Starhawk - Out Now - Sequel to Warhawk - 9/20: Coming to PSN! SP Free for PS+! 1.04!

When I started playing, I had no idea how the skills system worked, so I looked into it and then made this video about it:

[youtube]c-50vMBp4pE[/youtube]
 
[quote name='mkernan']When I started playing, I had no idea how the skills system worked, so I looked into it and then made this video about it[/QUOTE]

Thanks for that video, I had no idea how the skill system worked until now. But I am having a blast with starhawk battles are chaotic and enjoyable.
 
I must admit I am really digging the multiplayer for this game. Maybe it feels better than the beta or I figured out all the different things going on. That and they have matches where there are NO HAWKS. I still feel hawks have WAY TOO MUCH power and since I am more of a ground guy I like this option.

But tanks.. good and bad points. During the beta I laughed at the people trying to snipe a tank... now those sniper shots do damage to a tank.. what? But on the flip side it is too easy to sit WAY back and just rape a homebase nonstop, espically if you get a second tank with you. Build a shield, arm, maybe a beam turret and yuo can be there forever taking everything out if you line it up right. I have had a few 15 kill streaks doing this while taking out buildings non-stop.

And without a doubt the BEST skill is the one where you get rift anywhere in the map. This makes it easy to start up a base on the other side of the map and also build other things with ease.
 
I'm having a blast with the online so far. After 600+ hours on Warhawk I was hesitant to this build and battle but I love it. The only problem is team mates. Right when it starts people will build duplicate unnecessary structures and it becomes a cluster fuck. I was in a game last night with about 5 people talking and the team work and organization helped a lot and we won pretty easily. Is there a CAG clan? I'd join since this game is best played with people working together and talking.
 
The trophy list doesn't look great for an MP game, as there are 100 win trophies for almost every gametype in the game along with a 1,000 kill trophy. I got the deadeye trophy for a 2,500+ ft sniper kill in my first full match, so I can probably get the easier trophies.

I still love the way Dylan Jobe's team handles servers and server browsers that nobody else really seems to be able to match. I'm looking forward to getting my rhythm down in zones matches with the proximity mines.
 
If you're up for multiplayer, tonight's TNT at GiantBomb is Starhawk, so send a friend request to GiantBombing and you'll be invited to play when it starts at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT.
 
[quote name='Miami_13']I'm having a blast with the online so far. After 600+ hours on Warhawk I was hesitant to this build and battle but I love it. The only problem is team mates. Right when it starts people will build duplicate unnecessary structures and it becomes a cluster fuck. I was in a game last night with about 5 people talking and the team work and organization helped a lot and we won pretty easily. Is there a CAG clan? I'd join since this game is best played with people working together and talking.[/QUOTE]
Talking to people,man I'm not into that. And I been seeing a lot of base rape too.Hawks destroy from above and you can't do much if they keep destroying your bunkers.My other complaint no health bars on vehicles,turrets or structures.Not into this game.
 
I'm really starting to enjoy this game. It's different from the standard online shooter but I like it. I gave Warhawk a try when that first came out but for some reason I didn't care too much for it. I still don't have much an idea of what to do but feel free to add me to your friendlist if you're playing this. PSN id: JetTone.
 
[quote name='Thongsy']I'm really starting to enjoy this game. It's different from the standard online shooter but I like it. I gave Warhawk a try when that first came out but for some reason I didn't care too much for it. I still don't have much an idea of what to do but feel free to add me to your friendlist if you're playing this. PSN id: JetTone.[/QUOTE]
I know I had you in at least a few games. Dunno if that was with freaky and QiG or not lol. Did not make the connection. But I will add you when I hop on.

I still really think the hawks have way too much power. I can understand them taking you out with one shot if you are on a jet bike. but when they can take you out with one shot before you even know whats going on when you are in a TANK... and then it take you 3 or 4 shots to kill that same hawk when they are ont he ground... something is majorly wrong.

And is it just me or can you not lock onto hawks and jetpacks with the rocket launcher?
 
[quote name='fuss']

And is it just me or can you not lock onto hawks and jetpacks with the rocket launcher?[/QUOTE]

I believe you could. Hold R1 with the rocket launcher equipped. It works only on hawks and jetpacks only while they're in flight.
 
I decided to just go ahead and make the clan since nobody else was going to. Sent a few invites to some of you guys already. So post or send me a message if you want an invite.
 
