Starhawk (new rumors)

Sorry, I nabbed one of the codes. Had a look last night. First tried to get on 8pm after it had downloaded and couldn't. A bit of invesitgating found that the servers are taken down for maintenance every 2-3pm EST, which equates to 8-9pm GMT. Come 9pm I had a go, starting my own game just to try stuff out without the hassle of getting blown up repeatedly. Can't password lock games in this Beta, so people did join eventually.

As I haven't played a proper match, current opinions are just controls. It moves like Warhawk, only with the camera sped up so it's not as slow. Controls are pretty identical. The building mechanic looks both excellent and messy - I'm really not sure about 8 independent players all doing their own thing. Someone might whack a sniper tower in the middle of nowhere just for themselves. That person might even be be me... :mrgreen: But that uses up some of the building quota. Voice chat was clear - woohoo! No party mechanic at all, and no option to join a game as a team. I can understand that being a feature missing in the beta, but the lack of a party icon in the menu's is a little worrying. Speaking of menus, what is it with crappy displays? They've done like Killzxone, and have a UI that breaks up and stutters. Is future display tech going to become less capable than OLED?! It's a design feature that makes using menus uncomfortably. Completely misplaced IMO.

The hawks are a little...odd. In mech mode they are mechs, obviously. In flight mode, which takes a couple of seconds to transform into, flight in Normal mode is simplistic. I really miss motion flight. There's no hovering; you're either a mech or a plane, which solves the issue of Warhawks pestering you like in WH. Each Hawk also costs a substantial amount of build juice to construct whcih will limit numbers. I think all in all the dominance of Warhawks has been solved without gimping them too much.

Like others I miss the fact you can't man gun towers, although I undertand the need to have them automated to keep players active in the field. Spawn points are built as I hoped, meaing it's possible, in theory, to set up a spawn in the enemy base and overwhelm them. If a coordinated team had comms, a guy could get in, build a spawn tower, and then his team could respawn and rain death from the skies as they arrive in the enemy base.

Kinfe is greatly changed too. Unlike WH's wild swinging as you buzz about, if you get close enough the knife auto-targets, so you make your kill. However, if you miss you stagger a bit, open for the counter attack.

So far I've found mines, missiles, sniper, shotgun, default rifle. someone was saying mines were slower, not detonating instantly. Will have to see. Next up is to try some real gameplay.
 
That's more or less what I found with it. It plays like a faster version of Warhawk without the air dominance. Most of the games I have played so far have been a little chaotic. But then I haven't played much since as Skyrim and now Deus Ex have got in the way.
 
Played a fair bit today. Chaotic, reasonably. You can find a nice place for yourself. However, jetpacks are an annoyance I think. You can see a blip on the radar and it's someone right above you. You can be attacked from all and every direction which makes it very much run-and-gun. If custom servers enable blocking of features, that can be solved. I notice in WH that almost all servers don't use jetpacks, so they weren't very popular back then.

I can't shoot anyone for toffee though. The rifle is useless. Everyone has health regen, so if you don't drop them then they'll recover, meaning you can't even whittle someone down for someone else to finish off. It has low stopping power, hokey aim, and terrible recoil. Splash damage from rockets seems fairly weak so you can't blast at people's feet the same way you could in WH. The sniper rifle has much slower bullets, so hitting somenoe at range becomes next to impossible unless they are standing still. My KDR is abyssmal! So far I've taken to using missles and hammering buildings - at least you hit a target then!

Spawn points generate build juice, so it's possible to set up a base pretty much anywhere, although the two maps are designed with specific places in mind. A favourite of mine is to fly up to a corner island in the space map and start a base that. It overlooks the enemy base. However, if they build a shield then that vantage point is useless.

And that's where the biggest issue I have so far arises - stalemates are easy to produce. A defensive team can build such an impenetrable fortress around their flag that you can't get it no matter what you do. This may change with unlocking of missing features for the Hawks and such - maybe a shield disruptor, or skills the player can level up to. At the moment though the game is generating plenty of frustration like WH. The difficulty with actually hitting anyone makes one feel reasonably powerless. I don't know if lag is an issue. What are those numbers in square brackets on the left of the server lists? There's a few around 600 at the top and a load over 1200 underneath. These aren't pings are they?
 
Shifty, don't forget to b*tch loudly and bitterly in the official beta forum if you find any serious flaws. Do it for the rest of us :devilish:
 
Starhawk Private Beta to Close January 3, 2012
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/12/21/starhawk-private-beta-to-close-january-3-2012/

So what’s next? Why, the Public Beta, of course! In the next few weeks we’ll be announcing the dates for this important step. Many more players will be allowed access, including the UNCHARTED 3 owners who received a Public Beta voucher when they purchased the game! Look for more information and specifics on the PlayStation.Blog very soon.
 
So, what's the deal with the Uncharted 3 beta codes? I got the game for Christmas but I couldn't redeem it. Do we have to wait until the public beta begins, or was there a cutoff time I missed? In either case it doesn't say anything about when to redeem the code on the sheet in the box.
 
Call to Arms! Starhawk Public Beta Begins Tuesday, January 17th
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012...hawk-public-beta-begins-tuesday-january-17th/

We’re now happy to announce that the Starhawk Public Beta begins this Tuesday, January 17th. This is a crucial step for us as we’ll be testing all sorts of things, including game balance, server traffic, and general bugs. This is also a chance for more players to finally see what we’ve been working so hard on. As we’ve been getting so much support and encouragement from fans and press alike, we’re excited to spread the love and get more input to make the best game possible.
 
