SOE introduces Roadmap system for PlanetSide 2, lets fans vote on upcoming changes

SOE care what you think. (Well, if you're a PlanetSide 2 player - they're probably not too bothered otherwise.) They care so much that they've implemented a new section on their site called the Roadmap . As the name suggests, SOE are using this space to outline their future plans for the game, with the next six months currently laid bare for all to see. The difference between this and a regular forum, however, is that's a bit more democratic, with users given the ability to up- and down-vote specific features and changes, giving the development team the chance to gauge their popularity before they've gone to the trouble of putting them in the game.

John Smedley, SOE's CEO, explained the changes over on Reddit , making it clear that Roadmap's definitely not a "mob rules" type of thing. "It's just a simple tool for us to be able to gauge sentiment about a particular topic. Remember it's still a forum thread (although with cool nested comments) and we'll still be reading what people are actually saying. However if we list 5 topics for February and people highly vote 4 of those 5 and everyone hates on one of the ideas, it's fair to say that's going to get our attention."

SOE are also planning to introduce a Suggestions area with the same functionality soon, essentially a Web 2.0 version of the humble suggestion box. The difference being that it will (probably) be full of useful thoughts and ideas, rather than 100 handwritten insults to the boss. It's all part of their intention for "this to be a game we all share the vision for" - and with that in mind, it's going to be interesting seeing how PlanetSide 2 develops over the next few months.

Thanks to Rock, Paper, Shotgun .

Tom loves exploring in games, whether it’s going the wrong way in a platformer or burgling an apartment in Deus Ex. His favourite game worlds—Stalker, Dark Souls, Thief—have an atmosphere you could wallop with a blackjack. He enjoys horror, adventure, puzzle games and RPGs, and played the Japanese version of Final Fantasy VIII with a translated script he printed off from the internet. Tom has been writing about free games for PC Gamer since 2012. If he were packing for a desert island, he’d take his giant Columbo boxset and a laptop stuffed with PuzzleScript games.