So, what is so special about PlaneShift?

[Vulcas]

What are the most notable things that stand out compared to similar games in general?

PS I'm not asking for a guide or how to get started. This isn't that kind of a question.

[ThomPhoenix]

-It's free
-It's open source
-It has a great community
-The game is great for people who want to roleplay instead of just powerlevelling all day. 

[emeraldfool]

Primarily, it would be the fact that roleplaying is highly encouraged - in fact it's almost a requirement.

Too many games are just about lvling and getting money, whereas Planeshift focuses on creating an involving game world, where your character actually matters, and isn't just another 'player'.


Nothing else is all that different from other free MMORPGs though.

[Roahn]

It is one of the best MMORPG games that has a native Linux version.

-Roahn

[Polecat]

I have played a lot of MMORPG's and in all of them once you get to a certain level you lose interest and then drift off into another game.

With PS the people matter as much, if not more, than the game mechanics. So with people being so important there is always something else happening to keep you interested.  Unlike other games I quite often find that i've been on a couple of hours enjoying myself and haven't even done any skill levelling at all.

[lordraleigh]

- A guild isn't encouraged to become just another "1337 734/\/\"(Leet Team) of PKers, KSers, powerlevellers, etc.

- There will definitively exist ways to influence in the world in the future supported by the game engine, both public and not so public(Many organizations - like the Dark Empire for example - await patiently for such day to come) an this will mean that things will get heated up, and that guild wars common reason won't be "n00bs b0th3r3d u5, l3t5 pwnz th3m!", for now many roleplay bids for power.

- Also adding on the previous one, it's also intended to implement a complex economy system that will allow people to use the guild system to start their own business beyond roleplaying, giving another heated up competition(as long as no one manages to become a Microsoft) and another option for those who wish to go away from PLing

- It's GPL(at least on engine) an therefore may be ported to any O.S., guaranteeing full compatibility to Linux users like me(Besides PS the only game of the genre I have now is NWN due to its Linux client)

- It' free and therefore you don't have to pay monthly fees for it, signifying that this one won't drain your wages unlike all the other commercial MMORPGs.

- It has a lot of flexibility on the character creation as there isn't "classes" like in many other games of the genre. Want to make a seer with sticky fingers? Put Lah'ar and Lockpick as intial skills(You must learn the character creation process for such things though). Want to make a smart warrior capable of working with alchemy? There will be numberless possibilities once all skills are finished(Still you may roleplay your character as if you had such OOCly non-existent skills).

- The number of "1337s" here is extremely small and always lower and lower, so if you got disappointed when trying to use the "RP" from the typical commercial MMO(RP?)Gs, here you will find much more immersion.

[zanzibar]

The community itself has its good and bad points, but there is an emphasis on roleplaying and fan art (both visual and literary).  A game like this having an online community like this isn't such a rare thing, to be honest.

As time goes by, I see the PS community getting better and better.  Problems are being weeded out.  The mods and GMs are forming more and better routines. 

[Croconil]

To sum it up in 1 word, I would say community. Thats one of the main reasons I play Planeshift. Almost everyone made me feel welcome, and I made some great friends just from this game.


PS Rocks

[Idoru]

As for the OSS aspect, well, I might get in to trouble for this, but if I do, im sure Datruth has had this link deleted before lol. CLICK ME

Anyway, I love the guild im a member of and the people in it are the Ds Bs (or Bees Knees if you arnt from the UK and good at guessing euphemisms ) they are the best ever and I cant say a bad word about any of them.

The community? there isnt realy just one, its pretty fragmented as far as I can see, some amazingly active in game but abscent on these forums, some manic about these forums but abscent in game. Thats life I suppose, different strokes for different folks, horses for courses and all that kinda stuff.

anywho, try it, you might like it, but it aint what in says on the tin at times. But I still love it and keep coming back.

[Vulcas]

It is a deceptively easy question that is actually difficult to answer in practice. Fun to see you guys try. Sounds like a mix of positives and negatives. We'll see which outweighs the other.

Of course, the question was posted at the time that the server was down, otherwise, I'd just try playing it instead. It looks like the new client has just been released, so it's a good time to try it out.

Thanks.