Welcome to the Planetside Training Center

[Hayoo]

Thank you for showing interest.

The Training Center is a community project intended to bring narrated, interactive guides to both new and current players.

We are currently gearing up for operation, laying the project groundwork, and bringing on team members. You may post here if you are intersted in helping out with this project or contact me by PM.

Below is a simple chart describing the process to be used in creating these narrated guides. Feel free to ask any questions about the project.



When the first guide/s go up, PTC will officially become a member of Planetside Syndicate and the Planetside community at large. We hope you find value and enjoyment in what the Training Center will have to offer.

- Hayoo

[Setari]

So the flash dev will be making interfaces for the whole deal?

[Hayoo]

The interfaces (buttons and such) will be created as a template that elements can be plugged into by the Flash Dev to create a finished lesson.

Flash Devs will also have a hand in how the template ultimately develops.

In otherwords, Flash Devs are needed to combine the creative content into one cohesive whole, but will also be able to develop creative content themselves for the project.

[Setari]

Hmm, well, I suppose I may be able to lend my voice for narration, or (though I don't know very much about it) I could help with sound editing if needed.

[Hayoo]

Awesome. :) Welcome aboard.

One of the things a sound editor does is isolate all the needed sounds from the planetside 3dsounds.mp3 file. They also clean up the narration files and splice them up for inclusion in each lesson screen.

[Setari]

I think I could handle that, I'd need that sound file though. :D

[Hayoo]

It's in every player's Planetside folder.

[Setari]

I know. I don't have PS installed anymore. :P

[Hayoo]

Ah. Well we'll have a place to store files and you'll be able to get it from there.

You can also use the installer to start downloading the game and stop it when you acquire the sound file.

[Setari]

Well, I suppose we'll get that sorted out when we need to. Right now, I'll just wait for all the other positions to fill up. :D

[Blizzard]

I'm still available for narration if need be. My only other skill is mutilating graphics.

[myrtar]

hosted file for CD members only
http://comms.planetsidesyndicate.com...1903#post41903

edit: just kidding, CD development tools forum open to all. enjoy

[Hamorad]

I can do work on the guides

SECTION 1: INFANTRY WEAPONS

Section 1.1: Basic Weapons and Grenades

1.1.1: AMP (Automatic Machine Pistol)

The Automatic Machine Pistol (AMP) is a weapon you will commonly see used by infiltrators. It is a very effective, quick killing, close range weapon. The CoF bloom is very severe, making it a poor choice for ranges beyond 5 meters.

It is an automatic firing weapon with a 30 shot clip and is common pool.

Like stated above, the weapon is most effective in the hands of the infiltrator. Using the invisibility you have while wearing the infiltrator suit you are able to easy slip into the most effective range for the pistol.

Unfortunately, if the target is armed (not sniping or using some sort of anti-vehicular weapon) they will be able to quickly spin around and kill you much quicker than you can kill them. This is why your best targets will always be snipers, other cloakers, or people that are healing/unarmed.

The AMP’s usefulness exceeds the role of just a cloaker’s gun. The gun is a very effective sidearm to carry while sniping in either agile or if you are carrying a Bolt Driver and an AV weapon. The best use is to hit them once with the Bolt Driver and then quickly finish them off with your AMP.

1.1.2: Suppressor

This is the weapon that you will always spawn with in your rifle slot. The uses it has extend far beyond killing spawn campers however.

It has a very small CoF, making it an ideal weapon for both long and medium ranges (15-50 meters). You will also find that the suppressor fairs OK at close range, though it does have its problems there, as it has to face against the powerful HA weapons and sweeper at less than 15 meters, thus I would suggest avoiding ranges of less than 15 meters when you have a suppressor.

Of course, it also has to face against ESMA at medium ranges, and you may face some difficulty at this. The best way is to use the extremely low CoF bloom to your advantage and stay stationary as you pelt them with bullets as much as possible. This will enlarge their CoF much faster than yours will expand. Doing this will force them to either take cover or fire in much much smaller bursts than they would normally be able to fire with. However, even with this tactic, it is difficult to beat the much more powerful ESMA at that kind of range, and the best tactic for facing them at this range is to simply take cover and either force them to come closer or wait for allied support (you DO have allies if you’re using a suppressor, right? :D)

When you have just spawned and are fighting against a spawn camper, remember that you’re not going to win unless you strafe like crazy. Use the speed of the standard armor and continually barrage them with suppressor shots. I find that against standard enemies TEND to not strafe as much because they believe that it will be an easy win. Prove them wrong.