Looking for CAGers or people who use there mics at all for this game. It is insanely fun when people communicate but that is a long shot. I just picked up a pair of astro a40s I need to put them to good use :D
PSN Microprobe
 
[quote name='Thongsy']I decided to just go ahead and make the clan since nobody else was going to. Sent a few invites to some of you guys already. So post or send me a message if you want an invite.[/QUOTE]


i'm down to join.
asthmatic
 
[quote name='Mr. Anderson']I'm gonna add a couple of you fools to my friends list, as I just got a PS3 and need some peeps to frag.

Don't know if I'll really be playing this beta that much, but maybe we could get a private CAG match together?[/QUOTE]
Wow, surprised you finally got a PS3. :D
 
I'm the fence with this game, I played the beta, and while was blown away by the graphics and set pieces, I found it really hard to get any kills. Was I playing it wrong, I liked the air support drop in stuff, but the beta really didn't give ya any tutorial at all?

So should I get it? Or wait for a drop? That GameStop limited edition looks cool. Since its auto upgrade with first shipment, mine still has many.

Thanks guys.
 
Loving the MP on this game. But playing alone sucks (this is a PS3 problem, since this never happens to me on 360 games), no coordination/communication.

If you got a group add me. I can't play next week since I'm away, but I do play a day or two during the weekdays. (I'm also a Warhawk "vet", so I know how to defend a spot well, but again, its a team game, can't take out 3 tanks alone)
 
I picked up the limited edition last night for the hell of it. Played solo online and got obliterated lol. Great game though!
 
:lol: I got an official PSN message last night from Sony with a code for two pieces of DLC(one for 'paintjobs' for vehicles in Starhawk based on Warhawk vehicles, the other for some DLC levels or whatever) thanking me for 'playing the beta'(which I never did).

Chances are it's going up on my TL of codes, since I'll probably start playing this once it drops to $10-15 used like I did with Warhawk and I don't really see myself playing anything but the basic game.:booty:
 
The more and more i look into this game, the more excited i get. The music reminds me of FIREFLY, as does some of the universe. As well as borderlands. Watched a campaign video, looks fun. Prob will get it friday!
 
The game is lacking documentation. I had the hardest time trying to figure out how to get a 2 player co-op multiplayer going, but I finally figured that out. As I am ranking it up says I am increasing my skill list and I see a spot for the skills but it's often grayed out so I can't see what I can do with it. I guess I just need to play it more. The controls for the game itself are fine, but there is definitely a learning curve to the rest.
 
I REALLY REALLY want to like this game but I just have no idea what the hell is going on. I've played through about half of the "campaign". Every time I jump into a game my team is just getting destroyed or I can't even break out of my hatch without having a Hawk ripping me apart. I'm assuming having a mic and working with a team is the only way this game is fun, otherwise it sucks. Is this correct? Like I said I really want to like this game but I feel like I'm wasting time after every multiplayer match I try.
 
I haven't played in the last few days but that was happening to me too. The other team would just steamroll whatever team I was on. Hopefully things will be much better with the CAG clan since it's hard to have fun when you're losing and dying within seconds of spawning each time.
 
I have been seeing lots of good things going on in recent gameplay that I was surprised to see, but in a good way. But I think the thing that stuck out the most is that arms heal structures also. I thought they just fixed vehicles but I was surprised to find out the heal everything. Some teammates put an arm in the middle of a shield and beam turrets and that combo lasted a long time. I was surprised how well it worked. Granted this requires TEAM WORK since these things take a good amount of rift. But if you are working as a team this could be a strong line of attack. And putting more than one arm also works and just helps to keep everything going that much longer.

And for the skills points - you have to be in a game to get into that menu - stupid if you ask me but oh well.

edit - and to prevent getting raped by the over powered hawks... play a ground pounder game. So much more fun (unless you are getting raped by tanks, but they are easier to take down than hawks are)
 
[quote name='fuss']I have been seeing lots of good things going on in recent gameplay that I was surprised to see, but in a good way. But I think the thing that stuck out the most is that arms heal structures also. I thought they just fixed vehicles but I was surprised to find out they heal everything. Some teammates put an arm in the middle of a shield and beam turrets and that combo lasted a long time. I was surprised how well it worked. Granted this requires TEAM WORK since these things take a good amount of rift. But if you are working as a team this could be a strong line of attack. And putting more than one arm also works and just helps to keep everything going that much longer.

