We’ve just finished development of our v1.2 patch and our first Booster Pack, Operation: Omega Dawn!…which is very different than “Red Dawn” or “Dawn of the Dead” :-)
I’d like to give our blog readers a bit of info on our first downloadable content – and I’ll try to keep in away from sounding to much like a sales-pitch filled with shallow marketing-speak. The team and I really wanted the Omega Dawn Booster pack to add a new gameplay experience and to enhance the replay value of the core Warhawk game. Not be some nickel-and-dime upgrade that takes advantage of our player community!!! (That’s my own personal opinion on DLC so I’ll get off my soapbox now)
So without further ado…
The Omega Dawn Booster pack adds 3 key things:
* A night-time battlefield with 6 layouts called the “Omega Factory”. It’s huge btw.
* New 7-player aircraft called the KT-424 Combat Dropship.
* And 5 updated bonus layouts for battlefields from the original game so that you can play using the new Dropship.
First let me ramble on about the new battlefield: Many of you all wanted a night time level so that’s what we did. The battlefield takes place at night well… actually at early dawn. We wanted to make this level a bit more challenging and visually improved than our previous levels. It has more involved building layouts with more vertical structures, platforms and detailed spaces for ground troops.
Here’s the map of the entire battlefield.
This more advanced layout compliments the dropship really well as there are some places in the level that are only accessible by air. This is especially cool for transporting vehicles! We also added some macro scale color changes to the bases to help players communicate locations within the symmetrically balanced battlefield.
You’ll see all of this more in these screen shots so I’ll stop talking about the new battlefield now :-)
The Combat Dropship is pretty damn sweet I gotta say. During the entire Omega Dawn dev-cycle I was trying to have us deliver on the crazy notion of a “Multiplayer BOSS”. Something that a team could all work together to control and that would require other players to work as a team to defeat the opposing team’s “BOSS”. We’ve had several just wicked memorable moments playing with our testers that felt like classic BOSS battles … but in a fast-paced multiplayer game!
What else?
Oh yeah…we also integrated the Combat Dropship in the 5 biggest layouts from the original game. It really changes the way those levels play which is good ‘cause it gives them a fresh feel … like an Irish spring!
Ahh…there are 2 things you will all ask immediately I’m sure: “when does it come out?” and “how much does it cost?”
We are in our final global test phase right now (internally it’s called format testing). Once we pass and go “gold” (which is a pretty odd term given a purely digital distribution but whatever) then I can announce a specific date. But we are still on track for our “December” release.
And as far as pricing goes – the Omega Dawn Booster Pack will sell for $7.99 on the PlayStation Store. Why don’t we just charge $8.00? I mean seriously? Does that one penny really fool anyone? :-)
I’ll probably need to make some follow-up posts once you all have had a chance to comment. So smash this site with questions and I’ll do my best to post a FAQ about the upcoming Booster Pack!
As always … Rock on!
The battlefield is huge…can’t wait ’til I get my hands on it
Too bad I don’t have a store in my country and Sony doesn’t sell PS cards…
Maybe you should post on how things are going to work for those that didn’t buy the booster.
Uh… i would buy an expansion pack for 20.00 for warhawk with no description. Is the price of 9 bucks worth even talking about? I have a $600 dollar system hooked up to 5K in gear, so why would i not download the expansion pack for a night of fun?
Hey Mr. Bobo
Do not repeatedly post that way, because it is frowned upon, and could lead you to be banned.
easy mr bobo or jeff will asskick you ;) right jeff?
But dylan what i also want to know how big the level exactly is regarding the other levels :)
Thnx!
and damn 100 + posts please respond on them quick or youll get lost in your own succes :D
So, by the sound of “boss”, that means there will only be 1 per map? It would be way cooler to have 2, and be able to have dropship battles.
wow, way to really add to the experience. i agree that their needs to be original maps that have a night option, but for the work you guys have to put in $8 doesn’t sound terrible. i mean i would pay that if i wasn’t broke.
this whole digital distribution setup is really extending the life of a development team on individual game. sounds like job security to me.
Sorry to say to all those who keep saying the stat system is fixed. It’s not, I’m way way above the rank I should be at, I know I haven’t received alot of the medals/ribbons I need. Get cool skins and a firm arse whoopin to boot.
Anyway, map adn dropship look great, and the map has a lot of big, troop accessable buildings =)
Outstanding update to an already excellent game. Night time, a brand new vehicle, new maps! Thanks for keeping this game at the forefront!
