Announced in late 2000, Sony Online Entertainment's PlanetSide was to intended be to first-person shooters what EverQuest was to role-playing games. The game had a futuristic setting, and it would pit hundreds of teams of players against each other in a persistent competition to capture each other's bases and overrun each other's territories. Players would do battle with a varied arsenal that included all types of vehicles. The idea of a massively multiplayer first-person shooter was a simple one to envision, but one that's proven infinitely harder to realize. We saw the game in action nearly a year ago, but Sony has since delayed the game's release until the early parts of 2003. With the latest version of PlanetSide scheduled to be shown at this year's E3, we took an opportunity to talk to producer Dave Georgeson, who recently joined Sony from Dynamix, where he spent his time designing Tribes 2. What's the status on PlanetSide? How does his Tribes 2 experience translate over to this ambitious game? What's changed since last we saw it? We have the answers to all these questions and more.

GameSpot: It's been a long time since we've heard anything on PlanetSide. How is the game's development coming along?

Dave Georgeson: Extremely well. The team morale is high, the game is coming along famously, and we're looking forward to a busy summer this year as we put more pieces together.

More hardware than Home Depot--here's a sampling of PlanetSide's arsenal.

GS: When we saw the game last summer, it was scheduled to release sometime this year. Recently, however, Sony Online Entertainment stated that PlanetSide was going to slip to 2003. Why the delay?

DG: The simple answer is that the game that we wanted to ship was simply going to take more time to create than was originally scheduled. Rather than hamstring the game, Sony Online Entertainment decided to extend its schedule. Sony is very supportive that way--as long as it's obvious that the expense is worth it in the long run.

GS: Have there been any major changes to the game's overall design from last year? Is the underlying premise of the game--team combat, overrunning enemy bases, and so on--still the same?

DG: The underlying premise is still the same--total global war across 10 continents with thousands of players playing all the roles needed to achieve victory for their empire. But many details have changed. Since those details weren't discussed earlier, I'm not certain you'd notice the changes. A lot of work was done creating systems that would keep the players involved for an extended war, as well as economic systems and some reorganization of the global tactics areas.

The terrain engine looks gorgeous.

GS: Does PlanetSide still have three empires to choose from? Is the character class system for these factions still intact?

DG: Yes. There are three empires struggling for control of this world. As far as classes goes, there aren't any classes per se in PlanetSide. Every character will earn experience through the usual mayhem and destruction and will spend that experience on "certifications." Those certifications allow players to utilize various weaponry, armor, vehicles, and skills. No character will ever get enough experience to learn everything, so specialization will be required. Thus, the players sort of make their own "classes" as they decide whether they want to be a heavy weapons expert, a sniper, a dropship pilot, a stealth assassin, a hacker, or any of the various things possible within the game.

GS: Aside from their appearance, what's different about these three factions?

DG: Each of the empires will have a different heavy armor with varying abilities, several unique vehicles, and a host of unique weapons. Additionally, there are many common pool items that are shared between the empires, but each empire has a distinct flavor as well.