[/QUOTE]

I also did not know that. That's amazing... Going to start doing that to any shields I built, those things are way to easy to destroy. Same with the tank station. :)
 
Yeah, using the repair arm next to a wall that is constantly attacked is an awesome combo. I discovered it's usefulness in the SP.
 
Here's something I saw the other team doing and I thought it was a great idea. They would land their Hawks on floating rocks and cliffs up high and build a beam/flak turret and then an arm next to it to keep repairing it. They had a bunch and it was a great tactic and annoying as hell flying that round lol.
 
http://www.lightboxinteractive.com/blog/2012/6/1/stability-patch-102-is-now-live.html

Update 1.02 is out now:
Very, *VERY* early this morning at 4am Central time we performed world-wide server maintenance and deployed a new patch for Starhawk. The patch is focused on resolving the most common crashes as well as providing a new automatic system of recording any network errors that players encounter. There were however a few other things that were included in the patch so here's the full list:

Fixed for the prominent Crashes & Locks
Added automated network disconnect error-reporting
Fixed missing sound FX for when missiles are dodged
Fixed XP display for players already at the first-tier level cap of 50
Fixed Server-List so it can scroll properly and display the full-set of global games
Fixed texture paging bug that sometimes caused a blank Uplink
Fixed the Sweet-Tooth's awesome butcher's blade accessory
Fixed the bug causing only 4 players to be allowed into your Homeworld
Fixed bug that caused the Clan Leader board to scroll incorrectly
Fixed Server-List filter on full games to work properly

As we've mentioned before, the team here at LightBox Interactive is working on another game balance update and we'll be providing you the list of all of the changes next week! We're also hearing our community "Loud & Clear" on our voice issues. The team at LightBox Interactive has spent many days debugging what the issue is and we've relayed that information to our Network team at SONY. They are currently investigating a fix and we'll be sure to keep you all posted!

We are very thankful of our community's patience and we are fully committed to making sure the Starhawk experience continues to improve with Updates and Patches as well as grow with FREE downloadable maps!
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[quote name='Miami_13']Here's something I saw the other team doing and I thought it was a great idea. They would land their Hawks on floating rocks and cliffs up high and build a beam/flak turret and then an arm next to it to keep repairing it. They had a bunch and it was a great tactic and annoying as hell flying that round lol.[/QUOTE]

Those beam/flak turrets are just annoying. In order for it to be a viable defense, you need a lot of them. They work great on tanks due to the fact that tanks are slow, but tanks can just destroy them from out of range.
 
I just got the game brand new from GameStop today and the code on the back of my manual isn't valid, crummy stuff....

But I'll freely admit, I spent about 5 minutes straight just transforming back and forth between mech and Starhawk when I first had control over it. Such a great animation :drool:
 
Game Balance Update 1.02.002
http://www.lightboxinteractive.com/BLOG

[quote name='Starhawk Developer Blog']
We performed server maintenance at 12pm Central Time today to deploy another great balance update for our Starhawk fans around the world! Today's release of the 1.02.002 Update includes the following changes:

Hawk Homing Missile now harder to dodge
LR3 Sniper Rifle no-longer damages the OX Tank
Bruiser Skill damage to buildings reduced
Home-Base spawn regions have been increase on ALL maps
Re-Enabled kick player feature for game hosts
Reduced Flak Cannon rate of fire
Significantly Reduced Flak Cannon damage vs Hawks
Increased Flak Cannon pick-up respawn delay
Increased Grenade pick-up respawn delay
Reduced Grenade pick-up ammo from 3 grenades to 1 grenade
FIXED team roster imbalance for Rifter team in ZONES
Rift Barrels now only respawn once per round in Co-Op
[/QUOTE]
 
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/06/14/starhawk-mobile-uplink-available-on-android-and-ios-now/

They've announced an iOS/Android companion app:
I am very pleased to announce the official companion mobile application for our PS3 shooter Starhawk is now available on iOS and Android devices. With the Starhawk Uplink app you can easily check out detailed player and clan stats, while staying current on the all of the latest Starhawk announcements and community news/events, all on the go, anytime, anywhere. Here are links to download the app…

Android devices
iOS devices

Once you’ve downloaded the Starhawk Uplink to your mobile device, you’ll find a wealth of information available on all of the player weapons, Hawk weapons, and Build & Battle structures.