Hi Dylan,
Is this December release for Europe as well or will is fall into 2008?
Cheers.
Wow this expansion has blown my mind, when I first heard about it I thought it’d be cool but I never thought the first screens of the new maps would get me re-mega hyped about the game again, and I still play it regularly.
Are you going to be fixing the clan invite glitch? It got raised to 64 but I’ve only been able to invite 52 people before I get an invite error.
Increasing the clan limit size again would be much more helpful to me, 64 isn’t that much more than the PSN friends list limit, and I hate having to juggle people in such a way. :S
Im getting it when it comes out.
Jeff this is off topic but you have any ideas of the betas we are supposed to get? its getting near the end of the year and we are supposed to get a Home Public Beta, also the killzone 2 team said there would a killzone 2 beta(never said when) but the game is being released in feb, got any info or dates so we have something to loook forward to?
LOL@leetfoo… yea I’ll send that extra penny, this booster pack looks awesome, the dropship, new layouts, new map, I can’t wait!
umm … is there any chance of getting new aircrafts in the future, is that a good idea or what? like a big aircraft that comes equipped with bombs and such or a much faster aircraft for various missions, etc..
Dylan is the main! Im super happy with the new map and gameplay elements. Also, “It has more involved building layouts with more vertical structures, platforms and detailed spaces for ground troops.” SWEEEEEEEEET! I was always wanting to go in building’s like resistance online, and i wasnt expecting better visuals. Great job Inogonito and Sony thanks for the customer support.
i want this now…
Dylan, can you release more detailed pics of the dropship? It’s hard to make out anything in these small pics.
Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!
I play Warhawk all the time, this keeps everything fresh. Keep up the awesome work… btw the new aircraft is ingenious, it will refresh the game, giving a new gaming experience man. Wicked!
“And as far as pricing goes – the Omega Dawn Booster Pack will sell for $7.99 on the PlayStation Store.”
DO NOT WANT
LOL Cats references aside, I am sorely disappointed by the decision to place a price on this new set and although it is definitely well earned the community really deserves a treat for hanging in there despite the hiccups endured since launch. With that the fate of my copy has been sealed. Call of Duty 4 here I come! I’ll miss you guys :(
make sure you update the warhawk website with the new expansion info
Nice job Dylan! Omega Factory totally reminded me of Total Recall. Not a bad price either. Keep it up!
P.S.
When is the website going to be tied in as far as stats and what not?
Wow
Didn’t think I’d be getting for $7.99, but that dropship looks too awesome. Sold!
Where’s the footage that you said you were going to post back on Oct 22:
“my next post in just a few days will give you all a glimpse of an internal gameplay session we had with the Booster Pack”
Regardless, I’m stoked about the update and can’t wait to try it out, the map looks freaking ginormous! :)
Ya! Now What I would like is a helicopter like vehicle. But, this is really great!
Whoa…this looks pretty sweet
BUT
$7.99? Come on, I paid $60 for this game, and it came with 5 maps and 3 vehicles. Don’t get me wrong, this game rocks, but paying almost eight dollars for one map (that looks pretty cool) and one vehicle adds up to almost $70 for an online-only game with 6 maps and 4 vehicles.
Hopefully this is gonna be free later on, cause I’m not getting it right now.
Anyways, great job on the map and dropship, Warhawk really took up a lot of my time (until COD4 came out – which has a campaign, 16 MP maps, 12 game modes, and 70 weps).
happy gaming
what !! ….. your all going to get this game pack … what about me ? i dont have resistance game map or motor storm cars or …. just Demos !! (Sony) I don’t know if you care about arabic people or not we just want the same with all the people . I just got my visa for 50$ with funds and it don’t work with us store or any other stores . what am I going to do with this money ? Amazone don’t have PSN Games or Game Packs !!
really great job and the price is ok … sure i will buy it :) can you said if someday you plan to put boat i think its the only thing missing in that games.
Keep up the good work !
This is going to be great. Man the PS store has been hitting my pocket as of late. RFOM maps, Motorstorm add ons, Pain, half price Calling all Cars, Flow add on, HVB is comming along with GT prolouge, thats like $75.00 comming right out of the checking account bofore I make it to GameStop. :) Damn I forgot about the Playstation Eye games now Im at $84.00.
Keep up the good work.