Public beta starts today !
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/01/17/starhawk-launching-on-may-8th-public-beta-rolls-out-today/

...

As we move forward we’ll invite more and more players into the mix. Check out our official Beta Info page at StarhawkTheGame.com for our current schedule..

...

What’s in the Public Beta?

Everything mentioned in the video with a ton of fixes, updates, etc. At the start we’re adding the following content on top of Private Beta content…

Classic Arcade Flight-Mode: Private Beta players asked for it and we’re happy to include the classic arcade flight from Warhawk.
Host Migration: When the host leaves the game, the hosting duties transfer to another player and gameplay will continue, provided the option is checked.

Language Support: European and Japanese languages are included. Korea, China, Latin America and Brazil will be in English…but these will include the appropriate languages for the full game.

Skills: Players will be able to collect unique Skills to use in gameplay based on their performance. Playstation Network Friend

Integration: Friends status, messages, and friend requests.

Bug Fixes: Lots and lots of bugs have been addressed.

You can expect continued updates throughout the Public Beta so stay tuned for more information. (“Yes,” Private Beta players, we know you want more, more, more. Remember, this is a test and we need to continue to take prudent, methodical steps. We appreciate your understanding.)

Where do you report bugs?

Go to http://us.playstation.com/psn/ and use your PSN ID to log in. All Beta players will get private access to the Beta forums. If you find a bug, post it here, but remember, we need specific steps on how to reproduce your issue. You can also visit www.StarhawkTheGame.com and have discussions on our official forums. But please use the Beta forums to post any bugs.
 
Oh-kay, played 2 CTF games. I kinda like it.

The match-making and game server list setup are pretty flexible. Haven't figured out how to build anything yet. I focused on demolishing enemy building, and assisting other players to grab enemy's flag. Map seems pretty interesting and varied so far. Will probably take a break from Dark Souls to play this for a few weeks.
 
To build, collect blue juice. You start the game with 4 units I think. Hold down one of the shoulder buttons to bring up aradial menu. Rotate the pointer through the options (wall costs 1 unit, turret 2, car factory 4, sort of thing) and select what you want to build. Then manouvre where it'll drop, which can only be on clear terrain with a clear drop from above. Is this PS+ at the moment?
 
To build, collect blue juice. You start the game with 4 units I think. Hold down one of the shoulder buttons to bring up aradial menu. Rotate the pointer through the options (wall costs 1 unit, turret 2, car factory 4, sort of thing) and select what you want to build. Then manouvre where it'll drop, which can only be on clear terrain with a clear drop from above. Is this PS+ at the moment?

Yes, PS+ public beta. I suppose existing closed beta players are still in right ?

How do I collect blue juice ? By killing more enemies ? I noticed some buildings would supply me blue juice slowly but steadily. Anyway to make them go faster ?
 
Yes, turns out existng Beta players can access the game again. Blue comes from killing enemies and busting buildings, shooting respawning barrels (the fastest way IMO), and staying in your zone. Anywhere in your green territory means the mines are generating blue-juice for you. You can build a spawn point to create blue-juice - I think multiple spawn points generates more juice in an area, but the one time I tried it the team complained about me not even expanding the territory and I didn't get change to really observe. Obviously Beta's aren't there for experimenting. ;)

One trick I did on the space level was fly out to the corner 'island'. You could shoot barrels on the mainland to generate juice enough to place a spawn point and get a general stream of power. It was a good place to launch an offensive, or snipe at people, or just pepper their base with missiles if you build a depot and sit on the ammo, but 15 minute games wasn't long enough to really see it through.
 
I'm downloading it now. I guess my unused closed beta key could still be of use to someone?
 
Is there a way to spawn with better weapon(s), or upgrade my weapons ?
In the closed beta, no. You'd have to pick up some different weapons. It hinted at levelling and skills though, so maybe some form of euqipment improvement is possible? Until I hear as much, I expect the game to remain like WH - you start with one gun and melee and have to pick up any other gear from stores or killed players (who throw their gear over the palce when they die).
 
To build, collect blue juice. You start the game with 4 units I think. Hold down one of the shoulder buttons to bring up aradial menu. Rotate the pointer through the options (wall costs 1 unit, turret 2, car factory 4, sort of thing) and select what you want to build. Then manouvre where it'll drop, which can only be on clear terrain with a clear drop from above. Is this PS+ at the moment?

The build button is ^ (triangle) now.

The regular guns are not so powerful, it takes a long time to kill each other. You'll have to use your buildings or vehicles to boost your power.

Pretty interesting game. I may actually prefer this style of play compared to standard competitive shooters.
 
The default rifle was pretty useless in the closed beta. It has the combination of poor firepower and terrible recoil. The addition of regenerating health meant you couldn't even whittle an enemy down. Players were requesting changes, either less recoil so you could actually hit your target, or more firepower so when you did hit them it actually counted for something. rockets all seem feable as anti-personnel weapons. Splash damage radius was tiny. I had a devil of a job shooting anyone in the beta. Even the sniper rifles are two shot kills. Considering how slow the bullet is, it's damned hard to hit anyone, so to have your success met with indifference as the opponent ducks into cover and regenerates health is fairly disappointing. Sniper rifles were there for shooting other snipers who were also standing still. ;)
 
Yeah, the standard issue rifle is pretty weak. Recoil is not so bad at the moment, but it takes a long time to kill someone faraway. An enemy 10 feet away took about 5-6 seconds. Melee is instant kill I think. The rocket launcher, Warhawk, jetpack, and buggy are much more lethal.

Sniper rifle seems weak too. ^_^
Requires headshot to kill instantly.
 
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