The Starhawk Uplink app is totally free, and it’s a way for diehard players to always stay in touch with Starhawk. And for those of you who haven’t picked up a copy of Starhawk yet, you can still pull down this app and learn more about the game and the exciting community of Starhawk followers. Here’s a look at our Starhawk Uplink trailer…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEfLrfZV_vE

Features include:
  • Access to clan information: You can view your clan invitations, clan leaderboards and statistics, and search for new clans to join or challenge.
  • View player and weapon stats: You can view your player and weapon stats from all of your online action in Starhawk.
  • Track other players: Want to see how your stats compare? Look at stats for your PSN friends, clanmates, and other players you meet online.
  • View the Starhawk leaderboards: See how you rank against your friends, clanmates, and the rest of the Starhawk community.
  • Access Starhawk community strongholds: You can link to various Starhawk social sites, as well as directly link to gameplay videos and other Starhawk community-driven sites.
  • Browse The Armory: An encyclopedia of information on all troop and Hawk weapons and Build & Battle structures.
  • Stay up to date: Our news ticker and game announcements section ensure that you are completely up to date on all the latest and greatest Starhawk news.
  • The Starhawk Uplink runs on the following devices: iTouch, iPhone 3G/3GS/4/4S, as well as all versions of iPad and Android devices, including the Sony Tablet S and Sony Xperia Play mobile phone and all Gingerbread Android devices. Kindle Fire support is coming soon.

Go download the free Starhawk Uplink and an edge over your fellow Starhawk players! Lastly, we just deployed another great balance update on PSN for our Starhawk fans around the world! To see all of the great stuff included in this week’s release of update 1.02.002, check out our latest LightBox Interactive developer blog here.
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This game looks amazing. I know this thread isn't that active, but I assume the MP is still pretty active. Can anyone pop in and confirm? I am thinking of picking this up for $30 from Target.
 
[quote name='GodlyOne']I just got the game brand new from GameStop today and the code on the back of my manual isn't valid, crummy stuff....

But I'll freely admit, I spent about 5 minutes straight just transforming back and forth between mech and Starhawk when I first had control over it. Such a great animation :drool:[/QUOTE]

I was on the fence but you just sold me. Kinda.
 
I think I am done with the online part of this game.. maybe the game itself.

I hate playng in games where the other team has control of the air. I am a ground guy and the hawks have WAY TOO MUCH power to compete with. The only thing that was good on the ground was the tank, and with the last update they effed that all up. You can now hit a guy directly with a tank and he will not die. Then that same guy will come up and swing his knife one time and destroy the tank. So I play groundpounder games to escape the hakws.. then all people do is drive around on the jet bikes with a mine attached to it and then drive by you and the mine attaches to YOU and boom you are dead.

So amazingly stupid. And I wanted to like this game so much... oh well.
 
[quote name='fuss']I think I am done with the online part of this game.. maybe the game itself.

I hate playng in games where the other team has control of the air. I am a ground guy and the hawks have WAY TOO MUCH power to compete with. The only thing that was good on the ground was the tank, and with the last update they effed that all up. You can now hit a guy directly with a tank and he will not die. Then that same guy will come up and swing his knife one time and destroy the tank. So I play groundpounder games to escape the hakws.. then all people do is drive around on the jet bikes with a mine attached to it and then drive by you and the mine attaches to YOU and boom you are dead.

So amazingly stupid. And I wanted to like this game so much... oh well.[/QUOTE]

Every MP game will have people find ways of exploiting the system. I play Co-op if you want to add me.
 
[quote name='fuss']I think I am done with the online part of this game.. maybe the game itself.

I hate playng in games where the other team has control of the air. I am a ground guy and the hawks have WAY TOO MUCH power to compete with. The only thing that was good on the ground was the tank, and with the last update they effed that all up. You can now hit a guy directly with a tank and he will not die. Then that same guy will come up and swing his knife one time and destroy the tank. So I play groundpounder games to escape the hakws.. then all people do is drive around on the jet bikes with a mine attached to it and then drive by you and the mine attaches to YOU and boom you are dead.

So amazingly stupid. And I wanted to like this game so much... oh well.[/QUOTE]

zen and I saw you playing Warhawk the other night... we almost joined but it was late.
 
[quote name='mwynn']Every MP game will have people find ways of exploiting the system. I play Co-op if you want to add me.[/QUOTE]


Ya, I know. But the % is just mind blowing. But thats only part of it. if I get in on some co-op I will hit you up.


