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Just how many players is too many for a console first-person shooter? After three years of sole residency on PC, PlanetSide 2 asks that very question as the PlayStation 4 beta rages on this month. It's an affair that has thousands of players vie for supremacy on a single server at once - an unprecedented figure for any console game. But given PS4's struggle to hold 60fps in even 64-player titles like Battlefield Hardline, how has this been made possible? And indeed, is everything intact in the transition from PC to console?First up, the basics. From a technical perspective, developer Daybreak Game Company (previously Sony Online Entertainment) is targeting a native 1920x1080 framebuffer and a capped 30fps update for the final PS4 release. An initial look at the beta right now confirms this full HD presentation is in effect, giving us the sharpest base image we could hope for. However, it uses a similar post-process AA method to the PC version; an effect that blurs over its artwork to a degree, while sub-pixel coverage is at times spotty on fine details. Even PC struggles in this area, with no alternative methods offered directly via its display menu - meaning overall image quality is extremely close between the two in practice.
It's a solid start for the console rendition in any case, but PlanetSide 2's scale is the real selling point. Powered by the Forgelight engine, the PS4 version boasts a huge online landscape that supports thousands of players in a continuous, large-scale conflict. Content-wise, the beta opens up all four of PlanetSide 2's continents for players to explore, in addition to providing an extra fifth designed to ease newcomers into the initially daunting online experience. PC-grade environmental quality is upheld across each of these, with players able to explore the terrain via different aircraft, tanks, and upgrades such as jet packs that add a real sense of verticality to battles.
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