FYI
Two of my friends traded in there 360s on black friday to get the Playstation 3. Both are very happy that they did so.
i like everything. its an awesome pack. i live in the us and it sucks because we cant buy it if we dont have a credit card. wtf are the playstation network cards. they are realyy needed right now
you guys rule
big hug
and my hug i mean TOW missle up your AZZ
I was going to pass on the booster pack… for some reason, I figured it was going to cost $20-30… At $8 though? I’m sold. This looks very cool.
I can’t wait. I really can’t. Night versions of other levels would be cool. And next, try not to have a symmetrical map. I would like to see one side be radically different. Like one side up high, unaccsesable to ground vehicles, then one where the base is inside, only accessable to ground vehicles and not warhawks.
Dude, I’m just like DROOLING on my keyboard right now……………….(electric arc, screaming, yelling, writhing…………………………circuit blows.)
………………………………………………………………………………………………
I can’t wait for this to come out.
@#104 DarkFlame588
Yeah, it looks like there might be just one per map. (not 100% sure. Maybe Dylan could cast some light on it? ~hint~) Anyway, he seemed to imply that it takes quite a few people to run the dropship so that would mean that the other team could pretty much focus fire on the dropship (TOW time……) Hopefully though, it won’t be a problem.
@#118 Toadzter17
C’mon man, it’s 8 bucks and you don’t HAVE to buy it. Anyway, if that’s going to make you go to CoD4, more power to you. But I wouldn’t give up on Warhawk so easily.
Hey 40cal That’s awesome man. It must be cool to have buds with PS3’s :D
With all thats been going on lately in PS3 news its a good time to be a PS3 supporter.
I downloaded the pic of the dropship shooting a warhawk and upscaled it with my PC.
wow.
GIVE ME THE UPDATE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GAAAAHHHHHHH
(runs around room in a frenzy, goes into kitchen, breathes in bag to stop hyperventilating)
OK, i’m good. Seriously, I can not wait until this add-on comes out.
@dylan. Any chance of another add-on with destroyers and aircraft carriers as well as a new map designed for ship combat? That would be totally SWEET!!!!
@Sony. I work at a grocery store (yeah, laugh at me… I’m only 17, give me a break…) and I told someone about Warhawk. He said he had an “other console” and a Wii, but no PS3 He had played (and loved) the original PS1 Warhawk.
When I told him how sweet the PS3 warhawk is, he said he would look into Warhawk online and he would most likely buy a PS3 just to try out the game.
So, basically, I sold a PS3.
Where’s my cut? (holds out hand with innocent look on face)
Excellent. Quite quite excellent.
Just the kick in the pants I need to get back into Warhawk full time. I can’t wait.
THATS TOTALLY AWESOME!!
OK, this is just a test. (Mods, you actually have something to do now. Sorry.)
Can’t wait!
hey Dylan! Im glad you acknowledge that we wanted a night map…hope you also know that in every post about a night map there was also post about a snow map…with falling snow and everything :)
Hey guys guess what new original thing MS came up with now? XMB for the 360, don’t believe me? Go to kotaku, man that just pisses me off!
I will buy this, and will buy these packs if they keep coming. I love this game, just add, more, and more, this game will never get boring if you guys keep adding new packs, and add-ons!! Also make sure we have no problems like glitches, and stuff like that!
Great update!
Here’s what I’d like to see in future Booster Packs (i.e. the following is my super long wishlist for Warhawk)…
Ground vehicles:
-Buggy/ATV/Motorcycle (or include all of them ;) ). Faster and has better control than the jeep; can carry only one (maybe 2, motorcycle can have a sidecar) person. You can’t shoot from these vehicles and they have no weapons. Trying to run over somebody, each has their own disadvantage. The buggy is low, so the person can jump; the motorcycle narrow, so it’s easily dodged; and the ATV is in between the others. Each has their own advantages over the other. ATV is pretty much the middle man, and can climb terrain more easily. Buggy can take the most damage out of these three. Motorcycle is the fastest, but can be destroyed easily.
Air Vehicles:
-Helicopter. The “Jeep” of the skies. Can carry up to 3 people (pilot +two machine gunners on the side). Incredibly easy to manoeuvre and very very fast. Great for quickly transporting fellow soldiers around via the sky. The two machine gunners can choose to put the turret aside in favour of using their own weapons (the main advantage over the warhawk). Helicopters are much weaker than warhawks though and don’t have any proprietary weapons to speak of other than the turrets.
-Air Carriers. As seen here: http://www.pspsps.tv/warhawkimage.jpg ;)
Soldier:
-The ability to sprint (Hold R2 maybe?). Give the character a lag recovery so that everyone won’t always be sprinting and knifing people and of course, you can’t use weapons while sprinting.