[quote name='mguiddy']zen and I saw you playing Warhawk the other night... we almost joined but it was late.[/QUOTE]

LOL that was actually a mistake. I grabbed the wrong 'hawk' game. When it started up I was too lazy to switch it out and did a few games. Man do I suck at that game now, it was ugly :whistle2:#
 
[quote name='Ragnorok64']Why am I seeing people destroy tanks and (I think) buildings with knives in this game?[/QUOTE]

It's an unlockable skill that lets you take down an enemy structure in a couple knife hits. Helpful for assaults but also annoying when every structure you spent 10 minutes building gets destroyed in 30 seconds.

Been away from this game from several weeks but maybe I'll get back into it. There is plenty of room for improvement but I have more fun moments than aggravating ones.
 
[quote name='eLefAdEr']It's an unlockable skill that lets you take down an enemy structure in a couple knife hits. Helpful for assaults but also annoying when every structure you spent 10 minutes building gets destroyed in 30 seconds.

Been away from this game from several weeks but maybe I'll get back into it. There is plenty of room for improvement but I have more fun moments than aggravating ones.[/QUOTE]
Why would they put that in the game?
 
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/08/10/starhawk-free-cypress-map-pack-update-1-03-today/

Big update incoming with two new maps and a bunch of fixes/tweaks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGihXY6XWK8

Some of you may have seen my last blog post about the release of War of the Monsters as a PS Classic for PlayStation 3 and at the end of that post I mentioned the release of our next update for Starhawk was right around the corner!

Well…we are now around that corner and I can tell you that we are “GO” for our global release of the Starhawk 1.03 Update today at 2pm Central Time! I am saying “GO” as if I were a super-cool NASA scientist in the Curiosity control room! While the release of our 1.03 Update pales in comparison to the massive achievement of landing an SUV-sized robot on Mars (thanks NASA!). The 1.03 release will nonetheless make many Earthlings very happy!

“OK Dylan, what’s the patch got?” – Says the snarky gamer from the back corner of the internet. Tons of new stuff! There are player-requested features, an increased level cap, bug-fixes, and of course two new FREE maps on the planet of Cypress! Here’s the breakdown of everything we developed for you guys in the 1.03 Update.

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Two New Maps on Cypress: Let’s jump right into the big stuff in 1.03 and that’s the 2 new maps! We really wanted to craft a new world that was more lush, more green, with lots of plants and huge trees and shallow water that you could drive and run through. Yet at the same time, we listened to some of the player feedback regarding our levels when we first launched Starhawk. Players wanted to see more cover and places for troops to hide. They also wanted to see some pre-built structures that you could go inside. Cypress: Collider and Cypress: Origin have all those things!

Cypress is the first planet where Rift Energy was discovered in the New Frontier and its where mankind built the first Rift research facility — including the very first Extractor! Of course, it’s all abandoned and overgrown by lush vegetation now.

The trees really provide a great layout for troops to run around, take cover behind, stage attacks and there are even some really cool mushroom thingies far up on the trunks of the trees so that troops can get out of the fray.

We also added a few pre-built structures with interiors. There aren’t tons of them since Starhawk still requires players to use smart Build & Battle tactics, but the ones that are there make a huge difference. There’s an old, destroyed particle collider that wraps around the center of the map named — you guessed it — Collider. There’s a massive run-down old Rift Extractor in the center of the map we call Origin. There are even some key buildings on both maps that have elevated doorways and interiors where you can go in and attack from a protected position. Be careful though, there is an open access port on the roof of those buildings, so you’ll have to cover your back! OK… mostly protected.

“mostly…”

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Here are the satellite views for both of the Cypress maps so you guys can see how they’re setup. They may look like islands from this satellite view but you can drive anywhere! The water is shallow enough to run through, drive through and even build in. I absolutely love mud-bogging with the Razorback when I’m doing flag runs.

Both of the Cypress maps are wicked fun and add a fresh new layout. We think you guys are going to like them a ton and can’t wait to hear your feedback.

But that’s *JUST* the maps! The 1.03 Update has a bunch of other features too:

Prestige Levels: In the initial version of Starhawk, we supported levels 1-50. To be quite honest, we thought that would have the player community covered for quite some time. However, we had underestimated the rate at which people were going to get through the levels so we had to accelerate the release of our prestige levels for those players who are above 50. The Prestige levels in Starhawk are not numbers; they’re a Greek symbol ranking of ALPHA through OMEGA. The Greek symbol will be displayed by your name in-game. These are very hard ranks to achieve and the jump from level 50 to ALPHA is steep because these are really intended for the hard-core community.

