their primary purpose and an overarching objective. Only one strategic alert can be active at a time, and it provides the primary amount of capture weight towards winning a warzone. Meltdown would be an example of a strategic alert and will likely be the first one the rework has to maintain familiarity and continuity.
The real change comes with the introduction of tactical alerts. These are less restrictive and more flexible. They can be longer, or shorter, or even one-shot objectives up for grabs to whichever faction completes them first. Importantly, they also contribute towards conquering the warzone, and thus are meaningfully worth considering appending time and effort on. One example of a tactical alert could be the appearance of the Ghost Bastion, which in addition to its ownership erasing properties could also grant a large lump sum of capture weight to the faction that manages to destroy it.
We think this combination of multiple potential objectives, some of great potential value, will create faction-wide dilemmas on which objectives are deemed the most important and how much to commit (if anything) to them. Hopefully, this will encourage communication and Outfit scale interactive decision-making.
We do not have a specific date yet, but the general system design phase is complete, and the rework is in active development.
Initial implementation of the rework will only have a reworked Meltdown as the strategic objective, as well as some tactical alerts that may or may not appear during any given campaign. Concentrating on a few things early will help us get the rework out more quickly and provide valuable feedback for future additions. Over time we plan to add more strategic and tactical alerts to create a much more dynamic and interesting experience to the PlanetSide 2 strategic layer. The system is open-ended enough to consider many suggestions, and our team is continuously trying new things.
- PlanetSide 2 Team
Welcome back Auraxians!
As May was coming to a close, we wanted to take more time to craft this letter and address a recent patch issue. Today’s topics include information on what happened with the recent release of the Sunderer Rework to the live client, what we are doing going forward to address future issues in a promptly manner, and details on our work on a new Alert and Warzone capture system.
The Sunderer Rework update is in a much more polished state and can be tested on the PTS server. Learn about the new additions and changes to the Sunderer here.
[h2]Regarding The Unintentional Release of Sunderer Rework [/h2]
Last month, parts of the Sunderer Rework were unintentionally released to the live client. We reverted this patch the following week, but it should have been addressed sooner. This resulted in a major disturbance for many Auraxians that weekend, and we are terribly sorry for the frustrations this caused.
There are many moving parts when it comes to multi-client updates, and we missed disabling parts of the update to the live client. We learned quite a bit where the flaws in our release process lie and are doing our best to adjust them to avoid a repeat of that weekend. We have also revisited the process of rolling back a previous live build should such a major issue happen again.
[h2]Double XP For All [/h2]
We are scheduling a Double XP For All event starting from 6/11 through 6/16. Thank you for your patience and continued support.
[h2]Looking Ahead: On Alerts & Capturing Warzones [/h2]
One of the ways we feel the game has room to grow is with the Alert and Warzone capture system. Ideally this system is there to represent a snapshot of the "campaign" where players must cooperate and anticipate their opponents' actions, making decisions about what objectives to prioritize and how much to commit to them.
The alert system and the way warzones are captured have several key issues:
- The system is rigid, with only a single alert able to be active at once.
- Only a single alert outcome can lead to the capture of a warzone.
- Much of the diversity of the system has been removed with, other than some special events, only meltdown alerts remain.
- There is a lack of interesting decision-making on a map wide scale, currently which base to attack or defend is the only decision of consequence.
What would a rework achieve?
Ultimately, the alert system should give purpose to the smaller, tactical actions players take; such as capturing a base. Having a more diverse set of goals, something other than "paint the map." has several benefits.
- It creates
- *dilemmas** that present interesting choices to players on a group and individual level.
- It encourages coordination between faction members.
- It gives players more immediate purpose and direction.
- It prevents losing factions from despairing by opening up avenues for catch-up mechanics.
How will the new system work?
Currently, a warzone is captured directly through the alert system. There is a single alert, and the winning faction captures the warzone. Only this alert has any meaning when it comes to determining who owns the currently open continent. The experience has been further degraded by the removal of nearly all alerts other than a meltdown due to the way they interrupted the basic flow of the game.
With the new system, capturing a warzone will no longer be totally contingent on the winner of a single alert, but instead the winner will conquer it via a more flexible system that can account for combinations of objectives.
Alerts will be divided into two categories; Strategic and Tactical.
Strategic alerts are longer-running and relevant throughout the entire warzone. They give players their primary purpose and an overarching objective. Only one strategic alert can be active at a time, and it provides the primary amount of capture weight towards winning a warzone. Meltdown would be an example of a strategic alert and will likely be the first one the rework has to maintain familiarity and continuity.
The real change comes with the introduction of tactical alerts. These are less restrictive and more flexible. They can be longer, or shorter, or even one-shot objectives up for grabs to whichever faction completes them first. Importantly, they also contribute towards conquering the warzone, and thus are meaningfully worth considering appending time and effort on. One example of a tactical alert could be the appearance of the Ghost Bastion, which in addition to its ownership erasing properties could also grant a large lump sum of capture weight to the faction that manages to destroy it.
We think this combination of multiple potential objectives, some of great potential value, will create faction-wide dilemmas on which objectives are deemed the most important and how much to commit (if anything) to them. Hopefully, this will encourage communication and Outfit scale interactive decision-making.
We do not have a specific date yet, but the general system design phase is complete, and the rework is in active development.
Initial implementation of the rework will only have a reworked Meltdown as the strategic objective, as well as some tactical alerts that may or may not appear during any given campaign. Concentrating on a few things early will help us get the rework out more quickly and provide valuable feedback for future additions. Over time we plan to add more strategic and tactical alerts to create a much more dynamic and interesting experience to the PlanetSide 2 strategic layer. The system is open-ended enough to consider many suggestions, and our team is continuously trying new things.
- PlanetSide 2 Team