Uncharted 3 Multiplayer Modes Detailed, Beta Hits 6/28

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Uncharted 3 Multiplayer Modes Detailed, Beta Hits 6/28

Just a few days ago we hosted a large press event with editors from the US and Europe where we gave everyone a first taste of our expansive multiplayer mode in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. I’m sure you’ll easily find your way to the many articles that hit the net this morning if you want to check out an independent perspective of what was shown. Read on for our own rundown – we’ve got so much to share that I don’t even know where to start!

First off, Uncharted 3 multiplayer is a complete evolution from the initial foray we made into multiplayer with Uncharted 2. The leap forward in gameplay, technology — not the least of which is 3D stereoscopic support — and depth is nothing short of astounding, no joke. Our goal has always been to take the signature Uncharted gameplay and our penchant for awesome set-piece moments to serve as the key building blocks for creating a multiplayer experience like no other. We dipped our toe in with Uncharted 2. Now, with Uncharted 3, we’re diving in headfirst.

The Uncharted 3 Multiplayer trailer, which was JUST released today, is the best crash course on everything we’ve revealed about our competitive multiplayer modes — and more. Check it out below.

At the event we provided the assembled editors hands-on time with two of our multiplayer maps – The Airstrip and The Chateau. Both are great examples of the whole spectrum of map design and dynamic environments we’re aiming to have available in Uncharted 3.

The Chateau is a more traditional style arena map, with multiple levels to take advantage of our unique Uncharted traversal options — including ziplines. The Airstrip is a two-part map where the location and map layout actually changes in the middle of the match! The first part of the match takes place on a massive cargo plane being chased by trucks, with players jumping from truck to truck and between the cargo plane and the truck convoy. You can see some of this better in the Uncharted 3 Multiplayer trailer we released today. The second part of the match begins when the cargo plane is about to take off from the runway. After takeoff, the match changes locations for all players to the airstrip hangar area for a slightly more traditional multiplayer setting and layout. Just watch out for the fighter planes that will inevitably come in for a strafing run.

airstrip approach

We revealed two of our new competitive modes, along with the perennial favorite Team Deathmatch. One is Three Team Deathmatch, which is a small-team 2 vs. 2 vs. 2 variation on Team Deathmatch. The other is the oft-requested Free For All – with every player out for themselves. Over the months left until release – that’s about six-and-a-half months if you’re counting – we’ll detail all of our competitive modes.

As you’re looking to get into matches, we’ve made some updates to make it easier to get into games quicker, and with your friends. The first is Late Join, which is a staple of many online games and for good reason. It ensures that matches stay full, that you can get into matches faster and you can get into your friends matches faster if there’s a slot for you, instead of waiting for your friend to finish their current round. We’ve heard that many of you want to play with a friend on the same couch and we’re really proud to say that we were able to not only implement same-console split screen but you can log into two independent PSN IDs for most gametypes – the ones you can’t are to prevent unfair collusion between players.

Playing with friends and creating a team environment is extremely important for us and we’re trying to encourage this with the Buddy system. Each player will be partnered with a Buddy and you’ll be able to collectively share your successes throughout the match with each other. You can even pick up Treasures — more on that later — for your Buddy. The Buddy system also allows you to choose to spawn on your Buddy if they are safely out of combat so you can jump into the action together quicker. This is key since most of our game modes are all about team play and teams that stick together will do far better than teams who don’t.

chateau gas mask

New to Uncharted 3 multiplayer is character customization. Both heroes and villains skins will have a hundreds of customizable parts, from accessories to shirts and pants to a deep weapon customization feature. Even named characters, like Drake or Sully, will get plenty of options to make your character your own. Hand in hand with customization is our emblem editor. If you’ve worked with emblem editors in other games, you’ll be pretty familiar with the one we’ve implemented in Uncharted 3. Our emblem editor extends the level of customization of your online profile with hundreds of decals, three layers, rotate and scale functions – you’ll see your final emblem on your character and even possibly in the environment during matches.

Speaking of weapon customizations – it goes beyond the cosmetic. We have weapon mods that not only change the look of your weapon of choice, but they are functional too, adding precise scopes, bigger clips and more!