New Space Homeworld “Waypoint”: In Starhawk, Homeworld’s are like lobbies. They are 3D levels where you and your friends can go to party-up, talk tactics and then pick a game to join. This new Homeworld is a cool space station. We added this because we really wanted players to enter a deep-space “lobby” to mess around in.

Team-Balance Fixes: There were some bugs in the party/clan cohesion system where servers would keep parties and clans together in *ALL* cases and this resulted in some brutally mis-matched games. This has been fixed! There were some other issues that resulted in messed-up team balance and we have resolved those as well. Should be a ton better!

Revamped Voice Chat System: During the initial launch of Starhawk we received reports from the player community about voice-chat dropping after a few games or in some cases, the voice-chat would simply not work. As you can imagine in a deep, team-based game like Starhawk, voice-chat is critical. So we did a ton of digging to find-out what the issue was and it ended up requiring a change to our Client/Server voice system. This change makes the VOIP far more stable and resolves the voice connection issues that some players had been experiencing in the past.

Push-to-Talk Option: This was requested by so many players, and in concert with the revamped Voice Chat System, the PTT option really is a great addition. Now players have the option to have their microphone turn on when they press L3 rather than automatically when they talk. I guess, too many players were being yelled at by their Moms, had crying babies in the background, or hell, maybe both! You can find the PTT option in the Audio Settings menu in the Uplink.

Vulture Jet-Pack Eject: Players are now allowed to dismount while flying around in a Starhawk if they have a handy dandy Vulture Jet-Pack equipped.

Rift Barrels on Mini-Map: To help aid players and their use of the Build & Battle system, we decided to add small icons on the mini-map where we’ve placed the Rift Energy Caches — those are the barrels that you shoot that burst open with Rift Energy that you can spend to build your arsenal of destruction. The blips on the map are displayed when the barrels are active and are *NOT* displayed when the barrels are waiting to respawn.

Bug Fixes: These are not as super-sexy as free maps, but the fact that they are fixed will really help the community. We also addressed some host migration issues, a number of crashes and network instability issues, and even the laggy pick-up bug was fixed as well.

Ranked Option: Another feature that was requested by players was really two requests related to how games post stats. The first point brought up by players was regarding stat-padding going on in password protected games, and since those games were password protected, they should not count as real ranked games. Now, you can still have a very private game with a password but your stats will not post. Also, if you are having a Clan vs. Clan game you have the option to turn stats on or off — because it might be a practice or scrimmage. Furthermore, if you are doing a Clan Scrimmage (your clan in both Rifter & Outcast slots) the stats will *NOT* post to the server. This is to keep clans from stat-padding in locked-out games.

Skills Shortcut at the Respawn Screen: Players really wanted a quick way to change skills without having to leave the respawn screen. So…we added a little tab in the upper right corner of the respawn screen that allows you to press TRIANGLE and jump right to the skills menu! Oh, and we also now allow you to change your skill at other places in the Uplink instead of only in-game.

Build & Battle Icons While Respawning: Another thing we did to help players when using the Build & Battle system was to display a simple graphic icon of each of the structures on the battlefield as the player is drop-poding into combat. This simple change really helps players know what structures are already built and helps them make better use of the stuff their team has built. Not to mention it helps let you know immediately where you should run when you crack-open your drop-pod!

Display Nearby Build & Battle Structures: There are now some new visuals to help players recognize Build & Battle structures that are built nearby. For starters, any time you place a structure; Starhawk very clearly displays how many are nearby. It also now highlights those nearby structures on your map *AND* displays some markers on the edge of the screen to help inform you that not only is there a structure nearby, but which direction it is.

Cooldowns for Host Kick and Team Switch: There were a number of exploits that could occur in the original version of Starhawk where players would change teams rapidly or a host would quickly kick a ton of players. That can no longer occur because we track when you perform one of these actions and block you from doing it again for a set amount of time — and we can tune the time if we need to.

Interactive Music Update: After playing Starhawk for so many hours, we really felt that the music was not kicking-in as frequently as we wanted it to. There were many times when you’d be in the heat of combat and there’d be no music at all. We felt this hurt the pacing and in fact some players in our community noticed the same thing. So the 1.03 Update includes some new tweaks to the interactive music system and the more frequent music makes a big difference.

