Creative Director Matt Higby (left) and SOE President John Smedley talk about PlanetSide 2.

Members of the PlanetSide 2 team held a panel this morning at SOE Fan Faire to discuss the newly unveiled game with fans. While the introduction contained similar information to the press conference we attended last night, a few interesting tidbits were revealed during the Q&A session. Topics covered include friendly fire, multiple servers and mobile apps.

Keep reading after the jump for a rundown of the Q&A session at today's panel, and be sure to read our overview of the PlanetSide 2 details for all sorts of information on the upcoming MMOFPS!

• Creative Director Matt Higby emphasized that classes are completely freeform. You'll be able to switch classes on the fly.
• Higby didn't want to reveal too much regarding the storyline, but he did say the "timeline is very similar to the launch of the original PlanetSide." SOE President John Smedley said they'd be taking the story to the extreme by creating movies and other surprises for fans.
• Friendly fire will be a part of the game.
• Smedley hinted that PvE content could be added post-launch, although it will "never be EverQuest-style gameplay." As a hypothetical example, he asked the audience to imagine an alien threat that all three empires must face.
• Higby gave some more details on the game's mission system, which is comprised of several layers. The lowest layer is full of automated missions that tell you what to attack. Above that, squad leaders and outfits can insert missions. At the highest layer, commanders of empires can schedule and coordinate missions. Higby said that you can look forward to that "if you're an extremely influential officer on a server."
• Smedley emphasized that the game will have voice chat at launch. "We're being much more thoughtful at how the metagame works," he said.
• SOE will be using an external third party to protect players from hackers. "There will be people whose entire job is that," Smedley said.
• As far as tactics are concerned, Higby said they will depend on the situation. On a wide open map, it might be best to rush in to fight the enemy. Other maps will require more stealth. The steam has handcrafted all of the environments, and they've spent a lot of time creating objects that will provide cover.
• Smedley said there will be a "masssive amount of fighting indoors and outdoors." Line of sight will certainly come into play.
• The game will most likely launch on multiple servers. As planets are added to the game to spread out the population, it could be possible to put all players on one server.
• Smedley said there will definitely be mobile apps to manage offline skills. Nearly every single piece of gameplay data will be available, and SOE Wants players to make apps.
• A combination of static and dynamic spawns for resources should help balance the empires.
• Art Director Tramell Isaac reminded everyone that things could change during beta testing. If players don't like features, they could change.
• As far as customization is concerned, Smedley hinted that players will be able to earn outfits that make them look distinct within their empire.
• Higby said the the game's physics mechanics will make driving vehicles feel real.

Darryl Gangloff, editor-in-chief