Boosters are back in Uncharted 3, but we didn’t just carry over the Booster selection from Uncharted 2. There are a few old favorites in there, but we’ve created what we feel is a more satisfying mix of old and new based on your feedback and selection patterns. We’ve extended the Booster system with a special subset of Paid Boosters, give you a one-time Booster that you spend some cash to have the option of using during a match. There’s still other ways to get minor advantages during a match. You have to option to select a specific Medal Kickback, which activate when you’ve racked up the required number of Medals for that specific Kickback. You can see this in the Multiplayer Trailer when the RPG Kickback is activated at 00:50 into the video. You’re taking a little chance when you select these, as some really choice Kickbacks require you to get a significant number of Medals before you can activate them.

airstrip crash

Those are a TON of customization options you can pick through and we know that you don’t want to be bogged down in menus in the limited time before the match begins trying to figure out which sets of customizations you want to slot for that match. We’ve introduced four slots to save specific loadouts — your starting rifle, starting sidearm, weapon customizations and mods, Boosters, and Kickbacks.

All of these customization and modifier options allowed us to extend our in-game reward system. No longer is everything tied to level gain or cash. During matches, you’ll have the opportunity to get items from treasure chests on the maps. You’ll also be able unlock a wide variety of items and modifiers through Missions. There are two types of Missions – some are instant missions and others, accessible from the Multiplayer menu, are more long term. Instant missions can appear in the middle of a match and provide a target that you can complete within a few matches tops. The Missions you select from the Multiplayer menu will take significantly more time, days of playtime possibly, and the rewards will be accordingly more significant.

A couple of things we’ve learned over the past year and a half of reviewing thousands upon thousands of Uncharted 2 matches is that it really sucks to be blown out on the way to losing a match and that winning or losing a tightly contested match by some kill made way off-screen is a bit of a letdown. We’ve thought of some ways to make these inevitable multiplayer moments a bit more exciting and satisfying. Power Plays activate when one team is way behind in the score count. They provide the team on top with an opportunity to maximize their cash for the match, while evening the odds a little for the team on the losing end of the equation and giving them the opportunity to close the gap a little.

airport jump

If matches are too close to call as they get close to the end, Overtime will activate, giving either time an opportunity to win the match by more than one point within a limited time. If the game is still too close to call, the match enters Sudden Death. Sudden Death is similar to Elimination – there are no respawns and the last player standing wins the match for their team.

We’ve also made it easier to share your passion for Uncharted 3 multiplayer with your real life friends and family through social media hooks we’ve added to the game. We’ve integrated Facebook into the game in a way unseen on a console game so far – way more than just sharing videos and photos, or updates to your Wall. USA Today has an exclusive look at our plans to bring social networks into Uncharted 3. Cinema mode has gotten a revamp allowing you to create clips from full matches and upload them directly to your own YouTube OR Facebook account (or both). We’re streaming a tightly curated list of awesome Uncharted videos created by you – our community – back into your multiplayer menu via Uncharted TV. We’ll have more details on all of the above over the next few days.

Oh yeah, and we have a brand new Sprint button. Don’t hate on it until you’ve had a chance to go hands on! We feel it works extremely well and, of course, we’ve built Uncharted 3 multiplayer to take into account that you can sprint.

chateau kick

We’ve spent a lot of time talking about competitive multiplayer, but what about co-op? Fear not, co-op is most definitely IN Uncharted 3 multiplayer and it too has been vastly expanded upon. We didn’t cover anything co-op related at our multiplayer event last week – everything and anything co-op will be revealed further down the line.

When can you get a crack at Uncharted 3 multiplayer? In just a couple of months – the Multiplayer Beta for Uncharted 3 begins WORLDWIDE on June 28, 2011, with early access for PlayStation Plus members or by purchasing specially marked copies of Infamous 2.

Stay tuned as that date draws near for more details!

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209 Comments

8 Author Replies

  • Dear Naughty Dog…

    Is the Plus beta going to be international? I’m sure that there’s a few gamers over here in Hong Kong who wouldn’t mind helping you guys to test international server stability :)

    I’m just too psyched and I can’t wait for this game.

    • The beta is definitely worldwide and, as far as I know, the plan is to offer all PS Plus members early access wherever PS Plus exists (it’s worldwide right?).

  • I am literally moved to tears right now. I cannot wait for this game to come out

  • @pitythefool852

    when i mentioned uncharted 2 and gears 3 i meant their visuals in multiplayer and not in the single player,i don’t think they look as good as the uncharted 2 single player as of now but i’d love to be proven wrong

  • ^^ by ‘they’ i meant uncharted 3’s multiplayer graphics

  • NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

    Is not possible to be so AWESOME MP and deliver a great great campaign…..

    or is it?