Capture the Flag Scoring Change: We’ve been playing CTF in Starhawk a ton here in the studio and we’ve always felt that there were too many games ending in draws or times when the match would get into awkward stalemates. So with the 1.03 Update, we have changed one of the key rules for CTF and one of the key contributors to the stalemates. Now, to score a point in CTF, you need to take the enemy flag back to your base — period. Your team’s flag does *NOT* need to be there for you to score. Now certainly, your team still needs to play defense because you don’t want the enemy team taking your flag and scoring, but this change makes the pacing so much better. Much faster and far fewer draws and stalemates.

Sorting Unlocked Customization: Now this is more of a simple convenience thing but we changed the way the various characters and vehicle customization options are presented so that the unlocked ones are always displayed at the top of the list. Not a super-big change at all but I thought I’d include it here.

Drop-Pod Upgrade: One of the things that we were experimenting with during our Starhawk playtests to help combat “base-ravaging” was to make the Drop-Pod more deadly. Our whole design goal with the drop-pod system was to make the act of respawning in your home base an incredibly powerful weapon. This was to help combat against “base-ravaging”. After a lot of review, and play testing and tweaking, we decided to upgrade the drop-pods to be more maneuverable *AND* have an increased impact radius. This along with some changes we made to the respawn timer really makes a huge positive impact on the reduction of “base-ravaging”.

Custom Music via XMB: In Warhawk we added support for your own music and we’re doing the same in Starhawk. The 1.03 Update now allows you to play your own music through the XMB. So if you want to experience Starhawk’s unique Build & Battle gameplay while blaring Pat Benatar you totally can!
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Now that was an epic post! Sorry for the wall of text but there is a ton of cool stuff packed in this update. I wanted to make sure you had all the info, and then some.

So now that this blog post is done I’ve got to get back to work. We still have even more great stuff on the way for all of you in our next 1.04 Update! I’ve already exhausted my daily allotment of blog words but the 1.04 Update is another meaty one. Stuff like two entirely new gameplay modes, 5 new smaller layouts, even some new Build & Battle load-outs, and a bunch of other stuff too.

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And of course we have been working on DLC as well, but we’ve been prioritizing all the free content for you guys first. Let me end this post with a little DLC tease that’s in development. Yes, I cleared this with the SONY corporate hive-mind and they are totally ok with me showing this behind-the-scenes pic.

That’s it for now, enjoy the 1.03 Update, we look forward to your continued feedback.
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http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/20/starhawk-now-on-the-playstation-store/
As many of you know, the team here at Lightbox Interactive has been hard at work developing all of the free Starhawk Updates to help support the Starhawk Community. With today’s announcement, we’ll help grow that community even more with something that a ton of players from around the world have asked for — a digital-download version of Starhawk, and not just the original version, but one that is packed with all of the awesome updates we’ve made since our initial release!

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Yeah, you saw that right. We now have three, three ways for you to download the exact type of Starhawk experience you’re looking for on September 25th!

First you can get the complete Starhawk experience by downloading the Full version for $39.99. Another option — and this is an insane deal — is the Starhawk: Multiplayer-Edition for $19.99. This includes one of the best PlayStation 3 multiplayer experiences and all of the updates we’ve released since the game originally launched.

Last, but certainly not least, is a another killer deal for all PlayStation Plus members. You guys get the Starhawk: Single-Player Campaign for free. Yeah, that’s right, free. Starhawk is another great addition to the Instant Game Collection that PS Plus members already know and love!

And because I’m a tease, I’ll leave you with this: We have something else very tasty in store for PS Plus Members, so keep your eyes on the blog for another announcement very soon.

But wait… there’s more. As you know just about a month ago we released the Starhawk 1.03 Update that had a ton of new features, including two completely new — and free — maps on the planet of Cypress. The team and I were so stoked to see how happy the Starhawk community received it, that we’re excited to release our Starhawk 1.04 Update on September 25th with more free awesome-sauce, including three new gameplay modes!

Okay, so those are the new hella-fun gameplay modes, but there is a ton of other stuff in the Starhawk 1.04 Update as well. We’ve been following all of the community feedback and we’ve made a large number of changes. In my last blog post I wrote this massive wall of text covering all the various new things we added. So this time, I’m going to try and be more efficient on what should matter to you most.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLaPFipp0l0