-The ability to roll in directions to dodge whatever. Maybe pressing something like L2+X in a certain direction will initiate the roll. Couple it with sprinting to get out of a hairy situation fast.
-Prone position. Self explanatory. Maybe have the player still appear on the radar when shooting (so that snipers don’t go getting trigger happy), but the crosshairs don’t turn red when they go over the player to help with the camouflage idea. They move extremely slowly when in prone, or not at all, and getting up takes time.
~Naval combat~
I think this would be badass. Not necessarily implementing it within the new maps as they are now, but make new maps for naval combat. Maybe 4-5. One or two with 50/50 land and water, one with mostly land but incorporates a decent water element, one with mostly water but incorporates a decent land section and one with all water. The all water one could work via solely the vehicles which I’ll go into detail on later. Maybe have some whales and other stuff in the water (to give it some life; it would be like the middle of the ocean). Perhaps some environment hazards like whirlpools and stuff (maybe make them dynamic so that players are always on their toes; just don’t make them too crazy).
Naval Vehicles:
-Carrier. Pretty much where all the ground combat happens and where players can get their Warhawks (and land them), dropships a
Naval Vehicles:
-Carrier. Pretty much where all the ground combat happens and where players can get their Warhawks (and land them), dropships and other vehicles and get to their naval vehicles (which when unmanned would get attached to the carrier via similar style as the “dropships+land vehicles” so that they don’t float away; but if they’re too far away, they’d just sink or something and respawn). They’re huge and you can steer them a little. They got turrets poking out the sides in the lower deck to attack the other carrier and any other vehicles. You can’t actually sink one, but you can start fires and smoke etc (again, environmental hazards similar to the whirlpool theme above).
-Speedboat. One turret and can carry up to 3 people.
-Submarine. This would be so badass. Submarine battles (mini-sub would be more like it). Carry a good number of people (7 probably). You’d have to let missiles and stuff be able to penetrate the water to attack them though. So it may not work out too well. Or maybe the subs would have to surface to attack. Give them a slight lag time to recover on the surface before they can dive deeper, exit or fire weapons (only torpedoes I guess, meaning they can only attack Speedboats and other subs).
Usability/Miscellaneous:
-Access to the friends list similar to RFOM. It would be so awesome if we can send messages in game. Also have access to the audio device settings (similar to RFOM) just in case something screws up with the headset.
-An option to no longer have to press L3 to initiate voice chat. I.e. have an option to freely speak without pressing any damn button. Warhawk gets too action packed to have time to press it!
-Record the controller settings for Guest players or at least use player 1’s controller settings and not the default one.
-Custom soundtracks.
-Lower the points required to rank up. They’re way too high IMO.
-Ability to choose night and day for each level.
-Headlights on the jeep and other appropriate vehicles during the night levels.
-Of course, more customization options.
God, I think I just put down everything I can think of for you guys to add to Warhawk. Release all that in the next booster pack and I’m sure no one would have any problems paying up to $40 for it again. Lol ;)
So ya, some ideas may not work well with Warhawk or even the “Warhawk philosophy” (the devs idea of how Warhawk should look and play like). You would also have to release some stuff for free (like the Soldier stuff) to keep things playable and fair for everyone. Anyways, that’s my wishlist. Just thought I’d throw that out there. :p
Sorry, my first post got cut off. I wasn’t kidding when I said it was a long wishlist. lol
I hate to complain but, can we possibly add three other very important options for multiplayer games?
1) A messaging system inside the game? You can’t expect me to go to outside the game, to the XMB and message a friend, who then in turn has to exit the game, go to the XMB and message me back.
2) How about a “Party” system? It’s quite successful in Resistance. It’s one of the reasons why I keep going back to playing Resistance.
3) And lastly, a “Voice Channel” system like in Resistance, also? Instead of pushing L3 to talk, why can’t 3/4 people just go into a chat channel and talk in there. This way, the people who don’t want to hear everyone talk at the same time don’t have to, and the people who don’t want to push the button to talk, don’t have to.
Seems like a win-win to me.
Wow, sounds great. I moved on COD4 but always intended to return back to Warhawk when the update was released. Everyone was hoping for new maps and you delivered a very cool one, not to mention the dropship which sounds amazing and will add a completely new dynamic to the game. There is so much that can still be done with this game but a lot of the previous posters have already covered most of my ideas so in closing, keep up the good work!