Also, remember that all spawn rooms have pain fields in them. The pain fields will weaken the enemy quite a bit while you are fighting them, and can even finish them off after you die (you still get credit for the kill, just no XP).

The thing you really have to watch with the suppressor is your ammo. The puny 25 shot clip burns up very quickly, especially against Rexo which takes quite a chunk of your clip to kill. Conserve ammo and constantly reload as you need. It takes a good number of shots to take down enemies and you must carry a fair amount of ammo with you when using it, at least 2-4 boxes of 9mm ammo.

I would suggest only using suppressor in Rexo, not in agile. It is very helpful to have another rifle slot you can fall back to fairly quickly when you need to finish them off. I prefer using a suppressor and another 9mm weapon, such as the MCG, cycler, or gauss rifle (if you’re vanu, you’ll just have to settle with a different type of ammo, pulsar is the best to accompany with).

When you are ambushing with a suppressor, you have to be very careful. If someone simply has their back turned and weapon out, especially at close range, you must be ready to strafe immediately and be aware you will still be at a disadvantage. Good targets for ambushing are snipers and ESAV users, due to the fact they will have a lot of difficulty quickly countering infantry units. Even so, you must be careful if you are at close range, as any of them can use HA or MA and will completely and totally dominate you, even if you are fairly good at strafing.

Remember that many people will underestimate you when you have a suppressor, use the mental factor as well when in combat. Enemies are less likely to strafe wildly and use a lot of tricks against a suppressor, simply because they think it will be an easy win.

1.1.3: Repeater Pistol

The Empire specific pistol for the TR, the repeater pistol is the cloaker’s best friend. It has a very nice mixture of range, power, and accuracy.

The Repeater is most effective in ranges of 10-30 meters due to it’s fairly small CoF, but will still be effective in ranges less than that. Be careful of using it at ranges longer than 30 meters, however, because you’ll find that it tends to become increasingly difficult to land many shots and it is likely you will lose, especially against longer-ranged weapons, such as ESMA.

Many cloakers prefer using this pistol. It is useful in almost any combat situation and is very versatile and useful in ambushing, longer ranged “pistol sniping”, or even taking on enemy infantry head on.

If you are ambushing, you can take on just about any type of enemy. The only one you should be wary of is an armed person with their back to you. They will likely react much quicker than you can kill them and will have a very good chance of still killing you. You should be able to easily kill snipers, ESAV users, or healing/unarmed players.

If you are “pistol sniping” with the repeater, you have to make sure that the enemy will not be able to quickly counter you. Be wary of what weapons they are using, if they have weapons such as ESMA, suppressor, HSR, or some other type of medium-long range weapon be wary of engaging them. Also, be very careful about the allies they have around them. Make sure that they are not in good positions to counter you easily and be extremely careful of enemy vehicles, especially mosquitoes and MBTs. With the repeater’s excellent range, you should be able to use it in this fashion in ranges of up to 30 meters, making it a deadly enemy.

However, while cloaking, you must be careful and if you try to have close range encounters with armored enemies. The pistol’s main strong point is its range and accuracy and doesn’t fair overly well at close range.

However, if you do end up having to face HA or sweeper users (even ESMA in some ways) at close range, your best bet is to strafe as quickly as possible. You shouldn’t expect to win, but if you move quickly enough you still have a chance to.

Try to bring along an AMP with you while using the Repeater so you can engage in some of those close quarter combat situations. They are a very good combo to have, as they both use the same type of ammo.

The repeater is also a good weapon as a sidearm or to accompany a Bolt driver/ESAV combo. With both of these in the rifle slots, the repeater is a versatile enough weapon to make up for the lack of rifle. If used correctly, you can take on some HA users or use it to effectively fend of cloakers that attempt to shoot you in the back with a pistol or use a boomer on you while sniping.

1.1.4: Scatter Pistol

The scatter pistol is the pistol for the NC. It is a very powerful, close range weapon. Unfortunately, this pistol fairs poorly unless wielded by an infiltrator.

The simple facts are that unless the enemy is fairly unobservant, you are not going to be able to use the scatter pistol effectively unless you can sneak up on them as an infiltrator. Like stated before, looking for good infiltration guides on the Art of War forums are very helpful to learn how to sneak up on enemies.

Once you make it to about 4-8 meters away, you can begin your assault. Most enemies will turn right after the second shot is fired, so be ready for them to move after you get off that shot.