  • 3 New Gameplay Modes: Assault, Deathmatch Arena, Gatekeeper.
  • 5 New “Small” Maps: Cypress Glade, Space Relay, Scourge Junction, Space Flotilla, Scourge Breaker.
  • Updated pre-placed pick-ups on all maps (just like we did in Cypress) as well as updated Rift Barrel placement.
  • 3 New Build & Battle Load-outs: Trooper, Lightweight and Speeder.
  • New Tool-Tips are displayed on various options and buttons in the Uplink. including a display of all the units in each Load-Out and recommended player counts when you create a new game.
  • MAW Rocket Launcher now can lock-on to the Sidewinder Jet Bike.
  • Added four New national clan banners for our players in the Middle East: Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the UAE.
  • Quit Penalty for players that quit during a game — you get a loss posted and SkillScore hit.
  • New “Up Next” display at the intermission screen of what map, mode and load-out is coming up in the next round.
  • More score-limit and time-limit options when creating a game.
  • All three new game modes are added to QuickMatch for matchmaking.
  • Co-Op Prospector is now supported in Quick-Match for matchmaking into public Co-Op games.
  • New Co-Op Prospector options for creating Private or Public games, difficulty, and game name.
  • Public Co-Op Prospector games now are supported in the server-list.
  • Bug fix that ensures that only Clan Leaders/Officers can edit the clan tag field.
  • Added a PlayStation Store button to the Uplink for accessing Starhawk DLC.
  • Increased starting Rift-Energy in Homeworlds.
  • Slightly increased the Galloway Pistol’s head-shot damage.
  • Removed the “Bruiser” Skill.
  • Added a “Grinder” Skill that allows you to start with a Grinder in your weapon inventory.
  • Grinder wind-up time has been reduced.
  • Max range for the Grinder has been increased.
  • In the server-list, the easy “Cake” and medium “Fist” game icons have been removed. You will still see the hard “Skull” game icons.
  • Refined difficulty tuning on all Co-Op Prospector Missions (slightly easier).
  • Increased XP payouts for all Co-Op Prospector Missions.
  • XP payouts for capturing Tier-2 and Tier-3 bases in the Zones gameplay mode.
  • Integrated Starhawk-specific network scan to help players resolve port issues.
  • Added in-game scoreboard HUD for Dogfight & Arena Deathmatch gameplay modes.

Blurg! Even with my super-effective condensing, the list of new stuff is still looooong — but that’s a good thing for the Starhawk community! If you want the extended version of this list with all the juicy details, head on over to our LightBox Interactive Dev-Blog or the official website at Starhawkthegame.com.

Oh man, still so much to talk about. Focus Dylan. FOCUS!

If you remember back in May when we released Starhawk, I wrote a blog post about our close partnership with Major League Gaming to put together a major Starhawk Tournament for the community with great cash-money prizes. Well our good friends at MLG have been hard at work and I am wicked-excited to say that it’s “GAME-ON” for the Starhawk MLG Tourney, with $20,000 in cash prizes. Head over to the Starhawk MLG site for all the rules and details! Whatever your competitive level, there is an entry spot for everyone, and a number of different opportunities to win.

The Starhawk MLG Tourney is a two-month long tournament with $20,000 in cash prizes at stake for not only the grand champions, so listen up. The primary tournament will revolve around an official Starhawk MLG ladder. The more you win across all online game modes, the higher you’ll rank on the MLG Starhawk ladder. At the end of this two-month phase, the top 16 ranked players will be chosen to form two “Super-Teams” who will battle it out in a live-streamed grand finale, with eight players crowned the victors of the Starhawk MLG Tournament!

As a secondary option for all players to win, the MLG has also been really cool about planning four mini-competitions along the way for smaller $500 prizes. These “quick challenges” will take place over various weekends and award players with the highest score for a particular stat such as “Most Headshots” or “Most Pod Kills.” This is a great way to increase a player’s odds of winning a piece of the big cash prize.

So, get ready for the Major League Gaming Starhawk Tournament, go hone your skills and keep your mind on your money and your money on your mind!

“But Dylan… what about Starhawk DLC?”

Don’t worry! While we have been focusing on making sure we get you guys all of the free content first, we certainly didn’t forget about the DLC — we have a truck load of it ready to go live for all of you on September 25th as well.

However, as I’ve already established in this blog post, I am sometimes a tease. So… I’m not going to list any of the DLC just yet. We’ll make another blog post about it very soon! Let me leave y’all with this one DLC hint. Here’s a piece of concept art showing a couple different design ideas for our new DLC Build & Battle structure. I’m not going to tell you what it does but I can say it’s awesome.

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I wonder what it could be?
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Ooh, wanted to play Starhawk but couldn't find enough reason to pick it up. But single player for free through PS+ and maybe put down $20 for multiplayer...may be the way for me to go...
 
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