Questions on AGN

[Hamma]

People have been asking me if AGN will make a return and I can state that it most certainly will! :) We will probably have a roundtable in the near future to discuss PlanetSide 2 with all the info.

And in the distant future Ask the Devs will likely return s well as some other features.

So fear not! :)

[Manitou]

I for one am looking forward to embedded reporters as we did in previous shows. This is exciting!

[321]

The roundtables and Ask the Devs are great, but I'm most looking forward to Hamma Time.

I for one am looking forward to embedded reporters as we did in previous shows. This is exciting!

Are you referring to the in-game broadcasts Marsman made? Those were great. AGN was really at the forefront of streaming with those laggy NSV video broadcasts. I'm eager to see what they can do now that video streaming technology and infrastructure have matured.

[Manitou]

Are you referring to the in-game broadcasts Marsman made? Those were great. AGN was really at the forefront of streaming with those laggy NSV video broadcasts. I'm eager to see what they can do now that video streaming technology and infrastructure have matured.
Yes, I am. We had begun to develop the embedded combat reporter who would go with an outfit into an actual firefight. It was a very cool thing, and even today, when I get the chance to listen to the old recordings it brings a sense of excitement!

[Marsman]

Are you referring to the in-game broadcasts Marsman made? Those were great. AGN was really at the forefront of streaming with those laggy NSV video broadcasts. I'm eager to see what they can do now that video streaming technology and infrastructure have matured.In a time where most of the world was still on dial-up or limited broadband, I guess it was our best attempt to bring in-game coverage and even give the community a little video long before things like You-Tube and Facebook.

Of course now is a different age with all that can/could be done. With the announcement that all game data will be able to be mined in real-time, it provides us with even more tools and options at our disposal.

AGN's initial concept was to be the "CNN" of the gaming "war"... provide updates, battle coverage, etc... While some of that was attempted, AGN later became more of a community tool in providing a forum for discussion, interviews with the Devs, and of course entertainment.

Much like the devs are doing - in that they are looking what worked and what was successful in PS1 and expanding upon that for PS2, we will be doing the same for AGN. As Hamma mentioned, Planetside Chat (the community round-table) and Ask the Devs will be making a comeback and I'm sure a round of Hamma-Time or Mars-Mumbles will be back in there also. We may once again look at doing live embedding reporting as well and we'll also be looking at brand new ideas to make use of the tools and technology of today.

I do know Hamma has talked AGN to the Devs and to me - it's not going away. AGN will be a part of PSU and the Planetside2 experience in the coming months, so Stay tuned! :D

[Firefly]

I'd be happy to trot out SAM3 and run some DJ Freaktrain on your ass.

[Hezzy]

Just because Planetside 2 hasn't been released yet doesn't mean that AGN can't resurface. I think a new, revitalised AGN would be a good thing in getting attention directed towards PSU and give us a bigger userbase for when Planetside 2 starts.

It would also be good in drawing back veteran players, or even maybe new players. One of the major appeals of Planetside are the war stories.

I propose that a weekly column is written or even filmed, revolving around one of the week's major battles. I would be up for doing this - as I'm sure plenty of other people would be. Firefly has also stated he'd be willing to get the shoutcast back up again!

[Hyncharas]

...personally what I'd like to do is remake the AGN Broadcast material into a miniseries using another engine. This was something I tried to get permission from SOE for previously but, because the MMOFPS genre was relatively new and most developers have zero tolerance on showing appreciation (other than you paying them), it was never something they were open to.

However, from what's been revealed at E3 this year it appears much of their take on community involvement has changed. The closest resembling engines are either UDK or CryEngine 3 and, right now, I anticipate that I'll want to build it into the latter, since it would be great if players could speak and that would output through their character model. With a direct translation like that being recorded live, we could create a more fluid experience for players who wanted the AGN's storyline to take a more visual presence alongside the game.

[Firefly]

I'd be happy to trot out SAM3 and run some DJ Freaktrain on your ass.

x2

[Lartnev]

People have been asking me if AGN will make a return and I can state that it most certainly will! :) We will probably have a roundtable in the near future to discuss PlanetSide 2 with all the info.

And in the distant future Ask the Devs will likely return s well as some other features.

So fear not! :)

:love: for AGN :bouncy:

[Tigersmith]

:love: for AGN :bouncy:

lol someone is excited :)

[Graywolves]

I hope we can spend certification on cameras and microphones so we can make it seem like the war is happening in the living room.

[Lonehunter]

I hope I'm the first one to boomer a reporter during a broadcast

but then I'd make a donation or something because AGN rocks, and look forward to seeing it resurrected. :)

[Lartnev]

Maybe there'll be a cert that grants the wearer oversized blue body armour with the word "press" on it.

Everyone knows that makes you invincible in a war zone... right?

[Lonehunter]

Maybe there'll be a cert that grants the wearer oversized blue body armour with the word "press" on it.

Everyone knows that makes you invincible in a war zone... right?
Although your comment was funny, I do think it would be awesome if SOE gave something like that to just a handful of people. What better way to get live in game coverage? I'm talking Fan Sites only, or just PSU only. Of course it would need to be completely unobtrusive and for spectator purposes only, and would still need a lot of trust or monitoring to prevent abuse. Or maybe something like Guilty Spark from Halo, just a lil metal orb flying around recording.

[Hamma]

It would be awesome - we had hoped to get something like that in PlanetSide and it never worked out. Maybe this time around :)

[Graywolves]

And firing on the reporter could have worse repurcussions than friendly fire.

[Marsman]

heh I remember once being an embedded reporter as a clocker in a particularly intense battle and and trying to make my way across the entrance to the courtyard. Shells and bullets were whizzing by my head at an amazing rate and somehow managed not to get hit in all that mayhem. An observer mode would indeed be nice :)

[Lartnev]

I think a good way to do it would be that in order to have such a reporter mode you should have to apply for a "broadcast license" which determines things like which servers it's valid on, when it can be used, the stream URL etc. Then have the streams publicly available on the web site (links or, if SOE wants the bandwidth, hosted by Sony) so that if anyone abuses the license it'll be there for everyone to see. :)