    IN ND we trust

    yes guys this time you are going for the MP Crown, it looks unique and top notch

    Cant wait (but have to anyway :(

  • awesome stuff.. but I have a question… my Qore subscription it’s about to end this month.. it has auto-renewal? I want to renew it, but as a part of becoming a PSN+ member… so I can have access to all + stuff like this early access to the multiplayer beta…

  • HOLY EFF!

    AMAZING!

    And thank you so much Naughty Dog for including the 2nd person PSN ID! That is awesome, the only thing I dont like?

    I have to wait to play it :(

  • Sounds very ambitious. Is there a video with a decent bitrate somewhere?

    The explosions and smoke look flat again like Uncharted 2’s, Drake’s Fortune had godlike three-dimensional billowing explosions. I’d like to see them (or better) back!

  • That…was….AWESOME!!!! I love the low-five that Drake gives Sully at the end…nice touch!!! November, let alone June/July can’t get here quick enough. Cant wait!!!

  • I hope that inFamous 2 I won from Subway is specially marked. Why must you get me hyped for games months and months from now??

  • Mind = Blown

    That trailer looks amazing. I cannot freaking wait for this game to come out…

  • So…

    The cake WASN’T a lie ?? ( sorry, couldn’t resist the pun in this Portal 2 time )

    It’s a great year to be a PS3 owner ! Keep up the amazing work ND !

  • All the details revealed so far are what I was hoping to be added. Split screen play (I hope that includes co-op missions and not just competitive), customization to characters and added variety to game modes.

    Most sequels you can only hope that a developer is going to do everything they can to raise the bar and add to what worked but with Naughty Dog it’s pretty much a guarantee. If ND keeps atleast the same length of single player story from Uncharted 2 for Uncharted 3, adds to co-op and (as we are seeing now) improves multiplayer, I don’t see how they can’t win game of the year again, even in a year filled with amazing games.

    Easily my most anticipated game of the year. Can’t wait to jump into the beta.

  • Weird music, wish it was heavy metal. Anyways possible for custum soundtrack support?

  • Hey Arne,

    Being a huge fan of the last game, i bought literally every piece of DLC you guys put out there. Im especially concerned about the extra skins i purchased as i really enjoyed them. Specifically the Playstation Heroes skin pack, i loved playing as cole from infamous or the helghast from killzone. Please tell me we ill we get use of these skins in Uncharted 3 as well?

  • The wait just became so much longer! Just make sure you guys show some love for the female players. Heroes and villains pwease! If you’ve ever played Metal Gear Online, there were multiple generic characters to start with that you could customize as well. That and the emblem editor would be AWESOME! Uncharted is my addiction so even if you skip over the villain skins again I won’t care. Day 1 regardless.

  • Looks amazing!

  • Nj tduh cfc xxxix jn sex th nb xd yjf rt y!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Looks like Naughty Dog has another GOTY on their hands. I so can’t wait to play this. Glad I’ll get an early taste of the MP with my Plus and then I’ll have an extra code to give to my kid.

    I’m actually working on Uncharted 1 right now. I just need to finish it on crushing for my final trophy to earn the platinum. I’m still blown away that this game looks better than many out today and it was a year into the PS3’s life. This just goes to show how good Naughty Dog is at their job. Thanks for the many years of enjoyment.

  • “Over the months left until release – that’s about six-and-a-half months if you’re counting – ”

    Way to bring a guy down, so long to wait :( Gonna be worth it though.

    Really really liking the MP changes here and if it translates to Co-op as well then I’m going to be playing UC3 MP for a long time. Dual PSN sign in FTW!!!

  • Words can not express how excited I am for this!

  • OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

  • Arne, will the beta be open to everyone eventually? or will it just be for PS+ and people who bought Infamous 2?

  • Dear PS blog, PLEASE ANSWER ME

    I am from the UK, please tell me if the Infamous 2 versions with a beta code for Uncharted 3 will be available somewhere, and if so, what store?!?!

    Also, how long will the beta be running for?

    Cheers.

  • June 28 is Tuesday, so I guess that refers to the US store?

    So Europe should have it on June 29 (Wednesday), right Arne?

    • As far as I know, this won’t be tied to PSN Store updates – so it’s June 28 globally. Although I’m not sure which region dictates if it’s June 28. I’ll get more info on this when I can, it may be a little while though.