The biggest drawback is that the AMP already does fairly well what the scatter pistol does. Both deal high amounts of damage in a short time from a short range. As a cloaker you should carry one or the other, depending on the situation.

If you are in more open areas, go with the scatter pistol. The muzzle flash from the scatter pistol is much harder for other enemies to see from a range.

Other than that, the scatter pistol is not a very effective weapon with the AMP as a common pool weapon that does the same job. However, the scatter pistol is a good way to get the scavenger merit if you are a cloaker the majority of the time.

1.1.5: Beamer Pistol

The pistol for the VS, it is probably the worst of the 3 ES pistols overall. It has OK range, mediocre damage, and an average CoF. It also leaves a VERY distinctive blue mark on the ground where it hits, as well as having a very distinct muzzle flash.

The best ranges for the beamer pistol is the range of 10-20 meters. The CoF is too large to try anything further than that. However, if fairs alright when used at closer ranges than 10 meters.

The best real use is for ambushing, because it is too easy to recognize the muzzle flash on it when used in other ways. You can ambush pretty much any person with it, however it’s really not very good if you try to ambush a person at point blank who is armed.

Also, it is fair to take along with you if you are using a bolt driver/ESAV combo in it’s uses in fighting off cloakers.

How does something like that sound for guides? (obviously, I'd continue on)

[DviddLeff]

Very good work Hamorad.

I look forward to seeing how this goes.

[Hayoo]

Nice material there, Ham. :)

Remember, though, that each guide is being narrated for new players, so we'd have to condense such information into bite-size chunks (or the narrators will kill me). Extensive guides will probably be the starting-point for a lot of lessons.

Each guide writer (script writer actually) will be creating a template or script for the lesson, not just presenting the crucial information. The writer will have to keep in mind what is being taught to the viewer and how to present it: what screenshots appear, what sounds are playing, what interactions exist, and so forth. The writer will have to think, "If I were sitting right next to this newbie, what would I show him in-game?"

Good extensive guides such as the above (in its complete form) would be presented as supplimental material attached to the lesson in the "would you like to know more?" vein.

So really there are two kinds of writing styles we'll need: Info writers (the traditional Guide writers) and Script writers (who can write and present material for multimedia). If you'd like to be either or both, we're going to need lots of them. :)

In any case, welcome aboard.

[DrizzCat]

I'll narate. And as I said, I have that Power Point file that is so far the work of 9 months of labour so there is a fair pile of Data and Graphics in there

[Hayoo]

Awesome, and thanks for the PPT material as well.

I'm still writing up script templates for the lessons so we have one document for each one, and I'm still putting together the necessary flash files (buttons, frames, HUD elements...there's more than I thought there were). Then I'll animate, narrate a first one, and post it as an initial example.

[Hamorad]

http://www.freewebs.com/hamorad/psguide.htm

You can check on my daily progress there, I'm finished with MA weapons and the like...
It looks like I may need to condense it, it's approx. 9500 words already

[Hayoo]

Cool.

Once the basic guides are out we can always go back and do a guide for each weapon system, splitting it up into lessons such as Strengths, Weaknesses, Example situations, Ideal loadouts, etc.

[Big J Money]

Just checking in... I think is a kickass idea, but really is also necessary. I was always very disappointed in Sony's lack of attention to instruction and information dispersal. I remember when the game shipped with the same manual that we had in the Beta. I was a bit ticked, hehe.

By the way, is this instructional seminar going to include all the details of the game, such as capitals, lattice system, etc? I sure hope so. I am eager to help with this project somehow myself, though I'm not sure what I can do.

=$= Big J Money =$=

[Hayoo]

Originally Posted by Big J Money

By the way, is this instructional seminar going to include all the details of the game, such as capitals, lattice system, etc? I sure hope so. I am eager to help with this project somehow myself, though I'm not sure what I can do.

=$= Big J Money =$=

Welcome Big J. Yes, we'll attempt to cover everything a player should know: character control, weapons training, base layouts and function, how to join or start a squad/outfit, and the like. You can contribute whatever you feel like, whether it's taking screenshots in game, helping to gather information, narrating a lesson, or shooting video. There will be tons of oportunities to get involved.

Currently I'm working on the main website, but I hope to get this started before Planetside Reserves hits.

[firestormrct]

I will do screenshots, yarrr! Paint.net and the GIMP are armed and ready; I'd prefer if people e-mail me what they need, because I don't check the Idealab forums all that often. My e-mail is gmakerpyro@verizon.net and you can also contact me on MSN Messenger from that e-mail address. We should probably break the stuff down into lessons for some of it and tips/nice stuff to know for other stuff. For instance, driving vehicles or using MAX suits would be lessons, but LLU Locations or Cavern Modules would be tips/nice to know stuff.

[Hayoo]

Originally Posted by firestormrct

I will do screenshots, yarrr! Paint.net and the GIMP are armed and ready; I'd prefer if people e-mail me what they need, because I don't check the Idealab forums all that often. My e-mail is gmakerpyro@verizon.net and you can also contact me on MSN Messenger from that e-mail address.

Thanks, firestorm :)

We should probably break the stuff down into lessons for some of it and tips/nice stuff to know for other stuff.

Correct. Training Center would have two bulk sections: a basic and advanced. Each main part of Planetside will have its own Guide. Each guide will have multiple lessons, as shown below. Each lesson will be made up of multiple screens (narrations) to teach the subject.


Boot Camp

Guide 1: Planetside Introduction

Guide 2: Installing the Game

Guide 3: Character Creation


Guide 4: Controlling your Character

• Guide 4: Character Control
• Lesson 1: Movement Basics
  • WASD and Mouselook
    • Narration Text
    • Narration Audio (Hayoo)
    • Screenshot: Third person view (Hayoo)
    • Interactives: pressing appropriate key will make character move (Hayoo)
  • Autorun, Crouch, and Jump
    • Narration text
    • Narration Audio
    • Screenshot: Third person view
    • Interactives: pressing appropriate key will make character move
  • Lesson Recap
    • Quizzes and games
    • Additional Information Links (Wiki, videos, primers, podcasts)
• Lesson 2: Character View Basics
  • Third person and Mouselook
    • Narration Text:
    • Narration Audio:
    • Screenshot:
    • Interactives
  • Zoom and crosshair data
    • Narration Text
    • Narration Audio:
    • Screenshots:
    • Interactives:
  • Radar and Continent map awareness Narration Text
    • Narration Audio:
    • Screenshots:
    • Interactives:
  • Lesson Recap
    • Quizzes and games
    • Additional Information Links (Wiki, videos, primers, podcasts)
• Lesson 3: Interacting with the world
  • The Use key
    • Narration Text:
    • Narration Audio:
    • Screenshots:
    • Interactives:
  • Accessing Terminals
    • Narration Text
    • Narration Audio:
    • Screenshots:
    • Interactives:
  • Entering and Exiting Objects
    • Narration Text
    • Narration Audio:
    • Screenshots:
    • Interactives:
  • Lesson Recap
    • Quizzes and games
    • Additional Information Links (Wiki, videos, primers, podcasts)

Guide 5: The Game Screen

Guide 6: Weapons Training

Guide 7: Vehicle Training

Guide 8: Communications Basics

Guide 9: Player Groups

Guide 10: Deploying to the Battlefield

Guide 11: Death and Respawning

Guide 12: Experience and Certification

Guide 13: Game Settings

Guide 14: Facilities

Guide 15: Continents

WarfareSchool

Guide Title: Phases of Combat

Guide Title: Unit Command Basics

Guide Title: Force Deployment fundamentals

Guide Title: Guild Management Basics

Guide Title: History of Planetside Development

Guide Title: Outfit Histories

[Bigpappa]

Is this still in the works? If it is, I would love to help out, on anything really.

[Hayoo]

Originally Posted by Bigpappa

Is this still in the works? If it is, I would love to help out, on anything really.

Yup, project is still in the works. We'll be glad of your help. I'll add you to the list of people to contact when we're ready to go.

[DrizzCat]

I just realzied I never shared the PPT with you.

It's still not 100% done, But has alot of General Info.

http://gotr.psoutfits.net/drizzcat/planetside.ppt

[Bigpappa]

Originally Posted by Hayoo

Yup, project is still in the works. We'll be glad of your help. I'll add you to the list of people to contact when we're ready to go.

COuld you contact me @ my e-mail please: bigpappa@kwa.com

[Hayoo]

Originally Posted by Bigpappa

COuld you contact me @ my e-mail please: bigpappa@kwa.com

I sent an email but I got a message back saying your address is not accessable at the moment. Best to stick with PMs.

[Flylier]

what's over?
I can't see anymore changes

WHY nobody is posting MENSAGES!!!!!!!
I feel me alone

but this Idea is great,it's can become true if we hard work!