  • Please bring the game to PAX Prime 2011. Can’t wait to play it and I’m most especially looking forward to playing the beta. You guys did such a great job on both previous titles and U3 is looking to blow both of them away! Thanks so much for sharing this Arne. :)

    • I’d love to bring it to PAX Prime 2011 – cross your fingers and I’ll see what I can work out with our reveal and conference schedule!

  • Oh yeah, and we have a brand new Sprint button. Don’t hate on it until you’ve had a chance to go hands on! We feel it works extremely well and, of course, we’ve built Uncharted 3 multiplayer to take into account that you can sprint.

    I really hope that this sprint feature will not ruin the gameplay. Most games feel clunky with sprint

    My question is will Uncharted 3 feature the old skins and maps from Uncharted 2? And If you zoom in in the otws view can we have It optional to see the otw view transparent?

  • Holy freakin’ COW!!!

    Everything being added sounds AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    U3 just became my most anticipated game this year next to twisted metal and resistance 3.

    I’m totally speechless.

    Naughty Dog, hats off to you guys. This was simply jaw dropping. totally excited.

  • Awesome news !!!!
    Love the changes to MP and all the customization.

    Arne, WILL THERE BE CLAN SUPPORT?????

  • I just signed up for PS+ because of this. Was debating if I should since it came out but this made it official. When I think about it $50 isn’t all that bad for a year…Can’t wait for this.

  • Naughty Dog is going all out on this! It seems to me like I’m not going to need any other online multiplayer shooter ever again after Uncharted 3. So looking forward to it. I’m not a PSplus member and am not planning on starting but I WILL pick up a copy of Infamous 2 for the beta code. Thank you so much Naughty Dog for all the work you’re putting into the online experience! It’s going to be FANTASTIC!! (one more thing: I really hope you implement a party chat option where you can easily mute all players but your friends)

  • I am absolutely loving how some of these are looking more like Uncharted: DF. Like the Florida/Caribbean spanish forts :)

  • But please, for the love of God, give the guns realistic sound efx this time. That’s one thing that’s always been annoying about Uncharted. They sound so underwhelming, like how powered bb guns.

  • thank you for adding split screen multiplayer with individual psn log in btw!!!
    I LOVE split screen action/adventure titles. My household will definitely enjoy this feature.

  • SOLD!
    DLC? SOLD!
    MY SOUL? SOLD!
    COLLECTOR’S EDITION???? PLEASE SAY YES, AND I’LL SAY : SOLD!

  • Whoa!!! It looks stunning!! I never been a fan of multiplayer in any games but this one looks so awesome! and there will be Coop!!! cant wait!

    1 Question, i read somewhere there could be some mode like in killzone 3 where there are little cutscenes with people on your team is that true? or its too early to talk about it?

  • Will the beta be in 3D?

  • Hope these two questions are answered in the months to come:

    Collector’s Edition?

    Single player length?

  • Wait, So is Split screen for both Multiplayer and Co-op? If true, then :D.

    Have you guys announced how many players for Co-op yet?

  • Oh hell yes!! This is just what I wanted to hear this week! Thanks ND & awesome pick for a soundtrack for the trailer!!!

  • This is awesome! Can’t wait for Plus beta!

  • YES!
    YES!
    YES!
    EVERYTHING BAD ABOUT UNCHARTED2 IS NOW IMPROVED IN UNCHARTED 3!!!
    FORGET GEARS OF WAR 3…..I’M TOTALLY STOKED FOR UNCHARTED 3!!!! :D

  • I played the uncharted 2 beta non stop, bought the game on day one and never touched the multiplayer..i don’t know why but i felt there was nothing interesting compared to other games, just a few tweaks here and there but nothing worth wasting my time to rank up…hope i can change my mind with Uncharted 3 multiplayer because i’m a huge Uncharted fan, platinumed both games and i love the epic single player experience..congrats ND

  • I can’t wait~ That’s awesome.

  • How about dedicated servers?

  • YAY return of MP Co-op! Thank you for not ruining the single player campaign with Co-op. You heard us at PAX East ^^…. well with the exception of that one guy, but who cares about him lol. I honestly feel Co-op (and the Move) helped in ruining KZ3’s single player campaigns difficulty and balance. I don’t want to see that happen to another game ever.

  • Will the beta codes be available in the Infamous 2 European Version?

  • Arne, PSN plus is not available worldwide. Russia comes to mind (Their PS Store doesn’t offer PS Plus.

    Anyhow, this looks. AWESOME!

    Is there going to be a free-for-all game mode?

  • So early access would start on June 8? Am I right?

  • Cant wait to buy this game!

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